All of Inspector Evers' staff had gone home from SID headquarters, except for Camilla Evers herself.
"You might as well tell me what happened to your space ship," she said, "My people will find it eventually."
"I haven't got a space ship," said Dolf, "I'm glad you stuck around though."
"And why is that?" she asked.
"You're the most beautiful woman I've seen," said Dolf.
"It's not the information I've been seeking during our long interrogation sessions, but thank you kindly, small Sir," said Camilla.
"Do you … like me that way at all?" asked Dolf.
"You do look decidedly cute," she said.
"Are you involved with anyone?"
"I never really had time," said Camilla, "I was always working long days to rise up in the ranks."
"Is that why you stayed back today?" asked Dolf.
"Well I must say I enjoy fencing with you in our interrogations."
It wasn't really a definitive answer. However, he did find it appealing.
"Since I haven't really told you anything, I take that as a precious compliment," said Dolf.
"I won't forget yours in a hurry either," said Camilla.
"I'll tell you about my ship, if you give me something in return," said Dolf.
"That depends what it is. I'm not authorized to make any concessions to Little People."
"Would a kiss be a concession?"
"Consider it a deal," said Camilla.
"I came here on a flight around 28 years ago with three other boys. We've all gone our separate ways and haven't seen the craft since we arrived. I could show you where we last left it, if you take me into the forest, and if I can relocate and recognise the spot."
"You could be making that up," said Camilla, "It doesn't really help me much."
"I've denied you any responses until now," said Dolf, "I admit I might have been tempted to invent a story for you in order to confuse the SID, but I would not make up anything in order to win a kiss from you. You can be sure that I've told you the truth."
"I believe you," she said, "And you didn't even need to make that offer. I agreed because I've been after that information since I caught you. But I'd have given you a kiss anyway, if you'd simply asked."
She pressed her giant lips to his face. If being Camilla's captive had bothered him at all from the moment he'd felt her lovely fingers lifting him out of his house, it certainly didn't bother him now. He wouldn't have left her by means of escaping her, even if he could.
"That was lovely, Camilla."
"I feel the same, but I'm still committed to keeping you in custody and questioning you for more information," said Camilla, "I'll never let you go."
"I understand, and the kiss made it well worth it."
"I'm sure there's no little person I'd rather have caught though," said Camilla.
"Can we have more moments like this when you're not on the SID clock?" asked Dolf.
"We'll see," said Inspector Evers, with a faint trace of a smile on her face.
Alan Wilson went on to explain to Lahtina about his parents and their friends, leaving out the mention of giant Betty and her apartment. He would not reveal their location to her, but told her that Mark and Valerie were his parents, and described the team. Lahtina recalled them from her initial encounter in her grandfather Ackman's model village. Yet the resentment had gone. If anything, she could think of several reasons for the Little People to have resented her.
One day she asked Alan if he could arrange for her to meet with the leader of the Little People. Alan agreed to make his request, merely describing her to Steve as his hostess, not as someone who had begrudged the Little People when they'd first arrived in the Land of the Giants.
"He doesn't wear his Captain's uniform anymore," said Alan, pleased that giant Betty had sewed several new clothes for each of them, "But he's definitely the one you remembered was called Steve."
Steve agreed to go and meet Alan's host, and invited Mark and Valerie to come and see how their son was doing too, and asked giant Betty to take them to meet the woman in the forest.
As a precaution, they had giant Betty wear a long dark wig, glasses, and a hat.
Lahtina took Alan Wilson with her, and the two giantesses put the Little People down in a clearing and sat down beside them to talk.
"Your Alan's friendship with me and my daughter has made me realise how childishly cruel and monstrous I was to you," said Lahtina.
"When?" asked Mark.
"Do you remember my Grandfather's model village?
"You're that young lady?" said Steve, "I'm sorry I didn't recognise you after all these years."
"I'm the one who should be sorry. I'm here to assure you that I'll only have the best interests in mind for you all from now on. I'll look after Alan, and let him socialize with trustworthy students his own age from my daughter's school. If there's ever anything else I can do to put right the atrocities I brought on you before, I will," said Lahtina. Here is your boy, Alan. If you have any reason to doubt me, then take him with you and I will not follow."
"It was a long time ago, and we did interrupt your life with our arrival," said Steve.
Mark slipped a band onto Alan's wrist, and showed him a device attached to it.
"I'll quickly tell you how to use this, just in case you need it," he said, "Take good care of it."
Lahtina took them to the model village and invited them into the hotel lounge. Steve, Mark, Valerie and Alan went in and saw a magnificent meal spread before them. It was a buffet of all the finest foods supplied in quantities suitable for the Little People.
"I know it's late, but I believe I owe you a good meal at that table," said Lahtina.
"It's a queen's banquet," said Valerie eagerly.
"Help yourselves," said Lahtina, "I'll bring over some lunch for your friend who's my size too."
They enjoyed the meal and then left. On the way home, Steve thought about being carried by giant Betty. It was pleasant enough, but he was glad to have a Betty whom he could take in his arms and hold as a physical equal.
How fortunate for both himself and Barry that the younger man felt the other way about the Bettys.
In the weeks ahead, Dolf enjoyed being questioned by the Inspector, enjoyed lying on his bed in the cage, looking out at her as she took calls and assigned her operatives to follow up on any Little People calls, as well as overseeing any other cases handled by the SID.
"Do you have a spare cage at home?" he asked her one evening, just as she was about to leave.
"Standard policy for all staff of this department," said Camilla, "Why?"
"Well there's an obvious security risk in my asking you to what's left of my house, but I was wondering if we could … go to your place for a date," said Dolf and looked at her confident assertive eyes in uneasy embarrassment, "… I'm sorry. It was a ridiculously audacious thing to ask of the head of SID."
"Not at all. I think I've got an old dolls house bed you could use in a cage at my house," said Camilla.
She was wearing a long dress with no pockets that day. It was very attractive, but made the practicalities of smuggling him out of SID headquarters a little more problematic. She encircled him in her fingers and left the building, using only her other hand to lock the doors and open the door of her car. She sat him in the glove box, left it open and drove him to her home.
Once inside she prepared their dinner and then served them both. After dinner, they talked for a while at her couch. She then took him to her bedroom, put him on her dresser table and sat down at it. She took out a tiny set of handcuffs attached to a tiny chain.
"These have been perfected for Little People just recently," she said, and attached the far end of the chain to a necklace, "The key is not one that is turned. It's a magnetic remote switch."
She lifted a small pencil shaped device and then attached the handcuff to one of his ankles, asked him to close it gently himself, and then used the remote switch to lock it in place.
"You don't need to do this," he said, "I'll be secure in the cage, won't I?"
"If that's what you'd prefer," she said, and then slowly and gently lifted the necklace and put it on, while he clung to the necklace.
He found that he could turn over without hurting his leg, and lay down against her neck.
"I see what you mean, Camilla. This is the best night of my life," said Dolf.
"I think you'll find the chain is long enough to reach my face," said Camilla.
No wonder she was head of the SID. She was so calm and collected.
Dolf climbed up onto her face and kissed her lower lip in admiration and then made his way down to the pillow and lay against her cheek. They talked themselves to sleep and dreamed happily about each other.