Chapter 11: Desperation
"Something's wrong…"
Lance looked up from where he was studying a document on his desk, startled at Will's sudden declaration. "What? What's wrong?" he asked, regarding his friend with a worried expression.
The young psychic was sitting stiffly in his chair nearby, his eyes fixated somewhere past the Dragon Master's head. "I… I can't feel Nalia's mind anymore… nor Ash's or Latias's…" he whispered fearfully, his worried eyes hidden behind his purple sunglasses. "I fear something may have happened to them…"
"What? No… that can't be…" Lance breathed, his face growing pale. What could possibly have happened? There had been no indication that the Child of Legendaries and Chosen One were in any danger!
A knock came at the door all of a sudden, startling both Lance and Will. "Lance? You're in here, right?" asked Lorelei, on the other side of the door. "Brock from Pewter City is here to see you… He said he has something very urgent to tell you."
Lance and Will exchanged an almost horrified look. "Tell… Tell him… I'll be right there," Lance replied.
As soon as Lorelei's footsteps had faded down the hall, the Dragon Master flinched in pain as Rayquaza's voice reverberated through his mind, full of rage. It is just as I feared… Something has happened to them! This should not have happened!
"R-Rayquaza… I'm sorry…" Lance gasped, slumping against his desk and clutching at his temples. The pain of Rayquaza brutally forcing himself into his thoughts felt like a spike being driven into his head. "I-I didn't think that they were in danger… They were right here at Pokémon League…"
That is not the point, Lance! Rayquaza snarled. They should have remained in your sight at all times! Now everything could come undone! How could you allow this to happen?
"Rayquaza, please! Stop it!" Will shouted, unable to stay silent. He could hear the mental conversation, but he was so upset that he couldn't even focus his telepathy. He just stood there, shouting at his friend. "You're hurting him!"
The pain he feels is nothing compared to the agony a devastated world will feel, if the balance of the world should fail!
"We couldn't just keep Ash and Latias in a cage! We don't have the right to just restrain them so they will be safe from everything!" Will continued, his eyes glowing deeply with purple, psychic light. He was terrified, both of Rayquaza and his own building emotions. Don't push me, please, I can't—
I will see this prophecy fulfilled, no matter the cost! Rayquaza shrieked, and both Lance and Will staggered at the dragon's cry in their minds.
"No!" Desperate, Will rushed at Lance, grabbing the Dragon Master's arms tightly and staring into his gold eyes. "Let… him… go!"
Unbridled, Will's psychic power pierced the Dragon Master's mind, interrupting the connection he shared with Rayquaza. It was similar to when he had stopped Lance from attacking Ash the day before… but much more powerful. He could hear Rayquaza's scream of fury in his head, echoing Lance's own scream of pain as the connection was forcibly broken. The Dragon Master collapsed to the floor, and it took all of Will's strength to catch him.
Everything was quiet now. Rayquaza was gone. All that was left was Lance, unconscious and breathing raggedly in Will's arms. The psychic trembled as he stared at his friend's face. Blood was trickling from the Dragon Master's nose, and he wasn't moving.
Oh gods… please no… I didn't mean to…
The door burst open. Brock rushed in, looking concerned.
"What's wrong? I heard a scream, and—" He stopped short at the sight of blood, and gasped. "Will? What happened? Is Lance ok?"
Will bit his lip, and tears spilled from his eyes. "I didn't mean it… I just wanted to protect him…" he sobbed, hugging Lance tightly. "I didn't want to hurt him…"
Brock didn't understand what was going on, but he immediately ran to Lance's side and kneeled down. He checked to make sure he was still breathing and had a pulse, before he touched Will's arm. "What were you doing? What happened?" he asked, his voice urgent.
A soft groan was heard, and the two looked down to see Lance slowly open his eyes. "Will…? Brock…? Where… what…"
Brock helped Lance to sit up, before searching for a tissue to help stop the bleeding from his nose. In relief, Will buried his face against Lance's shoulder and whimpered. [Forgive me… I just wanted Rayquaza to stop hurting you,] he told Lance. [I could have—]
Lance stopped Will mid-sentence, by putting his arm around him and giving him a tight hug. "Don't apologize to me," he whispered. "It's ok. I'm all right."
Brock came back with tissues for Lance, and stared at the Dragon Master worriedly. "Are you all right, Lance?" he asked. "What happened?"
"It… doesn't matter right now. I'll explain later," Lance said, holding the tissues to his nose. "What is it you wanted to tell me? Something urgent?"
"Oh. Uh… yeah." Brock still seemed concerned, but the Dragon Master appeared to be conscious and aware again, ready to get down to business. "Sam met up with us, and revealed that Katsuo might actually be a Pokémon thief. A guy named… Alexander Tokaru?"
Will looked up in shock, his eyes still red and bleary with tears. "What?" he cried. "A Pokémon thief…?"
"I've heard that name before," Lance said, his brown eyes narrowing. "He's called the 'Pirate Prince of Johto.' Sam has dealt with him before, but he's apparently a very clever criminal. You're telling me he could have tricked us all?"
Brock nodded. He still couldn't believe it himself. "She was concerned enough to have us look for Ash and Latias, while she searched for Alexander. I thought you'd want to know, too."
"Damn… I wish Sam wouldn't race into trouble like that," Lance hissed, attempting to stand up. Both Will and Lance had to help him get to his feet. "Let's try to catch up with her, and make sure Ash and Latias stay safe. We can't risk anything."
Will nodded, though in reality his thoughts were elsewhere. His fear for Lance, and his anger for Rayquaza, had led to a potentially-dangerous situation. He had been training for years to keep his emotions under control… but that was the first time in years he'd ever lost control. Lance could have had his mind broken by the unchecked psychic power.
I just… couldn't stand by this time…
"Come on, Will," Brock called. Will stirred back to attention and saw Lance and Brock were waiting by the door for him. "We have to hurry."
"R-Right," Will replied, still in a daze. As they rushed out of the office and down the hall, he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder, and looked up to see Lance leaning on him. The Dragon Master smiled weakly.
"I still need you to be there for me," he reminded, gently.
Will's eyes filled with tears again; as always, he was surprised by how Lance could be such a good friend to him.
"I'll always be there for you," he promised.
When Ash finally came to, he found himself staring at a cracked and peeling ceiling, from which one bare lightbulb hung. Wincing at the light, Ash groaned and sat up, looking around in confusion. He was in some sort of barred cell in a small room, locked securely with a large padlock. Ash got up and came up to the bars in order to better see beyond them. It seemed as if he were in a storage room of some kind… where, he wasn't sure.
On a table to one side, he saw his Pokéballs, and next to them, Pikachu, locked in a cage. The cage must have been resistant to electricity, or he knew Pikachu would have broken free by now. Next to Pikachu's cage was Nalia, in a small cage glowing with dark purple light. But in the center of the room before his cell was a large cage, glowing with the same dark energy on Nalia's cage. Ash squinted to see past the dark light, and saw a red and white creature lying on the floor of the cage.
"Latias!" Ash cried, vainly tugging on his cell bars. "Latias, are you ok? Wake up! Please!"
[Ash, she can't hear you,] Nalia said sadly, from where she was caged. [These cages are charged with synthetic dark energy, a lot like a Dark-type's power. She exhausted herself trying to use her psychic energy to break free, and now she's sleeping.]
Ash gave Nalia a despairing look, before glancing back at Latias. She must have changed into her true Pokémon form to try and fight, but it had amounted to nothing. "Latias…" he whispered, hurt to see Latias so tired and weak, and furious he could do nothing about it.
"Pika-pi… pika chu pika…" Pikachu said sadly, mirroring Ash's worried thoughts.
Ash looked around, but saw no windows or anything that indicated where they could be. "Do you know where we are?" he questioned, wondering if they were still near the Pokémon League where his friends were, or if Team Rocket had already whisked them far away.
"…As a matter of fact, I do," came a familiar voice, as the door to the room clicked open and a figure stepped into the room.
Ash's heart leaped hopefully for a moment upon seeing him. "Katsuo? Boy, am I glad to see you!" he cried. But his hopes quickly dimmed upon seeing the serious expression on the older teen's face.
"You shouldn't be, Ash," Katsuo replied harshly, striding over to Latias's cage and allowing himself a peek at the rare Pokémon within. "Not when I'm the reason you're here in the first place."
"You… what?" Ash couldn't comprehend what he was hearing. "What are you talking about?"
Katsuo fixed Ash with a sneer, stepping away from Latias so he could face the younger boy through his cell door. "I'm sorry to say I've been lying to you this whole time," he explained. "My name isn't Katsuo… it's Alexander. I am a traditional mercenary from Johto, and as of right now, I am working for Team Rocket."
"Pika pika?!" Pikachu couldn't believe his ears.
[You are with Team Rocket?] Nalia cried. [Then that means…!]
Alexander smiled humorlessly at the two Pokémon. "Yes. I gained your trust, in order to more easily have Team Rocket capture you. I figured out that Miss Lani is the Legendary Latias, and that Ash here is the Legendaries' golden boy. Giovanni will be pleased, I can assure you."
Ash gripped the bars of his cell furiously. "You… How could you? I thought we were friends!" he snapped. "After everything we did together! After Latias told you that you deserved her friendship…!"
"Shut up!" Alexander snapped, charging the cell door and slamming his fists against it. Ash flinched, but didn't recoil, and the two glared at one another through the bars. "You… mean nothing to me. It's just a job."
"A job? You'd turn us in for money? What kind of dirty criminal are you?!"
"One who's going to be very rich soon, and will soon be taking his leave of this miserable criminal team," Alexander growled, turning away from Ash and pacing the room. Ash couldn't help but notice how anxious and irritable Alexander was, a far cry from the thoughtful and charming Katsuo he'd met before. Even though he claimed he didn't care… he was obviously agitated about the circumstances. Maybe he really didn't want to do this?
"Look, Latias said so herself—you deserve love, and kindness. You're a good person," Ash said, desperate to get out of this mess. "Your friends can give you that; money can't! Please, just… let us out of here, and we'll forgive you. That's what friends do!"
Alexander looked up at Ash with a hint of pain, similar to the expression he'd had when Latias had given him the flower. "…I don't have friends, Ash," he stated, as if he was trying to convince himself of that fact too. "Don't flatter yourself."
"You know this is wrong!"
The rattling of metal suddenly broke the silence of the room, and Ash backed away from the cell door as Alexander pointed a sword at his face. The sword was an elegant, large one, with a beautiful blue sapphire pommel stone in the hilt. Ash only just now noticed the scabbard hanging from the older teen's hip, which he had never worn as Katsuo.
"Enough, Ash," Alexander said flatly. "What I think is irrelevant. I do this for my own ends. Forget about me, and worry about saving yourself." He sheathed the sword swiftly, before turning to leave the room. "Good luck."
"No! Wait, don't—" But the mercenary was gone, and the door clicked shut behind him. "…Darn it!" Ash exclaimed, feeling helpless. Angrily, he shook and pounded at the bars blocking his way as hard as he could, tears of pain and frustration welling in his eyes. How could this happen? Now what would become of the prophecy…?
"Great… I already failed Lance…" he groaned, sinking to his knees. "I knew I was going to mess up… I wasn't meant to be anyone's Chosen One…"
"Pika-pi…" Pikachu whispered.
[Ash… Don't say that…] Nalia said, sadly.
Ash pounded his forehead into the bars before him, allowing the tears to run down his cheeks freely, not caring who saw him. He had failed his friends, his Pokémon… and Latias. It wasn't fair. More than anything, Ash wanted to hug her again and apologize for this, for everything that had happened. But she couldn't even hear him now. And she would soon belong to the head of Kanto and Johto's most powerful criminal syndicate.
"Latias… I'm so sorry…"
At first, Misty thought she and Sam were going to scout all the areas from Pokémon League and Viridian City in search of the mercenary Alexander. But after a while, she realized that Sam was not doing a systematic sweep of the area. In fact, she appeared to have a very specific destination in mind, one that took them to the edge of Viridian City.
"Where are we going?" Misty demanded in a harsh whisper, shifting Togepi from one arm to the other as she crouched next to Sam behind a low fence. "I thought we were looking for Katsuo—I mean, Alexander."
Sam didn't even so much as glance at Misty; her gaze seemed fixed on the large building not far from their position. She exchanged a quick look with Joey at her side, who nodded his confirmation. "We're going there," she stated, pointing to the Viridian City Gym.
"What for?"
"Alexander is a mercenary. He only does work for other people who hire him," Sam explained, still not taking her eyes off the building. Misty couldn't figure out what she was waiting for; the gym had been empty for a long time, now. "Which means he has an employer. And the most likely employer around here… is Team Rocket."
"Team Rocket?"
Sam nodded. "Surely you read the news. Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket, was discovered to be the gym leader of the Viridian Gym all along."
"But I thought Pokémon League shut it down once they found out," Misty countered, gesturing to the closed sign tacked over the Viridian City Gym sign out front.
"Officially… yes. But I've long suspected that Giovanni still uses the surrounding warehouses, and probably the space beneath them, as a base. Unfortunately, I have no concrete evidence, and the warehouses are supposedly owned by a private business that refuses to allow the Pokémon League to inspect the area." She paused as Joey's ears perked up, but relaxed when they lowered a few moments later.
Misty was baffled by Sam's statement. "But I thought you were a member of Pokémon League!" she cried. "You don't have the authority to just… investigate secretly? Isn't that what Lance does all the time?"
Sam sighed and shook her head. "Quiet down," she chided. "And no, I don't have that authority. I'm only 16 and not considered an adult yet. Any undercover missions have to be authorized by the League first. And Lance has been way too busy to organize an investigation himself, especially on such scant evidence."
"So… what are you doing now?" Misty asked, annoyed at this point.
"I am searching for a friend. I have the right to look around in case they happened to wander this way," Sam said, with a cheeky smile.
Oh brother, Misty thought. I'm stuck with a girl who works for the Pokémon League who is absolutely willing to bend rules to her advantage. I hope I don't get in trouble by association here…
"Ok, I think the coast is clear," Sam said, jostling Misty to attention. "You see that guy? I think he's a guard for them… He's been patrolling back and forth for a while now, and I see an opening to get past. Come on, let's hurry."
Misty quickly got to her feet and climbed over the fence behind Sam, following her around to the back of the Viridian Gym and along the side of one of the three warehouses supposedly controlled by Team Rocket. The two girls stopped and peered back around the corner to see if anyone had spotted them, but nothing.
"That was close…" Sam remarked. "For a moment, I thought we might be seen…"
"What? I thought you said the coast was clear!" Misty accused.
Sam turned red. "Uh. Well… it was… just not as clear as I might have led you to believe!"
Misty groaned, and grabbed Sam's arm. "You're hopeless… Come on, I'm leading the way now. There must be a door to get into this warehouse somewhere nearby…" She began searching the side of the building, dragging the smaller girl behind her.
"Hey! Let go of me! This isn't fair; I said you could tag along, not the other way around! Misty—!"
"Agent 009 reporting in, sir!"
Giovanni smiled from behind his desk, petting his Persian contentedly. "Welcome back, Domino. What is the report?"
Domino could not hide her excited grin as she spoke. "The mission was a complete success!" she exclaimed. "Not only did we capture the two children indicated by Alexander, but it turns out his hunch was right. The girl actually was a Latias in disguise! She, her male human companion, and all the Pokémon with them are in our custody, and have all been placed in appropriate holding cells."
Giovanni grinned. "Excellent… very excellent indeed!" he said. "Congratulations. And where is our young mercenary friend, whom we have to thank for this?"
"Not sure, sir… I think he went to inspect the prisoners himself, before you arrived back here."
"Ah, very well. We must take care to reward him… mustn't we?"
Domino nodded. "Yes, sir. He's been excellent to work with."
"Do find one of my treasurers, so that they might prepare a suitable reward for Alexander. I always keep my promises, after all, and I did promise that he would be rewarded for his time and service."
I could think of a few extra rewards I wouldn't mind giving to him, Domino thought to herself, hiding a smile. She wondered if she could convince the mercenary to stay a little longer so she could treat him to some "service" of her own.
"Very well, then. Dismissed."
Domino saluted, and then left Giovanni's office. The crime leader smiled to himself as she departed, thinking about the rare Pokémon he now had in his clutches.
Misty had been quite proud of herself for discovering a carelessly unlocked door into the warehouse, but her pride was starting to fade fast as she slowly came to realize she was lost within the many halls and storage rooms within.
"Misty…" Sam groaned, her initial enthusiasm quickly evaporating once she realized their predicament. "I told you we should have taken each hall one room at a time… Now we're completely turned around."
"I know that," Misty snapped, unsure as to whether she should turn left, right, or keep going forward down this hallway. "Relax, ok? We'll find our way out. Let's just keep looking for Alexander."
Sam's frown deepened at the mention of the mercenary. "You know, you shouldn't exactly be looking forward to finding him," she said. "He is a criminal."
Misty whirled around to face Sam, annoyed. "That's just your guess. You don't even know if Katsuo is this Alexander guy," she pointed out.
"True, I'll give you that… but it probably is him. There aren't that many people with blue hair, a scar on their face, and a Persian with black fur."
"I'll believe it when I see it," Misty retorted, defiantly. She simply could not accept that the Katsuo she had spent time with, who had treated her like a lady and called her lovely and seemed to genuinely care about her feelings… was some criminal this whole time. "He's my friend."
Sam sighed at her friend, confused as to why she was so defensive of Katsuo and so determined to prove Sam's claims wrong. "Misty, I can appreciate that, but I just don't want you getting hurt…" she began.
"If you really cared about that, you wouldn't be accusing my friends of being thieves!"
"Misty, just because you don't believe something, doesn't mean it can't be true! You know people can be deceptive!" Sam tried to reason.
But Misty would not be dissuaded. "Look, I'm going to talk to him first when we see him, so you'd better not get in my way, ok?"
"Fine, go ahead, see if it helps anything! I'm telling you, he's a thief!"
"Maybe he's just—"
"Pika!" Joey said, urgently. The two girls stopped arguing and looked down at the Pikachu. He seemed focused and alert.
Sam immediately kneeled down next to him, looking in the direction he was. "What do you hear, Joey?" she whispered. "…Do you think it's him? Yeah? Ok, lead the way."
"What is it?" asked Misty.
"I think Joey senses someone. Let's follow him and see if we find the guy we're looking for." Sam got to her feet, and began running after Joey down the hall.
Misty quickly moved to keep up, a sense of trepidation and relief coming over her. Hopefully they would get to the bottom of this soon… and Katsuo would not be the criminal Sam insisted he was.
"Here you are," Domino said, holding up an envelope of money before Alexander. "Giovanni's reward for your service."
The mercenary eyed it with a bit of suspicion. "Is that cash?" he asked. It was certainly a bulging envelope, but not nearly as fat as he was anticipating.
"Another 75,000 Pokéyen for a job well done," she explained, as Alexander took the envelope and counted the money himself. "On top of the 50,000 for your initial tip, that's 125,000 total. What, not enough for the 'Pirate Prince'?"
"What the hell I supposed to do with that?" he snapped, obviously unhappy with the amount. "Buy a bicycle? I don't even think it's enough for that."
Domino put her hands on her hips, annoyed at Alexander's negative attitude. "What were you expecting?" she asked.
"I helped you kidnap a child. Two even, if you count the Latias," Alexander pointed out. "I expect to be compensated for my risk. 500,000 is closer to what my talents are worth."
"Are you nuts? You didn't even carry out the kidnapping. My team and I did!"
"My information and my field work are still worth the price."
"All of what, one day's work? Please."
Alexander glared at her as he begrudgingly pocketed the money. "You're the one who insisted I not waste your boss's time," he retorted. "I gave you a Legendary Pokémon in record time, and now you're short-changing me?"
Domino sighed deeply. She had been hoping this conversation would end on a happier note, and she'd finish it up by kissing him and pulling him into the nearby room for some private time. Surely a man wouldn't be adverse to that as part of his payment plan, right? "Stop your whining," she scolded. "It makes you unattractive."
"Good."
"Don't be such a baby." She stepped forward and pushed herself up against him, once again shoving him against the wall. "I'll make up for the 'short-change,' ok? Whatever you want to do…"
She ran her fingers down his chest, but Alexander grabbed her wrists before she could go any lower. "I don't want to do anything," he growled, dangerously. The feigned resistance that Domino had loved about him before was gone, and now seemed to be replaced with legitimate denial.
She was baffled. "I want you," she stated. "Don't you want me? I won't even make you stay around. Just a one-night stand, and then we can go our separate ways. Think of it like last-minute business."
"Forget it," Alexander snapped, pushing her away. "I don't do one-night stands. I guess you wouldn't understand that, though."
"You jerk!" Furious at the implication—that she was some kind of loose woman—Domino let go of him and slapped him across the face. He winced, but did not recoil. "You're the only man I've ever been attracted to enough to want this much! And you spit on my offer? What's wrong with you?"
"I'm not being coerced into anything. First your miserable team rips me off, and now you want to use me. Forget it. I'm leaving." Alexander made as if to go, but Domino grabbed his arm. As he turned to face her again, she grabbed his hair and yanked his face towards her, hard.
"Son of a—" Alexander's eyes watered, from her pulling on his hair. "What the hell are you—?" His sentence was cut off by her mouth meeting his, kissing him roughly. It was impersonal, vicious, and it hurt. And he knew she knew that, too.
"Ok, Joey, which way—"
Startled at the unexpected voice, Domino let go of Alexander, who immediately shoved her away from him. She yelped as her back hit the opposite wall. Alexander stared at her with a furious, yet at the same time hurt, expression, panting hard. The side of his lip was bleeding from where Domino had gotten carried away.
Misty and Sam both stopped in their tracks as they stared at the unexpected sight—some Team Rocket agent all over the mercenary they had been trying to track down this whole time. Alexander turned to look at the both of them, and his eyes widened.
"Katsuo?!" Misty cried, shocked at what she was seeing. Was he… working with Team Rocket after all?
"Alexander?!" exclaimed Sam at the same time. She had witnessed enough of the scene to see the repulsed expression on his face after pulling away from that kiss, and she was confused. Was he… not trying to charm this girl, like he usually did? What was going on…?
"You know these trespassers?" Domino asked, snapping back to attention. She was furious that Alexander hadn't been receptive to her desires, and she now knew she was foolish to get her hopes up. He was right. This was just a job. She should have known better than to be attracted to some stupid mercenary.
Alexander was motionless, unwilling to answer Domino, but his eyes fixed on Sam, before moving to Misty, then back again. "You two shouldn't be here," he hissed.
"Misty, let's go!" Sam cried, grabbing her friend's arm and turning to run away down the hall. She had been confident she could face Alexander in an encounter, but she hadn't anticipated running into a Team Rocket member who—judging by the outfit—was a powerful agent.
"I don't think so!" In a flash, Domino produced a black tulip, and flung it towards the two girls on the other end of the hall. Joey immediately leaped to intercept it from harming his trainer, but was zapped by its energy in the process. "Pika!" he cried, before falling to the ground motionless.
"No, Joey!" Sam exclaimed, running to her Pikachu and scooping him in her arms.
Misty was angered to see her friend's Pokémon harmed in such a way, and grabbed one of her own Pokéballs. "You'll pay for that!" she shouted. "Let's go, Corsola—ahh!"
Sam whirled around and gasped, to see a Team Rocket member had appeared from behind them. He grabbed Misty's arm before she could release her Corsola, and wrenched it tightly behind her back. "Misty!"
Domino produced another black tulip, ready to use it to incapacitate Sam before she could grab a Pokéball of her own. But before she could, Alexander suddenly rushed forward, and grabbed both of Sam's arms. She struggled, but couldn't break free of his grip, especially not while holding Joey.
"Well done!" Domino exclaimed, reaching for her radio. "We'll have these brats locked up too. Sneaking around our secret base… the nerve!"
Sam looked over at Misty desperately, who could not break free of the Rocket's grasp—her other arm was already holding a crying Togepi. She squirmed against Alexander, even though she knew she wasn't strong enough to escape. But she was startled when he suddenly pulled her close, and whispered in her ear.
"You made a mistake coming here," he said, sounding angry at her.
Her face turned red, furious at herself for letting him get the best of her… again. "You won't get away with this," she threatened.
"Save it. If I hadn't stepped in, you'd be out cold like your Pikachu," Alexander reminded. "If you don't want to get hurt, don't put up a fight."
Sam seethed at first, but reluctantly nodded. If nothing else… she didn't think he wanted to hurt her. Unlike these Rocket agents. "Fine," she huffed.
He chuckled softly in her ear, and she caught the coppery scent of blood when he breathed. "I knew you'd see things my way."
The fact that he was injured was compelling, and Sam couldn't help but ask. "Did… she hurt you?" Her voice was quiet, yet sympathetic.
Alexander immediately went silent. The thought that Sam had witnessed that uncomfortable scene between him and Domino was, for some reason, mortifying. "It's… nothing I can't handle," he whispered.
Sam nodded, but she wasn't quite sure she believed him.
Author's notes: I do want to clarify that my intention with Domino isn't to make her shallow, promiscuous, or anything like that. More to develop her as a sincere villain. She has wants and needs, and cares nothing for who she hurts. I honestly had fun working with her when rewriting the story, and think she is a much better character this time around.