Reynie didn't realize he'd dropped his cup until it smashed onto the ground. Hot tea splashed on his socks but he barely noticed.

"Now whatever was that?" Garrote's voice could be easily heard from the entryway.

"Oh, I would wager someone's surprised to see us," his partner replied. The pair stepped into the store, loud footsteps from what Reynie was sure were polished shoes. Reynie froze. There was so little time, and no obvious right solution. For the moment he was hidden from view, but the Ten Men would be coming to investigate the noise.

To her credit, Lea sprang to action much quicker than he did. She wasted no time in grabbing his arm and tugging him to the back door, flinging it open with reckless panic.

"Run!" She whispered, shoving him out the door. Just before it closed, Reynie caught the knob.

"Wait!" He exclaimed

"We'll be fine. Now get out of here!"

He shook his head. "The sandwich," he hissed, "The table's set for three,"

Lea nodded, realizing. She told him "Go!" one last time, before shutting the door in his face.

…..

Lea had been having a strange day. It had all started when her alarm hadn't gone off, or perhaps she'd just slept through it. Either way, she'd risen much later than usual, which greatly upset her. Many people would welcome even a few minutes more of rest, but Lea was a woman of habit, and being outside of schedule always caused her to feel peculiar. She had rushed, hastily dressing and trying not to wake her grandfather (who was one of the aforementioned people that enjoys sleeping in late) and she had even skipped out on breakfast.

Despite all this hurry, the sun was already risen when she'd reached the forest. This not only made her feel peculiar, but it was dangerous. Light exposed; you could not hide in the daylight. Perhaps in her anxiety she hadn't been as quiet as usual when searching for the Releaf. Or perhaps she'd done everything the same as always, and it was by mere luck Reynie had happened to be nearby. Either way, Lea was still unsure whether this encounter was a blessing or a curse. On one hand, Reynie's arrival in Trippoli could be the catalyst for rebellion in the massive city; the first step towards liberation. On the other hand, two very dangerous men now stood outside her home, not even an hour later than when she'd first encountered Reynie. Lea was not the type to believe in coincidences, but she hoped desperately that this was one of them.

She heard her grandfather say, "Of course I'm surprised. I've paid my taxes right on time for 21 months straight now. If your here to demand more money—"

"That's not why we're here," one of the men said.

Leira smiled at her grandfather's stalling as she hastily grabbed the plate that held Reynie's half-eaten sandwich. "Good for you, Grampa," she thought. Dumping the sandwich in the bin, she placed the dirty plate back into a random cabinet. The footsteps of the police were becoming louder every minute, despite Mr. Keita's protests. No time to clean up the tea.

Crawlings pushed open the swinging gate with such force that it dented the wall. Inwardly, Lea cringed. He had a confident smile on his face that disappeared when he saw only Lea reclining against the back door. Garrote was more leisurely, meandering in after his colleague, searching the room carefully with his beady eyes. She recognized both of them from media propaganda. Crawlings, tall and spidery with only one eyebrow; and Garrote, bat-like and bearded. Both of them were dressed in tailored suits and carried briefcases at their side. Though she hadn't placed their names, she now recognized the men to be members of the Elite, a select 13 officers ranked higher than every other law enforcement. Mr. Keita came in after them, and let himself smile in relief at Reynie's absence for only a second.

"Hello gentleman! Dropped by for lunch did you?" She gave them a cheerful wave.

Crawlings, looking severely disappointed, clicked his tongue, "Oh, I hate to decline. But I'm afraid we're here on much more important business," Uninvited, he took a seat at the table and gestured for her to do the same. As Lea dropped into the chair opposite him, Garrote took to thrusting open cabinet doors and removing their contents, as if he expected Reynie to be hiding behind one the cutting boards. Lea saw her grandfather slowly wheel his way out of the kitchen door.

"Let's have a little talk, you and I. Do you know who we are?" Crawlings asked her.

Criminals, she thought. "Police," was what she actually said.

"Indeed. And do you know why we're here?"

"No,"

Crawlings chuckled, "Not very chatty, are you Miss Kieta?"

"Well, brevity is the soul of wit," she replied calmly.

"And you're well read too. That's Shakespeare, is it not?"

"Perhaps we should return to the subject matter,"

"Yes, I suppose you're right," From the sound of it, Garrote was halfway through his search, for a loud pot kept in the middle cabinet clanged sharply as it hit the ground. Lea did not flinch.

"Miss Kieta—" Crawlings began again, only to interrupt himself, " Oh, now that sounds a bit too formal. Leanelle, then?" He did not give her a chance to answer. "Leanelle, as an Elite officer, it is my humble responsibility to protect citizens such as yourself. And so I hope you understand that I mean you no ill will. I just have a few questions, and if you answer them honestly and promptly, me and my friend will be on our way quicker than you can quote Shakespeare," At this he paused to bring his briefcase up onto the table. He did not open it, but fiddled with the latch absentmindedly. It clicked threateningly with each flip of the clasp. "However, if you refuse to comply, or if I find you're keeping secrets from me…" click, click "Well, neither of us want that," He gave her a terrible smile. Following Curtain's takeover, the police's access to a wide assortment of weapons was no secret, though Curtain left plenty of room for speculation. There were rumors about what was in the briefcases they carried, some far more outlandish than others, but very few people truly knew what was in them. It wasn't a matter you would want to find out.

"You have my full cooperation," Lea told him.

"I'm very glad to hear that, my dear," Crawlings slid the briefcase off the table and onto the floor, but kept it within arms reach, should he need it. "Lately I've been having an unfortunate streak of being met with resistance, so it's quite refreshing to meet someone clever enough to know what's best for them," Garrote had finished searching the kitchen (and made quite a mess of it in doing so) and approached, breathing heavily from exertion.

"Nothing that raises alarm," he said, "but I'll be checking the rest of the house, just in case" he winked at Lea.

"Do you plan on being more gentle?" She glowered, "Or shall I expect to spend the rest of my day picking up from this visit?"

"Oh, gentle isn't really in my nature, though I'll try not to break anything important," It was clear that he had every intention to break as many of her possessions as possible, but there was hardly anything she could do about it as he left the kitchen, straightening his tie as he went.

"Now for the fun part," Crawlings declared. "Tell me, does the name Reynie Muldoon-Perumal sound familiar to you?"

"Of course it does. The streets just outside are littered with his name, among others. You really shouldn't use so much paper; save the forests, you know?"

Ignoring her remark about Curtain's poor stewardship of the Earth's resources, Crawlings continued, drumming his fingers on the table.

"He's a very sought after young man, Leanelle. There are many interested parties that would love to get a hold of him, myself included. Unfortunately he's proven to be quite elusive, the clever little thing. Which was why I was so thrilled to hear he was coming to Trippoli. Why, just last night I traveled all the way here from Stonetown to welcome him right when he arrived!" Crawlings cheeriness, laced with sinister threats, sent chills down Lea's spine. "But then he slipped away yet again, and I was really starting to get impatient. Me and a few good friends of mine, I'm sure you've seen them on the TV as well, we did some searching and wouldn't you know it? I was lucky enough to stumble upon some car tracks. Tracks that belong to your vehicle, my dear Lea. Close your mouth, there's no point in arguing. I know you went to the woods this morning. The question is, who came back with you?"

Lea was beginning to realize just how much Crawlings enjoyed the sound of his own voice, which would work to her favor.

"No one. It was just me," she said coolly.

"No stranger asked you for a ride? Or perhaps, he hitched a ride and you brought him to town unwittingly?"

Lea kept quiet.

Crawlings chuckled, "Oh don't clam up now, dearie. We've barely even started!" He adopted a look of mock regret, "Am I frightening you? Is that what this is? I thought I told you Lea, you've nothing to be afraid of. Why, even if you did bring Mr. Muldoon to town, I wouldn't be upset. I know Reynie has quite a way with words, and I wouldn't blame a young lady such as yourself for falling for his tricks. You'd only need to tell me where you dropped him off, and me and my friend in the other room would leave and you and I will never have to see one another again. How does that sound?"

Underneath the table, Lea clenched her fists. It was only due to her years of practice that she was able to keep her voice neutral.

"I have never encountered Reynie Muldoon in my life. I drove out into the woods for a morning jog, returned to my car, and came back here to have lunch with my grandfather, only to be rudely interrupted by you fellows." Contrary to her expectations, Crawlings grinned at her testimony, excited at the prospect of catching her in a lie.

"But if not a guest, who is this cup of tea for?" He needed not point it out. Lea had been anticipating the question, yet still had no better answer than—

"The cat,"

Crawlings raised his sole eyebrow. "The cat?"

"Yes,"

"What's its name?"

"Jericho," she said, without hesitation.

"Jericho?"

"There's really no need to repeat what I said,"

Crawlings frowned at her. "I was only remarking on the peculiarity of its name,"

Lea shrugged, "He's a peculiar cat,"

"I can tell, since he apparently drinks tea, and out of a cup no less,"

"I don't see why he shouldn't do either of those things. He's just as much a part of the family as my grandfather is."

Crawlings grunted, "I won't pretend that I understand people's feelings of sentiment towards their pets. However, I think there is a bigger picture here. Do tell me, how did the teacup end up on the floor?"

Lea scoffed, huffing in defense of the cat she'd invented just a few moments ago. "You tell me. You rang the doorbell. It frightened Jericho, he knocked over the cup, and ran out the back door."

Crawlings gaze drifted beyond Lea to the door. "You're telling me the cat broke the cup?"

"If you had a cat, you'd understand,"

Crawlings pushed his chair back and stood, grabbing his briefcase. "Oh, I think I understand perfectly, Lea. And I think you're lying to me," In two quick strides, Crawlings moved to the door and placed his hand on the knob. "Is there anything you'd like to tell me before I open this? Perhaps I'll extend some mercy if you tell the truth right now," Lea gave him a venomous stare. "Very well," he chuckled, and he pushed open the door to reveal…an empty alleyway. Lea let go of a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"Look officer, I know you want to catch your criminal, but I'm afraid you won't find anything here. I have nothing to hide,"

"Oh, I'm not done just yet," He no longer was smiling. Crawlings moved into the alleyway and out of sight, but she could hear shoving aside bins and checking under the stairwell. Lea even heard the bang of her car door hitting the wall as he looked inside. He returned, scowling.

"Well?" Lea asked, though she already knew the answer.

"You're very lucky I haven't found anything," he threatened.

"That's because there's nothing to find," she stood up from her chair and faced him head on. He was several inches taller than her, but she made it clear that she was not intimidated. "I think we're done here. Close the door on your way out,"

Obviously dissatisfied, but with no reason to stay any longer, Crawlings left the kitchen, nearly tearing the gate off its hinges as he left. Lea heard him call to Garrote, but it was only after the front door closed that she exhaled.

"Grandpa?" She called.

"I'm here, Lea," He wheeled his way into the kitchen. "I was able to stow away most of our valuables, though that bearded one swiped one of your mother's rings on his way out."

"Don't worry about it," she said, pulling him into a hug. "Don't worry about anything. We're safe,"