AN: Happy new year to all of you, and I hope you enjoyed your holidays. Thanks for bearing with me as I pushed my creative engine as best I could. A special thank you to Vesfahloc who helped me with editing once again (even though I keep forgetting to credit her. Whoops).

Again, all feedback is appreciated as I try and get this relationship off the ground.

Chapter 7: With Enemies Like These

"Now, before we go back in, would you care to tell me the rules you agreed to?"

She just had to bog this down with all these rules. You're making it super hard to like you right now.

Red let out a small groan. In truth, there weren't a huge number of rules, nor were they that hard to remember. And yet so far, Red hated all of them. She couldn't exactly call them unfair, but she'd try and get Elsa to loosen up as much as possible. Maybe in the future there would be a little more trust between them.

She bit her lip. "Okay, first of all you said no leaving your place without your permission."

That rule's gotta go, pronto. Or this won't really be worth it.

Red continued. "What was the next one- oh yeah, no touching your stuff without your permission either."

This should be easy, once I ask enough times-.

"Not to worry," Elsa cut in . "I'll brief you about what's off limits once we enter."

Red gave the slightest scowl. So much for that plan. "You also said I have to sleep on the sofa as there's nowhere else."

To be honest, I've had worse, though I wouldn't mind a spot in that bed of hers. One thing at a time, Red. One thing at a time...

"And lastly, I'm only here because you want me to be here. If you tell me to leave, I have to leave."

So there it-

Elsa rather loudly cleared her throat "Actually, you missed one. I told you that for any questions I ask you, you must answer completely truthfully and to the best of your ability. My ability to track down your former accomplices may depend on it." She turned her key and pushed the door open. "After you."

"Uh, thanks?" Red moved through into the all too familiar room (in the sense that it was just as dark as the last time). A couple of seconds later, the light came on, and Red got a much better feel for the place than the last time.

It was clear from the first look that this was the home of someone with not a lot of money to spend. So they had chosen to spend a time on it instead. There was not so much as a speck of dirt or dust to be found, even though it looked like the living room area wasn't used very often. There were parts where the walls and ceiling showed their age, sure, but there probably wasn't a lot that could be done about that. Besides the kitchen, the living area and a small dining table there also appeared to be two doors Red vaguely remembered seeing the last time.

"So, uh, I like what you've done with the place," Red finally said.

Crap - why can I never say the right thing? She probably thinks you're stupid now.

Elsa paused. "It isn't any different from when you were here last. In any case, this is my home. And, I suppose yours as well for the time being." She stopped for a moment, before walking up to the door to her room and pulling it shut. "For now, you're not allowed to go into my room. That should be all. Remember, you have to stay here until it's safe."

Red prepared her best frown. "So you really expect to stay in these two rooms because you say so?"

"I expect you to lay low until the police decided to call off their search." Elsa answered coldly. Turning around, she noticed Red's startled expression, then added softly, "You need not worry, I doubt they will continue for too long."

Okay, even to me that sounds too good to be true.

"What makes you think they'll just give up? After all, didn't they need to call you to help them?"

"It's how these things work," Elsa explained, sitting down on the sofa. "It's true that they're desperate to catch the criminals whole stole the treasures, but they don't want to look desperate. Arendelle Port City's depends on its reputation, which depends on everything looking fine. The longer things stay on high alert, the more worried people become."

Red eventually managed a nod. "So they're really just going to give up like that? They're not going to chase me down?"

"Not if they think it's a waste of time. I believe that soon they'll come to the conclusion that you're not in the city any more and they'll move onto more important things. I'll try and keep updated on it, but for now I want you to lay low for me, okay?" And there was that smile again.

How can I stay mad at her or my situation? I just hope she doesn't figure out that's my weakness.

A few seconds later, something else struck her about what Elsa had just said.

She's really sticking her neck out for me. Does she really believe in me? I don't know if I can really start a better life. But I have to try. For her.

"Okay, okay. If you think it's that important, I guess I can do it just this once." Just the, Red's stomach suddenly decided to say hi.

Shut up, you're ruining everything!

Elsa just laughed softly. "I'm guessing you haven't had anything to eat in a while. Why don't you go into the bathroom and clean up. I'll make something for dinner. How does that sound?"

Wait, I can't smell that bad, ca-

She took a sniff under her arms.

Oh.

It had been a while. And between the bad dreams and her chance encounter, she'd worked up quite a sweat. Had Elsa noticed or was she just being cautious?

Red got straight to it before another body function decided to embarrass her. As she closed the door to the bathroom she found the place just like the rest of the apartment: clean, if a little run down and surprisingly lacking in clutter. Still, things were looking so much better than they did a couple of hours ago.

I'll show all of you. Time for a whole new Red.

The rest of the evening had passed without much fanfare. Elsa had managed to prepare a modest meal of eggs on toast (which happened to be the closest to expiry at the time) to which Red wolf down without complaint, though Elsa couldn't escape the feeling that she had perhaps hoped for something slightly more elaborate.

Elsa had considered picking up her line of questioning again, but eventually decided to delay it for the time being. Even if she didn't look it, there was always the chance that Red was suspicious of her. Not to mention recent events would likely leave her more on edge and less trusting.

All things considered, she's doing strangely well. Still, there's always the possibility that it's all an act.

Though who knows? Maybe Elsa was just being paranoid. While she was almost certain that Red would break her promise to tell the whole truth to her sooner or later, nothing about Red's behaviour seemed disingenuous.

Then again...if she's being honest, will I ever be able to trust her to begin with? That's the pressing question. There are still far too many unknowns. Too many variables. Even if she's willing, she probably doesn't have some of the answers I'm looking for. And what else will she be able to provide me besides information? It seems more and more clear she doesn't have a huge amount going for her, otherwise she wouldn't be relying on me right now. Just what was the White Hand doing with her anyway?

The sound from the main room suddenly went quiet. Red had decided to turn on the television while Elsa documented her thoughts on her laptop in her room. There was a knocking on the door. "Uh, good night," came a soft voice from the other side.

"Oh, good night," Elsa called back. She checked the time. Just past midnight. Later than she expected. Now seemed like a good a time as any to turn in.

Okay, just focus on your priorities for the time being.

Number one: learn what Red knows about the White Hand and how they came to recruit her. Two: Keep on top of the police department's developments on the tech I turned in. If they track down their hiding places, I may not even have to worry about them. Three: learn anything I can about the treasures of Albernon and if they really do have any supernatural properties. There has to be some sort of research; some clue as to how they came into being.

Elsa peered at her reflection. It seemed to be more and more often that she had to press forward without any kind of real plan.

The rest of the night had passed without incident, and soon enough Elsa slipped into a dreamless sleep. Unlike the previous night, Elsa woke up to Red nestled on her sofa.

Checking to make sure that all her locks and safes were secure (she was housing a fugitive thief, after all), Elsa left the building. It was a Sunday, after all. No need to enforce a routine on her.

Even if she does wake up, she'll probably be too focused on trying to untangle that bird's nest on her head. If anything is supernatural, it's that woman's hair and it's ability to deteriorate so fast.

She had to stifle a laugh. There were still matters to attend to. She checked her phone. Seven minutes past nine. She dialled the chief's number. Weekend or not, there was no way he wasn't at his station with all the madness that was going on. It was only a few seconds before it picked up.

"Well, if it isn't the woman of the hour," the chief said from the other side. "Honestly, this isn't exactly the best time, but I needed to speak to you sooner or later." Those last few words unsettled Elsa. Like there was some seriously bad news coming.

She found a bench to sit down. "Before you begin, there's something I thought I should mention to you, sir. It's something I overheard the criminals saying regarding the heists. By the sounds of it, we won't be hearing from that thief who performed the heists ever again." Elsa shut her eyes and grit her teeth after realizing the full implications of what she just did. She had just lied to a member of the police, and a friend. It was a good thing that he couldn't see her face at that moment.

There was a brief silence on the line. "Damnit, that would have been a useful lead. But I guess that's what the White Hand realised as well. Nothing that can done." Elsa took a deep breath. Hopefully the conversation wouldn't go too far downhill from there. "Okay, Elsa. Now I have some good news, and some not so good."

As I feared. Still, this hasn't exactly been a picnic from the start.

"Just tell me what you can, sir. I'm sure we'll think of something."

Another pause. "Uh, , let's start with the good news, shall we? First of all, we did manage to verify that the gemstones you picked up are the genuine article. We had no shortage of people willing to inspect them, and they all came to the same conclusion."

No surprises there. At least that means no unpleasant surprises.

"Second, we got the results of those blood tests you asked for, and we found something very unusual. All of the officers seemed to have trace amounts of gold in their bloodstream. More than a person should normally have. Except for the people who on guard duty at the museum the night the Star was stolen."

The first part was strange. The second pushed it into suspicious. "Based on that information, I think we can safely say that is definitely linked to how they managed to incapacitate everyone guarding the exhibit that night."

"Everyone except you," the chief corrected. "God, they probably knew that the police would get involved and took measures against us. What I still don't understand is how injecting gold into everyone would help."

Elsa set her brain into motion. Indeed, gold alone wasn't much of a threat. Out of all the elements it stood as one of the most unreactive. Alone, it would have almost no effect at all, especially in such trace amounts.

"You're trying to figure out the solution to this aren't you," the chief suddenly chimed in. Was it really that obvious? "You need not worry, we're already running tests on the pieces of gold. We suspect that the sedative they used was contained within the gold itself. Alone, it would simply lay dormant within a person's system and pass through eventually. However, if the gold were to fall apart some time before then, whatever was contained inside would take effect in seconds." Elsa shook her head. While she had suspected something like this was the cause of the events that had taken place that night, the requirements to execute this were mind-boggling. It seemed the White Hand had profound expertise not only in electronics, but also biochemistry.

Speaking of technology. "What about the vehicle, sir?" Elsa asked. "Were you able to discover anything useful from what was inside?"

"Well, this is where the bad news begins, I'm afraid." A heavy sigh came down the line. "We managed to dismantle the electronics inside and get them in for study, but we can barely make heads or tails of making it work for us. The encryptions alone outclass military grade, and we've already lost some of the pieces to various failsafes trying to get bypass it."

I should have expected as such. I keep forgetting how lucky I am to have even made it this far.

"So do they think there's any way through?" Elsa asked, already not looking forward to the answer.

"It's uncertain at the moment. Even if we can break through, it may take years at least. We need all the security we can get just to ensure that it isn't stolen back by them before then." Another dead end it seemed, at least for the moment.

"So what's the next step? I know you're still concerned about me, sir. I can start working on Monday, if you prefer."

No answer. Then, she heard the chief clearing his throat. "I'm afraid that's the second piece of bad news. When I reported the news, my superiors weren't exactly happy with your involvement."

Elsa's grip tightened. "You can't be serious. Do they really think this investigation would have gone better without my involvement? We both know that if I wasn't staking out the exhibit, the White Hand would have made off with the Scarlet Star and none of you would be any the wiser." She knew full well that didn't need explaining, at least not to the chief.

"I'm afraid that's the problem, Elsa. By all accounts, we had to rely on essentially an outsider to solve a crisis. Do you have any idea how that will look to the public?"

Elsa rolled her eyes. Of course politics would rear its head where it wasn't wanted. "So you want me to lie to cover your tracks? To let you take the credit for the recovery of hundreds of millions worth of ancient artefacts and technology worth potentially even more? To lie for you again?"

"Elsa!" Roe snapped. "I don't want any of that, believe me. What Arendelle wants is to end this state of emergency as quickly and as cleanly as possible. Most of the officials agree that if people believe that our police force was solely responsible for recovering the treasures and the technology, we can maintain our reputation as one of the world's most formidable police forces. That we shouldn't use any more of our resources than is necessary. There's more to this than just you and me, you know. Technically, your involvement was never officially sanctioned."

Elsa gritted her teeth. No longer content to sit down, she started pacing in front of the bench. "I- I don't believe this. You asked me to participate in this investigation as a favour to you. I know I had my own reasons, but it really sounded like you were going to lose everything unless I intervened. And now-" Elsa took a deep breath. Her hand was starting to shake. "I expect this kind of thing from the politicians, but not from you."

"Please, Elsa. Look at this logically for a moment. Unless the White Hand absolutely needs to recover their stolen technology, they're almost certainly not going to return to this city any time soon. We're already in the process of getting the gems securely transported out, so there's no nothing else worth acting upon. I know you don't like it, but the others are right. There's more important things to worry about right now."

So there it was. They were calling the whole thing off. As much as that development made her blood boil, Elsa couldn't bring herself to deny the chief's arguments. Looking back, the only reason they had made any progress at all was because their opponent had made the first move against them. Just because she was willing to wait, didn't mean everyone else was.

The whole thing still left a horrible taste in her mouth. "So where does that leave me? We're all just going to act like I did nothing and move on?"

"Ah, yes. The people in charge wanted me to convince you to go along with the decision. I realise that you're probably not too interested in taking the credit for what happened, but after everything else we're not exactly leaving you with much for your efforts. While it was never stated outright, I think most of us are willing to offer you a blank cheque if you just stay silent about the whole affair."

Elsa froze. She wanted to be furious. She really did. The best solution they could come up with was to buy her off. Did they really think so little of her integrity?

If I cared about money, I wouldn't be a cheap apartment, chasing after would-be master thieves then reluctantly aligning myself with them.

Perhaps her integrity had already been compromised. Red may have been mostly harmless, but she was still a criminal, there was no denying that. Elsa could no longer truly consider herself an honest person. A good person? That was still up for question.

As a detective, it had been her job to bring the truth to light,no matter what it might be. But who would the truth help now? The police could be discredited because of an organisation with seemingly impossible technology, and the whole city would suffer. Only her pride wanted her to step forward and be recognised for what she had done.

The only problem was that in itself was also a lie.

"I don't know how you can live with yourself," Elsa finally said, gasping. "Fine, I'll do it. For the sake of Arendelle Port City."

"Trust me, you're doing the right thing," Roe assured her. "I'll authorise a payment to you right away. And don't worry, I'll keep you updated if we have any new leads. I won't forget what you've done, not just for Arendelle, but for me too."

Elsa slapped the end call button and shoved the phone into her pocket.

It must be rough holding the chains of command.

For the second time in a row, Red's sleep was brought to a sudden end. This time, it was the real world that had pulled her out of it, as a sound of a door thudding made her snap awake. Broad sunlight streamed through the windows, giving her a marginally better view of the ceiling unlike last time.

Red wasn't going to force herself up just yet. Not until she was certain that Elsa wasn't there. the last memories from the night before were still fresh, and in spite of everything, she wasn't exactly glad things had unfolded that way. Elsa barely knew her and she had seen everything. Well, perhaps not everything, but far more than she was ready for.

I've never told anyone my past before. Will I really be able to trust Elsa with it?

There was still the lingering possibility that this was one big trap. Trying to trick her into admitting all the things she had done outside of Arendelle. They couldn't pin any of those crimes on her unless they had a confession. Something that would be easier if she wasn't already facing prison time.

So why am I here sleeping in her home?

In truth, there were plenty of reasons why. But most of all it was so she didn't have to steal again. This was her chance to start a new life. But did Elsa even feel the same way? Red hadn't even told yet about that part yet. Would Elsa even care about that part? She seemed more obsessed with catching the White Hand than anything else.

Should I just tell her? Maybe I'm worrying too much.

It probably wouldn't help to just lay here all day, warm and comfy as it was. After a few seconds of waiting she finally got up and slipped back into her same black clothing. It had gotten quite cold following the night before, but they were the only things Red still had left. That and her silver locket.

I should really throw the damn thing away. On second thought, I'd like to throw these clothes away too. I can't. Not yet.

Red wasn't sure what to do. She couldn't leave the place or go into Elsa's room. What else was there? There probably wasn't anything worth watching on TV at this hour, and looking around, that was probably the most interesting thing in the whole room.

After a few minutes of channel surfing, Elsa finally came out of her room. "Good morning. Sleep well?" she asked plucked the woolen blanket Red had left rather messily to one side and began folding it.

"Uh, yeah. It was okay. Sorry about what you kinda 'saw' last night. I swear I didn't mean to."

Elsa returned a faint smile. "It's quite alright. I probably should have warned you I was coming in beforehand. Your current situation doesn't afford you a huge amount of privacy."

Red took in a deep breath. That was a relief. Now to see if that wasn't the only one she got today. "Sooo. What am I going to be doing today? In this room. All day."

"You can give it a rest, you know." Red frowned. Was it that obvious? It didn't matter. No matter how cold or dark it was out there, this was even worse in its own way. "I've already gotten word. The police are calling off their investigation. There's no need for you to hide quite so much."

"But Elll- wait, what?" Even to her, that sounded far too simple. "That doesn't make sense. How can they be giving up so easily?"

"It's a long story," Elsa said with a sigh. "Basically, they want to end the high alert before anyone gets suspicious or panics. They don't seem to believe you or your former employers are still within the city."

That still didn't quite sound right. This was Arendelle, one of the most secure cities in the world. Give up shouldn't have even been an option. "And what about you, Elsa? Are you just going to give up chasing them?"

She shook her head in response. "Of course not. I've come too far for that. But let's talk about you for a second here." Elsa got up to her feet, and Red suddenly held her breath, "It's not too late, you know. You can still walk away from this. I know what the White Hand did to you, but this is extremely dangerous. If you want to get out of the city, I won't stop you."

Well, that was a no-brainer. The most obvious fact was that Red knew she had nowhere to go. No people waiting for her. No home for her to hide out in. No life to escape to. Elsa was probably the only person in the world who would let Red into her home knowing what she did about her. The only problem was, how long would Elsa be alright with this?

Red got up to face Elsa. "I made a deal with you, and I want to help you, Elsa. I know a thing or two about danger, and if we aren't going to take down the White Hand, then who is? Also-" Red looked away. Now for the tricky bit. "I know how this must sound, but I want to start again. I can't live alone, and every time I work with others to do, well, what I do? It always ends badly. I thought- I thought if I managed that last job I wouldn't have to any more. But, well, you know how that turned out."

Red gripped her arms, still looking away. When she finally found the courage to face Elsa, Red was met with a reassuring smile. "I understand. You want to stop running away and change your life. For the better."

"Well, I wouldn't have put it quite like that, but-" she was trying to find the words, only to be lost in Elsa's face.

Gah, I can't think with you looking at me like that. No, you can do this.

"It won't be easy, you know," Elsa cut in. "You don't have any money or clothes. I suspect you don't have much in the way of an education, either."

Red huffed. "Yeah, thanks for reminding me."

When she looked back however, Elsa was offering a hand. "So why don't we start fixing that?"

The next few hours were one of the best possible ends to curfew that Red could have hoped for: a round of shopping. Elsa had insisted that Red get all the things she would need for the immediate future, but she never seemed to worry too much about money. The bill ran up from tens, then hundreds of euros, but never once was did Elsa try and stop her. Strangely, that only made Red less inclined to take advantage of the generosity she never even expected.

Once they had rounded off the list Elsa had made, they stopped by a coffee shop, mainly to put some time before the trip back. Red ordered a latte and a tea for Elsa and the took a table facing each other.

"Are you sure you're okay with carrying that much stuff? I can take more, it's no problem," offered Red.

Elsa shook her head, taking her drink. "I'm not making you carry all of this, and that's final. Regardless of how strong you are, you only have two hands." There certainly were a fair few bags scattered around them. "Are you happy with what you got?"

"Well- uh, yeah, but, where are we going to put all this? I can't go in your room, and I'm not sure there's anywhere else." Red stopped stirring her latte.

Wow, I'm not usually this forward thinking. Maybe she's starting to rub off on me.

Elsa didn't even look up "Don't worry about it. If I rearrange my own clothes a bit I'm sure I can spare a some furniture for you to use."

"Oh, okay. Thanks." Red sat down and took a sip of her latte. "So why are you getting me all this stuff? I don't care what you say, it can't have been cheap for you."

"I told you not to worry about the money. But if it puts you at ease, I got this money from my part in the official investigation. We're not going to starve for this, don't worry," Elsa explained.

Does anything phase her?

"You really didn't have to, you know," Red said for probably the fifteenth time that day.

"You didn't have an trouble taking things that didn't belong to you. Why is this so much harder to understand?"

Red suddenly frowned, quickly looking around her. "Not too loud, okay? Someone will hear you."

Elsa sighed. "No one's going to hear you here. And even if they did, nobody's going to pay this conversation much mind. Is something wrong?"

Just like that, Red couldn't stand to face Elsa. "Well, it's just, you know, I don't think anyone's ever done anything like this before. For me, anyway."

Elsa's suddenly perked up. "Oh? I'm guessing you had a troubled childhood."

"Yeah, that's one way of putting it." Red took a deep breath. It was finally time. "Right from the start, I never even knew my parents. I don't even know what happened. They were just - gone. So the first thing I remember was some orphanage. I really didn't like it there. No, I hated it there."

Elsa kept her eyes on Red constantly, until Red stopped. "I'm sorry to hear that. Please, continue."

"Honestly, the less I remember about that place, the better. All I really remember was that no one cared. The other kids didn't care what belonged to you, or how you felt. It turns out the adults weren't all the different. I mean sure, they gave us food and made sure we went to school, but that was about it really. I couldn't wait to get out of there." Red realised her fists were clenched. "Well, that happened sooner than I expected. I kind of started taking things. I figured if no one else cared about what we did, why should I? Then I started doing it outside of my home. Well, it didn't take long before I get caught. Turns out, they did care about one thing: how we made them look."

Elsa took notice and extended a hand. "Are you alright? You seem rather agitated."

Red took a deep breath. Elsa was right "I'm sorry, I don't normally like thinking about this. Anyway, the boss of the orphanage, some old bat, started shouting my ear off about how disgraceful I was, and how unacceptable my behaviour was. You know what I did? I shouted back even louder. I told her the only reason that I was there was that I got caught. That I hated the rules that only seemed to hurt me. She told me if I didn't like their rules, I should leave."

"So you left," Elsa replied without missing a beat.

"What, how did you- oh, right. Yeah, I walked out pretty much the day after. I was only twelve at the time. I know it was a stupid thing to do, but I just couldn't take being cooped up in there any longer." Red picked up her latte and downed the rest of it in one gulp. "I don't want to talk about this any more."

Elsa sighed. "I understand. I can imagine you're not proud of what you did, but that was very brave of you. I don't think I could have done what you did."

"Well of course not. You wouldn't have ever got into trouble to begin with. Not me. Can I really start again? Put all that behind me?"

Elsa suddenly locked eyes with her. "I can't answer that for you. I'm giving you a chance. It's up to you to you how you use it. You may have made some bad choices in the past, but that doesn't make you a bad person."

"Yeah, I guess you're we head back now?" Red was starting to feel uncomfortable, and she didn't fully understand why.

She believes in me more than I do.

"I suppose we're done here, yes. There's one more place I'd like to visit before the day is out."

And so the two exited the mall and called a taxi. Elsa's mind was abuzz throughout the entire ride back. After the call in the morning, she was certain that her investigation would stick fast, but now it seemed to be moving faster than she ever anticipated. She still had two more leads to follow, and the one sitting right next to her was less likely to lead straight into a dead end. Elsa still had doubts that the White Hand had left Red with any sensitive information, much less confidential. But she was convinced that there would be something essential about Red's experiences that would help her search for the answers she needed.

They chose her for a reason. They must have. I need more pieces.

Not a few minutes after they had returned, Elsa was already up and about in her trenchcoat. "Come on, there's something I'd like to show you."

"Oh come on, Elsa. We only just got back. Can't I at least catch my breath, see which outfits work best?" Red was trying on a dark green coat, complete with a fur-lined hood.

Elsa stepped forward, reaching out and pulling off the label still attached to the coat. "There's going to be plenty of time for that later. I promise you this will be worth it."

Soon enough they were off again, as the sun set and the city was engulfed in darkness, only to be lit up again moments later. The took the metro, this time stopping at the north end of the city. The place Elsa had in mind was only a short distance away from the station.

"Here we are." Elsa motioned to a building at the end of the road, which appeared to have cables leading out into the mountains.

"Where is here?" Red asked, tapping her foot.

"You'll see." Elsa lead on through the glass double doors into the building. Beyond a small barrier was a white cable car.

"Wait, we're going up the mountain? What for?" Red looked around. There didn't seem to be a single soul elsewhere in the building.

Elsa was already ordering a pair of tickets from a nearby machine. "Don't worry, you'll see when we get there.

Ten minutes later, the automatic doors on the cable car shut, and it set off up into the dark, snowy mountains. There was very little visibility without the aid of natural sunlight, and there wasn't much to see besides the supports for the cable and a number of trees. Elsa was surprised that Red had managed to stay silent for the whole journey.

Don't worry, this will be worth it. For both of us.

When they reached the top, the area around was even darker, save for the light coming out of the station. Elsa took the lead again, taking them to a wooden bench just outside the top station. As they sat down, she pointed up to the sky."Now tell me, what do you think?"

It took Red a few seconds to take in a the view, something truly special about this spot. Away from the intense light of the city the night sky was much clearer, giving a glorious view of the stars. "Amazing," Red muttered.

Elsa gave her a soft smile. "I'm glad you appreciate it. I used to come here all the time whenever I wanted to clear my head. That, or just be alone." The latter had more often been the case in more recent times.

Red suddenly sidled up a little closer than Elsa liked. "So, you ever take anything else up here to your special place?"

What, why would she-

"No, I, well, maybe. " Elsa shook her head. "Look, it's not important, okay? I just brought you here because I thought you'd like it."

Red pouted. "Alright, alright. Jeez."

Damnit, It's all going haywire. Why did she have to ask about that? It's alright, I just need to improvise.

"I'm sorry. It's just that there are some parts of my past that I'm not proud of either. Please, don't take it personally." Red didn't even turn to face her, to Elsa's annoyance. "You know, I never knew my mother either. I know- I know it's not as bad as having no parents at all, but the way my father always spoke about her, it always makes me wonder."

Elsa noticed Red looking at Elsa out of the corner of her eye when she thought Elsa wasn't looking. "It was because of him I aspired to be a detective. He told me these amazing stories of the criminals he'd track down, how valuable the truth was, and how it would always win out in the end. So I studied night and day until I got my degree in Criminology, and I made my way out here, to one of the greatest police forces in the world."

Red faced Elsa, arms folded. "Huh. You're right, that's not as bad as I had it. But thanks for telling me that." She blushed just a bit. "And thanks- thanks for believing in me, Elsa."

"It's up to you to prove me right. Don't forget that," Elsa reminded her. Red smiled and nodded.

Maybe this won't be so bad. It's not every day a detective gets to prevent a crime.

"Brrr, it's so cold. Can we go back now?" Red asked. Elsa took a look, and saw her face starting to go blue.

"Of course. Here, take this." Elsa wrapped her own coat around her, providing Red with an extra layer. "I'm sorry, I forgot what it can be like up here."

"Thanks, but won't you get cold?"

"Don't worry about me. I'm fine." For once, she wasn't lying about that. Elsa didn't feel cold. Not even slightly.

The office was, for a lack of a better word, precise.

There were no windows of any sort. In their place were a handful of monitors mounted on pristine white walls, all four corners of them white and without a speck of dust and dirt.

The only furniture was a sleek white desk and a filing cabinet in the corner. A potted plant in the corner provided the glaring contrast in the room, followed by a knock from the grey entrance doors.

"Enter." said Hans, still facing the numerous monitors that surrounded him.

The grey door at the front slid open.

"Sir, I'm afraid it's bad news," Rex announced. "We scoured the shrine. There's no sign of the vehicle or our men anywhere."

"And yet our sensors last tracked the vehicle heading back to Arendelle," Hans mused. "This can only lead to one conclusion. The ritual didn't go as planned, and that detective woman escaped."

"What? So our men are dead? You said you had everything precisely calculated," Rex said, glaring at his employer.

"Please, remain calm." Removing himself from his chair (Rex thought it bore more resemblance to that of a throne), Hans started to pace the room. "They all knew the risks when they agreed to this. Clearly this detective is a much larger factor than we originally anticipated. We have a file on her, correct?"

Rex nodded. "Well, yes, of course. Do you have a plan, sir?"

Hans stopped."You should know I always have a plan. But now is not the time. Once we're certain things are clear, I'd say we go pay her a visit."

"What for? You remember what happened when you talked to her the last time. I doubt she's going to change her mind about helping us."

Hans shot a wicked smile at him. "Who said we would be asking?"