"I do not have to explain myself to you, Cullen! You would never understand." Meredith sighed into her phone. Dr. Fius' thin lips curled in amusement.

"It seems the boy has figured it out, hm?" His long tapered fingers brushed against her other white-knuckled hand where it was gripping the stem of her wine glass so intensely Corrin half feared she would snap it. She took his hand without thinking, releasing the poor glass, closing her fist around his fingers. He didnt even respond to it.

"No, I do care about you, how could you even say that? Who told you that?" Her expression didn't change, however there were two red spots high on her cheeks. She was furious. "Don't you dare hang up on me! Cullen–!"

Meredith nearly crushed her phone in her hand.

"My dear, do you need something to calm your nerves?" Dr. Fius leaned in close, intimately. Meredith swallowed hard, not even making eye contact as she nodded. She was too infuriated to speak.

He held a small unlabeled tin in his long slender hand, opened halfway. The pills within glistened like rubies. "Here." He lifted one in his thumb and forefinger and placed it on her waiting tongue. "Good girl." Fius whispered, soothing her.

Stannard closed her eyes as she breathed through her nose, letting the pill dissolve on her tongue. It had a coppery taste, as if she had bitten her tongue and blood was filling her mouth. Somehow the metallic taste was comforting, the feeling the pill was giving her was akin to sinking into a hot bath. It was invigorating and relaxing at the same time. She felt as if she was surging with energy but not overwhelmed by it. Every pore was on fire, the heat somehow still not too much to bear.

"Goodbye, Mother." Cullen hung up without another word, hitting the end call button with a fury he didn't know he possessed. His heart was pounding – he'd never told Stannard off before.

"She didn't deny it, I guess?" Riley peered from behind the bars.

"Shut up." Cullen nearly crushed his phone in his hand, still shaking. "I can't believe this. She didn't deny it."

"See?" Riley threw his hands up and laughed, settling back against the bench on the far end of the cell. "I fucking told you, kid." His laughter was cut short as he coughed, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. Cullen raised his eyes to look at him, still fuming inside. A bit of blood remained in the corner of Riley's lips. The criminal's bloodshot eyes met Cullen's expression, half lidded as he leaned back against the bars behind his head.

"Why did you tell me this? What could you possibly gain?"

"You think I told you to help you out?" Riley sneered, folding his arms behind his head. He was comfortable in the cell, as if he'd been there before and knew just what the deal was. "Shit, I just like seeing you all split up, running around like ants in a frenzy." He laughed again, before it turned to a violent hacking fit. Riley's hands gripped his knees tight as he doubled over, coughing up blood.

"Holy Maker… do you need to go to the hospital?" Cullen took a few steps back toward the cell. The man in the cell waved him off. "'M fine. Used to it." He wiped at his mouth again, this time with the heel of his palm. Riley ended up smearing the dark red sludge across the corner of his mouth.

"This is from the dwarf dust, isn't it?" Cullen put a hand to the bars, worry eating away at him even though he wasn't even sure why. Riley had made it clear this wasn't about him.

Anais draped herself across Thom's arm, doting and clinging as they entered the restaurant, trying to play a role. Thom insisted there was someone there waiting for them, and thank the Maker, Tethras' name was on the reservation list. For a moment, Rainier was afraid they would be recognized. He held his breath as they passed Stannard's table, but for some reason or another she didn't spare them a second glance. At that point, Thom was glad the dwarf had changed her clothes from the dress to a professional looking pair of slacks and a blue blouse, and put on a black wig he wasn't sure why she even owned. A pair of cat eye glasses completed the disguise. The Maitre'd seated them with Varric. The blonde was looking more morose than usual, chin in his hand.

"You actually managed to make it on time. Why am I not surprised." He muttered, raising his tumbler of amber liquid to his lips.

"The commissioner looks drunk." Anais nudged him with her elbow, nodding her chin toward the table across the room.

Captain Rainier followed her gesture, leaning his head closer to hers. "No, looks more like she's on something. A muscle relaxant, maybe. Shit, did you see if that creepy guy with her gave her anything?" He turned toward Tethras, looking worried.

"Saw him put something in her mouth. Could have been a downer. Looked red though." Varric was swirling his glass in his hand, watching the ice clink together.

Anais looked to the Captain, adjusting the empty frames she wore on her face. "Could have been that red lyrium. But it doesn't look like any side effects I've ever seen."

"Maybe he adjusted the chemical makeup so it was less of a stimulant." Thom watched the table across from theirs closely. "That is Dr. Fius, isn't it?"

Anais shook her head. "I've only seen him in the newspaper. Looks like him though."

Varric looked up, only now noticing the dwarf looked different. "Weren't you a redhead before? And what's with the glasses?" He smirked, looking to Rainier. "Trying out something new?"

"No." Thom expressed, not tearing his eyes away from the Commissioner. "Just in case Stannard was onto us."

"Good thinking. Wonder if it would have worked if she wasn't on a benzo bender." Anais rested her elbows on the table as she spoke.

If Thom listened hard enough, he could hear their conversation.

"Cory, do you truly think I'm being harsh on him?" Meredith's words were only slightly slurred; she had a good grip on her motor skills and that wasn't going to be going away any time soon. It was simply her perception had tweaked. If she had stood, she was sure she wouldn't be walking in a straight line, that was for sure.

"Of course not." He spoke, soothing her raw nerves. She relaxed when his fingertips brushed her face, leaning into his touch as his hand slid along the back of her neck, under her hair where it had been let down in the short time she was at the restaurant.

"He's going to be sulking for days." Stannard added, allowing him to stroke her neck. Her head tilted to the side as Fius leaned in, pressing his lips to her bared throat. "I should call him back and apologize."

"Tomorrow. Let him calm down." Fius took her hand in his own, pulling the phone from her hand as gently as he could. "All you need right now is some lavishing of attention."

Meredith looked up at him, face flushing. That had to be a side effect; the commissioner never blushed like that ordinarily. "Are you suggesting I accompany you to your hotel room for the night?"

"Precisely, my dear Meredith."

"They're leaving. Should we follow?" Tethras glanced at the rest of his table mates.

"There's no we, Tethras." Thom answered with a sharp look his direction. "This is getting dangerous. Anais, do you still have those contacts I can look into. Backup is a good idea now."

"Yeah, the Chargers? You'll need to call Aclassi first. He's their go to man. Works at some greek place downtown." Anais looked at Thom's watch, lifting his wrist to look at it as if it were nothing. "Shit, it's already 9 o clock? That means it's probably closed by now. We can try tomorrow."

"So it's a 'we' when it comes down to her, but not me?" Varric teased, putting down his empty glass. "I see where your priorities lie. Gotta get some ass, right?"

"I am this close to punching you in the middle of this restaurant, Tethras."

Anais still gripped Thom's forearm, smirking slightly, "How about instead, we leave him to the bill?"

"Hey!" Tethras exclaimed.

"See you, Varric." She waved her fingers coquettishly and stood.

Rainier fumbled in his wallet for a twenty as Anais pulled him to his feet, before dropping it on the table. "Should help, right?"

"Yeah, thanks." Varric raised his empty tumbler in a mock toast to his generosity, as they left the building. "See you both around the bend."