– Chapter Twenty-Three –
Getting into the party was surprisingly easy. Rat spoke to the doorman for them all, who let the clones in without much question, even as they received odd looks from people for wearing masks over their eyes.
The clones tried to ignore it as they entered the building. The place was massive with fancy crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. A large bar was off to one side, and the main dance floor looked to be the size of a football field itself, with sleek, wooden floors and a golden hue from the lights. Many people were already dancing around to what sounded like orchestra music.
"Woah...fancy place..." Aila spoke in awe.
Rat stepped before the other three to get their attention. "OK, so I recommend we split up to try and find Danielle," she suggested in a quiet voice. "It seems we're here early, so we can decide who's going to cover which area of the building, and-"
"Vere ez zee karaoke?" Katja interrupted loudly. She adjusted her mask a bit to get a better view of the dance floor as she looked around.
Everyone stared at her.
"They're not gonna have karaoke at a fancy pants party like this, you twit," Leigh told her.
Katja looked vaguely unimpressed. "Vat good ez party vizout singing?"
"Are you lot even listening to me?" Rat scolded them. "We're not here to draw attention to ourselves, Katja! Singing is out of the question."
"Dancing?" Aila asked feebly.
"No!" Rat snapped, but she closed her eyes and sighed, taking it back instantly. "Yes – maybe! Just..."
"Yeah, Danielle, got it," Leigh finished for her, whipping around to find the bar. "I'm gonna grab a drink." She darted towards the bar, and Aila and Katja followed to purchase drinks as well.
Rat reluctantly walked after them. "Listen out for your phones," she told the clones as they walked. "You've got them in your handbags, right?"
"Ja," Katja assured her, nodding at the small bag she had chosen to go with her dress. "As soon as von of us sees Danielle, vee vill text each other about it."
"And let's say we'll meet up by that massive statue-" Rat responded as she nodded at a large statue near the back of the enormous room, "-when she's first been spotted. We'll need to discuss how to approach her, but we need to get to know what she's like first."
"Oh God," Leigh moaned. Memories of meeting Aryanna flashed through her mind.
Rat seemed to read Leigh's mind, because she glared at her through her mask. "Just be sensible about it," she warned the hairdresser evenly. "No dodging behind plant pots, no rushing around like an imbecile. We don't need another incident like at the spa..."
"What happened at the spa?" Aila asked curiously, glancing from Leigh, to Rat and back again.
"Nothing," Leigh told her defensively. "Just...let's get drinks."
Aila raised an eyebrow, but didn't push the issue, and just ordered a small glass of wine for herself. Rat leaned against the bar as the rest of them purchased drinks. Her eyes lingered on the orchestra for a moment as she allowed the music to relax her a bit.
Rat glanced over when felt something poking her, finding Katja prodding her arm. She raised an eyebrow at her sister. "What?"
"Vee ball dance now, ja?" the German woman said with a grin.
Rat stared at her, her expression hard to read. Aila and Leigh both thought back to the amusing conversation they'd had before Rat came home from the hospital. They erupted into giggles.
Rat shot them both a glare. "Something funny?" she asked dryly.
"Nope, nothing," Leigh assured, waving her off as she sipped at her drink.
Turning her attention back to Katja, Rat sighed. "Come on then..." she muttered, knowing she really shouldn't deny Katja anything. Katja grinned brightly and finished her drink before following Rat out onto the dance floor.
Aila and Leigh watched the two with great curiosity, both shocked as the sisters began a traditional ballroom dance. They moved in time with each other, and in time with the music for a fairly graceful performance.
"Holy shit...am I high?" Leigh asked as she watched the dance. It amazed her even more that Rat looked as though she was enjoying herself as time progressed.
"You and me both," Aila said, equally surprised. The doctor suddenly grinned at Leigh. "Come on, let's go join them! It's still early, so we have time to dance for a bit," she told her.
For Leigh, dancing like this in such a public place felt surreal. Before she started this journey, going out with friends like this was a common occurrence, and it suddenly dawned on her just how much she missed the normality of her former life...but she was determined to make the most of it. Dancing with her clone sisters was quite an experience. She never imagined they'd be here doing this, and it was even stranger to see Rat laughing as everyone felt more relaxed.
More and more people showed up by the minute. The four women received odd looks and strange glances every so often, and Leigh was sure some of them were talking about their masks, even if she couldn't understand their language.
"What're they saying about us?" she asked Rat once or twice, who apparently couldn't hear anything over the music anyway.
"Shush, I'm dancing," she told Leigh, dismissing her heartily.
"Perhaps we ought to split up and mingle," Aila suggested. She stopped dancing to catch her breath and looked around at the crowds. "We can come back and dance in a bit so we don't look suspicious."
"Fine," Katja agreed. "So vere vill vee go?"
Aila turned her attention to the back doors of the room, which apparently led out into a massive, fancy garden. "I'll take a wander around outside," the doctor suggested. "Leigh, you stay close to the bar and the tables, but for heaven's sake, don't get too wasted – Rat, you take the entrance hall and the front of the building. Katja...dance floor?"
"Ja, zis I am happy vith," Katja agreed. "Don't vorry, I have excellent vision. I can dance and spy togezer."
"Remember, if you see her, call the rest of us," Rat reminded them as she headed for the front of the building. "Same if anything goes wrong."
"What could possibly go wrong?" Leigh asked, skipping back towards the bar.
"Good luck," Aila told them all. She left Katja on the dance floor, and gravitated towards the back of the room. She glanced at the crowds as she went, and paused outside in the garden to decide which way to go.
As the night passed by slowly, none of the clones seemed to have any luck spotting their French counterpart. Leigh had taken to randomly wandering around the area she'd been given, before sitting down at the bar to relax for a few minutes. She looked around again and removed her mask for a few moments, finding it uncomfortable as the night went on. The room was very hot, and moving around only caused the hairdresser to sweat, which in turn caused the loose-fitting mask to chaf painfully against her skin.
She was tempted to order another drink. She looked over the selection for something different, even though the options were listed in French and she couldn't understand them. Suddenly, a drink appeared before her. Leigh glanced up and raised an eyebrow in confusion, seeing the bartender offer her a knowing smile.
"Votre commande speciale, Madame Fournier," he said in hushed tones.
Leigh just stared at him. Did the bartender think she was Danielle? She quickly glanced around, worried of the real Danielle showing up suddenly, before pulling the drink towards her.
"Merci," she told him, grinning a bit.
The bartender gave a secretive wink before walking off to tend to other customers. Leigh shrugged, deciding it wasn't her problem the bartender had made a mistake. She wasn't about to pass up on a free drink. She took a sip of it. She didn't know what it was, but she found she liked it quite a lot, so she continued drinking as she lazily kept an eye out for Danielle.
Meanwhile, Rat hovered around the entrance hallway, trying not to look suspicious. When more and more people arrived to enter the main room, the hacker hurried to the female toilets, not wanting to be seen just standing around out of fear of strangers approaching and talking to her.
When the sounds of people talking outside faded, she would step back out again, looking around for signs of the French clone, but to no avail. She even dared to wander up to the front doors of the building, as if hoping to pretend she could step out for some air.
It was at that moment her phone rang. She took it from her bag and rushed to a quiet corner to answer it. Her sister's name flashed up.
"Katja?"
"Hallo," Katja spoke down the phone with the vague sound of music playing in the background. "I zink I have found her."
"Oh?"
"She came in around five minutes ago, but I cannot get close enough to confirm it is her."
"How can you not tell?" Rat asked a bit impatiently. She held back an agitated grumble; she must have missed Danielle when she was hiding in the toilets. "She shares our face. What else do you need?"
"Her face is always snogging her boyfriend's face," Katja told her bluntly, to which Rat just stared into space. "I cannot see her properly vithout breaking zem up somehow."
"Right..." Rat said tiredly. "Call the other two and get them to meet by the statue. I'll be along shortly."
Rat ended the call, glanced around to make sure nobody was paying her attention, and slipped back into the main room.
Aila aimlessly wandered around the gardens, glancing up at the clear sky. It was a beautiful night, but the lack of clouds made it cold. The doctor sighed and glanced down at her phone to make sure she hadn't missed any texts, though it seemed like the others were having as much luck as she was.
She frowned, beginning to wonder if Danielle was really here at all. Even though the party was fun and relaxing, she knew nobody would be pleased if they'd wasted all that money on dresses with nothing to show for it. Shivering a bit, the doctor decided to go back inside. Her phone ringing in her bag caught her attention.
"Aila, get over here. We're by the statue," Rat's voice instructed her as soon as she answered the call.
"You found Danielle?" Aila asked.
"We're not sure yet," Rat said with a sigh. "Katja thinks she spotted her, but now we're both having trouble. Is Leigh with you?"
"Err," Aila began, frowning. "No, she's not. She shouldbe by the bar like I told her."
"Well she's not answering her phone," Rat responded. "Just...let's meet up; I can barely hear down the phone over the music anyway."
Rat ended the call. Aila stuffed the phone back into her bag and made a beeline for the statue, dodging crowds of people as she went.
When she arrived at the statue, Rat and Katja were there, but Leigh was nowhere around. Aila tried to look over towards the bar, but couldn't see past the crowds of people well enough to tell if Leigh was still there or not.
"Where exactly is Leigh?" Rat asked after a moment, looking around. "She better not be pulling another spa ninja bandit stunt..."
Aila and Katja stared at her blankly, neither knowing what she meant by that. Rat shook her head. "Never mind. Katja, where exactly was it where you thought you spotted Danielle?"
"Zat vay," Katja said, pointing to the middle of the crowds. "But like I said, I am not sure. She has lots of poofy hair and her face vas attached to her boyfriend's face. Surprised she does not suffocate." She wrinkled her nose slightly in disgust.
"That's a lovely mental image," Aila said dryly. "So how are we gonna get her alone then?"
Katja shrugged. "Vait until she needs to use zee bathroom?"
"Yeah, like that wouldn't be creepy at all," Rat said evenly. "Maybe just try to get close to her and wait for an opportunity?"
Aila looked around again. ""You guys stay here and keep brainstorming. I'm gonna go see if I can find Leigh and drag her over. She should have a say in all this as well," she told them, before carefully making her way over to the bar after dodging through the crowds.
Looking around, she couldn't spot Leigh anywhere, and sighed. "Now where's she gone?" she muttered.
The womens' bathroom was the next most obvious place to look, but Aila couldn't find Leigh in there either. The Scottish clone made her way back out to the main floor, and scanned through the crowds of people, but there were so many it was impossible to spot out a particular person.
Turning around to return to the bar area, Aila bumped into someone, and froze on the spot as she took in the unmistakable face of a clone. The woman was carrying a drink in one hand. Katja hadn't been seeing things. Danielle did have a massive amount of large, curly, blackish-brown hair, and wide, dilated eyes.
"Hé, regardez où vous allez chienne!" Danielle snapped loudly.
"Sorry!" Aila squeaked, quickly darting around the French clone to return to the statue.
When she got back, there was still no sign of Leigh, and Aila couldn't help worrying slightly now. It was unlikely that Helena had struck again, but still, she'd feel a lot better when they located Leigh. For now, there were more important things to discuss.
"Well I didn't find Leigh, but Danielle is definitely here," she told them, describing what had happened. "She has massive hair – she's wearing a silvery, kind of glittery dress. She went off over there somewhere." Aila gestured off into the crowd towards the bar.
"And she didn't suspect anything?" Katja asked.
"No. The masks were a good idea, it has to be said," Aila responded. "Though if she's hovering around the bar area, I hope she won't run into Leigh...I'm a bit worried about her actually..."
"For crying out loud," Rat groaned as she took out her phone. She called Leigh's number and held it to her ear. She pressed her lips firmly together when the call went to voice mail, subtly shaking her head in agitation. "Leigh, it's Rat. Stop dossing around and answer your phone. We've located Danielle and we need to see you."
"Perhaps we should split up again to find her," Aila muttered when Rat finished leaving her message.
"That would be inconvenient," Rat said curtly. "We're supposed to be finding Danielle, not each other. Let's focus on Danielle and hope we can find Leigh in a bit."
"Vat if something happened to her?" Katja suggested.
Rat frowned, unwilling to consider the option. "I'll call her again once we've seen Danielle," she said in a softer voice now. "Come on."
Finding Danielle was easier this time. Aila pointed her out when they neared the bar. She was surrounded by a small group of people, all of them apparently in awe of the French clone and eager for her attention. Aila guessed her ice skating reputation had something to do with it.
Danielle didn't seem overly interested in conversing with those around her. She had one arm around a tall, handsome man with short dark hair, who was clearly her boyfriend, and she held a large glass of alcohol in the other. She took frequent sips, and often brushed off other people to focus on her boyfriend.
"Oh that's lovely," Aila said, repulsed at their public display of affection.
"You see?" Katja commented, shrugging in defeat. "How vee meant to get near zat? I do not zink I vant to get near zat."
"You mean you're not going to barge over there and introduce yourself shamelessly like you did with Janika?" Aila teased.
Katja shuddered a bit. "I must make exceptions for some zings. Zis is one of zem."
Rat grumbled something to herself, clearly having trouble deciding what to do. She took out her phone to try Leigh again. "Come on you dipstick, pick up already!"
Rat looked up when Aila nudged her shoulder to get her attention. Rat glanced at Aila to see she and Katja were staring at the bar. She allowed her own gaze to travel there, where an unusual sight greeted her eyes.
Leigh had appeared at the bar, maskless, with a few excited people following close behind her. They were talking quickly in French, and Rat was sure she heard Danielle's name somewhere in their words. Leigh seemed to be ignoring them. She slammed her empty glass on the table, beckoning for the barman to come forward to top her up.
What horrified Aila, Rat and Katja the most, was that the real Danielle was standing mere feet away from Leigh with her back to the bar.
"You have got to be kidding me," Rat whispered.
"I told her not to get wasted!" Aila said, darting forward to grab Leigh's arm. "Leigh!"
Leigh jumped in shock at the sound of her name, wearing the widest grin Aila had ever seen on her face. "AILA!" Leigh bellowed top lung. She surged forward to hug the other clone, bouncing excitedly as she did. "Oh my God, you won't believe this! I figured out a great trick to get free booze, and just, oh my God, watch this!" she said, her words coming out so fast the doctor could barely understand her.
Aila could only stare in dumbfounded shock as Leigh span around a few times and then turned back to the bar, shouting something in a language Aila could only guess was some distorted attempt at combining English and French.
"Leigh, I think you've had enough. Come on, we need to talk to you, now!" Aila said carefully, alarmed when the hairdresser immediately downed her drink as fast as she received it.
The doctor stared at her, something in her gut telling her something was wrong. She took a moment to convince herself Leigh had just gotten herself wasted past her normal limit. Aila had never seen her drunk off her face, after all. Maybe the overly happy, erratic display was just what happened when Leigh had too much.
Rat and Katja could only watch the scene unfold, praying to God Leigh and Danielle didn't meet.
"Should we take her home? She's clearly had far too much to drink," Rat said, obviously wary of what Leigh had done to herself. She couldn't help feeling angry as well, though. Leigh knew how important this was. Why on earth had she gone and gotten so drunk? What was she thinking?
"Ja...maybe..." Katja agreed, glancing over to make sure Danielle hadn't seen, but the French clone still seemed far too occupied with her boyfriend. When she turned back to the others, Leigh had skipped off back into the crowds, seeming to be completely oblivious to Aila calling after her.
Aila could only stare helplessly before glancing at the others, having no idea at all what to do. She made her way back over to them. "Well this is just great. Now what? She's gonna get herself seen by Danielle any time now!" she said, painfully aware of the proximity between the two clones in the crowd.
"Mein Gott," Katja grumbled. She darted after Leigh without hesitation and seized her by the arm.
"Oi!" Leigh told her off loudly. She attempted to shake Katja off, but the German's grip was strong. "Gerroff-"
"Vat ez vrong vith you?" Katja asked her seriously. "Come; vee are too close to Danielle-"
"Danielle?" Leigh almost bellowed.
Katja flinched at the volume in Leigh's voice, worried Danielle might hear. She instinctively whipped around to see what Danielle was doing. The French clone was now making her way towards the bar to get another drink.
"Come on," Katja insisted. She pulled Leigh away from the bar, who giggled clumsily and almost tripped as they walked.
"People – people keep thinking I'm Danielle," she said airily. "That's why the bar dude gave me free drinks...hey, is that her?" Leigh turned her head and eyed the real Danielle, who was now being served by the very man Leigh had received her drinks from. He was looking extremely confused. "Hey – Katja – we should talk to her; she needs to be warned – about the thing – hey, DANIELLE-"
"Ssssh!" Katja hissed, silencing Leigh with her hand. "Faaaack, she heard you-"
"Did she?" Leigh asked excitedly, pushing Katja's hand away. Katja pulled Leigh's arm so hard it started to hurt. "Will you stop that?!"
"Quick, move!" Katja snapped at her. She managed to drag Leigh onto the dance floor while Danielle continued scanning the crowd to see who had called her name.
"Something's not right with her," Aila told Rat seriously. They were both now watching Leigh and Katja dancing to try and blend into the crowd.
"What else is new?" Rat asked dryly.
"Oh shut up," Aila told her sharply. "I'm serious!"
"She's probably just drunk," Rat reasoned. "Katja can deal with her, anyway. Let's talk to Danielle."
Rat swallowed her nerves and approached the French clone at the bar, adjusting her mask slightly. She hesitated for a moment. Danielle appeared to be arguing with the barman in very angry French; something about her 'special order' already been given out...the music and chatter of people drowned out Danielle's words so Rat could barely hear them. Still...Rat would rather take her chances with Danielle than deal with a drunken Leigh...
Aila stared, torn between helping Rat and keeping an eye on Leigh – why was she always in the middle? Swearing to herself, Aila hurried after Rat and lingered at a nearby table, just close enough to observe.
"Bonjour..." Rat began cautiously to get Danielle's attention.
"Que voulez-vous, paysan?" Danielle snapped, apparently in a bad mood now that whatever her 'special order' was was gone.
Rat narrowed her eyes slightly, trying to stay calm. "Mes amis et moi ont besoin de parler à vous si vous avez une minute. Il est important. Nous croyons que vous êtes en danger."
"Pas intéressé, faire chier," Danielle muttered before pushing her way past Rat to vanish into the crowd again.
Rat watched her go, raising an eyebrow. "Bitch..." she muttered under her breath before rejoining Aila. "Well, that didn't go well. I think we need to find somewhere quieter to approach her."
Aila nodded and released a heavy sigh. "Alright...let's go find Leigh and Katja and get out of here," she said, knowing they needed to get Leigh home.
The two clones made their way towards where Katja had disappeared with Leigh just as Leigh came running out by herself. Katja appeared a moment later, wheezing heavily as she coughed. Her arm bled from what looked like a human scratch mark.
Aila and Rat stared at the mark in stunned shock, before Aila ditched her heels and bolted after Leigh full tilt. The nagging feeling was back in her gut again, and somehow she knew something was very wrong. Catching up to Leigh, Aila grabbed her arm hard and held tight as the hairdresser tried to shake her off.
"Leigh, knock it off! What the hell did you do to Katja?!" she demanded, though a second later, her eyes widened in horror as Leigh's other fist came into her line of sight. It made contact with Aila's jaw with a sickening crack. Aila let go of Leigh instantly, stumbling back as she stared at the hairdresser, too stunned to register the pain in her face.
Before Leigh could run off, Katja and Rat were both on her, each grabbing an arm as they forced her to the front entrance hall of the building. A few people watched them go.
"Keep her still and let me have a look," Aila told them, wincing as pain shot through her face.
"Be quick doc," Rat grunted as she and Katja pinned Leigh against the wall. They struggled to hold the hairdresser steady, who thrashed around, shouting nonsensical words.
Aila grabbed Leigh's face and forced her to be still for a moment as she took in the dilated eyes and overly rapid heart rate. She knew the elevated heart rate was probably because of the struggle, though she also knew that even if she was wasted, Leigh's eyes shouldn't be that dilated. There was barely even a hint of brown left in them.
Aila let go of Leigh and stared, shocked. "I think she's on something."
"No kidding," Rat muttered.
"No, no, I'm serious. I think she's actually on something. We need to get her home, now."
"How are vee going to get zis home exactly?" Katja asked dryly, her strength quickly failing her as she continued to restrain the hairdresser.
Crowds of people were starting to surround them now, curiosity getting the better of them. Rat felt panic creep up on her as she heard Danielle's name thrown around again. Some people even pointed at Leigh, wondering what on earth was going on.
"Where the frigg is her mask?!" Rat demanded to nobody in particular. "Oh DAMNIT-"
"Vat are zey saying?" Katja asked.
"They think she's Danielle – someone else just said they've seen Danielle over there – we're done for..."
"You got that right," Aila whispered in defeat.
She was gazing into the crowd, where an aggravated Danielle was approaching, apparently distracted and confused by the people constantly calling her name. Aila tried helplessly to block Leigh's face from view, but people shouted and chatted loudly as Danielle paced nearer to them.
"Come on Leigh, move!" Rat shrieked desperately.
It was sheer panic that gave the other three clones the strength to force Leigh out of the building. As Aila glanced back over her shoulder to check nobody was following, she eyed Danielle standing nearby. She wore a look of astonishment.
Something told Aila they hadn't whisked Leigh away without allowing Danielle a brief glimpse of her face.
"How's your face?"
Aila offered an incoherent grunt at Rat's question the next morning. It was bruised and slightly swollen, and caused more pain than Aila was willing to admit.
"Sore," she managed. She flicked on the kettle as she entered the kitchen area. Rat was sitting at the kitchen table with her laptop in front of her, as well as a bowl of cereal and a drink. "What are you doing?"
"Seeing if anything was reported from the party last night," Rat responded. She kept her eyes on the screen as she scrolled through various online articles. "Everyone thought there were 'two Danielles', thanks to Leigh effing everything up..."
"She was definitely on something, Rat," Aila explained for what felt like the thousandth time. "Until we hear her side, I'm not blaming her for anything."
Rat sighed and nodded. She tore her gaze from the screen to look at Aila. "Yeah, I know...I'm just annoyed at Danielle more than anything."
"What did she even say to you?" Aila asked curiously. She pulled up a chair to sit down. "It seemed like she couldn't get away quick enough."
"Pretty much just told me where to get off, even when I said we thought she was in danger," Rat said, sighing as she lightly petted Bianca. "She seemed proper mardy...something about a mix-up at the bar from what I could gather. She was angry that her 'special order' had already been given out or something..." she trailed off, sudden realisation hitting her. Glancing at Aila, she could tell the doctor shared her thoughts.
"Whatever this special order was, do you think that's what Leigh was on?" Aila asked.
"It's a good possibility. Give me a minute," Rat said, pulling up Danielle's profile and scanning through it quickly, her eyes widening as she read over a detail she'd missed before. She recalled not having gotten to this part of the file before she being attacked by Helena...she'd never got back to her reading. "Oh holy shit..."
Aila blinked, watching Rat quietly. It was exceedingly rare for the hacker to swear, so Aila knew she'd found something big.
"Apparently Danielle's got an addiction problem. Something called Angel Dust...let's see..." Rat did a quick search and then read off the screen. "Angel Dust is its street name. Don't ask me to pronounce its real name...apparently it's new...being sold off as a much stronger version of cocaine. Needs to be mixed with liquid and drank rather than inhaling it like normal cocaine. Effects include...a euphoric high, rapid speech, elevated mood, irritability, anxiety...and when mixed with too much alcohol, it can produce violent thoughts and behaviours, especially when provoked even slightly. There's a possibility of memory loss, too. Those last three are more likely with first time users, and less likely with people who are already tolerant towards normal cocaine."
"Shite..." Aila muttered, glancing into the other room where Leigh was still fast asleep on the sofa. She'd crashed hard not long after being dragged home. "That sounds about right...she was talking so fast when we first found her that I could barely understand her."
"The aggression...it must have triggered when Katja grabbed her, and then when you grabbed her-"
"She lashed out violently," Aila sighed, understanding.
Rat nodded and frowned. "This stuff seems really addictive Aila...she's not going to have a fun time when she wakes up," she muttered, sounding genuinely concerned for Leigh now. "Damn...the bartender must be one of Danielle's dealers or something..."
"That would explain a lot," Aila muttered. She absently rubbed her aching face as she gathered her thoughts. "I suppose we should let Leigh sleep it off for as long as she can. Meanwhile...I think Danielle saw her last night..."
"Oh?"
"She was staring when we dragged Leigh off. I'm sure she saw her face. If we can find a way to track her down again, she might be more inclined to listen..."
"You sure about that?" Rat asked with raised eyebrows. "Oh God. Well...I suppose we've got nothing left to lose. You're best off staying here with Leigh. I'll see if Katja's up for visiting Danielle with me...when she wakes up..."
The morning dragged on. Rat continued searching for news articles to see if word had got out about Danielle's double at the party, but there seemed to be nothing to report. When Katja emerged later on, Rat and Aila explained what they had discovered.
"So yeah, turns out she's a druggie," Aila concluded. "So if you two are gonna meet her, please be careful."
"Ja, ve vill," Katja said.
"It's gonna have to be today," Rat said firmly. "Beth's right about us wasting more and more time. I'm done messing around."