The water was calm.

It's stillness reflecting the grey sky above. The entire landscape was devoid of colour. Their camp, a hint of dull green, was the liveliest portion of it. A perfectly depressing picture for the events taking place. The snow slowly falling and dissolving below. The scene was quiet, save for the faint rustling of movement and the clicking of keyboard keys.

Jill's footsteps joined them as she walked along their small and hidden pier base. Her presence beside him natural. After years and years of being partners, through death of all kinds, they stayed strong. Her hand on his back soothing him, just as it did on restless nights. Where would he be without her? He didn't know.

"You're tense." She spoke up and he sighed. His breath a frosty puff of fog.

"Yeah…"

When he failed to elaborate Jill gave him a look. One he could see in his peripheral and one he knew well. The kind that said she wasn't taking his answer.

"You want to tell me why?" She pushed with a tone of calm and a clear, unvoiced threat underneath. A threat that said if he didn't play along he'd get a lecture.

"This whole operation feels…off." He admitted the best he could.

The water moved. Faint ripples around the creature in the water watching them. So subtle that neither them nor the men around had noticed it. Not even as it slowly approached, closer and closer. Tiny ripples turning into gentle trail lines.

"Off how?" She asked.

"I can't explain it." The boards creaked as he ambled over to the edge, Jill in tow. His eyes may have been towards the scenery but his mind was not. "When I shot Miranda in the Winter's home everything was normal, or well, normal for us anyways." That earned him an airy chuckle, the corner of his mouth tugged for a moment. "But since Ethan's escort got toppled things have felt…wrong."

"It was a major hiccup in the plan."

He slowly shook his head, that wasn't quite it. "I think it might have started even before that. When we put Miranda's body on a different route."

Jill face's scrunched up. As if narrowed eyes would help her see the concept better. Such feelings were not uncommon between them. Their intuition having saved their lives more than they could ever count. A sensation to do or avoid something, even if it made no logical sense at the time. Like a guardian angle whispering to them. If only she could understand it's logic.

"It's counterproductive." Chris began again, "But I'm uneasy with the lack of dread hanging over my head."

Jill nodded immediately as she was a woman who knew exactly what he meant. Dread so eager a friend to them, they could feel when it was absent. Waiting for it to round it's head around the corner in surprise.

As if on cue one soldier behind them shouted, followed by more and more as guns were drawn and a commotion began. Their squad at attention as they backed away from the pier. The duo arming themselves and joining their comrades. Around the corner they found a man. One dressed in rags and decorated with a crown of bones.

He was coughing and hacking. If Chris didn't recognize the man from recon reports, he would have assumed him to be sick or infected. By way of his pale skin and what he assumed to be several layers of cysts or similar. That would be based on appearance alone. His actions suggested it even more so.

"Outsiders!" The man yelled, in-between attempting not to vomit. "Hurg- Why are you here?"

He narrowed his eyes, keeping his gun trained on the man. "You're one of the four Lords, aren't you?"

"I asked you a question first! Stop being rude."

"I need to know if you're with us or against us."

Jill's vigilant gaze flickered between them both. Her mind rapidly analyzing how the situation was evolving and what gears might be working inside of the man's head. Salvatore Moreau. She'd read the reports and he matched the description well. The specific details of them coming to mind, along with additional information Heisenberg had passed onto them.

"If you're here to oppose Mother Miranda, t-then I can't let you leave!"

Chris narrowed his eyes, preparing for a hostile encounter before Jill's hand rose to his attention. He looked to her, finding confidence in her eyes. In return he glanced towards Moreau, a silent question. She showed her palm, telling him to wait and, while he did not like it, he lowered his weapon and nodded to her.

She turned towards Moreau, putting away the air of hostility. In it's place came a motherly aura. "Have you spoken to the other Lords about the plan?"

At that the man dropped from territorial to confused. His focused now trained solely on Jill. "No, they always leave me out of things. They think I'm stupid."

"We don't think you're stupid." She smiled, taking calm, gradual steps closer to him. The man received them well despite being on guard. She got a few steps from him before stopping. She could hear the men still on guard behind her. "Would you like to be in on it?"

Chris's eyes brightened, realization settling in.

"You're outsiders, I-I can't trust you!" Moreau protested.

"What if one of the other Lords invites you? Would you believe us then?" Chris joined in, earning a look of approval from Jill. Proud he always finds her wavelength.

Moreau, on the other hand, still appeared conflicted. His hands fidgeting together while his gaze bounced between them. Jill's internal decision to treat him more like a child seemed to be the best call, given his mannerisms. The noise of distress he let out from the contemplation.

"I don't trust you! They wouldn't."

Jill saw the plan behind Chris's eyes before she noticed his hand trailing to his phone. Movements slow and easy to read. He pulled up the number to the phone Ethan was using. An inkling of how this was going to go and hoping Ethan was with one of the Lords then and there. The dial tone going as he put the device to his ear.

"Hello?" Ethan picked up after three rings.

"Are you with any of the Lords right now?"

"Uh, yeah. Why?"

"Can you put them on?"

Now was one of those times he was both thankful and wished Ethan wouldn't put the phone to his chest when speaking to someone else. At first he heard shuffling as Ethan seemed to stand up before the voices of Lady Dimitrescu and Heisenberg joined. The words too muffled to make out but he could tell they were bickering about something. Until he heard the sound of phone being transferred from hand to hand.

"Yes, what do you want Mr. Informant?" Came Heisenberg's voice.

At that Chris pulled the phone from his ear, tapping the speaker option.

"Hello, Heisenberg. We've found ourselves in Moreau's territory and we'd like to ask you a question."

"It's wet, it's slimy, it's gross, and you better have a boat. What else do you need to know?"

Jill looked from the phone to Moreau, paying close attention to any changes in his demeanour. "If we were to, let's say, happen upon Mr. Moreau and he'd discovered the plan. Would you invite him?" She asked, hoping the lack of panic in her voice conveyed her silent question.

"What the fuck are yo—Oh…" She could hear the gears clicking into place in his mind. "So, the vomit weirdo wants to join, does he?"

Chris let the silence remain for a beat. "Well?"

Moreau was invested. Attention flickering between them.

"Yeah, sure. As long as he doesn't get in the way." At Heisenberg's agreement the pair looked to each other in sync. "Hell, if you can find a use for him, have at it!"

"As long as you keep him at a distance." Dimitrescu piped in from the distance. "His smell is rancid."

There was a click as Chris hung up. "How does that sound, Moreau?"

The first reply of his came in the form of vomit. Dimitrescu's words of foul smells came to mind. Already contaminating the subtly gross place. It was by far not the worst either of them had witnessed or endured but that didn't make it pleasant by any means. Mutually wrinkling their noses in disgust.

The men around them doing the same. One of which making a faint noise of disgust and trying not to turn away. The newer addition to the group no doubt. That was Jill's guess as she didn't turn around to confirm. Preferring to keep on eye on him regardless of the scene.

"What is the plan?" He asked as he regained himself. "What are we doing."

Jill took a deep breath. This would be the hard part. Moreau was closer to Dimitrescu in terms of feelings for Miranda. If she remembered correctly, he wanted her approval and her love. Akin to a child in many ways. So she did as she would with the children she came across. She offered her news gently and clearly.

"I have some…bad news about Mother Miranda."

Distress fell along his features. Taking her words to heart as he stumbled forward, eyes locked on her own and awaiting further words to fall. "What happened to mother?"

"She's…not herself anymore." She couldn't jump into it too quickly, attempting to ease and prepare him for the information. "The Cadou, the one she had put into you and the others; You know of it, yes?"

"Yes, I've done research on it just as mother had asked."

"And you know of the ceremony, right? The one to turn Rose into her long lost daughter?"

"Yes, why do you ask of it? What do you mean mother isn't herself anymore?"

Jill looked pained to tell him. Her lips pulled and her eyes filled with sympathy. It was easy to shut her emotions off in the thick of danger. It was harder when dealing with quiet emotion. Even from that of a B.O.W. that had yet to become friend or foe.

"We've been doing our own research and we've talked with the other lords to understand the situation before we do anything rash and…a part of Miranda's plan is to eliminate the failures." She ripped the band-aid off, feeling how their crew tensed. Bracing themselves for a volatile reaction.

"W-what?" He asked, stunned by the sudden information.

"We don't know if she had always planned to dispose of you and the other lords, or if the Cadou had morphed her overtime." Chris lied. Mostly. From how Heisenberg spoke and their own digging, it appeared Miranda had always planned to kill them off when the time came. "Which is why we're researching…but it's not looking good."

"You want to kill mother?" He asked, not afraid to show how it disturbed him.

"If it means saving everyone else."

"How, how can you be sure?"

"Do you want to see?" She asked, referring to the profile they had done up on Miranda. "I know this is a lot to take in."

"Is there no way to save her?" He prodded, latching onto whatever strings he could find. Dodging the question of seeing as he felt too scared to face it. "Are you truly certain? This isn't orchestrate by Heisenberg because he hates her, is it?"

"No, it's not, in fact we spoke to Lady Dimitrescu first." She hoped the mention of another loyal lord's involvement would be more persuasive. "Much like yourself she was upset when we first spoke."

"I…" The gears were turning in his head. The sounds of clashing metal trying to fit where it didn't want to go. "I'm going for a swim."

The men returned to a defensive stance when Moreau move suddenly. That was as far as they went as he rushed in the opposite direction of them. The man rounding the cave to it's entrance she assumed. Feeling Chris's eyes on her as she stood watching. The men calming down when he disappeared.

Chris nodded to them to return to their stations then looked at her. "Is it really a good idea to let him go?"

She smiled that reassuring smile. Shoes against stone and then pier as she returned to camp with the rest of them. Chris right beside her. The way Moreau spoke and acted…it made her confident.

"Trust me, it'll be fine."