A/N: I'm not happy with this chapter, and I don't consider it good enough to be the chapter that follows on from the previous one, but I'm also out of ideas on how to improve it, and so I'm going to see what you guys think.

Should this be considered good enough or not? If you agree with me, what should I consider changing? Please be honest about what you like/don't like, so I can improve things starting now. Better late than never, right?

"Hmm..." Henry made a show of thinking. "No."

Drago did not look pleased as he registered what was just said, proving as much by how he quickly leaned forward while his face twisted into a glare that almost had Henry flinch. He was all too aware that Drago could snap him in half.

"I suspect you will come to sorely regret that refusal," he growled.

"I won't join you as Krogan's replacement, but I can work with you; make it worth your while."

Drago paused, and his glare lesser in its intensity. "Elaborate."

"I can get rid of your... guest for you. And act as a spy involved with an oblivious third party."

"What third party would that be?"

Henry told him, and Drago's glare disappeared as he was rendered speechless for a moment before he extended a massive hand to shake.

When Henry grasped Drago's hand and made to shake it, Drago swiftly snared Henry's wrist and pulled until Henry was close enough that he could feel Drago's hot breath on his forehead. "You have a deal. One hour. Clear?"

Henry hesitated before nodding and they shook hands. "Understood. It will be done in that time."

Hearing familiar footsteps approaching before the door slammed open, Cami hurriedly wiped a hand across her face to dry her eyes. She would not let him see her emotional turmoil. But the man gazed at her for long enough that she figured he knew he had been crying anyway. However, Ryker didn't comment on what he saw. "It's your lucky day, girl. You're free to leave and under new management."

She stared at him, mildly surprised. "Under new management?"

Ryker didn't answer her directly, instead, he poked his head through the door into the hallway. "She's all yours."

He then left the room, to be replaced by a familiar face.

"Okay... what is happening here?"

"You're getting out of here, Cami," Henry said.

"But how? How did you get me out of here?"

"I haven't, not quite yet. How about you save your questions for the car?"

Discounting how he took off with tyres squealing, the ride home was silent. Cami kept stealing glances at Henry as he drove, the man not taking his eyes off the road. The only sound that filled the space was the sound of the engine at work and the passing vehicles in the other lane. His normally vibrant emerald green eyes held a dark shadow over them, as if whatever happened back at Drago's compound continued to weigh heavy on his mind. The light from a passing street lamp illuminated the car's interior so Cami took another glance at Henry. Henry met her gaze, looking at her for the first time since getting into the car.

"What?" He asked, his voice barely audible.

"How did you get me out of there?"

He kept his eyes on the road as he answered. "I had to make a deal with Drago."

"What deal?"

His eyes flicked from the road to an area of the dashboard and then over to her. "You don't want to know."

"Okay."

He looked at her for longer, then. "Okay? People usually want to know more."

"Most people haven't been abducted. I just want to put it behind me."

"Fair point I suppose."

"So what happens now?"

"Food and medical attention for you. Then we part ways."

Cami sighed, then winced sharply, clutching her side. "I can get behind that."

He pulled the car over, idly noting they were parked near a red traffic light as he turned to look at her. "Bruising?"

"Yeah..." she admitted, her voice strained. "I think I have a bruised lung. Hurts when I breathe too deeply."

Henry nodded. "Don't worry, your injuries will get tended too soon. I'll make sure of it."

Gobber peered into his bedroom one last time before he shut the door and turned to Henry. "We need to talk."

"She'll be out of your hair as soon as she's better."

"I didn't mean about her, laddie. Your cat is a handful. I want you to take Toothless elsewhere, particularly if I have to play doctor to the lass."

"Understood."

"Good. So how did she get injured? A bruised lung is a highly specific and uncommon injury-how'd it happen?"

"Usual deal, Gobber."

"Meaning you cannae tell me."

"Yeah. Sorry."

"Aye right you're sorry. Quit yapping; go and get a catsitter. Go on."

Henry gave him a knowing look. "Do you need a beer?"

Gobber sighed and his previous frustration subsided. "I don't need just one beer, I need a six-pack."

"Okay, I'll bring a crate."

"Charmer. Thanks, laddie."

"Anytime, old man."

Henry expressed impatience when she appeared. "Finally! I've been waiting in this aisle for twenty minutes. Punctuality is a virtue, Mrs Hofferson."

"I have other commitments." She said, to which Henry rolled his eyes and she ignored him when he did. "Now, how is she?"

"Battered, but alive, thank gods. She has a bruised lung and likely more bruising under her clothes. Are you ready to pick her up?"

"That comes later. You need to be briefed first."

He crossed his arms after hearing this. "Excuse me? Your priorities are askew."

"I would agree, if not for recent circumstances. I've been meaning to talk to you since the Grimmel episode. It should take no more than ten minutes."

Henry sighed, but his arms remained crossed. "Fine. Out with it."

"The Berkian Council wants to sponsor someone to run for mayor."

Henry rubbed at his eyes. "And I can't turn down the offer, can I?"

The Hofferson matriarch balked at this. "What? You would turn down an expense-free opportunity to run for mayor?"

"Lack of interest, training/skill, strong dislike of politics, not to mention my current job in the army, which I quite enjoy. In short, yes I would turn down the opportunity to run for mayor."

After saying this, he crouched to lift a crate of beer onto his shoulder before straightening back up and looking at her again. "Nothing more to say? Very well, I'll be going now."

He made to leave the aisle for the checkout, but Mrs Hofferson spoke before he was out of sight. "How about a personal incentive?"

He turned, looking curiously at her. "A personal incentive? What do you mean?"

Mrs Hofferson responded at first with a smile.

"So... you decided to bring me to an abandoned building?"

"Not just any abandoned building. This used to be a garage. It is now waiting for an aspiring mechanic or engineer and I happen to have money. How's that for a personal incentive?"

Henry's jaw dropped as it dawned on him, but only briefly before he smiled. "Did Astrid tell you that I once wanted to be an engineer or did you find out on your own?"

"The latter of course. So, what do you think?"

"I think I need to meet with the berkian council before I say yes. I want to know 'why me'? What's their angle in all this - it's quite sudden, you know?"

Mrs Hofferson nodded. "I understand. Come on, I'll drive you someplace to drop off that beer before we go. Where to?"

"Gobber's house. After that, I want to meet with the council and discuss terms some more before I agree."

She frowned. "You want more stuff." It wasn't phrased as a question, but Henry shook his head.

"No, I want to see if I can pay to run for mayor using my own money."

Mrs Hofferson seemed surprised by this, rendered speechless, and a grin broke out on Henry's face. "Shall we go meet them?"