"Your little emotional declaration was not the reason I embarked on this journey with you. Your feigned naivety wasn’t the reason I embarked on this journey with you." He narrowed his eyes. "It was to study you, to judge you. And the man I’ve studied doesn’t look like a Cerulean handler. But looks could be decieving. So now, I ask you again, Lucien, what is your objective in that orphanage?"

A moment of silence abounded between the two men. And the serious expression in their locked gazes were the only communication occuring in this shoddy, uncompleted building.

Lucien searched within himself for an answer, for a way to wiggle out of this one. Was there a way out of this one? He’d been perfectly caught in the net of a Prowler. He’d thought he had the upper hand, he’d thought the man had helped out of good will because their destination intercepted.

He’d thought wrong.

So Lucien’s heart stirred, turning to that man he was before he died. To Jacob.

No. That guy was pathetic up until the day he died. He wouldn’t be smart enough to answer this question.

Then what about Lucien. The Lucien of now? The one with the plans, the one who always adapted? Would he have the answer?

After a series of thoughts crossed his mind, Lucien blinked, a fog clearing out of his mind.

What answer? The question this man had presented him wasn’t a complex one, it wasn’t something he had to search far and wide to answer.

He shook his head. Shit, what had he even been thinking about?

Telling him about the calamities?

Lucien almost chuckled.

Shitty brain.

This man staring at him now only needed one thing.

Sincerity.

’It’s time for him to know the truth.’

Not the full truth, though. Just enough.

Lucien breathed in, steadying himself as he said:

"My objective is–"

"Mister Letor, Luci isn’t kidnapping me," Mikky’s voice echoed in the unusual silence, cutting Lucien off. The boy stood up. "Why do you keep harassing him?"

Lucien’s eyes widened, regarding the kid.

Lector turned toward Michael, smiling.

"Kid, I know. But I need confirmation. I need to understand what he sees. Poverty does a lot of bad things to a man. He might not have kidnapped you, he might not even be a Cerulean handler, but people sell children their own children to those people just to eat–"

"Luci would never!" Mikky yelled, blue eyes glowing afire with resolve. The boy stood up from where he’d been eating his broth, setting his plate down, walking toward them. "There are lots of things I don’t understand about this whole thing, but I understand something. One thing." Mikky frowned. "Luci is doing this to help, not to hurt. Luci would never do anything to hurt anyone, most especially me."

Lector froze. But then he chuckled nervously, scratching his cheek.

Lucien stood for a while, staring at Michael. Until he chuckled, amused.

He turned his gaze toward the Prowler.

"You heard the kid. I’m not a bad person." Lucien smiled. "But I think I should make my intentions clear. I am not going to the orphanage to sell my kid, I am not a worker in the Cerulean Orphanage. I do not harvest kids. Instead, I’m going there to save a particular someone I know. A child. A girl who, if left alone, will fall into the pits of obscurity."

Lector regarded his words.

"Don’t we all?"

Lucien shrugged.

’We all do. Except the falling of this one will lead to the devastation of this world.’

"Now I really want to hear your story."

Lector scoffed, walking back to the pot of broth.

Mikky shrugged, sitting back down.

"Come give me more of this your concoction," Lector said. "Then I’ll tell you a story. A story of how our plan will go."

Lucien cheered inwardly.

’Yes!’

***

"...So the plan mainly revolves around me," Lector was explaining, eating his broth. "As I’ve explained, I’ll go out to survey the front of the ’orphanage.’ I have a contact in there that’ll feed me information. The main operation is underground the orphanage, where they breed children, raise them to become perfect prostitutes, slaves or killers in the big cities. I’ll assume you have a rough idea on their operation. They torture chil–"

"Get on with the plan, Lector," Lucien said gravely, looking down, gritting his teeth. "Leave the sensitive stuff."

"Right." Lector nodded. "Once I get enough information, I’ll head to my other contact not too far from there. To secure my weapons for this operation. We’re bursting the place. The contact at the orphanage will lead assault with me. We need to get the head of this orphanage to discover the main man in charge of this Stronghold-spanning operation of child slavery. They supply these trained children to gurus in big cities after they’re groomed to teenagehood.

"We’ve been chasing this web of abominations for years. In every city — or the zerozone sectors of cities — in Stronghold Mariva, The Cerulean Orphanage exists. But we believe that the leader of this particular Sector 3 orphanage has a direct contact with the main man, and will have major evidence and clues that’ll lead us to the mysterious man. The one who founded the whole thing in the first place. Others like me have been spread all around the Stronghold for this operation. And my little detour in Shaw was for a different operation... I wasn’t meant to leave there for another two months, according to that man. My damn higher-up. But... the higher duty calls. I’ll be heavily punished, though..."

Lucien breathed out slowly, nodding.

Lector nodded back.

"We’re killing every single person who abated the orphanage in this branch. All the workers. You’ll be on standby, and once the coast is clear, you can go search for the one you’re looking for."

Lector stood up.

"But of course, before everything commences, I have to survey the place with my own eyes."

Lector slowly began to walk out of the building.

"Prepare, Lucien. Keep your boy safe. I’ll be back."

Lucien stood up, nodding.

"Aye aye, Prowler sir."

Lector scoffed, striding away.