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"Enzo Bamor. It's a pleasure to meet you." He stood up and extended his hand. Hyde glazed his eyes over Enzo's palm in disgust. "No need for hostility. We're all friendly here."

Arnest scoffed.

"Let's be civil. Why don't you tell me the reason for your visit?"

"Word is that you have Puron batteries in stock."

Enzo gritted his teeth. "Maxine, that witch." He spat scornfully. "I bet she sent you here. That's too bad. I'm sorry to say, but your trip here was in vain. We're fresh out."

Enzo placed his phone down and turned on his heel, but Hyde caught on very quickly. Hyde rushed forward and shoved Enzo into a nearby pillar.

Enzo tried to run, but his attempt failed. Hyde pressed his dagger against his throat. "Your best bet is to find a brand new set, or else the Patrols will find your dismembered body scattered all around this building."

Hyde sighed. "I don't feel like staining my hands in your blood today. But I'm not patient, so I can't help it if it happens."

"You can threaten me all you want, Hyde." Enzo smiled wickedly. "But the censors are active. One wrong move and Patrols will lock in your location."

Arnest walked over to Hyde and stood beside him. "There are cameras all over the lobby. Haylestorm is full of droids. And you're not in a stable condition to fight them off right now. Let's settle things quietly and go."

"Listen to your pet, Rogue." Enzo seethed.

Hyde thought for a moment. If the droids intervened, things would get more complicated. They just outran them hours ago. It was better to lay low for a few days so they wouldn't be tailed so easily.

He grumbled and released Enzo, who coughed for air.

Harper's hold on Yanpu's hand tightened when Enzo glanced at her. His expression turned sour. "I'll give you the batteries. But I want something in return."

Enzo strode to Harper and looked her body up and down. "Her."

Harper blinked. "Excuse me?" She didn't know if she heard him correctly.

"Take my word for it. Nothing good comes outta her." Hyde chortled.

"I believe it. With this appearance, she's an atrocity." Enzo agreed, and Harper's jaw dropped. "Untamed hair,"

Harper reached for her hair and huffed.

"Ragged clothes... you're the first woman to waltz in here with such a need for a makeover. Are you a man, fighting in the war?"

"I'll have you know that my hair isn't untamed! It's naturally this way!"

"It is?"

"Yes! But dastards like you, who live on the outskirts of the capital wouldn't know that."

"You're from the capital?" Enzo snickered.

"I am!"

"Is she serious?" Enzo looked at Hyde and began to laugh. Harper couldn't understand why it was so funny. "Lady, I've seen women from the capital. They're not as ugly as you."

"Well, given my current circumstances, I didn't have the time to keep up my appearance," Harper muttered low, and Hyde sucked his teeth in response.

"You want batteries? Then allow me to use her for a while. Quite a bit of work needs to be done, but the main concern is her hair."

"I'll make a deal with you, but she won't be a part of it." Hyde shook his head.

"Alright, then how about..." Enzo placed his hand on Hyde's shoulder. "I use you instead."

"Taking the batteries by force doesn't sound so bad either." Hyde grinned.

"I'm not a fan of dark humor," Enzo frowned.

"And I'm not a fan of humor. However, I'm okay with the dark."

"All I'm requesting is for you to tend to some guests for a while. Show them some of your goods and be on your way. They'll pay you, well me, but I'll let you have a cut of the cash."

"As tempting as that sounds, my body isn't for sale. Money doesn't win me over that easily."

"Who says you're selling your body?" Enzo shrugged. "Listen, the guests are older rich women who are lonely. All you have to do is spend some time with them. You'll get free food and free drinks. And a few beauties all over you. What kind of man doesn't want that?"

"If I accept, will you give me the batteries?"

"Of course! Do I look like I would cheat you?"

"You won't like my answer to that."

"Well, I won't!" Enzo walked back over to the counter and hunched over on the other side. Then he held up a black box with glowing red rims for them all to see. "The batteries are here. You have my word."

"I don't think you should trust this guy..." Harper whispered to Hyde and Arnest. "He gives me a bad feeling."

"Your opinion doesn't matter." Arnest rebuked.

"When you guys end up getting tricked, don't ask me, 'Oh! Why didn't you warn us' because you know what I'm going to say? Oh! I'm sorry, I thought my opinion didn't matter!" Harper shot back.

"Listen wench... you've already gotten us in a massive trash heap. Know your place and stay quiet." Arnest jabbed her in the head. "I say you offer him one night of your services, so first thing tomorrow morning, those batteries are as good as ours."

"Or... follow through with Hyde's earlier suggestion. The batteries are right there!" Harper pointed.

"Oh, steal them so we can get caught by the Patrols?" Arnest snorted.

"What? No! I—"

"Don't listen to her. She's got an ulterior motive."

Harper bit her tongue. For once, she was agreeing with Hyde, and they didn't trust her. Enzo rubbed her the wrong way. The look in his eyes didn't sit well with her.

Overall, she was upset that he tried to use her for his business, whatever it was. From the looks of it, it had to have been a secret brothel, advertised as a hotel for its front.

Brothels were illegal in Westona. Plenty of people outside of the capital owned them to make a high income. It's one reason why she never ventured outside of it.

Rumors of the inhumane behavior beyond the head control of Westona's government scared her.

"Hyde—" She started, but his raised palm stopped her.

"Take them to a Motel and keep an eye on them," Hyde ordered Arnest. "Especially her. Make sure she doesn't do anything stupid to cause unwanted attention."

"You've gotta be kidding me." Harper groaned.

"Oh, you don't have to take them to a motel. I'll throw in a bonus. They can stay in one of the rooms here." Enzo grinned.

"One night," Hyde stated. His tone was sharp. "Our deal is only for one night, Enzo."

"Of course," He smiled. "But please, allow me to fix her so she doesn't scare off my guests."

"I'm really thinking about slapping the snot out of you." Harper balled her fists.

"You have the feistiness but lack the beauty to match it."

"Take her." Hyde rolled his eyes, and Harper turned to look at him with contempt.

"Thank the overseers!" Enzo clapped both of his hands. Two bulky men with shades walked in and stopped at Harper's sides. "Dressing her will be no problem, focus on her hair."

The men reached for her but she slapped their hands away. "Don't touch me!"

"You may have to exert more force with her. She's not one to listen," Hyde smirked.

"Dastard!" Harper barked as one of the men threw her over their shoulder. "Let me down! Hyde! You piece of—" Hyde blocked the rest of her sentence out as he walked off in the opposite direction.

~~~

Harper had been staring at herself in the mirror. She didn't know whether to be horrified or amazed.

She was wearing a red high in the front and low in the back formal dress, with wavy ruffles going around her curves. The top of it had a thin strap to secure over her shoulders.

Her hair was washed, thoroughly moisturized, and braided from down up. A red tie was wrapped around the braids and the rest of her coils hung in front of her face like bangs.

The shoes she wore short wedges with a red strap. As for accessories, there were golden and red earrings that hung from her lobes, to match the rest of the fit.

She never imagined wearing something so extravagant. Not for the fun of it.

Even though she thought the look was great on her, she didn't care much for the color. As of now, red is her least favorite color.

A knock on the door alerted her.

"Coming!" She announced, thinking it was Arnest in an attempt to threaten her. To her surprise, it was Hyde on the other side of the door.

She was more than stunned by his attire.

He wore a loose white button-up, tucked in black slacks and a black leather belt. His skin was visible through the fabric, so the thick red scar trailed up from the belt of his pants to his neck and poked out of the collar.

His hair was flat ironed and styled in loose waves. Some thick strands were in his face which highlighted the mystery quality that even she was trying to figure out.

Wow, Harper mouthed.

Hyde walked in without waiting and placed his daggers on the dresser beside the bed. "Leaving this here doesn't mean I'm giving you the opportunity to escape."

"I wasn't planning on it."

Hyde shot her a look of disbelief.

"If I go anywhere, you're just gonna shock me until my arm falls off." Harper bit the inside of her cheek. The band was still secured on her wrist.

She almost lost her life twice in one day. Losing a limb wasn't on today's list of dangerous activities.

She wanted nothing more than a nice long nap with Yanpu safely at her side. That, and to go back to the Facility.

Hyde placed his hands in his pockets and strolled toward her. Then he grabbed her arm and casually slid the band off. When he tossed it aside, Harper looked up at him skeptically.

"What are you doing?"

A smirk appeared on his lips while he placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's finally registering that you can't run. And even if you tried, you wouldn't get far."

Hyde tipped her chin up so her eyes were looking directly into his. "Guess you're not as stupid as you look. You're learning quite fast."

He released her.

"I'll go easy on you tonight, as a small reward. Arnest is across the hall and he's on high alert. If he hears or sees anything strange on your end, it'll be reported to me." Hyde clicked his tongue and hummed.

"Oh. And the kid,"

"His name is Yanpu," Harper grumbled.

"Turn the TV on, and give him some snacks. Tire him out by the time I get back." Hyde instructed. "I hear kids these days are into that musical shite."

"You know nothing about him." Harper scoffed.

"And neither do I care. Your job is to keep him content until my goal is completed."

"Hyde..."

"What?" He turned again. He was just about to leave.

"I don't think you should trust Enzo... And I know you and your pal think I'm just saying it to trick you into getting caught. But I'm being honest." Harper folded her arms.

Hyde studied her carefully, trying to read her expression. He wasn't sure if it was a lie or not. But he knew based on her track record, she couldn't be trusted.

"You don't believe me."

"Of course I don't." Hyde spat. "You expect me to?"

"That guy gives me the creeps." Harper explained, "Don't get yourself caught in a sticky situation."

"Worry more about yourself."

"Fine, I will." Harper pouted her lips angrily. "To heck with you."

Hyde shut the door and walked down the hall to his first job of the evening. But in the back of his mind, Harper's words replayed again and again.

And so the night went on. Hyde was in charge of tending to some of the rich ladies dressed in elegant attire and adorned in expensive jewels.

Harper stayed in the room as she was ordered. Yanpu was a good distraction. She turned on the television in the room, but Yanpu was more focused on the actual device than what was on the screen.

"I forgot, it's your first time seeing one."

Yanpu poked at the corners of the flat screen.

"Yani, come here, I'll show you how it works."

Yanpu skipped over to Harper and climbed on the couch to take a seat beside her. Harper grabbed the remote off a small round table beside the couch and wiggled it in front of his face.

"This is called a remote. It controls the channels on the TV. So when you press the numbers or the arrows..." Harper pointed the remote at the screen and the scene of a character running switched to a black-and-white distorted classic image. "You can watch something else. Wanna try it?"

"Yeah!" Yanpu grabbed the remote excitedly and pressed the arrows repeatedly. After a while, he stayed on a particular channel about their country.

The screen showed vivid colors of the neon lights of Westona, as well as the structures.

"Harper..."

"Hm?"

"Where are the trees?"

"Oh... uh..." Harper bit her lip anxiously as Yanpu stared at her with big curious eyes.

Harper wasn't sure where to start.

In the past, Westona's history reported that there used to be hundreds of thousands of trees in the capital. But over time, they all died out.

Along with it went their oxygen and blue skies.

No one could figure out the reason why it happened.

Harper was born 50 years after the last tree had died. The only ones she had ever seen were artificial in the museums.

"Trees don't exist anymore."

"And the sky?"

"Oh, no. The sky is still there. It's just hard for you to see it because of the fog." Harper frowned.

Yanpu's excitement diminished. It was like everything he was taught about outside the lab was a lie.

"But hey, Yani. Someone once told me that if you look hard enough, you can see the stars. You just have to pay close attention."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"I wanna see!" Yanpu hopped off the couch and grabbed onto Harper's arm. "Let's go, Harper!"

"Where do you want to go?" Harper chortled.

"Outside." Yanpu pointed to the door.

"Oh. No. We can't."

"Why not?" Yanpu pouted.

"We just can't," Hyde told her to stay in the room. She did not want to get on his bad side. He wouldn't let her live with the excuse of stargazing.

"I wanna go! I wanna go outside! Please! Please, Harper?"

"Yanpu..."

"I wanna go now!" He whined, hopping up and down. It shocked her. When he was in the lab, he never showed any tantrums. He was always mild and calm.

Maybe Hyde's influence was rubbing off on him. "I said no. Where is this behavior coming from?" Harper placed her hands on her hips. "You're probably tired. Let's get you ready for bed."

"No!"

"Yanpu,"

He pushed her out of the way and bolted for the door. Harper chased after him, but it all happened so fast. She blinked, and Yanpu was no longer there.

"W-what the?!" Harper froze. The door was wide open, but Yanpu was nowhere in sight.

"Y-Yanpu!" Harper ran into the hall and looked both left and right.

Where did he go? Why didn't she see him leave?

"Yanpu!!" Harper called. After several times of screaming down the hall, she panicked. Quickly, she jogged over to Arnest's door and knocked.

No answer.

She pounded on the door and there was still no response. When she grabbed the knob, she noticed that it was loose. She turned it and the door swung open.

Arnest was laid flat on the bed with his arm hanging off, and a large wine bottle dangling from his fingers.

Harper scowled.

"This idiot would get himself drunk while at a Brothel," Harper grunted and ran down the hall to find Yanpu.

She turned left and then right to get to the Lobby. But the moment her foot slid into the room, her heart stopped when she spotted Hyde sitting around the corner next to a very fashionable woman with wavy blonde hair and brown highlights.

There was a golden butterfly pin in her hair, and the jewels she wore around her ears, neck, and arms expressed how wealthy she was.

The two seemed to be having a joy-hearted deep conversation over glasses of dark red wine.

Harper whipped her body around the pillar to hide from him. "Oh, overseers. I beg of you. Please let my life be spared." Harper hissed and bowed her head in embarrassment.

Yanpu was nowhere to be found. After a few minutes of formulating a plan, Harper spotted Yanpu at the entrance.

"Yanpu!" Harper waved her hand and whispered very boldly. "Yanpu! Get over here!"

Yanpu ignored her calls and wandered out of the door. Hyde and the woman were sitting on the lounge seat nearby, but because Yanpu was so small, they didn't see him.

There was no way Harper would be able to walk out without Hyde spotting her. She needed to find another exit.

Or maybe she could crawl out. If she got on fours, she'd be as small as Yanpu.

There was only one problem.

Harper looked at her dress and groaned. Because the back had big wavy ruffles, it would drag, and if not Hyde, someone else would notice.

"If I go, Hyde may kill me. But if I don't know and I lose Yanpu, Hyde will still kill me." Harper mumbled to herself. "Either way, I die. There's no winning here."

Harper slid her feet out of the shoes and dropped to her hands and knees. "Screw it."

Harper hunched over and began to move. Her palms slapped against the wood, making a disgusting sound as she dragged herself over to the back of the seat.

Then she moved to a golden bookshelf. Each maneuver made her skirt drift up her legs, and Harper would always drag it back down so no one could peek.

Soon, she made it near the entrance. A smooth-skinned and manicured hand dropped in front of her face before she could continue.

The woman Hyde was talking to giggled and snorted, slapping his chest playfully. Her face was red from the alcohol and she reeked.

"Oh, Hyde!" She cooed. "You've got quite the sense of humor."

"Mhmm..." Hyde took a sip of his wine, ignoring her flirting.

"You know, you're so different from the other men here. You're not afraid to speak what's on your mind." She hummed. "I like that about you."

"Oh goodness," Harper gagged. "She's obviously drunker than a sailor." She murmured and went around her hand, leaving the two in their conversation.

In the corner of her eye, she saw Hyde allowing the woman to lean on his shoulder. Harper rolled her eyes one last time before focusing on Yanpu.