S a l e t é I V

XXXVII - Plumes - Douze

There was something resembling satisfaction in the officer's eyes as he observed the three of them, a cold professionalism enveloping it almost entirely. 

He was no simple grunt - his finer uniform was proof enough of that - and that gaze, that gaze... It was as if he had already seen through them, as if he knew that Sleeves wasn't being honest, that fulfilment arising from the fact that he had already caught them out. 

How could he not? She was just a child. What hope of deceiving him did she have?

Cassia wanted to speak. She wanted to come up with something, or say anything, or... 

What could she do? 

Everything that she could have said would have probably made things worse. What could they do? What options did they have? Could they run? Would running be impossibly foolish?

"Mister!"

Spears had never sounded as wonderful as he had in that single instance.

The boy came running out from the adjoining road to meet them, his call more than enough to attract the attention of the officer as he stood up straight, intrigued by the sudden appearance of yet another young person. The young man who had come to their aid was alone, and somewhat out of breath after he'd booked it to the factory, Cassie placing every drop of faith that she had solely upon him regardless. 

"Forgive me sir, you are...?"

"This is my brother!" Sleeves quickly said, snatching the chance to add something vaguely akin to validation to her story, Spears quickly nodding after the briefest confusion, the urgency in her voice and expression convincing him that playing along was in their best interests.

"Yeah, I am. What's going on? Are we in some kinda trouble?" He asked, keen to gauge as much as he could in regards to the scene before he made any kind of move.

"Your sister here says that you can prove these Jouets belong to you. I trust that is correct?"

"Yeah, they belonged to me for a while."

"For a while...?"

The answer he'd given confused Cassia as much as it confused te officer, but that was when Spears presented several slips from his jacket pocket, the same items he'd rushed to retrieve from the factory. 

"We were partnered up with Mister Brisbois for quite a while, see? They're our passes. Proof of ownership."

He allowed the officer to take them, the man looking over the four slips for a short while before he looked back to the girls, after which he passed them to his associate, the young lady conducting a inspection of her own, their movements giving nothing away in regards to what they were thinking.

"They're all legit. Look up the numbers on em, if you don't believe me. It's all on record." Spears insisted, a genuine confidence backing up his words well.

"These appear to be in order." The lady concluded as she handed the passes back to her partner, the officer having one last glance at each one before he gave them back to Spears.

"Raphaël Brisbois, hiring Jouets? How ironic." He muttered, real intrigue lacing his tone for that thought alone before he returned to his earlier stance.

"Thank you for the confirmation. As I said, I'm sure you understand the precautions we have to take nowadays." The officer said, both hands behind his back once more. 

Cassia was finally able to relax, even if the way in which he addressed them so calmly still didn't sit right with her. Spears didn't look entirely comfortable either, whether that was because of his own worry or because of something more bitter.