Biting your lips, you had to hold your breath to not curse in front of the children. You squinted your eyes and massaged the bridge of your nose to fight back the headache.

"Jinx.", through clenched teeth you tried to sound as friendly as possible. "Stay here with the others. Don't go in the direction of the hospital at all! I'll come back for you when it's all over."

You gave her a quick pat on the head and were about to leave, but she jumped up and held you back.

"Wait!", her little fingers wrapped around yours with surprising strength. "Don't leave me alone. Please... What will I do if you... don't come back?"

Fear shimmered in her eyes. It was strange to see the child of a man as powerful as Silco was so frightened about being abandoned. It was no secret that he valued loyalty above all else and, accordingly, was himself loyal to his supporters.

On the other hand, fear of loss was nothing unusual for children in a world that could end life at any moment.

Your eyes wandered down to her hand and lingered on the fingers.

Dark, sooty patches covered her pale skin. Something black stuck under her fingernails.

Gritting your teeth, you suppressed the rising anger. Slowly you bent down to stroke her blue, disheveled hair.

"I will come back.", you assured her.

"And if not?", she bit her lip. "They have already left me."

You didn't understand what she meant, but couldn't help but feel sorry for her. The pain in her voice was something a child should not know.

"Doesn't Silco take care of you?"

"Yes, he does! He's nice. And he helps me braid my hair. Look."

She proudly showed you the braid, which was so badly braided that it was painful to watch. But this moment was not a good one to tell her the truth, so you swallowed the comment.

"It's the thought that counts.", with gentle strength you pulled yourself out of her grip. "I have to go now. But I'll be back."

Uncertainly, her eyes wandered around.

"Come back.", she murmured almost begging. "Promise!"

Surprised, your eyebrows rose.

"I promise. And meanwhile, you'll look after the others, won't you?"

"How can I?"

"You're a strong girl, Jinxie Dinxie. With you, the others needn't be afraid."

At the sound of the nickname, the fear on her face faded. Annoyed, she rolled her eyes and curled her lips to show how much she detested that nickname.

"Don't ever call me that again.", she complained, and pushed toward the exit. "Otherwise... I don't have anything to blackmail you with... But I'll find something and use it against you!"

You had to stifle a laugh.

"I'll be back soon.", your eyes wandered to the other children. "Stay here and be quiet. If someone comes, hide. And Jinx, no matter what happens, I don't want you to go to the hospital. I'll take care of the problem."

She nodded, still chewing on her bottom lip, and this time let you go without any rejoinders.

When your feet touched the garden again, a cold shiver ran down your spine. Again you had to glance over your shoulder for fear someone would stand behind you.

But there was still no one.

Instead, you were surprised to see a huge mountain of black powder covering the garden.

Irritated, you frowned and rushed to sector D.

"Maria!", you called out as your eyes scanned the area for more traces of the dangerous substance. "Maria, where are you? And where are the others?!"

But even after a few minutes, no one showed up.

Your steps faltered.

Somehow, a feeling in the back of your head told you that something was wrong. It was quiet, but the patients were all still there and nothing looked like they had been released from their chains.

Suddenly, a thought awoke.

It would make no sense to blow up the hospital. That would risk that surviving shimmer addicts could make the streets unsafe. Besides, there was still something of great value in this building.

You turned around on the spot to fight your way to your office. On the way there, you noticed that the black powder was scattered in all areas. Even in the quarters where you had housed the children.

As your hand wandered through the black powder you could feel pieces of glass and stone between your fingers.

"Huh...", you rubbed a little between your fingers. "That... could be useful..."

Before you returned to your real plan, you formed a handkerchief into a pouch and filled it so full that a ball was formed.

If Silco wanted to play dirty, you didn't mind using his own weapons against him. Briefly you let your hand slid inside your coat and checked if the lighter was still there and had to smile with satisfaction.

"Let's see how your own medicine tastes.", you mutter and grinned.

Secretly you were a little happy about what could happen. The lack of sleep mixed with his annoying attempts to question your position of power was enough to make you want to close your fingers around his scrawny neck.

"Silco!", frustration and annoyance mixed in your voice as you bursted into your office.

Unimpressed, he looked up.

His gaze wandered to the side, over to a woman that looked more like a walking threat than an actual human being and gave her a silent command.

Shrugging, she walked towards you. It seemed impossible but the look on her face was so grim that it seemed like she told everyone to go fuck themselves only by looking at them.

She reached out but stopped in confusion as you raised the handkerchief filled with blackpowder.

With a challenging gaze, you raised an eyebrow. A smirk lingered in the corner of your mouth. The lid of the lighter clicked as you snapped it open to summon a small flame.

"A word with your boss.", you demanded.

She threw a quick glance over her shoulder.

Silco's eyes were glued to the flame. He wasn't impressed nor frightened, but merely taking in the fact that one wrong movement could kill all three of you.

And it was obvious that you were willing to sacrifice yourself as well.

Taking a deep breath in, he closed his eye. With a gesture of his hand he ordered the woman to stop.

"Wait outside, Sevika.", he said, surprisingly respectful. "We've got business to talk about."