Sylvie reached her perfectly manicured hands out, aiming to gently cup Rhys’s pale, sweat-slicked face. She leaned in close, ensuring the low cut of her pristine white dress was highly visible. "It's okay, Rhys," Sylvie whispered, projecting her voice just loud enough so Zev and Corbin could hear her benevolence. "I brought clean water. I'll take over your contract. You'll be safe with me."
Rhys didn't move toward Sylvie. He didn't look relieved. His dark, deep-set eyes flicked from Sylvie’s extended hands to Terra's face.
The original Terra Mason would have exploded. She would have screamed, thrown a tantrum, and ordered Zev to rip Sylvie’s hair out for touching her property. Terra didn't do any of that. She slowly stood up. She brushed the rough concrete dust off the knees of her muddy pants. She crossed her arms and looked down at Sylvie.
"Take over his contract?" Terra asked, her voice completely flat and calm. The acoustics of the basement amplified the coldness in her tone. "With what money, Sylvie?"
Sylvie froze. Her hands stopped inches from Rhys’s face. She looked over her shoulder at Terra, her big blue eyes widening in feigned innocence. "I... I have my family's backing," Sylvie stammered slightly, clearly caught off guard by Terra's lack of hysterics. "The Board knows I am a compassionate caregiver. They will transfer his bio-seal to me for a minimal fee."
Terra let out a short, harsh laugh. It wasn't funny. It was deeply cynical. "Compassionate caregiver," Terra repeated, tasting the bile in the words. She took a slow step forward. "That’s hilarious. Considering it was your idea to put him in this basement."
The basement went dead silent. Zev shifted his weight, his heavy combat boots scraping against the floor. Corbin narrowed his silver eyes, staring intensely at Sylvie’s back.
"T-That's a lie!" Sylvie gasped, her face flushing a deep, ugly red. She stood up, spinning to face Terra, playing the ultimate victim. "How dare you! You're trying to blame your sadistic crimes on me because you lost your corporate backing! I told you to treat them gently!"
"Did you?" Terra tilted her head. She walked right up to Sylvie. Terra was three inches taller, and right now, she felt zero need to shrink herself. "Because I clearly remember sitting in the VIP lounge of the Apex Club last Tuesday. You drank my imported wine, and you said, 'Aquatic beasts are too proud, Terra. You have to dry him out for a few days to break his spirit. Then he'll grovel.'"
Terra quoted the memory perfectly. The original Terra had a photographic memory for conversations, a trait that finally proved useful.
Sylvie’s mouth opened, but no sound came out. Panic flashed in her eyes. She glanced nervously at Corbin and Zev, realizing the massive, lethal males in the room were now listening very closely.
"You're crazy," Sylvie spat, her sweet facade cracking. "The toxic energy has rotted your brain!"
Terra ignored Sylvie. She looked past Sylvie's shoulder, directly at Rhys. "She didn't bring any water, Rhys," Terra said quietly. "Look at her hands. Look at her dress. She walked through Sector 4, the filthiest slum in the Enclave, and there isn't a speck of dust on her."
Rhys’s dark eyes slowly moved to assess Sylvie.
"She didn't come here to save you," Terra continued, her voice brutally direct. "She waited until I stabilized your vital signs. She waited outside until the energy spike died down, confirming it was safe. She wants your Level 5 combat output, but she didn't want to risk her own bio-energy field healing a dying mutant."
Every word Terra spoke was a surgical strike against Sylvie's white lotus persona.
Sylvie’s hands balled into tight fists. "Shut up! Rhys, don't listen to this exile! I can give you a clean home! I can give you a warm bed!" Sylvie turned back to Rhys, reaching down to grab his arm.
The moment Sylvie's fingers brushed his skin, Rhys moved. He didn't speak. He just whipped his massive blue tail. The thick, heavy muscles of his aquatic form slammed against the concrete floor, sending a violent splash of the residual blue nano-gel straight up onto Sylvie’s pristine white dress.
"Get away from me," Rhys rasped. His voice was weak, but the absolute disgust in it was undeniable. "Your perfume smells like rotting chemicals."
Sylvie shrieked, jumping backward. She stared down at the glowing blue stain ruining her expensive dress. She looked at Rhys’s cold, rejecting eyes, and then at Corbin, who was now sneering at her with open contempt. Her public performance had utterly collapsed.
"You're all going to rot down here!" Sylvie screamed, her face twisting into something ugly and hateful. "The Board will starve you out! You'll be begging me for a crust of bread by tomorrow!"
She turned and ran up the concrete stairs, her high heels clicking frantically as she fled the basement. The heavy door slammed shut behind her.
Terra let out a long, exhausted breath. Her shoulders slumped. The adrenaline crash hit her like a brick wall.
DING.
[Notice: Asset 2 (Rhys Donovan) Trust Metric increased by 2 points. Current Trust: 2.]
Terra blinked, looking at the blue screen flashing in her vision. Two points. It wasn't much. It was barely a drop in the ocean. But it wasn't zero anymore.
Terra looked back down at Rhys. He was staring at the floor, his breathing steady, his chest rising and falling rhythmically.
"Corbin," Terra said, her voice heavy with exhaustion. "Unlock his dampening cuffs."
Corbin didn't argue this time. He stepped forward, pulling a heavy, magnetic key-card from his uniform pocket.
