Work Text:
27th August, 1:47pm
Museum Library
Gina had been scouring through the Museum’s Library for hours, alongside some other police members. The Curator had misplaced an important historical document, and due to its value, Scotland Yard ordered her (alongside some other police members) to look through the library to find the document.
She’d really be anywhere else if she had the option. The description of the document was clear enough. A brown, leather backing, with a Silver ‘S’ on the front cover. But after four straight hours of searching the three different floors of the library, she was beginning to question if it was even here to begin with.
The library itself was circular in structure, with three floors, with a stairway on each floor at the sides of the circle. The walls of the library were made of a white limestone. There was a hallway on each floor in the North-West direction that allowed one to continue with the Museum. All the books here apparently contained detailed descriptions of the expeditions and the exhibits themselves. The shelves themselves were all metallic and surrounded the walls of each floor of the library, excluding the exit to the rest of the Museum. All the shelves were taller than her by half her height, with the floors each being triple her height. The space not taken by the shelves had glass window panels to allow light in.
If she had more of an interest in reading, she’d be sure that she’d stay here for a very long time. But books weren’t exactly her strong suit, although she was improving steadily. Her fingers ran across the tomes. She was certain that there were far more books in here than she could count. She was nearly done with searching the spines for the leather backed book, when she found it. Pulling the book out, and turning it around, she could see the clear Silver ‘S’.
What could possibly be in the book that demanded an entire police search? She decided to flip to one of the pages in the middle. The page had the outline of a bank ledger note but had nothing written in it. Flipping backwards a few pages, she finally found a page that wasn’t empty.
—-----------------------------------------
Artifacts | Guineas
—-----------------------------------------
Selene’s Light | 70
—-----------------------------------------
Harvest Rosary | 50
—-----------------------------------------
Kutone | 85
—-----------------------------------------
Moon of Ma-
“Pardon me, ma’am.”
Gina quickly shut the book. She looked to the older voice that had called from her right. A middle-aged man, with grey sideburns, and a black bowler hat. The man was easily the same height as Barok, if not a few centimeters taller. The man had a thick black buttoned suit, black pants, and black shoes. The only semblance of color in the man’s outfit was the unconcealed navy-blue shirt that had a white tie. The man’s eyes were a dark gray.
“Mr. Curator, sir. I apologise for not givin’ the book immediately.”
Gina handed the book to the Curator. The Curator grabbed the book and took it out of Gina’s hands.
“Did you find anything interesting in the book?”
“Nah, that tome there was filled wiv diddly squat.”
The Curator closed his eyes briefly and exhaled.
“I will let the rest of the force here that they may stay if they wish, but otherwise, you are free to go report back to Scotland Yard.”
Gina nodded her head.
“No problem, Mr. Curator”
The Curator turned around and walked the other direction. As he walked away, Gina couldn’t help but feel that the book had something far more important in it than she realized. However, it would be too crass to jump to the conclusion that it was something more than just a historical document. As Gina thought to herself, she found herself walking around the third floor, and eventually came to the Museum’s Library exit, which doubled as the entrance to the Museum. Since she was there, she might as well view the exhibits themselves. With artifacts across the globe, she should at least find something interesting among the collection.
Gina entered the South-Eastern edge of the Museum. The Museum, like the library, also had three floors. The exhibits were split into nine rooms. Four hallways surrounded the Museum in a rectangular fashion. Each of the hallways displayed objects from a specific area of the world. The hallway that went to her left featured exhibits from the country of Japan. The hallway that went to her right featured exhibits from the Atlantic islands.
The corridors surrounded five other rooms, with periodic doorways that lead into the otherwise enclosed rooms. Most of those were fossils, and Gina wasn’t exactly a huge fan of skeletons, despite her ease around Maria. Thus, she walked down the hall on the left, the Japanese hall. Multiple display cases contained Japanese artifacts. Walking through the exhibits, she noticed a sword on display: Kutone. Gina examined the sword.
Kutone is a large one-handed silver sword. The hilt of the sword was made from wood and resembled a totem pole. The guard of the hilt looked like a Falcon, with its wings creating the guard itself. The actual handle consisted of more totems, depicting the face of a falcon, a bear, and a wolf. If she had to guess, she wouldn’t be able to pick up the sword with a single hand. It looked more ancient than Karuma. That said, the sword was in shockingly pristine condition. She looked at the description of the item itself.
Kutone - The sacred sword of the Oina tribe. Said to have been stolen by Oki to slay the twin owl demons Lechku & Nechku. According to legend, when Oki helped save the life of a white wolf, the sword shone a silver blue flame. After the defeat of Lechku & Nechku, the sword was returned to its rightful place on the pedestal in front of Laochi Lake. The sword was discovered encased in a chunk of ice in January 1874 by English Archeologist Randall Belduke on the side of Mount Asahi. It was later donated by Randall Belduke.
Gina recognized the name from a file in the library. She felt that she was overthinking it all, but she couldn’t help but feel that something was off. Heading back to the library, Gina scoured the shelves once more. After yet another hour of searching, she found the file: “The Asahi Expedition - Randall Belduke”. Flipping through the pages skimming for information, she noticed that the photos in the file were blurry. After a few pages, she found the information on the sword.
On the page depicting the discovery of Kutone was a photo of the sword encased in ice. It was easy to tell that the two swords looked similar, except at the hilt. The caption of the photo talked briefly on the hilt.
...The hilt itself resembles a totem pole depicting animals, among them being a wolf, a bear, and a falcon. The r-
Gina sighed with relief. She was overthinking it. What she read was probably the price of acquiring the artifacts to be displayed in the Museum. Satisfied, she continued to read the file for leisure. After all, there was no longer any issue to be worried abo-
Kutone depicts one of the Oina tribe’s greatest legends. The legend depicts how the Oina tribe gained its ability to transform into a wolf. In the tale, the founder of the Oina tribe, Tsumari, was traversing the harsh cold lands of Kamui, when he was approached by three animals. A bear, a wolf, and a falcon. The three animals bargained with Tsumari, with each willing to give part of their essence to him. The bear offered Tsumari the ability to simply sleep and allow the passage of time to flow to a more favourable season. The falcon offered Tsumari the ability to fly away from the harsh lands of Kamui, so that he may be safe from the cold lands. The wolf could not offer a way to escape the conditions of Kamui, so it simply offered Tsumari the agility to hunt and thrive in the land. Tsumari replied to the three that he came to Kamui of his own accord and thus had no desire to escape the land’s conditions. As such, he chose the wolf. Perhaps it is because of this legend that Kutone’s hilt depicts the bear, wolf, and falcon in that order.
Gina re-read the passage again. She knew that she was still new to reading, and that she could have misread. But there was no mistaking it. The sword’s hilt was supposed to depict a bear, wolf, and falcon in that order. But the sword that was on display depicted a wolf, bear, and falcon. If the order of the animals were wrong, then the sword on display had to be fake. If the sword was fake, there would only be three reasons for such.
One: The real sword was hosted at a different museum. But that wouldn’t be possible given that the description of the sword mentioned it was donated here, which would be easy to verify by asking Mr. Belduke.
Two: Mr. Belduke misremembered, but that wouldn’t make sense since he was there when the sword was found.
Three: This Museum was selling these artifacts and making replicas.
Gina knew she couldn’t confront the Curator at present, especially since he could easily hide the sword and pretend it had been stolen. She needed solid evidence. But she couldn’t ask for an investigation because, once again, the Curator could hide the sword and pretend it was stolen. At a loss for ideas, Gina closed the file and placed it back on the shelf. She needed the advice of someone far more experienced than her.
27th August, 3:39pm
Prosecutor’s Office
Gina was hesitant to knock. Although she got to know Barok far better ever since the conclusion of his trial, and knew he wasn’t someone to be feared (if you didn’t get on his bad side), it didn’t change the fact that he was intimidating. After taking a deep breath, she knocked on his door. After a few seconds of waiting, the door opened, and Barok looked at Gina.
“Is there something you wish to discuss?”
Gina nodded.
Barok moved out of the way to let Gina into his office. She visited the office only a few times prior, mostly during that trial, but every aspect of the office, from the vintage wine barrels to the desks to the chairs to the gigantic painting of Klint, all of it painted a great impression of Barok.
Gina moved to sit at the table facing the window, as Barok did on the opposite side of the table. After sitting down, Barok crossed his arms and looked at Gina.
“What is it that you wish to discuss?”
“I-uh… ‘ow do I explain this...”
Gina began to divulge everything she learned at the Museum, from the Curator to Kutone to the possibility of selling artifacts. After quietly listening to what she had to say, Barok closed his eyes, deep in thought.
“So, it is the Curator?”
“I’m positive! But… ‘ow do we even investigate that?”
“... We would need photographic proof that the items are indeed being sold. That, or we would need the book you described. However, without a warrant, we would be unable to obtain that book. The easiest aspect would be asking Randall Belduke to confirm that the Kutone on display is fabricated, but fabricated artifacts are not proof of selling…. As much as it pains me to admit, we currently do not have a proper way to investigate it.”
“WOT?!”
Gina furiously got up from her chair.
“But it’s obvious it’s ‘im! You can’t just expect me to go an’ let ‘im get off scot-free!”
Barok opened his eyes and looked towards Gina.
“I am not asking you to do that. I am asking you to be patient. W-”
In a fit of range, Gina stormed out of the office. She didn’t care if it was improper or impolite, as she refused to let the Curator get away unpunished. She took a hansom to her apartment, where she’d force herself to find a way to bring the Curator’s crimes to light…
_______________________________
Eight Hours Later
_______________________________
Gina looked at the clock of her apartment. It was a bit past midnight. And still, she couldn’t think of a legal way of dealing with the Curator…. That said, she did think of something. It would be very risky, and if she was caught…… Well, she could kiss her job at the Yard goodbye. But this was the only option she could envision.
Moving to her bed, she moved the mattress over. Below the mattress was a hidden floorboard. Opening the compartment up, she found the outfit Iris had sown for her. It was supposed to be for the masquerade ball that she enjoyed with Maria, but she wasn’t entirely certain if that was its real purpose.
The outfit itself was a sleeveless black tailcoat with two rows of golden rose shaped buttons, over a poet shirt blouse with silver vine-like embroidery on the puffy sleeves, and matching suit pants or slacks that sport gold accents. Alongside the outfit came a black top hat with green vein-like marks protruding from the brim, and a matching green cape with gold detailing with the cape linked with a chain.
After a few minutes, Gina was wearing the outfit. Iris had made her a cane and hat for it as well. Looking at herself in the mirror, Gina smiled. She could imagine herself on the rooftops of London.
Gina grabbed her regular clothes and placed them in a bag. If something happens and she isn’t able to return to her room to change back, she would be able to change into her regular clothes.
Gina peeked outside the hallway where she was, and after making sure the coast was clear, made a dash for the stairs to the rooftop. After rushing up the stairs and getting on the roof, she could see the city in darkness. The Museum was only a few blocks away. Traversing the rooftops carefully, she could feel the light brisk wind in her face. Had it been wintertime, she wouldn’t have dared entertained the idea, but the summer nights weren’t nearly as cold. If anything, it felt pleasant and comforting.
After a few more minutes of traversing, Gina managed to reach the end of the block and could see the Museum with its thick limestone walls. She just needed to get into the Museum, take the book, and the file to prove that the sword was fabricated. She placed the bag of clothes down next to the chimney. To get into the Museum, she needed to cross the roughly thirty-meter distance between the rooftop and the glass windows on the Museum’s Library. Thankfully, Iris was one hell of an inventor.
Gina lifted her cane like a shotgun and aimed directly at the top window of the library section. Hitting a button at the bottom of the handle, she saw the arrow-headed thin thread of line fire out of the cane’s ferrule. The line whizzed through the night sky and impaled the wall right below the library’s third floor window.
Gina wasn’t sure what the cane or line were made of, but both seemed to be near indestructible. She attached the cane onto the chimney and took a deep breath. Looking over the edge down at the street below, she was thankful that she didn’t have a fear of heights. She grabbed the line and got onto it. Steadying her balance, she slowly walked across the makeshift tightrope with her hands stretched outwards to hold her balance. Despite the wind and the plane trees growing on the street, she managed to stay on the tightrope. She was quite tempted to look down out of curiosity, but her fear of losing balance sated her interest. After roughly five minutes, she managed to reach the end of the line and grabbed onto the windowsill. Looking down at the arrow, she could see that it slipped in the cracks just a tad. Not enough to make it dangerous to walk across back, but she would need to be cautious.
Gina turned her attention back to the window. Unlocking it from the outside was simple enough. Opening the window slightly, she slipped through the gap and went inside. She could see light originating from the first floor. She was tempted to peek and look over the railing, but she couldn’t give herself away.
Closing the window, Gina climbed down onto the bookshelf and climbed off of that. Silently scouring the shelves for the file, she heard talking from the bottom floor. If her assumption was right, there was an auction going on, and, unless they were paying the night-time security an exorbitant wage to keep quiet about the auction, there probably weren’t any security guards present.
Gina pulled out the file from the shelves. Opening it to double check, she was able to confirm it was the correct file. Gina took off her hat and put the file inside it. That was one of the two items acquired. Now for the infinitely more complex one.
Turning her gaze to the library exit, Gina put her hat back on. Out of the entire Museum, the only place the police were not allowed to search was the central office. The central office was located in the middle of the third floor of the Museum. With her target in mind, she silently scurried to the exit.
The Museum gave a near oppressive feel at the time of night. While the atmosphere felt similar to The Old Bailey, the silence of the Museum only intensified the pressure. Gina had to be careful, as even the smallest of noises would be heard in the deathly silent Museum. Sneaking into the Japanese hallway, she could hear some footsteps from the room with the dinosaur fossils.
Gina kept still as she listened for the direction of the footsteps. It sounded as if two people were walking together. The footsteps stopped, and she heard the faint sound of someone unlocking a door. With bated breath, she thought about what she was doing.
What would Gregson have thought of her? He wanted to protect her from going down the same path he did, from breaking the law to enact judgement on those who couldn’t be brought to justice. What she was doing was going against all of the work he put in to help her grow.
Gina forced those thoughts out. She was breaking the law, certainly, but what was the point of the law if the law can’t bring someone to justice? It wasn’t like she was going to murder anyone. No one would get hurt.
Gina’s attention was alerted with the sound of the door opening once more. After waiting for the pair of footsteps to fade away, she finally exited her hiding spot and entered the fossil exhibit.
Regardless of the time of day, Gina found skeletons to be scary… but she found them to be far more horrifying during the dead of night. She couldn’t recall any of the dinosaur’s names, and she didn’t have the time to read the infographics.
In the middle of the exhibit was the central office. The walls of it made an octagon, with those walls combining into a dome. As Gina snuck around the multiple fossils, she found the door to the east side of the office… and it was a seven-digit combination lock. She wasn’t certain how she could forcefully open it without going through all of the combinations or breaking it completely… but she knew of a way to get the code.
Gina moved to the northwest side of the octagon and waited. Within a few minutes, she heard the sounds of footsteps approaching the office. After a few moments, she heard the sound of the door opening and closing.
Gina rushed to the door and saw the seven-digit combination. Four two zero, two nine four, two. Rushing back to her hiding spot, she heard the door opening once more. Once again, she waited for the sound of footsteps to fade away.
After she could no longer hear any footsteps, Gina snuck back to the door. After unlocking it, she went inside and closed the door. The walls were filled with shelves all containing different artifacts. There were artifacts that appeared to come from Asia, Africa, America, and other places. In the middle of the room was a large table that had a gigantic stack of cash. Gina couldn’t even begin to imagine how much the pile of cash was worth, other than it was far more money that she’d ever earn in her lifetime.
Looking around, Gina spotted her target to the left of the cash: the brown leather backed book with the Silver ‘S’ on the cover. She opened the book and took off her hat. After placing the file into the book, she snuck out of the door with the book in hand. While she was tempted to grab some of the money, she figured it would weigh her down. Closing the door and locking the lock, Gina walked back to the library…
“HEY!”
Gina ran towards the shelf she leapt off from. While she instinctively wanted to turn around, she knew that if she did that, they would have a description of her face.
BANG
Gina felt the left side of her cape whizz forward. No doubt a bullet pierced through. Having reached the shelf, she climbed as fast as she could.
BANG
The bullet struck the glass of the window, narrowly missing her head. Gina opened the window and saw the tightrope. Her eyes widened at the sight. She had completely forgotten about the tightrope, and going across that would be impossible.
With her right hand holding her hat and gripping the book between her left arm and her chest, Gina reached out to grab the line and leapt onto it. The momentum loosened the arrow from the crack in the wall, and she used the line as a makeshift pendulum, swinging over the street.
As she looked forward as the wind rushed past her, she noticed the tree she was going to crash into. Gina turned to the left, tucking in her legs to dampen the impact, and crashed through the tree’s branches and leaves, swinging into the brick wall of the building. Despite the tree’s branches and leaves dampening the impact, she still grimaced as the pain soared throughout the right side of her body. Her right hand screamed in pain, having been sandwiched between her face and the tree’s branches and leaves, not to mention the brick wall. Using the heel of her boot, she clicked a button at the bottom of the arrow.
As the line retracted back into the cane with her in stow, Gina noticed how fast her heart was racing. While she had some close calls when she was a diver, never in her life had she gotten away in a manner like that. After the line pulled her up to the top of the building, Gina got behind the chimney, swept the leaves off her outfit, and checked her cape.
Centimeters. Had the bullet been a few more centimeters to her right, it would’ve hit her, without question. She figured she could ask Iris to sew it back up, though she’d have to find a clever excuse for the hole to hide the fact that she was nearly shot.
Gina turned to grab the bag of clothes and pulled out her regular outfit. With some difficulty, she started to undress. As she did, she noticed that she wasn’t bleeding anywhere, though the right side of her body that hit the brick wall was definitely bruised. Thankfully, nothing felt broken, so she was able to change into her normal clothes without major difficulty.
Stuffing her masquerade outfit into the bag and picking the bag up, Gina grabbed the cane and book. While she wanted to go back to her apartment, she knew that she wouldn’t be able to hide the bruise with her sleeves. She needed some bandages. But if she went to any regular doctor, the timing of someone being treated for massive bruises would be too suspicious, given the Curator probably saw her crash into the wall.
Gina needed to visit someone who would treat her and keep it a secret. Getting up, she trudged to the one place she knew that fit the bill.
_______________________________
??? Hours Later
_______________________________
28th August
???
Gina woke up to the smell of disinfectant permeating her nose. Whatever she was resting on didn’t feel comfortable. Opening her eyes, she was greeted with a figure looming over her with a leathery bronze plague doctor mask.
“AHHHH!”
Gina scrambled backwards but managed to avoid scrambling too far due to the handle of the operating table. After her instinctual fear wore off, she sighed.
“Sorry, I didn’t realise it was just you, ‘Ria.”
Maria moved backwards and took off her mask.
“I came here to find the lock broken. After opening the door, I found you lying on the ground with a book, a cane, and a bag with your masquerade clothes. What happened?”
“It’s… a long story. Uhhh…. Wot time is it?”
“It’s a bit past 11 in the morning. You aren’t one to sleep in. What happened?”
Gina attempted to straighten up, but she felt the pain flare up in her body again. She grasped her right arm with her left hand.
“Lumme!”
“‘Ina! Are you ok?”
Gina sharply inhaled from the pain. She shook her head. She vaguely recalled walking to the laboratory, with the pain increasing as time passed. She must have just barely managed to unlock and close the door before she passed out from the pain.
“May I take a look?”
Gina nodded. Maria rolled up Gina’s right sleeve and felt around her arm.
“Nothing is fractured, but the bruises are… no, the bruise is swollen...”
As Maria reached as far up Gina’s arm as she could before reaching the end of the rolled-up sleeve, she looked up at her with a blank stare.
“‘Ina, from the size and area of the bruise, it looks like it covers more of your body. I’ll get some wrapping bandages. You tell me what happened as I get them.”
Maria turned to walk towards a shelf containing bandages. Once she got back, Gina took off her coat and confessed to her ‘activities’ last night, all while Maria wrapped Gina’s arm in bandages. While she wanted to hide the fact that she was doing illegal activities, she didn’t want to lie to Maria. In the midst of Gina’s explanation, Maria stopped and looked at her.
“‘Ina, I’m going to need you to take off your shirt.”
Gina’s face turned bright red.
“W-w-wot?!”
“To wrap the rest of your body, ‘Ina.”
“O-oh! I-I thought you meant…. Uuuhh… N-nevermind.”
Gina’s face was indistinguishable from the color of a lobster. Her face remained the same color while she unbuttoned her shirt. She knew it was for medical purposes, but that didn’t help quell the ideas that the corner of her mind had initially conjured up. Maria began to examine the topless Gina for injuries to decide how best to wrap her. Maria began at the waist and worked her way up wrapping Gina in the bandages. By the time Gina had finished explaining what happened the prior night, Maria had finished her work.
“For your right leg, I think your socks will work as a pseudo wrapped bandage. You’re incredibly lucky to have no fractures.”
Gina smiled sheepishly.
“Thanks, ‘Ria… are you ok wiv keepin’ this all under wraps?”
Maria nodded.
“What you did was illegal, but unlike Mum, you’re doing it to bring truths to light, not to obscure the truth.”
Gina sighed with relief.
“That reminds me, ‘Ina, the prosecutor’s office called. Van Zieks wants to see you.”
…Damn it. Gina should have known that Barok would have already figured out that it was her who broke into the Museum last night… would he prosecute her? Would she lose her badge? She might never get the chance to work with Toby or Maria again…
“…I see. Can… can you ‘old onto the stuff I brought ‘ere until I get back?”
Maria nodded. Gina smiled and thanked her. Getting her shirt and coat back on, she mentally prepared herself for whatever came next…
28th August, 11:43am
Prosecutor’s Office
Gina attempted to mentally prepare herself for the visit, but every ounce of confidence she had left her when she saw the open entrance to Barok’s office. Part of her wanted to flee. Part of her screamed to run away and never look back. But she knew couldn’t avoid the consequences of her actions.
With a deep breath, Gina walked into the office. She tried her best to ignore her body yelling in pain from the bruise she endured last night. Barok was looking outside the glass window, seemingly oblivious to Gina trying her best not to limp.
“Close the door and take a seat, Miss Lestrade.”
Gina closed the door behind her and navigated to the seat across from Barok’s desk. Barok turned from the window and took the seat opposite from her.
The two sat in silence. Barok, eyes closed, and arms crossed, appeared to be thinking deeply. Gina twiddled her thumbs, waiting for something to happen.
“Where were you roughly 12 hours ago?”
Gina tried to avoid Barok’s face. Almost every part of her urged her to lie. Almost every part… except for her moral compass.
“…at the Museum.”
Barok did not react. It was as if he had expected that answer.
“The preliminary investigations suggests that only the Curator’s book was taken. Is this true?”
“……no, I also nabbed a file called ‘The Asahi Expedition - Randall Belduke’… but that’s all I nabbed.”
Barok opened his eyes and looked directly at Gina.
“Why did you take that file?”
“…does it even matter if I’m going to be fired anyways?”
“Yes.”
“…. I took it to show where on Kutone was the proof o’ fabrication.”
Barok once again closed his eyes. Gina couldn’t even begin to decipher what he was thinking.
“…Do you plan to sell any of the items?”
“I don’t plan to flog nuffin’. I just… planned to send that stuff to some papers an’ let the press do the work.”
The silence between the two of them was palpable. It was arguably even more intense than the Museum, if only because of Barok’s presence.
“…The people investigating right now have yet to deduce who took those items. If you promise to not do something like this again, I am willing to overlook your actions.”
Gina looked up in shock. Surely this was a poor attempt at a joke… but Barok had never been one for making light at the idea of letting people go.
“…are you serious? You’ll… let me go? Why?”
Barok opened his eyes once more to look at Gina.
“Over a year ago, I took up the Prosecution’s stand once again to face Magnus McGilded. In doing so, I had placed the curse of the Reaper onto him… in a sense, I had condemned him to death without a trial.”
“But it was that Graydon bloke who killed ‘im!”
“That is irrelevant. Imagine what would have happened if Graydon had not killed him. I am certain that the Reaper would have killed McGilded in due time. It was that certainty, alongside my knowledge of the depths of McGilded’s crimes, which compelled me to take his trial.”
As Barok spoke, Gina felt a chill run down her spine. A blood curdling idea came to her. Gina spoke shakily, trying her best not to trip over her words.
“Did… did you t-take me case for the s-same reason? To k-?”
Barok interrupted Gina with great haste to dissipate the horrifying implications.
“No. I took your case to cross blades with Ryunosuke Naruhodo once more. To further my understanding of the Nipponese… and my past. I also planned to expose your act of perjury during McGilded’s trial, which would land you in prison, preventing the Reaper from taking action. Not to mention that I had already discovered that Gregson was part of the Reaper by then. I trusted that Gregson had the moral backbone to prevent the Reaper from murdering a child.”
“…But… why are you lettin’ me off?”
Barok uncrossed his arms. Gina felt the tension in the atmosphere slowly die down.
“…What you did was illegal. However, you did so to bring an odious truth to light. You also made sure to only take that which was necessary to expose the truth. You harmed no one during your escapade last night. If you promise to never do something like this again, I will overlook your actions.”
Gina let out a sigh of relief. She didn’t expect to be able to get out of this conversation without losing her job, let alone Barok being lenient on her.
“Thank you, Barok. Uhh… I can send you the stuff I nabbed if it would be easier to prosecute that bludger.”
“I will collect those two things myself from Dr. Gorey’s office. You should head to your apartment and rest. I can see you did not manage to get across the Museum to the other building unscathed. If you left anything else at her office, she will bring it to your apartment. You are free to go.”
Gina nodded her head and attempted to get out of her chair. Her body protested in pain, and she forced herself to sit back down.
“Argh… I’ll stay ‘ere, for the time bein’. When I’m ready, I’ll call for a cab.”
Barok placed his palm to his head.
“I will call one for you instead. Please do not do… whatever you did last night that caused your injuries.”
Gina wanted to protest, but she also didn’t intend on crashing into a brick building ever again, so she kept quiet.