”In other words, as long as I don’t tell you I’m planning to commit a felony, you’ll keep my secrets?” She asked before Elisa could explain.

”Pretty much – That good enough for you?” She asked.

”In fact it is. Thank you, Elisa.” Dominique told her, appraising Elisa thoughtfully again. There was the sound of cars pulling up, sirens shutting off, car doors opening.

”Um, I think this is the part where I offer you my jacket?” Elisa observed, looking down at the other woman’s state of dress. ”Unless you can, you know, wave your hand and conjure up some less conspicuous clothing?”

”I’m afraid not.” Dominique took off her circlet and anklet while Elisa took off her coat. ”…thank you.” She said as she took Elisa’s jacket and put it on.

Looking at the other woman, bare foot with just the scrap of cloth covering her below the waist, Elisa rethought her approach. They could say she was kidnapped and… was the victim of an attempted sexual assault – It was about the only way to explain things that people would maybe believe – but putting the other woman through the media frenzy that would likely follow seemed, to say the least, not a very kind option. ”On second thought, maybe not…” She looked around and tried the door to the second floor offices. It opened onto a hallway. The offices themselves would probably be locked, but apparently whoever had locked up last night had thought the lock on the downstairs door would be enough. ”I um, your choice. Hide here and wait for me, or try our luck getting to my car through whatever’s out there like this.” She offered.

”Mm, no, I believe I’ll take the better part of valor, thank you.” Dominique answered, going to the door, her hand on the doorknob. She looked into Elisa’s eyes again and held her gaze a moment more, just to assure herself of her choice to trust this woman again, and then she turned and closed the door behind her, sitting down on the floor against the wall so she couldn’t be seen through the window in the door that was higher up. She heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Elisa Maza identifying herself to her colleagues, telling them the crime scene was upstairs. Then more footsteps as they all went up to the third floor. It was all somehow anti-climactic, she thought to herself. A part of her had been sure, even though her instincts had told her otherwise, that the police detective who’d come to her rescue would betray her in the end. That part of her still thought that, in fact – That either this was all some sort of trick, or that Elisa’s good intentions wouldn’t last. No human’s ever had, where she had been concerned, and she had been alive for a very long time. Too long, she sometimes thought.