“Careful!” Tina failed miserably at restraining herself. Like there was an invisible hand ripping her heart out, she was feeling every bit of pain Bette was in, tears rising and burning.

This time, not only Tasha, but Kroll and Max also turned to her questioningly.

Through the monitoring speaker, the suspect’s heavy breathing was heard, each inhale and exhale. Bette leaned her forehead on the table, heaving, giving herself time to toughen through the sharp twinge in her shoulder.

Tina held tightly onto the front of her uniform, finding herself breathing in sync with the brunette as if that could somehow help her get through.

“You okay?” Max asked cautiously.

“Can they be a little more sensitive?” Tina ignored him entirely and asked the indifferent agent, “she’s clearly in pain! Do your people not have any compassion?”

“She should’ve thought it through before doing things that she might regret.” Tasha Williams responded coldly.

Before Tina could protest, Robinson, on the other side of the room spoke, not allowing Bette could catch her breath. “Elizabeth Maxine Porter, you are being charged with possession with intent to distribute and distribution of illegal drugs, possession of uncertified arsenal, vandalism on federal property, aggravated assault, posing extensive bodily harm to other, attempted murder, and murder of three people.” He dumped a thick file on the table before her, the pitch of his voice going higher and higher as her charges got more and more serious. It was incredible, his expression, as if he couldn’t believe a woman would be capable of these many crimes. “Now, do you plea guilty to the above charges?”

Gradually easing her body to sit straight in the chair, Bette didn’t answer. Instead, she stared ahead to the mirror at her own shattered reflection. Her chocolate brown eyes calm as ever, they were not harsh, not at all, which was a surprising change to agent Williams.

Tasha took another glance at the blonde officer beside her, some hypothesis forming in her head. She wondered to herself if this Elizabeth Porter knew where she was taken to, but then she argued that they had kept her blindfolded the entire way here.

The suits hovered around Bette, one sent a signal toward the mirror. Tasha Williams said to Max, “They need your assistance now, Sergeant.”