Resting Predators

We walked the rest of the way to the hotel in silence.
I'd like to say something to lighten Silvia's depressed mood, but I'm afraid I'll make it worse. Maybe she doesn't want to talk about it right now.

When we arrive at the hotel, I wait for the receptionist to bring us the key to Silvia's room. But the man in the suit, his hair slicked back, is frantically flicking through his book.

“I'm sorry, Miss Vernelle...” He finally replies.
“Apparently, Miss Antigone's room isn't ready yet.”

I would like to let out a sigh, but I don't want to put any more pressure on this stressed man. The receptionist leans over the counter:

“I'd like to offer you another room,” he whispers to me.
“But your authority wanted this particular room because of additional security measures.”

'Additional security measures' sounds a bit exaggerated, but in the end it's for Silvia's protection and I can't question the measures anyway; my bosses decide that sort of thing.

“Hm-mh”
I nod my head cautiously. Talking to men isn't exactly my strong point, but I try my best here.
“No problem. We can wait.”

“Thank you for your understanding. I apologize very much.”

The young man bows forward in apology, almost banging his head against the reception desk.

In New Apollodon, this is a normal gesture to express your apologies, but somehow I always feel uncomfortable when someone does this to me.

I look nervously for Silvia, who should be in the reception hall with me. But when I see her, I only get more nervous:

Silvia is having a relaxed conversation with two men who, despite Silvia's proud height, tower far above her and stand hunched over the woman as if they are about to jump her. Of course, it's nice to see that Silvia seems to be feeling better again, but she doesn't seem to be aware of the danger, while I can see the men's vile intentions in their eyes.

I have to act quickly now.

Such assaults happen very rarely these days, but you never know if you might be one of the unlucky one percent.
I approach the men with quick steps.
As loud as possible to appear intimidating.
Chest out.
Serious face.

“May I help you?”

My normally quiet voice is now filled with excitement and a fighting spirit and resounds powerfully through the hall. Not as powerful as Kingston's voice, but it's enough for the moment.
The men startle and turn towards me. From up close, they look much friendlier than expected. There is an innocent perplexity in their eyes.

“Excuse me, officer,” one of the two men replies in a trembling voice.
“We were deep in conversation. Has something happened? Are we not allowed to be here?”

I actually wanted to protect Silvia from these shady guys, but somehow I feel like the bad guy right now. They don't seem as if I've caught them doing something forbidden. They're much more afraid of the unknown situation.

But suddenly Silvia claps her hands together and grins:

“Sorry guys, this is my coworker. My work is calling, you know?”

The two men look at each other briefly - now visibly more relaxed - and nod.

“Oh, I see! Then let's not interrupt any more. But please stop by our fan club in the Wheel District sometime.”

“I'll definitely pay you a visit there.”

Silvia waves goodbye to the two of them as they make their way towards the exit.
I keep an eye on the men and can still hear them saying to each other:

“It's hard to believe we've met an Euphemia fan here. The fan club will be thrilled!”

And they were gone.

That was close.
I can't believe Silvia wasn't aware of the danger. Granted, the two gentlemen seemed very friendly, but that's just for deception... right?

Silva crosses her arms and looks in the direction of the exit. Her annoyed look is definitely directed at me, but she probably doesn't want to show me that so obviously.

“Listen, Silvia,” I say hesitantly.
“I-it's best you don't talk to anyone other than me or anyone else involved in your case for now.”

“And why is that?” asks Silvia.
You can clearly hear in her voice that she's a little annoyed.

Because you can't detect any danger.
“Because no one can say what will happen if a memory suddenly comes back.”

I suspect that she already knows this and is still unhappy with my answer. This situation is simply unusual and requires such measures. She just has to hang in there for now. But before I can say anything else, a small holographic screen flickers up in front of me:

“Gymnastics training at 17 p.m.: 15 minutes remaining.” says the display.

Huh? Oh, that's right. Oh dear...
I have to go to training today. I actually wanted to postpone it, but I had already postponed the previous sessions and Hera didn't allow me to cancel this one as well.

Allow me to expand a little further: The Hera Synapse, like Dikke and Bacchus, is another sub-unit of Giftear, with Hera managing the daily schedules and appointments of New Apollondon's citizens. Each person is obliged to regularly take part in one or more sports. Physical fitness increases work performance and general well-being - you've probably heard of it before.

My sport is gymnastics. Rhythmic gymnastics, to be precise. And a sport like that simply requires you to train several days a week. Don't get me wrong: I would have enough time for it - just not the motivation. That's why I kept skipping my training, but in the meantime, missing out is penalized with minus points and a bad score in turn comes with a bunch of problems that are too diverse to explain right now.

Anyway, to summarize: I now have a big problem. I have to go to training and look after Silvia at the same time. If the hotel room was available, I'd lock Silvia in there and come back after training, but of course fate throws obstacles in my way.

“Hey Vivianne, are you okay?”

I look over at Silvia: Her once annoyed look is now a worried face. Do I really look that shocked? Although that doesn't matter now. I can only see one logical solution to this dilemma:

“Gymnastics!” I grab Silvia's arm.

“H-huh?” Silvia is visibly confused.

“Are you interested?”

“Um, maybe...”

“Yeah, okay. Great! Come with me! We'll pass the waiting time with this.”

Of course, I can't admit that the overlap between my training and her supervision was my fault - I just cleverly sell it as an opportunity to keep us busy.

And with that, I pull Silvia with me towards the subway station.