94

Too good for me, huh?" Drew says. "Do you have any idea what I'd be doing right now if it wasn't for this? I've never lived better." He looks at you impatiently. "You gonna stick your teeth in me or what?"

"You can see why we don't have him making out-calls yet," Abagail says.

"It would be a disaster." You shake your head. "I won't be a part of it."

Abagail closes the door abruptly, leaving the young blood doll behind. She looks almost…confused. "I'm sorry if I displeased you. I shouldn't have presented a doll before they were ready. These are trying times, you understand? The Mistress is under a lot of pressure."

"I don't think she'd appreciate you detailing her pressures to one of her associates."

Abagail goes white with fear. "Please don't tell her I said that!"

Abagail shivers. "How? How am I supposed to…"

"You said it already," you say. "Ms. Grey is under a lot of pressure. If a new doll who hasn't been broken in yet escapes during the day, she wouldn't have the time or the inclination to care. Drew isn't exactly the cream of her crop, and he can't even do out-calls. No big loss. Just…make him disappear."

"That's easy for you to say. You're like her, but she could kill me without a second thought."

You're pretty sure that if push comes to shove you won't be able to protect anyone from Alisha's wrath, but you're also quite certain that she won't care that a poorly trained doll she couldn't monetize ran away. In normal circumstances, maybe she'd notice. But now? She has bigger fish to fry.

"Of course. I'll hide him during the day. I have a friend down in Kingston who can pick him up and bring him west. That's a lot of open country to cover, and the Mistress told me her…kind…avoid places outside the cities."

"Good," you say. "Thank you Abagail."

The bridge over the Rideau Canal splits in two, and where the halves diverge, a stairway leads you down into a tunnel running parallel with the canal. The Fairmont Château Laurier looms majestically above the water, a modern castle with over a hundred darkened windows watching over you like lidded eyes. Is anyone observing you from behind those panes of glass? Impossible to know, so you take your business below.

You take the steps down, two at a time, eager to begin the hunt. You haven't seen many pedestrians since you arrived, but as with any other hunting ground in Ottawa, it's just a matter of time before an opportunity presents itself.