In Grigori's office, at Casino de la Renard; Nice, Republic:
Grigori (to Ji Yong): Good day, Mister Yong. Have you come to give me the sad news of your departure?
Ji Yong (to Grigori): No, sir. I will be staying at the casino with my brother, if that's agreeable to you. I'll make sure Gee earns his keep.
Grigori (to Ji Yong): Heh. I have no doubt you will. I'm glad to hear it Mr. Yong. You would have been difficult to replace.
Ji Yong (to Grigori): As you say, sir. Excuse me. I should begin setting up for this evening.
Grigori (to Ji Yong): Of course! I wouldn't want to keep you. Do svidaniya.
A moment later:
Grigori: Well, well... Heh. Perhaps our wooden puppet will become a real boy after all.
Ariadne (to Grigori): Shit! I just missed him, didn't I? Hello, Dyadya. Sorry, I was hoping to talk to Mr Yong. He's been avoiding me since last night. We all got into it a bit about him wanting to leave.
Grigori (to Ariadne): Heh heh. I thought you might have had more than a little something to to with his decision to stay, sestrenka.
Ariadne (to Grigori): Doubtful... He didn't even ask me to go with him. It was Gee that did it. He said he was staying here whether Ji Yong stayed or not. I just said I'd keep an eye on Gee, if Ji Yong felt he really had to go. Besides, this is my home now. A bunch of killers aren't going to scare me off.
Grigori (to Ariadne): I'm afraid I can't give you much insight into how Mr. Yong thinks, my dove. His mind has always been behind concrete walls. I can tell you he has always had contingency plans for a time when his old employers might show up. None of them involved staying at the casino. Perhaps his brain is telling him now is the time to disappeared, but perhaps his his heart is finding this too dear a price to pay. ...Do you want him to stay, sestrenka? He is not wrong to be concerned for your safety. The Bleak House deals in fear and pain as much as death.
Ariadne (to Grigori): Da, Dyadya, I do. I love that stoic, serious, brilliant, stubborn man. But, I'm certainly not going to stand in his way from doing what's best for him & Gee. But, I don't blame Gee for wanting to stay. Once you start running, it's hard to stop.
Grigori (to Ariadne): Yes. That it is. And there is a loneliness and pain to losing your family that has no equal. Heh heh. I dare say he's going to be insufferably strict with security now.
Ariadne (to Grigori): You mean, worse than usual?
Grigori (to Ariadne): Ha ha ha! Yes, I should think so. You haven't seen what a tyrant he can be, and that was when he was only trying to protect me. He may be fond of me, but he is not in love with me. Heh heh. Nor am I his baby brother.
Ariadne (to Grigori): Oh joy of joys... Heh. Maybe, they should go, then. :-p
Grigori (to Ariadne): Ha ha ha! Shhh. Not so loud. He may hear. Where else will I find someone willing to put in the same hours as Mr. Yong?
Ariadne (to Grigori): Heehee. I don't know... If I didn't know better, I would have thought he never slept.
Grigori (to Ariadne): He does. For four hours at a time, is what I believe he once told me if you can imagine. Heh. Unless this too has changed...
Ariadne (to Grigori): Heh. No, that sounds about right... I don't want him to change because of me, Dyadya. I worry that it might get him killed.
Grigori (to Ariadne): That might be true. Heh. I hate to be the one to tell you this, sestrenka, but you have changed him. Of course, if he had continued going the way he was unchanged, that would have killed him as well.
Ariadne (to Grigori): Heh. Fair enough… Thank you. Thank you for being so good to me.
Grigori (to Ariadne): Thank you for making an old man happy.
A few hours later, in the lobby:
Zoe (to Ariadne): Hari? Have you se-- What's wrong? You look upset.
Ariadne (to Zoe): It's nothing, Zoe. Just relationship stuff. Don't worry your pretty little head about it… Oh, Bianca was quite impressed with your work the other day. I think she wants to offer you a job… I suggest you say no.
Zoe (to Ariadne): Really? Why? Is she horrible? Which one was Bianca?
Ariadne (to Zoe): The tall regal redhead… She's a courtesan.
Zoe (to Ariadne): Oh? OH! HAHAHA! I am not courtesan material. I say all the wrong things to the wrong sorts of people, mostly on purpose. It's a hereditary disorder, I come by it honestly… Now, stop distracting me. What's going on with you?
Ariadne (to Zoe): It's just the aftermath of rescuing Gee from his school. Life's a bit in upheaval at the moment, but I don't have to tell you. You were sixteen the last time I saw you & that was only a month or so ago. It'll be fine.
Zoe (to Ariadne): Of course, it will… If you need someone to talk to, you know where I am.
Ariadne (to Zoe): Heh. Thanks. I should get to work. I'll see you later.
Zoe (to Ariadne): Bye.
A short time later:
Felix (to Ji Yong): Mr. Park, wasn't it? Sorry to interrupt, sir, but have you seen Zoe? I keep losing her. Heh. I think I must still be looking for a shorter, younger version.
Ji Yong (to Felix): Yes. She's at the bar on the mezzanine... When you see her, please pass along my thanks. Her warning saved my brother's life.
Felix (to Ji Yong): Her warning?
Ji Yong (to Felix): Yes. I am in her debt… Excuse me.
Felix: ... Damnation. (to Ji Yong) Oh. Yes. Of course. Cheers.
At the bar on the mezzanine:
Sang Gi (to Zoe): Hi there, pretty lady. Can I buy you a drink?
Zoe (to Sang Gi): Heehee. Absolutely not.
Sang Gi (to Zoe): … What?
Zoe (to Sang Gi): I said absolutely not. Should I speak more slowly?
Sang Gi (to Zoe): It's just a drink, not a marriage proposal.
Felix (to Zoe & Sang Gi): Heh heh. You should be more gentle with young men's hearts, pretty lady.
Zoe (to Felix & Sang Gi): Are you kidding me? I've been watching this one work the room all night.
Sang Gi (to Zoe & Felix): I wasn't-- You saw that?
Zoe (to Sang Gi & Felix): Yep.
Felix (to Sang Gi): Ha ha ha! Know when you're beaten, boyo. (to Zoe) How about me? Can *I* buy you a drink?
Sang Gi (to Zoe & Felix): Heh. Fair enough. I'll leave you to it, then. Have a good evening. :-)
Zoe (to Sang Gi): Heh. Good night. (to Felix) And, you can buy me whatever you like, sexy man.
Felix (to Zoe): Heh. ...You don't supposed THAT was Mr. Park's brother, do you?
Zoe (to Felix): I believe he is… How did you know that Mister Park has a brother?
Felix (to Zoe): He told me. He said he was in your debt because your warning saved his brother's life...
Zoe (to Felix): … Oh.
Felix (to Zoe): Which means we have to go see my mother, doesn't it? ... Heh, looks like you're going to get to meet my family after all.
Zoe (to Felix): Yes, it would appear that way. Mrs. Esterly seems to think that because I've been aged that I'm picking up glimpses of the possible future. More than likely, they'll go away after a bit. But, I can't remember them so unless someone writes them down when they happen. They're not really going to be much help.
Felix (to Zoe): Well, I'll write down whatever you say if I'm around, pretty lady. And I certainly remember everything you said to me. When do you want to go?
Zoe (to Felix): … No time like the present. I hope we're not too late. So, which sister is Angelique? Is she older or younger? Same father?
Felix (to Zoe): She's younger. Different Poppa. I never actually met her. I was sold off before she was born. My mother told me about her and a baby brother living with an aunt in her letter.
Zoe (to Felix): Alright. Let's plan to go tomorrow morning… Are you going to be able to handle this?
Felix (to Zoe): I'll be alright.
Zoe (to Felix): Heh. Sometimes, you're a terrible liar.
Felix (to Zoe): ... I'm not looking forward to it in the slightest, to tell you true, but I'll manage.
Zoe (to Felix): Well, Victor told me how he tried to help Amunet find her uncle… We could try that & bypass visiting your mother all together.
Felix (to Zoe): ... Perhaps. When you spoke with Mrs. Esterly yesterday, did you find out... When my sister was found, was she alive?
Zoe (to Felix): Yes… Her father was in the process of selling her to a bad man named Cruikshanks. Apparently, in the future, your mother contacted you for help… And, we were too late. She was alive but just barely.
Felix (to Zoe): Bloody hell! She's barely more than a baby! That son of a... Sorry. Sorry, pretty lady... Thank you for helping me with this, Zoe.
Zoe (to Felix): Of course… We'll either warn the folks who have her to keep her father away or we can prevent it happening ourselves.
Felix (to Zoe): Damn straight we will.
Zoe (to Felix): Let's turn in, sexy man. We're going to have a busy day.
Felix (to Zoe): Lead the way, pretty lady.
