The time was 5:16 post meridian when Miss Cozbi and her daughter entered Mr. Youngblood's office. The sun had yet begun to set and the time caught Sylis off guard. People were still in the middle of finishing last-minute things before they officially left the building. That meant that a few people saw Miss Cozbi and her kin. She waved at a few of them and gave them a smile.

As the creak of the door reached Sylis' ears he yanked open the wooden draw on his desk and pulled out his Walther PPK. He pointed the gun at her head. The room stood still as everyone stared at the gun. When Sylis saw that the person who entered his office was no threat he quickly sat down and placed his Walther PPK back into his drawer. "Pardon me, Miss Cozbi, but you caught me off guard." He motioned to the sofa she sat on the day before. "Please, sit." Sylis seldom was truly polite so this was a special occasion. Maybe it was because this was a special case which meant that it got a peculiar treatment.

Lilin Cozbi—who was visibly shaking—made her way to the sofa. Her daughter seemed unaffected by the possible loss of her mother and simply followed the woman to the other sofa. This time she sat down. Sylis watched Miss Cozbi very carefully. "Take a few deep breaths," he said. "I have a few questions for you."

The woman looked up at him while taking long, shaky breaths. Inhale through the nose, exhale through the mouth. Her mouth made an 'O' as she exhaled.

Sylis wasted no time and after she exhaled the tenth time he asked, "Why is your daughter not scared of the gun?" He opened his laptop and opened a black document. He wrote, "Miss Lilin Cozbi and her daughter Miss Piper Cozbi. Daughter is not scared of a gun, why?" He looked up and waited for her response.

Miss Cozbi took another deep breath, but she didn't slowly exhale. She looked at her daughter then at Sylis. "My...ex...has held me at gunpoint before. I guess she got used to it or something."

"My next question is why is she used to it and not you? How often has he done this to you?" Mr. Youngblood asked.

"A lot, but this was a few years ago—Piper was only a toddler at the time. He used to only threaten me, by doing it, but now he seems to really be trying to kill me."

"How old is Piper? And how old was she when he threatened you those years ago?"

Miss Cozbi looked towards Piper. "Piper, why don't you talk to Mr. Youngblood?" If this question was said out of context it would seem innocent. Just a shy girl being asked to step outside her comfort zone, but something about this girl was off to Sylis. The whole case seemed a little off.

The two locked eyes like they had done previously, then Lilin Cozbi snapped out of their gaze and looked towards Mr. Youngblood. "She doesn't want to talk right now...I guess. Piper is six."

"Interesting," Sylis thought in his head. He typed in the information and looked up. "So, what specifically do you want me to do?"

The question seemed to make Miss Cozbi confused. "Wait, so you're just going to do whatever I ask of you?"

"Within reason and my ability," Sylis answered honestly.

"Well..." It was like being asked 'If you had all the money in the world, what would you do?' "...I would like you to keep us safe from him. I guess you could be like a bodyguard."

Sylis thought for a bit before replying, "That sounds reasonable." He brought out an official-looking peacing of paper. "Write what you exactly said on the piece of paper. Nothing more. I'll be reviewing it before we both sign on it."

"If I may ask," Lilin Cozbi said. "Does everyone who comes into your office have to do this?"

"Not necessarily, but that's confidential," Sylis retorted, handing his client the piece of paper on a clipboard with a pen attached to the top. It all looked very professional with the clipboard and pen both being metal with gold accents.

Sylis and Piper watched as Lilin wrote on the piece of paper. "Here you go." Sylis read it over and signed it at the bottom, then he handed it back to Miss Cozbi. She signed it and the contract was finalized.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," Sylis said standing up. He was going to shake her hand as was customary in the building.

"What do you mean?" Lilin Cozbi said with a raised eyebrow as she took his hand.

Sylis raised an eyebrow as well. "What are you talking about?"

Miss Cozbi giggled then said, "I think you should read the contract again." Sylis grabbed the clipped board from his desk and read the short contract again:

Mr. Sylis Penn Youngblood will protect Miss Lilin Odella Cozbi and Miss Piper Irene Cozbi from Miss Lilin's ex-boyfriend. He will act as a bodyguard*.

Sylis saw the asterisk. He must have missed it the first time reading it. He followed it down until he saw another one explaining what 'bodyguard' meant in this context.

*Mr. Sylis Penn Youngblood will have to follow his client and her daughter everywhere they go. This includes the nighttime. Housing and other living expenses will be partly provided by the client.

"I didn't agree to this," Sylis said raising his voice. Dropped the clipboard with a thud.

"But you signed it and I'm your client, so I think it's time to go home," Lilin smirked. Sylis thought about it as much as he could in the little bit of time. He couldn't see anything against it, he did agree to it even if he didn't see everything he agreed with. It was his fault for not seeing the asterisk. He had to change but to follow Lilin Cozbi back to her house.

"Okay, Miss Cozbi," he said as the three of them walked out of his office. He noticed that Piper was frowning, she was facing the floor and looked as if she were on the verge of tears. Sylis just turned his face away from her.