Within the Training Hall, medical personnel tended to Xun and Sai, while James, Roberta, Jon, and Penny converged around Frank. A bounty hunter restrained Brigitte, who was gagged and blindfolded, but that didn't stop her from trying to fight and thrash about with muffled screams.

Frank noticed them coming and embraced Jada. The two held each other while Roberta, Jon and James converged around Valeria. She ignored them and walked right up to Sai. "Are you alright," she asked, inspecting his face.

He had a cut above his eye, but he seemed otherwise unharmed . "I've been better," he said with a toothy grin. "Did you stop the bad guy?"

Sighing, she said, "He got away. But Erin and I made it out alive, so there's that."

"True," Roberta said. "If you hadn't made us come here, Sai would have died."

"I've just got to say," James said, grinning ear to ear, "this is the best day of my life, finding this place. No one will ever believe me if I told –"

"No one will ever know," Dontrell said, catching everyone off guard as he entered the Training Hall, "because I have to kill you all. The Faction Charter says all outsiders that discover us need to be eliminated."

Valeria stared at him wide eyed. She had worried Jada might harm her friends and completely forgot about Dontrell. Her heart rate spiked as she looked to Frank and Jada for help, but relaxed a little when Frank winked at her.

James, Roberta and Jon all dropped to their knees and started pleading for their lives. Sai looked concerned, but too exhausted to grovel.

A faint smirk crossed Dontrell's lips as he removed a pistol from his belt and cocked it. "I mean, I don't know what to tell you kids. Rules are rules."

"You can't be serious!" Roberta screamed.

"But we helped stop that crazy woman!" Jon protested.

"I can't die after finding out about this place!" James pleaded, kneeling in front of Dontrell. "I'm still a virgin man come on –"

"Well, as sad as that sounds," Dontrell said, his smirk widening , "we can't have outsiders running around talking about our faction –"

"We won't say anything," Jon interrupted, his shoulders twitching. "Right guys?"

"Of course not," Roberta added.

"How about you," Dontrell asked, pointing the pistol at James. He was a pale sweaty mess, and looked like he was about to faint.

"Never. Not a word."

"Well," Dontrell said, his voice hinting at a sudden change of heart. "Since you helped capture a traitor in my guild, I'll leave your fate up to the Sovereign. How about it, Sis? Yay or nay?"

Frank held Jada within his embrace, and she broke away for a moment to offer a thumbs up.

"Oh thank God!" James exclaimed.

Jada turned to them, a scowl across her face. "We'll let you go for now. If you tell anyone about anything you've seen today, my brother will hunt you down. Understood?"

They all agreed.

"Penny," Jada said, "please escort our guests outside."

Jon, Roberta, and James all waved goodbye to Valeria. Sai stopped by her last. "Thanks for saving me again. See you in school Monday?"

"See you Monday." She wanted to see him earlier than that. She wanted to embrace in the same way Frank embraced Jada, but now wasn't the best time. But don't worry, Sai, she thought, watching him walk away. I will make time for you later. Once they were gone, she turned to Dontrell and frowned. "What the hell is wrong with you? Threatening a bunch of kids with a loaded gun?"

Grinning, he stepped beside her and held up the pistol, which clearly didn't have a magazine inserted. "Who said the gun was loaded?"

"You're such an asshole," Frank said with a laugh.

"I thought that one kid was gonna puke on me," Dontrell mocked. "You know how hard these Aegis suits are to clean, right?"

"Wait a minute," Valeria said. "I thought you hated each other."

"Hate's a strong word," Frank said. "He's an asshole and gets on my nerves a lot, but that's what brothers do."

"So you were part of Jada's plan all along," Valeria asked, turning back to Dontrell.

"Not at first. I wanted you in my guild, despite my sister's protests."

"Wait, what?" Frank asked.

"I overheard you talking to Brigitte," Valeria said, pressing on. "You wanted her to follow someone?"

"I asked him to follow Penny," Jada said. "She was meeting a lot of unsavory types in bars the past two weeks. I thought either Penny or Brigitte was the traitor."

"I passed that assignment off to Brigitte," Dontrell groaned. "I told her to forget her original assignment - a potential terrorist - and to follow Penny. Sorry, sis, but I had better things to do than follow that sl–"

"Stupid girl," Jada cut in. "Turns out Penny was just being a very friendly person. While my brother was supposed to follow Penny, Frank was giving me reports about Brigitte."

Valeria looked over at Frank with surprise. "You said I should keep Brigitte's attack a secret!"

Frank shrugged his shoulders. "I was just doing what I was told. I actually texted Jada when you first told me you got hit by a car -"

"But I told him what to do," Jada interrupted. "I wanted you to think I didn't know, when I really did. Keeping you in the dark - both of you - was integral for my plan," she said, exchanging glances between Valeria and Frank.

Valeria paused and locked eyes with Jada. Suddenly it all made sense. She knew Jada was trying to manipulate not only her, but everyone around her to make sure future events played out in a certain way. She was still angry about being lied to, but felt a little better knowing she wasn't the only one.

"While I had my suspicions," Jada said, "the artifact never directly revealed the traitor in our Faction...over here." She removed the rag from Brigitte's mouth. "You and I have much to talk about."

Brigitte tried to spit at her, but Jada was too quick and stepped aside. She laughed and said, "You weak fool. You have no idea what the master has planned. But when the plan succeeds and the world is divided in half, we shall see who stands where."

Jada crossed her arms against her chest. "Get this piece of garbage out of my sight. I will deal with her later."

"Good riddance!" Xun cheered with one arm, the other set in a sling. As the guards escorted Brigitte away, she walked over to Valeria and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm going to the infirmary. Come find me later, okay? We can talk about what happened," she whispered, her face slowly erupting into a smile, "or we can talk about more important things, like the Runner position on my team. You decide," she said, waving as she left with one of the medics.

"So," Frank said, exchanging glances between Valeria and Jada, "are you going to tell us what happened?"

"Dontrell will fill you in," Jada said, her gaze focused on Valeria. "I need to speak with Valeria in private. Follow me."

She didn't want to follow her. Her body ached and her head throbbed after everything that transpired. She needed to eat, sleep, and smoke some weed. But most of all, she needed space.

For the second time in her life, Valeria had lost all faith in a foster parent. Her previous foster parents had sold her out – literally. Her foster father had treated her like a piece of property; her body was on the table to the highest bidder. When she left the detention center for the first time two years ago, she wasn't welcomed into a new family. She was forced into slavery.

After a year of abuse, it felt like her body couldn't take any more. She felt like she might collapse inside herself like a house of cards. And yet, she found the strength to escape, survive, and endure the streets. She swore to never allow herself to be used again, but then Frank appeared at the detention center. She was so skeptical of him, so worried of becoming a pawn again. Her instincts proved correct, but she had picked the wrong parent.

"Why should I?" Valeria asked, her voice trembling. "You used me, just like he did."

"What?" Frank asked, the concern in his voice palpable.

"Not here," Jada hissed. "We can talk in private –"

Everyone stopped what they were doing; all eyes were on them. Valeria crossed her arms against her chest, refusing to concede. "I'm not moving. Why should I? What can you possibly offer me?"

"The truth," Jada said with a sigh. "But I'm not telling my secrets to everyone here. I'm going to my chambers. If you want the truth, you'll have to follow me." She turned and left the training hall without turning back.

Valeria stood there a moment, contemplating her options. Part of her wanted to leave this place and never come back. If she remained a Rogue, she would always be a pawn in Jada's game, and that made her feel small.

But then there was the other half of the equation. She turned and noticed Frank, who stood there watching her, a genuine look of concern across his face. If Jada made her feel small, he made her feel the opposite. She wouldn't go as far as saying she needed him. Quite the opposite. She was a survivor and could make her own way in the world. And while she could leave him behind; she didn't want to.

And thus, there was no alternative. She would have to confront Jada.

"Listen, kiddo," Frank said, trying to break the uneasy silence. "Let's just talk –"

"Stay here," she said, her tone firm. "I need to go talk to her. I'll be back."

"Good luck," Dontrell said, his tone sarcastic. "Don't worry Pip-squeak, the girl can handle herself. We have a lot to talk about."

Valeria closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She knew the truth wasn't going to be easy, but nothing worth having in life ever is. And with that thought in mind, she left the training hall.