"Let's skip the pleasantries, shall we? You and I both know we're not here for small talk." Darlington sets down his glass of wine and leans on the front of his desk.

I cross my arms and lean against his door. "You took my sister. Where is she?"

He smirks, "The tracker we put in her now tells us she's ours, not yours."

"She's not mine, she's her own person. Stop treating her like an object."

"She's naive and too Innocent. If she goes back with you in those barren wastelands, she'll never survive."

"I've been out there since I was way younger than her," I spread out my arms, "and look at me I'm alive and well."

"Alina, your sister is better with us. If she goes with you, you'll train her to be your apprentice, you and I both know she's not fit to be a thief."

Anger boils in my veins, "She'll be a slave if she stays with you!"

"She'll be a faithfully citizen if she stays with us. I haven't reported you to the authorities yet, and the government is still looking for the Midnight Thief. If she stays with us, I'll guarantee you weekly, supervised visits and one visit a month with no supervision and I won't report you to the authorities."

I grind my teeth together, I don't know what to choose, if I take Lilia, we'll be on the run and she's only five, but if I let them keep her in their facilities, they'll convince her to lie down to her last lie like they did me. She'll be at risk her whole life controlled by this awful corrupt government. Then there's an alternative, take her to the Thieve's Keep and have my master train her while I stay on the run. I realize if I do that, Lilia might never grow up the way a child should, but I didn't and I am perfectly fine.

I stand straight and approach him until we're a foot apart and look up at him, straight into his eyes. He stares at me, completely open and distracted. I pull the hidden knife from my sleeve and slash him across the face. He yells and falls to his knee. I watch him reach over for his telephone, but knock him out before he can call for help.

I log into his files and search for Lilia Laine. I click on her file:

Name: Lilia Lian Laine

Age: 5

Section: Alliend B

Lies: 3

Good, she still has all her lies and she's in a building close to me. The Alliend Tower.

I open a window and jump from 500th floor. I use my grapple to land on the roof of the closest building. I run for twenty minutes until I reach the Alliend Tower. I use my grapple and and throw myself onto the side of the building. She's in section B which would be sub level B, but obviously sub level is underground, so I have to find the elevator which leads to he sub levels which according to my memory is level 50.

I count the levels until I reach said level. I pull out my laser and cut an opening big enough in the glass. They should really stop making important buildings out of glass. I go in. Time to get my sister back.