Though it was a holiday due to some local festival, our office worked as usual. It was my day of entering the heaven. Excepting Bharti and me, others ...ere away from office enjoying the holiday. We could get a lot of free time to gossip and I told her that I had some pending filing work. I entered the Director’s room and started filing. After two minutes Bharti opened the door and came to me saying, “Shiv, see, nobody has come today except we two, what will we do?” I was embarrassed first a. Other troops were doing the equivalent with the EF guys.Then someone on a PA said, “Everyone freeze in place. If you are standing ... SIT! You may have figured out that this is a Confederacy pick up. I am Lieutenant Kristi Beck. If you have a firearm, knife, mace or pepper spray, or anything else that might be classed as a weapon slowly and gently place it on the table or bar in front of you. We will tag and bag these items and if you are still here later you can get them back. The six. I became aware of people. I thought they might be downstairs; in the garage or, perhaps the tiny rear courtyard. I tried to fix my sensation of them. My stomach tightened and chilled. I sat naked, tiny, vulnerable and still. The plastic seat pressed into my buttocks. I had yet to relieve my bladder and no longer could.Their's was the sound of moving and voices not words. Almost not even tones. I strained to position them.They were outside.I took a breath. The ridge beneath my ribs stung. I bore. That is my fault, and I would beg your forgiveness.’ I swallowed past the lump that had suddenly formed in my throat, and gave a weak smile. ‘Cien, I know you aren’t to blame. I think Alex didn’t want me to have any of your attention, and the only way he knew how to dismiss it, was to kill me.’ I gave another weak smile. ‘It is quite final.’ Cien nodded gravely. ‘So there is nothing for you to be sorry for. It is in the past. Forget it.’ ‘I shall make it up to you, Lady Rose.’ ‘That isn’t.