Martine smirked as she crossed her legs, before placing a hand on her knee while tilting her head. "Oh, it doesn't take a genius to figure out why," she said with a subtle point toward Ben, "but I'm not here to judge, not when Pierre is here anyway." She glanced at Pierre, a smile crossing her lips.
Pierre ignored her, shaking his head while leaning forward. "Look," he began, his voice deep and serious. "I'm not here to question you personally, lieutenant, but I need to know if you found anything remotely relevant to lord Alexander, a coat, a pen, a shoe even."
Antoinette sighed as she shook her head. "No, I haven't found anything of the sort since our deployment, I'm sorry."
Pierre gave a thoughtful nod as he reclined back in his seat, "I see, then tell me, have your men searched the nearby forests?" He asked, a hand raised to his chin.
Antoinette lowered her head as she adjusted her posture. "To a certain extent," she answered, "we don't have resources to go deeper, at least not without risking lives."
"What do you mean?" Pierre asked, slightly narrowing his eyes. "Pathfinders are the last people I expect to get lost in a forest."
"It's not about getting lost," Antoinette answered, raising her head, "we've sent a squad deep into the forest for search and rescue, but that was before we realized a larger party was involved." She let out a frustrated sigh, "We don't have the resources to fight organized crime in that environment, they could split us up and pick us one after the other, and we'd be none the wiser."
"Ah," Pierre said with a nod, "that explains… much, forgive my ignorance." He said with a slight bow.
Antoinette's expression softened, "it's fine." She said in a soft but stern tone, "But I hope you understand I don't have much more to say, we've failed to locate Alexander, and we have little to offer you."
"Understood." Pierre replied with a nod, "I have no further questions."
"Awe, are we leaving already?" Martine asked with a pout, "I just got settled."
Pierre stood from his seat in one smooth motion, "there's nothing more to be learned here, so stop whining." He said in an annoyed tone, "Let's move."
Martine shrugged her shoulders, before slowly rising out of her seat. "Fine, fine, no need to rush." She teased, clearly not taking the situation seriously, at least at face value.
The duo walked out of the safe house, escorted by Ben, who stared Martine down with narrowed eyes.
Martine only smirked under Ben's scorn, walking with a slight pep in her step. Pierre meanwhile had a calculating expression, as if his mind was running through a marathon of thoughts.
Outside, with a little distance between them and the safe house, the smell of earth and the light of the sun encompassed the trio.
"Thank you." Pierre said as he turned to face Ben, extending a hand towards him, "for the hospitality and information."
Ben looked down at Pierre's hand, his jaw tightening as his eyes narrowed. He looked as if he wanted to say something, to get something off his chest that had been plaguing him.
"Hey, I was like that too my first time." Martine said with a soft laugh, covering her mouth with a hand, revealing the countless pouches hidden beneath her cloak, "But Pierre is gentle, I promise."
Ben's head snapped in Martine's direction, "what the hell did you say?" He barked, stepping towards her. "Do you think this is a fucking joke?" His tone was laced with frustration and pent-up anger.
Martine smirked confidently as she took a casual step forward. "Oh, I like a feisty man." She whispered, her posture relaxed. "Makes it all the more fun when you break them."
Ben arched an eyebrow as his eye twitched in irritation. "Alexander's life is at stake and my patience is thin, so you better find him before I lose what little patience I have left." He said coldly, taking a step forward, towering over Martine.
Pierre watched the duo with disbelief. He then sighed as he retracted his hand, "Martine that's enough," his voice calm but commanding, "leave this man alone."
Martine gave Pierre a knowing side-eye. "Go ahead Pierre, I'll catch up." She said with an almost amused tone, hand on her hip.
Pierre sighed deeply as he threw a hand in the air in resignation. "You know what, fine." He replied before turning to walk away.
"Get moving," Ben ordered Martine, pointing a finger towards Pierre's fading figure, slowly blending into the crowd.
Martine turned to look Ben in the face, "or what?" She asked with a giggle, "Will you force me?"
Ben's expression darkened, his fists clenched to his sides. He squared his shoulders and stood tall. "This is your last warning before I do something regrettable," Ben said through gritted teeth.
Martine stepped closer, her confidence unwavering as she showed Ben her chin, while looking at his with a side glance, revealing her bright purple eyes. "I'm wait–"
Almost as if something snapped, Ben quickly stepped back before letting her finish and rocketed a fist towards Martine's stomach.
But despite Ben having the initiative and moving first, Martine was somehow faster.
Her speed was almost supernatural as she sidestepped Ben's punch. Her eyes gleamed with excitement as she grabbed his wrist, and twisted it with perfect control. She drove Ben to his knees, as her cloak billowed behind her.
Ben let out a pained grunt as Martine's grip tightened. "Oh, that one had power." Martine said with a giggle as she stepped in front of him, "But you lacked speed, an important skill."
"Gyah." Ben gritted his teeth as a shaken moan escaped his throat. "Ahh…"
Martine watched as Ben squirmed under her grasp, an almost distant expression crossing her features. "Hm, is that it?" She asked, "You have two hands." She said with a point to Ben's other hand, which he was using to support himself.
"Get the fuck off me!" Ben shouted through his pain, spit flying from his lips and splashing in Martine's face.
"No," Martine replied, using her free hand to wipe her face, "Make me, come on you're a big boy, no?"
A crowd began gathering around the duo, pedestrians and the like, all curiously watching the unfolding scene.
Ben began struggling against Martine's grip, but due to how she held him, he couldn't break free, at least now with outside interference.
His face turned red with embarrassment, lowering his eyes in shame as he frowned.
"Ben!" A voice cut through the crowd like a dagger, carrying the tone of a tired yet familiar voice.