Cassandra stood motionless, her breathing heavy and her fists clenched, as the man with the cybernetic eye took another step closer.
"Relax," Hector said, his tone calm and disarming. "I'm not here to hurt you. My name's Hector, and this—" he gestured toward the robot, "is ARIA."
Cassandra took a cautious step back, her muscles coiled like a spring. She kept her distance, her sharp gaze fixed on the pair. "I don't know you," she said flatly, her tone laced with suspicion.
Hector raised an eyebrow, a small smirk tugging at his lips. "Fair enough. But you should know I'm a friend. I've worked with Zafron before. Any friend of a friend is a friend, right?"
Cassandra didn't respond immediately. Her mind churned as she evaluated his words. 'He says he's a friend of Zafron, but that doesn't mean I can trust him. He could be lying.' She tightened her grip on her weaponized slime. "You'll have to do better than that," she said coldly.
