"Who are you?" the boy asks with his mouth full of cake.

"Who are you?" Inara counters him.

"I asked first." The boy tilts his head, jumping off the counter.

"I am..." Inara shut her mouth when she remembered she wasn't supposed to tell anyone who she was. The door swung open, Ivory calling out for Inara.

"Inara, are you in here?" she half shouts.

Inara turns her head, showing by a raise of her hand, "Here!"

"Oh, thank god, you're here. I went to the washroom and then Abir couldn't find you anywhere and then...hey..." Ivory clicks her finger to get Inara's attention back but she was intently looking at the place where the boy was. He just disappeared.

"There was a boy here." she says, examining the place as far as her vision goes.

"What boy?" Ivory looks around to only find some packets of chips and half-eaten cupcakes strewn on the floor.

"He was here eating...." Ivory stops her from contemplating.

"Come on." She drags her out, "We'll be late for the address."

"Ahh, found you!" Abir was panting when they reached the ladies.

"Where are the guys?" Ivory asks.

"I don't know. Stay here, the address will start soon. I'll look for them." Abir says, patting Inara's back and running inside the hall. They couldn't find Kyros, Damon, or Zade anywhere and they promised to stick together, at least till Victor is out of here.

Inara sighs and her eyes fall on the isolated pantry table, full of everything sweets. She starts to walk towards it but Ivory stops her.

"Where are you going?" she asks, looking at the direction she was heading. "Hungry?"

"Famished. Craving for something sweet." Inara replies.

Ivory bites her lips and finally allows her, "Okay. But get back here before Abir comes."

Inara nods and walks towards the pantry. It wasn't that she was hungry but she saw small hands slipping in a couple of cupcakes under the table. Somehow, those hands looked very familiar to what she saw a few minutes ago. She doesn't want to bust on the kid so she clears her throat, loud enough to reach the hidden boy.

"Ahem. If you want to eat them, you can do that in front of everyone."

The little boy peeks from the table cloth and looking at a familiar face, takes a sigh of relief. He does come out of his hiding spot but takes refuge behind Inara. He perfectly hid behind her, rendering Inara confused.

"I am not supposed to be here." the boy replies in a hushed tone, looking around.

"Why?' Inara asks, looking around like him. "Where are your parents?"

"I don't have any." He replies stuffing a small piece of cookie in his mouth.

"How did you come here then?" maybe he has someone who looks after him.

"In the trunk of the big car. Hiding." The boy replies innocently even though it was the most absurd thing Inara has heard this evening. "The driver was kind enough to hide me from them."

"Who are them?" Inara is now intrigued.

"The people I live with." He replies tilting his head and then scoffs, "You sure ask a lot of questions. Are you really an adult?"

Inara chuckles and crouches to ruffle his hair, "What does that have to do with me being an adult?"

"Another question." The boy pouts, "You adults seem to know everything."

Inara gets a bit taken aback but answers him with a smile, "Well, let me tell you, little boy, we know nothing." It was true. Half of the adults in her life knew nothing and they were as prone to dangers of the world as the little boy was. The only difference is that adults have a bigger threshold to pain and torment.

"But still," she caresses his head, "you shouldn't steal and eat."

"I am not stealing." The boy says, sounding a bit upset. "These are all mine." He points at the food and all the décor too.

"How is that now?" Inara chuckles.

"The people I came here with." He says a little loudly. "I was told that all of this was for them and I am a part of them."

It clicks in Inara's mind. All these arrangements were done for them.

"You mean to say the Elders?" she asks jokingly but she was a little serious.

"That's what you call them." The boy shrugs his shoulders, "I don't really call them anything except for saying 'yes' and 'sir'."

"You are saying you are one of the Elders?" Inara asks mockingly. This kid was definitely joking.

"Yes. So, all of the food is mine." The boy gives a straight answer with a deadpan expression that makes Inara think otherwise.

"You have a vivid imagination." Was all that she could say. This kid was definitely joking.

"I am telling the truth." The boy asserts.

Inara scoffs at his impudence, "The Elders are 'old people'. And from what I see," she scans him up and down, "You are just a ten-year-old boy."

"Technically," he points out, "I am six. I know I look like this because I grew a lot faster than the other kids. Well, perks of being me."

"What's your name?" Inara asks irritatingly.

"What's yours?" the boy counters again.

"Ugh!" she groans. "Inara."

"Hi, Inara. I am Beta." He puts his hand forth to shake her hand but she looked at him with a bewildered expression.

"Beta?" she asks again.

"Yes. I told you, I am a part of them." He shrugs his shoulders again, shoving another cake in his mouth but Inara stops him.

"Then tell me, what are you doing here hiding?" she takes the cupcake from him.

"Hey!" he jolts her hand off. Inara felt an immense amount of energy from this boy. "I was going to eat that!" he takes the cupcake again. "And I already told you, I am not supposed to be here."

Inara exhales slowly. Enough of this nonsense. She crouches again in front of him, asking him sweetly, "Okay Beta, why don't we look for your parents?"

"I don't have any!" Beta looks back at her with wide eyes. Does this lady not have ears?

"Okay." She takes another deep breath, not letting the kid get on her nerves, "Let's take you the people who brought you here."

Beta suddenly freezes at the mention of that. As if his soul just left his body.

"I don't want to." He sounds small.

"You have to. Or you'll get lost." She holds his hand but he frees himself, hiding beneath the table again.

"I told you no! They are not nice." He was close to crying.

Inara stood there for some time assessing the situation before lifting the table cloth herself and peeking in, "What do you mean?"

"Nothing." Beta couches back inside.

Inara holds his face and caresses his cheek, Beta feels warmth, something that he didn't feel in a lot of years. "What do you mean by that?" she asks sincerely.

"They...."

"What are you doing?" Ivory asks in her judgemental voice. Inara stood up and looks behind to see Ivory and Abir looking at her.

"I was helping this boy..." she lifts the table cloth only to find no one there. "Where did he go?" she looks around for him.

"Who are you talking about?" Ivory asks, confused.

"He was right here!" Inara points under the table.

"There was no one here when we came," Abir says, looking a bit worried.

"We saw you crouching near the table, thinking something might be wrong." Ivory rubs Inara's back. Maybe, she was a little tired.

"Anyways, I couldn't find the guys," Abir says, again scanning the room with his eyes. He searched every corner and crevice of the place, with no sign of the three.

"I hope they are fine." Ivory prays. Inara suddenly feels like someone stabbed her heart. She clutches her chest along with the table beside her to help her stand straight.

"What...what happened?" Ivory was quick to notice her.

"I.....I don't feel so good...." She says, barely letting her words come out.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Victor speaks on the mic and Abir had to close his ears as he was loud.

"Now I see why you don't!" Ivory remarks, looking at Victor. Abir helps her too to stand straight.

"No," Inara says. She could feel it from inside.

"It's.....it's Zade."

Victor looks at them with a knowing smile.

A smile they knew would destroy lives.