Ever and Annie watched Melanie lead Grim down the stairs to the lobby from their cracked open doorway. 

"What the fuck is he doing?" Annie said through gritted teeth. "Her, very shortly" Ever responded. Annie turned and punched him as hard as she could, then left him groaning on the floor and followed Grim and Melanie down to the lobby. At the same time, Melanie and Grim were standing in front of a door with an 'Employees only' sign hanging on it. 

"I just had it" Melanie muttered. Searching her skirt for the key to the room. Grim turned to make sure nobody was watching and finds Annie standing before him. 

"Oh, Annie... I-" Grim was cut off with a swift kick to the crotch from Annie. Grim made a sort of grunting sound as he fell to his knees. "When you said you'd handle it, I believed you. But the second I turn around you go off and bang this skank! I hope you die from an STD you horny asshole!" Annie spat at Grim. Leaving it at that, she stormed away. 

"Are you okay Grim?" Melanie asked, bending down to help him t his feet. "Just dandy" He croaked. "I guess I'm not having kids now" 

"Is she your..." Melanie asked. "Shes my best friend, shes like a sister to me" Grim said, recovering from his critical hit. 

"Then I guess I'll think about letting go of her calling me a skank" Melanie responded. Then her eyes went wide and she started blushing "Wait...s-she thinks w-we..." Melanie trailed off. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and started biting her bottom lip, becoming self conscious. Grim became captivated by the sight. He had seen something like this once before, but this was next level.  She looks really cute right now. Grim thought.  

"W-we don't have time for this" Grim stammered, catching himself. "Hurry up and find the key"

It was another two minutes before Melanie found the key tucked into her cleavage. She opened the door to reveal what looked like a laundry room. Six machines at against the left wall, three washers and three dryers. On the right was three shelves with towels of all sizes. Further down was a large wooden table and chair. At the end of the room was a large metal door with a small rectangular window above the doorknob. 

"This is sort of my office" Melanie said as they walked through the room. "It connects to the basement, where your friend is being kept" She explained. "There's also one in Fredricks office, like a secret passage" They stopped at the metal door, but Melanie made no move to reach into her pocket for a key. 

"It's unlocked?" Grim asked. "Uh-huh" Melanie said. Grim reached for the handle but Melanie grabbed him. "What is it?" Grim said, turning toward Melanie. "N-nothing, nevermind" she replied, shifting weight from one foot to the other. Grim smiled and squeezed her hand gently. "I'll go first" Melanie nodded and blushed a bit. Grim was a bit uneasy himself, but after seeing that his fear just seemed to wash away. Grim took a deep breathe, and turned the knob. 

                              -------------------------------- 

"Alright, girly, move it. I'm on a tight schedule" Francisco grunted from the cell door. Malinda looked up and saw a revolver glint in the dark as he motioned for her to get up. 

"W-wait!" Phan cried, grabbing Malinda's hand as she stood up. "D-don't leave!"

Francisco aimed the gun toward Phan "Do you want to take her place?" 

Phans eyes began to fill with tears, and her hand slipped from Malinda. Malinda said nothing as she marched out of the cell. and didn't turn back as she continued down the hall, the barrel of the revolver at her head.