Princess brought Niko a pair of shoes, just like Frieda had promised. When he showed up still wearing the pink felt unicorn costume Niko asked, "So, you wear that all the time?"

Princess shrugged as he tossed the shoes on the floor. "You got a problem with that?"

"No." He tried the shoes on but they were a little too big. He was about to say so when he heard the door close. Looking up from his feet he saw that he was alone again and shrugged. The shoes weren't the most comfortable he'd ever worn but at least they kept his feet warm.

He lied down on the makeshift bed and closed his eyes but sleep didn't come. He was haunted by thoughts of what might be happening at home. Having a deviant in the family, not to mention one whose escape led to the death of a trusted government official, meant his siblings and parents would come under scrutiny. He wasn't worried about his oldest brother, Mikhail always seemed like he was up to no good anyway and after Ilia's testimony he was pretty sure their family had sorted out a deal for themselves. Then there was his brother Leo, whose wife had turned against him. She probably secured their safety by doing that. His parents and sisters, though, anything could be happening to them and it would be his fault. Zoya was even married to one of the proxy's younger sons. He tried not to imagine the terrible things that might be done to them but the thoughts were persistent.

With a frustrated huff, Niko got up and pushed the door open slowly. He began to explore the cavernous old refinery, following a rusted conveyor belt. He discovered a chute that led into a dark mine shaft and realized then that he knew where they must be hiding. This was a mine his grandfather worked long before Niko was ever born, it had dried up before his birth too and now it sat as a haunted monolith. Empty and useless, except of course as the hide away for a couple of suicidal deviants looking to... to what, exactly? He had no idea why Frieda would go to such lengths to save him, he wasn't anyone special. He was just a stifled artist living half his life underground, hiding from the sun and breathing in coal dust. He only defamed those posters because it was good practice, he wasn't trying to be revolutionary or anything, he didn't want this. A life on the run, or cruel and public torture. He should have been smarter.

The last reverberating calls of an echoing voice came to Niko from down the hallway to his right. He turned to look and noticed the faintest glow of a candle emanating from under a door. It looked like it would have been the door to the overseer's office back when the mine was thriving. He started to slowly walk towards it, listening as the first voice was joined with another. It seemed like maybe they were arguing.

"I told you, there's no way I'm gonna let that happen." It was Frieda, she sounded angry.

"He's not me, you know that right? He'll never be me." Niko thought he recognized that voice too, but he had a hard time believing that he'd be hearing it here of all places. He slowed his steps, trying to be sure before he gave away his presence. He reached the door to the overseer's office and peeked inside. It was decorated with bright fabrics and glittering things that radiated with the orange light of dozens of candles.

He could see Frieda, she had a long silk dressing gown on and her hair was in curlers. "How dare you suggest that I'm interested in anything more than getting that kid to safety. He doesn't deserve--" Niko let the door swing open when he saw who Frieda was talking to. Frieda stopped mid-sentence and looked shocked at the intrusion. "Uh, yes?"

Niko stared at the man who was fighting with Frieda, his brother, the man whose wife betrayed him and exposed his most secret deviant behavior. "Leo, what are you doing here?"

"I told you we had a mutual friend." Frieda gestured to Leo with a lazy hand. "Your brother's an excellent operative with connections to a lot of high power individuals."

"Or I was, at least." Leo was staring at Niko with an expression that he couldn't decipher. "Who knows what connections I'll have left after all this."

Niko was overcome with a mix of confusing emotions. On one hand, Leo tried hard during his own testimony to protect Niko, but Eva had turned on him in a way that he never could have expected. She'd always been so nice to him, she helped him, but now because of her he was on the run. "I'm sure your wife's confession will keep you safe."

"I didn't ask her to do that, I had no idea what she was planning."

Frieda stood up and positioned herself between the bickering brothers. "Eva did what she had to do to make sure you weren't compromised, I happen to agree with her."

"Wait, Eva's in on this whole thing too?" Niko's head was spinning but he was beginning to understand why she had been so supportive of his cross dressing, in the beginning anyway.

"Eva and Leo both work for me. Their marriage is a cover."

Niko looked from Frieda to Leo and said, "So you're a deviant too? You don't look like it."

"Deviant isn't about what you look like, doll." Frieda reached for a glass filled with vodka and ice. She sipped it and winked. "It's about what you feel. Anybody could be deviant, anybody, that's why people outside your tyrannical republic see it as a natural part of being human, not something worthy of torture and execution."

"Nikolai, we need to talk about--"

Niko was quick to cut off his brother. "We need to talk about how you've been risking your life trying to rescue deviants and yet your wife thought the best way to do that was to turn me in? Is that what you're here to talk about?"

"Actually," Frieda put a hand on Leo's chest and looked in his eyes. "We don't need to talk about anything. Niko is coming with me, he's gonna be free."

Niko could see that Frieda had some sort of power over Leo. They were staring at each other and Niko could see that Leo was allowing his words to cram down inside him with great effort. "I believe I was just about to see myself out," Leo said and Niko knew it wasn't at all what he was thinking. Without taking his eyes off of Frieda, Niko's brother brushed past him and out the door.

Niko looked at the mysterious woman who saved him but she didn't look at him. She was pouring herself another drink as she said, "What are you doing here?"

"I just... I couldn't sleep so I was walking around. This is an old mine isn't it?"

"I said what are you doing here? In my room?"

"I heard voices and it sounded like you two were fighting."

"And you, what? Thought you could help?"

"No--"

"So you thought you'd just eaves drop?"

"I--"

"What do you want?"

"Excuse me?"

"What do you want? Boy, are you delayed? What do you want?" Frieda tossed back her drink much more quickly than the last and poured another.

"I kinda wanna turn around and leave this situation."

"Not right now, not in this exact moment! I mean what do you want with your life? I've seen your art, you're good. Once we're outta this frozen hell hole I can introduce you to some people who could help you get better."

"Why? Why would you do that for someone, a stranger?"

"Your people are so cynical. I guess I can't blame you."

Niko glanced back at the door and thought of his brother. Secretly a deviant this whole time. "How long have you known Leo?"

Frieda shrugged. "Ten years, maybe more."

"Ten years and you never took him somewhere safer than this?"

"He never wanted to. He thought he could be more helpful here."

"I wanna stay and help, too."

"Don't be foolish." Frieda laughed. "Leo was never exposed like you. Everyone knows what you are now, you can't blend in like him."

"Don't make me blend in then." Niko started fiddling with the tassels of his scarf. The feeling of it against his skin filled him with such confidence he knew there was only one thing he could do now that his old life was over. "You don't blend in."

"You don't wanna do what I do, kid."

"First your asking me what I want, now you're telling me?"

"My life is dangerous."

"You seem to handle it pretty well, you can teach me."

Something changed in Frieda's gaze then and Niko could see that she wasn't focusing on him anymore. "You want me to teach you?" She said but her voice was far off.

"Yes, of course I do. I mean, look at you! At first I thought it was weird but come on! You kicked ass and rescued me. I wanna be like you, I wanna help people."

Frieda sipped her drink and smiled. "Leo would hate me."

"So what? Seems like you two don't really like each other much anyway."

Frieda seemed to snap back to the moment. Her eyes shifted to look at Niko and she said, "Fine, you can stay for a couple days. If it seems like you'll catch on quick, I'll keep you around. Otherwise, you're gone." She finished her drink and gestured to the door. "Now, get gone would ya?"