"You're going to what?"

Anna held her breath as she left her gaze focused on Shink. For some reason, everyone found a reason to make her want to always repeat herself. She rolled her eyes. It wasn't that much of a big deal, why was he being so dramatic again?

"Keep your voice down Shink."

"No I won't. I can't keep my voice down. What you just said is outrageous!" He kept yelling at her as he took a step closer to her. "Do you have any idea the consequences of even thinking it?" Now he made sure to keep his tone in check. Anna was right, the better people didn't hear what she had just suggested, the better for them.

"Well give me other ideas then. I'm running out of options."

"Anything that does not involve blowing your cover, blowing all our covers works for me."

"I'm not exposing anything if no one finds out Shink."

"For centuries, Atians have managed to survive by not tipping the humans off about what our blood can do. Do you have any idea what might happen if the humans found out that our blood can magically heal anything? Any disease? Do I have to remind you what these humans are capable of? What they did to us hundred of years ago? What they took from your family? They would come for us, for all of us. First they would raid the arc and take away our children and then they'd take us to their labs and start their unending series of tests. It took us seven hundred years to finally get them to stop. They'd never let us have our freedom. It's only going to make everything worse. "

"Come on Shink. It's not something they are not already doing. Do you think they never thought about it? All those years they ran all those tests, do you think they never thought about it?"

"Do you think we'd be out here if they did? The integration program would have never even seen the light. Yes, they might have been close to knowing that one secret but never really understood how to use it. We have just been lucky and too careful to not give it away. Anna , to them we are the disease. They can't ever think we can be anything more than that. And giving them that information, is like giving them our death sentence, all our lives. You cannot do that. It's absurd."

Anna exhaled.

Shink was right and she hated to admit it. What if she got caught? It could affect everything she had worked so hard for. But then again, It was Angelo. And he wasn't getting any better.

" I don't support this idea. There must be another way to help him without destroying our people. What about his sister. Simone? Any word from her yet?

Anna exhaled. It had been over three days since she sent those mails but nothing happened. She never got a call back or even a mail, nothing. She was starting to think she was right all along. Simone Trusk didn't care about her family.

"None." Anna answered.  "I don't even think she reads them. I don't even think she cares."

"So why do you? Why should we?"

"What?"

"If his own family is willing to let him die, if they are so eager to abandon him, then we should do the same." Shrink g table where Anna sat. "Anna, this is just a distraction. Something to make us lose our focus. I'm sure if we just wait a while longer, help would come. Someone would be interested in saving him-"

"Shink what on earth are you talking about?" Anna understood Shink was just concerned. He was concerned about her and their people but she just couldn't understand why he was so quick to suggest one of the most insane things she had ever heard. "Are you suggesting we let him die? I let him die?"

Shink shrugged his shoulders.

"Shink, he's my husband."

"On contract." he added leaning closer. "Don't forget that. Think about it Anna, with Angelo out of the picture, it allows us have more access to everything we want. You'd have no competition anymore."

Anna scoffed.

"let him go. If this is his fate, don't try to stop it. It won't be your fault since he has always been an unfortunate child since he was born."

"Really? What about level forty five then? You do know that we can never find it or black city without Angelo don't you?"

"We'd find another way."

"Another way?" Anna scoffed. "What other way Shink? None of this can ever be anything without Angelo. It can't be anything if he dies. You of all people should know that."

She slouched on her chair.

She was so tired of talking already. She rubbed her forehead. She was having a headache. She shut her eyes for a minute.

"Are you sure? "

Anna slowly opened her eyes. She looked at Shink's frowning face. He kept staring at her, not really convinced about what it was she was trying to say.

"Are you sure this is just because of level Forty five?"

"Huh?"

"I don't know Anna, It seems more than that. It seems more like you're decision to be involved is something personal."

"What are you getting at Shink?"

"You have feelings for him don't you?"
Anna rolled her eyes in unbelief. There they went with that talk again. He never got tired of bringing his imaginations into every conversation did he?

"That's why you're this way. That's why you're so scared. That's why you're willing to risk everything."

"Shink what on earth are you even talking about -"

Shink leaned closer.

"You do know he's going to die eventually don't you. They all are. When we get the G unit to the black city, it would all be over. You are going to make the plug to kill them. All of them. It has to be you. You can't do this to yourself, you cant be overwhelmed by your feelings or you're going to really suffer. Your guilt is going to kill you once all this is over. Anna, you can't let your feelings cloud your judgement. You can't let your feelings get in the way. You should not even have these feelings at all."

Anna scoffed.

She got up quickly.

" I don't know what you're talking about Shink. I have no feelings for Angelo. "

She walked to the window and left her gaze outside, anything to avoid looking at Shink whole his words kept echoing in her head.

"Is that what you tell yourself? Anna you're not even trying to hide it anymore. You were supposed to gain his trust. To get him to fall for you and it's almost as if the tables turned on you. It's getting really obvious. You can't keep lying to yourself. "

She turned to him quickly.
She wanted to say something but she did know what to say. Why wasn't she denying it or admitting it either? Shink looked at her. It was obvious he was hoping she could defend herself. Her arms were folded and her Jaws kept moving like she was trying to force words from her mouth but nothing but faint whispers of words that made no sense kept spitting out.  She really wished Shink was wrong. She really wish she could deny it. Defend herself like she always did but she couldn't. She didn't know how or when but things had changed.

Things were different with her. She should have known when her heart raced everytime she bumped into Angelo at the elevator, how it raced when ever she was around him. She thought that was just her guilt and conscience fighting but it was more than that. Or when her heart craved to see him all the nights he avoided her.

What exactly had changed?

"It never works out Anna."
Shink reminded her.

"I thought what happened to Gabriel thought you that. Someone is going to get hurt in the end. In this case, a lot of people."

Anna could feel a lot of tears in her eyes. She kept fighting to push them back. She was really scared. Shink was right. It never worked out but hearing him talk about it like that even terrified her.

"What do I do?"

Shink exhaled in shook. He exhaled. She was admitting it now. At last, she was admitting her feelings for Angelo.

"Shink I never wanted this. I never wanted any of this to happen but it just did-"

"You don't have to do anything Anna. You've done enough. Now you have to fix it. Fix yourself. You have get rid every feeling you have for Angelo and every other human you've been in contact with. The consequences are somethings we can't even afford. We can't afford to be slippery right now. You have to."

Anna sniffed.
She nodded slowly. She understood. She understood perfectly.

She watched Shink shake his head as he picked up his briefcase. He was upset, upset with her and she could see it. He got up slowly and then turned to leave.

"I'm going to the arc."

"What?" Anna took a step forward.

"Don't worry Anna. I'm not going to report you or your secret. I won't tell anyone that you're in love with one of them. At least not yet."
He assured her.

Anna held her breath. She wasn't still convinced. She trusted Shink but she still wasn't convinced on how loyal he could be when he came face to face with him.

"There are just some things I have to attend to."

He walked to the door and opened it slowly.
Anna watched him walk out without turning back. She could see how disappointed he was.

She could feel how hard her legs trembled. She held on to one of the edges of her table, slowly reaching on her seat.

Her heart was pounding and her head too.

She needed a glass of water but she was too shaken to reach for the water dispenser from across the room. She quickly shut her eyes for a second.

Anna took a deep breath and slouched in her seat.

Trouble. She was in a whole lot of trouble.