The cell of Gilda the at the Maretropolitan Correctional Center was brightly lit by torchlight and guarded on both sides as well as its door by three brown police stallions, each of them unicorns, wearing formal, blue police jackets. Even with it being as early in the afternoon as it was, the prisoner inside slept soundly, her only peace and tranquility in the cage she was kept in.

Gilda’s cocoa-brown lioness fur, back paws, long eagle wings, and tail were unkempt and mangy, and the white feathers that made up her chest and eagle-like head were ruffled and dirtied. Her frontal talons were chained tightly at the wrists, preventing any chance of escape. The other remarkable features about her were the light-purple specks on her chest, the purple shading around her eyes, and the three feathers that extended out from her forehead, each one with faded, purple tips.

As she continued her nap, stretching her back paws out and curling them back up, the loud banging of a baton interrupted her and shot her to all fours. Gilda rubbed her eyes with balled talons in annoyance, watching middle guard bang his baton against the bars with his magic.

“Alright, murderer,” he honked, “wakey-wakey. The Royal Guard is coming to see you, so you best be on your best behavior.”

Gilda’s rage intensified. Ever since that day, that’s all she heard from anyone refer to her as: a murderer.

“For the last time,” Gilda growled, “I didn’t murder nopony! I’m tellin’ you the truth!”

“Do you need me to show you the pictures again, you monster?” shouted the police stallion at the right.

“Keep calling me names, and I’ll really show you a monster.”

“Go right ahead,” the police stallion on the left. “It will make your sentence all the easier.”

“You bozos are nothing but a bunch of rotten pigs, you know that?”

“Says the cold-blooded murderer,” taunted the center stallion.

Gilda leapt forwards at the bars, grabbing them and yanking at them, frightening the police stallions back.

“What did I tell you?” shrieked the livid griffon, as she whipped her body to and fro. “What did I te–”

The center guard hit Gilda with a light-blue colored spell, knocking her to her side. As Gilda tried to get up, she found the that neither her voice or her muscles could respond, as she slumped completely over, panting nervously as she fought to stay awake.

“On second thought,” chortled the center guard as he looked down at her through the bars, “you can continue that nap of yours if you want.”

As the other two guards laughed at his joke, Gilda let out a tear as her eyes closed, the spell lulling her back into an involuntary sleep.
________________________________________________________________________________________

Annie felt a flat end prod into her ribs as she slept, Flash Sentry’s voice only an echo in her ears as consciousness returned.

“Annie,” called Flash Sentry’s voice. “We’re almost there. You should get up.”

Annie’s eyes finally came open all the way as she sat up and lifted her body off the table. Looking at the window to the other side of the car, the numerous tall skyscrapers began to appear on the horizon. Annie slowly moved to the other side of the car, amazed by the height and numbers of the buildings that made up the city of Manehattan.

Even with the stunning architecture of Canterlot, the size and scope of the city far surpassed that of Canterlot, even that of Stohess or Trost. Even with the overcast sky spoiling what could have been a perfect view of the skyline, the might of the city was nothing to scoff at.

“Pretty amazing, huh?” asked Flash Sentry. “Manehattan is the largest city in the entire world.”

“How many more minutes until we arrive at the station?” Annie responded.

“About twenty minutes. Why?”

“I need to get my Maneuver Gear on. If we’re dealing with a murderer here, we should each be well-protected. You have your armor, and all I have is my leather jacket. Let me have that at least.”

“Alright. Do you need any help?”

“Nah,” she answered, standing up and walking to the middle car. “I can handle myself.”

Annie opened the doors to the next car down, walking inside and towards her Maneuver Gear case. Flash Sentry entered inside as well before they doors could close.

“I don’t want to sound too pushy,” mentioned Flash Sentry, “but what are our plans for today?”

“What do mean?” asked Annie, as if he knew what the obvious answer was.

“I mean, you’re not going to carry that thing around with you all day, are you? Are we going to stop at the hotel afterwards? What happens after that?”

“Right now, we’re going to go visit Gilda at the prison, and then we’ll stop at the hotel to rest up. What we do from there we’ll discuss at a later time. Right now, I want to attend to our initial business before we get to have our night on the town.”

“Whatever you say, ma’am,” Flash Sentry sighed.

“Listen,” Annie sounded, her voice bordering on scolding, “I know how much you love your city, and when it comes time, I’ll let you show me around, but for the next hour or two, we focus on our mission. Understand?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he responded, sounding much more affirmative.

“Now, could you let me put my equipment on?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Flash Sentry turned around and walked back into the front car, leaving Annie alone. Annie watched the door for a few seconds before she walked back towards her case. Kneeling down to it, she flipped the latches off the sides and lifted the top up, revealing her sheaths, the two crystals that powered her device, her blades, the operational devices, and the main body of the machine. Seeing that everything was in check, Annie removed her main body from the case.
________________________________________________________________________________________

Annie and Flash Sentry’s train pulled into the leftmost platform Manehattan’s Grain Central Station, with about two dozen tracks and stations to the right of it, half filled with trains either entering the station or leaving it for other cities. The grey, otherwise drably industrial interior of the station was livened up with festive holiday lights and floral decorations, making the spirits of each pony equally bright and colorful.

As the train finally wheezed to a stop, two earth police stallions rushed over to the middle loading car, standing on both sides of it and opening the loading door to let the human and stallion inside of it off. Once the door was drawn down, Annie and Flash Sentry, who was now wearing his armor and saddlebags while Annie carried both of her cases, walked from the train and onto the platform.

“Good afternoon, Miss Leonhardt,” greeted the stallion behind her. “Good afternoon, Mr. Sentry.”

“A good afternoon to you too, sirs,” Flash cheerily replied. “I trust there’s a carriage awaiting out front?”

“Yes,” the stallion before them responded. “We shall take you to the Maretropolitan Correctional Center immediately and drop your luggage off at your hotel.”

“That sounds fine,” responded Annie. “How far is the correctional center from here?”

“It’s about a twenty minute ride, Miss. Although if it’s anything to you, I can’t see why you can’t just fly there on those giant toasters on your legs.”

As both stallions chuckled at the jab, Annie glared back at them, which they both seemed to ignore. Flash Sentry, seeing this, tensed up in fright before putting on an angry scowl.

“Hey!” Flash Sentry barked. “You give her some respect. She might not be a pony, but she still holds more authority over you. I suggest you treat her with some respect, or she might just force you two to carry us to the correctional center.”

Annie’s eyes widened up in shock at Flash Sentry’s threat. Likewise, both the police stallions looked at each other with apprehension and regret, running toward the double-doors that led into the lobby of the station and opening them, keeping them open.

“After you!” both stallions spoke in canned joy as Annie and Flash Sentry walked past.

“Thank you,” Flash Sentry bid, his kinder demeanor returned.

Once Annie and Flash Sentry had passed, both the stallions ran back out in front of the two of them, awaiting to clear the next obstacle for them. Seeing the mass amount of ponies around made Annie quicken her pace, leaving the two escorts before her to hurry and Flash Sentry to walk quickly beside her.

Annie took a look around the unfamiliar building, noting massive size of the interior. In the center, housed a large, round collection of monitors that kept the statuses of train arrivals and departures in check, the long line of ticket booths to the right, a small coffee bar and diner on the left, and a giant staircase that lead to the outside world. Off on the right side, beyond the glass doors, there was an open-top carriage with two male police stallions tied and mounted to the front, ready to pull.

By the time Annie had seen enough of her surroundings, they had already began to ascend the stairway and to the exit. The two stallions ran ahead and opened both doors leading outside, allow both Annie and Flash Sentry to continue to the carriage.

Annie threw her luggage onto the front bench of the carriage and grabbed onto the side to climb in. Flash Sentry flew up into the carriage, seating himself on the back bench, facing forwards.

“Hey, Annie,” Flash Sentry spoke as Annie put her feet over and into the carriage, “your stuff is on your seat. Where are you going to…”

Annie answered him by climbing to the front edge of the carriage and sitting down, the sheaths of her Maneuver Gear, protruding out over the side.

“Oh,” finished Flash Sentry. “I see…”

“Is everything ready, ma’am?” asked one of the police stallions coming from the station entryway.

“That should be it,” responded Flash Sentry. “We’re ready to go.”

“Very well. Guys!” he called to the stallions mounted to the carriage. “You’re off!”

At once, the stallions began walking, pulling the carriage forwards. As Flash Sentry kept watch over their path and journey, Annie’s gaze was kept up, looking out at the plethora of skyscrapers and buildings that they passed.
________________________________________________________________________________________

The doors to the entrance of the Maretropolitan Correctional Center opened, Annie and Flash Sentry both entering it. The carriage driving them rode off down the street, carrying Annie’s luggage and Flash Sentry’s saddlebags.

The lobby of the building was bustling with police stallions and police mares, the numerous murmurs of Stinkin’ Rich III’s murder a hot topic amongst them. Annie and Flash Sentry ignored them, walking to the receptionist’s desk near the back of the room, the door leading to their prisoner on the wall behind her.

Standing before the counter, Annie looked to see the cream-colored mare with a black mane and tail typing a form on a typewriter, the base having only two large pads with which she rested her hooves on.

“Excuse me, ma’am,” spoke Flash Sentry, “the Royal Guard has arrived to speak with Gilda.”

The receptionist peered up with widened eyes to see none other than Annie and Flash Sentry standing behind her desk.

“Of course!” she chirped. “My sincerest apologies. Cuffs?” she called, turning her head towards one of the crowds of ponies to the right of Annie.

Stepping from the group was a similarly dressed an colored earth-stallion with a pair of handcuffs for a cutie mark.

“You rang?” he gruffly responded.

“The Royal Guard is here to see Gilda now. Could you please escort them to her cell?”

“Certainly.”

The receptionist turned back to her typewriter and resumed her work.

“Follow me,” Cuffs instructed, walking towards the door at the back wall.

Gripping the knob with his teeth, Cuffs turned the knob and pulled the door open, allowing himself, Annie and Flash Sentry to walk into a long, grey hallway with thick, glass windows on the right of the hall. Annie looked at each room. A couple of them housed nothing more than a metal table and two metal chairs. One room had a long wall in the back with black lines labeled by height recordings.

The hallway then slightly shifted right, the hallway continuing on until there were two hallways on the end that led to the left and right, as well as a metal door in the back. Cuffs continued to lead Annie and Flash Sentry down the hall until he stopped before the door, prompting them to stop as well.

“Now,” warned Cuffs, “be careful with her. She’s extremely volatile and she’s been going on about this pony that she says killed that banker. Don’t believe a word of it; she’s just going to try and wring sympathy out of you with her cheap lies.”

Flash Sentry was about to respond as he opened his mouth, only to be cut off by Annie.

“I appreciate your concern, sir,” she said, “but we’ll determine the truth from the lies for ourselves. That is why we’re here, after all.”

Cuff shifted his neck back, almost offended by Annie’s disregard. With an exhausted sigh, Cuffs knocked on the door.

“It’s me, Cuffs,” he called. “The Royal Guard is here to speak with Gilda. Let us in.”

The sound of hoofsteps behind the door came closer. With a quick turn of a lock, the door was opened via magic by a unicorn police stallion on the other side. Annie stepped inside as soon as the door was finished opening, observing her surroundings

Standing at the back wall were two other stallion police stallions as they looked at the cell that comprised the other half of the room. Before the bars was a small metal table with two chairs, there being plenty of space for both Annie and Flash Sentry. On the table was a stack of sheets of paper, and a quill sitting in a well of ink.

Annie’s eyes were set on Gilda as her legs refused to budge and her mouth was agape with wide eyes. Gilda sat tiredly on a metal chair in front of the cell’s bars looking at Gilda as she too looked upon the alien creature in wonder. Annie read Gilda’s eyes intently. She could clearly sense fear inside of them, much like an animal who had spotted a hunter aiming his rifle at it. Flash Sentry walked up beside Annie, looking at her rare state of awe.

“Is there anything else you need?” asked Cuffs.

“The four of you,” requested Annie, “leave us be.”

The four police stallions were aghast at Annie’s demand.

“What did you say?” asked one of the other stallions.

“It’s clear that you show some prejudice towards this creature,” explained Annie, turning her head back to them. “If we’re going to talk to her, I want us to trust each other, and I don’t want your presence agitating her.”

Gilda was stunned at Annie. After sharing just a glance with each other, it seemed that Annie had capacity for kindness in her. The guards, knowing their place, turned towards the door and stepped towards it. Cuffs pushed it open as he and the other guards began to file out.

“Very well, ma’am,” Cuffs said before slowly closing the door.

Annie watched as the metal click of the door dithering with a shrill echo, awaiting for the silence to emerge.

“Wow,” Gilda said with kind respect, “that was really cool of you. Maybe you’ll finally listen to me, unlike those bozos.”

Annie and Flash Sentry walked towards their table and took a seat, facing Gilda as she looked at their emotionless faces. The lack of clarity frightened Gilda, unsure of what they were really thinking.

“You don’t think I killed that guy, do you?” Gilda asked desperately.

“I honestly don’t know,” Annie said as she pulled a quill from the well and a sheet from the stack before her. “The evidence against you is very strong, but I’m not here to pass judgment.”

“So you do think I did it?” she suddenly growled, her fists on her legs squeezing tight.

“All we’re here to do is to collect your version of the story. What happens from there all depends on how well we talk to each other, and judging by your temper, you’re off to a poor start.”

Gilda huffed anxiously as she sat back in her chair, crossing her leg over the other and folding her arms together.

“So what do you want to know?” Gilda asked.

“Tell me everything,” said Annie, “from the beginning.”

Gilda cocked her head, unsure of Annie’s request.

“What does that supposed to mean, ‘from the beginning?’” she wondered.

“Why were you at the scene of the crime?” Annie questioned. What reason did you have to be there? And if it’s true that it wasn’t you who killed this Stinkin’ Rich, then who did, and why did they frame you?”

Annie could not tell behind the plumage on Gilda’s face, but she could tell at if her skin was visible, her brow would be sweating. Annie continued to study her face, noting whether it was pressure eating away at her, or searching in vain for a false story to hide behind.

“Answer her questions,” Flash Sentry demanded, his voice and face stern and expectant.

“Okay, okay!” Gilda yelled back. “Jeez, I’d like to see how you’d handle being accused of murder.”

“I have,” Annie stepped in,” and unlike you, or maybe not, I was entirely guilty of my crime.”

Both Gilda and Flash Sentry looked at Annie with fear and a new understanding of her. Annie looked indifferently at Gilda while both she and Flash continued to stare at the person they thought they knew.

“W– Well…” queried Gilda, nervously turning her head away, “what did you–”

“I do believe I am the one asking the questions here,” Annie interrupted. “Now please, tell me what you know.”

Wanting to look strong for her, Flash Sentry turned his eyes from Annie and back to Gilda, awaiting her answer. Gilda took a deep breath, both disturbed and relaxed that her story would probably not top hers.

“Black Glass,” Gilda whispered, leaning towards the bars. “He’s the one who put me here.”

“Black Glass?” Annie wondered, scribbling the name on the paper.

Flash Sentry watched as Annie continued to write, and wanting to keep the pace going, he cleared his throat.

“Describe what Black Glass looks like,” Flash Sentry instructed.

“Uh…” Gilda thought aloud, rubbing the back of her head, “he looks really white, but in the dark, he looks dark-grey.”

“You don’t say…” mumbled Annie as she continued writing.

“Please,” Flash Sentry requested, “continue.”

“His mane is cut really short and low to the back of his neck,” Gilda resumed, “and his tail is super short.”

“What color is it?”

“Black. Incredibly black.”

“Any distinguishable cutie mark?”

“That’s where things are going to get tricky. He was very secretive and he kept certain things… under wraps. He wore a thick powder over his butt to conceal the cutie mark, so I couldn’t tell you if I tried. He also wore a thick pair of sunglasses over his eyes and wore a black fedora on his head.”

“So you used to have a relationship with this stallion?” asked Annie, having finished jotting down her notes.

“Huh?” Gilda asked in an offended tone. “What, like you’re saying that we were special someponies or something?”

“No, but you seem to be acquainted enough to know his name. So, again I ask. Did you know this stallion for very long?”

“Kind of. We did work with each other for about a year.”

“So, these things he did: cover his cutie mark, his eyes, the top of his head; did he always appear to you like this?”

“Yeah.”

“Wait,” interrupted Flash Sentry, slightly waving his arms to stop the discussion. “What species of pony was he? Earth pony? Pegasus?”

“Unicorn.”

“Huh…” pondered Flash Sentry as Annie continued writing down information. He sounds like quite a distinguishable fellow, doesn’t he? Did they do a background check on this guy?”

“Of course they did!” yelled Gilda, punching the bars, earning nary a reaction from either Annie or Flash Sentry. “But they couldn’t find anything; said I was making it all up to save my hide! Plus, he stays hidden, so of course he’s not going to show up any time soon.”

“Getting back on track,” Annie said, “he seems like quite a suspicious character. What kind of ‘work’ did you and Mr. Glass work on during this year. What were you doing that caused you to be near Stinkin’ Rich that would bring about his murder?”

Gilda scratched at the side of her neck, unsure of what to say to her.

“Black Glass and I…” thought Gilda, “made loans to richer ponies in Manehattan and collected off the interest. Yeah, that’s it…”

“You don’t sound too sure of it,” Annie said, her icy glare pointing at Gilda. “You almost sound as if you’re lying.”

“Listen,” excused Gilda, “I wasn’t too sure of the details myself.”

“Even after a year of working with him?”

“Yeah, just listen to me! I was just a loner that got kicked out of my home in the Griffon Empire way east of Equestria. I was just looking for a way to not go hungry every night. That’s when Black Glass took me under his wing, so to speak, and let me help him out.”

“So if you’re unfamiliar with his line of work, what did you do for Black Glass then?” asked Flash Sentry, trying his hardest to sound as intimidating as Annie.

“Lots of the ponies we gave loans to didn’t pay back on time, so I had to be the brawn to make sure that they did.”

Gilda’s punched her balled-up talon into the palm of her other talon, giving Annie and Flash Sentry plenty of information to understand her role.

“So just to clarify, you physically abused Black Glass’s clients so that they would pay him his money?”

“That’s right? For a time, it was really cool, because I’d always get a higher cut of the cash when that happened. But I suppose in hindsight, it just wasn’t right.”

“I’ll say,” Flash Sentry agreed. “He was a loan shark in every sense of the word. You’re out bleeding and the beast just eats you.”

Annie glanced at her partner as she wrote, somewhat intrigued by his metaphor.

“Do you know where Black Glass got his money from?” asked Annie.

“He never really talked about it,” responded Gilda. “All I know is that we continued to make a killing off of our interest rates, and that helped.”

“I see…” Annie sighed, putting down the last sentence. “Now, tell me about Stinkin’ Rich. What happened that night?”

“Alright,” Gilda said, “you might want to get some more ink there, because I’m going to be saying quite a lot.”

“Shoot,” she shot back, dipping her quill in the well.

Gilda took a deep breath, hoping this final piece of information would sell them.

“Stinkin’ Rich was one of our clients,” she explained. “He owns one of Manehattan’s largest… firms or whatever on Stable Street. I’m not sure if you’ve been hearing in the news lately, but this firm of his hasn’t been doing very well. He asked us for a loan to get him and his company back on his feet so he could jumpstart it. It didn’t work so well for him.

“Mhmm,” dismissed Annie as she wrote, pressing the griffon before them to continue on.

“That night, me, Stinkin’ Rich, and Black Glass met in a secluded alley so we could collect the payment. He said he couldn’t pay and his company was losing more money than ever. Before I could go over and beat him senseless, Black Glass just told him that it was time to put him out of his misery. That’s when he did this spell with his… unicorn’s magic. In front of him, he had this weird looking glove thing made of metal floating there. It looked a lot like my griffon’s talon.”

“Right…”

“Before the guy could scream, Black Glass cut him up and killed him. I had never seen nopony murdered before, and I asked him why he did that. He simply told me that he couldn’t afford to pay me for my beatings, and that this would be a simple way for me to get out of the picture without having to get himself in trouble from either himself or me. Before he disappeared, he told me one last thing before I ever saw him again: ‘No one will miss you anyways.”

Annie looked up as Gilda paused her story to sob quietly and shed a single tear, breathing deeply to resume her story.

“After that, ponies had begun to gather around the alley, unsure of the flash of light that came from the teleportation. They saw me standing by the body, and after finally seeing them, still scared stiff, I tried to escape, only to be shot down by a unicorn officer. And now I’m here.”

Several seconds passed as Annie got the last few details of Gilda’s story. Flash Sentry glanced over to his partner, making sure she had everything. Gilda sat on her seat impatiently, twiddling her thumb-talons and awaiting Annie’s word.

“Gilda,” Annie finally said, leaning back in her chair and putting her full eye contact with her, “that’s quite a story you have there. However, in light of certain things, it just doesn’t add up.”

Gilda, who was waiting an affirmative answer, stopped moving, and lead closer to the bars to hear her correctly.

“I’m… sorry?” asked Gilda.

“I have a very difficult time believing that some lowly swindler like whom you have described could have made such money from interest. If these upper-class citizens are having trouble paying debts, my guess is that they’d need a lot more money than what this Black Glass could afford, and I certainly don’t think this interest could cover him.”

Gilda’s nervousness returned, which came out in a squirming grimace. Before she could speak, Annie continued on.

“And why would Black Glass just decide to kill one of his clients if all they were in trouble for was missing their payment? None of this makes any sense.”

“Well, why would I have any reason to kill Stinkin’ Rich, huh?” Gilda stammered.

“In the eyes of the public, simple… you’re a just a violent griffon who murdered someone. No other motive needed.”

Gilda’s fright turned back to anger.

“I didn’t murder nopony!” Gilda shouted, standing on her hind legs and grabbing the bars. “What do I have to do to make you believe me?”

“Tell the truth,” responded Annie, not moved in the slightest.

“What?”

“You and I both know that there’s something even bigger here. So you didn’t murder that pony, maybe you did. All I know is that the events of the crime are false. Tell us the truth so we can help you.”

“What part of, ‘I didn’t murder nopony,’ isn’t getting through to your thick skull?”

“Gilda…”

“You’re just the same as the cops!”

“Gilda.”

“You’re just bullying me and riling me up, because I bet behind that stupid little face of yours, you’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“Gilda!”

“While that pony goes free and probably kills somepony else, I’m in here getting beat by you stupid bozos! Yeah, that’s all you guys ever are, just a bunch of dumb dweebs and bozos!”

Gilda panted loudly, catching her breath from her furious rant. Flash Sentry looked at Gilda with slightly-suppressed rage, as if she had insulted one of his close family members. Annie, however, continued to look at Gilda with a mixture of apathy and sympathy.

“Then I suppose that’s it,” Annie said, standing up and placing her quill back into the well.

“W– wh– what are you doing?” Gilda asked nervously as Annie sorted and organized her notes.

“You aren’t helping us, so I can’t help you. Your story is clearly a fabrication, whether it’s you trying to cover up your crime, or a blanket over something bigger, either way, I’m not going to sit here and have you insult the law with your lies. Flash Sentry?”

“Yes, ma’am,” responded Flash Sentry as he pushed his seat back and stood beside Annie as they walked to the exit.

“Wait!” Gilda yelled. “You said you would help me! How is this helping me? Get back here, you dummy!”

Flash Sentry paused in his tracks as Annie went on. As Annie began to knock on the door to have the police stallions let them out, Flash Sentry turned back and trotted over to Gilda. Gilda was unsure of Flash Sentry’s motives, but as he came to the bars, he reeled his arm back and thrust it forward at Gilda’s face.

The base of Flash Sentry’s hoof struck the bar with a deafening clang. Gilda squeaked in fright as she pulled her body away from the bars and fell onto her rump. She looked up at Flash Sentry, whose face now showed unbridled contempt. Cuffs and the three other police stallions ran into the room and towards the cell.

“Stand back!” called Flash Sentry, pulling his hoof behind him toward the four officers. “I’ve got this.”

Flash Sentry put his hoof gently back down, his eyes still trained on Gilda.

“You have to be some kind of moron to call my partner a dummy,” he seethed. “She was doing her best to help you, and she could have, and all you’ve been doing is lying in her face. Why should she help a dumb dweeb who betrays her trust?”

Flash Sentry’s face moved in closer on Gilda’s level, his condescending attitude and the other stares she received from the other officers making Gilda huddle into a defensive ball. Annie couldn’t help but see the frightened tears that began to pour from the griffon’s eyes.

“There’s no helping you anymore,” spoke Flash Sentry, standing back upright and walking to the exit. “May Celestia have mercy upon you. We can leave now, Annie.”

Annie felt compelled to continue with Gilda, knowing there was a whole other story behind her sad face and angry façade. But like Flash Sentry had said, there was no helping her anymore; she wouldn’t tell this supposed story, even as her life depended on it.

Annie turned away from Gilda and led Flash Sentry out into the hallway. As one of the police stallions closed the door behind her, neither Annie nor Flash Sentry looked back, their curiosity over her fate extinguished by their unfortunate exchange.