With much struggle, Quaid reined in his primitive instinct to last back at Xzavier. Be longed to roar like a dragon that he was, he longed to strike terror in Xzavier's heart, to break his spirit and make sure that for the rest of his life- he would never try this again.

But Quaid swallowed it all. He knew that there would be plenty of time left for all that if he played his cards right. So, in reply, he asked Xzavier one simple question;

"Where did you get all this information from Xzavier? And you had better not tell me no one, because up until yesterday, you didn't have a problem with sex slaves. And now, all of a sudden, this?"

Xzavier sneered. After everything, this was what he was truly concerned with? Quaid was unbelievable. It was obvious he was trying to calculate the path that led to this moment. Quaid took great pride in reading people and thinking he knew everything. So, undoubtedly, his brain was swirling with the truth behind all of this.

He knew Quaid was desperate, but Xzavier couldn't simply just expose his source like that. Babara had to be protected no matter what. So, he answered Quaid flatly.

"That doesn't matter! And the fact that you're hung up on such a minor detail tells what kind of person you are."

Xzavier dialed his aggression down and lowered his pitch;

""What matters right now is the fact that you broke and are still breaking the law. This must stop immediately."

Quaid clenched his fist at the word 'immediately.' He did not do well with people telling him what to do- directly or indirectly. But Xzavier of course didn't give a damn about his ego. He simply wanted to get over with this as soon as possible.

"I know what you want Quaid, you have made that very clear. As it stands, I have a deal on the table."

Quaid had long been trying to figure out Xzavier's end goal to no avail. But his last statement brought him a lot closer to realizing his goal;"It's simple; if you agree to put an end to all of this, I will provide you with a ton of weapons as the price for your compliance." Then he charged Quaid sternly; "But all of this has to stop, COMPLETELY! SHUT IT ALL DOWN!!"

Quaid had been furious before, and didn't think he could quite possibly get any angrier than he already was. But Xzavier kept pushing him over the ledge with every passing moment. Quaid was practically mad at this point! Annoyed or irritated just didn't describe his state of mind. But being the snake that he was, he remained calm as the ocean's breeze. If he hadn't delved into politics, he would have made a decent living as an actor.

Quaid quickly surveyed all his options and saw that it was in his best interest to play it cool at the moment. There would be time enough for rage in the far future. Right now, he had to milk Xzavier of everything he had to offer. Even if it meant playing the role of a sucker. So, he deployed his acting skills and smiled. It wasn't a condescending smile, neither was it patronizing. It was a gentle smile that suggested that he was in fact thrilled by Xzavier's proposition.

Leaning back into his chair, and with a seemingly harmless smile on his face, Quaid brought his hands together in a soft clap.

"Bravo Xzavier, bravo. This was well played, well played indeed. You had me thinking I had figured you out for a second…"

He gave Xzavier a chance to say something to ease the mood. But Xzavier decided he was done talking. He had spent his allocated word budget for a whole month in one night. It was time for Quaid to declare his stance.

When Xzavier kept mum, Quaid had no other option but to continue his own monologue;

"Fine Xzavier. I welcome your proposal. At least, now I have a reason to tear down Princy Castle and let go of the sex slaves inside."

Of course Quaid was joshing. There was no way in hell he was ever going to do that to his beloved establishment. There was no one on earth that could make Quaid do that. He would prefer to let a sea of blood flow than give up on Princy Castle. Especially not at the hands of a blackmailing whimsical young man. But he had to sell it like he meant it. After all, he was going to benefit a whole lot more in the end. Let Xzavier have his victory for now.

But Xzavier didn't see through it at all. Quaid had actually seen through Xzavier's ploy and saw that at the heart of his rage, there was a certain bitterness against the injustice meted out to the sex slaves. So, Quaid had targeted this hole, and assured Xzavier clearly in words that he was going to set them free. Xzavier on the other hand was glad. He couldn't believe it, but after freeing two women, now, the others were going to be set free?

He hadn't expected Quaid to fold so easily. But he concluded that the governor's love for lethal weapons far outweighed his desire to keep Princy Castle. But there was one thing that he didn't agree with;

"Great. But I don't think tearing down Princy Castle is such a good idea. It is a pretty decent edifice, and I believe it can still be put to good use."

Quaid almost retched when Xzavier used the adjective 'decent' to describe the crown jewel of modern architecture in Princy State. But he controlled himself. Actually, the part about tearing down Princy Castle was just a ruse. Quaid knew Xzavier might object, and in the event that he hadn't, Quaid already had something lined out;

"Wait a minute!" pretending like he just had an epiphany, Quaid asked Xzavier; "I suggest that the castle be handed over to you as a new baron!"

Quaid was a diabolical manipulator. Of course he had no intention of fulfilling any of these promises, but he had to sell it like it was real! This was a juicy offer and he knew it. There was no way anyone would say no to having a castle like that. Not even the justice driven Xzavier could say no. Once again, Quaid struck a home run with Xzavier.

Xzavier on the other hand, fell for the trap like a rat on a cheese based snare. He liked the idea of having a base of his own where he could start enacting some of the laws he had been wanting to enact for some time. From the castle, he could begin to cater for some of the freed sex slaves. Those who wouldn't be able to leave because they had no one, could stay back and prepare themselves for the world outside.

Sure the location wasn't exactly people friendly, but it was a start. Xzavier assumed that this was Quaid's way of keeping him far away from the city where he would gather any more influence. He welcomed it either way. Xzavier was more than glad with this arrangement. But of course, he didn't show it. Quaid was the one smiling the whole time. It was ironic that the facial expressions on both men was the complete opposite of their true feelings.

The two of them continued to speak for a while, fine tuning the details of their transactions and laying in place certain principles to guide their new partnership. Xzavier kept a solemn face, but in his innermost being, he was elated by the result of his negotiation. Quaid on the other hand was smiling ear to ear, but he had already made up his mind to kill Xzavier. In fact, at several intervals during their conversation, Quaid had already killed Xzavier multiple times in his head.

But still, he kept on smiling all the way like all was well. When in fact, all was far from well. Later that night, after much discussing, Xzavier left that room a happy man. Unknown to him, a storm was brewing already- the likes of which he had never seen before.

"So, is it done? Have you settled things with the governor?"

In the dark, Babara's impatient voice came out from behind him as Xzavier entered his room and shut the door. Prior to this moment, Xzavier had already arranged with Babara to meet up at his room after the whole thing, so they could strategize and come up with a good plan. So while Xzavier had been busy with Quaid, Babara had disguised herself as one of Xzavier's prostitutes and got herself admitted into the governor's home. A servant had led her to Xzavier's room, where she sat down waiting for him to come back.

So, now that Xzavier was back, Babara could hardly contain her anxiety anymore.

"Come on Xzavier, tell me everything."

He bid her to reduce the volume of her voice, just in case he was being spied on.

"I will, but first you must tell me of Adalia and your sister. Is it done? Are they safe?"

"Of course they are! If they weren't, I would have told you already!" she rasped impatiently. "Now tell me everything…"

Xzavier absolutely hated having to report incidences or people. But he had to- for the sake of clarity. In actuality, he had grown to rely on Babara's perspective. She was the reason why they had even considered exporting Adalia and Janae. So far, she had proven useful in the aspect of data interpretation. So, Xzavier summarized everything that had happened.