Chapter 29:

After that incident at the abandoned bunker, weeks had gone by with the triad of Alex, Mike, and Pat just going back to their usual routine. And while they did question him, Sebastian was back out on the field not even a few days after the fight. Only difference compared to how he was previously was the eyepatch he now wore over his eye due to the injury he received from Cassian. But that didn't even last too long with him wearing it due to how he found himself looking better with the scar over his eye, not wearing anything over it.

And they still had no idea what happened to him. They did tell the other Union members about what happened, and that they believed that there was someone down there. Yet when the team that went to go check it came back, they said that they didn't find anybody there. And when they were asked why that could be. Because all signs were pointing towards him falling down there, even with Gris herself making note that that was likely what happened.

But what the others responded with was that either a rift did happen, and maybe caused the ground to collapse in on itself with the ground itself maybe causing it where demons weren't able to get through, and Cassian fell through the rift before it closed. It was either that, or Cassian had taken the chance to escape elsewhere. And they admitted that if he had fallen into the rift and into Hell itself, it was likely he was far gone now.

Without much else to work with, they just had to accept that as an answer as to what happened. At least, both Mike and Alex did, but Pat was wanting to dig deeper into what happened. So he decided to go to the black market itself and try to ask Gris about what she knew and everything, trying to get her to actually speak the truth instead of any jokes, any lies, anything of that sort.

A part of him was surprised that she was willing to do so, but another part expected her to, given she's already shown not to be afraid of people being mad at her or anything of that sort. "What are you trying to do, detective? Trying to get me to spill the beans? I ain't budgin'!" She jokes when the two were able to get the time to actually speak to one another. Still, she was saying she was willing to tell everything that was asked.

So Pat starts the conversation with her, starting with a simple question: "Are you actually the one running that whole Black Market Beatdown thing?" She put up her hand to her chin, making it appear that she was thinking about it. But then she asked her own question as to why he'd ask, because she thought they knew that she did run the thing. To which Pat told her that Cassian said they were all playing along with whatever she was telling them to.

Included things like them meeting Garrett, and just many things they were told about her or from her were straight up lies because she was wanting to joke with them. But when it came down to the whole Black Market thing, she admits that she has run it before, but only to some degree. There isn't just some sort of one true runner of things, there's a whole bunch of people who run it. She just happened to be someone who, as of recent times, has had an influence on it to the point where a small number of people think she actually is the face of it.

"It's one heck of a show, my friend! Although that last time you were around was just some real fancy holographic techno-wizardry done by another good friend of mine. I should introduce you to the gal who made it one of these days! I'm sure you two would nerd out with one another!" She laughs when doing so before Pat decides to ask another question. "Why did you want us to keep the fact that Mike nearly killed himself a secret? We did end up telling him, and we had to actually restrain him from coming down here to try to kill you."

"Oh, that was just a joke! C'mon! You haven't seen any jokes like that? But if you must know, it was to see how much I could trust you with whatever tasks I would've asked from you! But you joined the Union? That wasn't anywhere dang near in my plans! I had to scramble it all up into something new!"

"And what exactly are your plans?" "I can't tell you that! No sirree!" All went quiet after she said that, but Pat was about to break said silence before Gris began laughing hysterically. "Alright, alright, I'll tell you my plans: There were no plans! I was just wanting to pull your legs, and I was coming up with things on the fly! I just decided one day that I would have you go by to hang with Sebastian to mess with him!"

That statement had Pat let out a sigh at the ignorance of hers before she could continue what she was saying, "I had that idea racking around in my noggin for a good month before you three came along! I was even thinking of having Willow under some disguise to go mess with him! I ain't the planning type unless it was for the Beatdown the few times I had some say in it! If you want someone with plans, I know some people who can help with that!"

Ignoring the idea that Gris just knows about anyone you can think of, he decides to ask her a few more things before he decides to leave her alone to do whatever she normally does at that time. But as soon as he began to leave, Gris quickly called out to him, still with a smile on her face. "Hey! Turn that frown around!" She says, using her fingers to raise her own smile even higher, which made Pat do the same thing, leaving Gris who let out another laugh at the event.