❝ Somewhere away from here. ❞
His cold gaze watches her stumble and nearly fall (thank the gods she was smart enough not to grab onto him for support), letting her struggle to rebalance herself for just a moment too long before reaching out to grip her shoulder and forcibly keep her standing upright. He’s not yet squeezing to the point of pain, but the firm grip is a constant threat that he could do so.
Giovanni doesn’t believe she’s the type to try and make a sudden bolt for freedom, not that she’d ever be able to break free of his grip with how weak she apparently was, but it never hurt to err on the side of caution. He doesn’t speak, instead just pulling her back upwards should she stumble again, practically dragging the poor girl behind him.
The walk back to base isn’t a very long one, though even Giovanni has to admit that this particular building is very well-camouflaged. A simple country house exterior, the kind of place you’d imagine a kindly old grandma or cottagecore girl to live, and definitely not somewhere you’d expect to have been stripped clean and extended downwards into a massive underground labyrinth of laboratories, testing rooms, and glass observatories.
It’s not long before one of the many nameless Rocket lackeys leads them into an elevator and presses the button that would take them up to the otherwise inaccessible second floor, rather than down towards the experimentation facilities. He always did like to have his office above the heads of those working for him.
Finally, he lets her go. There’s nowhere to run now, even if she tried.
❝ So, tell me. What were you doing this far out of town? My property isn’t usually considered open to the public. ❞
she hadn’t realized she was even moving ( let alone being dragged away ), and her sharp inhale signaled her return to reality. where.. was she? what was this place? ... she bit her lip, analyzing the area as best her tired teary eyes can.
she was never the type to run away; her entire life she was a prisoner, and only this past year or so had she finally escaped the cold clutches of her ‘parents’ ── if you can even call them that...
as the elevator began to rise, she felt her stomach sink; she’s in over her head already, and she knew it. the portly teen swallowed whatever had come up, refusing to look anywhere except the floor.
she remained quiet for a moment; trying to piece together a coherent answer. she knew why, but her mind couldn’t recall it in the moment; she had to focus.
“.... i didn’t know there was a town.” she admitted, “i was just... running. i was running and running and i couldn’t stop even for a moment ── ... now i’m here.”
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