The Prices I Pay ((MIKE ZACHARIAS X ERWIN SMITH X OC))

Chapter 9

Silica's eyes opened slowly at the feeling of Peter's tiny hands on her stomach, and smiled as he gently pat her.

"See you tomorrow, Miss Silica," he said before turning to her midsection. "See you tomorrow, Little Brother."

"Little brother, huh?" Silica rose a brow at him as Mike ruffled the top of his head.

"Mhm," he nodded. "I bet it'll be a boy."

"Come now, Peter," Nora waved him along, smiling. "Have a nice evening. We will be back in the morning."

Silica rose a hand in farewell, and only turned away from the door when Nora and Peter left the house.

"How's everything with Erwin?" Mike asked as he plopped down beside her. He kissed her cheek with a hand on her stomach.

"Fine..." she trailed off with a scowl. "For the most part."

"What's that mean?"

"Nile Doc came for a visit today," she proceeded in her summarized explanation. "Saying that my mother is in Mitras stirring up trouble."

"Your mother?" Mike looked bewildered.

"Yup," she looked down. "He wants me to go into Mitras tomorrow with him to talk to her about an allegation against her."

"You're kidding, right?" Mike sounded tense.

"I wish I was," she said. "We leave in the morning. Erwin and Elite Advancement are coming to make sure nothing happens."

"What part of 'no physical labor or strenuous activities' do these jackasses not understand?" Mike snapped and stood up. Silica was quick to follow him once she realized he was headed towards the door. "This is ridiculous. I'll be damned if I —"

"Mike, wait," Silica grabbed hold of his hand to halt him. He turned over his shoulder with a scowl on his face. "I already agreed to it. It'll —"

"It'll what, Silica?" He interrupted her. "'Be fine'? I don't think so. We have a baby on the way and I'll kick everyone's ass within the interior before I let you go anywhere near something dangerous."

"What if you came too?" She proposed, knowing well that she wouldn't be able to get out of seeing her mother even if she tried.

"Sil —"

"Please," she tugged on his arm for emphasis. "I don't want to do this just as much as you don't want me to, but I don't have a choice. All I'm doing is going to talk to her."

Mike's shoulders sagged in defeat as he stared at her, and the hold he had on the doorknob finally released after a moment of silence.

"Fine," he mumbled, irritated. "But I'm going."

Silica agreed wordlessly and tugged him into a hug, and sealed her eyes closed as she breathed in the smell of his clothes.

She wasn't sure how the coming morning would go, but she knew that she'd be okay, so long as Mike was there.

__________

The next morning rolled along much faster than Silica would have preferred, and she and Mike were up and out of the house by the time Erwin — along with Elite Advancement — arrived on their property.

Brief salutes were given in greeting as Silica carefully settled herself inside the carriage, and her eyes met the staring hues of Nile seated across from her. The whole ordeal gave her an overwhelming sense of deja vu, and so she settled with fixating her attention on Erwin, who appeared to be in deep thought as the carriage proceeded toward Mitras.

Her eyes closed momentarily as she placed a discreet hand on her anxious stomach, and silently wished she had thrown a bigger fit when the proposition of facing her mother was brought up in the first place. Her mind raced, but was blank all at the same time. As she sat there, she couldn't even strongly recall what her mother's face even looked like. How she smelled. The way her smile looked. Nothing came to mind when she thought of Agnis Pixis, and so she wasn't sure what to expect.

Silica hated being out of control of the situations she found herself in, and during the hour-and-a-half long ride to the interior, she silently prepared herself for the worst.

"We've arrived." Nile said densely as the carriage stopped. Silica opened her eyes to see him staring at her.

"Are you ready?" Mike asked from beside her, and after a brief moment of silence, she nodded.

"Let's go." She said, and with that, Nile was moving to open the door.

When the trio stepped out of the carriage, Silica looked up to see a relatively modern building before her. White plaster made up the bulk of it, with stone lining the foundation and edges where the walls met. A rustic paned ceiling carried a wooden sign with 'Man's World' etched into it, and the sight of it alone made her brow narrow in distaste.

"It'll be okay," Mike whispered with a hand on her shoulder. He gave it a squeeze when she looked down. "We'll be in and out before you know it."

"Right," she sighed as their group approached the entrance. "Let's just get this over with."

She exchanged brief looks with Erwin and Brutus as Nile took it upon himself to push open the old fashioned swing doors, and the immediate scent of cigar smoke hit her in the face. There was a haze that settled into the air within the brothel, and an immediate wave of nausea made her flinch subtly. A bar was situated on the wall across from them, and a few men sat upon the benches sitting in front of it. The young bartender looked up with amber eyes upon their entry, and a subtle frown settled on his face as Silica continued to look around. There was a staircase on the left hand side of the main room leading into a dark hallway, and a small stage filled up the right side. Lounge chairs and a few bungalows took up most of the floor space.

Silica followed Nile up to the bar counter as her gaze paned across the establishment, and the women who were tending to the few men that were seated wore dull, unhappy expressions. She crossed her arms loosely in front of her and looked down.

"We are here to speak with Agnis Pixis," Nile said as he held up a presumed photo of Silica's mother. "And have brought her daughter, as requested."

The bartender's eyes flicked in Silica's direction and paused in polishing the glass cup in his hand. He remained silent for another minute before finally setting it down, and let out a brief sigh as he turned.

"Take a seat in the corner," he said. "I'll have her out in a minute."

"Thank you," Nile nodded once and beckoned for Silica, Erwin and Mike to follow. "Elite Advancement, I want two of you to stay inside by the door. The rest of you, outside."

With salutes given in acknowledgment, Silica's squad dispersed. She followed in between Mike and Erwin with her scowl glued to the floor, and didn't sit down once they came upon the corner seating they were directed towards. Her finger tapped ceaselessly on her arm as she stood there, and it felt as if an eternity of silence went by before Silica heard the clicking of heels halting behind her.

"Well, well," a deep woman's voice echoed familiarly in her head. It made her ears ring. "It's about time you visited your mother."