Nodding at Abigail when she introduced herself, Montag took a mental note of what she’d told him about herself. From what she’d told him, the two were quite different, but that wasn’t a bad thing. After all, two skillsets are better than one. Well, probably. His attention was quickly switched back to Mary though, as she began to talk again.

The type to get caught up in bad storms? Eduard gave Mary a curious look as his hands reached to take the final cigarette from his pack. What reason did she have to say something ominous like that? And this wasn’t some kind of joke, given the look on her face. 

Opening his mouth slightly, he was about to ask Mary what exactly she’d meant, but was interrupted before he’d even spoken by her impatience to move on. And, though the question still bounced around at the front of his mind, Montag’s own impatience to hear what exactly Mary had to tell them took precedence over that. Instead he raised the cigarette up to his half-open lips and let it fill the space his curiosity had created, before igniting it with his lighter. 

Staring at Mary, returning her gaze, he listened attentively while taking occasional puffs from his cigarette. He knew of Thomas Arnault, and had always had suspicions and traces of evidence that he was dirty, but had never managed to find anything concrete. Politicians always had ways to cover their mud-stained tracks. It was certainly unusual that he’d have his suspicions confirmed this way, but at the moment that wasn’t important.

What was even more unusual was the situation they were being thrust into. He’d guarded one or two people before, but never someone who was definitely fated to die without his protection, or him taking someone else’s life. It almost seemed unbelievable. 

As Mary had suspected, a boiling pot of questions was bubbling away in Montag’s head, just as it probably was in Abigail’s as well. He leant his elbows on the counter and looked straight ahead to think, continuing to take a few drags from his cigarette as he cut and refined his questions down to a select few, before turning back to Mary, who had seemed to quickly switch back to her more casual and jovial demeanour. 

[color=goldenrod]“Yeah, I wanna ask something. How do we know what you’re saying it true? I mean, this seems like an easy way to get someone you don’t like killed and then have us pay the price for it. How can we be sure you’re not setting us up?”[/color] Montag paused to let the question sink in, taking another drag from his cigarette, before continuing. [color=goldenrod]“And, if what you’re saying is true, why are we saving this girl? What’s so special about her that we’re defying the Fates to keep her alive?”[/color] As he finished speaking, he narrowed his eyes ever so slightly, his gazed fixed on Mary as he waited for an answer.