"Can I leave?"
"Yes." The officer at the door nodded expressionlessly, his voice flat. "You can leave once the paperwork is done."
Had the higher-ups finished their negotiations, so they no longer needed a small fry like me? Or was there something else going on-
Forget it. Calamity Premonition hadn't triggered, which meant leaving this place wouldn't put my life in danger for now.
He followed the officer to complete some simple paperwork, then went to the police station's finance office and paid several dozen pounds in bail.
"The investigation into this matter isn't over. We may need to summon you again." Before he left, the officer gave him a perfunctory warning.
By the time he left the police station, evening had fallen. Feeling the bleak evening wind on the street, Lorne still found it hard to believe.
"So this is what they mean by the fickleness of fate. Being a Winner really is inexplicable-" Lorne sighed and prepared to visit the firearms factory first.
Quite a few people had been worried about him these past few days. Old Kohler, Ted, Xio, and Sharron-he felt he ought to tell them in person that he was safe.
But after walking only a few steps down the street, he instinctively slowed, then stopped altogether.
Forget it. Better wait a little longer. What if the authorities were letting me go to reel me in later? Going there now might drag them into this.
Lorne decided to find a small inn to stay at first. On the way, he stopped by a public mailbox to collect his mail.
There was a letter from the captain, and another from Danitz-
"The captain's letter has been sitting here for quite a while. Looks like it arrived around the time I was arrested. Danitz's letter is much