It was an odd thing to be begged for friendship of any kind by a complete stranger. As far as she knew, Freddie wasn't pulling any dirty, underhanded tactics to win sympathy points or to use as leverage. The longer she sat across Freddie Lounds, the more sorry she began to feel for her, though that uneasy, skeptical feeling prickling the back of her neck never quite lifted. If she was going to help, she had to be safe about it.

"... Okay, fine," she huffed, exasperated. "You want friendship? I'll give you acquaintanceship for now and we'll see where we go from there." She leaned back into the chair. "But you're going to have to tell me about these 'murderous annoyances'. I can't help you if I don't have the whole picture."