#forespoken

Frey is held to a wall, as the man who was smoking (we'll call him Joe) clicks his tongue.

Joe: You know, when Boss told me you had sticky fingers, I didn't think it was supposed to be a warning. Where's the money? Frey: (Stuttering) I... I handed it off to...

Joe presses his cigarette into her forehead, and she yelps.

Joe: You know... I was something of a magician, back in the day.

He pulls back a sleeve, to reveal a tattoo of a top hat and a sparkling wand on his forearm.

Joe: Learned all the basics of a good performance. Cards, strings, all that sleight-of-hand crap. But my best tricks, I don't keep up my sleeve.

He pulls out a gun, and pushes it into her neck.

Joe: You have three seconds to tell me where the money is. One. Two. Frey: Apartment! My apartment, 4845, Holland, 530!

Joe backs away, and gives a theatrical flourish.

Joe: Abracadabra.

The gang laughs, dragging her away from the wall as they all start walking.

Joe: Let's bring her home!

We cut to Joe, Frey, and some gang members driving in a car- Joe up front, Frey stuck between to people in the back. Frey's eyes can't linger on any one thing, but she forces them to stay down.

Next, they gather in her apartment. The money isn't in plain sight. Some remarks are made, but Joe isn't in any hurry, so the gang begins searching.

It's here that the player has control for the first time, over the camera (an early glimpse into a rudimentary mechanic). They have the option to pan the camera and examine things in the room, such as Homer (her cat), Joe (who if the player tries to look at too many times will get impatient, and end this moment early by knocking her out), out the window behind her (for which she'll be warned not to get any ideas), or the place where she hid the moneybag.

Joe notices where she's looking, and has someone pull the money out.

After taking a look inside, he appears pleased.

Joe: Now for our next trick, we'll be making you disappear. Pleasure doing business, Frey.

Frey watches as they pull some things from her kitchen- cooking oil, old rags, a warped frying pan, some matches. They turn the gas stove on and place the pan on top. They pour the oil generously and throw the rags, making a trail from the tiled kitchen floor to the old wooden floorboards of the living area. They light a match, and throw it on the stove before knocking Frey unconscious.

Homer nudges her awake. By this point, the apartment is fully on fire. She weakly crawls to the window, and forces it open.

It's a long way down. The player regains control. They have the option to try to climb to the roof, carefully make their way down, or even re-enter the building to get through her apartment door. If she tries the roof, the door downstairs will lead into a dark void. Same if she slips through the window of a different apartment, or tries to leave through her room. Her way will be shut as she enters a world of total darkness.