Nina has not often had the honor of being graced by Mayor Olinger's direct presence, and the reaction he elicits from her is not one she would choose to feel again if she could help it. It's difficult to maintain her steadiness when she knows that without hesitation, the seven patrolmen who have her flanked on all sides would do whatever he asks.
Still, there's a game here that needs playing. Even if the details of its rules are still eluding her, she reminds herself that this isn't her first rodeo -- an ironic, yet appropriate turn of phrase that nearly causes her to smile before she remembers where exactly she is.
"How quickly we jump to conclusions these days, sir," she says, happy to continue the deference he surely expects even while the gears in her mind are turning, wondering if it's even possible to stay one step ahead of him when he's got her well and fully trapped. Colluding with criminals is more than enough reason for questioning, these days, and she knows the fact well. "Or are we already writing me off as a criminal?"
(Nina, of course, has already labeled herself as such. But this isn't a fact she shares aloud.)