A.N.: Well, this chapter ended up being a lot longer than the previous one (and most chapters will not be this long). I cut out that stupid song fic crap, but I added a dream sequence and expanded the morning scene in the beginning. Hopefully this will enable me to cut out the wordy I'm-giving-you-their-backgrounds-even-though-I-probably-won't-bring-any-of-it-up-ever-again stuff later. Oh, and I know that Larry is a bit over the top, but…eh, he bugs Mal more this way, and that made it fun.

Edited November 2007

CHAPTER TWO: Bars and Brawls: Part One

He was frowning again, his normally blank face darkened and furrowed with irritation. He'd long since stopped trying to hide his displeasure, had instead chosen to cower in an out-of-the-way alcove, one with shadows thick enough to hide his expression. It was a little more difficult to guard the prince from here, of course, but at least he could see the entire ballroom from this vantage point. And anyway, the other generals were dancing close enough to Endymion to catch the more immediate threats. The prince was safe.

He sighed, hating the fact that he was hiding at all. He was one of the most powerful men on Earth, but even so, he was stuck here, holed up in a corner like some sulking page boy. Still, it was better than the alternative, which was to stand right next to the prince, his irritation visible to anyone who cared to look. Too many of these touchy Lunarian nobles objected to this alliance, and they'd only use his displeasure as greater fuel for their own. If the prince's own general didn't want this, after all, how could anyone else?

He supposed the situation could be much worse. The prince had fought tooth and nail against this marriage, had argued and pleaded to get out of it…and then shocked them all by falling for that silver-haired moon child the moment he'd laid eyes on her. He'd started following at Serenity's heels like some besotted lapdog, enough adoration in those dark eyes to make everyone else feel slightly nauseated whenever the couple passed by. Malachite knew he should be grateful that at least the prince seemed happy, but he was also tired of watching his liege make such a fool of himself. Endy was a prince of the blood, heir to an entire planet, and that tiny slip of a girl had him wrapped completely around her pale finger. It was…degrading, to all of them.

And Endymion was too much in love to care.

Mal sighed and slumped a little further against the wall, mouth continuing to twist unpleasantly as Endymion and Serenity twirled around the dance floor. They were still staring deeply into each other's eyes, completely oblivious to everyone else in the room.

"Disgusting, isn't it?"

Malachite started, turning silver eyes to the young woman now beside him. How did she sneak up on me like that? She should never have gotten so close…

The woman was watching him, the corner of her full lips quirking upwards at his expression. She looked like she knew exactly what he was thinking, but she only jerked her head back towards their dancing charges. "They're so lovey-dovey that even Serenity's own mother can't stand to be around them anymore," she said, lyrical voice lightened with amusement. She gave a trilling little laugh, tossing her long blonde hair over one shoulder. "Personally, I'm convinced prolonged exposure to all that sweetness will give me diabetes."

He had gotten over his surprise by then, and he only lifted one elegant, silver brow in response. "Indeed," he murmured, his own voice completely inflectionless. He regarded her for a moment longer, his face unreadable, and then turned and began to walk away. "Good evening to you, Lady Venus."

He never noticed the way she stared after him, a predatory glint in her blue eyes. "And to you, General Malachite."

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep…

It was the beeping that woke him, the incessant warbling of an alarm clock someone had forgotten to turn off. It dragged him back from the realm of sleep, chased any memory of the dream from his mind. He opened groggy silver eyes, ran a slender hand through equally silver hair.

Mina's alarm. Again.

Malachite pushed himself to a sitting position on his bed, cursing loudly all the while. He was doing that a lot lately, but then this wasn't the first time Mina had set her alarm for the crack of dawn and then didn't stick around to turn it off. She'd left two days ago on another photo shoot, and who knew when she'd return?

And the stupid thing would keep beeping until she came home and turned it off. Maybe she wouldn't notice if her alarm clock conveniently disappeared while she was gone…?

He sighed and gave one of those jaw-cracking yawns that hurt afterwards, then slid from his bed. He began gathering his shower things, only half seriously considering a trip to Mina's room to destroy her alarm clock. Only the fact that he'd have to actually go in her room stayed him—the girl wasn't exactly a clean person, even with the maid, and for all he knew, something in her bedroom might try to eat him the moment he crossed the threshold.

He grimaced as he slipped into the shower, wondering if he would still have chosen to move here if he'd known what Mina was like. True, the apartment was every bit as wonderful as he'd first found it to be, but she was…well, put simply, she was driving him nuts.

She was loud.

She was messy.

She sang off-key in the shower and had absolutely no respect for his privacy.

She ate his food, used his shampoo, and never felt the slightest bit of remorse for either.

And, possibly worse than all the rest, she never shut up.

Ever.

Sometimes he thought he hated her, though he'd decided that he hadn't known her long enough to feel so strongly about her. He'd only been living here for a few weeks, and she'd been gone for most of that time. She was either off on those photo shoots, wreaking havoc with the friends he miraculously hadn't met yet, or looking for that demon cat. She wasn't home more than a few hours a week, so how could he really hate her?

He stepped under the water, the warmth soothing some of the exhaustion from his body. The water flowed over the top of his head and into his eyes; it stopped his ears and muffled his hearing, but even so, he didn't miss the sound of the front door slamming against the wall.

Oh, gods, she's back. I'm not up to her this morning.

He finished his shower as quickly as he could, wanting to get out of the apartment before she could get around to pestering him. He'd learned that spending too much time around Mina almost always led to some sort of disaster, and he wasn't about to stick around for it to happen. He slipped from the shower and into his bedroom, tossing on the first set of clothes he came across. Then, after running a comb through his long hair, he stepped out into the hallway.

And ran straight into the blonde whirlwind he'd been trying to avoid.

Mina must have been sprinting down the hallway to her own bedroom, but she didn't see him in time, and she ran straight into him. She collided against his chest, hitting him with almost enough force to knock the breath from him, and then bounced off and landed with a thud on the floor.

He was too surprised himself even to help her up, simply stared down at her with one silver brow cocked in question. He took in her startled blue eyes, the inelegant sprawl she'd landed in. She was gazing just as stupidly back at him, but then she grinned sheepishly. "Sorry," she muttered. "I'm in a hurry."

He wanted so badly to roll his eyes, but he didn't. "You're always in a hurry." He sighed, finally offered her a hand. "Where are you going this time?" Not that I really care, but maybe focusing on her will keep her from focusing on me.

Something shuttered in her eyes, but she only shrugged, pulling her hand from his the moment she'd gotten her balance back. "Just out," she answered quietly, looking down at her feet rather than at her roommate. "I thought I might look for Artemis for a little while, and then I'm meeting the girls." She paused, then shrugged again. "I only stopped in to clean up, really. I had to travel all night just to get home, and even if I didn't do anything but sit there, travel always makes me feel dirty."

Ah, Artemis. Of course. I should have known. Mina had been using nearly every bit of what little free time she had to look for her cat, but he hadn't been seen since the day Malachite had come. The animal had vanished from the fire escape sometime during their conversation that day, and no amount of searching on Mina's part could locate him. He knew she was worried about him, though he didn't understand why she'd taken this so hard. Even if she never found Artemis, he was just a cat, right? She shouldn't be reacting like she'd lost her best friend, but she was.

She was so weird.

Still, weird or not, that something in her eyes had also deadened her voice, and he found himself looking a little more carefully at her. She was a trifle pale even for her, and her eyes weren't quite as bright as usual, but she also didn't look as though she'd been up all night, either. He didn't understand how she could work so hard, travel all night, and then still look like she could go on for another day without any sleep. Must be the Energizer Bunny coming out in her.

Mina was looking at him again, and perhaps she'd guessed that she wasn't coming across as her typically cheerful and oblivious self, because she suddenly smiled a little too brightly. Her features tightened and shifted, and whatever had been in her eyes was gone so quickly that he wondered if he'd imagined it. All he could see now was the ever-cheerful Mina he'd come to expect.

He blinked at her for a second, then gave a mental shake. I was definitely imagining it, he decided. Mina doesn't have enough self-discipline to control her expression like that, and even if she does, why would she bother to hide anything from me? It's not like I'm going to get on her case for being tired or for missing her stupid cat.

She was still grinning up at him, but as he continued to stare down at her, his own expression unreadable, her smile became a little sheepish. "Actually," she muttered, "I was wondering if I could borrow some of your shampoo? I seem to have run out again, and I don't really want to take the time to go for more. I figured you wouldn't mind too much."

That won a reaction from him, if only a mild one. He glared at her, not bothering to hide the irritation in his gaze. There she goes again. Is nothing sacred to her? "You're going to steal some anyway, aren't you?"

She shrugged, just as unrepentant as always. "Pretty much. At least I asked this time, ne? Aren't you glad that I'm improving?"

She had so much exaggerated innocence in her voice, her smile was brighter than it had ever been, and Malachite was more annoyed than usual. He did roll his eyes, now, wondering if it was too late to get out of that lease. "I swear," he muttered, "you're about as intelligent as a chair."

She just grinned, blithely unconcerned with his insult. "Which one?"

He stared at her, looking at her as if she'd just sprouted a third eye. "What?"

She winked at him. "Which chair? If you're going to insult my intelligence, it'd be nice to know which one you're comparing me to. Some of them are smarter than the others, you know." She leaned a little closer, though she was so short that "closer" was a relative term, and her smile was pure mischief. "Am I as smart as the chair in the corner? Or am I only as smart as one of the chairs at the kitchen table? There's a big difference there, and I'd really love to know."

He glared at her.

She smiled obliviously back.

He glared a little harder.

Her smile didn't change.

He gave up.

"So," she persisted a second later, "can I borrow your shampoo?"

Malachite waited only until Mina was occupied with her petty thievery, and then headed out of the apartment. He took the elevator to the ground floor, hoping against hope that Larry-the-doorman wouldn't be working today. I can't take Mina and Larry today. Every man has his limits, and those two have an uncanny ability to push me past mine.

Malachite had never particularly thought of himself as a homophobe, but Larry was becoming almost more of a nuisance than Mina. The man had been hitting on Mal since the day he'd moved in, and it was becoming steadily harder to ignore the attempts at flirtation. Larry was always winking or making not-quite-suggestive comments, always trying to strike up conversations and then practically giggling after every word Malachite spoke…he'd done everything short of actually asking Mal out, and it was getting old. Fast.

Fortunately for Malachite, Larry must not have been working that day. Thanking any gods that might be looking out for him, Mal quickly left the building. He headed in the general direction of his office, thinking that maybe he could use the earlier-than-usual start to catch up on his paperwork. If he put it off much longer, the others would start accusing him of channeling Jed, and who wanted that?

Speaking of which…

Mal pulled his cell from his pocket, flipped it open and began dialing a number from memory. After two or three rings, a tired voice came through the line. "Hello, Malachite."

Malachite blinked, startled. Now who's channeling whom? I thought only Nephrite could know who was calling before anybody actually said anything. "How'd you know it was me, Zoi?"

Zoicite's sigh was clear even over the phone. "You're the only person who ever calls me at this insane hour," he replied tiredly. "What time is it—seven, eight? The others know not to bug me until at least after eleven."

Malachite rolled his eyes. "That's only because they've usually stayed out all night with you and are still in bed themselves," he muttered. "I don't know why I bother with you three."

Zoi gave what would have been a laugh if he hadn't been so obviously exhausted and hung over. "Yeah, yeah," he began, but whatever he'd planned to say was cut off by a loud yawn. He groaned slightly when his jaw popped, but shook it off quickly enough. "And before you ask," he muttered instead, "Jed did come through with the tickets. Everything is set for tonight."

Mal nodded, though of course Zoicite couldn't see. This was, after all, the reason he'd called…waking Zoi up had only been a bonus. "Good," he said. "I'm not repeating last year's experience—standing outside begging people to sell us their tickets to some stupid opera was not my idea of fun."

"You're preaching to the choir, pal. Blame Jed for that one, anyway. He's the baka who forgot to buy the tickets, not me." Zoicite yawned again. "Are you going to the office today?"

Malachite snorted. "Don't I always?" He shook his head, sighing. True, the software company the four of them had started a few years back pretty much ran itself now, but that didn't mean they could completely forget about it. Someone had to make sure everything was going smoothly…and that someone tended to be him. The others were usually content to pick up their checks every month and leave it at that. "Go back to sleep, Zoi."

"I plan to," the other man retorted, the exhaustion in his voice taking the sting from the words. "Just to remind you, though—we have people now, Mal. You don't have to work unless you want to. And why would you want to?"

Malachite hung up on him.

The opera turned out to be even more horrible than Mal had expected. The costumes were gaudy, the sets eyesores, and the singing so high-pitched that Malachite wouldn't have understood a word even if it hadn't been in French. And, to top it all off, the people around them seemed to think there was something weird about four men attending an opera together. Mal and his friends spent a few uncomfortable hours being stared at, and if this hadn't been their birthday present to Nephrite, the three of them would never have been able to stay in their seats until the end.

Nephrite, of course, loved every minute of it, though all three of them were convinced he enjoyed watching them squirm even more than he enjoyed the opera itself.

Mal couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief as the nightmare finally ended and they could leave, though he knew the night was far from over. Nephrite, opera-buff that he was, had also spent entirely too much time with Jed and Zoicite; his birthday wouldn't be complete until they'd hit a few bars, been horribly rejected by a few women, and then gotten drunk enough that they wouldn't remember any of it the next day.

And, accordingly, off to the bars they went.

Malachite hadn't been any more eager for the bar-hopping than he'd been for the opera, but even he couldn't fault the choice Neph had made this time. His dark-haired friend usually went for clubs that were either ultra-trendy or ultra-questionable—never anything in between—but this one was comfortably middle-ground. Mal still didn't expect to enjoy himself overmuch, but for the first time in years, he didn't think he'd be assaulted by some knife-wielding drunkard, either.

Jed was, quite predictably, a little more enthusiastic than his silver-haired friend. The moment the four of them crossed through the doors, his lips twisted in a broad, slightly goofy grin. "You were right about this place, birthday boy!" he hollered over the music. "I haven't seen such beautiful women in a long time!" He pumped his fist in the air, ignoring the glares he was earning from said women. "Not since yesterday, anyway!"

More, infinitely scarier, glares…

Mal shook his head. Jed's not getting any tonight, not after that.

The foursome threaded their way to the bar, ordered their drinks, and began taking bets on how long it'd be before Jed either got himself kicked out or knocked around by some angry woman.

Some time later, Zoicite glanced down at the ice water in Mal's hands. "Come on, Mal," he chastised, clapping his friend on the back. "I know you take the designated driver thing very seriously, but we took a cab to get here, and we'll take one to leave. You can get drunk like the rest of us, for once." He snorted. "And if that girl is everything you've said she is, you deserve it for putting up with her this long."

Mal winced as Jed immediately picked up on the "girl" comment, just as he'd known his friend would. "What girl?" the blond man demanded suddenly. "Since when does Mal get a girl and I don't?" His eyes narrowed. "Wait…are you talking about that Mina girl? The one you live with and for whatever reason won't let us meet?"

Malachite groaned quietly. "Yes, and if I'm keeping you from meeting her, it's only because I value your sanity…or what little you have of it." He snorted. "Five minutes with Mina, and you'll want to throw yourself off the nearest bridge."

Neph had been paying more attention to the pretty brunette sitting a few feet away than to Malachite, but now he turned to look at his friend, lifted an eyebrow in question. "She can't be that bad."

Mal only sighed. "She's what Jed will be like after he finally gets that sex-change operation he's always wanted."

They all winced, ignoring Jed's protests that he'd never wanted to be a girl, then continuing to ignore him as he loudly informed everyone around them that he had horrible, abusive friends.

Mal glared down into the contents of his—nonalcoholic, naturally—drink. "She's loud, she's a slob, she's nosy, she never stops talking, and I'm seriously considering strangling her the next time I see her."

He hadn't been able to keep the irritation from his voice—even when Mina wasn't around, she seemed to bring it out of him. Still, he didn't understand the looks the other three were giving him. "What?"

Even Zoi, who'd had to hear about Mina many times before now, was blinking at him. "Wow," he whistled softly. "I hadn't realized she was affecting you that much, man." He paused, a mischievous smirk suddenly on his face. "She must really be something. Nothing ever bothers you."

Jedeite looked just as incredulous, and he seemed to have forgotten that his sexuality had just been questioned. "What does she look like?"

Malachite groaned a little more loudly this time. Trust Jed to focus on that, he thought, annoyed. "She's blonde and short," he muttered in reply, hoping Jed would leave it at that.

He didn't, of course. "Pretty?"

"I guess."

"How old?"

"Early twenties, maybe? I don't know. Who cares?"

Even Nephrite had gotten in on the conversation by this time, the brunette forgotten. "What does she do for a living? I've seen those apartments of yours, man, and they're not cheap. Is her family loaded or something, and if they are, why would she even need a roommate?"

Mal shrugged. "She doesn't like to live alone, apparently, but I don't know about her family. I don't talk to her that much. I know she's studying…something at some college, but I've never asked about it. She's a model, though, so maybe that's it."

Nephrite held up a hand. "Let me get this straight. You get to live in an incredible apartment for practically nothing, and you live with a model. Who did you have to kill to get this?"

Mal grimaced. "Trust me—it's not nearly as wonderful as it sounds." He caught the expression on Jed's face, and his grimace deepened. "It doesn't matter how beautiful she is, Jed, when she drives me so crazy. If I were around her more often, I'd hate her."

Jed's expression sharpened. "But you don't hate her now?" He laughed, though the laughter was a little…off, with all the alcohol he'd already drunk. "My friend, if you don't hate her, that must mean you like her."

"Like who?"

All four of them jumped, but Mal most of all…and not simply because he'd been startled. He knew that voice, and his stomach was suddenly clenching into knots. Is she stalking me or something? And how much did she overhear? "Hello, Mina," he muttered, wondering if it was too late to get that drink as he slowly turned to face her. "What are you doing he—"

His voice trailed off as he turned and actually looked at her, and he suddenly had to force himself to breathe. By the gods, she's stunning.

In all the weeks since he'd moved in, Mal had never seen Mina in anything but comfortable, if often tight, clothing. He'd never seen her with her hair done or with any makeup on, and she'd been lovely even then. Now, though…

She'd come dressed for a night on the town, that much was obvious. She'd donned a form-fitting black dress that hugged her curves without being too revealing, and for once her hair wasn't pulled up in that signature bow. It fell in loose waves around her face instead, somehow making her features seem…more mature, more sensuous. Making her seem more like a woman than some annoying coed. The light dusting of makeup only added to the impression, and he found himself thinking he'd never seen anyone so beautiful.

And that snapped Malachite back to himself faster than anything else could have. I already knew she was beautiful, he harshly chided himself. That's not a reason to make a fool of myself over her. She's going to start thinking I'm attracted to her, and who knows what she'll do then?

Mina was still staring at him, utter confusion written over her lovely features. "Like who?" she repeated, but Malachite only shook his head.

"Doesn't matter," he told her, his voice coming out a little harsher than he'd intended.

She didn't seem to notice, though, only turned with unconcealed curiosity towards his friends. "Aren't you going to introduce us, Mal?" she asked, jerking her head in their direction. When he didn't say anything, she simply shrugged and made the introductions herself. "I'm Mina," she told them, shaking each hand in turn, "Malachite's roommate. And you are?"

They gave their names, Zoicite adding that they worked with Mal.

Mina nodded. "You own a software company, right?"

Malachite blinked. When did I tell her about the company? When have I told her anything about my personal life, come to that?

He glanced towards Mina, found her already watching him, a slight smile curving her lips. "I asked around, Mal," she confessed, laughing. "You can't expect me to live with some strange man without trying to find out at least a little about him, can you?"

He just stared at her…as he so often did. She's full of surprises, isn't she?

As always, she seemed to know when he wasn't going to reply. She turned to the bartender, her smile widening as she greeted him by name. "Long time, no see, Mac," she grinned. "You still with that girl?"

The man responded with a wide grin of his own. "I'm in for the long haul," he admitted, "or at least for as long as she'll have me."

"I'll have to meet her sometime, then." Her eyes were twinkling. "You'll invite me to the wedding, right?"

Mac rolled his eyes, though he hadn't stopped smiling. "You know it," he laughed. "What can I get you?"

Mina shrugged again. "The usual. Amara and Michelle are here, too, so I'll need whatever they usually get."

He nodded, obviously knowing who she was talking about. "Just water for you?"

Her turn to nod. "It's hard enough to keep my head on straight when I'm sober, Mac. You don't want to see what I'm like when I'm drunk." She winked at him and accepted an unopened bottle of water.

Mac took her thanks with another nod. "I'll have someone bring everything else in a minute," he told her. "You'll be at the usual table?"

She smiled again. "Sure. Thanks, Mac." She glanced again at Malachite and his friends. "Nice meeting you." She turned, disappearing back into the throng of dancers just as abruptly as she'd arrived, leaving a very unbalanced Malachite in her wake.

They were all silent for a second, and then Jed snorted. "So…that was Mina?"

Malachite didn't meet his eyes, not wanting to see the glee in his friend's gaze. Here we go, he thought. This was precisely why I never let them meet her before.

He didn't see Mina again for quite some time. For all he knew, she might have left the club, though he couldn't help looking up every time any blondes walked by. Living with Mina had instilled a healthy paranoia in him, and he didn't like knowing she was around and out of sight. He remained in his seat at the bar, not daring to let his guard down even for a second.

Speak of the devil, he thought rather sourly as he finally spotted an all-too familiar blonde moving through the throng of dancers. She wasn't headed in his direction, but she must have felt his eyes on her somehow, because she suddenly turned and flashed him one of her trademark smiles.

Ugh. How can someone so insane be so attractive?

Mina had paused on the dance floor as she greeted him, but before he could respond in any way, she suddenly seemed to tense. Her smile died, her body stiffening, and as a man came out of nowhere and grabbed her arm, Mal understood why she had.

He was a tall man, his thin body encased almost entirely in leather, his slightly greasy hair pulled into a tight ponytail. He was pressing himself a little too closely to Mina, the expression on his face far from innocent, and Malachite tensed. Instinct had him automatically pushing himself to his feet and heading in Mina's direction, because no matter how little he liked his roommate, he liked the way the man was looking at her—touching her—even less.

Mina reacted first. The man had leaned in and whispered something in her ear, and while the disgust on her face was clear enough, she didn't simply jerk away, as any other girl would have. Instead, startling even Malachite with the swiftness of her movements, she buried her elbow in his stomach.

Greasy Hair doubled over, gasping and clearly furious, but he dropped Mina's arm. She smirked at him and stepped back, moving until she was no longer in his immediate reach. Then, with what was very likely a snarked reply, she began to walk away.

The man had let Mina go, but he wasn't finished. He was still gasping, forcing himself to stand almost straight, his face contorted with anger and pain as he reached into his jacket. He pulled his hand free an instant later, and something cold slithered up Malachite's spine as he realized just what it was the man held.

He has a gun. Of course he has a gun. And I'll never reach Mina in time.

The thoughts were oddly calm, but that something along his spine only intensified as the man turned and abruptly lunged for Mina's arm. He latched onto it with bruising force, jerking her back towards his body and holding her tightly against him. She seemed about to repeat the elbow move, but she mercifully stiffened when the man pointed the gun at her temple.

Malachite froze, though part of him was wondering how she'd even known what the gun was. Maybe she'd just assumed that anything pointed at her head had to be a bad thing?

Only those directly around Mina had noticed what was happening, but those few were already screaming and backing away, and it wasn't long before everyone else had figured it out, as well. Within seconds, a space had cleared around the two of them, and the man was dragging Mina back towards the bar.

Malachite was still frozen, but as Greasy Hair pulled her past, Mal shifted so their eyes could meet…and he froze all over again. She's…calm,he realized, shocked anew. She has a gun pointed at her head, and she's not scared. Why isn't she scared? Hell, I'm scared!

She and Greasy Hair had reached the bar by then, and while the man immediately pulled the gun away from Mina and pointed it at Mac instead, the situation didn't exactly improve. The movement must have been some sort of signal, because three other men pushed their way through the crowds to Greasy's side, each sporting identical firearms. Several of them grabbed hostages of their own, though most of them were content to wave their guns in random faces. Out of the corner of his eyes, Mal could see a few others taking up position at the exits.

Mal counted nine, with a possible tenth standing off to one side. He couldn't tell if that last man was actually armed or just acting a little shifty, but he wasn't going to take any chances by discounting him, either.

Greasy, Mina still in hand, had started in on Mac. "I want everything you have," he told the bigger man, voice a little louder than it needed to be. He glanced around the room, grinning as he took in the terrified faces. "The rest of you can line up against the wall. One of my friends will be along shortly for…donations." His grin widened. "For your own sakes, be generous."

He motioned again at his goons, and they began herding everyone else off the dance floor. He also put the gun back at Mina's temple.

Mal must have made some kind of sound or movement, because Greasy Hair suddenly turned and stared right at him. "No heroes," he said, voice hard and cold. "Move again, and I'll kill her."

Malachite's choices were limited, but he wasn't about to leave Mina in this psychopath's hands. Still, what could he do that wouldn't get them both killed? He remained frozen in place for a fraction of a second, and then he made the mistake of looking to Mina.

She was smiling. Surrounded by armed crazy man, held by another one, and with a gun pointed at her head, she was smiling.

The smile was both faint and very wry, almost embarrassed, but it was there.

She's crazy. There's no other explanation.

Greasy hadn't seen Mina's smile, but when he gestured at Malachite a second time, the silver-haired man backed obediently away. He moved to join the others, his eyes never leaving Mina's.

What the hell is going on?