Another arrow hit the bulls-eye on the target. Pride smiled to himself, lowering the crossbow. Trudy handed him another arrow.
" She must like him." Trudy commented
" Why do you say that?" Pride asked as he shot another arrow
" He's still alive isn't he?" Trudy asked rhetorically
" Not for long if I get my way." Pride frowned
" I wonder what Salene would think of you still being hopelessly devoted to your ex." Trudy said, her voice shrewd.
" What she doesn't know won't hurt her." Pride shrugged as he fired yet another arrow.
" You're never gonna get Amber back you know. She's not interested in you anymore. You're not man enough." Trudy declared
" What's that supposed to mean?" Pride asked sounding hurt.
" Amber likes a challenge. That's why her and Bray worked so well."
" Are you kidding?" Pride asked exasperatedly, " They never stopped fighting!"
" Exactly." Trudy nodded, " He had his own opinion and she had hers, that's why together, they were explosive. You should be worried about that techno- he's got eyes for her. And if I had to choose between you and him then I know I'd definitely be going for that blonde bombshell…" Trudy said, fanning herself with her hand as she drifted off into a daze.
Pride grabbed her by the arm and stood her up quickly, pointing his crossbow straight at her chest; his finger placed on the trigger.
Trudy looked momentarily surprised, but then smiled widely.
" What are you going to do?" she taunted, " Kill me?"
" Don't force my hand." Pride warned
Trudy leant in closer to Pride, not afraid of his threat.
" You wouldn't." she whispered, only inches away from Pride's lips, " Because you know that if you did, Amber would never look twice at you. I mean, yeah, she likes a man with blood on his hands, but not her best friend's blood… that's practically suicide. Still, go ahead- if you dare…"
Pride dropped the crossbow down to his side, releasing Trudy from his grip.
" Just what I thought." Trudy sighed, laughing, " You're not man enough to kill anybody Pride. That's why you 'missed' Jay earlier isn't it."
Pride didn't reply.
" Does Amber realize that her little hitman, would never hit anyone? Or is that a secret?" Trudy teased. Pride gulped. " Interesting." Trudy observed.
Pride watched as Trudy sauntered out of the room with a huge smirk on her face.
"Say hi to Salene for me." Trudy called on her way out.
Angry, Pride looked up and shot the target. The arrow vibrated as it hit the bulls-eye, joining all of the other arrows.
Ram looked at Ved with his eyes narrowed. Ved shifted uncomfortably as he tried to avoid Ram's gaze.
" Your brother's gone to the mall to try and fix things with Amber." Ram stated, his face expressionless, " But what I want to know, is how she ever managed to escape our MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON in the first place…"
" It was her friends," Ved started, " They managed to create a diversion."
" And this 'diversion' somehow led to Amber opening the triple locked door to her cell and waltzing out of there?" Ram questioned angrily
" No sir." Ved said quietly, " Someone let her out. We think it was an inside job."
" And the traitor?" Ram asked expectantly
" Unknown." Ved coughed
" Yeah well you'd better find them soon or you will be the one to suffer the consequences." Ram sneered, " Got it?"
" Yes sir," Ved nodded
" Now leave please. I have important business to attend to."
The silence between Jay and Amber was almost deafening. Jay stood before her, desperately trying to remain calm as Amber's eyes scanned him intently from her spot on the end of the bed.
" I heard about your escape." Jay started, finally breaking the silence, " Sneaking out of a high security prison without getting the attention of any of the guards, I'm almost impressed."
" I still have a few loyal followers… they were more than happy to lend a hand." Amber replied abruptly
" I heard about Bray, I'm sorry." Jay said cautiously
" No you're not." Amber scowled, " You're the one who took him in the first place. It's your fault that my baby doesn't have a father! You and your Technos."
" We're just trying to bring about peace to the city- a proper system, which is why we need your cooperation- the people fear you, they'll listen if you tell them what to do." Jay argued.
That was it. Amber lost it, standing up and marching towards Jay, leaving only inches between them.
" We had a system! Power and Chaos! And just because it was run differently to your regime doesn't mean you can just waltz on in and enforce your values upon my people." Amber yelled, her voice wavered slightly- Jay spotted tears in her eyes. " All you've done is ruin everything that Bray and I fought so hard for. How dare you stand there in front of me and talk about truces. There is no way that I would ever support your cause. Now get out of my sight- you disgust me!"
Jay's eyes pleaded with her to see reason, but Amber stood firmly. Sighing, Jay turned around, and began to leave the room. Amber watched silently as he stopped in her doorway, turning to face her once more.
" I'll be back you know." he said, " And I really am sorry… about Bray. Just know, it was Ram who ordered to have him taken, I had no part in it."
" You're his general." Amber glared, " As far as I'm concerned, you practically signed his arrest warrant."
Jay shook his head, but didn't argue any further, instead turning and continuing out of the door. She had surprised him; he knew she'd be difficult to work with, but never had he imagined it possible that someone so feared and angry could also be capable of such emotion. Winning her over was going to be harder than he thought. Jay was going to have to re-think his tactics.
