20.
The sounds of arguing drew them up short.
Or rather the sound of Bryant spouting off over the protestations of Achran and Deuel.
Miles and Taige carefully approached the area where the illicit stash of goods had been hidden. Taige was ahead of Miles and slowed to a stop, leaning his back against a crumbling wall as they drew nearer down a side street.
Cautiously he peered around the edge and saw Bryant, in front of the two Ishvallans, confronting Scar. Scar stood with his arms folded and he was ignoring Bryant, his focus on the other two. He murmured back at Miles, "There's a large structure in back of these three. It's where they've been hiding their stuff. I don't see Veela, at all."
Miles tapped him on the shoulder, and Taige backed away, allowing Miles to take his place and check the scene before him. Half a breath later he pulled back, turning to the Corporal.
"Can you get around to that alley on the other side of them? Behind Deuel?"
"I can, yes."
"Between the three of us, we can at least prevent them from getting away anywhere. Since all three are out. My guess is Veela's inside the room." As Taige prepared to move out Miles gave him a warning shot. "Just remember what we've discussed, Corporal."
Taige nodded then he slipped away from Miles before disappearing right along the side of a disintegrating outbuilding.
Miles turned his focus back to the scene in front of him, waiting for Taige to make an appearance before he would make his move. He focused on Scar.
"I'd suggest you two move as far back from this yaakhtai as you can," Scar was saying, specifically to Achran and Deuel.
"You two don't move!" Bryant growled, his eyes fixed on Scar. "You're just as much involved now as I am." He spoke to Scar with a sneer. "You won't do a damned thing, not while I have that little runt! Besides, you might think you a big boy, but its three of us against you!"
Scar just looked at Bryant like he was an insect.
His gaze flicked to the other two and he switched to Ishvallan. "If you two know what's good for you, you'll back down from this and cooperate. I happen to know the child isn't in that room."
"Speak to me properly, you desert rat!" Bryant spat angrily, barely noticing the two behind him exchanging looks and trying to back up further. He shot a quick glare at them both. "Don't you listen to a damn thing he's saying. We've got the upper hand here."
"Do you even realize who he is?" Ahcran snapped.
"Just another murderous Ishvallan sand flea! Calls himself d' Governor," Bryant spat contemptuously into the dirt. "It's an insult to d' Amestrian way of life, electing a murderer. And for what? An over glorified wasteland? I ain't afraid to take him down a notch or two. Could probably earn myself a nice fat reward just for bringing him in."
Miles almost groaned out load. As it was he reached up and ran a hand down his face. He slipped silently in behind Ahcran.
Scar promptly ignored Bryant, heaving a sigh at such colossal stupidity. From the corner of his eye he caught sight of Miles who was stealthily moving in to position to prevent Achran's flight. Where the hell was Taige? He had to have been with Miles. Scar focused back on the two Ishvallans, switching languages again..
"If you two choose to work with me on this. I will see what can be done to lessen the consequences. If you don't? Ishvala have mercy on your souls." He growled.
"I said speak to me like a human being!" Bryant snapped loudly. "I won't stand for being addressed in that gibberish!"
Scar glared at him. "I wasn't addressing you, jhavahal." He said flatly in Amestrian.
"Well you better start addressing me now!" Bryant sneered. "I won't hesitate to break d' neck of that little piece of vermin I've got in there. You will listen to me! I won't deal with a piece of desert scum like you. Get it? Get it?!" He demanded.
"Then why should I listen to you?" Scar asked.
With a look of disgust on his face, Scar shifted his weight onto his left leg, allowing him to sweep his right foot back. With his arms still folded, implacable as a statue, and with minimal effort, he lofted Veela's sandal with his foot. It dropped on the ground in front of Bryant. At the same time he caught sight of Taige making his way down the alley on Deuel's left. Within seconds he was mere feet from the man's back.
Bryant glared down at the sandal.
"You don't even have the child. Why should I listen to anything that is spewing out of your foul mouth?" He said it loudly enough that he knew both Miles and Taige would have heard him.
Achran and Deuel had the presence of mind to at least realize they were stuck between a rock and a hard place.
"We had nothing to do with the child," Achran protested. "He just showed up here with her!"
"Yeah, this was all the Ammie's doing," The other added in disgust. "And I mean everything!"
"I know who's responsible," Scar said, not taking his eyes of Bryant. "The question is, what are you two going to do about it?"
"It ain't my deal, Zhaarad!" Deuel was saying, waving his hands. "Neither one of knew about this."
"I see how it is!" Bryant snarled, "Try explaining to him about what's in that shack behind us. Who's responsible for all of that?" Bryant turned to glare at Ahcran and as he did he caught sight of Miles.
At the same time Deuel sensed something was wrong. Alarmed, he turned, clenching his fists.
Taige, expressionless, save for the coldness in his eyes, slammed three fast blows into Deuel's back. His fist, knuckle protruding, hitting the nerve ending pressure points so hard that Deuel stiffened in agonized paralysis. His ability to move was instantly robbed from him. He sucked in a strangled breath of air in an attempt to scream, but Taige grabbed him by the shoulders and drove his thumbs into the nerve points at the base of his neck.
Deuel arced his back, his eyes opened wide with pain and horror, mouth gasping like a fish as Taige
continued driving his thumbs in, shoving the man downward onto his knees.
To his right, Miles scowled and muttered, "Son of a bitch!"
Stepping forward Miles, in one fluid move, grabbed Achran's left wrist and used his right leg to kick the man's feet out from under him. He jerked his arm up behind his back as he fell forward. The Colonel planted his boot in the centre of Achran's back pinning him down, twisting his arm up, and immobilizing him.
It took mere seconds.
"Stop struggling," Miles barked. "I will break your arm. This thing is over." He looked across to see Taige dropping Deuel like a sack of potatoes, shoving the man on to his side. Deuel collapsed in the dirt, not moving.
Bryant, distracted that few seconds upon spotting Miles, never saw Scar move two steps forward. The next thing he realized was a huge hand grabbing him by the throat and bodily jerking him off the ground. He looked back into a pair of red eyes blazing with fury. Scar's expression did little to dampen his considerable ferocity.
Bryant's own face turned red, flushing to the roots of his hair as he struggled for breath. His drew back his fist and slammed it as hard as he could into Scar's body.
For his part, Scar sensed the movement and instinctively tensed for the blow. He let out a grunt of surprise, at the sheer force of it and he winced. He looked at Bryant, who was gagging and beginning to struggle. He now looked at Scar with something akin to fear. What would have been a knuck punch to drop anyone to their knees had barely registered on his opponent. Bryant pulled back his fist, about to try punching him again when another hand grabbed his arm.
Taige ripped the knuckledusters off his hand, leaving Bryant's knuckles bleeding. He slipped them onto his own hand, reaching up to grab a fistful of Bryant's hair and jerking his head back, causing him to gag even more.
"Where the hell is my child?" He snarled in Bryant's ear as he held up his fist to show him the knuckledusters.
"She did what you taught her," Scar said quickly, distracting Taige, who was drawing his arm back.
Taige looked at him, a momentary flash of puzzlement in his eyes. A blue uniformed arm suddenly snaked around his neck, jerking his own head back while a hand grabbed his wrist. Taige felt himself being hauled backwards.
"Drop the knucks," Miles hissed in his ear. "Now!"
Taige let go of Bryant, and raised his hands up. He shook the brass instrument off his fist and into his fingers. Gripping Miles' arm with one hand he held the knuckledusters up for him.
As he did, Scar flicked his arm and released the hold he had on Bryant's throat. He dumped him unceremoniously onto the ground before him. Bryant, gasping and coughing for breath, looked up at him in a mixture of fear and rage.
Scar glared down at him, lips twisted in disgust and he purposely wiped his hand off down the front of his tunic. He said nothing as he stepped over him, heading over to where Deuel was laying.
Miles meanwhile released his grip on Taige, taking the brassknuckles from his hand. Taige panted from his exertions and paused a moment for breath. He looked around, until he zeroed in on the sound of trickling water.
"Veela..." He whispered, hurrying over to the abandoned well.
Scar had crouched over Deuel, then he effortlessly flipped the unconscious man onto his side. "Ahcran," he snapped, looking over at the other man, who was sitting in the dirt, rubbing his shoulder.
Achran scrambled to his feet, approaching Scar with trepidation.
"Stay with your buddy," Scar growled at him. "He's going to wake up screaming in agony, and he'll undoubtedly start vomiting. Make sure he doesn't choke to death." He added in disgust before turning towards the others.
"Taige!" Miles snapped when his Corporal began jogging towards the tangle of vegetation. It had formed a huge mound in the square's corner before scrambling over a crumbing wall of blocks. Taige dodged to the right around the well and began trying to shoulder his way into the mass of trailing vines.
"Miles! She's in there..." Scar indicated with a nod as he rose from Deuel's prone body and turned back towards Bryant.
Miles started forward, coming around the opposite side of the tangled vegetation. He reached out to pull some of the vines away, the sound of water much louder now. As he pulled, he heard the grinding of stone on stone and ducked as several bricks tumbled from the top of the wall. He backed up, staring at it, trying to assess how bad it was.
Waving away the dust from the dislodged bricks, he scowled and reached out to nudge the vines away, looking into the undergrowth. He spotted Veela's foot. "I see her!" He called out, pushing more of the vegetation aside.
"Veela!" He said urgently, trying to keep his voice calm, "Veela, laleh, your papa's out here, come on over here to me..." On the other side of the massive tangle of growth Taige began calling out to her.
The foot disappeared as she pulled back. Miles winced, remembering what Vesya had said to him about her. He glanced at the wall again, then turned towards it. Slipping his right arm and shoulder under the mass of vines, he lifted it as much out of the way as he could. Glancing down and in, he could just see Veela backed up against the blocks. She was looking up at him in terror, trying to make herself as small as she possibly could up against the base of the wall.
"Veela, sweetie..." Miles lowered his voice. "C'mon over here. Your papa's with me."
Veela, seeing him trying to edge further under the honeysuckle, scooted herself further away from him. He was alarmed to see her holding her arm against her body, realizing something wasn't right.
Miles looked at the frightened child a moment, thinking it might be best to get Taige into his place when he heard a much louder sound of brick against brick. Worse was the sound of cracking.
Bryant, in the interim, before Scar could reach him, scrambled madly to his feet and with a growl began running towards the Colonel. He bent and caught Miles around the hips in a low tackle, slamming both of them against the wall.
Miles was wholly unprepared for Bryant's tackle. The two men crashed into the wall and vegetation. He tried to twist around, to kick Bryant off of him when he barely caught sight of Scar grabbing the Sergeant by the scruff of his neck, jerking backwards.
Miles could sense and hear the ominous grinding and cracking, the structure began to lean his way, and he looked desperately at Veela.
"Shit!" he hissed out, seeing the entire wall begin to move. Miles did the only thing he could think of. He pitched himself forward, throwing his free arm out to try and sweep Veela under him.
Everything abruptly went black.