30

Ebony was sitting behind her desk at the hotel. She had fallen behind with some of her duties as the cityleader and was going through some paperwork. It was hard to concentrate though, as her mind kept sliding back to Slade and the wooden cabin. She hadn't seen him since he had dropped her off at the Techno headquarters yesterday. She would never admit it to anyone, but she missed him. She missed the feeling of his strong, protective arms around her and the taste of his lips, hungrily kissing hers. Ebony might seem like a tough cookie, but she was still a woman. And she loved a strong, handsome man.

A knock at her door pulled her out of her thoughts and she answered, a little annoyed, "Yes."

The door opened and one of her guards entered, "There's someone here to see you. A man," he said, stiffly.

Ebony's heart made a somersault, the image of Slade still fresh in her mind, "Let him in."

But it wasn't Slade, Ebony realised with a slight drop of heart - it was Jay.

She put on a brave face and smiled at him, "Jay! What a lovely surprise!"

She stood up and gestured for him to sit. He politely declined and Ebony sat back down in her own chair, "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Jay shifted uncomfortable and looked very serious, a slight frown forming on his forehead, "I've come to let you know that I've kept my promise to you and reprimanded my men. They will no longer be of any trouble to your citizens."

Ebony nodded appreciatively, "Good. I'm glad."

Jay gave a small stiff nod back. He was being strangely formal and frigid. Ebony got up and walked around the table, stopping right in front of him.

"And Smith?" she then asked quietly and looked up at him. His face hardened and his lips pressed into a tight line.

"I took care of him."

A shiver ran down Ebony's spine. Although Jay seemed like a good guy - a man of honour and righteousness - she wasn't in the slightest of doubt that he was certainly capable of 'taking care of someone'. For the first time since she'd begun her mission, Ebony was a little worried. She wondered how he would react if he knew she was taking him for a ride. She prayed she wouldn't ever find out.

Ebony walked over to her small bar table where she kept different alcohols in beautifully crafted glass decanters. She poured herself a glass of whiskey.

"Do you want one?" she asked over her shoulder, holding up the glass for Jay to see. She needed him to relax a bit.

After a moment of hesitation, Jay said, "Just a small one, thank you."

Ebony poured him an extra large one and handed it to him with a smile. He looked slightly dissaproving, but took the glass without a word.

"Please sit," Ebony said, holding out her hand towards the couch. Jay sat down and seemed to relax a bit. Ebony sat down next to him, holding up her glass, "Here's to working together."

"- peacefully." Jay added and they clinked glasses. They both took a sip.

"Ebony," Jay suddenly said, gravely, "I'm sorry about what Smith did to you. It was a disgusting action, that I won't allow under my command. It will never happen again. You have my word."

Ebony looked up at him through her eyelashes and smiled slightly, "Thank you," she said softly.

"You're welcome."

They shared a tender gaze, then Jay looked down into his glass, which he held in his lap. Ebony smiled at the obvious effect she had on him. She could see the emotion in his face, which he of course tried to hide, being the controlled man that he was. But Ebony could see it there - she had mastered the ability to read people over the years. Now was her chance to work on him.

"Jay," she said, in her most seductive voice, "I really like you. You're a good man. Respectable and honest."

Jay looked up at her, surprised by the sudden change in conversation. He looked very pleased.

"I like you too, Ebony," he said, a little akwardly and Ebony suspected he wasn't used to talk about his feelings. As a general, you had to be cool and collected, sometimes harsh. And as a leader, Ebony knew that.

"So why are you with a Tribe that is anything but those things?" She took a risk saying this, but she had to plant a doubt in his mind that would hopefully make him change alliance.

A slight frown appeared on Jay's forehead and he seemed to debate something in his mind, "We've been through this, Ebony," he then said with a very serious face. He gazed down at her with dark and dangerous eyes, "I told you: This city needs hospitals and schools - Ram's the key to that."

"I want that too," Ebony said, reaching over and taking his hand, "We need those things in this city. But what we don't need, is people like Ram."

Ebony released the full power of her mesmerizing eyes on him, "We need people like you, Jay, to lead us on the way to a better world. If you and me joined forces, we could take over the whole Techno show. Together we could make this city great."

Jay said nothing, but just sat there and looked dark and somber. He hadn't pried his hand free from hers, Ebony noticed and was pleased. He just let her hold it lightly.

Ebony took advantage of that, leaned towards him and grabbed both of his hands, "Don't tell me you haven't imagined that senario. I know I have."

"I...might have," Jay admitted very hesitantly, slowly raising his gaze to Ebony, "But it doesn't change anything," he then said, and Ebony felt disappointment rush over her.

"I still believe that Ram is important to the operation. He's a genius and I need a man with his skills."

Ebony knew when to stop. She had done what she intented - to plant a little bit of doubt in Jay's mind. She could only hope it would linger there and eventually grow. So she just smiled sadly, then let go of his hands and leaned back with a small shrug of the shoulders, "I see."

She made herself look very disappointed as she knew that would bother Jay. He looked at her with pained eyes, but didn't say anything.

"Would that be all?" Ebony then asked, slightly coldly, taking his half empty glass from him and got up. She turned her back on him and walked over to the bar table where she put down the two glasses. She could hear the couch squeak as Jay got up too.

She turned around to look at him and was surprised to find him stading directly behind her. She gasped softly and looked up at his face - it was dark and pained. He stared down at her intensely.

"I might not agree to your suggestion of us working together against Ram," he said quietly and then looked down at the ground, taking a shaky breath, "But that doesn't mean I haven't imagined you and me."

His intense gaze came back to her face, pacing from her eyes to her lips. Then, ever so slowly, he raised both his hands to her face and cupped it, then leaned down and lightly brushed his lips against hers. It was soft and brief and a little hesitant, like he was afraid to be pushed away. He then let go of her face, smiling a little.

It wasn't often that Ebony felt uncomfortable and not on top of the situation. She had been taken off guard. After a few moments of hesitation, as she rummaged her head for something to say, she just stammered, "But-but do you trust him? Ram... I mean, he isn't exactly on top of my list of reliable people."

"Not quite," Jay said and Ebony looked at him, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"I've been...used before...for other people's own evil agenda. I've been a puppet, blinded by false promises and pretenses. Somewhere down the line, you learn not to trust anyone. I don't even trust Ved - my own brother." He gave a small laugh and shook his head slightly at himself. Then his gaze found its way back to Ebony, "Right now, you're the only one I truely trust."

Ebony felt a sharp pang of guilt. Here he was, despite his distrust and suspiciousness, defying all of his doubts and insecurities, opening up his heart to her. He had chosen, against his own better judgement, to trust her. And she was betraying this trust.

Ebony had betrayed people's trust before without even blinking. It had never bothered her before - she just saw it as a necessity on her way to power. But something had changed inside Ebony. She had become...softer, less selfless. When and why, she couldn't say - she could just feel it.

After Jay had left, Ebony made her way out of the city and climbed the hills in the highlands. She had a deep frown on her face. Jay had turned out to be a really decent guy, who Ebony actually respected. Not many people had Ebony's respect - she was a hard lady to impress.

The more she got to know Jay, the harder it was to keep up a pretense, knowing how she was fooling him around. She had especially felt bad when he had unexpectedly kissed her. It hadn't been the plan for him to fall this hard for her. She only wanted his admiration and maybe a little crush. Guys usually didn't fall for her - they merely was fascinated by her beauty, her wits and her power. But Jay had seen something more in her. Something he loved.

When Jay had kissed her, Slades face had kept appearing before her eyes. This was harder than she had imagined. She hadn't planned for someone like Slade to come in and sweep her off her feet, making it more difficult for her to work on Jay. She hadn't expected love to come and mess up the whole operation. She hadn't been prepared for this love.

She was pondering all the way out to the small wooden house that belonged to Slade. Her heart swelled as she approached it hastely, almost running. She couldn't wait till she was in Slade's arms again and prayed to god that he was home.

She didn't get a chance to pray for too long, as the door swung open before she had reached all the way there, and Slade greeted her with that gorgeous wry smile of his. He looked particulary cocky, leaning against the doorframe as he watched her approach him.

"Finally," he said, grinning, as she reached him. His eyes were sparkling with humor, "Would it hurt you to hurry a little?"

Ebony rolled her eyes of him and shook her head with a small smile, "Well I had some very important things to attend to."

"More important than this?" Slade said, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into a deep kiss. It lasted for a long while and Ebony forgot everything around her. It was Slade who eventually pulled away, smiling smugly down at her.

"It was Jay," Ebony blurted out without thinking and saw how the cocky smile on Slade's face faded and then evaporate completely. His arms fell limply down his sides. He then put on a brave face and tried to sound cheery, "Oh yeah?"

Ebony could see a hardness flashing in his eyes, that he wasn't able to supress.

"Yes. He came to see me," she said, looking away from his intense gaze. Slade walked backwards into the house and then turned around and went to the fireplace where he crouched down. He took the fire iron and tried to coax life into the weak fire, poking around the coals.

Ebony followed him inside, closed the door behind her and went to sit on the cushions layed out in front of the fireplace. She sighed in resign.

"What did he want?" Slade asked, taking a log of wood and putting it onto the awakening flames. They licked the wood and it made a cozy crackling sound. Ebony decided to just rip off the bandaid and get it over with.

"He kissed me."

Slade's frame froze for a second, the fire poker resting in the flames motionlessly. It was just for a second, then he started poking around in the coals with new intensity.

"Slade..." Ebony said to his back, willing him to look at her. He reluctantly put down the fire poker and turned around slowly, eyes averted. He looked like someone who knew he had no right to be angry, but couldn't help being it anyway.

"It didn't mean anything to me," she said and reached over to take his hand, entwining their fingers, "My heart belongs to you."

Slade's stiff posture relaxed a bit and his gaze finally found hers, "I'm sorry," he murmured.

Ebony reached over and put a hand on his cheek, then leaned in for a kiss. Slade returned the kiss with passion. At last he sighed against her lips and she pulled away, looking at him.

"I didn't mean to go all dramaqueen on you before," he said, looking down at their enlocked fingers, "I'm not usually a jealous guy. It's just - you do something to me. I lose all common sense." He gave a small laugh and shook his head at his own weakness. He lifted their entwined hands and kissed her fingers delicately, one by one.

"I understand that it must be kinda difficult for you," Ebony said softly, feeling a tinkling in her body as he proceeded to kiss her wrist and lower arm, "It's difficult for me too." She closed her eyes with pleasure, "That's why I can't do it anymore."

Slade stopped kissing her arm and looked up at her, surprise in his eyes. Ebony returned his gaze with a small smile, "I quit."

"Yeah?" Slade said, sounding tremendously pleased. Ebony smiled at his obvious relief.

"Yeah. It doesn't feel right anymore. So I'll stop. We can find another way to defeat them, right?"

Slade didn't answer. He took her other hand and kissed her palm. Ebony felt her heart go wild and gulped.

Slade looked at her with hungry eyes. In a second she was on his lap, kissing him deeply and passionately. His surprised arms hesitated for a second, then wrapped themselves around her and pulled her closer.