32

K.C and Ebony darted down the hallway, masks on, just in case. As they reached K.C's room they slowed down and removed their masks. They both felt euphoric and releaved, that their plan had suceeded without them being caught. K.C couldn't wait to get to his room to think things over – process the things he had seen on Ram's computer and come up with a plan to take him down. He probably wouldn't get much sleep tonight. There was just too many things to think about.

Ebony turned to face him, "Good job K.C. I always knew you had the guts to pull something like this off."

K.C felt honoured. Ebony didn't just throw around compliments to anyone. She only said them when she meant them. And that meant something to K.C.

"Thanks," he mumbled and felt his cheeks flare, "You too." Then they both grabbed each others lower arm in a victorious handshake.

"I'll see ya," Ebony said and then took off for the exit and dissapeared into the night. K.C opened his door and stepped into his dark room. He threw the masks into the bin and made a mental note to get rid of them in the morning. They were just regular Techno masks, so no one would suspect anything if they came looking, but he took no chances.

A light suddenly flickered on by his bedside table and the sudden light blinded K.C. He blinked a few times, confused, but then he saw a figure sitting on his bed. He had been so wrapped up in thoughts, that he hadn't noticed anything when he'd entered his room. The first thing that came to mind was that it must be Patsy sitting there waiting for him, but it quickly downed on him that this was not Patsy's beautiful features sitting there.

It was Jay. And he looked absolutely furious.

"Jay!" K.C squeaked surprised, then added more respectfully, "Sir." He held his hand to his temple in a salute to his suprior and stared stiffly straight ahead, while his heart raced in rising panic. Jay slowly got to his feet and strode over to K.C.

"Report your whereabouts this night," Jay demanded calmly. K.C tried to calm his heart so that his quivering voice wouldn't give him away.

"I was in the kitchens, sir. I woke up and found myself a bit hungry."

Jay seemed to consider this answer for a few moments, then began circling him slowly.

"And that's all? No detours?"

"No, sir."

Jay came to a stop right in front of K.C. "Then why were you spotted in Ram's personal computerroom?"

K.C's heart sank to his stomach. Crap. This was it. He's been seen. He wondered if they had recognised Ebony as well. He had to think of something quick. Lie lie lie!

"I thought I heard something. Someone screaming."

"And you didn't think to report it? Call for back-up?" Jay pressed.

"No, there was no one there. I didn't find it necessary to cause alarm."

The movement was so sudden that K.C had no time to react. Suddenly Jay's hands were gripping the collar of his shirt, pushing him back against the wall. One hand reached up and closed around his neck, squeezing.

"You're lying," Jay snarled viciously.

"No – I'm not," K.C croaked hoarsly. He had difficulty breathing.

Jay stuck his face all the way up in K.C's, "I saw you," he said with eerie calm, "You and Ebony."

K.C knew there was no sense in lying anymore. It was over. They'd failed.

Jay finally let go of K.C and stepped back. K.C fell halfway to the ground, coughing and sputtering from the lack of oxygen.

"I gave you the chance to come clean. But you continued to lie. You disrespected my trust," Jay said, standing still and looking at him with a dark expression, "It's a shame. You were one of my best men."

K.C couldn't care less about Jay's hurt feelings. All he could think about was if they had caught Patsy too. It made him absolutely sick to his stomach to think about it.

"Yeah well," K.C then said and straightened up, looking at Jay, "You're idiots to think we'd actually joined your pathetic little tribe."

Jay's face hardened further at his words.

"You have taken our loved ones, sent them away, leaving us desperate. Did you really think there would be no resistence?"

"We did it for the greater good," Jay countered, "I assure you they are all well."

K.C snorted, remembering the images he'd seen on Ram's computer. Then, it downed on him that maybe Jay had no knowledge of these things. He didn't strike him as a man that would approve of such things – not even for 'the greater good'.

"Are you sure you know everything that's going on?"

"Of course I do," Jay said rather confident.

"I sure hope not – because then you're not the man I thought you were. The things I saw on Ram's computer…" K.C shuddered at the images in his mind. The poor people. They sure as hell were not 'well'. When he snapped out of his thoughts he found that Jay was watching him, uncertainty clear in his face. K.C then decided to shift tactics and try to talk to the good heart that he knew beated in the Generals chest.

"What would you do," he said quietly, "If it was Ved?"

Jay shifted uncomfortably.

"What if someone had taken Ved away and you didn't know what had happened to him." He could see the words having the wanted effect. Jay looked very tense and uneasy.

"…not knowing if he was alive or dead."

Jay seemed to concider this for a while, but then his expression suddenly changed from uneasy to dark, "Good thing I'll never find out."

He put his hand on his headset and said, "Guards, enter." And in the next moment K.C's door flew open and three guards poured in, all pointing their stun guns at him.

"Seize him!" Jay ordered and two guards immediately grapped hold on each of K.C's arms, the third one still aiming at him. "Take him to the cells!"

K.C didn't wrestle. He knew he couldn't take out three guards and Jay all at once. So he just came quietly as they led him out of the door and down the hallway towards the basement - into an unknown fate.

—

Ebony breathed in the cold night air as she ran out into the dark. They'd done it. Their plan had been a success. Now they were one step closer to regaining control of the city and defeat the Technoes. They had found much useful information on Ram's computer. Various locations of the prisoners, future plans and those awful pictures and videos of the awful states that the people were in. She knew she could use that in her efforts to win Jay over. He couldn't have known about these things. Surely he would not approve. If she could somehow convince him that Ram was using unforgiving methodes on his way to power, he would switch over to their side and help them take Ram down. She was confident in their victiory now. Things were finally looking up.

She ran up the path leading away from the headquarters, to where her and Slade had planned to meet up. It was just behind those bushes, from where they had first laid eyes on the Technoes a few months ago. When she arrived she called softly into the night, "Slade?"

There were no sounds, only the creatures of the night who were softly buzzing in the nearby vegetation. Ebony began to worry. He should be here by now. Had he forgotten their plan to meet up? Maybe he had gone home to the cabin. She decided to go there and look.

But before she even had turned around to go, she was suddenly grabbed from behind by strong, stun gun armed hands. She let out a cry of surprise as she was spun around and faced by two Techno guards. They sneered as they began dragging her back towards the building, all the while ignoring her writhing and outraged protests. Her loud yelling bounched off the walls all the way through the halls and only stopped when one of the guards finally had had enough and smacked her across the face to shut her up. Ebony could taste blood in her mouth, and decided it was better to keep quiet – for now.

The big heavy door to the cells, that Ebony knew all too well squeaked as it opened and Ebony was harsly shoved down the small set of steps. She stumbled down them and was about to explode into a fit of screaming rage, when she saw him.

Slade. Beaten into a pulp on the cell floor.

She forgot all about her own rage and situation. She could only think of getting in there and help him. Her wiches were answered right away as she was shoved into the cage and locked up. She immediately fell to her knees beside Slade.

"Slade!" She cried out, "Oh my god, are you alright?" Her shaky hands brushed his hair out of his face so she could take a better look. He really looked beaten up, his handsome face all bloody and bruised.

"Please be alive," Ebony sobbed and tried to feel his pulse on the neck with shaky fingers. Slade then stirred, coughed hoarsly and then winced. His eyes fluttered open and fell on Ebony, and a weak smile appeared on his beaten face as he whispered, "Ebony."

"Shh, don't try to talk," she said softly, putting a hand on his cheek, "You're alright."

She sat down on the cold concrete floor and took his head in her lap. She let him sleep like this for a while, until her legs began aching. Then she carefully got up and got the cloth from the wash tub in the corner and began cleaning him up.

The sound of the door opening made her head snap up. K.C appeared escorted by three guards. They threw him into the cage to the other two and locked up, then dissapeared out of the basement again.

"K.C! They got you too?" Ebony said, "They must have seen us or something. Maybe there was a hidden camera somewhere…"

"We knew it would be risky," K.C said darkly, then glanced down at Slade, "Is he alright?"

All the commotion had woken up Slade. He tried to sit up, but then groaned in pain, clutching his side.

"Whoa man, you're really hurt," K.C said, kneeling down beside him as well and started examining his bruises.

"Can you help me get him to the bed?" Ebony asked, getting up. Together they managed, with some difficultly, to get Slade to the bed. Ebony sat down at the bedside and stroked his damp forhead.

"He's okay, he just needs rest."

They let him sleep for a few hours until he woke up, feeling a little better. He managed to sit up in bed and Ebony helped him drink some water from a bottle. It was still dark outside, only a thin ray of moonlight lit up the small cell.

"I'm so sorry I dragged you into this," Ebony said quietly, watching him wince with pain with each swallow of water.

"I'm not," Slade said hoarsly, "It's been a long time since I've been in a good fight." He smiled cockily up at her and Ebony smiled at this, "It's not been that long. Smith – remember?"

Slade's face immediately fell and he growled, "I want to murder him." He looked glomily into the dark at the thought.

"He has been taken care of," Ebony said, remembering Jay's words. She wondered if the three of them would suffer the same fate and shuddered. Surely, Jay wouldn't harm them… would he? Or maybe it wasn't Jay she should be worried about. Ram was the dangerous one – the psychopath.

3 hours passed where nothing happened. Slade regained some of his strengh and was now able to get up and walking around a bit. Sun had started pouring in through the small cell window, when the door suddenly burst open and two guards came in. Ebony could hear the dreadful sound of Ram's wheels even before she could see him and she prepared herself mentally for what was to come. A few more men came in after him, but they remained in the shadows. Ram wheeled his way down the ramp, a gleeful smile on his face the intire time.

"Ebony," he said with clear mock dissapointment, "Why have you betrayed me?" He pouted at her, but his eyes shone with childlike delight.

"Come now, you can't be that surprised," Ebony said, playing along.

"Surprised no – dissapointed yes," Ram said matter of factly, "I was really hoping you would join us – embrace the wonderful technology we have so generously given you."

Ebony snorted.

"But now I see that you have taken my generosity and trambled all over it." He put on an exaggerated hurt expression, "That wasn't very nice, now was it?"

"Well not as bad as kidnapping people, wouldn't you say?" Ebony shot back. Ram seemed to overhear this little statement.

"So, now what are we going to do with you?" He sighed, wheeling back and forth before his prey, "It's a very serious crime – the punishment have to match!"

He stopped right in front of Ebony, an evil grin appearing on his face, "It's such a difficult decision – I think I'd better sleep on it."

Ebony felt her stomach drop. She couldn't stand being locked up down here, and Ram was going to take his time – just for fun. She shot daggers at him as he spun around and dissapeared out of the door.

A figure in the shadows stirred and Ebony strained her eyes to see who it was. She couldn't see his face in the dark, but could just make out the blond hair and knew instinctively who is was.

He didn't move, nor did he say a word. Ebony couldn't see his face, but she knew that his expression wasn't happy and that he was watching them. She knew her act had been exposed. Feeling uncomfortable, Ebony leaned against Slade's warm and strong body and felt how he instantly took her in his arms. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jay move. She turned her head and watched him walk away.