Protector of Men Ch 54

"What are you doing?" she shouted as the two men shoved her into a chair and began to strap her in, "What are you trying to prove?"

"Just that propaganda doesn't work," the woman sneered, strapping herself into another chair. One of the men moved away from Zandra's chair and went to the computer. The other man continued to strap her in, and lingered at her face before tightening her arms with a jerk.

"Have fun, hot stuff," he whispered before leaving. Zandra spat at the ground in disgust, but the man just laughed, soon joined by the other man and the woman.

"Help, he-"

It was a darkened alleyway. One lonely street lamp brightened the dark street which was surrounded by two looming brick buildings. Zandra wasn't alone, either. The woman was standing twenty feet from her, just watching.

"Why the hell are you doing this?"

"You haven't read the news, have you," she said, approaching Zandra. Zandra stood her ground firmly, but was quaking on the inside.

"You don't even know what they're saying about you," she scoffed. Zandra was silent.

"You're being lauded as a saviour."

"I'm not."

"No shit you aren't. I'm going to show them, too."

"By fighting?"

"You don't think it will solve things? A record of you failing at my command. Pleading for mercy – they'll love it. I'll show them to aggrandize some kid with a big head. Leave the real life-saving for everyone else. We don't need dramatists like you."

"I'm not a dramatist," she spat.

"I'm sure you're not."

"Oh fuck off!" she shouted at the sky, "I have better things to do than mess around here!"

The girl sneered and was quiet.

"You're not enjoying our talk?" she asked, walking forward, "Your loss. You'll just end up losing faster."

"Oh just try it," Zandra retorted, gaining her confidence again, "You don't know what the hell you're doing."

The woman laughed once, then ran towards Zandra. Everything began to move slower; Zandra watched the woman come slowly, her eyes full of anger and frustration. Unfortunately, the alley was fairly bare, save for the one lamppost. Perhaps evasion would be the best idea for now, Zandra figured. The woman was still coming, but Zandra had ample time to get up. She jumped to the wall to her right and rebounded upwards, sailing easily up to the top of the lamppost. There she stood as the world sped back up, and there she watched the woman eye her suspiciously from the ground.

"Coward."

"I'm no coward," Zandra replied calmly, "I just don't need to fight you."

"I've heard otherwise," the woman hinted, a smile forming on her lips. "I think you let other people die because you're too afraid to fight the agents on your own."

Zandra became very hot; she suddenly jumped off of the lamppost and onto the ground, a slight ripple forming where she had landed. Zandra didn't notice the look of surprise on the woman's face.

"I didn't let anyone die," she seethed, "People die because they don't realize it's not real."

"Oh, is that it," the woman said, "Tevy didn't know? Or did you let the agents shoot him?"

Zandra's rage boiled over and she kicked the woman as hard as she could. The lady flew backwards immediately, and skidded a few yards before coming to a complete stop against a building. There she remained on the ground, until Zandra approached. She spat blood on Zandra's shoes, but Zandra didn't care.

"Stephen died because…" don't show weakness now! "Because the agents wanted him to die. Stephen wasn't ready for it."

The woman was quiet, but pulled herself up into a sitting position. Zandra was beginning to calm down.

"I'm not a savior, but I'm not a killer either, okay? Get me out of here."

"You may be able to jump and kick, but you're not perfect," the woman managed, pulling out a gun from her back. Zandra was nonplussed, and gave the woman the most unaffected look she could muster. As the woman started shooting, Zandra merely stood there and let the bullets clink off of her jacket and onto the paved ground. Once the woman was out of bullets, Zandra picked up one from the ground and inspected it.

"You were going to kill me," she said slowly, still looking at the bullet closely. The woman was quiet, but Zandra could tell that she was afraid.

"Why?"

She was still quiet, but was attempting to rise up from the ground. She was having a hard time, but Zandra didn't help.

"Get me out of here," she repeated, "I've proven you wrong. I want out."

"What in the world is going on here?" Kesia asked, enraged. She kept staring at Zandra's body in the chair, Kemp standing quietly behind her. They had come to train, but had aborted their plan upon seeing Zandra in the group's company.

"Just a little meeting," the man answered colly, turning back to the computer screens. Kesia quickly understood that she wouldn't be able to do anything without the help of someone with more leverage. Cover.

"Kemp, go get Shade as quickly as you can. He's in room 864 on floor 35. Go now," she urged, shooing Kemp out into the main area. Kemp nodded once and scampered off. Kesia pretended to not care, and sauntered off before running to find Cover.

"You're not getting out yet," a voice said from behind her, "We still have to prove our point." Zandra turned around instantly, and found herself face-to-face with one of the men.

"Why?" she asked, keeping her face close to his.

"Why?" he repeated, stepping even closer to her, "What is it always about? Think hard."

Zandra stepped back once and made a face. "Don't play games with me," she told him harshly. The man laughed into the night air, a cold and heartless laugh that left Zandra almost in fear.

"Money!" he shouted at her, "It's always about money, fame, stardom."

Zandra could only stare.

"You stupid girl," he spat, "You know how much we'll get paid for this? Thousands. We'll be the best reporters in Zion."

It was Zandra's turn to laugh, as equally and unmercifully as he had before. Unfortunately, he was unruffled. The time to act would be then, if she would fight at all. As the man continued to stare blankly into her face, Zandra leapt over his tall body and behind him.

"Kesia!" called Kemp from behind a wall, "Is Cover there?"

Kesia looked around before finding Kemp. Shade was standing next to her, looking very worried and fidgety. Things were a mess.

"He's here," she replied, turning to Cover behind her. He looked angry, and was searching the room for the culprits.

"Where are they?" he demanded, imploring Kesia fiercely. She had to stay strong just to keep from fumbling under his power.

"Over there," she pointed, gesturing towards the group of men now gathered around Zandra and the mysterious lady. Cover immediately set out for them, a look of fury clouding his regularly passive face. The rest of Purgatory watched in fear to see what would transpire next.