Hmm… The title was probably worrying, and the ending is probably worrying, and the content is probably worrying, but… You'll have to wait and see if anyone dies next chapter. I like cliffies.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except the things I own. The things I own are the things not owned by Colfer. Colfer owns everything except the things I own. The things Colfer owns are the things I do not own. :) Try that one, all you people who think you're the next Artemis Fowl.


Zane took Valerie by the shoulders, and shook her. "No. That's going too far! You can't do that! Things are bad enough as it is."

"Are you telling me what to do, Zane?"

"Yes," said Zane, tight-lipped.

For a very long moment, he was certain she was going to punch him. Then, to his utmost relief, she dropped her head. "Very well. Your better judgment then. It is, after all, your area of expertise. We'd better decide on something different though. Before we land, preferably."

The Tyrant leaned over the seat. "There is no need for precautions, Madam! Even if they are in the area, the landing pad is highly guarded! There are dangers in my own position, in case you haven't noticed."

"You obviously don't take enough precautions. I'm possibly the most dangerous woman on the planet, and I'm in easy reach of numerous weapons. If I wanted to, I could kill you." Valerie leaned over Zane to look out the window again. "I trust only myself, and perhaps Zane, when I know he has no alternative. I'll do it my way."

He snorted something, and turned around, shaking his head. "I'm going to laugh later."

Valerie pulled down Zane's head again, and turned her back to the others. "I'm going to snag one of their guns as I jump out, and shoot the nearest one. That should throw them off balance. I want you to come out as I shoot, and cover me, alright?"

"Do you know where they are?" Zane frowned slightly, and shook his head. This was passed ridiculous.

"There's only one side that doesn't have building coverage. See all those trees?" Valerie pointed out the window towards the sprawl of buildings and the crowd. "Haven't you been here before?"

Zane shook his head. "No. He hired me shortly after he left the country. I knew about the layout, but not the land around it."

"I assume you can work with that, though?"

"Oh yes." His smile showed teeth. "You have yours, and I have mine. Each to their own."

Valerie stood up, and examined her hands as she moved towards the front of the copter. "I think I'm going to either have surgery on these, or get them amputated. There's almost nothing left of them except fragments. It's a wonder I can still move my finger pieces."

The medic squirmed, and shook his head. "I really doubt surgery will fix something that bad. I don't think anything will."

Valerie shrugged. "So long as I can still work, I don't think it will be a problem. And if there is a way to fix it, my insurance will definitely cover it. Rivers will be anxious to keep my business going strong. I've been pulling in almost a third of his profits. Even more after this."

The Tyrant glared at her. "You talk like you know you'll get out of this alive, with the diamond, and with Zane."

"Oh, I will." Her smiled showed teeth. "I know I will."

There was an uncomfortable silence, that was finally broken by a jolt as the helicopter settled on the pad. All around them, men were waiting to see The Tyrant in safely, and perhaps, to see the little girl who had smashed the criminal world to bits a few days ago.

Valerie glanced over her shoulder at Zane who had moved to the front of the copter with her, and was pressed firmly against her back. He nodded just barely to her, and shifted to the side so that the pilot could open the door.

As he passed, Valerie's hand caught hold of his gun, and she yanked it out of the holster as the door opened. Without pausing, she continued her forward momentum, shooting out of the copter and across the open space.

Almost together, six shots rang out.

Valerie gave her body a violent twist, and spun as she fell, sending a spray of bullets back at the sources of the shots. Just before she hit the pavement, Zane dove, catching her up underneath him, and effectively shielding her from the open side of the pad.

There was a scream or two from the would-be assassins, and plenty of shouting from the men as they ran to catch the intruders, four of whom were wounded, one who had a singed head, and one who was dead. It took a long while before they calmed down. Valerie and Zane were also pounced upon, as they were deemed dangerous enough without a weapon, whether it was empty or not.

Valerie was rather roughly relieved of the gun, and jerked to her feet beside Zane as The Tyrant passed.

He stopped, and looked at her for a long moment. "Are you going to laugh?" he asked finally.

Slowly, Valerie shook her head, and leaned back against Zane, who hesitated a moment before wrapping an arm around her to hold her upright. "No. I'm much too tired. I'm losing control of my pain too. Can we please hurry?"

The Tyrant nodded agreeably, and motioned for them to follow him as he turned towards the manor. "Certainly. You can shower and get some sleep. There wouldn't happen to be anymore Sun Ye On lurking around in the area, waiting to kill you?"

Valerie yawned, and after a moment of muttering under her breath at Zane, allowed him to pick her up and carry her. "Thanks. I didn't see any from the plane, but that doesn't mean there aren't any. They're pretty desperate to kill me, you know, and they've got enough men to sacrifice quite a number before they realize it's useless."

"Do you mind a room together?"

Underneath her head, Valerie felt Zane's muscles tighten. She glanced up, meeting his eye for a moment. He looked a little unsure, but it was probably due to the fact that he didn't know how she would respond to news like that. "Not at all. It's very kind of you. You do realize that we'll have much more time to plan things that way?"

The Tyrant rolled his eyes. "I'm sure you've already made arrangements, just in case I didn't bunk you together."

Valerie shook her head. "No, actually. I was certain you would. However, even if you didn't, it wouldn't matter, because though it's nice to have Zane, I don't necessarily need him to get loose. I have multiple options. If I didn't, I wouldn't have agreed to this whole thing."

"I also have options you aren't aware of," snapped The Tyrant, though he looked a little uncertain.

It took only a moment for Valerie to examine him. She met his eyes, and then gave him a slight smile. "Do you? That's nice. I still think you're underestimating me."

As they entered the main entryway, there was a clatter, and one of the bodyguards who'd taken command of the men earlier came racing down the marble stairs to their right. "Sir! There's someone on the phone for you! It can't wait! Very important!"

"Oh!" The Tyrant hesitated a moment, then wheeled around, and waved to the two bodyguards. "Take them to their room, and all of that."

Valerie lifted her head from Zane's shoulder with a smile. "Oh yes— one more thing. The Sun Ye On are willing to pay at least three billion yen for me, Tyrant. I'd ask for twenty-five and take no less than ten billion. Be sure to tell him hello for me. Tell him I know more than he thinks, and tell him I got a really good offer last year. Tell him it's a shame that his actions will confirm the suspicions of the CIA."

The Tyrant stared at her. "But how—" He broke off impatiently and turned around, shaking his head. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Think carefully before sending me. I won't come back alive, though I probably won't come back dead either. Only one of us knows where it is, and it would be a shame to discover it was me, once I was gone. It would be a bigger shame to miss all that money and the goodwill of the Sun Ye On if I didn't know. Think carefully."

He turned, and stormed up the stairs, muttering furiously under his breath the whole way.

One of his bodyguards turned to look at her as soon as he was around the corner. "How did you know? And who's him?"

Valerie settled against Zane again, careful not to rub against his burns. "It was a good guess. I like to take chances. I like to do ridiculous things. He is the Sun Ye On representative on the phone. Possibly their leader. I'd like to kill him if I can, and maybe I will."

"But why?"

Slowly, Valerie pushed herself up in Zane's arms, turning to look him in the eye. He took a half-step backwards, feeling as though she were about to attack him. "He and I are the only persons left alive who know why, I think. I'll keep it that way."

"Sorry." The bodyguard ducked his head, and turned, motioning for them to follow. "Your room is this way."

Zane followed him across the house towards the back basement stairs, mentally following the blueprint of the house in his head. Madam might want to know something later on, if she changed her mind. He might want to know something later if she changed her mind about coming back for him and he had to get out himself.

She lay in his arms, limp. She couldn't weigh over one hundred pounds. It was amazing that she was so strong, even ignoring her age. Her hands dangled uselessly, and again, he wondered how she dealt with such an overwhelming pain.

The back basement was a honeycomb of rooms and hallways, and the bodyguard paused at several intersections to get his bearings. Finally though, they came out into a large open room. In the very middle was what looked like an enormous concrete pillar with space shuttle lock doors. Valerie lifted her head, looking it over in interest.

"A bomb shelter?" Zane already knew it was, but he asked anyway.

For a moment, the bodyguard just looked at him. It was pretty obvious, after all. Then he nodded.

In silence, he typed in a long code. The doors unfolded silently, and he motioned them in. "Your meals will be brought to your at eight, noon, and six. If you would like to speak to anyone about something you need, you may make a request at that time. Later on we'll fly a better doctor in."

Valerie nodded. "Yes, alright. Thank you, and goodbye."

The doors slid shut behind them as Zane took another step into the room, and they were left alone. "How many cameras are there?"

"Nine," mumbled Valerie. "Two recording devices too, it looks like. I need a bath." She dropped her head back against Zane's chest with a thud, and shut her eyes. "I'm too tired though."

Gently, Zane lowered her to her feet. "So which one? Bed or bath?"

Valerie roused herself with difficulty. "I should probably make myself take the bath. Did he bother providing any extra clothes? I think I've ruined these, if you couldn't tell already."

Zane nodded across the room. "There's the closet anyway. It leads into the bathroom."

"Thanks." Valerie yawned. "I'm taking a bath, and sleeping. We've got time to talk later. Even if they do concluding the bargaining today, which I doubt they will, he'll wait one or two more days to make sure nothing happens." She tottered across the room to the closet, and shut the door behind her.

With a sigh, Zane threw himself down across the bed. He was a mess too, but at the moment he didn't care. It seemed unlikely that he would get out of this alive, no matter how good Madam was. Saving him wasn't a first priority to begin with. Besides, he would just be in the way when she was trying to get out of Russia in one piece.

Maybe he should just ask her to kill him. She probably still could, injured as she was. Death was a preferable alternative to accidentally telling something when they figured out what she'd done.

The closet door opened, and she slipped back into the room, hair wet, eyes half closed, shoulders bent. She hardly looked like the child she was. No— she wasn't a child. She hardly looked like the child she should be.

Zane pushed himself up on an elbow. "I have something to ask you."

"What?" She dropped her robe over the bed post, and slid under the covers in her thin silk pajamas. "You need a shower, Zane. There are clothes in the closet. You're filthy."

"Thank you." He hesitated a moment, and then leaned over, pressing his face into her wet hair. It smelled like vanilla. "I need you to kill me."


Oh the evilness of me... No?

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