It was the sound of heavy boots on the cement floors that roused Santana from the little sleep that she had received. She was sure that she had read somewhere that this was a torture technique of sorts, but she wasn't going to break because she couldn't remember the last time that she had slept. She pulls the small blanket that they had given her towards her, trying to keep warm. There was no heat in the cell, there was no bed, they had at least given her a toilet. But a toilet wasn't going to keep her warm in the middle of winter.

The door to the cell opened and she flinches half expecting Hunter to make a reappearance, to come and torment her in her cell. She was almost glad that she hadn't been able to sleep, she didn't want to replay Artie's screams or watching Sebastian die again and again in her mind. She didn't want Hunter anywhere near her dreams. "Hey fish-lips," she says, her voice cracking from the lack of water she'd received. It was her nickname for the man who had probably saved all their lives, with his blonde hair and the lips that were a bit too big for his face. She was sure she had heard one of his men call him Captain Evans. "Did you finally find me a lawyer?" She forces a smile to her lips.

Captain Evans studied the sight in front of him carefully. It had been two weeks. Two long weeks and Santana Lopez had been the only one who hadn't caved immediately. She'd been the only one to demand a lawyer. "It would have been easier for you if you had simply confessed to your crimes."

"I'm not going to confess to something I had no part in. I never set those fires. I never hurt anyone can you say the same about your masters." Santana spits weakly. If her words had any effect on Captain Evans it certainly didn't show on his face and she pulls the blanket closer. "We can do this a billion times and I'm still never going to confess to a crime that I didn't commit. So why don't you go back to your masters and tell them that I want a lawyer. This is still America. I'm entitled to representation."

"You have a choice, you can get up and walk on your own or I can call two of my men to drag you into an interrogation room." Captain Evan's informs her bluntly. There is no indication in his tone, that led her to believe that he was bluffing.

"I'll walk," she says pushing herself to her feet slowly, placing her hand on the wall when the room began to spin. She immediately stumbles out of the cell when Captain Evans steps out of the way. It would be stupid to run, there was nowhere to run to and in her current state she would wouldn't get very far before being caught. She stumbles down the hallway, noting that every single one of the large metal doors was closed, which meant she couldn't check on the state of any of her—they weren't her friends, they were the people who wanted to sell her out. She swallows when she feels Captain Evan's hand on her lower back, shoving her into the room with a metal table and a solitary metal chair.

"Take a seat." He barks at her.

She immediately shuffles onto the chair, glad to have something to sit on, that wasn't the cold hard floor, not to mention that this room felt—warmer than her cold cell. "So are you finally trying the good cop routine Captain Fish Lips?"

Captain Evans frowns slightly at this as he grips her hands and places some metal cuffs on them. "I was the good cop. Unfortunately for you the Regents are getting—impatient. Every last one of your co-conspirators have confessed. Your unwillingness to talk—"

"I asked for a lawyer. I wanted a lawyer, a phone call something."

"I don't think you quite understand. You were caught with a terrorist group, one that had already killed thirty innocent civilians. There is no lawyer coming for you. You had a chance to confess, you had a chance to do this the easy way, but your unwillingness to be straight with us has led to this." He had personally found their interactions to be amusing, and her will had impressed him. But none of that was going to matter now, all he could do now was make sure that Hunter kept it within the bounds of reason.

Santana feels her heart sink at the pity that floods just the corners of Captain Evans' eyes just as the door to the interrogation slams open.

"Hello again." Hunter whispers smirking when he can hear Santana's heart start to race.

His words, and that smirk cause her to jump despite herself. It takes a moment for her to settle herself back down, trying to keep a mask of indifference on her face as Hunter glides into the room and stands much to close for her comfort. She doesn't say anything instead choosing to keep her eyes focused on him, though she flinches when he reaches for her wrists.

He's slow with his movements breaking the metal around her wrist with a minimal amount of effort, before moving quickly and slamming her face down against the table. He looks up at Sam daring him to say anything, meeting his eyes, he doesn't move until Sam turns his head away. It was tacit approval as far as he was concerned.

Santana's fairly sure that her wrist is broken. But that's nothing compared to the terror ringing in her ears. Hunter was a sociopath. She had no idea what he was going to do. Sure, Sam might be there to keep it from going too far, but Sam hadn't been quick enough to save Sebastian. She gulps when he leans against her, his hardening member pressed up against her in a clear threat. "Is this the justice you claim the Regents protect?" She manages to get out, hoping that her voice doesn't show the flood of fear she's currently battling. She has no hope of trying to stop Hunter but maybe she can get through to—

Her face is knocked hard against the table again before she can even think to prepare herself. Stars quickly swim in her vision and she blinks to try to clear them away. She squirms and feels his pressure against her increase.

Hunter rolls his hips against the human's warm body again, making sure to take his time and draw this out. "You like that, huh? Or maybe I should turn you into one of those blood whores."

Sam grinds his teeth and waits impatiently. Hunter is toeing a line that the Regents have made absolutely clear. He hasn't crossed it, but he knows it's just a matter of time before Hunter pushes the boundary.

"You're certainly pretty enough to fetch a decent price," He's speaking mostly to himself, his hips grinding against her body roughly. "Though the Regents probably wouldn't be pleased, they find blood whores to be—distasteful, unlike my—maker." He grunts and bites his lip, getting off on her fear. It was so easy, and he digs his hands deeper into her shoulder, hearing her cry out in pain. "Perhaps, I should simply give you to the dogs, let them have their way with you. Ten men? Twenty? I don't quite know how many men Sam has under his command but I'm sure they wouldn't mind the mess."

Santana gulps but tries to force her breathing to remain calm. She's not about to antagonize him. Not now. She's definitely not that stupid. But she also isn't going to try and call what she hopes is a bluff. Silence is her best friend right now.

But Hunter had been waiting for more. He frowns when his new plaything doesn't squeal in terror like he had expected. Boring. Perhaps he needed to let the fear of that sink in and pushes off against her, stepping away. A change of tactics would do. He moves to stand in front of the table and instead holds his hand out, waiting until Sam hands him a folder. "You do seem like the type of person who would enjoy something like that, being used by animals." He opens the folder watching as she slinks down. "Santana M. Lopez. Twenty-three years old. Oh, look at that you were one of the lucky ones that went to university. I think it's amusing, that the cattle wants to rise above its station. In the end we only keep you alive because we need you."

Santana grits her teeth and clutches her arm to her chest as she sits down so she can look at him with a defiant look on her face. She wasn't going to let him see her afraid, she wasn't going to let him win. It was stupid, she knew it but she'd rather die a quick death then have Hunter torture her. He was a monster, and he was quick to anger, all she needed to do was provoke him, and disrespect seemed to be his trigger. "We aren't cattle."

"You're right. Cattle is too good a term for you humans. You're like cockroaches. What would Mommy and Daddy Lopez say when they watch me squish you like the bug you are?" His cruel smirk widens when he sees a flicker of doubt behind her eyes. He had hit the right button. Of course, they were so sentimental.

Santana swallowed deciding to press on with her plan, "I'd rather be a roach then a mosquito, fucking fangers." She sneers.

Hunter stared at her, it wasn't as if he hadn't heard that comparison before. Though most people who made it generally didn't live long. Hunter turns to Sam, "I can see why you failed in breaking her, she thinks she's untouchable. It's cute in a way. Don't you think?"

"Hunter—" Sam began turning to look at Santana, she was making it worse on herself. Hunter was the type of person who remembered every slight, and she was merely digging herself a deeper hole. He had never pretended to understand how the Red Court worked, because he wasn't a vampire. But he had heard, he knew enough and as the aggrieved party Hunter had a right to have his pound of flesh. The Regents might be inclined to simply give Hunter what he wanted, which meant that Santana's suffering would be prolonged until Hunter grew bored.

"Well. I find it cute," Hunter turns his attention back to Santana. "He's always been such a buzzkill you know. It's probably because he's their hound. Nothing more than a pet, a loyal dog that they find entertaining." Hunter mused as he continued to flip through Santana's file. "Ah graduated first in your class, I bet your parents were very proud. They probably thought that you had great things ahead of you." He flicked to another page.

Santana scowled, she wanted to yell at him, shout and scream and make him refocus on her. She didn't like where this conversation was heading. "I don't see what my parents have anything to do with this—"

"They entrusted you with their hopes and their dreams, they will probably be incredibly disappointed in you once they find out that you were part of a terrorist cell. Unless of course they are part of the terrorist cell as well."

The room was quiet as Hunter said those words and Santana's jaw dropped at his accusation. Her parents had nothing to do with this. If they had known what she was up to, they would have killed her themselves. "My parents had nothing to do with this—"

Hunter chose that moment to turn to Sam, "I think we're done here Sam. She doesn't want to talk so perhaps her parents would be more forthcoming. I wonder if Carlos will be interested in watching as your men take turns using this Maribel Lopez. Or maybe we should turn them both into blood whores. A difficult decision but don't worry, I'll make sure to get to the bottom of this, and more importantly I'll make sure your parents know just who they have to thank for turning them in." Hunter adjusts his shirt, and heads towards the door.

"Wait—fuck wait—please."

Hunter turns and looks at her, "What? You want to tell me what I want to hear? Why should I believe you now?"

"I'll confess. Everything. I'll tell the Regents everything. Just—please, leave my parents out of this. They're loyal and they would never hurt anyone. They wouldn't." The thought of her parents, the ones that had raised her and loved her and pushed her to be what she was in the hands of this sadistic monster because of her mistake, because she had fucked up? She would never allow it. Even if it meant copping to a crime that she hadn't committed. She had always known that getting caught at the meetings was a death sentence, but she had never once thought that she would be putting her family at risk.

Sam took a step forward glad that this hadn't devolved into a disaster. He could deal with Hunter's insults, but if he truly wanted to harm Santana then there would be nothing that he could do despite his attempts. For once Hunter had shown restraint. "I'll take your statement now then and—"

"No, you heard her. She's confessed. You were here and heard it. Get her cleaned up and bring her before the Regents, you know they've been impatient about this whole disaster and I promised them results today." Hunter interrupts puffing out his chest pleased with himself. The Regents had always been generous.

"That's not how we do things here—" Sam argues immediately.

"She confessed. I am not going to have you embarrass me in front of the Regents," Hunter interrupts. "Hose her down and bring her before them, they are eager to put this mess behind them, and I want my reward."

Sam frowns, "As you wish," he said after a moment. He wasn't paid nearly enough to deal with Hunter and he wanted to put this entire mess behind him as well. The boy that Hunter had maimed was still in a medically induced coma. If anyone could get the truth from Santana it would be the Regents. He turns his attention to Santana and pulls her to her feet firmly. He doesn't shove her or cuff her again deciding that she's been through enough. "You'll get a quick hose down, by one our female officers and then you'll be given a new jumpsuit to wear, before you'll be transported to see the Regents. Speak when spoken too, be honest they can tell if you're lying. They are your Regents; they keep you safe you will show them the respect that they deserve. Nod if you understand." Santana nodded quickly. "Good." Perhaps if Santana was lucky the Regents would be in a forgiving mood. She could ask them for mercy but it was rare for them to grant it to criminals.

~O~

Santana trips over her own feet as she is practically dragged through the Regents' headquarters. The building is enormous, but while she'd seen it almost every day of her life she had never been inside. If she thought the building had been big before, now she was just awestruck. She didn't know manors like this still even existed. Marble floors met tiled walls with sculptured statues and iron armored Knights spattered throughout the hall.

"Keep up Roach." Hunter sneered. The Regents are going to be eating out of the palm of his hand. He'd been claiming for months that the humans all needed to be on a tighter leash and this is just going to confirm that.

Santana rolls her eyes but keeps quiet. Of course the Regents lived in luxury while the people that they were sworn to protect didn't. Who paid for this? It certainly wasn't the people, no one had voted for them and yet here they were. They had staff, most of which were the shifters and a few vampires. She hadn't spotted one human in the building.

She knew she shouldn't make any assumptions, but she could tell. The vampires made no moves to hide their fangs and they generally smelt of the cream that they smeared on their bodies that allowed them to walk in the sun. The shifters on the other hand, it was difficult to tell them apart from other humans. But she knew of very little humans that would want to spend any time around vampires. It wasn't talked about of course but it was assumed that those who did spend time around the undead were only there for one thing and that was to either be turned or to fuck. She gets dragged into a room that sort of looks like a courtroom but not one that she's ever seen. There's a podium in the middle of the room with various benches with vampires sitting down and staring at her angrily.

She's half-pushed half-thrown into the little podium where she assumes the wrongfully accused victims are prepped for their slaughter. She's just grateful that no matter what happens to her, her parents' names are still clear. That doesn't mean Hunter and his cronies won't go after them anyway, but she's sure that her parents are already being shoved underground or led to the few safe houses that the Resistance has managed to set up.

Hunter takes his place at the opposing table and Santana is grateful when Sam falls in behind her. It's probably supposed to be some form of a security measure against her, but all it does is make her feel protected. Her relief may be short lived, but it's there all the same.

"All rise for the Supreme Regents of the Ohio Valley and Surrounding Areas."

She's already standing and looks around as the vampires and shifters who were sitting immediately stand. Even Hunter is following the rules, which is odd given the fact that he was a psychopath who didn't seem to have any respect for anyone. Though she was curious to finally get a glimpse of the Regents, it was a rarity indeed. As far as she knew they lived in their gilded cage, they didn't interact with the populace. They didn't care too. She swallows as the massive oak doors swing open.

She half expects to see a monster of a man or woman, someone whose presence simply struck fear into the vampires. Someone had to be strong enough scary enough to keep all these vampires in line, but it was just a woman that was barely taller than she was. A woman that barely looked older than she was. This couldn't be the Regent that everyone whispered about in hushed tones. She didn't look scary at all, in fact she looked like she could have been in one of her university classes. Though it wasn't the only thing that was bothering her, everyone said regents as if there was more than one but only one had showed up, and had an annoyed face on her face. It's a question that certainly seems to be bothering Hunter who frowns slightly and glances at the door as if he expecting someone else.

"Alright, let's get this over with." The blonde gestures to the court and sits down.

Hunter clears his throat. "With all due respect, I thought we would have the full court today." Santana's a little surprised herself that the regent seems willing to dispense of her sentence by herself. Normally, all leaders had to sign off on a punishment or pardon—not that she has much hope for the latter.

"Yes well, perhaps you shouldn't have called this meeting when her favorite show is on. She'll join us when she wants to if she wants to. Now, I don't have all day. Are we finally ready to wrap up this vigilante nonsense?"

"It's not nonsense, this human was responsible for an attack on my life." Hunter interjects, practically fuming. "She's a terrorist, I may not have been hurt but the people were. They want to put an end to our—your reign."

Santana sees the regent chew her cheek carefully and eye Hunter with barely masked disdain. At least that's one thing they can agree on. She's sure that Hunter doesn't notice, he's probably too busy being a self-absorbed asshole to think about crossing their esteemed leader.

The woman turns to her, and Santana doesn't know why she straightens up immediately. She didn't think that there was a chance that she was going to come out of this alive. Despite how young this regent looked, it was obvious from the weariness of her eyes, that she had seen things. It was almost impossible to tell from her age and there wasn't a discernible accent that she could hear. "I—" Santana grimaces when she feels Hunter turn to her an irritated look on his face. She had forgotten that she was only to speak when spoken too, but the regent didn't seem particularly irritated by her mistake.

"Samuel, what are the charges?"

"Santana Lopez is charged with knowingly planning and executing an attack of terror, murder, attempted murder, and intent to cause civil disruption." Captain Sam Evans reads through the papers. He shares a pointed look with the Regent and Santana wonders what is passing between the two.

"Who determined the charges?" The woman cocks her brow curiously.

Hunter steps forward, practically itching to rip Santana's heart out. "I did." He purposefully only charged her with the actions of the attempt on his life. He needed to make a statement and charging her with something as pedantic as conspiring with other traitors and terrorists.

"I see."

"The defendant has confessed to everything—" Hunter added.

"This is the difficult one?" She interrupts turning her attention to Sam once more. "The one that wouldn't talk?"

"Hardly," Hunter said before Sam could speak up. "Perhaps for your—" Hunter has the good sense to stop himself from insulting Sam in front of her. "Perhaps for Captain Evan's it proved a bit too much to handle. However, once I—"

"Thank-you Hunter. However, I'd like to hear it from her. These are quite serious charges after all. So let her speak."

Hunter looked absolutely scandalized by this proposal and turned to Santana, shooting her a glare. "Well. You heard the Regent, confess your crimes."

Santana takes a deep breath. "I confess to everything." She says, locking eyes with Hunter and refusing to look away. There's no way that she's going back on her confession, not when even after her death Hunter might target her parents. After everything they've done for her—this is how it has to be. But she's also not going to cower in fear. If this charade of a justice system is going to condemn her to die, then she's going to accept it without emotion.

The woman who still has not given her name rubs her chin thoughtfully. "I see."

"As the intended victim of her crimes, I ask that the court enforce the maximum penalty." Hunter's practically salivating at the mouth. Maybe he'll even be allowed to carry out the execution. It's not unheard of, and he'd love to make this roach's death as painful as possible. "The maximum penalty for these charges is death."

"I'm aware of what the maximum penalty is." The regent snaps back. "Or do you think that I don't know the laws of my own province?"

"No." Hunter gulps, apparently realizing he's made a big mistake.

Santana swallows and turns to look at the Regent, holding her head held high. She would face her death with dignity. She doesn't even flinch when the regent stands to her feet. It hadn't looked like Sebastian had suffered even as brutal as the death had been. "I confess to—"

"Why?" The Regent asks, and raises an eyebrow when Santana doesn't say a word.

Santana gets elbowed in the back by Sam and she blinks when she realizes the Regent was talking to her. "I don't understand the question. Why, what?"

"Why are you confessing?"

"What does it matter?" Hunter snaps, clearly losing patience. "She confessed."

"Because eliciting a false confession is a punishable offense. One I take very seriously."

Santana felt her heart surge with hope that she knew better than to give any attention. From what she could see, Hunter wasn't popular in this court. She could see the disdain on the Regents face, Captain Evan's—Sam didn't seem to like him either. Yet he was still alive, he was still a menace, he seemed untouchable. Even if the Regent suspected her confession had been forced, it wouldn't matter. "I confessed. I mean—does it matter why I did it?" Santana asks.

The regent frowns at this response and leans back in her chair, "I asked you a simple question, I do not want a deflection, all I want is a simple answer. Don't look at Samuel and don't look at Hunter, what I want is the truth. Not what you think I want to hear, because I assure you, the only thing I want right now is to get to the bottom of this."

Santana stared at the Regent, this had to be some sort of trick or joke, but at this point she had nothing to lose. She could only hope that the resistance had gotten to her parents. Though she had no idea if there was even a resistance anymore. "My parents had nothing to do with this. They're innocent, I couldn't—he said—"

"I understand." She holds up a hand to cut off that line of thought. She glares at Hunter in a clear warning for him to stay silent. "But the question remains. Did you help plan and carry out the attack the fires that were intended to claim Hunter's life and instead killed several people?"

"No." Santana admits, her face flaming red as a murmur of surprised dissent fills the room. "I didn't know about it. If I had I would have stopped it. They knew that and so they made sure I had no idea."

"Do you have any proof of that? We've had several of the co-conspirators in here that have claimed you were not only behind the attacks but that you were the mastermind."

Santana frowns. If she ever saw Will Schuester again she would kill him. Though with the charges levied against him, she was sure that he was already dead. It was a shame.

"We have audio confirmation from the sting." Sam speaks up. Deciding not to remind her that she can tell truth from lies, she probably already knows that Santana is being honest.

"I see." The regent muses before tilting her head, her lips twitching upward in an amused smile for a moment. "Yes, I'm aware that she's an idiot." The smile on her face fades and she turns her attention back to Santana as she gets up. "Even if the terrorist charges are unfounded, you are still guilty of association with terrorists, conspiring against the lawful government, and intending to overthrow the current regime—" She looks down at the paperwork. "None of those charges appear to have been levied against you."

"She tried to kill me." Hunter accuses again, in complete disbelief. He takes a step forward disregarding proper decorum.

Hazel eyes flick to Hunter for a moment studying him daring him to take another step. When he doesn't she turns her attention back to Santana. "These are still serious charges and—"

"I'm not an idiot." Santana interrupts, ignoring the gasp that fills the room. The Regent's eyes narrow. "I'm not an idiot," she repeats again. "I don't agree with any terror plot or with killing innocent people. But I do believe in overthrowing corruption. I wanted change and transparency—"

"Whether or not you agree that you associated with terrorists is inconsequential to the fact that you were caught in a meeting with a group of terrorists. They knew you, they supplied us with information about you. Yet apparently you'd like this court to believe that we're the problem? You're having a trial—"

"Without a lawyer which I asked for—I'm entitled to be judged by my peers—"

"You mean twelve people who would have found you guilty already? As opposed to me who knew that you weren't a terrorist from the beginning? Is that what you wish for?"

Santana stopped wondering if she had just shot herself in the foot. Her parents had always warned her that her temper would get her killed one day, and it looked like that day was today. But she wasn't going to let this go. "I wish for justice. Not to be held for weeks without hope only to be threatened with gang rape while my parents watch. What happened to due process?" There was surprise on the regent's face and she decided to continue. "Yeah, it might have been stupid to join that particular movement but no one is policing the fang—the vampires. So when Hunter murders an innocent shifter—"

"Lies!" Hunter snaps at her.

"Or a human in the street and nothing happens to him? What do you expect us to do? Just take it? We don't have a voice, and all I want is some change, to make this place better. Where people don't just disappear, where we aren't treated like cattle. We're not roaches that you can just trample on." Santana exhales and stares at the Regent. "That's why I joined that group, if you're going to kill me, then kill me. I'm fine being a martyr."

The room went deathly silent, even the vampires were stunned and turned to their regent, not quite sure what to expect.

"Which shifter?" The question was quiet but the tight tone left everyone on the edge of their seat.

"The informant." Sam quickly supplies. "Mr. Clarington insisted on storming in before my approval, there was a disagreement between the two of them and before I could intervene, Sebastian Smythe, the shifter in question was dead."

"I see."

Hunter frowns when the Regent turns to him, before immediately standing to his full height. He wasn't going to buckle in front of the Regents because of the word of some human. "The shifter was a rat, a fucking rat who had no business appearing before either one of you, demanding that you make this place a better place. These people, these roaches—all they do is complain. Complain about your kindness, complain about how they didn't get the right lot in life. Yet we keep them safe, we protect them from horrors that they can only imagine. Yet they complain and they whine and they bitch about us, like we're the enemy. They teach their children that we're the enemy. This shifter's blood isn't on my hands. He died because he didn't respect your authority. My authority and I—"

It's exactly like watching Sebastian's heart being ripped out of his chest. But instead of a still beating heart being thrown to the ground, Hunter's head bounced twice before rolling to a stop. There was another thud as Hunter's body pitched forward and landed onto the large oak table with a sickening splat. She doesn't even have time to process what happened when her fingers rise to her own face to wipe away splatters of blood.

"You didn't let me even find him guilty." The regent frowns from her seat above the others. Santana does a double take, for a minute she had thought that it was the regent who had sped down from her throne to take care of Hunter at her own hands.

Looking more closely at the culprit, she sees small differences. Twins. Interesting. The attacker flicks her wrist, with enough force to get most of the blood off her hand before wiping the rest of it on her pants. She shrugs as if she's unimpressed with the attempted facade of justice.

"Shit," she mumbles when she finally notices the attacker staring at her. She was next, she was going to die. It was one thing to have your heart ripped out, it was another thing to be executed in such a brutal way. She didn't want her head chopped off and sent to her parents. She didn't even want to die not really, so when the Regent with the blood on her hands takes a step towards her she immediately takes a step back, tripping and falling on her ass.

It doesn't cause the Regent to slow down, or stop walking towards her slowly. She was going to die a painful death. This should have been over before she could have moved, but the damn fanger was probably fucking with her. She crawls backwards till she hits Sam's legs and looks up at him, hoping that he comes to her aid. He seemed like a good man, but he was a man who currently was staring at both his Regents.

Santana immediately turns her attention towards the regent who had finally caught up to her and watched in horror as she lifted the bloody hand up and reached for her with the same hand. She had wanted to remain strong and keep her eyes open, to be defiant to the end but faced with her own mortality, seeing what they had done to one of their own—she had no doubt that her death was going to be just as brutal, but considerably more painful, so all she could do was squeeze her eyes shut and pull her body towards her, hugging it tightly.