Chapter 7

Authors Note- Yes I'm alive… shocking right?.. I'm sorry for the wait. Please R&R! Enjoy!

"Four hours? That time limit is not reasonable enough to meet all of the demands that you made." Halt protested.

"You seem to think you're so smart, you figure it out, but I want it done in four hours." The man responded stubbornly.

"If you want all of your men released and the necessary amount of supplies given to you then you will give us more time." Halt countered.

"Careful bowman, you are playing with your young friends life remember?" the bandit threatened. To reinforce his point he applied more pressure on the knife so that it was digging into the flesh on Will's neck; but not hard enough to draw blood or to bring the exhausted boy out of unconsciousness.

Evanlyn and the Skandians visibly stiffened, having not been trained in hiding their emotions from their opponents. The others made no sign although Horace did clench his jaw ever so slightly. Halt was worried for Will lying so vulnerable, but he pushed it to the side with great difficulty in order to focus his attention and skills on negotiating for his life.

"You remember that you want your men and a fast escape route, if you ever hope to see any of those things you will stop wasting my time with this ridiculous negotiation and give us a realistic time frame to work with." He finished, icily sarcastic and demanding. Halt knew he was taking a chance talking to the man like that, if Halt pissed him off the man could easily get volatile. The ranger only hoped that he was reasonable… well as reasonable as any disgraced, insulted and wounded Tualaghi bandit could be. Fortunately for Will, he was and secretly he appreciated the bluntness; plus the rudeness only helped to increase his desire to kill the man in front of him, which counted as a good thing in his mind.

"Fine. Since you are not competent enough to complete the task in four hours I will give you eight." The Tualaghi sneered.

Halt ignored the jab, he was just grateful for the extra time. In truth four to five hours would have been enough, but now the bandit had unknowingly provided an opportunity to plan a rescue for the comatose young Ranger. Keeping the knowledge that he had gotten a better deal to himself, Halt nodded in agreement.

"Thank you" Halt ground out with much difficulty, "But I do have some demands of my own." He said in a tone that leaked authority.

The escapee raised his eyebrows in question and sighed, "Wondered how long it would take for you to ask, very well I'll bite, 'What do you want'" sarcasm heavy on his last words.

Halt replied without hesitation, "One of my men is to stay here with you and Will at all times, he still requires medical attention, plus I'm sure it doesn't need saying but I don't trust you as far I could throw you."

Horace, recognizing Halt's familiar insult when confronting an enemy, smirked slightly though he quickly wiped all trace of it from his face. Unfortunately it seemed he wasn't fast enough when the Tualaghi's eyes narrowed at him. He spoke, cutting Halt and his demands off midstream,

"Fine, how about this smiling idiot here?" The voice had a warning tone that everybody picked up. Halt had to agree that it was a reasonable choice, he needed all his planners heads together on this one, Horace was in no ways dumb but he was a practical thinker which would come in handy more when caring for will rather than planning an ambush.

Halt glanced at Horace for conformation. Horace met the older man's gaze grimly and gave him a short nod. He didn't mind staying with Will if it meant he could protect him, and if it meant the others could use the time to not worry about Will but to figure out a plan. He knew what the Rangers were capable of; he wasn't fooled for a second by Halt's claim of needing more time.

"Okay, I don't mind the ugly scenery for a little while." Horace scorned.

Halt smirked and twitched his eyes back to the bandit. As he did though a movement caught his eye, it was so fast he almost thought he missed it, or was imagining it because he wanted it to be so; but there was no denying the fact that he witnessed Will's eyes flutter open for a brief second. Inside he was busting with happiness, relief and hope, but he gave no sign on his bearded face when his unwavering eyes returned to rest on the hostage negotiator. Will still maintained the pretense of sleeping, which provided Halt with another advantage.

"Deal" He agreed. Let the games begin he thought.

AN- Sorry this was more a filler chapter….I know it is really cruel to again leave you guys hanging for so long and then finally post this short nothing chapter. ( You can tell I'm full of self-confidence can't you ) Anyway please Review! I'll try to update next weekend, but no promises. Love you all and thanks for your amazing support!