I didn't expect so many people to be checking out this story. So I thank you all for looking at it, even if you don't even read it (haha). And minstorai, you've been awesome with your reviews. Really helps to know what someone thinks. It gives me more motivation. Anyway, it's been kind of hard to write lately since I'm literally at the end of my semester and Finals week is finally here. But I didn't want to delay so I pushed. As a consequence, this chapter is short and like 70% dialogue, but I'll make up for that next chapter.

Also, I've mapped out the next few chapters and Micah won't be leaving the Ark until after Chapter Ten. Just thought I'd mention that for you Grounder readers.

Recap: Bellicah got it on! ...But it was purely physical. Oh, well. Beggars can't be choosers. Also, Micah no longer trains the second group of cadets. Shumway has suddenly come back into the picture after 'finishing' a project. What is this project he was working on? And let's not forget he's conspiring with Diana Sydney.

Warning: strong language and adult themes ahead.

Disclaimer: I do not own The 100. That's all Jason Rothenberg and Kass Morgan. But I do own Micah and Daryl.

Faya Gada | 7

The following weeks had Bellamy anxious all the time.

Things in the Guard got tense as Shumway asserted his rank over Micah whatever chance he got. The two began combining their drilling sessions to bring the groups back together. Shumway would find some way to mention her smallness (not that Bellamy agreed after seeing her body) and she would insult his masculinity. It would've been amusing if he and the other cadets weren't so caught in the middle. Even Martin and Hakim, whom flirted and irritated her, felt like they were betraying their former commanding officer by obeying the Commander's demands.

But Bellamy couldn't say he felt all that bad about the turn of events. The more intense the argument, the more intense his couplings with Micah were. They continued their private activities, though Micah was the initiator. It got to the point that she would grabbed his wrist and drag him to room where they first shared time together and rip his clothes off. It was always fast and Bellamy was gratuitous, on his part. The happier he made her, the less torture his troupe had to go through. A pissy Pike did not make good decisions [1].

Bellamy had to stop himself from thinking about what he was doing with Micah. Aside from the fact that he was getting laid, he thought of the other details of their relationship. She was essentially his boss and he was using her. Granted, she was definitely using him as well, but it didn't make him feel any better about it. He was reassured in his quest when she let it slip that the Guard would be revamping public spot checks at certain functions. This was just the kind of information that brought him to doing this, warming the bed of someone he was not romantically involved with.

The tanned man grabbed the potato stew that was presented to him and made his way to the noisy common areas, scanning for a table. He mostly saw families with their children and rowdy teenagers. A boy was about to spill his soup down another girl's shirt but he stopped with his eyes wide. He quickly picked up his things and left toward the mess corner.

Bellamy raised a brow at the spectacle until he caught the woman that plagued his conscience. She was sitting at a table adjacent to the scurrying boy, her arched back facing the Blake. Without even thinking about it, he placed his tray in front of her.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

Bellamy noticed that whenever he was with Micah in an informal setting, her language became very colorful. Now he could've taken her expression as hostility, but she was still calmly nibbling on one of the pieces of potato from her bowl.

So instead of answering her, he slid his leg between the seat and table before taking a spoonful of the bland stew as if he hadn't heard her. Her hand stopped, clenching around her spoon. From the corner of his eye, she seemed a bit confused.

"I asked you a question, Blake."

He continued eating his food, pretending to be absorbed by it. She sighed and went back to playing with her food until a dark shadow cast over his head.

"Better listen to her. She's doesn't like when people don't listen to her."

He couldn't tell if the voice was menacing or simply teasing. Looking at Micah's face, it was probably the first one. When her body tensed, he involuntarily placed his hand on her knee underneath the table. He'd never seen her openly get upset over something in public—though he wasn't stalking her so maybe it was a possibility.

"Excuse me, sir. You're in my bubble."

Bellamy had finally turned his body to face Micah, and could see a slightly older man hunching over her shoulder. His curly, black hair coiled against his forehead.

"Oh, am I breaking some kind of law by standing here?"

"I'll break your arm if you don't step away from me."

Micah's voice was icy; possibly the iciest he'd heard ever.

"Like when you broke Luka's arm, huh?"

The knee he had been touching disappearing from under Bellamy's hand and a blink later, he was hearing gasps from all around him. Micah had shoved the man toward the ground like a child bullying another while the man kept jeering at her. Bellamy couldn't be sure of who was doing the bullying here.

"I said to step away from me."

Bellamy stepped away from his seat and gripped the back of Micah's elbow while using his other arm to shield her. Her breathing was labored and he could feel the muscles in her arm flexing. He didn't know who this man was, but it was evident that he was not on Micah's good side.

"What are you waiting for, Mike [2]? Aren't you gonna assert your authority over me now? I know you like to get what you want!"

Albeit enraged, Micah didn't make a move. Angry tears threatened to form, but they didn't get much traction.

"Ah, the great lieutenant is gonna cry now. That's priceless." The man pulled himself up from the ground, holding eyes with Micah. "Hell must be freezing over you cold. Bitch—"

Before he could finish his statement, there was a sound of bone hitting bone and the man hit the ground. "Bellamy!" Bellamy wasn't sure of who had spoken. He stood over the man spitting out a small amount of blood on the ground beside him. On closer inspection, he could see that the man's eyes were a bit unfocused. Like he was intoxicated.

"Sir, you are way out of line."

"Sir, you are way out of line," he mocked with a smile. "Really, Mike? You've got this dipshit fighting your battles now?"

Bellamy motioned to the newly arrived peacekeeping guards in the doorway. "He's causing a disturbance, officers." As the two worked to detain the man Bellamy stepped in front of Micah, blocking her view of her verbal attacker.

"Pike," Bellamy sounded in her ear. "Let's just go."

He tugged her arm which she yanked back. Stone-faced, she turned her heel to leave but her tormentor wasn't done.

"Yeah, run off like the coward you are."

The girl stopped in her tracks, her blood boiling and anger turned to frustration. She turned around and pushed past Blake, marching up to the cuffed bastard. And she let her face get close to his.

"What the hell do you want from me, Daryl?!"

He seemed to sober up when answering her, his voice dropping in gravity. "You dead."

Micah's glossy eyes turned hard. "Not if you're dead first."

Henry stopped in front of the metal door, mentally preparing himself for the inevitable before knocking.

"Come in."

He heard the door sliding open followed by the scraping of a chair. It usually sat facing the workstation, but it was pressed against the adjacent while next to another one.

"If you could have a seat…"

"I'd like to remain standing, if it's all the same to you, sir."

When Marcus Kane had sent for Henry, he had hoped the two could get on the same page and possibly on the same team. The commander had become an aloof individual which Kane found to be very dangerous. He knew Henry's gift of espionage, of secrets. If secrets were being held against the councilman, he had no way of shielding against the repercussions. Which is why he had to sit his commanding officer down, one-on-one, to and get to the bottom of things.

Kane shut the door and walked over to one of the chairs.

"I know I said this would be quick, but that may have been a lie."

He watched for Shumway's reaction, but he portrayed no emotion at the statement. Kane thought Henry would've been put-out by the news, even a little nervous. It was him that had been avoiding their encounter. When he didn't respond, Kane sighed.

Maybe being curt would move things along.

"Henry, what have you been doing these past months?"

Shumway's lip twitched at the question, as if he knew something Kane didn't. Henry knew Kane was going to ask about his investigations, but he knew this would actually be the shortest meeting they ever had. And he was grateful for this. He just got some new evidence that would surely wrap up his investigation and bring his plan to fruition.

"I've been trying to close a case."

The lack of detail made Kane cross his arms. "And?"

"Sir?"

"Don't be coy, now, Shumway. What case are you working on?"

"That's classified, sir."

Marcus raised his brow. He was a councilman. Did he not have access to all clearance levels?

"What I mean is…this case may hit a little…close to home, for you. I've consulted the Chancellor on the matter. He agreed that we should just keep the details between the two of us and my assisting lieutenants."

Jaha was in on this? What the hell could they be working on?

"If you question—"

Kane shot up from his seat, slightly aggravated and offended. "I'll speak with Jaha. But you better be in a place where I can find you when I get back, soldier."

Footnotes:

1 – Small jab at Charles Pike…Hate that guy…

2 – Her name's obviously not "Mike". This is one of her nicknames. It's pronounced like "Mike" so I left the spelling.