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There was blood. Everywhere.

Thea was frozen as she stared in shock at the scene, an overwhelming sense of fear taking over as her eyes fell on Rue.

He was sitting there in his usual spot except there was blood all over one side of his face as he leaned against the wall with his legs stretched out, looking paler than he ever was. There was also blood all over his shirt and trousers, splatters of it on the walls and floors around him, and Thea's eyes were darting everywhere, trying to figure out what had happened.

Luana was first to react, suddenly serious and unlike her usual self. She rushed over to Rue, using a surprising amount of strength to tear open his shirt and look for where he was bleeding from, and it was the sight of her moving that snapped Thea back to her senses.

Thea rushed forward, nearly slipping on blood in the process but not caring one bit. She fell onto her knees in front of Rue and grabbed his bloodied face in her hands, turning his head to face her. "Rue?" She called.

His right eye, the eye that wasn't covered in blood, opened a little and looked at her. He looked weak and it was only then that she noticed that the blood was practically dried.

Had he been lying like this for a while?

"Rue? What happened? Rue?"

It seemed to take him a moment to recognize her but when he did, he managed to force out a smirk despite the situation. "It seems... I've been stabbed."

Thea wasn't in the mood to respond to that. Instead, she was holding back tears, using the sleeve of her blouse to wipe the blood off of his face. "Who did this to you?"

"Thea, go call for a doctor," Luana said, sternly.

"You... don't know?" Rue asked.

"Rue, now is not the time to be secretive," she hissed through her tears. "Tell me who did this!" As she spoke, however, she had finally wiped most of the dried blood from his face and had to hold herself back from throwing up. She could see very soon that he had not just been stabbed.

A long cut started from the top of his forehead and went down through his left brow and sliced deeply over his eyelid, into his eye and down to his cheek. His left eye was completely, irreparably damaged, blood everywhere, the horror of it all made Thea feel faint. Clearly, there had been an attempt to torture him.

But how?

Niall had gotten control over Rue... who would have done this to him under Niall's watch?

"Rue–"

"Rivier, of course," was Rue's response, a smirk still on his face. "He was... quite... angry... I'd say... it's safe to assume... you won?"

Thea was taken aback. Though this was certainly not how Thea had wanted Rue to find out about their win, she knew now wasn't the time to worry about that. "Rivier–"

"Thea, doctor, now!" Luana snapped.

Though Luana's tone startled Thea, she knew the girl was right, so instantly Thea got up and rushed out the door, taking the elevator up to find someone to help. The second she reached the upper floor though, the look of the officers made it clear to her that no one wanted to help. When she went up to them and asked for someone to get a doctor, they would laugh at her and remind her that these prisoners didn't deserve that luxury, and though that infuriated her, she didn't waste time.

Thea burst into the Warden's office without knocking, startling the man and making him glare at her in frustration from his desk. "What is it?"

"A doctor," she said, gasping for breath after running down the long halls of the prison. "Rue is hurt! Did you not know? We need a doctor!"

She knew she shouldn't have, but what she expected, and maybe even hoped for, was for the Warden to look at her in shock and call for the doctor immediately. But of course, that man had never given her any reason to think of him as anything but a piece of corrupt scum. And this time was like all others.

In response to her desperate request, he let out a breath and looked back down at his paperwork. "We don't allow the prisoners on the solitary high security floor to have the luxury of a doctor."

Outraged, despite expecting that answer, Thea slammed her hands down on his desk. "He's bleeding to death!" She shouted. "Get him a doctor now you piece of shit, or I'll be calling General Killian!"

"Call him then," the warden shouted back. "It was Secretary Rivier who told us to leave him be and last I checked, he outranks your General."

Thea gawked, an overwhelming anger filling her. Without really thinking anymore, she walked around the man's desk and pushed him aside, ignoring his enraged yelling. She grabbed his telephone and dialed the General's direct line.

Niall could get Rue a doctor.

She knew he could.

But the phone rang.

And it rang.

And it rang.

No answer.

Thea hung up, but picked it up again, trying the General once more, before proceeding to try to get a hold of Mrs. Railer.

No answer.

Thea couldn't help but feel angry. In all her time working here, Mrs. Railer always picked up the phone. How could right now be the first time she didn't?

Now, when Rue's life was on the line.

She slammed the phone down before marching to a cabinet in the Warden's office. Even with the Warden yelling at her about her punishable actions, she opened all the doors up and didn't stop rummaging through them until she found a first-aid kit. Then, she rushed out the door and back down to Luana and Rue.

When she arrived back in the cell, Luana looked shocked. "The doctor Thea–"

"They're not going to let a doctor come," Thea responded as she handed Luana the first aid kit. "Give me the keys. I'm going to go back to Achlis to find Niall, he'll be able to get someone to come help."

"That may take too long–"

"We have no other choice, Luana," Thea responded. "They're not going to let a doctor in, even if I call the hospital because Rivier made sure of that, and the only one who can do something about it is Niall, and he's not picking up!"

Luana moaned and groaned a little as she tried to think of something else, but when she couldn't, she handed Thea the keys. "Hurry!"

And with that, Thea was running faster than she had ever ran before. Then, once she got into the car, she was driving faster than she ever had before as well.

When Thea pulled into Achlis, she left the car running, and after telling the valet boys to watch the car, she rushed quickly into the building, ignoring the eyes of the people who probably noticed the blood on her.

She pretty much had tunnel vision, thinking only "Niall's office. Niall's office. Niall's office" as she rushed through the main entrance... though here and there she would throw in the silent prayer hoping that he was actually there.

She was so focused that when someone grabbed her arm, it almost felt painful to be jolted out of her trance. She was angry, of course, that someone was wasting her time. However, when she turned and saw that it was Adrien who was holding her by the arm, a small smile on his face, she nearly exploded. "Don't touch me," she snapped rather loudly as she pulled her arm away with a glare, her voice echoing in the large foyer of Achlis.

Now was certainly not a good time for him to be trying to mess with her, and her reaction startled him enough to make him take a step back. It also made him turn his head and look at the people whose attention she had drawn with her loud voice.

She realized immediately that right now, she was so focused on helping Rue that she wasn't scared of this man. She wasn't scared at all. When she looked at him, she didn't feel fear of nervousness, she just felt anger and impatience.

And though she had a lot of words she wanted to say to the man... a lot of words that were pushing against the base of her throat like a dam about to burst, she held it back and turned, her tunnel vision returning as she rushed towards the elevator.

"Niall's office. Niall's office. Niall's office."







Rivier had clearly lost it, or at least, that was what Niall was thinking as his superior paced back and forth in his office, rambling like a madman. Niall knew that the man was inconsolably angry that he had won. He was angry that Niall now had the upper hand when it came to authority over Rue. But why Rivier was here, looking a mess and acting a fool, Niall had no idea.

Niall didn't care to entertain his rambling much though. As his superior acted like a lunatic, Niall just leaned against his desk, arms crossed, pretending to listen to his ravings. Niall of course had always known that Rivier wasn't as cool and collected as he always pretended to be... but he never expected the man to crack right in front of him.

"You're making a mistake by letting him live," he said again.

Niall quietly stroked his beardless chin and though he hadn't entirely intended for that action to annoy Rivier, it did, and the man stopped his pacing and glared at him.

"You take me for a fool?" He spat.

"I said nothing," was Niall's response.

"The man will be your downfall, Killian," Rivier said for the hundredth time that hour. "If you don't get rid of him, he will make a fool out of you. No one will take you seriously. None of those Crows will ever fear you. They'll walk all over you like dirt, just you watch–"

His ramblings were momentarily cut off by the door swinging open so hard that it slammed loudly against the small table behind it, causing the lamp that was sitting on top of it to fall off with a crash.

The last person Niall had expected to see standing next to the shattered lamp was Thea, yet there she was, her expression looking rather wild as she was gasping for breath. Niall also did not fail to notice her somewhat bloodied hands and the stains of blood on her blouse, and almost instantly, he felt his heart stop.

"Niall, send a doctor to Rue," she said, somehow managing to be both stern and breathless at the same time.

Niall, who felt the panic rise in him, raised his brow, "what–"

"Now!" She hissed, rushing over to him.

Almost instantly, despite himself, Niall found himself going into 'General' mode, especially as Rivier began laughing. "Theavi, you need to tell me what happened before you give me orders."

She looked frustrated and angry but knew he was right seeing as he had no idea what was going on. "Rue is bleeding to death in his cell and they aren't letting a doctor in!" She said quickly.

Rivier snorted and continued laughing as Niall's shoulders dropped. Though he was relieved that it was not Thea or any of his other people that were hurt, the fact that Rue was the one suffering wasn't necessarily a good thing either. Niall turned, grabbed the phone and dialed the operator.

"Oper–"

"State Prison, Warden's office, now."

"Yes, sir."

The dial tone played and then a moment later, the warden picked up. "Warden–"

"This is General Killian," Niall said, ensuring his voice was as icy and stern as it could be. He was satisfied when he heard the man on the other end choke a little. "I know you got the memo that Rue is under my authority now, not Rivier's. President's order."

The man hesitated.

"So if you don't get a doctor in there to Rue within the next five minutes, I swear I will make sure that you are the one answering to the President, but only after whatever was done to Rue is done to you as well."

"Yes, Sir," his voice was weak and soft.

"Five minutes," Niall repeated. "Have Luana call me as soon as the doctor arrives."

"Yes, Sir."

Niall hung up and looked at Thea, who looked relieved. However, before he could ask for more information, not that he really needed any, judging by the way Rivier was laughing, Thea's expression changed and she turned to face Rivier.

"What the hell were you thinking?" She snapped at the man, making Niall's brows rise high onto his forehead.

Rivier halted his laughter almost immediately and looked back at her with a nearly equal level of anger. His sudden switching of moods made it more clear to Niall that something must have snapped in that man.

"You've probably blinded him!"

"My intention, actually," was Rivier's response. "I didn't like the way he was looking at me."

That angered Thea more and she was suddenly approaching Rivier before Niall could grab her arm to stop her. "You attempted to murder him," she hissed. "Whatever your rank, and whether he's Elorian or not, attempted murder is a crime!"

"Stay away from me, you filthy Elorian sc–"

"I'm the filthy one?" She snapped back. "I'm not the murderous pig who smells like alcohol in the middle of the day–"

He slapped her.

Niall was already in a state of shock over the fact that she was even speaking to Rivier like that, so when the sound of Rivier's hand smacking Thea hard across her face rang through his ears, it took the General a moment to react.

When he snapped out of his shock though, he felt the anger boil in him at an all time high.

Though the damage was already done, he grabbed Thea by the arm and pulled her behind him before he bounded forward, grabbed Rivier by the collar and pushed him hard against the shelf of books behind him, causing a few to fall out onto the floor with a thud. "How dare you," Niall hissed.

Rivier was practically growling back. "Let go of me you half breed prick!" The alcohol on his breath was strong.

"I don't care who you are," Niall said, pushing him harder against the shelf, "you don't get away with hitting a woman–"

"Ah shut up you son of a bitch, I know you want to fuck her," he snarled back. "I knew from the very beginning that the Elorian side of you will be your downfall, filthy savages, the lot of them! Any man from the womb of a whore Elorian woman is bound for failure!"

Though Niall was certain Rivier knew nothing of his mother, he suddenly began seeing scarlet. "What?" He glowered.

"You think you can outwit me, you half breed? I know what you're doing, first you get Rue from me and then you go for my office!" He shouted, spit flying everywhere. "You think I don't know what you're doing? I don't care who adopted you, no half breed with a whore mother who weaseled her way into the pants of a fine Aiverian–"

Niall was going to shut him up by landing his fist straight down the man's throat, but didn't need to because he was silenced by the cool and calm voice of someone else.

"That's enough."

The voice sent a chill down the spine of everyone in the room... especially Rivier, who miraculously seemed to sober up instantly.

Niall let go of the man's collar, allowing him to stumble and fall to the floor.

Niall then adjusted his own uniform before turning to face the President, who was standing next to the shattered lamp, his hands clasped behind him, Mrs. Railer standing behind him with wide eyes.

The president looked from Niall, to Thea, to Rivier and his lips curved downward ever so slightly.

Rivier cleared his throat as he straightened himself up. "Sir, I–"

President Reichavar held his hand up, silencing Rivier immediately. "You're drunk." He said. "Why is it that one of my highest officials is drunk in the middle of the day?"

Rivier had no answer and silence fell in the room for what felt like a few minutes.

"That's how it is, is it?" The president finally asked. "That's how you run things when I'm not around? Raging around and stabbing inmates before drinking to a point that you slap a little girl so hard she bleeds?"

Niall turned and looked at Thea and saw that she was as shocked as he was about the blood, touching her bleeding, split lip with her finger and staring wide eyed at the blood. Niall also saw that the skin on the left side of her face was already turning purple from the impact. It made him angrier.

Rivier frowned. "That's not–"

"Don't lie to me," the President said, his expression unchanging. "I've been standing here long enough."

Niall raised a brow, but lowered it as soon as the President looked at him. "Get the girl some medical attention," he said. "I don't need the public finding out that our Secretary of Defense backhanded an employee of the State."

"Yes, Sir," Niall responded.

Rivier scoffed. "And the half breed can grab me–"

All that it took for the President to silence Rivier was a glance. "Rivier, you are walking a thin line right now," the President said calmly. "I suggest you go home, sober yourself up, and come meet me when you're in the right state of mind to explain your actions."

Rivier stood there in shock.

"Now," the President added, firmly.

To that, Rivier took a breath before marching off like an angry child.

Once he was gone, the President looked up at Niall and then for a moment, his eyes fell on Thea. Then, the President turned to leave. He gave Mrs. Railer a nod, "thank you for coming to me," he said. "This sight was truly enlightening."

Mrs. Railer bowed her head.

"And please do tell your husband that I send him my regards."

She smiled at this. "Of course, President."

"And Niall, pick up your phone, boy, it's been ringing continuously for a while now."

Niall hesitated, he hadn't even heard it. He was in too much shock to think of anything except that the President was letting him get away with nearly breaking the Secretary of Defence's teeth. However, once the President was gone, Niall grabbed the receiver. "Hello?"

"Sir, it's Luana, the Warden said–"

"Is there a doctor there?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Good... what does it look like?"

"Bad, Sir," she said, sounding serious. "He's clearly been like that for hours... he's lost a lot of blood and I'm certain his eye is gone for good. He's also in and out of consciousness."

Niall cursed under his breath. "Alright, you go down and monitor them, and make sure he's taken to a hospital... on my orders."

"Yes, Sir."

He put down the receiver hard and Mrs. Railer rushed to Niall with wide, shocked eyes. "If I had known I wouldn't have–"

Niall held his arm up. "No, this is good," Niall said. It was him who suggested they bring the President down to witness Rivier's behaviour... but the turn of events from when Thea entered was certainly unexpected.

"But... you..."

"It seems the president cares more about Rivier's actions," Niall said, knowing very well that he had overlooked Niall grabbing his superior but the neck. "I need you to get Julian. Tell him what happened and bring him here."

Mrs. Railer seemed shocked but nodded quickly. "Yes."

Once she rushed off, Niall finally turned to the dumbstruck Thea. "I–"

"Are you insane?" He hissed at her before pulling out a handkerchief as he stepped towards her and pressing it against her bleeding lip. He wasn't really thinking straight, not even noticing that he had grabbed her arm rather aggressively and pulled her close to him in the process of pressing his handkerchief onto her bleeding lip. "This is Achlis," he said, glaring. "Not some back alley street in Elore. You need to watch your words with people in power, especially Aiverian–"

She pushed his hand, as well as the handkerchief away. "You expect me to hold my tongue? The man tried to kill Rue!"

"Exactly my point!" He yelled back. "What makes you think that Rivier wouldn't try to kill you too?"

"I'd like to see him try–"

"He's a mad man, Thea, you saw it didn't you?" Niall asked. "You need to be smarter–"

"If being smarter means letting men like him get away with abusing their power then I'd rather be dumb!"

"No one is letting him get away with anything."

"Right, that's what all you leaders have been telling my people for the last century! And look where we are now!"

Niall was furious. He was more furious with her than he had ever been, especially when his eyes fell on her bruising cheek and split lip. He knew it wasn't right for him to be upset with her for that but he couldn't help himself, at least until a few moments of deep breathing allowed him to collect himself after remembering that of course she'd be upset after what she had seen.

He took a deep breath and let it out. "I can't have you like this, Thea," Niall said, honestly. "I need you to calm down. We both need to calm down."

Her expression softened, though she was still frowning deeply.

"We need to talk seriously. Rivier's attack may have cost us every step forward we've made with Rue–" Niall cut himself off when he saw her face change again.

"Rue is bleeding to death in his prison cell!" She snapped, though trying hard to look calm. "How can you think about that–"

"Because that is our job and right now I'm speaking to you as your boss," was Niall's response. When she seemed to understand that now was not the time to challenge him, Niall continued. "We need to mitigate this damage. If–" he cut himself off once more before taking a breath and continuing. "When Rue is recovered, you need to make sure he still trusts you and he is still willing to work with us... to whatever extent."

Thea, though still looking upset, nodded in understanding.

"Good," Niall started, but just as he was about to continue, the door opened and Julian walked in with an expression of concern over his face.

"Sir, I heard what happened... what–"

"I need you to leak it," Niall said, not wanting to waste time. "Go share what happened to Rue and in here with your contacts."

Julian raised a brow.

Niall saw, from the corner of his eye, Thea look at him in shock. Of course she would, the President had said, after all, that he didn't want the public finding out about this. "And Thea, after you get some ice for your lip and cheek, you will go with him. I've already told you that the goal for you is to handle communications, talking to our contacts with the media is certainly a part of that. Consider this training now that our work with Rue is mostly done."

Thea continued to gawk. "But–"

"The President wanted a clear reason to get rid of Rivier, we're going to give him one."