40 Danev

It was dusk. The sun hadn't been set for 5 minutes, but it was time for me to go. Work on the tunnel would be ending soon if it hadn't already. Finding a way in would be vital if we couldn't find the stash of food outside the city walls. Luke had volunteered for that. Finding out the location of the stash by any means. Assuming he failed, the tunnel would be our next safest bet. If that failed, then we would be in the hands of the nuns. And Riu, by no means, would ever even consider being at the mercy of someone else aside from himself. However, seeing what they managed to bring back today from just one trip, we could have a good thing set up with the nuns. Luke told me how easily Riu got them "eating from the palms of his hands." It could be a good backup should everything else o to shit.

I was hoping Riu would calm down before I left. He needed to see the whole deal with the Rats more clearly. However, getting ready to leave, he was still pretty heated. I didn't know what would happen while I was gone, but I needed to have a talk with him before he did anything stupid. I didn't want to say anything in front of the others. I wouldn't question his authority in front of the others like that, but we did need to talk some tings over.

He was sitting at his usual table in the front center of the mess hall. Aden and Ladle were the only ones there aside from them.

"You mind leaving us?" I asked Aden who was seated in the back right corner. Ladle was already leaving. He knew where he stood. Aden looked up, but just as quickly went back to some bread he must've picked up from the soup kitchen.

"Leave" said Riu from where he sat. That got Aden packing.

"You still around?" Riu asked me as I approached and sat across from him on the wooden bench.

"Figured we needed to have a talk about something."

"Being"

"The Rats"

"What of them?" He asked. I just noticed that he wasn't even eating anything. He was just slouched over the table, but now he met my eyes. "They want to resume this little war and so we will."

"I understand that we can't just let them steal from us, but it's a bad time to resume the conflict. The rats are getting stronger. Stronger than us. We need to build our strength and get things orderly before we do anything drastic.

"So you're saying we just give up?"

"What I'm saying is that we give them some leeway. We go on the defense for a little while. Big fucking deal. We catch our breath, get out shit together, and bide our time."

He looked away from me and back at the ground. "Only cowards and dead men roll over. So which are we?"

"Riu-"

"Which. Are we?!"

"Neither. We're smart. We know how to survive and only idiots kill themselves to hurt their enemies."

"No. Sorry, Danev, but I'm not rolling over. You do your shit with this tunnel, you get Luke out there at first light tomorrow and you let me handle this shit with the Rats."

"So do I still take my crew with me or will you be needing them?"

"Do whatever you need with them for the moment. I'll tell you when I need them and I'll expect you to let me use them how I see fit. Deal?"

When he asked me if we had a deal, then it was settled. There was no more arguing. There was only his way. There was only one answer. "Deal."

"Good. Now go. I'll see you back here tomorrow."

I got up. "Yeah. You will. Goodnight."

I didn't wait for an answer. I left, closed the thick wooden door to the mess hall behind me, and kicked a pallet leaning against the wall of the building, breaking a hole through the center. "Fuck!" I yelled.

"Fuck did that pallet ever do to you?" I heard a voice behind me ask. I turned around.

"Hey Luke."

"Problem?"

"Maybe a month or two ago, I wouldn't have told him anything, but I liked to think that things were different now. That I could trust him. So I did. "Fucking… Riu wants to go to war. And if we do were fucked."

"Why do you say that? Is it the fact that we have no weapons? No supplies? A fragile deal of our survival based on the goodwill of a soup kitchen that has thousands over people to deal with, or the fact that the Rats have the aid of the Earth Kingdom?"

Now that got my attention completely. "The Earth Kingdom?"

"I assume so. Why else the fear of Earth Benders within the walls judging by the steel tunnel. And it would explain how the Rats are getting food without ever going to the soup kitchen. Never saw any of them while I was keeping an eye on the place for the lat few weeks."

I sighed. "Fuck me. Fuck it all."

"I wouldn't worry about it too much. The Earth Kingdom's probably just using the rats to meet their own ends within the cities, but I have no idea just how much the Fire Nation knows. They probably have seen signs of earth bending around the city, but If they did know the Rats were actually with the Earth Kingdom, there'd be no more rats for us to worry about anymore."

"You sure about this?"

"No. Of course not. I'm just making observations. So yeah, this gang war, huh?"

"Riu thinks pride and reputation are worth more than survival."

"I can see them going hand in hand. Riu kept the slums from ganging up on him for years on the sole basis that he killed a Fire Nation soldier. Now, The Hornets are weaker than ever and nobody fears him as much as they sued to. Riu just wants to get things back on track."

"Even if it means we all get killed?"

"He's taking a risk. The Rats are just getting more supporters. Are the Hornets? No. Nobody respects us or fears us like they used to."

"Are you actually taking his side?"

"I'm playing devil's advocate. Riu does have his reasons. He's just trying to keep us at the top."

"So it's already 'us', huh?" It was 5 months ago that you were selling our secrets to whoever paid the most for it."

"And now I'm here. What's your point?"

"You haven't been here as long as I have. I've been with Riu since the very beginning. I know what kind of person he is and I know that if he goes through with what he's planning, we will die. Do you know what happens to a Hornet after it stings its victim? It dies."

There was nothing else I needed to say. I would follow orders. I wouldn't disobey them. I was loyal to Riu. All I could do was try to make Riu see things in a way that wouldn't get us killed. So I had my work cut out for me. I left the Hive. I didn't even bother grabbing my crew. I was doing this alone. I needed time to think.