Boss

"Who then?" The guard asked, glaring at me, as though just waiting for the slightest hint that it could have been me at fault, but no, behind his eyes, the fear was apparent. He knew he'd been wrong, but there was something beyond that, a fear that maybe he knew what the answer was. "Who could have done this?!"

I had an answer, obviously, though I was terrified to speak it. I'd seen the looks they'd given me in comparison to him, but I couldn't say nothing. I swallowed, knowing it may damn well be the last thing I ever do. "It was Lei'fo."

The guard looked at me, spear already rising. Of course. "The fuck did you just say?! Odds are just as likely it was one of your rats!"

"Keerick!" he said, now putting a name to the man he was scolding. The threat, as it had done for Lei'fo, was enough to calm any Separatist it seemed. Keerick lowered his weapon, and with that, the sight of more arms lowering around the room could be seen. There was a tension in the air, not solely towards me, but in a more general sense. There was a threat among us. There was the chance, in their minds I was sure, that it wasn't one of us, couldn't be, that it had to have been some infiltrator: a rough rhino, a Yuyan archer perhaps, but the potential remained, and Kiu saw it too.

He turned to a man behind him, saying, "Inform the others below. Tell them to find me Lei'fo. Now," then proceeding to say, "And tell them to gather any wounded. We need answers!"

The two men set off to the speakerphone, connected via pipe to the ground level, running along the height of the trees. They'd get a response soon. Kiu was wasting no time. He needed answers. He turned towards me now, saying, "Boss. I'm going to have to ask you to remain under guard. It's for your own safety."

"I understand."

"Good. You say you think it was Lei'fo."

"I do."

"Why?"

"With all due respect, who else? Why target Pho among so many others?"

"Could be coincidence. And it being Lei'fo doesn't come close to explaining why he would kill Fennick."

"I-I don't know." He was right. It didn't make sense, but then again, so did nothing, and it being Lei'fo, it was the only solution that made sense. The way he'd killed Pho. Leaving him to suffer rather than finishing him off. It had to be.

"Sir!" Cried the man who Kiu had given the order to only a moment ago. "We got word on the injured. It's Jadoh."

Jadoh! Kiu turned towards me at the moment the name was uttered, and I had little doubt that he could see the instantaneous fear in my eyes. He turned back to the man, asking, "What's his condition?"

A moment passed while the man spoke the question into the pipework, another moment passing for the answer to be relayed to him.

"He's out of it, sir, but he'll live."

"Good." He turned towards me, nodding, just to ensure I'd heard. My mind had been set at ease, at least for the moment. No more of my men were here. And I had no doubt that Gordez, Zek, Luke and the others were more than equipped to deal with Lei'fo if he came their way. They'd be fine, and I doubted even Lei'fo would be stupid enough to try going against them.

"Sir" the messenger spoke again. "Jadoh wasn't alone. Laniro was with him. He saw who did it. It-it." He paused. I was right, wasn't I? "It was Lei'fo," he finished, finally able to utter the confirmation.

I'd been right, but at what cost. When Kiu turned towards me, as did the others in the nearby vicinity, the hate they'd borne towards me for the last week, holding up until a few moments ago, suddenly had disappeared. I had a knot in my stomach that told me clearly, we were going to be here a bit longer.

Kiu turned to me, a mortified grimace painting his face. I knew he'd had his worries, but this, outright betrayal, I don't think he ever could have suspected it. He recovered quicker than I'd expected him. Quicker than I would, or perhaps that was only appearance. Likely so, as a matter of fact. This would haunt him, for days, weeks, months, hell, years to come. His own people killing one another. It was a moment before he recovered enough to speak, breathing out, saying to me, "Do you know where the rest of your men are?"

There was no point lying. I nodded.

"Good," he said. "We're going to be needing them."

We aren't going anywhere any time soon.