“He’s gone sir… He left this note behind.”<br/><br/>Ryan and his men were about a block away from their destination when he heard that Eric had gone off on his own. Letting out a sigh, he turned to the man who spoke, “I’m sure he had his reasons. But this doesn’t mean we’re free to head back. There’s still a lot we need to accomplish beforehand.” As much as he did want to turn back, he was too far into this now. He was hoping he could cover Eric and Kat’s escape, causing enough of a distraction. The only thing he was not fond of was that he was hoping Eric would provide a little more help with the robots. Even though he had already given an explanation before they set out, and was perfectly fine on his own, it would be nice to keep things in line. Just in case something did go wrong, he’d rather be safe than sorry.<br/><br/>This changed a lot of things. Mentally, he had been keeping track of time. He was hoping that Eric was in there already, looking for Kat, so he could get started right away, if he had found a way in. Knowing Eric, he was sure that the man had something up his sleeve. He always seemed to have some plan to fall back on. He was counting on that now.<br/><br/>A quick gesture was given to his men. A few seconds later, they got into position around the area. The robots were still kept out of plain sight. Before they began, Ryan wanted to look around one last time to make sure that everything was clear. The clock was ticking. They were going to need to be quick, and honestly he was not sure if his men could do it, they were not into it, nonetheless he hoped that everything would go smoothly. This was one of the biggest risks he has ever taken, and he did not want to have it all fail. He’d never be able to forgive himself, and was well aware that his men would probably lose faith in him and some trust would be lost. Other gangs might take advantage of that. It would just be a huge mess he’d rather avoid at all costs.<br/><br/>“Alright.” He said in a low voice to the man nearest to him. “Give the signal. Let’s get this show on the road…” This was the moment they were waiting for. With a smile, the man nodded and went off to send the message to the others. Even though they were not happy about helping the military, they still liked to stir up trouble. Once the robots were moved into place, it was the point of no return. Ryan just hoped that his men would not get too overexcited about this. Having a few people captured or killed, or Adam stepping in, was the last thing he needed. But he knew he should not worry too much. Adam was a constant threat, but he didn’t want to keep thinking about him. It was best to just focus on what was going on now.<br/><br/>-----------------------<br/><br/>The two guards that Eric had approached looked at each other. Both of them were pretty built, and had a look of confidence upon their faces. It amused them that someone like Eric had decided to come up to them. As if they were daring him to try anything, the taller of the men, who was also the more built, rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. Leave it up to a muscle-head to try to use his muscles to be intimidating.<br/><br/>“Look what we have here.” The taller of the two spoke. “You’re pretty ballsy, kid, I’ll give you that.”<br/><br/>The shorter man gave a snort, “Maybe we saw a girl around here… there a lot of girls around the city.” He winked and showed the whites of his teeth while making a lewd gesture. “I can point you in the direction of where you’d be able to find some wild ones.”<br/><br/>Both men started laughing.<br/><br/>It was obvious that this kid was going to be a problem. He was probably that guy who was working with Kat, from the sounds of things. There was no need to tell them twice, at least the guy had been honest, he was coming to rescue her. Unfortunately for him, that was not going to happen. If they allowed him to get passed them, the boss would be displeased, and they have worked too hard to get the boss’s approval to just have everything fall through the cracks just like that. Maybe they could stall him a little…<br/><br/>Shifting his weight a little, the taller man reached behind him and pressed a button on his communicator. The signal would be sent back to the people in the building, who would then be prepared for an intruder. Even if he did get passed them, the security was a force to be reckoned with, survival was low. It would be all over for this punk.<br/><br/>“Now.” Said the taller man. “You can turn around and go home. You need permission to be here.”<br/><br/>-----------------------<br/><br/>If Kat’s annoyance was not stepped on already, it definitely was now. It was to the point she wanted to seriously maul someone. She was really sick of being in this situation. Part of her wondered where Eric was, hoping he was alright, the other part of her wanted to look for a way out without Eric’s help. The latter of which was more appealing. Unfortunately she was still having no luck hatching a plan of her own. Anything she might have tested did not seem to be working very well. These people were organized and it was difficult to find any openings. She wouldn’t have expected any less from people working for Thomas, however she was hoping she’d run into that obligatory dope who slipped up and gave her a chance to use her wits to escape. Everything would be so much easier if there were more morons running around.<br/><br/>When the door opened suddenly, she winced at the sudden rush of light entering the room.<br/><br/>“Hey, you’re awake. Good, good. I was hoping they didn’t rough you up too much.” It was a male voice. Kat looked up the man, eyes widening when she, once again, came face to face with someone from her past.<br/><br/>“Tony?” She looked completely off guard. Hell, it was needless to say that she was. Tony was someone she had worked with a long time ago, a month after she became part of the Shalona fleet in fact. She never thought she’d see him again; perhaps it really was a small world as they say. What the hell was he doing here? Whatever brought him here couldn’t be good; he was not to be trusted.<br/><br/>“Shh… Not so loud.”<br/><br/>“What the hell are you doing here? Are you working for Thomas as well?”<br/><br/>“No, I’m not.” Tony paused, then reached inside his jacket for what Kat assumed was a knife. She was right. She clenched her jaw and glared at him. “It’s hard to explain why I’m here, but you can trust me. I promise you… Please. I’ll explain everything once we’re out of here.” He paused, and then ran a hand over his face. “This is getting me nowhere…” When he walked behind her, she was expecting him to stick that knife right in her back. The tone he was using was not convincing enough for her to trust her. Then again, she was finding it exceptionally difficult to trust anyone right now. As far as she was concerned, Eric was the only trustworthy one around and he was nowhere to be found. She looked towards the door as if she was expecting him to come barging in while saying something witty.<br/><br/>But that was wishful thinking.<br/><br/>Kat looked at Tony warily as he helped her to her feet. She pulled away from him, finding her balance on her own, and looked him in the eye. As much as she wanted to pin him, she knew he’d easily overpower her in her state. The men that came in to interrogate her had done a number on her.  She wasn’t in fighting condition, and really hated that right now.<br/><br/>“You don’t trust me at all, do you?” He asked, frowning a little.<br/><br/>“No.” She replied bluntly. “Why should I? We might have been partners before, but that doesn’t mean I trust you now…”<br/><br/>Tony sighed. “Look. Fine. You don’t have to trust me, but I’m going to get you out of here whether you come willingly or not.”