Finding Ryan’s place had not taken long. Kat was surprised she still remembered where it was, having only been there a few times. She felt a little nervous, though being pissed off was greatly outweighing that, knowing that she probably wouldn’t be welcome there. They probably weren’t going to let her through. She was in the military, for one, and she was also a woman. This seemed like a man’s world, where a woman was uninvited. Not that she was a stranger to that of course. She faced that every single day when the men in the military looked at her, even though both genders served and had almost equal rights. Almost, considering there were a few restrictions here and there. It was so irritating some days. Did they not know that certain things had died off centuries ago? It just goes to show that times don’t change that quickly.<br/><br/>Just as she expected, someone was there guarding the entrance. She watched quietly as the goon stood up straight as if he was trying to act bigger than he was. He was a big man. “Get lost.” He growled. “I wouldn’t want to have to mess up that pretty face of yours.” He seemed to know exactly what she wanted, and that was to go inside. She was worried that he would try to pummel her, or worse, judging by the look on his face. Out of reaction, she had tensed a little. If he did try anything she was going to be ready for it. She was not in the mood. She was going to get past this moron, find Ryan, and hope that Eric was still alive. If he wasn’t then she was going to need to pull something huge out of her ass to get out of this mess alone.<br/><br/>“I’m looking for Ryan.” Kat decided to get right down to business. “Where is he?”<br/><br/>“Hold on, there, sweetheart. That isn’t how things work around here. Why would Ryan want to see the likes of you?”<br/><br/>“Look, I don’t have time to pour out my whole life story to some peon. Take me to Ryan.”<br/><br/>“What if I don’t want to?” The man took a step toward Kat, his arms falling to his sides. Like some scene from a move, a few more men joined in. They were all as built as the goon before her.<br/><br/>Kat scowled at the man’s words, and then reached for her pistol. The gun was aimed right for the man, who just chuckled. “I don’t give a flying rat’s ass if you don’t want to; I didn’t ask if you wanted to or not. I simply said you were. Now, either you take me to Ryan or I’ll go find him myself.” She spoke with a tone she had not used in a long time. Her patience was completely gone at this point, and was in no mood for these thugs to get in her way. She had tried to play it safe, knowing that she shouldn’t get her hands dirty. But she was not the type to just walk away from something easily. In the end, Ryan still had something she needed and she was not walking away until she had it, no matter what the cost.<br/><br/>“Well, look at you, being a big girl. I hope you know how to use that gun.” The man laughed. A few others laughed as well. She should have expected that<br/><br/>Just to prove her point, Kat shot the goon. Silence quickly fell the moment the trigger was squeezed.<br/><br/>-----------------------<br/><br/>Ryan could see that his men were displeased. He allowed for a moment of silence, just to see if there would be any protests. Some of them looked like they were ready for a fight, itching to take a swing at Eric when it came time for him to prove himself, but they were loyal dogs. They would not strike unless Ryan gave the word. Still, he waited to see if someone would, and was pleased when all remained quiet.<br/><br/>When he looked to Eric, he immediately saw that he was not looking too well. “Someone prepare a place for Eric to rest.” He gave one of his looks that said he was not in the mood for protest, from his men or from Eric. “You.” He pointed to one of his men that did not look too happy about Eric being the new addition. “Go get some more pain killers and fresh bandages. I will be checking the supplies you bring, so no funny business.” If they did decide to try something, there would be consequences and they really did not want to have to face his anger. At least he could keep them in check that way.<br/><br/>One man was about to protest, but Ryan cut him off. “Now. Get moving.” A few nodded and went to do as they were told.<br/><br/>As soon as that happened, one man spoke up, “You hear that?”<br/><br/>Then, the atmosphere seemed to change. Something seemed very off and Ryan did not like it at all. Running a hand over his face, he took a look around the room. A few men were muttering amongst themselves, quieting when they were shot a look that told them to keep silent for a moment. This frustrated him a little. He wanted to relax, not be thrown into more bullshit. That was how this way of life was unfortunately; he should have known he wouldn’t be able to rest. That would be too easy.<br/><br/>When the gunshot sounded, his hands jumped to his pistol.<br/><br/>Another man in the room fidgeted a little. “Think someone’s trying to take us before we claim that territory?”<br/><br/>“Possibly.” Ryan said, keeping his voice down. “I’m going to go check it out. I want two of you to come with me.” He looked at Eric, and managed a small smile, “I’ll be right back.”