“You know… I still think we should go looking for your partner.” Tony had said out of the blue after a few moments of silence passed, interrupting Kat’s train of thought. “What if you were wrong? What if something did happen? She looked him over for a moment as if considering. He had a worried look on his face, though she was not sure why.<br/><br/>She frowned a little, “I won’t like. I am starting to worry, but I don’t want to dwell on it.”His concern was pretty valid. She was sure that he’d be here by now, if he was in fact alright, and she was sure that he was alright. That man had an uncanny ability to get out of stick situations. He wasn’t going to be taken out that easily. She knew why he was taking a long time, but she was not going to say anything to Tony about it. In fact, she was thinking about playing on it a little. After all, Tony didn’t seem very pleased with her response. She wasn’t sure why he was so eager to look for Eric but she really didn’t like it. Maybe, but stalling, she was protecting him in a way. What she was protecting him from, she had no idea; it could be in her mind.<br/><br/>It did cause slight worry. But, on the other hand, there was also a mantra going through her mind:<span style="font-style: italic">Move on. Just move on, don’t worry about him. If he shows up, good. If not, don’t worry about him. Just keep going with the mission and don’t look back. At least you’re alive to fight another battle…</span><br/><br/>“I don’t like standing around for too long…” Tony whined. “There’s a lot I want to discuss…”<br/><br/>“I think I know enough for now. I really want to wait for Eric.”<br/><br/>“Then go look for him. We can’t just sit around here.”<br/><br/>“Then go for a walk or something.”<br/><br/>“Do you want to come with me?”<br/><br/>Kat shot him a sideways glance, “Not particularly.”<br/><br/>“Alright, Fine then.” For whatever reason, Tony decided to head off on his own for awhile, leaving her alone. It was a bit relieving, and very worrying at the same time. He had to be up to something. Why was he so eager to walk around the city, whether they were looking for Eric or not? That suspicion was what made her a little reluctant to look for Eric in spite of her urge, just in case something did happen. It made more sense to stay low for awhile after that escape. If they were to head out into the open, they’d likely run into trouble. Why would he want trouble… unless he was trouble himself? That possibility was still not doubted. She wondered if he had gone to meet with that person he mentioned before… but for what? Was he really taking them back?<br/><br/>She almost wanted to slip out…<br/><br/>----------------------------------------<br/><br/>They were lucky to have gotten out of there in one piece. It was a damn shame they couldn’t take over right away, but there was always another opportunity.<br/><br/>Ryan sank back against the couch in the common room almost immediately after they got to the safe house, closing his eyes for a moment. While his men celebrated, he decided to just relax while he planned his next move. He was feeling a little sore; it has been awhile since he has done that much in one day.  He was done with dealing with military affairs, he’s filled his quota. Now, he had to get down to business and focus on his gang. It was almost unbelievable that he no longer had to deal with the biggest threat he had around here, and did not want to get cocky. He wasn’t even going to pretend this didn’t feel damned good, but getting ahead of himself, thinking he had won, would bite him in the ass. It was going to take a lot of work before he could finally sit down and relax.<br/><br/>With everything going through his mind, he could hardly relax now. He wanted to get right back out there and claim what was his. If someone else claimed it, there was going to be a war. A war he planed to start with his own hand. It has been quite some time since this city has seen a gang war, why not spice things up a little? War was not something Ryan enjoyed, he’d much rather avoid it most of the time, however, he was all for bringing in some excitement. He was not letting anyone else have that territory… he wanted to rule this city. It was something he has dreamed since he first took charge of the gang he was running now. That dream was going to come true no matter what it took. If it took a war, then so be it. However, he knew he needed time before that happened.<br/><br/>“Ryan? What is our next move?” One of his more loyal men approached him quietly. It was Aston. He’d know the man’s voice from anywhere. He has been there for him through a lot, and has done more than enough to prove his worth. Now that he has fully recovered he was ready to jump back into the fight. It was nice to see him as eager as the others were. Aston has always brought a positive energy to the group, which was another reason he kept him around like he did. Without him, he was sure that this gang would be very different.<br/><br/>Ryan was honest with him, “I don’t know. I’d rather not make a move at this point…”<br/><br/>“Fair enough.” Aston slipped out before Ryan could say anything else. As he had insinuated, he was not in the mood to talk strategy anyway… and there was also something else on his mind.<br/><br/>Standing from the couch, he decided to look around for Eric. It didn’t take him long to find him, and once he did he walked up to him quickly, grabbing him by his arm. “I need to have a word with you, dear Eric.” There was a devious glint in his eye just then. “I think we should go somewhere a little quieter, though… what say you?” The grip he had on Eric’s arm was a little firm, letting him know that he meant it, hoping that was convincing enough to get him to follow. Once Eric agreed to come along, the two of them walked through the crowd of celebrating men, who seemed a little too rowdy for such a small area, a few of who continued to praise their leader, and towards the stairs. The location of where he was taking Eric was pretty obvious: they were heading to Ryan’s room.<br/><br/>As soon as they got to Ryan’s room, he quickly shut the door. He held Eric against the wall slightly, and leaned in close to his ear, “I have a proposition for you.”