Enigma - 21. Chapter 21 - Consequences

“Stand up, very slowly, and get over here where I can see you.”

With shaking legs I comply and, dodging the furniture, draw step by step closer to the now intimidating figure looming over my sleeping Silver.

“Sit down.”

I half collapse into the chair, staring up with wide eyes, fear making my heart pound in my chest. I am glad that, at least for now, Silver is oblivious. At least now that I am here he is not going to wake alone facing this monster. The thought twists my stomach even more than the fear had.

“What do you want with us?”

Faith laughs softly and there is a note of madness there. “Are you for real? What do you think I want? I want to finish what I started. I don’t like leaving unfinished business and your boyfriend most definitely falls into that category. He is remarkably hard to kill but not even he can survive a bullet through the brain at close quarters.” He turns and points the gun at Silver’s head and my heart stops.

“Wait!” I lean forward and find myself staring down the barrel of the gun.

“I can always do you first, you know. I would prefer not to have to kill you. You’re not part of this. There is no reason to kill you. It isn’t as if the police won’t know who’s responsible so what can you tell them that they don’t already know? Sit still and keep your mouth shut and when it’s over I’ll just walk away.”

“Do you think that I am going to just sit here and let you kill him? You’re insane.”

“Maybe... but I am the one with the gun and so I would suggest that you don’t use that word again.”

“What? Insane? Don’t you think that’s a good word given your obsession with killing Silver? I mean what has he done to you? What has he done to anyone? I could never get my head around that. He fell in love. What’s so bad about that?”

Faith looks at me for a long moment and then he smiles. “Love?” He spits it out as if the word left a bad taste in his mouth. “What the hell is that? Silver knew the rules, they are very clear after all and it isn’t as if he didn’t have his lessons beaten in to him often enough.

“He’s always been wilful and disobedient. The fact that he was such a sought after commodity was more about the way he looks than the way he acted. When a slave moves on from his master he gains a reputation and that reputation is attributed to the master and not the slave. That’s why masters make sure that only very well trained and/or sought after slaves are sold on. Every one that gains a good reputation adds to the master’s own, and every one who fails diminishes him.

“Well Silver failed in spectacular fashion. It is almost unheard of for a slave to be returned. Usually the new master re trains them if there are difficulties or... deals with them himself. It is a huge indignity and a blow to your reputation to have a slave come back.

“The Master was perfectly within his rights to demand that both Silver and Leo forfeit their lives.” This confuses me for a moment until I remember that Silver had told me that David was his real name, not the one he had been given. “In fact he had no choice. It was what was expected of him and if he had not acted in that way his reputation would have been irreparably damaged.

“When Silver escaped he became the talk of our world and the talk wasn’t complimentary. The only way the Master could have regained his status was to finish the job he had started... in spectacular fashion.”

“And he failed.” I say softly.

“Actually no...” Faith says, almost unwillingly.

“What?”

“The fact that Silver escaped death twice by such a close margin indicates that he is strong and fit and resilient. Paradoxically that reflects well on the Master and he was pleased about it. What he wasn’t pleased about was the raids that practically shut down his business. Of course he has other options and he has just moved on somewhere else; however he has decided that the responsibility for what happened rests not with Silver but with me.

“So this little worm... the one who is really responsible for all of this, who has been wilful, stubborn and disobedient all the way down the line... is off the hook while I, who have been faithful and obedient throughout, am on the run... from the police and my own people.”

I am stunned and I am not sure exactly what it all means. “So... so... the Master isn’t after Silver any more?”

“No. He’s free.” The words are ground out through gritted teeth.

“And the reason you want to kill him is because he was responsible for you losing your position?”

“My position?” Faith laughs again. The usual lightness is completely gone now. Along with that edge of madness there is more than a hint of anger, dangerous anger. “Didn’t you understand what I was saying to you? I’m toast. One way or the other I’m not going to come out of this alive... and if I have to go down I’m taking him with me.”

“But it wasn’t him.”

“What?”

“It wasn’t him who got everything closed down. I was the one who brought the police to that warehouse. I have a panic button with a homing signal. I pressed it in the car and the police followed the signal.”

“That’s why your phone rang.” He said it as if he should have been slapping his forehead and saying ‘Duh’ at the same time.

“Yes... the signal goes through a switchboard and they call to check if everything is alright. If they don’t get a response they alert the police.”

“So it was you... all of this... It was you.”

“Yes. Will you leave Silver alone now?”

Faith laughs and shakes his head. “Oh no my dear River. Did you think that confessing would save your pretty boyfriend? All you’ve done is seal your own fate as well as his. Before I leave this room you will both be dead.”

My blood runs cold and I lose the ability to speak. I know that Faith is mad, in more ways than one, and I also know that there is no point reasoning with a madman. The most I can do is postpone the inevitable and what’s the point in that? No one is going to come. This time my panic button is out of commission, lying in a pool of blood in my living room. Irrationally I wonder how I am going to get the blood out of the carpet and smile as I realise how ludicrous that is... I won’t be here to care.

“What are you smiling at?” Faith looks nervous at the unexpected reaction.

“I’m just sorry for you, that’s all; sorry that you will never experience what I feel for Silver; sorry that you will never know what it’s like to have someone feel like that about you. I don’t want to leave this room alive if Silver is dead. I would rather die with him than live without him and you will never know how good that feels.”

He looks confused now, glancing from me to the still sleeping Silver with a puzzled frown on his face.

“You would rather die?”

“Of course I would. He is my life now... if you take him away from me how can I continue to live?”

His eyes harden. “Then you are a fool. I am glad that I have never loved. Love makes you weak.”

“Do you think so?”

Faith sneered. “I know so. I would never die willingly for anyone. I would never throw my life away for a stupid, romantic ideal.”

“Then you are a really sad man.”

The blow comes from nowhere and leaves me gasping, holding my cheek where Faith has struck me with the barrel of the gun. I taste the metallic tang of blood and a shocking sharp pain in the inside of my mouth. Tears sting my eyes and I feel ashamed. After everything Silver has been through at the hands of this man, and bore with pride and dignity, here am I falling apart after one slap.

Faith laughs and this time it is his old, light laugh. I never realised quite how sinister it was. “It’s easy to tell that you have led a soft life with no pain. At least Silver has the stamina to stand up to a little punishment. I have the feeling you’d cry if I slapped your arse too hard.”

“Maybe so, but I am still a stronger and a richer man than you are.”

“You’re a bigger fool... and I am bored with you now. I have decided that I am going be merciful to you.”

“You’re going to let me live?” For an instant a wild hope burned in me. I was a fool for that. I should have known Faith better. I have watched him in action after all.

He laughs again. “Hardly... but I am going to kill you first so you don’t have to watch your precious Silver die.”

Although fear rips through me, especially as he is now pointing the gun at my head, I force myself to straighten and sit upright, meeting his eyes.

“Thank you.”

Again, Faith looks slightly confused, then he shakes his head and steadies the gun.

I close my eyes and squeeze them shut, waiting for the shot, waiting to die. “Goodbye Silver. I love you.” I whisper, barely audibly.

And then I hear the dull retort of the silenced gun firing... but I do not feel the expected blow, there is no pain. I open my eyes in surprise to find that, somehow, Silver has thrown himself forward, catching Faith unaware and knocked him off his feet.

Silver is lying curled up on the floor clutching himself and moaning with pain. Faith is sprawled on the floor but already feeling around for the gun. After the first shocked moment when I take this all in I am suddenly moving, without even thinking about it.

I fling myself onto Faith and knock him flat again. He grunts as the air is forced from his lungs and he goes still for a moment. It’s only a moment but I use it well and look around for the gun. I see it just out of arm’s reach to the side and go after it.

However, before my fingers close around it Faith heaves and turns, twisting both our bodies to the side. As I struggle over onto my stomach he throws his arms around my waist and hauls me back, climbing up my body towards the gun.

I feel helpless. He is so much stronger than I am. I can’t move, he has me pinned against the side of the sofa and he is about to retrieve the gun and shoot me.

I hear Silver moan and suddenly I am filled with righteous anger. This man hurt Silver. Over and over... he hurt him and he is still hurting him. If I don’t do something Silver is going to die. I promised I would protect him and this is my chance.

With a strength I didn’t know I had I thrust my body forward catching Faith off guard and momentarily getting the upper hand. I heave myself forwards and my fingers close around the gun.

Fingers of steel close on my wrist and slam it into the floor trying to dislodge my hold on the gun but I force my fingers to grip harder. There is no way I am going to let go. I am going to protect Silver at all costs.

Twisting my body slightly I bring up my knee and it connects with Faith in what should have been a painful place. However, it did not have the desired effect at all. Apart from a brief pause in which I am able to get a better grip on the gun and draw it towards me he is back at full strength. I suddenly find that I am now in a much more dangerous position because the gun is between us and if it goes off either of us could be on the receiving end.

And then time seems to speed up and everything happens so fast. Faith jerks, sliding down towards the bed. I lift my head to see Silver holding on to his feet as Faith tries to kick him away. Silver doesn’t look at me, he is too focussed on fighting through the pain and trying to make sure that Faith doesn’t kick him somewhere he could do real harm, but even so... his face is so...

I adjust my grip on the gun again, getting a better hold and my finger curls around the trigger. I try to pull away from Faith, to get some distance between us but Faith kicks free of Silver and lunges for me, knocking me backwards and the gun goes off. I feel it kick in my hand and then Faith’s momentum sends me crashing into the edge of the table. I hit my head and the lights go out.

* * *

Awareness returns slowly. The first thing that registers is the fact that my head hurts. Oh Gods does it hurt. Moaning I try to open my eyes but the light that stabs into them increases the pain so much that I close them again and fight with the amazing display of fireworks that are exploding inside my head. Nausea tugs at me and I try to lie perfectly still to let it all subside.

The next thing that permeates my battered awareness is a sound. Someone is crying quietly nearby. The sound doesn’t connect with anything in my mind so I ignore it. What I can’t so easily ignore is the heavy weight that seems to be pressing down on me. It makes it hard to breathe. I try to move, to squirm out from under whatever it is that is crushing me but it won’t budge. I groan again.

“River... River are you... are you okay? I tried... I tried to get to you but... I can’t. Please River... I’ve been so scared. I thought he’d killed you.”

The voice sounds familiar. It tugs at the edges of my foggy mind and a name swims up, floating in the soup of my thoughts.

“Silver?”

“Oh god River. Oh shit. I thought... I...” The voice dissolves into more tears and suddenly they break through the shroud that covers my thoughts.

“Silver... are you okay?”

“I... I’m hurting really badly but... but I think I’m okay.”

“Can you help get Faith off me?”

“I... think so.”

Raising my hands and placing them on Faith’s shoulders I heave with all my strength, which at the moment is not much at all. Silver must be pulling his legs because suddenly he starts moving and then he is sliding off me, freeing me to drag myself into a sitting position against the tipped table.

My head spins as I sit up and at first I don’t notice the blood. I close my eyes tightly until the room stops spinning and the fireworks calm down. Then I open them and kind of wish I hadn’t. I am soaked in blood which has pooled on the floor underneath where I have been lying.

For a moment I panic and check myself for injury. It seems that, apart from my aching head and a few bruises there is nothing and I heave a sigh of relief. That’s when the true horror of what has happened hits me and I only just manage to turn my head to the side before I vomit explosively. Oh Gods I have killed a man. I held a gun against his chest and pulled the trigger. I killed him and now his blood is all over me.

Vaguely my numbed mind wonders who is going to clean up but I don’t have time to worry about that now. Besides, whoever it is will have to clean up all the blood too and I have a feeling that is going to be even more difficult to get out of the carpet.

“River?” I hear the tears in his voice and turn to him. He looks awful. He is slumped against the bed, his arms hugging himself and tears pouring down his cheeks. Suddenly I am horrified for a completely different reason.

“Ah Gods Silver... I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Standing up is out of the question so I start to crawl towards him, over Faith’s body which suddenly doesn’t repulse me nearly so much.

Even though my head is still hurting fit to bust I push the pain aside. As much as I am hurting I know that Silver is hurting more.

As soon as I am close enough Silver grabs me and pulls me close. I hear the sharp intake of breath which is the only indication he gives of the pain it causes him. In respect for that I don’t try to pull away and just hold him as closely as I can without hurting him too much. He sobs painfully from both a physical and emotional perspective. And I hold him until he starts to calm down.

“Silver... I need to get help. Will you be okay... just for a moment?”

He looks up at me, his eyes swimming with tears and nods, swallowing and trying to smile.

Still feeling dizzy I pull myself up, fighting against the nausea and vertigo this provokes and the crazy, stabbing pain in my head.

Somehow I manage to get to the phone and I can’t remember what numbers I need to press. There is a pad besides the phone with a number scrawled on it so I call. I almost pass out with relief when Sam answers.

“Sam.”

“River? What’s wrong?”

“Faith... Faith came.”

“River... is he there now? Where’s your guard?”

“Nick’s dead. Faith killed him.”

“Fuck River. What’s happening? Are you safe? Is Silver safe?”

“Faith’s dead.”

“Dead? What the fuck happened?”

“I killed him.” I say dully.

“Right. Stay there. Stay exactly where you are. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.

Letting the phone drop from my numb fingers I slide down to the floor again and sit, holding my head until the pain starts to recede. I am startled to feel a gentle touch on my arm and look up far to fast. I get a flash of Silver’s frightened face before I have to let my head drop again.

“River?” His voice is tight and I know he must be in terrible pain but I just can’t lift my head, it hurts too much.

“River please...”

“It... it’s alright babe... I’m alright. My head hurts.”

I feel Silver’s fingers on the back of my head, combing gently through my hair until pain explodes and I pull away with a hiss. “Aw.”

“You... you’re bleeding.”

“I’ll be alright. Just give me a minute. Are you okay?”

“I... I think so. I hurt... but no more than before. I’m not bleeding or anything.”

“Good... that’s good.”

I should be more concerned, I know that. I should hold him, help him get back to bed but I can’t move. Suddenly I feel so tired. It’s as if I have been pushing everything away... the pain, the horror, the fear, the shock... and now it is all rushing back and flooding me with so much that I can’t cope with it all and I’m shutting down.

I can feel myself sliding and I can’t stop it. Vaguely it registers that, quite apart from the bang on the head, I am probably going into shock and I really should be doing something about it but I can’t. It isn’t until Silver painfully drags himself to sit next to me and puts his arms around me that I realise how cold I am and that I am shivering. I let my body flop sideways into his arms resting my head on his shoulder.

“You’re not okay are you?”

“No.” It wasn’t meant to come out as a whisper. It was supposed to be strong and reassuring.

“What’s wrong?” His voice is panic stricken. “Is it your head?”

“Maybe. I think... I think...” And I can’t say any more. Every thought that enters my head slips away before I can make any sense of it. Every word that forms dies before it reaches my lips. The only thing that is real in my world is Silver and I just want to melt into him and disappear.

“River... River don’t... don’t leave me. I’m scared River... please...”

I really, really want to reassure him, to tell him that everything is going to be alright but I seem to have lost control of my body. I can’t move, can't speak and now I am slipping down, unable to stop myself.

“River!”

Moaning with pain Silver catches me and turns me around so I am looking up into his face. His is beautiful, so beautiful. Why does he look so sad? Why is there so much fear in his eyes? Why are his lips moving when he isn’t saying anything? Why is everything apart from his face so dark?

Silver’s face seems to shimmer and flicker and by the time I realise that it isn’t his face but my eyes that are flickering the world is already fading and by the time my eyes close I am already far away.