Severed Ties

Masquerade you around

Cameron

The last couple of hours had flashed before me, in a groggy state, I couldn't even remember how I got here, in the empty hospital, dilapidated and so far away from civilisation, all I could remember was watching Alara slip between my arms, collapse on the floor and Dane, say that the tracker was working. 

I remember cradling her head in my arms, trying desperately to get her to wake up but her eyes had rolled back. Her breath had softened to a dull murmur, and then I was up crashing Laurier against the wall and pulling my gun on him just as I did before, he had stumbled backwards reaching for his gun and pointing it at me. We were both at each other's throats, but his eyes had a dangerous glint. Before I got to plant a bullet in his brain the door was knocked down, and a swarm of masked assailants rushed into the room, kicking me to the ground and freeing Dane, who began to straighten the cuffs of his suit, as though nothing at all had happened.

They were wearing the same masks as the people that had stormed the Woolfsbane's ball and what I wouldn't do to have Owen here to help me, but it had been too dangerous even to tell Owen where we were going though I trusted him more than any other gang leader. 

They began to lift Alara from the floor, strapping her onto a medical carrier, I could feel myself shouting for them to unhand them, trying to break free of the brutes that were holding onto me, I managed to swing one leg backwards catching one of the men holding me down, it gave me enough time to break free and lunge for my gun, I was almost at it when a large domineering figure kicked it out of my reach, I leapt to my feet to be met with the leader of the underhanded gang that had been donned the Duplicitious, he was wearing the drama mask, it's half black and white sides, either smiling or in a deep pained frown, I could see stormy green eyes beneath it and I knew exactly who it was, rage coursed through me as I reached to punch the smug look off of his face, but two guards were on me in an instant wrenching my arms back behind my back and shoving me to the floor so my knees slammed into he panneled floor, pain shot through my vains but I didn't dare cry out I merely gritted my teeth. 

"Now is that any way to greet your father," his voice was slick and smooth with malevolence and it took everything in me not to spit at his face.

"Some father you are," I gritted out as he removed the mask with black-gloved hands, he always was one to never get their own hands dirty both in the metaphorical and literal sense. 

I sneered at him, curling my lip into the most disgusted look I possibly could, "You just had to become infatuated with the Mortello girl, why couldn't you just do as your told, then none of this would have to happen,"

"I swear if you do anything to her..." my voice rose to a calculated level, "I WILL KILL YOU,"

"A pity," he mused crouching down so he was eye level with me, "You could have been great, you are my son, and you behave like this, it is unbecoming of a Grayson, but that will all be fixed in due time," he rose again and nodded to the guards who were apprehending me, "Take him away, " and then with all the malice of the worst person you could think of he added, "Make sure he has a nice long sleep,"

And then there was nothing, all I could remember was wrestling against the guards as they unceremoniously plunged a nameless liquid in me, and I felt a flurry of pain before I felt nothing at all. 

And now I was here, in a barren room, with nothing around me, not even a bed, just an empty room, with green walls, and a window that was barred shut, with a grate.

I had been in the room for hours and my only thoughts were on Alara, whether she was ok, and what was my father going to do with her. That and hatred for Dane Laurier as I was sure that my father would not have found Alara had Dane not had a tracking device in her system. I was particularly careful not to go to any of the known safe houses that my father had access to, but I must have underestimated who's the help he would get, that he would stoop as low as to ally with our enemy gang the Bloodhounds, it seemed anyone would sully their name for the Blood Diamond, and it appeared that Dane had cut a deal with my father, but I was sure when the time came both of them would betray each other in a heartbeat. 

Surprisingly I didn't feel the same betrayal as I did when I first found out that it was my father behind the attack on Owen's gang, that it was my father who wanted to manipulate and use Alara as a weapon to exalt himself, for power and wealth and all the drivers of greed. 

No, I didn't feel betrayed, as I knew this day would come when my father would not even care for his son, for his family or anyone other than himself, I had known from a young age that the only times in which my father paid attention to me, was when he was planning to craft me into his heir. In all technicalities, I was the leader of the Vipers, but we all knew who the true leader was, I was a mere puppet, no not even that, a mere canvas for him to paint his cruel plans over, while I did all the hard work, training, maintenance, admin and all the responsibilities that came with running any institution, my father reaped the benefits, and now Alara was paying for it. 

The door rattled sharpening my attention as I quickly rose to my feet so I was standing in direct line of the door, I was prepared to bolt to barrel into whoever came into the room, and soon the door swung open and the man behind it was someone I wanted to strangle with my bear hands. 

"Laurier, what the fuck have you done?" my voice was a violent whisper as I reached him ready to choke the breath out of him, but he already had his gun out. 

"Ah, ah ah, mon ami, " he pressed the gun against my stomach, a glint of humour in his eyes, such a pale blue I wondered whether they even had any colour to them, to begin with, it was only in times of anger that they shone brightly, "You may not believe me but I'm here as a friend. So stop treating this like I'm masquerading you around."

"Fuck off," I was planning in my head how to overpower him and snatched the gun from his grasp but in every scenario, I played out in my head, it would end with me shot somewhere vital, the gun was in such close proximity to me that even the slightest movement would mean that my flesh would be eating a silver bullet, and Dane knew it too, he had complete control and he was revelling in it. 

"You want to see her don't you," he raised a pale brow, "ton amour? Alara? You want to see her alive, oui?"

I wanted to wipe the smug look off of his face, preferably with the floor, but once again the gun stopped me, "Of course I do, and I swear if she's hurt, I'll break your nose again,"

He huffed like a petulant child, "Why is it always the nose?"

"So are you going to take me to her?" I half spat. 

"Oui, of course, follow me mon ami,"

"I am not your friend Dane," I confirmed by shoving against him as I exited just to have the but of his gun slam against the back of my head, I had suffered worse but it still hurt like a bitch. 

"You're going to need friends Grayson with what is happening, I would be careful what you say,"

I only need Alara.