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( 55 一 BETRAYAL OF THE HIGHEST ORDER. )
" —you promised! You promised you wouldn't do this again!"
Clara and Ruby sprinted down the hallway leading to Clancy's cell. The door was already open when they arrived, Nico pacing with his hands pulling at his hair. His face was red and blotchy, he'd clearly been crying.
"And you did it to her! How could you hurt Ruby? You were going to make her shoot Clara. How could you?"
Clancy was sitting on his bed, looking annoyed by Nico's breakdown. His eyes flickered over to Clara and Ruby as they entered.
"He can't keep getting away with it! He can't!" Nico shouted when he noticed the two girls.
"Finally," Clancy said. "Can you please get him out of here? I already have enough of a headache."
"If you're head aches now, imagine how it'll feel when I rip it off your neck," Ruby snarled.
Clancy smirked at her, "It looks like you've had an interesting night."
Nico spun back around to face him, "Shut up! Shut up! Ruby he—It's like I told you—he can control other people's bodies."
"At the lab," Clara said, anger coating her words. "The researchers. You'd get in their heads, move them around like puppets. He made you send those messages, Ruby."
Clara had her eyes trained on him, waiting for him to refute it. Deny it. But there, in the corner of his mouth was a small smile. He was proud.
"I really had you going there, didn't I?"
"You..." Ruby started, too shocked at the knowledge he'd been controlling her for weeks.
Clancy tilted his head, staring at Ruby, "Well I knew it had to be Ruby. Clara wouldn't let me into her head for a second, nor would she enter mine. She warned you about me, didn't she Ruby? Guess you should have listened to her, I always did," Clancy said with a smile before looking to Clara, "I've always said you'd have been a Green in another life my dear Clarissa, haven't I?"
Clara shivered at his little pet name. "How long?" Ruby demanded.
"How long have you been having those 'stress headaches'?" Clancy asked her.
"What did those messages say? Who did you send them to?" Clara asked him.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Clancy said. "You're all too emotional to understand. You've been so stressed, Ruby. It's harder to control your abilities when you're so...frayed..."
Clancy was looking directly at Ruby as he spoke. "That's better," he said. Clara furrowed her brows in confusion, looking between the two. "You understand now. Your role in this is over. The Red is gone. You've set this up so well, it'll be easier to step in and finish it. Ideally, my father would have executed you Clarissa or at least kept you more secure, but mistakes happen," Clancy finished.
