On a String

Chapter 6

I dive again
I'm going under (going under)
Drowning in you (drowning in you)
I'm falling forever (falling forever)
I've got to break through.
I'm going under.
Going Under' by Evanescence.

-Back at the Bounty-

"Right. Let's start with a nice, easy, simple question. Like... how THE HECK did you know that the freaking pram was a freaking bomb in the freaking first place?!" Jay questioned, pacing around the dining room and looking dangerously close to spontaneously combusting.

Kai ignored the furious Ninja in blue and turned his attention to the rest of the assembled crowd, who were seated around the wooden table. Cole's features were creased into a slight frown- they had been that way since the explosion. The Ninja of Earth was disappointed in Kai for not saying more about his experiences with The Puppeteers sooner.

Lloyd, who sat next to Cole, was slightly unfocused and had wide eyes- a scared expression. Nya was fidgeting with her golden bangle. Like Cole, she also wore a slight frown, but her restlessness showed that she was more worried than disappointed. Jay was clearly bordering on angry, but Kai was sure it was an attempt to hide his fear from the news of the unexpected attack.

Zane was leaning forward in his seat and simply looked interested. Sensei Wu was contemplative- wise eyes taking everything in and lips pursed together lightly in thought.

His analysis of the group complete, Kai decided that Sensei Wu, Zane and possibly Cole were the ones to watch out for. Wu and Zane were somewhat calmer than the rest of the group and would be able to look far deeper into his answers than anyone else. Cole, while disappointed, was closer to the situation than anyone else as he had been there when the bomb had gone off. Like Zane and Wu, he would be looking carefully into each answer Kai gave.

He would need to be careful around those three.

"Hey! Kai! I'm talking to you!" Jay yelled in frustration. His movements were jerky and stiff (puppet on a string), showing his impatience.

These guys really need to get better at hiding things. They're far too easy to read. Kai gave a causal shrug, ignoring all the eyes fixed on him. He would not be intimated by these guys- no, his friends, he corrected himself.

(Friends? What are-)

"I don't know," Kai replied simply. (Simple was good- less chance of his words getting pulled apart and analysed for deeper hidden meanings).

Jay gave him an incredulous look. "You don't know! You don't know? You don't know how you knew that a bomb was planted in the pram?!"

Well, actually, when he put it like that...

"Jay, sit down," Cole commanded, obviously deciding that if Jay continued the conversation in this manner, they would get nowhere. Standing up, Cole began pacing the room in the exact way the blue Ninja had. "Right. Kai." He stopped and nodded at the red Ninja sitting at the end of the table. "How did you know that the pram contained a bomb? And give a proper answer, please,"

"It was an estimation!" Kai protested weakly ("Toughen up, weakling!" a thud and then-), fidgeting with a splitter of wood on the table.

No, stop that! They'll see that you're nervous! Some little instinct piped up. Kai scowled. He wasn't nervous. Just... bored. Yeah, that was it.