On a String

Chapter 15

"Promise me you'll hunt me down.
Or it's torn for now.
I have come unwound without falling.
Promise me you won't back down.
Come call me alive, come call me alive."

'Call Me Alive' by Icon For Hire.

Kai's expression changed from 'defensive' to 'disbelieving'. Cole would... "You would?" he asked, eyes narrowing hesitantly.

Cole grinned back, confidence seeming to shine in the expression. "Yep,"

"But..." Kai trailed off, gesturing helplessly.

What if Cole got hurt?

Instead of him lying there in the cell floor (bloodbloodblood leaking between his pale white fingers) it could be Cole.

(... or both?)

Kai had survived. (But he'd been lucky.)

Luck is an unfair master...

Cole dying...

Yet he wanted Cole to come... come so he wasn't alone.

But Cole could get hurt...

Which did he want?

How much could he (could Cole) afford to pay?

(The price. What would it be?)

"I can look after myself you know," Cole raised an eyebrow, answering the question Kai hadn't spoken aloud. "I know- I understand- the risks,"

Kai opened and closed his mouth several times as if considering saying something but deciding against it at the last possible moment. "Yep," he finally nodded. There was another fleeting hesitation as his lips pursued together in thought before he murmured, "Thanks... Cole,"

"Aww, I couldn't let you go alone. I want to kick some Puppeteer butt... it would be unfair for you to get all the glory, y'know," Cole smacked Kai gently on the arm; the movement affectionate. With a grin he asked, "So what's the plan, Hedgehog Butt?"

It was Kai's turn to raise an eyebrow. "What did you just call me?" he asked, a small smirk forming on his lips.

"You heard me, Hedgehog Butt,"

Kai gave a small sigh and lightly wacked Cole on the shoulder. "We should probably get back to the Bounty and pick up some more weapons and tools," he mused.

Cole nodded. "And notify the others that we're leaving,"

"No!" Kai exclaimed, eyes widening and mouth hardening in protest. "We can't do that!"

"Why?"

"Because nowhere is safe. You saw what The Puppeteers are capable of. What if they've somehow bugged the place?"

"The others will worry if we disappear without reason,"

"They'll worry more if the gang realises what we're up to. We won't be gone for long,"

"Yeah... 'bout that... what exactly are we up to? Whatis your plan?"

Kai dodged the question by looking away. "Let's go back and arm ourselves. I'll explain once we're on our way."

Fifteen minutes later, after sneaking around the Bounty without anyone else noticing, Kai was armed with a kunai, several throwing knives and a Gerber mark II combat knife as well as two Beretta92FS's; one of which was equipped with a silencer. In addition to all of that, Kai had also seized a set of lock picking tools and a torch.

In the weapons room, Cole had been tempted to make a joke about the number of weapons Kai was carrying- until he realised that his team mate was probably being wise and thinking ahead. It was better to be safe than sorry. So he'd followed Kai's lead and also armed himself to the teeth with a tanto, several shurikens and a Glock 26 pistol- with plenty of ammunition, of course. Kai had decided that it would be better if they left their usual weapons behind- a sword and a scythe would be too long and unwieldy for where they were going.