Caught

31.

I walked back down, numb, all joy drained from me. Right foot, left foot, one step, two, three. I could still taste Shira's soft lips on mine, hear his silky voice in my ears, whispering words I didn't believe he'd ever spoken.

Why didn't we have more time? Just last night he slept peacefully in my arms. This night? I tried not to think about what was going to happen.

The two women sat on the floor talking quietly. Maya changed out of that impractical outfit back into her uniform and armed herself. The Emperor lay handcuffed on the floor, I noticed they had gagged him. The once most powerful man in the Empire was now a bound, helpless bundle on the ground. What an ironic sight. And satisfying.

There was still plenty of light in the room, but it would be dark soon.

"Taira," my friend called as soon as she noticed that I had entered.

She got up and came towards me, looking around. "Where's Shira?"

"Upstairs, negotiating with them."

The black-haired assassin remained on the roof, talking to the commander on the radio about our departure from the base. From what little I could make out, it seemed they had agreed to his terms. 

I should have explained our plan to Maya, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.

"Get ready, we're leaving," I said curtly, my eyes fixed somewhere on the opposite wall.

Maya's face lit up with hope. "Will they let us through?"

I just nodded, it was all I could do. Ayako walked silently over to us, looking at me searchingly.

"Emperor? Where?" she asked. The old woman wasn't stupid.

"He is staying here... with Shira." I tried to keep my voice from breaking. 

I failed.

Maya lifted her head sharply. "What? You're okay with this?" She snapped at me, quickly realising what that meant. "They're going to kill him!"

I closed my eyes tightly, unable to look at her horrified face.

"Taira, you can't let him do this!"

I breathed heavily and for the first time looked straight at her. She fell silent when she saw my ragged face and the pain and helplessness reflected in my reddened eyes.

Maya said nothing more. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me close. I buried my face in her hair, grateful to have her.

~~~

After that, there wasn't much left to do. Shira reappeared after a while and briefly explained the plan to all of us again.

Maya listened in silence, tears streaming down her face and smearing her make-up. But she didn't interrupt him with a single word. She understood that everything that could be said to change his mind had already been spoken.

"Here," Shira pressed the phone into my hand. "We'll stay in touch. I've warned them that if I lose contact with you for even a moment, I'll shoot the Emperor in the head."

I nodded and watched as he pulled his own mobile out of the pocket of his long leather coat. A moment later, the one I was holding rang. A number appeared on the screen.

"Is that clear? I want to know your every move. Until you reach the entrance to the tunnels. There you'll lose the signal."

I couldn't answer. Ayako spoke instead. I didn't know what she said, but Shira immediately turned to her. They exchanged a few sentences that I didn't understand. Maya obviously did. I could tell by the new tears in the girl's eyes and her trembling lips.