TAMED

Deal?

Vince sat in silence, nothing but the sound of his own heartbeat slamming in his ears filled the space around him. All this time, he had managed to stay under the radar, commiting inumerous crimes, and paving the way for death. At least, that's what it felt like. He wasn't much of a criminal, he wasn't expertly skilled, and he wasn't anything special...but he had caused the unfortunate end to the lives of a good handful of people. He tried to tell himself that they deserved it, and that because they had connections with the man who took Ares, that he hadn't done anything wrong.

And yet...

"Stop panicking, it's going to be fine." Levi insisted as he had the younger man take a seat. "They should be here in just a few minutes."

Vince swallowed hard, he didn't like feeling trapped, and that was exactly what this felt like...a trap. Levi had had the brilliant idea of bargaining with the cops. He was sure that if Levi could promise the return of the other hounds, then they would be far more likely to allow the two renegades to keep Ares; at least with some strict conditions.

So there they waited, in a tiny bistro on the corner of St. Martha's avenue.

While Levi had ordered the two a couple of sodas, Vince just wasn't interested. He was sure that today was going to be his last day of freedom, because he was surely going to prison after all he'd done. The images of his victims flashed through his mind on repeat, the authorities had so many reasons to lock him up. But did they really have any hard evidence that he'd been the one behind the deaths? He would need to be sure to keep his mouth shut unless absolutely necessary.

"So you're Vincent hm?" A woman's voice suddenly spoke as a hand clapped him on the back. Vince startled in return and gazed up at the chocolately brown eyes of officer Reeves.

"Wow, you really are young." She sighed as she pulled out a chair. "Do you mind?" She asked casually, Vince shook his head, prompting her to take a seat. His body trembled and his hands became clammy. On the outside he managed to remain somewhat composed, but inside, his guts were twisting something horrible.

"I would like to skip the formalities if possible." She began again. "My name is Gwen, I've been Levi's officer of choice since he was detained." She paused. "And I want you to know that I am here today not because of the horrific crimes that I am quite confident you've committed, we can cross that road when we get to it, but I am here because I believe you are the only ones who can help us recover..."She lowered her voice just a touch. "To recover the stolen government assets. I hate to refer to them as that but it seems easier that way."

A waitress suddenly came over and offered Gwen a coffee on the house. She set it on the table with a gentle clink and smiled.

"Thank you for your work." The woman said as the officer returned the kindness by smiling and accepting the hot drink.

"Oh thank you so much, I appreciate this." Officer Reeves responded, then quietly turned back to Levi and Vince.

"Now I am aware that right now you both have some history together, and some of it is less than ideal where the law is concerned, but that business is none of mine." She added as she took a sip, then decided to add a splash of cream. She stirred the coffee with the silver spoon which had come with it, the metal clinking and scraping along the bottom of the cup.

"The issue going on is that these...soldiers...are only capable of obeying the words of their handlers, but somehow you guys broke through to that 317-somethin' or other."

"Ares." Vince chipped in. The women seemed a little confused but nodded in acceptance.

"Ares, then." She sighed as she took another sip, more satisified this time around. "The point is, we need to get those soldiers back. Too much about them has been breeched, and the fact that they are all missing is extremely dangerous. As you're aware, there are certain comands that can be given in order to make them do anything the handler wants, with no strings attached."