Bound by Deception

27.1 Love Is Gone

Aria left headquarters the next day.

She was numb throughout the entire night, speechless and statue-like. Her silence was frightening to Sterling, who, with Kazuki's help, patched her bruises and helped adjust her previously broken knees, straightening them until they clicked into place.

Nobody talked. Nobody breathed a single word. Kazuki helped Sterling hide Aria in his bedroom until the next day when the girl would be able to walk properly. He stayed with them for an hour or so before he had to leave on a mission, promising them that he'd return soon.

They didn't see him before they left, which was well before the sun rose. In the darkness, they swept through the streets, blending with the trees and bushes until they made it to the more congested part of Bishops, where early laborers were marching through the streets and mingling with the soldiers. They spoke amicably and would chuckle softly every now and then to preserve the sensitive silence that the early morning brought to them.

Even though he wasn't exactly an important government asset, Yohan always opened his shop at five in the morning to prepare his sweets and greet the laborers who would buy a quick snack from him before they went to work. He was surprised, therefore, to see Aria and Sterling trudging up to him first, both looking worn and solemn.

"You both look like you need something to pick yourselves up," he joked, attempting to lighten the mood. "Ice cream?"

"Sure." Aria shrugged, accepting the cone he offered her.

"Thanks, Yohan," Sterling muttered.

"Hey, while you're here, can you bring this to Madame?" Yohan gave Sterling a cookie and began to reach under his cart. "This was so damn hard to get, I'm telling you. Security has been building up everywhere. There's even been a lack of balls, but that's not my concern. Here-!"

"I'm not part of it anymore, Yohan," Aria said, her voice dense and gravelly.

"What?" Yohan blinked. "What do you mean? You know it's impossible to leave!"

"I know. I didn't leave."

"But...what?" He frowned. "I'm confused." And looked to Sterling for guidance.

The young man with white hair sighed. He led Aria to a bench, helped her sit, and returning to Yohan's side, started to speak in a low, raspy voice like he hadn't slept in days.

"Operation James is complete," he said, his eyes burning lividly. "Aria killed him. Smothered him to death."

"Oh?" Yohan's eyebrows rose, impressed. "So?"

"Madame didn't want him dead. When she found out that Aria had killed him, she attacked her; said she had betrayed the organization or some shit. She kicked Aria out, told her never to come back and to keep her mouth shut if she didn't want to die."

"A threat from Madame? This is certainly more serious than I thought," Yohan mused, a deep, disturbed frown etched on his face. "Aria is a very strong fighter, no doubt, but nobody can escape Madame. It's why she's the boss."

"Do you think that I don't know that, Yohan?" Sterling irritably snapped. "Aria is innocent! She was doing what she thought was right to protect herself and the country! Madame's being irrational!"

"She's angry right now, Sterling," his friend said calmly. "With the murder in Hades and everything, she's got a lot on her plate. Let her calm down. I'm sure she'll realize that she was wrong and bring Aria back."

"Never in my life has Madame ever admitted that she was wrong, even when she was," Sterling sneered. "She's not gonna change, Yohan, no matter how much she likes Aria. And she does! I really think Aria was her favorite. I don't understand, then, why she kicked her out..."

"Sterling, listen. Madame has to worry about the lives of everyone in the syndicate. She's doing what she thinks is right, even if it's not fair. Eventually, she'll come to her senses." Yohan paused. "You know, she lost her son and husband, right?"

"No. Madame doesn't talk about her personal life."

"I know. When she joined Hades, before she became the boss, she was an agent just like you and Aria are. She was relatively new when there was an attack on the agency. By chance, she had brought her son with her - her husband was an agent as well. They died, all by her partner's hand - a man she thought was her closest friend. Since then, she hasn't trusted anyone, and now, I guess...I hope you can understand why."

"I understand, but that doesn't mean that I agree with it!" Sterling argued. "Aria has been nothing but loyal to us! Why...why she would never even dream of doing anything like that!"

"Everyone has their own secret desires. I'm not blaming Aria, but Madame had her reasons, and Aria had her reasons why she didn't fight back." Yohan gave Sterling a pointed look. "You know very well that Aria can fight for herself. If she thought that she was in danger, she would have fought Madame, but she didn't, and you know why."

Sterling started to counter him, but he realized while he was formulating his sentence that Yohan was right. As unfair as their situation was, the problem they were in was between Aria and Margot, not him. Sterling had no right to fight for Aria when she had purposefully and willingly left. Against his better judgment, he left Yohan with a grunt and curt nod, still fuming, but deciding to focus on comforting his desolate partner.

Aria noticed him coming toward her. The moment he sat down, she raised her hand in a stop motion.

"Don't give me your pity," she growled. "I don't want it."

"Consoling you and pitying you are two different subjects. I was going for the former," Sterling said. "You're not saying anything, and it's scaring me."

"What is there to say?"

"Gosh, I don't know. Maybe how this whole system is fucked up!" He yelled. "Aria, you're innocent! You shouldn't be kicked out of Ha-I mean, work just because Madame's gone a little cuckoo after Edward's death."

"To be fair, she's also been stressed about the attack a few weeks ago," Aria pointed out. "Our safety was compromised, Sterling. It's not something to sleep easily with. Madame's job is to protect the syndicate, and if it means kicking me out under the assumption that I betrayed the organization, then so be it."

"I don't understand. How are you calm about this? You've been targeted unjustly!"

"Madame is under a lot of pressure right now. She's acting blindly, I agree, but if it gives her some consolation, then let it be. I'm not going to go against her word."

"But...don't you love your job?"

"I do." Aria tilted her head and aimed her dark eyes toward the sky, where the pastel colors blended with one another and blurred behind the steamy clouds. Wistfully, she added: "I do. Doing what I do makes me feel powerful. Before...before Edward and everything, I...I was brazen. I killed because I was able to; I had that power to make others miserable...just like I used to be."

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Oooh, what's happening between these two? Will Sterling stay on Aria's side? 

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