Hero?

27

Ana stands back. This has been nearly as relaxing as dancing for her. The ruined man is moments away from death. Damon's torturer stands behind her waiting for her instructions.

"How'd I do?" Ana asks in a small voice. She's afraid that she's disappointed her mentor.

"You allowed your emotions to take control. However, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. At times showing a vicious side like that has a better effect than keeping controlled. I hear that he attacked you after giving his oath. This would be a reasonable response, but Ana, make sure that this response is by choice, not one made for you. Other than that you did very well. I'll take care of his body, unless you have plans for it?" The man asks never stepping out of the shadows.

The first time Ana met him she'd been terrified of the shadow man. But as she's gotten to know this quiet man she's realized that he's actually very gentle. A gentle man as a professional torturer, it makes Ana's head ache.

She nods and steps out of the specialized cell. The drying blood is making her itch. She motions to Calum, "Have the men look at him and let them know that I was the one that did that. I will put up with no betrayals. I went easy on this one, the next one won't be so painless." Ana's voice is hard and cold. Calum feels cold shivers run up his back. He'd rather face Damon's wrath any day of the week than this little hellion's.

"Trinity is awake. His mother and sister are talking to him now." Calum's words send all the tension racing back through her body once more.

"Damnit! Has he been told what I wish for him?" Ana demands even while stalking up the stairs.

"No, I didn't think you'd want anyone else to say anything. He's a bit nervous right now. You gave the third position to Jonah. He thinks you're going to kill him." Calum is actually having fun with Trinity about this.

Ana stops and turns to face Calum, "Stop baiting him, Calum. I need him willing and loyal, unless you want me dead?"

Calum turns white at the idea, "Hell, no! You'd likely kill him and then come after me and even if you didn't Damon would. What you just did is nothing to what he'd do to me."

Ana sniffs not overly impressed with his declaration. "I don't know how well this arrangement will be. I'm only accepting it because I happen to believe you'd do anything for Damon. By giving you this position and you marrying Trina, it places you in a position to takeover Hawk. Baiting the man I intend to make my bodyguard so he kills me would just make it that much easier for you to take over. I still don't believe you've stopped hating me, the only reason..."

Calum remains stopped still where she left him. His legs are too shaky to move him. He hadn't considered everything. She is placing a great deal of trust in him. He had been baiting Trinity, had he been doing it so that he will try to take out Ana? His legs give out on him and he finds himself on the floor. An eleven year old girl was able to understand a situation he didn't even fully understand. Now he understands why Damon would ask for her opinion at times.

"Calum are you coming?" Ana's voice yells back for him holding a distinct note of impatience.

Calum forces himself to stand and take a step in her direction.

A body blocks his way. "Now you understand?"

Calum's throat is too dry to respond so he swallows but is still unable to speak so he nods. "Good. I would hate to think that your loyalty to me means so little. You can't be that careless any more. Mistakes like that at our level get us killed, will get her killed. It's your job to make sure that she isn't."

"I'd never betray you Damon, you know that." Calum finally gets his voice to work.

"I do, but that Little One doesn't believe you have the same loyalty to her and she desperately needs it right now." Damon says softly, Calum flinches back as Damon comes forward.

"You haven't betrayed us, so there is no reason for you to be afraid of me. You better go or you might have reason to be afraid of Ana." There is no levity in Damon's voice as he speaks and Calum rushes to catch up to Ana.

Damon walks down the dark corridor to the final cell, the one that Ana had just spent the afternoon in. He takes a look at the now dead corpse sitting tied to the chair. "She do this all by herself?"

"Yes, sir. She's becoming quite adept at it. A shame really." The giant soft spoken man says as he cleans up the instruments Ana had used.

"What is, Shawn?" Damon looks at the corpse studying it carefully and not paying much attention to the man in there with him.

"That she's going to be a boss, that she's Hawk. She's got natural talent. I don't think there is a man out there that can appreciate all that she is." Shawn says in a soft but sad voice. He rather likes Little Ana. He doesn't think that she will live long enough to take full control of the Hawk empire.

"You think that someone will be taking Hawk away from her?" Damon stands up from his exam. He's the reason Ana was pulled into this world. Seeing her handiwork he wishes that he hadn't.

"I think that many will try. She has a target on her back now. The ruse of Calum taking over will work, but for how long? She was a weakness to you, or so she seemed, but now? She's a thousand times worse for this group."

"You don't think that we can trust Hawk's men?" He gives Shawn his full attention. He had intended to keep some of Hawk's men here to help with guarding Ana.

Shawn never stops from his cleaning up. He shrugs, "I don't know them well enough. The fact that only one man tried to kill her after swearing to her may mean something or it might not."

"Have you shared your thoughts with Ana?" Like Ana, Shawn has deep insights at times.

"I have. I told her that placing too much trust in them right now would be a mistake. She told me that she plans on making Hawk's son her body guard." He's careful to keep his tone neutral, he doesn't want to anger Damon, he can tell that Damon is close to losing control as it is.

"Yes, she's informed me of that as well." Damon hisses in anger once more. It's either a brilliant move or a stupid one. He fears that it's the latter.

"She trusts him and she hasn't even talked to him or taken his oath yet." Shawn states putting the last of the instruments away. Damon looks at Shawn sharply, he hadn't known that she already trusts Trinity.

"How?" His voice is  a low growl, ready to let loose.

"He stopped some kids from picking on a foster kid that had just moved into the school. He now protects that kid and the bullies leave him alone."

"He does that on the strength of who his father is," Damon says waving it away.

Shawn shakes his head. "She said that there isn't a word or rumor that he's the son of Hawk or Trina being the daughter of Hawk."

Damon looks at him somewhat confused. Shawn elaborates, "He's the most popular boy at school, the football quarterback, screws the cheerleaders the whole shebang. No one knows about Hawk and his affiliation. His father was very careful about that. Seems that he wanted to keep his kids as far away from it as possible. Very likely something he doesn't want his son to find out. Should have Ana and Calum talk with Jonah sooner rather than later.

"Oh, and boss, would you please ask Ana to  not dance for the men again? I think some of them had a hard time keeping their focus where it should of been."

"I'll let her know that you requested it. She doesn't listen to me when I tell her to not dance. Maybe she'll listen to your words." But they both know that if Ana decides to dance in front of the men that she will, no matter what they request.