Camille stood up and looked around. The security guard had left a bottle of water on his chair. She brought it over and sat back down. Putting her hands through the metallic bars, the Sokidu helped Vincent drink the first drops he had in more than twelve hours.
After gulping half a litre down, he coughed, and half fell before Camille caught him. With her right hand on his chest, she placed the bottle on the side with the other.
"Take it easy, ok?" she said.
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"… you helping… me?"
"Just returning the favour." She placed the cap back on the bottle and asked, "What happened here?"
He smiled but could not muster up the strength to reply. And the smile slowly disappeared.
Camille thought about her options. 'I've got to go back up and bring him food.' She looked over her shoulder. 'But then the guards will become suspicious. But I can't just leave him like this! Poor guy doesn't even have the strength to talk right now. He must have eaten before we got onto his tail more than 24 hours ago.' She looked back at the bounty hunter. 'Should I even be so considerate towards him?'
"Favour returned," Vincent finally whispered. "Now go."
He looked at her and tried to straighten himself but could not. So, she helped him, and he rested his head on the wall again. "Can you talk?" she asked.
Vincent's resulting chuckle was cut short with a grunt caused by the pain from his wounds. "Depends," he whispered. The word came out strained, his jaw tightening as he forced it through.
"What do you mean?"
"What… you want… t-talk about?"
"I have questions that I need answered." She waited a moment but when she got no reply from the prisoner, she continued, "I'm willing to help you."
He slowly nodded.
"I will give you a small Ki charge giving you enough strength to talk. It won't last long. So, I want you to be precise, ok?"
Camille placed her faintly glowing hand on his chest. A small surge of Ki rushed into the White Bolt's body. He suddenly opened his eyes and said, "Some days stretch long; others, the night endures longer…"
Camille removed her hand. "Who did this to you?"
"Not sure." He took a deep breath. "It's been target practice all day. They've been shoving stones at me."
"I'm so sorry, Vincent. But since when did stones start hurting you?"
"Is this some bad cop good cop shit or do you really not know?"
"What?"
"These damned ropes on my wrists keep me from charging any Ki." He picked his head off from the wall and, leaning it closer to her, whispered, "By the way... it's because of you that I'm in here. I will not make the same mistake twice."
"Oh," Camille smiled. "I thought you'd feel that way." She moved back and sat down with her legs crossed. "You didn't pick up Master Baylis moving atop the trees. He was notified about your location by my teammates."
"I know where they were. He was nowhere near them. I had markers all over the place, remember?"
"Hmm, they can be bypassed."
"No, they can't. Not the ones I make." He smiled. "Your brother…"
"What about him?"
"There's something off about him… almost like he's not from around here. He surprised me twice."
There was a moment of silence before the bounty hunter rested his head on the wall again.
"So, Camille from the Zeta Squad," he said. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Oh, nothing much," the Sokidu replied, smiling. "Just that our little chat was kind of cut short…"
"Seriously? You went through some trouble to get here, judging by the robe you're wearing. That's a Zaatsu's, ain't it?"
"You know a lot about the Eye." He smiled but did not respond. So, she added, "That brings me to my questions…"
"Questions?"
"We never discussed you. Who are you? Is Vincent even your real name?"
"Hmm…" He took a deep breath and said, "Who I am…" He paused, his breath catching midway. His fingers twitched against the ropes. "…is but a matter of believing who I can be."
He exhaled slowly, a faint grimace flashing across his face before the smile returned.
"And a name is a portrait of that very thought." His voice was hushed, and he spoke slowly. "None of us can be defined by just one name. One word describes just one of the masks we allow others to see. To some, Camille may be naïve. To me, Camille is idyllically generous, to the extent that she is willing to be reprimanded for helping a murderous person just because she thinks he may be hungry, and that her people may have treated him ill." He scratched his neck. "But does that encompass the entirety of what makes you, you?"
"So, which Vincent am I speaking with right now?"
Vincent smiled again. "Which one do you wish to speak with?"
"The same one I met in that forest."
"This is he."
"What do you want with the diamond?"
"I'm a bounty hunter…"
"Who gave you that bounty?"
"I'm a man of principle, Camille. I never give away the names of my employers."
'This isn't getting me anywhere,' Camille thought. "You look awfully relaxed," she said. "For a guy who's been tortured for 12 hours, I mean…"
"Torture? Oh no, no. This wasn't torture."
"Really? And you've seen torture?"
"I have actually. I've seen far worse…"
"When?"
"You have no business knowing that either."
"Alright then. One last question."
"Yes?"
"Why didn't you kill me?"
Vincent looked at her with scrunched eyes and asked, "That's what this is about?"
Camille did not reply.
"Oh God. Why must there be a plot behind everything? For a very honest person you sure know how to doubt people."
"You have killed plenty of people in the past. Even as we speak, I am not putting my guard down."
"Oh… that's because you're an idiot."
Camille leaned back as Vincent shook his head. "What?" she asked, wide-eyed.
"The rope that is tying my hands is enchanted. It limits Ki flow within a body."
"I know. Just like what you did to me?"
"Not exactly… that wears out after a while. This doesn't come off until the man who put this on either decides to take it off or is killed."
"So, you want me to put my guard down?"
"Your Ki gift is running out. Anything else?"
"You never answered my question…"
"I told you back then and I will tell you again…" He looked away. "I don't kill needlessly. I never draw blood unless it becomes necessary."
Camille had many new questions in her head, but the answers were not with the prisoner. She had to look for them elsewhere. Hence, she got up. "I guess this is it then," she said. "I don't think we'll get a chance to talk again."
"I just might have to disagree."
"Yeah?" she smiled. "How so?"
He smiled and closed his eyes.
"You do know you are going to trial tomorrow," Camille said quietly. "Your chances of surviving are only seven percent."
Vincent let out a faint breath, his lips curling just slightly. "Ah," he murmured. "So they've started placing wagers already."
Camille's eyes narrowed. "That's not something to joke about."
"Who said I was joking?"
The bounty hunter shook his head and his smile vanished. "You really have no clue what these people are all about."
"Oh really?" She crossed her arms. "And you do?"
"Yes." He opened his eyes and looked straight at her. "They will never kill me."
His voice held steady, but his fingers tightened slightly against the restraints.
"God…" Camille looked away momentarily, in disbelief. She looked back at Vincent saying, "You're really that confident?"
"Yup." He smiled. "Wanna wager?"
"You wanna bet on this?"
"Sure. If I live, cook me a proper meal…"
She nodded. "Done. Anything specific you want on the menu?"
"What can you cook well?"
Camille smiled and leaned closer. "You can see my hands, Vincent. You tell me…"
He chuckled and looked away once more.
"The Ki boost is almost exhausted," she said. "I'll try and get you some food."
"Forget the food! Get my hands in front of me!"
"One would imagine you flexible enough to pull that off yourself."
"You can stretch these damned ropes. I can't. Just do it a little."
Hesitantly, she helped him. What he was unable to move, to her felt like a light elastic thread.
"I am definitely in trouble now," Camille said with a chuckle.
"For what it's worth," Vincent said, scratching his nose, "thank you. But… be careful out there…"
"Huh?"
"The world is too cruel for people like you."
Camille's smile disappeared. She felt wrong and thought, 'this man does not belong here.' "Just tell me your story," she said squatting next to the metallic bars. Reaching in, she placed a hand on his wrist. "I may be able to help you, Vincent."
The White Bolt thought for a moment then looked at her. His expression had changed as well. With a few lines on his forehead and lips dropped, he shook his head then said, "In a tragedy, the fair ones die cheaply." He sighed. "Please, just stay as far away as possible from all of this."
With scrunched eyes she kept looking at him for a few moments. He chuckled and looked away. Thence, the young Sokidu got up and walked away.
On her way out, she saw the guard she had sent away. "Keep a sharp eye on him," she said in a deeper, assertive voice. "And keep your damned hands and stones off him!"
Thereafter, she stormed right out of the Atramentum. Her head was filled with questions – and only one man could have had the answers…