Billy sighed.

He had missed.  

 Ace teleported away before he could shoot him.

"Stand still you loser," Billy drawled. "I ain't got time for this." He turned and saw the woman of the hour.

"Rikka, sweetheart, you're just in time for your birthday party!"

"Fuck off," she barked.

"That's not a way for a lady such as yourself to talk," Billy said.

  He checked his clip and sighed. "Go sit with the others. I really am tired of this."  

  David realized he was still holding his gun, but he was surrounded by dozens who were armed. He could shoot him, but how long until they kill them, and then Rikka? Billy, unlike his enemies, wasn’t completely incompetent and shot him in the face four times.

The screaming began again, Rikka clutched Santos’s arm and stiffened, as her companion died, snuffed out, some of his blood dotting her hair, and she looked away, because she told herself, if she didn’t see it then he might still be alive.

While looking at the ground, his blood pooled around her collector’s edition Sike sneakers, and there was no denying that he was dead, and soon she would be next.

"Don't worry," Santos told her. "I can take care of all of them."

He opened his mouth, but Rikka covered it.

   "Don't," she pleaded. "We're so far from Earth. We'll just burst open the windows and kill us all." Santos nodded, but he wasn't happy about it. For the first time in his life, being the strongest man in the room was a liability instead of an aid.

  He wasn't afraid of dying, as the chance of it was quite minuscule. He was, however, worried about Rikka and Levi. He promised their grandfather he would make sure they were fine. Santos also knew if their pact was broken his own clan's safety wouldn't be assured as well.

  Billy aimed for Santos, who refused to move. "Give me Miss White," Billy drawled. "She's all we want."

Rikka held onto him, wrapping her arms around him, crying into his back.

 "No," Santos said coolly. "Eat shit."

 Billy scoffed, shot Santos in the leg, and people started to scream again while Billy's anger got the best of him because a very easy job had become complicated.

"Stop screaming," Billy commanded. "Next person to holler gets a bullet between their eyes!"

The screaming stopped.

Santos was still standing, in fact he was grinning.

"Shit hurts," he groaned.

He bent over, and dug the bullet out of his leg, as if it were a splinter.  

 The bullet clattered to the floor. All the kidnappers raised their guns and pointed them at him and Rikka. "Nice trick," Billy laughed. "You ain't the first to do it, you won't be the last."

Santos was not taking this fight seriously, like every other thing in his life. He was more preoccupied with his next meal and finding Levi than the threat of his own death. He scanned the room looking for him, but Levi was too far for him to get there before they shot him.

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 "Give us the girl," Billy repeated. "You won't be able to defend her from all the bullets. Would be a problem if one pierced through you and into her."

  Santos sucked in a sharp breath and suddenly he was nervous.

"It's okay," Rikka sniffled. "If they get me, maybe they'll let everyone else go."

"That's not happening," Santos explained. "No one is probably leaving here alive."

  Ace popped in behind them and grabbed Rikka. Everyone jerked in surprise, and they popped back over to the other side of the room.

  "Don't let go of me," Ace told her. "If you hold on, you can follow wherever I go." Rikka nodded and gripped his hand.

"You're such a pain," Billy shouted. They all shot for Ace, but every time they aimed he simply moved.

 The screaming began again as a hail of bullets tore across the room. People ducked and covered their heads, while the unlucky few that weren't fast enough were killed. Some kidnappers were killed as well in friendly fire, as Ace started to purposefully teleport behind them to get them to shoot each other.

Soon they realized what he was doing. After wasting many bullets, they all stopped. They all stared each other down and Ace started to come up with a plan to save everyone, but none of them was any good. He could only take them with him if they were touching him, and it was impossible for one man to do that with everyone in the room.

"Give me her or else we start shooting the people," Billy sighed.

"Please don't", Rikka whimpered.

Billy looked around for the easiest target. He saw a small child and his mother, and the moment he laid his eyes upon her she knew she was next. She motioned for her son to leave, but he wouldn’t let go of her hand as the gun’s muzzle pushed deep into her cheek, and she closed her eyes trying not to be there any longer, imagining she was someplace else.

“Will you deny this child his mother,” Billy asked.

 Rikka ran towards him and Ace tried to stop her, but she pushed him away. Billy let go of the crying woman and grabbed Rikka by her arm. "You're so brave," he drawled. "I love pretty women like you."

Rika's skin crawled and she grimaced.

"Call the Boss," Billy announced. "We got his woman."

"I am no one's woman," Rikka spat. "No man owns me."

"You think 'cause cuz you're rich you can do anything", he laughed. “Money gives you more options but it can’t defeat death.”

Rikka glared at him, waiting for the right moment to impale his head with the closest object, hating that people underestimated her because she was pretty or her wealth. If not for the enclosed space inside the ship she would have crushed his body for killing David. The very spot where he held onto her arm burned, and she waited, she planned for the moment she would crack his head like a nut.

Santos surveyed the room, trying to figure out what to do next. There was no use trying to save everyone because it was impossible. People had already died, it was just a matter of who would be shot next. Sacrifices would have to be made, and Santos told himself that it wasn’t his concern. His shirt tore to shreds as great wings sprouted forth from his back. They were black and magnificent, and they had a strange luster to them, shining under the yellow ballroom lights. Santos didn't care for them, because they weren't as pretty as his original wings, but everyone else seemed to think otherwise.

  "Sweet baby Jesus," Billy mumbled. "This is the end of times." He let go of Rikka and started to shake.

"Forgive me," he cried. "I was caught up in the moment is all."

  Rikka just shook her head in disapproval, and all the kidnappers were confused. They didn't know what to do now that their boss was repenting for his sins in front of a shirtless winged man. Santos laughed, loving every time someone thought that he was there to take them for their sins. He never had to try to scare people anymore, because they did it all on their own.

"Repent now or face the consequences," he bellowed mockingly.

Some of the kidnappers dropped their guns and held their hands up.

  "I don't know why Jesus isn't white, but I will not question the Lord," Billy whispered. He got on his knees and dropped his gun. Rikka eyed the gun, waiting for the chance to pick it up, debating if the risk of being surrounded by armed enemies was worth it.

   Ace watched in confusion and disbelief as Santos laughed, mocking them and basking in their stupidity. His laughter was interrupted by someone.

"What are you fools doing," the Boss shrieked. "Shoot him!"