[h3][b]Ranch House, Ashlands[/b][/h3]

He first looked towards Johnny, who looked briefly towards him and though his expression hadn't changed, he knew that he probably didn't have an high opinion of him, any wrong move and he would be peppered with bullets, he doubted he'd activate the nuke if only he resisted. But then, he made the offer that nobody could refuse... quite literally since he could decide to blow everyone up, or simply kill shoot them all where they stood.

To be honest, while he liked the Wanderers well enough, the offer that Sweet Johnny made was a very good one, especially since he could kill all of them with relative ease now that they had simply disabled their powers, what would he have to gain with this offer, an offer which would only worsen his relations with Liberty and Erubesco, something about this situation was wrong, he felt it in his gut.

Then, he heard his name being called by Montana, who had been able to retreat inside the house. Montana needed him, he didn't know for what, but he guessed it wouldn't be something very good for his own health, the little research that Specter had been able to gather on the man specified that the man was quite malevolent when he wished... and when he needed to, and needless to say, this situation did not look very good for them.

Specter took a moment to weigh his options, if he joined Johnny, then what the man said might happen, they would be kings under him and they would be the hunters instead of being the hunted... or, this was simply a somewhat elaborate trap, those that didn't join now would be subdued or killed and those that did could be lead into the man's base where he would either kill them there, or imprison them there. On the other hand, if he chose to join Montana, then there might be the inkling of a chance that the long-lived man might have a plan to get them out of this situation... or, the man could simply lead him down there to ambush and kill him, or do god knows what to him, after all, the man was not exactly known for his kindness.

By now, one of Bellataire's assistants had exited the transport and started to hand out the contracts to everyone, including one to himself, he didn't pay attention to it, he just took it absentmindedly and still thought about the situation before the sound of steps woke him from his reverie, he had only enough time to see the impact and hear the scream, well... no more time to think, the time to make a decision was now and he cursed himself for the one he had made right now.

While everyone was looking at Hel and the assistant his hand quickly went into the pouch where was keeping his grenades, he was able to grab two of them, both different from one another, he quickly pulled the pins on both of the grenades and tossed them as close to the vehicle as he could. He only had a few seconds before both of them detonated. [color=0076a3]"Close your eyes and run back inside!"[/color] he shouted to the Wanderers before the grenades exploded.

The first explosion was loud and shone bright as hell, probably blinding anyone who had not heeded his warning. The second one detonated only a moment later and released a great amount of smoke, effectively making a wall of smoke between the vehicle and the Wanderers. Then, he took a deep breath, mentally cursing himself for his decision and dashed towards Hel. Luckily enough, she was quite close to his own position, though she was probably dazed, so he grabbed her and ran like hell towards the house... or anywhere where there might be cover.

There was a high chance that this would get him killed and yet, he did not regret it, he even found it amusing, the great Specter of the Ashlands, killed whilst trying to save a little girl, yet he did feel a tinge of regret, he had yet to find that someone he had spent a great deal searching for... oh well, guess he would meet her in hell whenever she would die as well.

He made his choice... and he would accept the consequences for it.

[hr]

[h3]Erubesco, Citadel[/h3]

Something was going on with Kora and Darrien could read it, though he was not mind reader so he didn't know what exactly she was thinking about. He thought that she might get angry if he asked about her personal life and that it might be a bit risky asking her about it, but he pushed the thoughts away, he was curious and a tad worried as to what had happened to her.

He chuckled for a moment and smiled as dashingly as he could, a joke between the two of them, she knew well enough that his perfect knight mantra was mere acting, one of the only three people that knew of his true cold and calculating self. [color=f26522]"Well, I'm still acting as the perfect knight that everyone in Erubesco likes to dream about, my sister is still trying to beat me in close combat, the occasional mission here and there, but nothing big enough to make me a star like you."[/color] he smiled, though not as before, it was a normal friendly smile and for once it wasn't acting. [color=f26522]"But I can see that things are bothering you and I can only guess what those things would be... mind talking about it?"[/color] he asked, still smiling towards her, hoping that the smile would calm her at least enough for her to not get too angry, if it came to him getting whacked, then... well, he would take it without dodging it.

So, he smiled and awaited the answer, briefly glancing at the scientist in front of them, who was still busy in his own thoughts about the situation he was currently in.