Xander, and Ivar were running across the hall when they heard the multiple shots.
"At least, one of those sounded like darling!" Xander screamed, switching his heels to the direction of the meeting room.
In the meeting room, Ares had taken the fake prince down with one shot from darling.
The three other bodyguards in the room pointed their guns at him.
With one eye on Ava who was at the other end of the room, closer to the bodyguards than she was to him, he addressed the three men with guns pointed at him.
"Drop your guns while I'm still being nice," he warned calmly.
One of the bodyguards broke into a sinister laughter.
"We have the upper hand. The room is locked. I made sure of it. If you don't cooperate, your brain is going to join Hectors on the floor," he said.
"You're sure about that?" Ares asked unflinchingly.
"Very su—"
A bullet blasted right through his head, cutting him off, and another went through the second man's stomach, in the space of two heartbeats.
The third, using his quick reflexes , grabbed Ava, and held her by the neck, whilst pointing his gun to her head.
Ares lifted his head, and saw he was now in a difficult position.
Their threats had been an ear sore, because of how utterly ridiculous it had sounded
But now that the funny looking guy had Ava, he could call this an actual dangerous situation.
"Let her go," he said calmly.
"Let the princess go first," the funny looking guy replied.
"The princess?" Ares scoffed.
"Yes. The one you kidnapped. Hades' daughter. Let her go with me, or I'll blow this one's brains off."
"And what makes you think that threat holds any ground on me?" He asked nonchalantly.
Ava's eyes went his way, but he purposely ignored her gaze.
"It doesn't? Should I test that theory then?" He asked.
Ares shrugged nonchalantly. "Go ahead. If that's what you want to do."
Ava instantly tensed, and began to tremble.
"You heard that, pretty girl?" the funny looking guy whispered into her ears, with the gun still pressed against her head. "The boss doesn't care about you. And now, you must d—"
Ares pulled the trigger right through his head, just as the door burst open.
"Boss!" Xander cracked his gun, running into the room.
He paused when he saw four bodies on the floor.
Lifting his head, his gaze met Ares, and a proud smile stretched his face..
"Damn!" He cursed pleasantly.
"Boss, don't you worry, I'm here!" Ivar screamed, running into the room. "Where are those fools?!"
His heels slowed into a halt when he sighted the first body. Then his eyes widened as he looked around, and saw three more.
"What happened here?"
Ignoring him, Ares walked up to Ava who was trembling.
"Come here," he said, and pulled her into his body.
"He was going to shoot me. You were going to let him shoot me," she trembled as she spoke.
"Shhh, don't think about it. I would never have let him hurt you. You know that," he said, stroking her back.
"What happened here?" Ivar drew closer to Xander to ask.
Ragazza's alarm bell began to ring, drawing Ares' attention.
"Is that your doing?" He asked Xander through Ava's shoulder.
"I thought to keep everyone at alert, in case they're more of them," he replied.
"Well are they?" Ares turned his head to Ivar.
He was in charge of ensuring the safe entrance of the Arabian prince.
"Nope. I should have suspected foul play when a whole prince came in with just three bodyguards. Shit!" He cursed, and slapped his forehead with his palm.
"Hey," Ares pulled Ava away, and grabbed her shoulders so he could talk to her. "I need you to go to your room. I'll see you when I'm done here, okay?"
"Are you sure? Will you really come?" She held onto his arm.
"I will, okay? Just go. See her to her room, Ivar," he ordered.
"Yes boss."
She kissed his cheeks, before turning around, and exiting the room.
"What the heck, man?!" Xander asked as soon as they were alone.
"I made sure not to kill one of the boys. They're Hades men. He wants his daughter, and he's growing more desperate. What I want to know is how they were able to intercept our message. If we have one more spy in our midst, when I find them, dying by darling would be a mercy death in comparison to what I have in store for them," he warned dangerously.
"I know, man. Hey, I'll get some boys to clear out the bodies. What do we do with the one still breathing?" Xander asked.
"Send in a doctor. I want him alive when I send him back to Hades with a message of my own."
"Alright boss," Xander said, eyeing the bodies as he turned towards the door.
"Wait," Ares stopped him before he could completely walk out.
"Yes boss?"
"How did you two find out these men were imposters?" Ares asked.
Xander took a deep breath, as he turned around to face Ares again.
"What is it, Xan?" Ares asked when he spotted the conflicting expression on Xanders face.
"I know you're mad already, b—"
"I'm not mad, Xander. You of all people know it takes more than this to get me mad. A little upset, yes, but definitely not mad. So tell me, how the fuck did you two find out?"
"The princess," he said.
"Of Prague? Didn't she leave already?"
"Oh I wish I was talking about her. But have you noticed how everytime the word princess is mentioned, we automatically think of Hades daughter, despite knowing the princess of Prague for much lon—"
"Xander, fucking focus, and tell me what the fuck you're talking about!" He snapped a finger across his face.
Xander blinked, and his head instantly returned to normal.
"Yeah, you're right. It was Hades' daughter. She told Ivar, and he told me. But I didn't be–"
"Bring her to me," he cut right through his words, and turned to grab Darling. "Now!" He thundered when he didn't hear shuffling feet.