Ren felt him before he saw him.
He raised his head the moment Cypher stopped in the middle of the spacious office, and as he did, his eyes locked with those silver eyes that had tormented him even in the grips of death.
Axton stood tall and intimidating, his hands fixed inside the pocket of his black pants. He leaned easily against the sizeable black desk behind him, a world globe sitting on top of the table in the space behind him.
He pinned Ren with that unreadable look that always got him nervous; Ren never knew what to expect from Axton due to how passive yet dangerous he always looked.
"Captain," Cypher bowed his head, not letting go of Ren's hand.
Axton's eyes never left Ren's. He hid his surprise because he was.
He found it difficult to understand why Ren still managed to survive. Even with Corvin's help, he wasn't supposed to survive. Ren was already looking like death when Axton saw him two days ago, and he believed that the gunshot would finish him off, but to his surprise, the unaffected human still lived.
"Let me go... please," Ren mustered his courage and croaked out his plea.
He knew he stood no chance against Axton. Begging was the only choice he had now. At least, if his sister was going to die, he deserved to be by her side to hold her hand when she breathed her last.
"Come here, Renault," Axton commanded calmly.
Ren heard that chilling voice again. He was starting to associate the voice with death because if death were a person, it would be Axton Conan.
"You heard the captain go to him," Cypher dropped Ren's hand and pushed him forward.
Ren failed at his clumsy attempt to wedge himself with his hands, hitting his jaw on the floor, "Ugh!" He grunted out in pain.
"Come here, Renault," Axton commanded again, his voice lower than the first time.
Ren gritted his teeth and propped himself up on his elbow. He knew he should try. Axton didn't give a fuck about his condition, he would only see Ren's hesitation as disobedience, and disobedience was greatly punished.
He pushed himself up, hands trembling but he clenched his jaw and continued. He paused when he straightened himself on his knees, noticing for the first time that he was wearing blue patient pants. Then, with a guttural groan, he raised himself to his feet, his vision blurring for a bit and his body swaying.
"Yes, Captain," Ren said, rooting his feet to the floor.
Axton's eyes narrowed; he could sense the hatred from the dying human, and it irked him.
No one has ever dared to show their dislike of him, especially not a frail human who knew that his life was literally in the palm of his hands. Even weakened, Ren's green eyes showed stubbornness and defiance.
He wasn't easily broken.
"Who sent you, Renault?" Axton slowly moved toward Ren, his hands still in his pockets.
Ren gritted his teeth, his eyes roaming Axton's perfect face.
They were a stark contrast to each other. Ren was dirty, wounded, powerless, and dying, while Axton was clean, strong, and powerful.
Ren could feel the silent threat from his captor.
"He was sent -"
"I came to find Cypher, Captain," Ren spoke with difficulty as his breathing turned laboured the longer he stood.
He could feel his feet shaking, but he held on.
"Nonsense! I've never seen this man my entire life," Cypher denied, glaring at Ren.
Ren chuckled, "It's true, he hasn't seen me before and I haven't seen him. But I represent a man he knows and supplies serums to." He said, closing his eyes for a second.
Cypher shook his head, he was about to speak when Axton suddenly raised his hand, silencing him.
He remained standing in front of Ren, watching him struggling for his breath, "The name of this man." He stared at Ren, a cold aura enveloping the room.
Ren gulped. Here came the hard part.
He couldn't give out Reed's name, not because he wanted to protect him, no; it was because exposing Reed meant exposing his sister.
If Axton sent his troop to Base7, everyone would suffer, both the guilty and the innocent. He couldn't risk it.
Axton slowly nodded, "Tell me who sent you, and I might let you live... if you're telling the truth about Cypher." He spoke quietly, his eyes shifting to Cypher.
"He is lying -"
"No, he's not," Corvin's voice interrupted Cypher's.
Cypher snapped his head behind him, his eyes widening the moment he saw Corvin.
"Dr. Corvin? I thought..." Cypher paused, watching his world crumble around him.
"Thought what? That the men you gave a false order to smuggle me out of the gates snitched on you?" Corvin asked, standing behind Cypher.
"I didn't," Cypher shook his head.
"You gave them a false order from the captain to throw me out because I had saved a man's life. Unfortunately, you forgot to read the pyramid right..." Corvin walked around Cypher to look him in the eyes.
"I come before you, Cypher. To you, my word is law." He said and turned to Axton.
"I do apologise, Captain. But whatever I have done with your captive, I did it for a resourceful benefit," Corvin stated calmly.
Axton returned to his desk, leaning the back of his strong thighs on the edge of his desk.
"Betrayal in the Faction is unforgivable. Three of you, are guilty of it." He removed his hand from his pocket and extended his hand to Ren, "Closer, Renault." He said.
Ren gulped and dragged his shaky legs towards Axton. He stared at Axton's hand. His finger looked just as powerful as his. Everything about him was formidable.
Slowly, he raised his hand to place on Axton's extended hand, but, just as he was about to touch Axton, the hand was lowered, causing Ren's hand to fall back to his side in a swing.
"Prove to me that your life is worth more than my soldier's, Renault. Tell me the name of this brave man who sent you to steal serums from me and your Faction," Axton coldly commanded,
Cypher was already shaking, his heart drumming loudly in his chest. He never envisioned this journey to end like this. He had just wanted to prove to the captain that he was his most trustworthy soldier. He never knew Ren or Corvin would expose him this way.
Ren balled his fists, "I... I'm telling the truth. I have nothing to hide; I know you will kill me after all. I just needed you to know that Cypher is your weak link, Captain. He's bound to bring your great Faction to dust with his reckless ways." He summoned courage and spoke up.
If he was going down, he was going down with that traitor.
Axton moved like lightning, standing next to Cypher in the blink of an eye, his gun pointing at his soldier's head.
Ren's words had managed to penetrate his cold facade, and Ren took immediate note of it: speaking about the Faction's downfall was Axton's character crack button. If he lived, that knowledge would come in handy in many situations.
"Speak," Axton's voice was a low hiss, promising a lethal death.
Cypher visibly trembled, "Captain... Renault is lying... he -"
"Last week, 12th September 2026, Faction6 complained about not getting their complete portion of serums, and when I traced it, it happened to be that Cypher was the one in charge of distribution, sending more portions to Base7. Again, I traced it and realised that this has been his pattern for two years. The records are crystal clear, Captain, I have physical and digital proof. Cypher is the weak link -"
The shot was aimed at Cypher, not to silence Corvin. Just like last time, a gunshot cut Corvin's voice short...
Ren gasped, staring at Cypher's lifeless body, blood gushing out from between his eyes.
'Am I next?' He thought, scared.
"Now, Renault, we can speak more about Base7... am I right?" Axton turned toward Ren, his eyes devoid of any known emotions; all Ren could see was darkness and years' worth of power.