"If the Zun-Mutta lunges at me again, it'll get one in the head." The man said coldly, as he lowered his firearm. He didn't let his arm hang loose, however. He was ready to fire again if he had to.
M'Tiar stared at Denbani, who writhed in pain on the ground whimpering to himself. The noise of screaming, and pain left the room a vacuum of silence and suppressed emotions.
"You, did you take the Tokens?" The man filled the empty void with the sound of his booming voice.
Hahdir glanced up at him and noticed the pistol was leveled in his direction now. "No," he muttered.
He was afraid for Grux, and the possibility that he may be put down at the first sign of defense. He was big, but a gentle giant in a way, and would never go out of his way to attack unprovoked. Defending his owner would be a different story, but even a slight sign of him doing that would get him killed.
"Can I put Grux out? We can work this out in peace," Hahdir said, "I'd feel more comfortable speaking if I knew he was safe."
The man let out a light chuckle and stared back at the Zun-Mutta. "All this for a pet." The man said coldly, once the laughter left his lungs.
"Grux is good, and wouldn't hurt anyone willingly, but with everything going on, I don't know what he would do," Hahdir replied.
"Be quick," the man said as he stepped away from the door.
Hahdir stood up and walked to Grux, who was being held tightly by M'Tiar. As he reached for the harness M'Tiar loosened her grip and allowed the Zun-Mutta to be walked out of the room.
"Thank you," she said softly, barely able to look Hahdir in the eyes.
You think I'm doing it for you? After what you landed me in. He was sickened by the sight of the people he thought were his friends, but couldn't bring himself to speak those words. Maybe he would be able to if Grux was far from any potential harm.
Grux was shown the door to the balcony and sniffed at the cold night breeze as it rushed into the kitchen. With a bit of force, Hahdir managed to get him to step out into the cold. Being cold for a while, was better than being cold forever. Walking back into the sitting room felt tense. Hahdir had to actively try to stop his hands from shaking, and from his knees from wobbling. It was as if he was about to collapse. Within a few moments, he was back on the couch and amid a situation he should have had no part in.
"I didn't take anything, I slept, ate, and in general looked after the place, as I was asked to," Hahdir said. "I believe that these two had me here to take the fall for them. They're attempting to con you, and Razor-Jax."
"That's not true!" M'Tiar shouted over him, attempting to cut him off prematurely, but it was too late. All he wanted to say had been said.
"If I wanted to steal anything, why would I still be here when they got back?" Hahdir replied.
"Probably because you wanted to fool us into believing you had nothing to hide!" M'Tiar shouted.
"He ripped us off, ripped Razor-Jax off! Kill him!" Denbani shouted from the ground, through gritted teeth. His voice was wrapped in agony.
The man looked at each of them, as Denbani mumbled incoherently, and as M'Tiar rocked back and forth.
"You're all coming with me," the man said as he walked into the hall, out of sight. "Scoop him up, and bring him to my transport."
Hahdir was the first out of the room, having stepped over Denbani. He could hear M'Tiar struggle to pick him off the ground, and as he was up, Hahdir could hear him let out pained grunts.