After pounding the t.v. a few times, Brian realized that the plug was loosely hanging near the outlet. He pushed the plug to secure it, and to everybody's relief, the screen once again showed the palace. The camera was now focused on Nick and Meina, but their roles seemed to have reversed. Meina bore a confused look while Nick had a strange smile on his face, laughing a bittersweet laugh, the resentment resonating from his voice.
"What are you laughing at?" Meina glared at him. Jane, Crystal and the Boys were surprised at the bitterness in Nick's eyes and voice.
"You think I'm afraid of you, Meina?" he said confidently, emphasizing every word clearly. Everyone's heart leapt out in fear for Nick's safety. Then, in a shockingly even calmer voice, "Is that what you think?"
"Don't try my patience, boy!" Meina answered sharply. "I'll shoot you."
"If you wanted to shoot, you would have done it already," Nick countered, a perilous edge to his voice. He was stretching Meina's patience and he knew it.
"Stop Nick. Don't say anymore!" Crystal's heart cried out in fear.
"Nick, are you crazy, man?" AJ cursed under his breath.
"What is he doing? He's gonna get himself killed," Brian blurted. Howie's eyes were wide open, too shocked to utter a sound while Kevin closed his eyes. He couldn't bear to see this.
"Besides," Nick continued, "you want me too much. You . . . " Nick was cut off only by Meina's wrathful words.
"Don't force me Nick," Meina's hands shook uncontrollably from her anger. 'Nick better not say this on the Screen,' she thought, panicking. 'Nick, please don't.' She never thought she would be pleading for anything in her life. She truly did not plan to execute Nick or hurt him too much. It was just a show, but things were backfiring on her. Nick didn't seem to take her cue.
"You won't do this," Nick pressed on. "Not after what we did last night. . . "
"Nick?" she stated dangerously.
" . . . in your room," he ignored her. Crystal and the Boys were wide-eyed and open-mouthed. The next three words that slipped from Nick's lips was a revelation that rendered them totally speechless.
" . . . on your bed. . . '
A laser beam scanned across the screen and disappeared as it pierced Nick's body, its sound seeping into their ears as if in slow motion. A lump caught in Kevin's throat, who now had opened his eyes to the vision of Nick's body collapsing into a heap. Nick's face contorted with pain, but he didn't scream or yelp. The blood flowed freely from his body, which lay motionless.
"NICK!!!!" they all screamed, not believing they were actually witnessing such a disgusting sight. Suddenly, the screen became shaky as people in the palace ran to and fro trying to figure out what was going on. The Boys, Crystal, and Jane were staring at pure chaos. Even the camera lady could not stand still and finally turned off the record button. The t.v. became blank.
"Oh Nick!" Jane's eyes welled with tears, the thought of her eldest son dying made it extremely unbearable for her.
Crystal also fought to hold back her tears of anguish. Nick looked like he was holding onto so many thoughts and emotions for such a long time and finally, he let it all out. His burst of bitterness seemed to have resulted from so many years of restlessness, she thought. His bitterness, though, was not the sole thought on her mind.
"What happened 'on Meina's bed'?" His words raced through her mind, leaving her shocked, curious, unsettled, . . . and jealous. The thought that he shared one night with another woman rekindled feelings in Crystal that were constantly surfacing in her, feelings of love, lust and loss. Nick had never belonged to her, yet she felt such a strong force drawing her to him. She felt like she was the only one that never had an opportunity with Nick. And now, her tears and regret came too late. Nothing had ever happened between her and Nick. Everything between her and Nick was just pointless arguments.
Crystal's thoughts were interrupted by Brian's hysterics. "We must do something. We can't just sit here and sob. We have to contact the President and demand to know what's going on."
"Yeah, that's right!" AJ added. "He can't just fling Nicky to the flames and act all innocent about it. He must account for what he did."
"I still can't believe that our own President kidnapped and did all this to Nick," Kevin started to feel the rage swell inside his heart as well. "How can so many things have happened without us having a clue as to what's going on?" Howie added. "I mean, aren't we Nick's closest friends?"
"That was some stunt the Prez pulled," AJ was still angered by the President's underhandedness. "He's gonna give Nicky back," AJ cursed some more "to make up for taking Nicky away. Damn him!!!"
--At the Palace-
Nick felt the pain slowly sink in, but his sense of touch was numbed by the injury to his body. He was too hurt to scream. He saw and tasted the blood on his lips. It was warm and salty. Before he knew it, he was on the ground, the impact of the laser beam was too much for him to bear. He could see white dots across his field of vision as he started to lose his consciousness. He felt cold from the tips of his fingers to the core of his body.
Meina had shot his arm, sparing him his life, but in truth, he had hoped that she would aim her gun at his heart. He knew that he was a bait to lure Feya. Because of that, he felt used and low. He was now Meina's pawn. Even worse, Meina had flaunted him in front of the Screen as entertainment for her audience. So he had to put up that air of defiance in front of the camera. He wanted those out there to see Meina taking his life. Perhaps to other people, his being shot would be torture, but to him, it ultimately felt like freedom-from his captivity, from his body. He would become a memory, but he didn't mind as long as he left behind all his heartaches.
However, he wasn't dead. Meina had deliberately spared his life. He was surprised that it took a lot more urging from him until Meina finally pulled the trigger. Why? Why did she use him so bluntly, humiliate him in front of all her viewers, lavish him with all those whiplashes and then act like she cared about whether he was alive or dead? If she were that cold, cruel person he thought she was, why did she bestow upon him her mercy. Why did she confuse him like this? His head was spinning now. His vision blurred. All the thoughts began to become confusing. He fought to stay conscious, but gave up from exhaustion. The last image in his mind was that of Meina hovering over his bleeding body with fury in her eyes. Then all was pitch dark.
Meina glared murderously at Nick. "Stupid boy!" she muttered under her breath. "You're an idiot. Do you know that?" She felt the urge to shake Nick, to bring him back to his senses, but refrained when she saw the gash in his arm. She lifted up his sleeve and examined the wound, making sure that it was not as bad as she thought it was. She didn't let any of her guards apply the medicine. Rather, she herself cleaned up the wound with alcohol. Unfortunately, the laser had burnt through his flesh, dissipated the muscles, bones, nerves and vessels of his arm, leaving an ugly scar in its wake. She had to send him to the medical unit to assess his injury and start the treatment.
So focused was she on Nick's wound that she did not notice when her warrior walked up behind her. "Counselor Meina," her warrior called out softly.
Meina jerked back in surprise. When she saw that it was only her Warrior, she snapped, "Don't do that."
"I'm sorry," the Warrior replied. "You seem rather nervous today. That was some show you put on. The U.S. might think that we are a paper tiger and disregard our threats."
"Those were not threats. And I do not care whether they regard or disregard them. We shall continue our plans to attack them. This little incident will not deter me in any way from our path so you needn't worry about it. Call the other counselors to the Great Hall. I wish to speak with them before we begin our attack."
"Yes, ma'am," The Warrior asked to be dismissed. Before she left, Meina's Warrior casted her and Nick a surreptitious glance and secretly smiled. Meina didn't notice it though because she had once again drawn her attention to Nick's wounds. Her hand was cushioning Nick's head so that it wasn't perched on the hard, cold floor.