A Royal Ransom

X

Point of no return and now, it's just too late to turn around, I try to forgive you, but I'm struggling 'cause I don't know how, we built it up so high and now I'm fallin', it's a long way down

-Long Way Down, One Direction

♛

"We should just get home now," Ryder muttered from the floor.

He'd spent a good couple minutes throwing glasses on the floor and kicking furniture. I didn't bother trying to stop him, I'd never seen him so low. He ended up grazing the skin on the back of his hand and then sat down, not wanting to cause further mess.

Ryder stood up, grabbing another plate, ready to throw it when I grabbed his arm.

"Ryder. We need to go, someone's gonna come by looking for Mr. O'Connell and they'll think we killed him."

"Good."

"Good?" I exclaimed, "Are you okay? We still have hope!"

Ryder pulled away from me, "You don't get it, Diana. Without all of those signatures, there's no point of fighting at all. I'm going to be executed, one way or another!"

I paused, not sure what to say. "Why don't we...why don't we just forge the signatures?"

Ryder looked at me like he thought I was insane, "You know you can't forge the signatures. You don't even know what they look like! Besides isn't there some huge database with every individual's signature in it?"

"Yes. There is." I sighed in frustration. The signatures we would've collected would have definitely been put through the system, and if there were any flaws in the signatures, they would not be considered valid.

"See?" Ryder muttered, "There's no point, let's just get home and let me spend time with my family before I'm to be killed."

I paced around the room. The stench of Mr. O'Connell's decaying body made me sick. The thought of our whole journey being a waste made me sick. The fact that Ryder was giving up so quickly made me sick.

We had to do something. I refused to go home empty handed.

"What if." I began, turning to Ryder, "We stop trying to prove that you're innocent?"

Ryder let out a humourless laugh, "Now you're understanding me."

"No! Hear me out, instead of looking for proof that you're innocent, because clearly my father is behind all of the screw ups, why don't we look for the real criminal? And work to prove their guilt?"

Ryder leant back against a wall, "And where do you suppose we start--"

"Peter!" A shrill voice laughed, cutting off Ryder.

Ryder and I abruptly stood up. Ryder reached for his gun, pulling it out in front of him. I followed suit.

Before either one of us could say anything a petite brunette, carrying a load of shopping bags on either arm, barged into the room we were in.

"Who the hell--" She stopped speaking, glancing at our guns.

Immediately, she dropped her bags to the floor, her jaw falling open.

"Peter!" She shrieked, rushing to the bathroom.

Crap. Crap. Crap.

If she saw the body.

"NO! PETER! OH MY GOD!"

We were so screwed.

"I'm gonna kill you! You vile humans!" The lady shrieked, practically throwing daggers at us through her eyes.