"I'll never be able to repay you, Elle."
"Not looking for payment, Elix."
They stared at each other, squaring off.
"I'm only going to say this once. Thanks."
"Anytime."
Silence. Alright, enough beating around the bush.
"You didn't kill Avinash." Cloak could barely speak the words. "Peace did."
"Yep."
"You went back to save him, you picked up a pistol. You saw that Peace was about to shoot."
"And I shot first by a second." Elle fixed a tired, steely gaze on Cloak. She smiled dryly. "But you know how much I suck. I'm an awful shot and I missed. Peace's bullet killed Avinash. I dragged him away after that."
"You used the jammer I gave you to edit him out of the security footage for those few seconds, and scrambled the rest."
She nodded. "Tyrant or no, they would have executed the one responsible for Avinash's death if the assassin was Ropae. But if the assassin was an alien. Well. Then jurisdiction falls to the Conclave and there's room for leniency."
"So you would have killed him? If you could have?" Cloak was stunned but also suspicious. He'd never thought Elle capable of lying so smoothly to so many. "You didn't miss the shot on purpose? That was some pretty shitty shooting."
"I wish I had been the one to kill him, Elix." A tear pooled in the corner of her hazel eye but she quickly wiped it from existence. "I wanted to save Peace from his vendetta! I wanted to keep him safe from himself but I failed. The best I could do was save his life. And he's never going to speak to me again because of it."
"Not looking for payment, Elix."
They stared at each other, squaring off.
"I'm only going to say this once. Thanks."
"Anytime."
Silence. Alright, enough beating around the bush.
"You didn't kill Avinash." Cloak could barely speak the words. "Peace did."
"Yep."
"You went back to save him, you picked up a pistol. You saw that Peace was about to shoot."
"And I shot first by a second." Elle fixed a tired, steely gaze on Cloak. She smiled dryly. "But you know how much I suck. I'm an awful shot and I missed. Peace's bullet killed Avinash. I dragged him away after that."
"You used the jammer I gave you to edit him out of the security footage for those few seconds, and scrambled the rest."
She nodded. "Tyrant or no, they would have executed the one responsible for Avinash's death if the assassin was Ropae. But if the assassin was an alien. Well. Then jurisdiction falls to the Conclave and there's room for leniency."
"So you would have killed him? If you could have?" Cloak was stunned but also suspicious. He'd never thought Elle capable of lying so smoothly to so many. "You didn't miss the shot on purpose? That was some pretty shitty shooting."
"I wish I had been the one to kill him, Elix." A tear pooled in the corner of her hazel eye but she quickly wiped it from existence. "I wanted to save Peace from his vendetta! I wanted to keep him safe from himself but I failed. The best I could do was save his life. And he's never going to speak to me again because of it."
