Rubicon: Chapter III

[Char Aznable]

Annika waited until the man had passed her, and then began to pace slowly herself, beginning to rotate with him around an imaginary point on the floor somewhere between them. If anyone had been watching, it would have resembled two predators circling each other, evaluating each other's strength and if it would be worth it to pounce.

Her eyes followed the man, mustered him from head to toe. She knew that people feared him, and that his influence was enough reason to do just that - but at the same time she also knew that fearing him wouldn't get her where she wanted to. With a slight smirk, she offered a response, her quiet tone carrying confidence.

"You have just as much reason to follow my invitation, and you are taking the exact same risk."

She was right about that. Sure, both could have come here with the intention to kill the other, but if they had, they'd have done so already. And confronting the man on equal footing, as she had just done, was a part of the plan.

"How is the family?", she asked, in the same tone, but a little less defensively. The question was intended to take him on the back foot, just as his one had the same intention towards her. She knew that the man had known a different her. He had known Nika, the scared idealist that would back down from such a confrontation and try to make amends, even apologize. The woman that was scared of him.
She was none of those things anymore. And she knew that this change would likely be noticed - and maybe even confuse him.

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#notmyfrankfurt