Ryan took a deep breath as he walked down the stairs.
He wondered for a moment what she wanted to talk about.
She was sitting on the stairs below him, staring at the front door.
He cleared his throat.
She stood up and made her way to the middle of the room.
"Ryan. We need to get Bell out of here."
When she finished, he decided to test her.
"Why?"
There was a wild look in her eyes; he was certain she would attack.
To his surprise, she calmed down.
"This place is too dangerous."
Ryan nodded.
"I agree. It was wrong of me to bring her here. As soon as we are done here, I will take you both to the ship."
She shook her head.
"I am helping you."
He clenched his teeth.
"Is this an attempt at redemption?"
She shook her head again.
"No."
After her word she looked down.
Ryan wanted to be angry, to tell her to stay on the ship.
He pushed those thoughts back and nodded at her.
"Fine. As soon as we find evidence, we go and no killing."
Without looking up at him, she nodded.
"I understand."
Ryan pulled out a map of the area.
"Look at the western wing. She has an escape route by the river. We disable the boat and move to the eastern wing."
Angelica studied the map.
"Is your plan to box her in between us and the mountain?"
Ryan studied her for a moment before he continued.
"That is just another option. As I said, we are here for evidence. If she has none hidden, she is the evidence we need."
She nodded.
"First, we get Bell out. Then we move."
Without a word, he made his way to Bell's room.
She was waiting on her bed.
Ryan could tell she was nervous.
As soon as she saw him, she shot up.
He took her hand and spoke.
"Are you ready?"
She smiled and nodded.
The houses being close had a glaring weakness alongside its greatest strength.
It does confuse a newcomer, but sneaking around is very easy.
Ryan and Angelica used that to their advantage to get Bell out.
All they had to do was stick to the riverside.
The Amazons only patrolled the clearing between the mountain and the river.
To Ryan, it seemed that the idea of a woman running away was inconceivable to them.
At the edge of the Amazon's border, Ryan called Femur.
The two-minute wait felt like hours to him.
When the Skeleton finally arrived, he let out a sigh of relief.
As he watched the ship, he saw Angelica scanning behind them.
She was never like that.
She never cared about safety or defence.
Ryan clenched his teeth and escorted Bell onto the airship.
Femur stood at attention and saluted.
Bell turned to Ryan and hugged him.
"I'm glad that's over."
She let go and looked at Angelica.
"Is she coming with me or going with you?"
Ryan took a deep breath.
"She is coming with me."
Bell smiled at him.
"Good luck."
He couldn't hold himself back; he pulled her close and kissed her.
She giggled.
"What was that for?"
He smiled.
"I wanted to show you how much I missed you."
Her face turned bright red, and he turned back to Angelica.
Femur flew away, and the duo made their way to Reina's boat.
Angelica kept close.
Ryan expected her to attack him, but she never did.
When they came to Reina's boat, Ryan cut the tether and let it float away.
At that moment, Angelica grabbed him and pulled him behind a nearby tree.
With a hand over his mouth, she pointed to some guards running toward the boat.
Ryan's hand left his dagger slowly.
When the guards were gone, he whispered.
"That was a good save."
She nodded, and they made their way to the mansion.
When they reached the mansion, Ryan saw that it was well guarded.
Ryan moved closer to Angelica.
"What do you think?"
Angelica's eyes scanned the terrain.
"Hug the river, move to the mountains. Their attention is focused away from there."
Ryan nodded.
"Good plan."
As he tried to leave, she grabbed him again.
She pulled him so that they made eye contact.
"Why are you talking to me like that?"
Ryan froze for a moment, but didn't fight back.
"What do you mean?"
She shook her head and let go.
"Nothing. I am sorry. Let's go."
For a second, it looked like she was about to cry.
Ryan led the way to the mountain.
Angelica was right, there were no guards at the back of the mountain.
As they advanced, he looked at his notes.
He entered the code to the entrance on the eastern wing.
He whispered to Angelica.
"This is connected to Reina's quarters."
Without a word, she nodded.
He went through the map one last time with Angelica to get their bearings.
The way was simple.
Even though it was a mansion, it was mostly used for the storage of food and weapons.
They walked in without a sound, stopping periodically and listening.
The mansion was just as quiet as they were.
There was a door at the end of the passage that led to a hallway.
That hallway would lead to Reina's room.
They would be exposed for the duration.
Ryan peeked out through the hidden door.
The hallway was very well-lit.
He pulled back and whispered.
"What do you think?"
Angelica took his place and checked the hallway.
When she looked back, she spoke.
"We have two options. We risk it and make a run for it, or we wait for a patrol to pass and slip past them."
Ryan thought for a moment and checked his watch.
"Sunrise will be in three hours. We don't have much time."
Angelica nodded and made her way to the door.
He grabbed her shoulder.
"What are you doing?"
With a frown, she spoke.
"You just said we don't have time."
He let go and replied.
"What I meant is we need to discuss a plan."
She looked down for a moment and then met his eyes.
"I say we risk it. We need as much time as possible to search for evidence."
Ryan nodded.
"What if we are discovered?"
With a half-smile, she punched him in the shoulder.
"We fight our way to Reina. The ultimate bargaining chip."
Ryan made his way to the door.
"Watch my back."