Chapter Eleven

Confrontation and Resolution

For almost a half a minute no one moved, then Xena started for the front door.

"Where are you going?" Annie asked.

"To see a man named Hector," she replied. "Somebody's getting hurt."

Annie grabbed Xena's upper arm and spun her around. "Have you lost your mind? Just because Ares made those cops think they had already searched the house doesn't mean it's over. They still have a warrant out for you. And if you go back to the store it will be the same thing all over again. It's bad enough I've got to think of something believable to tell the police when they start asking me about you and Gabrielle."

"Too bad," Xena answered and turned back toward the door, making Annie grab her arm again. This time Xena spun around and knocked Annie's hand away. But as she did, Annie quickly put the Pinch on her, and while Xena was momentarily staggered, Annie reached behind her and plucked the Chakram from her waistband. She then threw it hard at Mattie, who caught it by it's center S curve.

"Hide it!" Annie instructed, and Mattie disappeared down the hallway. When Annie turned back around, Xena had released the Pinch herself and backhanded Annie across the mouth as hard as she could. If Gabrielle hadn't been there to catch her, Annie would have been knocked to the floor.

Xena started to go after Annie but Gabrielle ran between them and threw her arms around Xena's chest, locking her fingers together. Xena reached back to try to pull her hands apart but was surprised at how tightly she held them together.

"Let me go!" she ordered. "Now!"

"No!" Gabrielle replied, her voice muffled against Xena's chest.

"Don't make me hurt you!"

"Yeah!" Annie all but shouted. "Hurt her again! It's not like we haven't wounded her enough — the places we've dragged her to, the things she's had to endure because of us. Not to mention the physical pain and the mental and emotional anguish she's put up with. Go on. What's one more time going to do to her? It's not like she's going to stop loving you."

Xena had briefly thought about jamming her thumbs into Gabrielle's ribs to make her break the hold, but the thought quickly went away. Instead she only stared back at Annie, and the blood trickling down her chin from the cut on her lower lip. And Annie returned the stare, seeing the blood seeping from one of Xena's nostrils.