The moment his nose hit against Axton's toned chest, a shot was fired, a thud was heard, and a man was down.
Axton had used him to wedge their fall, his arms coming up to secure around Ren's waist. His head hit the floor hard, causing him to grunt.
But lifted his head in the next second to see what had happened.
Rhys had two guns pointing at Mark and the remaining standing Sergeant as they stood beside the other Sergeant's dead and bleeding body on the floor.
"I'm sorry, Captain. My soldier tried to harm you," Mark couldn't hide his shame, it was written all over his face.
Ren raised his face from Axton's chest when he stopped feeling hazy. Fear seized him when he saw where he was.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," He gasped in shock and scrambled up to his feet, pushing his hair away from his face.
Axton gracefully stood from the floor, ignoring Ren's dishevelled look.
"The guilty is dead, let them go, Lieutenant. It is your failure for letting them bring arms into my Faction. Leave," He spoke in a threatening authority.
"Yes, Captain," Rhys nodded, aware that he was to face punishments later for this incident.
The other sergeant lifted the dead mate to his shoulder and carried him out as they left the office.
It was just Ren with the Captain once more.
Ren's heart skipped a beat as Axton faced him, his knees threatening to give out on seeing the very small red tint on Axton's jaw.
He must have scraped his jaw on the side of the table as they fell. Ren was mortified, biting his bottom lip anxiously as he thought of what Axton would do to him for blemishing his spotless face even if it was just a minor scratch.
"C-captain, I'm sorry, for hurting your face. I wasn't thinking, I saw him pull out the gun, and then I thought it would be too late to alert the Lieutenant so I-"
"You're dirtying my floor," Axrkn interrupted with a frown etched on his face.
Ren was so confused, but he suddenly felt the warm sensation trickling from his nostrils down to his lips, and he realised that he had hurt his nose when he collided with Axton's chest.
"I'm sorry," He wiped it on his shoulders and punched his nose to stop the bleeding.
Axton watched with interest as Ren tried to handle his fear and pain.
"I didn't mean to hurt you, I just wanted to move you away from his target," Ren's voice sounded like he had a sinus problem because of his pinched nose.
Axton slowly nodded, "Why did you do that... with Mark?" He asked, diverting the discussion from Ren saving his life.
'I owed nobody gratitude,' Axton said to himself.
Ren unpinched his nose, not wanting to sound like a spoilt radio, "Uhm... I. I thought his proposal was lame. Offering a woman for pleasure in return for serum. He could have offered alliance, weapons, anything, but not a woman." He spoke truthfully, sniffing in his nose to check if it still worked.
Axton knitted his brows in a frown, "And you think I don't already have everything you listed?" He pushed a hand in his pocket and strode closer to Ren, his eyes locking on the blood spot on top of Ren's lip.
Ren thought carefully and realised that Axton indeed already has everything he'd listed, "You do, Captain... I'm sorry for acting out of line earlier." He apologised, chastising himself for allowing his thoughts to get him in trouble.
"Their offer is not lame, Renault. Our faction lacks a woman... pleasure is a necessity, but... not for you. I saw the way your eyes scanned her body, Renault. Do you want her?" Axton asked in a lowered voice, his hand finding home in Ren's chin to tilt his face up.
Ren frowned, 'Do I want Astrid?' He scoffed mentally.
"No, no way. She's for the captain. Even if she wasn't, I do not want her," Ren stated honestly.
Women might be scarce, but that doesn't mean he would want anyone he sees. He was aware of the kinds of things Astrid was used for. He didn't want to join the train.
Axton tightened his hold on Ren's chin, staring into his eyes, "Good. You're not here for pleasure. Your sole purpose is to experiment. Never pleasure. Do you agree, Renault?" He questioned darkly.
Ren nodded, "I understand." He murmured.
"Thank you," He said softly, looking back at Axton.
Axton cocked a brow at Ren, a silent questioning.
"For..." Ren paused; he wasn't so sure if Axton was really defending him or showing authority, but either way, he did help him.
"For defending me against Mark," he said.
Axton released Ren's chin but didn't step away from him, "Never apologise to anyone. You apologise to only me, Renault. Are we clear on that?" He asked.
Ren nodded, "I understand as always, Captain," he answered, sniffing.
Axton suddenly placed his hand behind Ren's head, forcing his face up and leaning his face down, "I own you, and you owe everything to me, including your life, am I right? Renault?" His voice was surprisingly husky and low.
Ren gulped, "I know that, Captain. Not just my life, my sister's life, too," he slowly licked his lips as they suddenly felt dry.
Axton shut his eyes and muttered something before he moved away from Ren.
"You're to be transferred to the last floor. Be in your room before 8: p.m. every night," He instructed.
"Yes, Captain," Ren answered, not understanding why he was suddenly feeling breathless.
"Leave," Axton ordered coldly.
Ren nodded and quickly hurried out of the room.
For some reason, he did leave the floor. He should either be heading to the infirmary or cafeteria, but he didn't.
Ren found a dark corner along the passage and hid. He would wait until Axton left his office, then, he would sneak into the office and retrieve his recorder.