Cadence was listening to this conversation, ascertaining that the woman on the ground was a fellow Hunter, named Laura, though she had no idea who she was. She gave access to Laney so that she could see what was happening with her sister. Simultaneously, she was listening to the ramblings of an apparently insane Rogue Vampire, trying to justify to his brother why he didn't bother to tell him that the woman he loved, the one he planned to turn into a Vampire, could never be turned.
"Jack," Giovani explained, "she doesn't have to be a Vampire to live with you forever. She's already practically immortal. Although, I could shoot her right now, if I wanted to," he added, pulling a Glock out of the back of his pants.
Jack looked from his brother to Cadence, who didn't seem too worried about the weapon being pointed directly at her. "Giovani, that's not funny, man. Put that gun down. We all know you're not going to shoot Cadence."
Cadence didn't know that Giovani wasn't going to shoot her, although she didn't show him any fear or vulnerability. "Jack, clearly you can see he's not being honest with you. You can't trust him."
Giovani snickered, watching his brother look back and forth, obviously torn. "Jack, she's been a Hunter for a month and didn't mention it to you. She didn't even tell you about her new boyfriend either."
Just then, Eliza ran out of the trees and stood between Giovani and Laura, using her body as a shield, the gun in her hand pointed at the ground, clearly a warning. The Vampire could shoot the Guardian, but he couldn't kill her. If he shot Laura or Cadence, they could die.
"You have a boyfriend?" Jack asked, a stunned tone to his voice.
"He's lying, Jack. I don't have a boyfriend. No, I would tell you if I did. Jack, you know how much I care about you. Just, please, come with me.
"He's not coming with you; you know that. We need to get Laura and get out of here," Aaron said as calmly as possible over the IAC.
"Where did lover boy run off to anyway?" Giovani asked, surveying the area. "I know he was here. Laura, do you think he'll try to save you or just leave you for dead?" Laura could say nothing, the gag still in her mouth. "By the by, Cadence, do you know Laura?" he asked, looking back at the unarmed Hunter across from him. "Did you know she's the first in the long line of the esteemed Guardian Leader's teammate/girlfriends? Yeah, I bet you didn't know that, did you, darling? Let those visuals sink in for a moment."
Cadence understood who she was now, but again, she said nothing in response to Giovani's remarks. Eliza was growing increasingly angry, however, and she began to fidget with the Glock she held at her side. She could take Giovani out right now, if she wanted to, but she had not received orders to do so, and he would also return fire, which could potentially kill Laura or Cadence.
Giovani could tell he was getting to Eliza, though he wasn't sure about Cadence yet. He laughed his slow, maniacal chuckle before adding, "Look, Aaron, I got 'em all lined up, right here. Can't kill the little dark haired one, but the other two, I can take them out." He paused to think for a moment and then continued. "Course, I could shoot her, just to see her squirm. That might be fun."
Aaron said nothing in response to Giovani's rant, which seemed to irritate the Rogue. If Giovani shot Eliza, it would hurt, but it would eventually heal, regardless of where he shot her. A Vampire could not kill a Guardian.
"Giovani, Aaron's not my boyfriend. The fact that you have his ex-girlfriend as a hostage means little to me. The fact that you have another Hunter as a hostage, however, that I am a little pissed about. But we all know that, if we start shooting, neither of you are walking out of here alive. You're surrounded. The only way you walk out of here is if I let you," Cadence explained as calmly as she could. "Now, why don't you just back yourself up, go on, get out of here, and let us take Jack in. You know he has to come."
"I don't know shit!" Giovani yelled, a fresh wave of madness clear in his voice. "You're not taking him in. If you do, he'll be destroyed. I know your boss is aware of what my brother's done. He won't let him live after that."
"What?" Jack asked, still glancing back and forth between them. "Destroy me?" he asked, looking back at Cadence.
"We're not going to destroy you, Jack. If you come in and get tagged and trained, follow the rules, you'll be perfectly safe. He's lying to you again, Jack," Cadence insisted, her tone purposely bordering between calmness and boredom.
"Oh, come on!" Giovani yelled. "You should know that's bullshit, woman. You believe that because Aaron told you so? Hasn't he ever lied to you, Cadence? Doesn't he lie to you pretty much all the time?"
She paused to consider what he had said but pushed it out of her mind. "No, he doesn't lie to me. What the hell are you talking about?" Turning back to Jack she said, "Trust me, Jack. I will keep you safe. If you come in, no one is going to hurt you."
"Cadence, you're not trying to bring Jack in. Not anymore. You need to get the field cleared before someone gets hurt. That's an order," Aaron said as calmly as he could muster.
As much as Cadence didn't want to leave without Jack, she realized Aaron was right. Giovani wasn't going to let him go, and she couldn't convince him to come with her with his brother standing there with a Glock pointed at her. She had never faced a Vampire with a gun before except for the single shot Sebastian had fired at her after she had defeated Holland, and it was an experience she did not feel prepared for. Though Vampires could use weapons against Hunters, they usually preferred hand-to-hand combat. Clearly, Giovani was unconventional in many ways, and Cadence wasn't sure if his maniacal state might cause him to make some very poor decisions.
"Jack, we are at an impasse and I'm all out of iocane powder," she said, making a reference to a favorite movie they used to watch together all the time. "If you want to leave with Giovani, go. But call me. We've got to sort this out, and soon, before he convinces you to do something you shouldn't do."
Jack glanced over at Giovani before turning back to Cadence. "Come with me," he begged her. "Cadence, you said you wanted to be with me. Come with me, now."
She shook her head. "I can't do that, Jack. Not right now. Call me, and we'll figure it out, okay?"
"She's choosing him, Jack," Giovani chimed in.
"Shut up," Cadence replied, glaring at him. "I'm choosing to deescalate this situation. That's all I'm choosing. You know they won't let me walk out of here with you. They don't trust you."
"She's lying, Jack. She's choosing him and continuing to give you hope so she can trick you into coming with her later."
Jack oscillated again. "Giovani, I think we should just go," he said quietly.
"We aren't walking out of here without her. We came for the girl; we're getting the girl," the older brother replied, telepathically.
