The Vampire Justice 10
Chapter 10
“This interview is canceled,” Arie states.
“Excuse me?” Nero responds.
Nero gets up and confronts Arie. There might as well be steam coming out of Nero. I'm just as mad. I am standing at Nero's back without him having to ask. I know Nero is trying to protect me but Arie just storms in here and you would think that he ran this place.
Arie is not alone. To his right is Armando, Aiden and Milan.
Milan looks at me. This cold stare that shakes me to my core, “Hello again Santos.”
He is so sly. He is so cocky. He has the most punchable face in the world as he stands there with his chest held up high looking like he's untouchable. I hate him. I hate all of them. I'm so angry right now. Luckily I'm not the only one angry.
Nero looks over at Arie, “You had Milan released?”
Arie looks dead at Nero, “I did.”
“Under whose authority?”
“Mine,” Arie responds.
Nero looks at his guards, “Guards. Please re-arrest Milan as well as the past king of Eden for treason.”
Nero's guards don't hesitate. They are led by Sinclair. I count 10 of them coming forward but all of a sudden from the wings of the studio I notice more men. They are dressed in all white. They have weapons and they surround Arie. It's almost as though Arie was expecting Nero to attempt to arrest him. These men are ready to fight him.
And the sight of this is amazing. Nero's people are here against Arie's people. The current king was here against the past king.
“What's happening here?” Nero asks.
“There are people in the King's Guard who are sick and tired of you sticking up for your lover,” Arie explains, “I have more men than you'd assume with me. So either you put Santos back in the ground or I'm taking away your crown.”
Nero and I look at each other. I'm not sure it's come to this. I didn't know how many people had turned on Nero. This had to be illegal. This had to be crazy and unheard of but people hated me so mad that they were willing to turn against the king of vampires. I'm looking over at Nero and I feel guilty. I've put him in this position. I've put him in the position where I have to choose.
“Really?”
“Really.”
The tension is thick. The dick measuring contest right now is epic. You would think they'd already started a brawl.
“Sir...we're outnumbered,” I hear Sinclair whispering to Nero.
Sinclair is right. We are outnumbered. I'm sure Nero had more King's Guard somewhere but they damn sure weren't here. Right now looking around we are outnumbered by these men in white. Nero is steaming. I can see him breathing hard. He wants to act. He can't believe this shit is happening to him and I can't believe it either.
All because of me.
This was all because of me.
For Nero's sake I look at Arie and shake my head, “I'm no threat to you. I've been around for a whilte now and I haven't done anything against Eden.”
Arie looks at me for a minute.
He crosses his arms, “I wish I could believe that Santos.”
“If you really wanted to you could,” I explain, “I haven't done anything bad to this city.”
I don't want to look like I'm pleading. I feel weak. I feel emotional. I just know right now the cameras are rolling and Nero's men are about to fight. If Nero's people fought Arie's people there was a good chance that Nero's people were going to lose. I had to find a way to end this peacefully. I had to find a way to stop this.
“You don't owe these people any explanation,” Nero tells me.
He grabs my hand.
“Listen I'm not against your relationship or you being happy,” Arie explains, “I've always like Santos. This isn't personal. Honestly I think Santos has good qualities about him.”
“Then why are you here? Why are you awake?”
“I was woken up with allegations.”
“What allegations?” I ask.
“You are plotting to destroy Eden,” Arie explains, “And if my heir is too blind to see that and do something about it I have to.”
Nero is heated. His eyes go from Arie, to Milan, to Armando and to Aiden. These men had banded together to get rid of me. They had one thing in common and that is the fact that they wanted me buried. I couldn't believe the stupidity in all of this.
“Who told you that?”
“Geneva,” Armando jumps into the conversation.
I look at my father. All I could think of was how impossible this all was. Geneva was loyal to my mother. She was loyal to my mother and not to Armando.
“That's his wife...” I respond.
“So you deny telling Geneva that you planned on destroying Eden?” Arie asks me.
I look at the past king. I want to lie. It would be so easy to lie to him but then I look at Nero. It's much harder to lie to Nero. Nero is looking at me and I feel kind of stuck on my words.
“Tell them. Tell them you didn't plan on it,” Nero tells me.
Silence.
I say nothing.
“Guards arrest him.”
Nero pulls me back behind him. Sinclair and Nero's personal guards surround us but we are completely surrounded. All of a sudden I get a flash back. This reminds me of the past. This reminds me of something that happened when I was about to be thrown in the ground. I'm scared to death.
It can't happen to me again.
“Not so fast,” a voice responds.
Just like that I hear the studio open. It's Countess Roxanne. She's being led into the room by none other then Coco. I hadn't even noticed Coco leaving to get in contact with Roxanne. Coco must have told Roxanne what was going on and in vampire speed here was Roxanne with a host of guards to challenge Arie.
She has men with her. They are dressed in King's Guards. I am actually happy to see the little for once. The men join Santo's men that are already here.
“Roxanne stand down,” Arie tells her.
“I'm sorry I can't,” Roxanne explains.
“You are standing for this foolishness?” Arie asks, “Santos is plotting to destroy Eden and you are standing for this.”
“I haven't heard a confession. Santos are you confessing?” Roxanne asks me.
I shake my head.
“There you have it. He didn't do it,” Nero responds.
“I have a witness who says he has,” Arie explains.
“Until we here the confession of your witness King Nero is the King of Eden,” Roxanne explains, “Whether we believe Santos or not we have to follow what Nero says. And I'm here to use the law.”
Arie shakes his head.
“I am going to divorce Aiden. That is what's going to happen. So if you are so afraid of me being with Santos then I hope you're willing to die for this.”
Nero isn't pulling any shots. He's looking at Arie. Arie is looking at him.
“He is the reason your son is dead,” Arie explains, “Geneva told me that straight to my face.”
“She's lying!” I respond.
I don't know why Geneva would lie. I don't know what she's trying to get out of this but there is something shady going on below the surface. It's something that I don't understand but then again these vampires were always shady as hell.
“Didn't I tell you that you don't have to defend yourself?” Nero asks me.
“I'm not standing down,” Arie explains, “A lot of men are going to die here today. Are you ready for this Nero? Are you willing to lose lives for Santos?”
I watch in the distance. Milan and even Aiden are ready to fight. They are ready to come at us. With Roxanne's men this has made this equal. I'd say 50 men against another fifty. The room is crowded. It would be an all out blood bath if we let this happen.
“I'm willing to die and more,” Nero tells him.
“I would have your men pay very close attention to this,” Roxanne warns Arie, “The cameras are rolling. Vigorosa has the entire city watching you start an uprising. Regardless of whether you agree with Nero or not he is king. People won't stand for you killing their King. No matter how much they hate his boyfriend. Are you sure you want to do this Arie?”
Silence.
For some reason it seems like Roxanne is someone that both Arie and Nero respect. She is supposedly the oldest vampire in Eden still living even though she is stuck in the body of a little girl. The way Arie and Nero look at her makes it clear that they both respect her. They don't even raise their voices at her. The respect is something that I see on multiple levels. Yet even as she stands up for Nero I know that at her foundation she agrees with Arie. She didn't trust me and she didn't think I should be living. It just so happened that she believed that Nero should be the one to make the decision in the end.
Roxanne's roll as enforcer seems to make Arie stand down.
“I don't want blood shed,” Arie explains, “We are vampires not animals.”
“So how do we settle this?” Nero asks, “I'm not putting Santos in the ground.”
“Tonight...we'll have a trial to hear what Geneva has to say,” Arie responds, “And we'll also hear what Santos has to say about this. We'll invite Vigorosa and her camera crew into the courtroom. And we have a jury decide.”
“I am judge and I am jury. What I say goes...” Nero responds.
“No,” I say.
Nero looks over at me, “What?”
“I'll do it. I'll testify. If that's the only way people will get to hear my side of the story I'll testify. I didn't come here for an interview in the first place. This is a trial all along. I'll tell them everything that I know.”
Nero is holding his breath. I know he doesn't agree with me. A part of me knows that Nero wants to go to war with Arie and the others. A part of me knows he wants to take off Arie's fucking head right now but there is something holding him back. That something is me. His respect for me is keeping him from doing something rash.
And at the end of the day I needed people to hear my side of the story.
“You should get some rest...we have a big day tomorrow with the trial,” I state, “And then we have to hit the streets again and look for Justice.”
I roll on top of Nero. I can feel his muscles digging into me. The strength of his muscles are more than I can handle. Nero grabs me by my ass, squeezes it tight and rolls me over on it. He begins to lick me from the bottom of my stomach to my nipple.
Nero's tongue tickles me. The sensation fills my whole body.
“I'll rest when I'm dead. No pun intended. I want round 2.”
“Nero we had round 2 about 8 rounds ago,” I respond, “Are you ever not horny?”
Nero smiles. He has the sexiest smile in the world. Even through all this craziness spending the rest of the day with him just makes me happy. I don't know why I'm so happy. I don't know why I can't stop smiling. I just feel like Nero is going to be here with me and he's never going to let me go. It's different from 100 years ago.
“Not when you are around sexy,” He explains, “I just love touching you, kissing you, biting you.”
His fangs come out at that moment. He leans onto my neck and takes a deep bite out of my neck. I feel his fangs enter me. At first it's intense pain but then it feels like the best sex in the world. Feeling Nero's soft lips bite into me as he drinks my blood is something that I can't get enough of. My dick is so hard that it presses up against his strong inner thigh.
“Fuck! What are you doing to me!” I moaning.
He sucks and sucks. I'm holding onto the smalls of his back. Nero has a small waist and a muscular ass. As I touch him he bites deeper sending waves of passion throughout my body. I feel like I'm about ready to explode.
The bite surges through my body and he licks as he's suck. Slow. Soft. Circular motions.
His dick is hard and pressed against my inner thigh.
His finger takes a wad of my precum and uses it as lube. He sticks the finger up my ass slowly fingering me as he bites deeper and deeper. More blood. I'm getting slow fucked by his finger.
“Deeper...yes...deeper...”
I'm not sure if I'm talking about his bite or his finger. It doesn't matter. He goes deeper with both. It sends thrills of feeling down my entire body and I find myself orgasming without even touching my my dick.
The orgasm sprays up against his tight abs.
Nero leans back, “Damn that was sexy.”
As though knowing what turns me on he grabs my wrists and uses my finger to scoop up a wad of the semen moistening his eight pack adominal muscles. When there's enough on there he puts my finger in his mouth and tastes all of my cum. He seems just as addicted to the taste of my nut as he is the taste of my blood.
“I love you.”
“No shit,” he responds with a laughter as he leans in for a kiss.
I stop him though pushing him back a little bit, “No seriously. I love you. The way you stood up for me against your father.”
“He's not my father.”
“He's the closest thing to it that you have,” I explain, “You didn't back down from Arie. Even when he said that there is someone testifying tomorrow that I have something to do with Justice being kidnapped. When people hear that testimony. I'm done for.”
I think Nero knows that. All of a sudden he sits up, “I don't want to talk about this.
“We have to.”
“I'm King. I be damned if I let anyone in MY city tell me what the fuck I am going to do with my man,” he responds.
“I'm not your man. That's the problem. Aiden is.”
“After the trial...we change that.”
“What if I'm found guilty?” I ask.
“You won't be.”
“Why?”
Nero sighs a little bit, “I've positioned troops around the courthouse in hiding. If you lose the trial I'm going to have them come in. They are going to kill the defectors...all of them.”
“Nero you can't do that.”
Nero raises an eyebrow, “Sure I can. Not only I can...I will.”
His silver eyes don't budge even in the slightest. I love him for trying to protect me but he's not thinking. He stands up and goes to my window. I know his guards are outside of the door and they probably are hearing everything he's saying. I have no doubt they must be loyal though if they didn't defect but for how long? How long were people going to stay loyal to Nero as he supported a man that they hated?
“Nero...you had over 50 of your men defect when Arie woke up,” I state, “If you kill these men in cold blood and say fuck the justice system...there will be more.”
“Not if I kill Arie, Aiden, Milan and Armando.”
I cross my arms.
“Is that a good idea?”
“It's the only idea that we have,” Nero responds, “If you are found guilty tomorrow...I want you to go to the corner of the room. Sinclair will be waiting for you. He'll escort you out. Then I'm going to have my men come in and they are going to slaughter. Everyone.”
My lawyer's name is Count Gatticus Maximus.
“They're two first names. Vampires don't have last names,” he tells me with his snobby little attitude.
He's an nice looking young man who promises me that he's twice the age that he looks. Even if he is I know that he is far younger than I am. He's a friend of Coco's and against Nero's suggestion I decide to use him. Coco swears up and down that Gatticus is the best but the more he talks the more I feel like I should have listened to Nero. Gatticus seems more nervous than I am.
The prosecutor is painting me as this bitter son of Lilith who hates Eden and wants us destroyed for not being the “True Vampires” that Lilith intended the vampire race to be. We are far too kind. We are far too civilized. We have separated ourselves from humans instead of feeding on them like we were made to to. The trial has been going on for several hours. A lot of the testimony seemed to be from people that had no real evidence towards me. Camilla testifies. She tells them about how strange I act in the Elite Team and that no one on the team trusts me.
By the time break comes around I realize I am getting clobbered.
“Listen good you piece of fucking shit,” I hear Coco telling Gatticus, “I put my fucking neck on the line for you.”
“Those vampires...they are so...intimidating,” Gatticus replies.
Coco is no wallfower. I have the feeling that she is going to straight up snap and break Gatticus in half. A part of me feels bad for him. It's hard to defend a guy that everyone hated. The majority of the people felt like I was guilty already.
“Coco lay off...” I tell her.
Coco rolls her eyes, “Lay off? Do you understand that if you're found guilty they will bury you so deep into the ground that by the time you come out global warming would have destroyed the entire earth. Is that what you want?”
I don't know if Coco is being a friend of if she has something in it for me to win this trial.
“The jury hasn't been convinced of anything as of yet,” I explain, “Sure I have the motivation but no one has any proof.”
“What about Geneva?” Coco asks, “Once Geneva takes the stand.”
That's the big question. Geneva. Geneva was actually someone who I'd plotted with. What if she had recorded some of our conversations? How many times had I told Geneva that she needed to deliver this message or that message to my mother. I was so angry. I was so upset. I was using Geneva to deliver vengeance on Eden.
Now that I was back with Nero all of that pettiness didn't seem worth it...as much. A part of me still wanted revenge but the more time I spent with Nero the harder it became to stay focused on that goal.
“I know...” I tell Coco, “Give me a second OK?”
Coco tries to stop me, “I know what you're thinking. That's not a good idea.”
I know what she is referring to. In the hallway where the recess has a lot of other people walking back and forth I see Armando. He's standing alone. He's standing up against a wall. As I approach him he barely raises his head. Same old Armando. He's too cool to raise his head. He's too cool to acknowledge me.
I stand right in front of his face. He doesn't move. He doesn't lift his eyebrows.
“You really do hate me don't you?” I ask him.
Armando doesn't respond.
I smile. Honestly I should have known he wouldn't want to face me about this situation. It doesn't stop me though. I put my hands on him at that moment.
“Is everything OK over here?” Camilla states, “Armando should I call someone? Is he attacking you?”
I should have known the thirsty bitch wouldn't be too far away. Ever since his wife hasn't been around Camilla was using every opportunity she could to get close to my father. I wasn't surprised. Everyone girl in Eden had this crush on my father growing up. He was the silent knight in shining armor that protected Kings or what not. It was every little girl's dream.
“You touch him you die,” Armando tells her.
Camilla seems shocked by the threat. It's loud and clear. It confuses the fuck out of me. I don't think Armando even expects it to come out. I raise an eyebrow a little confused as Camilla shuffles away noticing very clearly that Armando is playing no games.
Armando grabs me. He pulls me into the bathroom. There is a vampire in there that I am almost sure if the prosecutor to my trial but Armando gives him a harsh, “Out!”
The prosecutor leaves the bathroom almost immediately. Armando locks the door behind him.
“You going to try to kill me again?” I ask Armando.
“I would never kill you,” Armando responds.
I can almost laugh at what my father is saying to me at this moment. I'm so angry that I want to take a swing at him. My fists are balled. They are shaking steadily.
“You're joking me right?” I ask, “I'm not the same guy that you locked in the room with a Thirst?”
“You are. And that should have done it. That should have turned you. Releasing Arie should have turned you. It hasn't. What are you waiting for? You waiting for them to really put you back again? What are you doing? What the fuck are you doing? You realize if Geneva testifies that you are going to be put back in the ground right. You do realize these people hate you. Everyone hates you. You should have ACTED by now.”
I sigh at my father.
“I'm not an idiot. I know people hate me,” I explain, “In the same way I know that you are behind Geneva testifying against me.”
I dared Armando to deny it but he doesn't.
“You have so much power in you,” Armando explains, “I've seen it first hand. Here...”
“What's this?”
I look at Armando. At that moment I notice what he has in his hand. It's a Lucky one. It's the Lucky one that belongs to Justice!
I'm holding Justice's necklace in my hands. I could never mistake a Lucky One. They were ancient relics. There were three of them. One ring that belonged to Aiden, a bracelet that belonged to Nero and the necklace that belonged to Justice. The royals wore them as emblems of their titles. Except right now I was holding Justice.
And these things were the most valuable possessions the royals owned. Armando wouldn't have had this unless...
“You are behind Justice's kidnapping,” I explain.
My mouth drops. I feel this anger build up inside of me. I don't know what comes over me but I punch him. I sock Armando right in the face. A part of me knows that Armando could have blocked it if he wanted to. He was the best fighter in the world. He could have dodged it completely and had me spinning in fucking circles.
“He was getting in the way?”
“In the way? In the way of what?” I ask, “Where is he Armando?”
“He's out of the way.”
“Is he dead?”
“Silence.”
“ARMANDO DID YOU KILL JUSTICE!” I ask.
“Yes.”
I fall to my knees at that moment. Armando has killed Justice. There is redness in my eyes.
“You---you killed Justice.”
Armando nods, “Yes. Get angry. Use it. Feel that pain that you once felt. Hate me if you have to. That's fine. Your power comes from the anger. Your power comes from the hatred. Just like your mother's power. Love is what people want but hatred is what they need. Feel that anger.”
I don't know how it happens. I'm holding Armando by the throat up against the wall. My fingers tighten around his throat. I lift him high into the hand with one arm. That's when I feel it. The darkness is all around me. He's dead. Justice is fucking dead and Armando was the one who did it. My father had killed him.
“I'll kill you for this.”
“Yes. Kill me. Let it out. And when you're done kill them all. All of them,” Armando says, “Do it. Tighter. Yes. That's it. Tighter.”
“You betrayed me.”
“I did.”
“You backstabbed me.”
“Yes.”
“I should break this fucking necklace and let her in.”
Armando nods at that moment. He is hardly able to breathe. Here I am having him dangling from my hands and this man isn't even struggling. He isn't even fighting back. This is Armando. This is the best fighter in Eden. He's the strongest vampire I know. Why did he give me this necklace? Why the fuck wasn't he fighting back.
I turn and in the reflection I see someone that I don't even recognize. My eyes are as black as coal. My fangs have become so large that they no longer fit in my mouth. They outstretch over my bottom lips like a saber tooth tiger. My finger nails have become long claws the size of a lions. I am not a thirst but I am not a vampire. I'm something in between at that moment.
That's when I take a look at Armando. He's almost...blissful.
He's smiling.
“Yes. Oh...yes...” I hear him whispering underneath his voice.
I drop Armando. He plops onto the ground in a loud thud. I'm calming down. I shake off this anger and this hatred. I become my normal self within the next few seconds and I am holding the Lucky Ones in my hand.
“You want me to kill you. You want me to destroy this.”
“You want to do it. Don't you remember what destroying one of the Lucky Ones will do. It will break the barrier. She will be able to come into Eden.”
I know who she is.
My father was talking about my mother. He was talking about the Darkest. My father wanted me to let the darkness in.
“If that's what you want, why don't you destroy it,” I state and then pause for a minute, “You can't...can you? You can't destroy that necklace.”
He looks at it.
“I've tried every way possible. Fire. Acid. Anything I can find. It isn't the first time either. For years I tried to destroy it. For years I tried to let her in while you were asleep. I'm not powerful enough. I don't have Lilith's blood. It had to be you.”
Armando is laying there on the floor where I dropped him. He's in tears. It's so strange seeing such a strong stoic man reduced to these emotional tears.
“Why? Why do you want me to destroy it?”
“Because they hurt you and I promised never to let anyone hurt my little boy,” Armando tells me, “I'm not Lilith. I can't make vampires bleed just by looking at them. But I can do what I can do. I can bring the monster out of you. I can make you destroy them. I can get them back for what they did to you. It's not too late. Destroy it Santos. Destroy it and let her in. Let her kill all of them. Every last one of them for what they did to you.”
I look at Armando. In his eyes I see the anger that I felt for so long.
In his eyes I see this understanding.
“Not yet.”
“What are you waiting for? SANTOS! SANTOS!”
I throw the necklace at my father and leave him in the bathroom.
The trial goes on for a several more days. Gatticus gets his footing. It's the last day and the prosecutors keep pushing back. The judge is one of the elders. Gatticus is sure that if the judge was being fair that he wouldn't be allowing the prosecutors to stall like this. After the 15th day Gatticus finally gives me some good news as we walk into court.
“It seems Geneva is now all of a sudden refusing to testify.”
“That's good news,” Nero tells me.
“What does that mean?” I ask.
“It means you don't have to testify,” Coco responds, “It means that their star witness isn't showing up and they don't really have a fucking case to stand on.”
Nero reaches over to me and hugs me. His hug is tight and he's smiling from ear to ear. I look at the back of the court. I see Armando standing there. Armando is sitting there. He dangles a bag towards me. I know what's in the bag. I also know that Armando is the reason that Geneva didn't show up for the trial.
He didn't want to really have them put me back in the ground. He wanted me to believe that they were going to. He wanted to make me think that I was abandoned in this world so that I would become the monster he wanted me to be.
But if I was abandoned why was Nero hugging me right now. Why was Coco smiling at me?
“I'll testify.”
“What? Santos. You don't have to,” Nero tells me.
I've made up my mind.
“I'll testify. I repeat one last time.”
Nero and Coco continue to try to talk me out of it. It's no use. When I take the stand I am sworn in by the old bible. The Alphabet of Ben Sira. This is the book that tells the story of the origin of vampires. This is the forgotten bible that tells the story of Lilith...the real first woman in the world. It tells the story of my mother.
All around I see people standing there. All around I notice people ready to listen to my story.
“Do you, Santos swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?”
“I do.”
It's Gatticus's opportunity to use my testimony before the prosecutors got to me. He walks around me. He gets me a glass of blood and sits it there as though wanting me to calm down. I'm not nervous though. The cameras are rolling. I should be scared. I can see my haters looking at me. Pick any one of them. Arie, Aiden, Milan, Lucca, Camilla, Countess Livia, Countess Roxanne and a host of other vampires that were too many to even name. They were all glaring at me with those thick judgmental eyes.
“Santos. It seems as though the prosecutors were attempting to paint this picture of you as a monster. Would you classify yourself as such?”
“Yes,” I respond.
Gatticus looks at me. He swallows hard. He looks over at Coco and Nero. Coco and Nero look rather confused as well.
Gatticus struggles to maintain his composure, “Let me rephrase that. Do you think that you are just as bad as the media in Eden portrays you to be?”
“No I'm not.”
Gatticus nods, “The prosecutors have stated that they had a witness stated that you conspired against the entire city of Eden in some sort of plot to destroy Eden. Did you conspire with Geneva?”
“Yes.”
Whispers form across the courtroom. I watch Nero get up at that moment. I know what he is doing. He is readying his attack against the courthouse. My eyes watch him as he crosses the room quickly and makes his way over to Sinclair. A part of me wonders if I should let him do it. A part of me wonders if I should let Nero kill all of these people who hate me so much.
Gatticus seems a little taken back by my bluntness, “Can you elaborate?”
“You asked me earlier if I think I'm as bad as the media portrays me to be. The true answer to that is no. I'm much worse.”
Gatticus chokes on his words. He is speechless. Vigorosa looks like she just struck blood. The courtroom erupts in ruckus. The judge is pounding the gavel at that moment as hard as he can.
“ORDER! ORDER IN THE COURT! ORDER IN THE COURT!” he screams, “Santos. Please continue.”
“Sir that was all my questioning,” Gatticus tries to stop this.
“No it isn't,” I state crossing my arms, “The truth of the matter is. I plotted to bring my mother into Eden and kill every single vampire that has done me wrong. I have plotted to kill every single vampire in this room. I've wanted the streets to rain blood and I've dreamt about walking on your ashes to a colder darker throne. After all the media thought I was dark. But I'm much darker. In fact I'm the Darkest.”
All in all--- Eden couldn't pick up their faces faster.
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