Consequences be damned

"Would you do the same to me"? Raymond asked in a barely audible voice. "What you did to their leader, would you do the same to me?"

"What do you mean?". Hannah stared at Raymond in a confused manner, trying to understand what he was saying.

"I forcefully brought you here and made you a member of my gang. There is no difference between me and the leader of the Red Falcons". Raymond paused and took a deep breath. "Would you also kill me like you killed their leader?"

"I can't possibly kill my leader now can I?" Hannah looked at Raymond with a laid-back expression. She knew that he was going to ask her this question which was why she never told him about it. She wanted to avoid talking about it.

"Let's go home. Penelope is home alone". Hannah said but Raymond was having none of that. He knew that she was trying to run away from this question but he needed his answer.

"What if I wasn't your leader? What if you had a choice? Would you kill me?" Raymond felt his heart slow down for some time as he waited for her answer. Would she kill him? What if she has already forgiven him? What if she said yes?

These were the kind of questions that ran through his head as he waited for her to answer. Hannah stared at him for a few seconds without saying anything but to him, these few seconds felt like a few years.

Hannah's lips parted and his heart that was beating slower suddenly stopped as he waited for the words to come out of her mouth.

"Let's not talk about this Raymond"

"Please Hannah, just tell me"

"Raymond…"

"Hannah please". The pleading look in Raymond's eyes made Hannah wonder why he wanted her to say it when he knew the answer. He knew exactly what she was going to say so why bother asking her?

"Okay then". She turned to the window and started speaking.

"There was a time in my life when I always wanted you by my side. There was that time when I couldn't do a day without you. There was a time when I saw you as the best a person could be but you tore the image I had of you right in front of my eyes. You forced me into this place and into these things. I was able to endure throughout the training and I am lucky that I have not died on a mission yet but how long before my luck runs out? How long before some random person kills me? Most especially, how long can I live like this, running, hiding, and fighting every day of my life? How much longer do I have to wait before I can live a normal life? It may never happen and it's all your fault. You brought me here and turned me into a weapon, a weapon that everyone wants, A weapon that has become the target of many. Some want me to be a part of them and others want me destroyed. Do you think I like living like this? I killed the leader of the Red Falcons because he kidnaps and kills those children, what do you think I will do to you? Every minute I spend here feels like I am being stabbed in the heart. Every breath of mine brings nothing but pain as it reminds me that I am still in this place and still living in this world. I still remember that day when I begged you to help me leave this place but instead of doing that, you locked me up and trapped me in the same place I asked you to help me get out of".

She took a deep breath and turned to face Raymond. "So yes! If I had a choice I would have killed you. If you weren't our leader, then I would have stabbed every inch of your body till there is no chance of you ever living again".

Raymond froze when she finished speaking. He would have taken it as her just bluffing but the look in her eyes said otherwise. Her eyes were cold as she looked at him like it was telling her that she meant every word she said. He had expected this kind of answer from her but hearing her say this to him felt like his insides were tearing apart. He wanted to say something but there was a painful lump in his throat that was preventing any words from coming out. So he simply turned to look out of the window and after seconds of staring outside, he turned on the engine and drove home.

When they got to the estate, Raymond parked outside instead of driving in like usual and that was because he wanted to walk with her and at least say something. They walked in silence until they got to the front of Hannah's building and Raymond stopped.

"Hannah," Raymond called. "I know that you hate me right now and I also know that you want to kill me. I am not asking you to forgive me or to take back your words but please don't kill me, at least not now. I brought you into this mess and I will bring you out of it. When I do that, then you can kill me. You can stab every inch of my body like you want to, you can torture me to death, and I won't have any objections. Just don't kill me now, okay?" Raymond raised his hand to pat her shoulder but paused and hesitated a bit before pulling her into a hug.

Hannah froze in shock when her head hit Raymond's chest. In the next second, she started struggling but Raymond was holding her tightly as if not wanting to let her go.

Raymond felt her struggling but he didn't let go. He knew that we could pull out her knife any moment now but he didn't care. Consequences be damned! He was going to hug her for as long as he wanted today because this may be the only chance he gets in this lifetime.

'I'm sorry for everything Hannah but that was the only way I could protect you'. He thought as he finally let go of her and before she could do or say anything, he placed a kiss on her forehead before turning around and walking away.

A frozen Hannah stood there, wondering what just happened. She turned to look at Raymond's retreating figure and a tear fell from her eyes.