Lucy froze. She knew who that voice belonged to. Besides, there was only one person she knew who would dare to speak to her like that.
"So, you're back." She said, not turning around. "Banda, is it?"
"That's Bando, bitch. And don't you dare talk down to me. I'm seconds away from blowing you away."
"Is that so?" She began to turn around.
"Don't look at me, bitch!" Bando shouted. "Stay right where you are. I know how you work now. I may be out of your six feet range, but I know you can throw anything as a weapon. There aren't that many things you can use here, but if I see something so much as twitch, I'm pulling the trigger."
Lucy couldn't resist pushing his buttons just a little. "I thought you're supposed to squeeze the trigger, not pull."
Bando snickered humorlessly. "Joke all you want, bitch, but you can't do shit to me before I blow your head off. I've been waiting a long time for this. It's time to get even."
"Even?" Lucy repeated. "You're going to kill me, and you call that getting even? Didn't I spare you, not once, but twice?"
"Spare me? Spare me! You may not have taken my life, but you sure as hell ruined it. My life was in perfect order before I met you. Now not only am I a freak, I'm also on the run."
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't it you that came after me when I was minding my own business? I merely acted in self-defense."
Bando sneered. "It was just a job, kid, unlike now, it was nothing personal. I was a mercenary; I did what was expected of me. Now I'm a wanted man who's got some deranged scientists after me so they can cut off my balls. And I mean that literally."
"Poor baby. You feel like your life is ruined because a job didn't go as planned."
Bando's grip on his gun tightened. "You must have a death wish to be talking to me like this when I've got a gun pointed at you."
Lucy couldn't help but to smile. "I've had a death wish all my life. I expected to die at any moment of any day for the longest of time. My whole life as been filled with pain and torment, just bordering on death. I've walked willingly to what I thought would be my death numerous times. Do you think that you would really intimidate me? I've faced death so many times that it's practically become a part of my daily routine. No, Bando, I'm not going to cower at death. There have been times that I've even wanted death to relieve me of my suffering. I've-"
"Will you shut up!" Bando shouted. "God, I didn't know you were so damn talkative. I've been waiting for this for months, and I'm not going to let you ruin it for me."
Lucy's eyes narrowed. "Then go ahead, take your revenge if it will make you feel better. You get off on killing, don't you? For me, it was always about survival. But for you it was mere sport. Your sins will catch up with you one day, Bando. I know this from personal experience. My past finally caught up with me, and I guess it's time to pay for my crimes."
"So what? You really want death?"
"It's not as if I have a choice, do I? I know how accurate you are. You're right when you say that I won't be able to make a move before you pull that trigger, so why bother fighting it? I'm tired, so tired of it all. The running, the suffering, the fighting, the killing, I'm just done with it all. So go ahead, end it."
