“If I get to choose how to die, I'll be happiest to die for you.”
Number Thirty-Two
Richard was furiously throwing rocks downhill.
The sun was rising soon, and he knew that he would pay greatly for not sleeping. He couldn’t help himself. He was upset. He got that Falcon wanted to avenge the death of his first family, showing how much he loved them – but why couldn’t he spare a bit of attention to him as well? He might not be Trisha’s son, but he was still his son.
Richard’s mother died at childbirth, and he grew up and stayed in an orphanage until he was eight. It was a part of his life that he didn't want to reminisce. The boys detested him for reasons he couldn’t fathom, and the girls were constantly afraid of him. In fights, no one sided with him. He grew up alone, rebellious and unloved.
And then he found out he had a Gift.
His life turned a hundred eighty degrees.
Falcon, upon hearing his power, picked him up and inquired as to his heritage. Gifts were normally clan-based, and they shared the same ability of manipulating electricity. Falcon was suspicious.
It appeared that his mother had hooked up with Falcon once, and Falcon had already disappeared before finding out about her pregnancy. At first, Richard blamed him. It was his father’s fault that he grew up by himself. But as he stayed with him in the Light, the more he learned about his past, he realized that Falcon was not as cold-hearted as he first thought. He was simply a sad man.
Richard grew insanely jealous of his father’s family. Sure, he had no right to want that as a bastard, but he couldn’t help himself.
He tried hard to earn Falcon’s approval, but he never seemed enough.
And then, his father was imprisoned by the then thirteen year-old Agent 01. He couldn’t understand how that was possible. His father was Gifted, the Equation was not. More so, a kid? It had to be a joke.
Losing Falcon, the Light disbanded. It was two days before his 9th birthday.
Richard didn’t give up. He searched high and low for his fellow Gifted mates. He found a handful, and alone devised a foolproof plan to get Falcon out of prison. It took him years, yes, but in the end he succeeded.
But his father was angry, no, furious. He was hell-bent on destroying Creed to pay Richard any mind. They took money from mafia families, became paid assassins, in order to raise funds to rage war against Creed. He never once acknowledged Richard’s brilliance or efforts.
Richard was okay with it. He believed that his mission would be to become his father’s right hand man. That sooner or later, his father would appreciate everything. Appreciate him.
Until again, Agent 01 ruined everything.
Richard was twelve during that encounter. Mikhaela and the shadow kid was KIA. If he wasn’t around, his father would have too.
He couldn’t help but ask why his father couldn’t kill the Equation. He got his answer, and wished he hadn’t.
Agent 01 was actually Gneiss Underwood. He survived the attack that killed his family all those years ago – the very attack that caused Falcon to hate Kreuz, to leave Creed and to vow vengeance.
Kreuz Creed made Falcon believe that Trisha, and his daughter Arkose and sons Gneiss and Tuff all died in an enemy attack. In reality, that Kreuz trained Gneiss to become his daughter’s bodyguard.
It was cunning. Use you enemy’s weakness to protect your own weakness.
How Creed managed to brainwash him into attacking and fighting his own father, Richard didn’t know, but that was a low blow for him. To know how much his father cared for a boy who never did anything to earn that love. It was unfair.
And then a year later, upon learning the truth, Gneiss came over to the Light to side with their father. And his lovely father accepted him with open arms. Hah! Falcon even made him second-in-command. Richard? He was placed under his older half-brother.
Gneiss – no, Krad. That sly devil got everything Richard wanted. In this world, there was no one he loathed more than Trisha's son.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?”
Richard jumped, gun in hand at the voice behind him. Standing there, bathed in the soft pink rays of sunrise was no other than Abcidee Creed. She was dirty, and she looked like she needed sleep, but her eyes were bright and wide, her lips curved in a genuinely pleased smile. Behind her was the mind reader kid. Further, into the shadows, Richard saw three men with sniping rifles all pointed at him.
Outnumbered. He sighed, dropped his gun and raised his hands.
“Are you here to take me again?” He was a good distance away from his father’s camp, wanting some air to think. He should’ve realized it was a bad decision if he wasn’t so distracted by his emotions.
“No,” she said. She rolled her eyes. “Actually, I told them to lay off and leave us alone to talk, but they wouldn’t budge. Don’t worry. That far away, they can’t hear us.”
His brows furrowed. “What?”
Abcidee gracefully approached him, the kid in tow. He blinked. Yes, for the first time since he met her, she didn’t drag her feet or cowered or shyly looked away.
“We need your help.”
He raised a brow. “What makes you think I’ll help you, of all people?”
There was something strange going on about here. Her eyes held some sort of knowledge, of wisdom. It seemed like he could read her thoughts straight out of them.
“I have a proposal that you’ll find hard to reject.”
“Yeah?”
She smiled again, that seemingly innocent smile, and sat on the grassy ground. The mind reader followed like her shadow. She patted the empty space beside her. “Let’s talk.”
Richard eyed the three men hiding behind the boulders and trees.
“Don’t mind them. They’ll relax once they realize you’re harmless.”
He frowned, indignant. “I’m not harmless.”
Her smile transformed to a full grown grin. “To me, you are, so humor me before I throw you over my shoulder.”
She did realize that he was twice her size, and weight, right? And that he was an assassin by trade.
“Oh, come on!” she pouted, patting the empty space again, this time, impatiently. “You want to get out of here alive with Falcon, don’t you?”
He froze. What was she spouting? “You must be confused. We have the upper hand in this battle.”
“Unfortunately, you don’t,” she smiled, and god, he liked that smile so much but now, he just wanted it gone. Wiped out from her face. “I have the upper hand, not the Light, not Creed. Me.”
“You,” he said flatly.
“Me,” she repeated.
This was probably absurd, but to hell with it. With a grunt, he lowered himself to sit beside her.
“Okay, Abcidee. Please enlighten me.”
She nodded. “But first, tell me what happened to Falcon’s family.” He stiffened, and she had the grace to look sheepish about this. “Er, sorry. Atom overheard your. . . recollections, and I think I have to know. We have to know,” she gestured to her companions, “what exactly are we fighting for.”
"Your father never told you?"
"He never told me anything. He never told anyone anything."
This was crazy, and he might be labeled a traitor doing this, but to hell with it. He just didn’t give any fuckin’ care anymore.
“Call them over,” he instructed her. “I don’t want to repeat myself.”
Faye was nervous.
What if things didn’t go according to plan? What if she messed up? What if Richard didn’t keep his part of the bargain? What if Creed suddenly launched an attack at this very moment? Could Ivan convince them to cease fire?
No, no, no, she shook her head. Without trust, this operation would fail. Failure would cost lives. She couldn’t let more blood to be shed.
But could she trust herself?
Richard said that Falcon’s temporary quarters was the room that served as the main office of the South piers. If she remembered it correctly, that would be the first door to her left, after the last intersection.
There were three guards stationed outside, and they looked a little bit tired. Sleepy.
It was perfect.
“I’m sorry.”
Before they could even react to her presence, she did a quick flip and kicked two guards simultaneously, using her hands as pivots on the floor. She swiftly righted herself and sent the third guard’s gun flying with her heel. She maneuvered herself so that she could elbow his nape at the same time, knocking the first guard unconscious with the back of her fist. The second guard caught her arms from behind, so she acted purely out of instinct. She head butted him and firmly gripped his arm, before throwing him over her shoulder.
All these she did in a span of seven seconds.
Her knuckles hurt. She was already out of breath. This couldn’t be good.
She wasn't as strong or as fast as she used to be. It had been years since she last pulled off this stunt.
“I’m rustic,” she murmured to herself.
Without wasting another second, she quietly slipped inside Falcon’s room. . . and was greeted by a barrel of gun directly aimed at her face.
Her heart stopped functioning.
Gray eyes.
The voice that she craved so much to hear spoke, but instead of warmth, it was filled with acid and venom.
“Welcome, senorita.”
Just two words, and she was shaking. She had to remember that this was Falcon, not Krad, but god, it was so hard. He was everything she remembered him to be and more.
More than ever, she wanted to touch him and tell him that this time, she's staying with him for real. She wanted to tell him that she finally remembered him. Them.
“To what do I owe such a pleasant surprise?”
But no, this was not Krad.
Krad had warm, kind eyes.
This monster, hiding inside his body, had cold, cruel ones.
She steeled herself, her heart, and did as she was required to do.
Her body moved on its own, remembering the trainings she did years ago. She stepped inside with her right, hooked his feet, and tried to make him fall while twisting the gun out of his hand. But Krad – no, Falcon, knew this technique, and acted to counter block it. He immediately shifted his foot work so that he could maintain his balance and in doing so, made her the one out of balance.
Faye was falling. She reached out and yanked him with all of her weight, kicking his leg in the process and rotating him so that he would cushion her fall. It was not in the book; it was a technique she created to take advantage of her small physique.
Still, the gun didn’t leave his hand.
Falcon used the Krad’s immense strength to pin her against the ground. He held her left hand above her head. She was desperate to complete her task, but she couldn’t budge him off her.
“Krad, can you hear me? You're in there, aren't you? It's me, Faye. Don't you recognize me?”
The monster smirked. “No amount of begging will bring him back.”
She ignored his jibe and tried to kick him. He immobilized her legs by putting his weight on them.
"Krad! You have to try! Try harder! Please! Fight!"
"He's gone," Falcon huskily whispered to her ear, and her body responded to Krad's touch, his warmth, pressing down on her.
A broken sob escaped her lips. "Fight, you have to keep fighting. . ."
Falcon was pulling a pair of handcuffs from behind him.
She had to do what had to be done.
This was her destiny.
With tears in her eyes, Faye Creed pulled out the knife taped on her leg with her other hand and stabbed the man she loved.
My next upload will be the last chapter, and then the Epilogue.
Oh my god.
I wanna cry.
This is ending too soon.
I'm going to miss them terribly. *sniffles*