Session Twenty Two
Leon watched in horror as bright red blossomed on the front of Ed's jumpsuit near her stomach. As if from a great distance, he watched Ed's eyes go wide with pain and her knees give out. He watched himself reach out and catch her, sinking to the floor with her so she didn't hit her head. He watched Villanova smile at the other end of a smoking gun. Faye screamed and reality crashed back down on them.
"Ed!" Leon choked back a sob. He felt something warm against his shirt and looked down to see that he was covered in blood. It was on his hands, his shirt, his pants. Ed's eyes were squeezed shut, her breathing fast and shallow. "Edward."
She didn't answer. He heard a ripping sound and then Faye was kneeling beside him, pressing a strip of her dress to Ed's side. Faye's face was white as a sheet.
"What did I tell you, Spiegel? Fight back and your friends get hurt," Villanova said. She aimed her gun at Faye.
"No! Stop!" Leon shook with anger, Ed's red head cradled in the crook of his arm. "Why are you doing this?" he demanded.
"Because you're resisting. Didn't anyone tell you the Dragon plays rough, boy?" Villanova snapped her fingers and Draugh and another henchmen flanked her. They advanced. From behind them, Leon heard a crack and the sound of splintering wood as the knife gave way and the other three Dragon men burst through the break room doors. They rounded the corner, guns raised and stopped in surprise at the scene before them.
Villanova shifted her gun so it pointed, unwavering, at Faye's heart. Faye's hands shook as she pressed them to Ed's wounded side.
"Yeah," Leon said slowly. "My father."
"Your father died before you met him," Villanova sneered.
"At your hands," Leon accused.
"Well, not mine, personally," Villanova smiled. "But you're right." Her finger twitched on the trigger. "So, what's your decision, Spiegel? How many more have to die for you?"
Leon met Faye's gaze for a long moment. Trust me, he thought, willed her to understand. Slowly, he handed Ed to Faye, careful not to jostle her. Faye took her with fear in her eyes. Leon stood up.
"No one has to die. I'll go with you."
"I knew you'd see it my way," Villanova grinned, teeth flashing in the dim hallway. "Now, come quietly, and everything will be ok. You'll see." She held out her hand like she was reassuring a small, frightened child. A hand, Leon noticed, covered in a nasty burn. Leon took a hesitant step forward.
"So, do we shoot them now, boss?" one of the Dragon men asked.
"NO!" Leon stopped and whipped the Jericho from his waistband. He'd snagged it from Ed's pocket as she fell, and now he held it under his own chin. His hands shook and he swallowed hard.
"Stop!" Villanova shouted.
The world froze. Leon's breath came in ragged pants. Tears glistened on Faye's cheeks, matching the glass still caught in her hair.
"You want me, Villanova?" Leon said. "I'll come. But my friends are untouched or I pull this trigger."
"Let's all be reasonable about this," Draugh said. "I'm sure no one wants to watch you blow your head off, boy."
"Then my friends go free. Unharmed."
Villanova looked dubiously at Ed. "No further harm will be done to your friends. I swear it. Men, stand down."
The Dragon goons all holstered guns on hips and under shoulders.
"Now Faye gets to walk away and take Ed with her," Leon said.
Faye was openly crying now. "None of this was supposed to happen. You gave your word!" she shouted at Villanova "You told me no one would get hurt!"
Leon felt his legs turn to jelly. He turned to Faye, face drained of color. "She...knew?" he whispered, gesturing weakly at Villanova.
Faye looked up at him with guilt in her eyes, her mouth forming an "O" of surprise as she realized she gave away her secret. Leon's hands trembled even more. "You told them," he said.
Faye shook her head, her mouth forming the word "no," but she couldn't bring herself to say it. Then she nodded and met Leon's gaze and he knew.
Leon felt like someone knocked the breath out of him. He sagged back against the wall, struggling to hold himself up. Draugh caught him and gently wrested the gun from his grip. Leon barely even noticed.
"I thought I could stop all this madness, Leon, I really did. I didn't think…"
Thwump! Draugh brought the butt of the Jericho down hard on Leon's temple and whatever else Faye said was lost as pain exploded in Leon's skull and he crumpled like a rag doll.
"Thank you, Ms. Valentine, for the advice, by the way. You were most helpful," Villanova smiled. Draugh picked Leon up and slung him over his shoulder like nothing more than deadweight. "I'm truly sorry about your friend there. That must be the infamous Radical Edward. I do hope I haven't put an end to her career. I'm sorry, Ms. Valentine, but I did what had to be done. I wish you only the best." And with that, the hallway emptied and the Dragon disappeared and Faye found herself alone with Edward.
When Jet finally managed to get out of the security booth, he found Faye crouched in the hall outside the kitchen, clutching Ed to her chest and crying. There was no sign of the Dragon and no sign of Leon. Somehow he'd hoped that what he'd watched in the security booth wasn't real. That his utter helplessness had just been an illusion. Jet's heart sank into his boots as the truth sank into his whole being. He knelt beside Faye. She buried her face in his chest and howled like a banshee.