Mortmyre spoke the truth, I had to keep my guard up, or die. With every training session came another wound and more worry. I hated that look in Mortmyre's eyes after every one, but what I really hated was seeing Stephanie be so hurt every time. I had taken too much and was forced to take a week off, no worries for the time and no pain, just me and Stephanie. Every day I would put her through the training coarse and then we took our time and settled down finally.
Most of the time we walked through the fields around the building. The grass had grown tall, at least a few feet high and it just made me feel all the better. It was in the middle of fall and it hadn't rained for a while, but it had been windy the whole week. The weather pattern had made me very weary. I started to keep a closer watch on Stephanie and soon I lost track of time. I had spent my week worrying just because of a little wind.
I had returned to my training and for once, I wasn't hurt. Stephanie started to cheer up and Mortmyre stopped yelling at me every time. I had started to want to give up, I had done nothing but go through training for such a long time I was losing interest. I had no money and was begining to loose hope in my operations. One day I had walked up to Mortmyre and asked him when my next assignment was. He simply told me, "Whenever big guns upstairs gives you one." I was begining to think why I had started this in the first place. I couldn't think straight anymore I ran, far, far away from the factory, from Stephanie, from Mortmyre, and from my new life.
I had gone South to Mexico and eventually reached South America. I had to clear my thoughts one by one, killing for life, living with the love of my life in secrecy. I had to make some sense of my life I had to save Steph and run.
I started heading back, spending days asleep in alleys or wherever I could, spending nights crying behind the stearing wheel unable to forgive myself for what all I've done.
I arrived at the factory, probobly for the last time. I went straight to my room, but Steph wasn't there. All I saw was the same old bed same camera and a not on the bed. I started reading it:
Dear Blake:
We've taken Steph in to our arms because of your failure to teach her basic training. Report to my office immediately.
Mathews
I walked to his office to find Steph in there and they both stared at me.
"Where the hell have you been?" asked Mathews. The only answere I had for hime was pulling a gun out and taking aim. "Now come on would you really-" he dropped to the floor with that and I grabbed Steph's hand.
"Come with me Steph, I'm taking you away from all this, this, this unbelievable excuse for a life. I never wanted it to be like this, not for you. I wanted to live a normal life with you not have to train you to kill. Will you accept me? Run away with me far from this place, and we will be free of these damned bonds with this so called "company"."
"I thought this would never happen. I'll come with you, but, I won't be with you anymore. I just don't understand who you are anymore."
"They're going to kill us, I can't let that happen to you."
"Once, I thought I loved you, but to everyone now we don't even exist and we never did."
"Thats not true! We exist!"
"Prove to me we still exist then."
"Fine, lets go."
This was the last time I saw the factory, and the last time I saw Steph. We were being fired at on the way out. Steph had gotten hit several times, it was bad enough to the point I had to carry her out.
When we reached the car I put her in the passenger seat and started driving off. I looked over at her see her breathing heavily.
"Hang in there Steph."
"I'm not going to make it Blake."
"Yes you will, don't talk like that."
"Blake, I forgive you nfor everything."
"No, I don't deserve it."
"I still love you."
A tear fell from my eye I leaned over to kiss her but when I saw her, she was dead. I couldn't control myself anymore. I did the only thing I could do, I went back to my town.
I went and saw Kevin and everybody else with Stephanie's death on my shoulders. Dead inside and feeling worthless, I had destroyed so many lives. I lived in the car. I had dug Stephanies grave in the same field we had our first real date in and went there daily. I was hunted by many other assassins but managed to live, taking even more lives.
One day I was kneeling by Stephanie's grave and when I looked up, I saw Mortmyre.