Requiem

57

"You know, when you first mentioned to me that you were going to set out to help those you could; I honestly didn't see a problem with it. But do you know what? I take it back. Do you know why I'm taking it back? Because now security alerts are flagging up at work. You know sooner or later, they're going to realise someone's leaked the information to you. And you know what, I really don't think it'll be long until they find out it was me. Not only that, I thought you were getting Charles's backing with this, what happened there?"

Liesel peered over the sofa arm and looked to Gretchen, Liesel had tried to sneak into the home and failed. She instantly collapsed on the sofa while Gretchen stood at the end of the sofa, causing Liesel to either look up at her, or roll onto her stomach and look up at her. "Do you know, it pains me enough knowing my sister works for the same company an utter lunatic owns and runs...it pains me even more that you can selfishly think of what would happen to you, at this point I think it's a little late for that, don't you think?" Liesel pushed herself up and frowned up at her sister. "You're the one who came home one day and blurted out what Trask Industries was scheming away. You're the one who seemed to forget, not sure how, that those which are being targeted are the same as me. You're the one who let me privy to information about certain bases. I'm good at finding things out. Even without my information gathering skills, someone else could easily find out, triangulate and infiltrate the bases and set those gathered free." She said while glaring up at Gretchen, who suddenly looked rather uneasy. "I didn't set down this path. By all means, you accidentally set me on it and I've been running down it ever since. As for Charles...I've not heard from him in years. He's stopped taking my phone calls, so I don't know what's going on there. From my snooping, the school is fine, so something else is going on but I'm not going to interfere there. Lord knows I've got other things to do than push my nose into any of Charles's business." Liesel pushed herself to stand with a heavy sigh. Tilting her head to the side, she let out a relieved sound when her neck clicked. "I'm not alone," Liesel looked at Gretchen from the corner of her eyes. "I'm not...I've got Newt, and some others lending a hand."

"But-"

"But nothing. I'm not going to leave people to that fate. Trust me...I would rather stick pins in my eyes...than leave...you wouldn't understand it fully, Gretchen. The things which I've stumbled on, what they do to them, it is not wholly dissimilar to me...and for that, no matter what, I will help." Liesel nodded, "Doesn't seem like anyone else is." Which was true.

"I don't ask about what you do. But how many?"

"This time? Twenty...maybe twenty-four?" Liesel said while moving over to the television and putting it on. Instantly the news flared up, she frowned and sat back down, her black suit creaked slightly from the action. She hadn't got changed as yet. She still had her gauntlets on, as well as her goggles, which were now down and resting below her chin.

"You heard about this?" Gretchen sat down beside her as the two looked to the report.

"Newt clued me in." Liesel replied at length while a frown was slowly appearing on her face. The words: bullet and curved caused her to frown even more. Bullets don't curve, not unless someone makes them curve.

"What is it?" Gretchen looked worriedly to Liesel as she suddenly looked tense and pale in her seat, she'd even taken to clenching her fists.

"Erik," she whispered while looking slowly to Gretchen, over the years she had admittedly spilt all about him, and them, and whatever...it was only fair that neither had any secrets between them. And as far as secrets went, he was a pretty bloody big one. Liesel wasn't an idiot, she knew he'd crop up in her life again at some point or another, the world was simply too small not for this to happen.