“Oh, spare me. You should have seen me coming,” she said.
“Why are you doing this? Why have you betrayed our people?” he asked.
“I’ve not betrayed my people. I’ve done what is right. This madness ends now,” she said.
“Madness? You call this madness? This madness is what has fed you for over twenty years. It is what has made you the woman you are now. This madness is how Russia will be great again.”
Suzanne watched him speak, wondering how she hadn’t seen the madness in Adrik before. He looked like a monster when he spoke.
Had he been the one she had taken advice from for years?
“No, Adrik. This madness is what has killed millions of innocent people and will turn so many innocent girls to sex slaves if nothing is done,” she said calmly.
Adrik watched her resolve. He had lost control over her. She no longer held unto his words. He tried harder.
“Then, what about us, Suzanne? What about what we had? Would you really throw it all away like that?”
“I’ll blow your brains out if you bring that up again, Adrik,” she said, feeling her emotions rise.
“Well, then, go ahead. Do it,” he said, spreading his arms out. When she hesitated, he asked.
“What’s stopping you, Vivien? You were never one to hesitate.”
She paused before speaking.
“I want answers, Adrik. I want to know if what we had was real. I want to know if I wasn’t just some puppet for you to control.”
“What difference will it make? You’ll still kill me, wouldn’t you?”
She didn’t respond; she just kept looking at him. he could see she was close to tears.
“I did love you, Vivien. From the moment I saw you at home with my brother during your tutorials, my heart belonged to you. I meant every word I said,” he said.
“You’ve always been a bad liar, Adrik,” she said.
“Why do you say so?” he asked.
“Because, when you lie, your voice becomes full of passion,” she said as she curled her finger around the trigger.
Adrik stepped on the edge of the tray and caught the tray as it rose to the air, just in time to block the bullets that Suzanne shot at him. He flung the tray at her, bending down to dodge the incoming bullets.
The tray hit Suzanne’s outstretched arms, causing her to lose her grasp of her guns. Adrik rushed at her and took her to the ground, punching her hard on the face. He undid her utility belt and continued to punch her.
He was bigger than her. All her struggles to get free were in vain. However, Morgan had been bigger than her too.
Remembering what she had done last time, she punched him on the shoulder with her knuckles. He growled in pain, and she pushed him off her.
“You’re going to die, hellcat,” he said as he jerked his arm back. There was the sound of cracking. His shoulder was free again. He lunged for her.
She dodged his punches and landed a kick and a punch. She was strong, but he was stronger. Before she knew it, he was all over her again, beating her.
He used the back of his hand to slap her finally, and she fell to the ground in exhaustion. She couldn’t see clearly anymore. He stood over her.
“You were foolish to leave, Vivien. You gave up every privilege to help people who would hate you if they heard what you did. You killed them, Vivien. You infiltrated them. You made them a laughingstock. No amount of heroism would change that,” he said.
He went to where his gun had fallen and picked it up. He returned to stand over her.
“I’m going to give you the privilege of seeing my face before you die. While you rot in hell, remember me,” he said as he held the gun over her.