Vol 4 Chapter 9 (1/2)
Chapter 9: Companions
It was 15 to seven
“Another guest! How lovely The more the merrier”
Mrs Ruf , none the wiser to the plot
“Absolutely” Mr Ruf agreed, helping her in the kitchen
“I will explain all the circumstances Seron, when it is hard to explain withinto Seron’s eyes
“Yeah I’ll be right there with you” Seron aze
“Not uess” Larry mumbled
“Let us pray for success” Nick said in reply
“What about us? What do we do?” Asked Natalia
“Just play it cool and act like everything’s normal” Jenny answered
“We will be here as well” Said Kurtz Next to hiave a nod
“…”
In the eun from its leather holster
It was a 3-inch revolver When Hartnett checked the cylinder, he found six 357 num rounds neatly loaded inside
He slowly pushed the cylinder back inside and holstered the gun
It was five to seven
The doorbell rang
“She’s here” “She is here”
Seron, Meg, and Hartnett all rose from their seats in the entrance hall
As they walked up to the door, Seron took the lead and Meg and Hartnett followed
It was still light outside and the flowers in the gardens seelance before looking forward again
Seron found Hannah Lawrence at the door
“She has co said with a sether
“Welco”
“You are welcome inside!”
They greeted her with smiles
“Good evening Thank you for the invitation” Hannah replied, also s Seron spoke up
“Mr and Mrs Ruf are the ones who e the house, but they’re busy with preparations at the moment Please, come inside”
“Thank you for having me”
Hartnett hung back a few steps aatching Seron guide Hannah into the villa
And—
“Ah”
He noticed theand Seron did
Hannah turned as she stepped inside
“Thank you for escorting me” She said to the man
“Huh?” “Oh?”
Seron and Meg noticed Hampleton behind Hannah as Hartnett rushed in
Hartnett drew his gun and charged between Hannah and Ha aim with a roar
“James Aide!”
“Freeze! Confederation Police! You are under arrest! Slowly put your hands in the air and kneel!”
“da and Hannah by their wrists “Let’s go!”
He pulled theently so Hannah would not fall But before he could take the final step—
“It’s all right” Hannah said Seron froze
Before theun with both hands
“If you resist, I will open fire! Put your hands in the—”
Ha his hands
Once his arms were outstretched, he knelt on the spot
“N-now get down and put your hands on the ground!” Hartnett ordered, lowering his gun
Again, Hampleton coainst the ground
Hartnett lowered his gun even more and continued, still tense
“Cross your legs together! Now!”
Still on the ground, Ha over his left shi+n
Only then did Hartnett finally look past the gun and address Seron
“Inside!”
“Right”
Seron pulled Meg and Hannah along once again This time, both complied
When he turned, he saw Hartnett give another order “Hands behind your back!” Then he went around Hampleton’s back
Hartnett pointed his gun at the back of Hampleton’s head and straddled his back
And finally, he expertly placed a pair of handcuffs on Hampleton’s wrists with his left hand Hampleton showed no resistance
“James Aide! You’re under arrest!”
Ha, looked up at Hartnett with his left cheek on the pavement and smiled softly
And he whispered one calm word
“Finally”
“Wh-what just happened here?”
Seron returned to Larry at the entrance hall, Meg and Hannah in tow
Outside the door was Hartnett, and lying under him was the restrained man, who did not even try to resist
“I can’t believe it He cah” Seron explained, finally letting Meg and Hannah go “Mr Kurtz! Restraints!”
Kurtz rushed outside He passed by Larry with a strong cloth rope used by bodyguards and ran to Hartnett’s side
Kurtz tied Haether, then wrapped the rope restraint around his arms and upper body Hampleton was rendered completely immobile
Hartnett did a quick check on his belongings He exahly for weapons
“Nothing…”
Then he finally holstered his gun and wiped with his sleeve the sweat that had formed so quickly on his brow
Hartnett and Kurtz picked up Haether and carried him to the entrance hall as if he were a mannequin
“What happened?”
“Dunno” “I’m not certain”
Jenny, Natalia, and Nick caasted
Hartnett laid Hampleton on the tiles in the entrance hall
Then he pulled out a leather case from his jacket and flashed his ID at Hannah, atched everything calmly
“I’ies for the sudden arrest, but this overnment”
Everyone watched, waiting for Hannah’s reaction
“I see So you received h I must say I hadn’t expected an arrest here”
“Wh-what? You’re the one who gave us the tip?” Hartnett gaped The newspaper club and the two bodyguards went silent
“Yes I am”
“I—th-thank you! You’ve helped us arrest a very dangerous man, madam! But… I… er…” Hartnett stammered, confused He shook his head and furrowed his brow
The others were equally confused
“Wh-what is going on in this way? Mrs Hannah knew this , as nearest to Hannah, asked
“I knew”
Hannah replied so very firmly and nonchalantly
Meg was stunned
“B-but how?! Aide even changed his face! How did you know that he was a wanted man? Madam, were you part of the Confederation Police force? I see, youyour retirement and hired him!” Hartnett speculated wildly
“The answer is ‘no’” Hannah replied
Several seconds passed in silence
“I told her”
Hampleton was the one to break it
Hampleton lay on the cold tiles, still restrained
“I told her myself, detective” He said, his body completely immobile save for his mouth There was an absolutely peaceful look on his face
“Why? You were on the run for 15 years You changed your face, your identity, and had us chasing you around all of Roxche” Hartnett said
Ha waited for the question
“Because I don’t need to run anymore”
“What do you mean?”
“I’er to live”
Hartnett was silent
“The Gods are good, don’t you agree?”
“But… but why did you tell the madam your identity?”
“I didn’t have a significant reason It felt less to hide when I was so close to death Maybe I wanted to confess to someone Get a clean conscience Ortothe police as I asked”
Hartnett looked back and forth from Hampleton and Hannah, ere both the very picture of calm
“…Satisfied now?” He finally uttered, sing his outrage
“Yes I ah time left to pay for the lives I’ve taken now Just put one before spring”
“da you to the Capital District!” Hartnett spat one last time, and turned to Hannah
“Please pardon us, madam! Seron here and I happened to realize this ht have been in danger We planned to disclose his identity to you and arrest him We had no idea this would happen”
“I understand But you needn’t have bothered so I’m an old woman, I don’t have many days left myself”
“Not at all, ain to take some official statements”
“Of course I’ll be in this village, so please feel free to drop by anytime”
Hartnett nodded
“Is the guest here?” Mr Ruf asked, finally arriving on the scene Hartnett quickly asked him to contact the police
“Wait!”
Seron stopped him
“What is it, Seron?”
“I—” Seron began, extreaze on his face “I have a question for Mr Hampleton”
“What is it, boy?” Hampleton replied from the floor Hartnett cut in
“Wait a second This can wait, Seron”
“No, it can’t I have to ask now”
Hartnett furrowed his brow
“Go on, boy Ask” Harandson
Seron knelt before Ha on one knee he looked into Hampleton’s profiled face
“Were you the one who killed the three people? Yesterday and the day before, in this village”
Meg and the rest of the newspaper club gasped
“Seron, we can take care of that on our end Don’t bother” Hartnett said But Seron ignored him
“Did you kill them?”
From the floor came the answer
In the very same tone, from the very same expression
“Yes”
“I knew it!” “Oh oodness!” “Huh” “No way” “Unbelievable” “damn it”
With the voices of shock behind him, Seron quickly continued to the next question
“On whose orders?”
“I don’t knohat you’re talking about, boy”
“I was told you’d killed many people”
“Yes At least 20 by my count”
“Were any of those kills personal? Any you were never ordered to do?”
“…No”
“Yes, that’s precisely what I heard You only ever killed under orders You were a professional assassin Then letmen?”
Three seconds passed in silence Then—
“No one” “It was me”
Two people gave two opposing answers at once
“It was me I was the one who hired him”
Everyone turned to the owner of the voice
To Hannah Lawrence
“Ah, but, ah, ah,”
Meg could not find the words to speak Seron spoke instead, rising to his feet and turning around
“Why, Mrs Lawrence?”
Hannah remained just as calm as Hampleton, as serene as ever
“You kneas me, didn’t you Seron? You kneas his client”
“I had a hunch, but I didn’t have any evidence”
Hartnett was the first to butt into the cool conversation between Seron and Hannah
“H-hold on! What are you two talking about?”
Hannah looked at Hartnett, then looked away