The Revenge Scam

The Confession

JUMP!

Charles and Sophia leaped off the platform, hand in hand. The impact knocked the wind out of him and his hand lost Sophia's on the way down. He sprawled out on his side and groaned in pain. In a matter of seconds, he jumped up and searched for Sophia. He panicked when he couldn't see her but soon his gaze fell on her lying in a hole. He rushed over and kneeled beside her,

"Soph, Soph wake up!" After a minute of her not waking up, he hung his head. Did I lose her? I can't lose her. From beside him, he heard a groan and a shuffle.

"Soph? Who the hell is there!?"

"Oh...that probably would be me, my name is Sophia." She turned around to see Charles's face filled with despair. "Why are you so worried looking? Gosh, Charles, no one died. I may be a bit stubborn and rude at times, but I wouldn't leave you."

Charles looked up with wide eyes at her, and she retorted. "Stop popping your eyes like that. One day they will pop right out of your head. I also didn't mean it like that, you know that right? I have no interest in you," She stood up and brushed off the dirt from her skirt.

Even after all of those words, Charles didn't stand up, instead, he sat on the ground. He raised up his knees and rested his forehead on them. Sophia stood there with panic in her eyes after realizing he probably wasn't used to so much excitement.

"Charles I was joking, you aren't going to die. There is no need to get so worked up over it." She became aware that her 'touching' words didn't have much of an effect on him. Sighing, she sat down beside him. "Okay, I am...not the best when it comes to talking about feelings. But it looks like you need to talk to someone and unless you want to talk to the bear hiding in the forest, I seem to be your best shot at the moment. Listen, I know stuff like what just happened can be a lot for an office detective. All that chasing and death threats can be a bit much."

Charles slowly turned his head to Sophia. "You know, I wasn't always an office detective. I used to be all for that fieldwork, in fact, people used to say that I was the best. But as we have come to know, all good things must come to an end."

Sophia turned to face him and he did the same. Charles took a steady breath and prepared himself to tell Sophia the real reason he is no longer working in the field.
"It all happened about eight years ago. I was assigned to this mafia group and was in charge of finding out who their leader was. It was quite hard considering that most of these mafia groups are high profile. There wasn't much evidence to help me out until I found this great lead! I was told that they would be on a train from Italy to France. My intel told me that they were heading to France for his daughter's birthday." At those words, Sophia stiffened but urged him to continue on the story.

"I had taken the trip there with my partner and..." His voice trailed off and a hint of sadness covered his face. "Well let's just say, he didn't come back home with me." Clearing his throat, Charles started again. "So we got there at this big ballroom and my partner, Brice, decided to infiltrate it without waiting for backup. The whole room was filled to the brim with people, some of which were the mafia group and others who were only there for the party. We didn't get very far. We had both been wearing our best suits and tried our best to blend in but Brice got caught. We had split up, but I saw him being dragged to a back room with some people I knew were in the group, so I followed them. As I followed them I tried to be as stealthy as possible but of course, someone noticed me. I then had to fight...well more like shoot. I used my gun, the one thing I had on me. I shot through everyone there hoping to reach Brice before anything could happen."

Charles cleared his throat and took a deep breath before he continued on. "By the time I arrived, he was dead. There was only one person left in the room, I suspected it was the leader. Out of rage I shot him, not until then did I realize that I had shot multiple people. I got terrified of myself, I just took people's lives. Even though they weren't good people, they still were human beings. Once I realized what happened I ran over to Brice and, just as I suspected, he was dead. I heard some more people coming so I took off. Ever since that day I have regretted shooting the leader and really everyone. I sometimes see his face in my nightmares, reminding me of what I had done. I especially feel bad for his daughter, she must have been my age or a bit younger. If I could find her I'd apologize for what I had done and ask for forgiveness."

He stood up while nervously brushing down his pants. He turned to Sophia fully before returning to talk. "I've never told anyone this before, not even the director back in Paris, you are the first one I trust enough to say this too." He said all of this with a slight tint of red on his cheek.

"Sophia, I need to tell you something. I know we've only known each other for a few weeks and it isn't long but I feel like I have a strong connection with you. You have saved my life more times than I can count and I feel as if I know you inside and out. I truly tried to cover up my feelings towards you, but I think I can no longer do so. Sophia...I li-"

"Charles, I-"

"No, don't say anything, that was stupid of me. We- uh, I should go."

After speaking his mind to Sophia, she just stared at him. In fact, she had been staring at him the whole time while he was telling his story about the field. She continued to watch him as he scuttled away like a scared mouse into the forest beyond.

As she watched him run off her face fell into a somber position. She had resonated with his story on a deep level because she too had killed people before. Many people. Each one was engraved in her mind, but it didn't bother her as much as it should. Her father had not been a good role model in her life but she still loved him. He was the one who taught her to shoot and to fight for herself.

Her father had made a huge party for her eighteenth birthday. That was the day he was murdered. She had been hiding under the table waiting for the right moment to attack when suddenly the shot rang out. He fell with many bullet wounds in his chest. From that day forward she made a vow to avenge his death. She still had the scar on her hand from when she had made the oath. Her father's murderer had always been imprinted on her mind. His face, his hair, even the shoes he was wearing on that horrific day. She would have done anything to kill the man that ruined her life.

She always assumed when they'd meet he would be running away from her in fear. Now, he was running away in fear of his feelings. For her.