Before I Leave You

a hero and a villain walk into a room

You're covered in blood.

Not that you aren't usually covered in blood, but when you're about to meet a child and her mother, it might be best for them not to see you covered in the blood of their father and husband. Especially when you're trying to come to a peaceful arrangement with them.

Marlo Freudenberg lies dead before you in his home office, alongside many of Erwin's police officers.

When you came hunting for the journalist, you'd caught him sending his wife and daughter upstairs to hide while he lured you away further into the lower level of his home, to where more cops awaited you.

Now you stand in their blood and filth, wiping your hands clean of them with the handkerchief you keep in your pocket for messy occasions such as these. Faint traces of blood remain smeared on your cheek and neck, but you've at least removed the worst of it so that should be enough to keep the girl and mother placated.

Your knuckles are also bloody and bruised from your brief fist fight with the coppers, and you flex your fingers to assess the damage, already feeling them aching. But nothing appears broken, so you draw your attention to your weapons, collecting whatever blades of yours you can find and reloading your revolver with a fresh round of bullets.

While you'd gone after Marlo, you'd sent Sasha after the child and mother to make sure they stayed out of your people's direct line of fire and so that they didn't try to escape until you had spoken to them first. After Sasha took down the men that had been guarding the bedroom of Marlo's daughter — where the girl and her mother had decided to take refuge — she had Connie inform you of their location.

You head there now. Erwin's backup could very well be on their way, and you have no intention of supplying Death with any more corpses tonight.

You spare one last look down at Marlo before taking your leave, his daughter's golden locket you had returned to him, tangled in his hand. But you find him unworthy of such possession, so you pull it free from his hands on your way out and slide it in your pocket.

With only your people left standing to scout the area for any remaining threats, you make your way through overturned lamps and broken furniture, past bullet hole walls and up the carpeted, blood-stained stairs.

Sasha and Connie are stationed outside the girl's room, guarding and blocking their exit. You tell them to wait outside, but Sasha advises against it. She shows you the gun they'd confiscated from the mother and informs you of the fight she put up when Sasha tried coming inside.

Nevertheless, your orders do not change as you continue to open the door to the room and walk in. You're well aware of what a mother is capable of for her child, the sacrifices she would make, which is what you're counting on to help aid you in this accord.

The lights in the room are turned off so you switch them back on, having no need for darkness or secrecy to seal this particular deal.

Taking in your surroundings, the first thing you notice is the room itself is small, enough to fit a twin bed and a miniature doll house in the corner, but the room remains warm and inviting all the same. Lilac-colored walls are the first to welcome you in as you close the door behind you. A floral designed curtain drapes over a window that looks out to the front lawn. And lined against the walls hang various picture frames of a once smiling, loving family. You pass them by without a word, not needing them to remind you of what you've just forever broken and ruined.

Marlo's actual family are nowhere in sight, and they make no sound at your arrival, but you can sense them hiding behind the door in the girl's closet— the only place they can hide. And yet, you don't move to approach them.