The Correctors

Chapter VI

Lillian's POV

"What do you mean you don't want to be Lillian anymore?" Liam asked incredulously.

"I-I can't kill Niall.  And killing Niall is Lillian's job." I explained, tears tracing their way down my face again.

"Lil, Amelia, whoever you are," Liam said seriously. "You can't just stop being the assassin.  Unless you want to die."

"I can't kill him, Li!  He's my best friend!" I yelled. "I lost him once, I don't want to lose him again...or have his blood be on my hands.  Or anyone's hands, for that matter."

"You want to keep him." Liam said.  It wasn't a question, just a statement.

"I have to, Li." I said quietly. "I-I know him, he's not one of those nameless people I never knew.  Did you ever wonder why I only wanted to know what I needed to about the targets?"

"A little, actually.  You could kill, and go on with your day, without having it bother you." Liam pointed out.

"I hid it," I said hollowly. "I didn't want to know about the boy's girlfriend, or the girl's cat.  I didn't want to see the pictures of the teenager's sweet sixteen.  I tried to imagine them as a name, age, gender, and not as a person, with a life.  With a family, with friends."

"So you wouldn't get attached." Liam said, realization dawning on him.

"And that's why I was the best," I said, laughing once without humor. "But I knew Niall.  I knew about his parents, brother.  I knew about his friends, his hobbies, what he liked."

"You tried to avoid it, right?" Liam asked.

"Uh huh.  I denied, told him that everything he knew about this girl named Amelia Grace meant nothing to me," Tears fell again. "My parents had another pregnancy.  Miscarriage.  It was going to be a girl, so now they had lost two daughters."

"I-I'm so sorry," Liam whispered.

"That damn picture he carried with him," I said, sighing. "If Drummell had just taken Niall's wallet, he would be dead, Drummell would be alive, I would be betrothed to Harry, and none of this shit would have happened."

"But would you be happy?" Liam asked, smiling without a joke.

I sighed in frustration. "Li, I hate it when you make sense."

"I know."

I paused. "But thanks."

"What for?" Liam asked, perplexed.

"Because you have given me an idea."

"Jones?" I walked into command, not wanting to play any games.

"Yes?" Jones said, as Lenna, Louis, and Zayn's heads all turned towards me.

I took a deep breath. "I'm not going to kill Niall."

Jones sighed. "Everyone, some privacy?"

The room emptied quickly.  Louis patted me on the shoulder, his eyes saying "Good luck".

"Lillian, what the hell is going on?" Jones demanded. "It's one job, why can't you do it?"

"Because I want him to become my partner." I said evenly.

"Lily, you're going to be Harry's partner.  That was decided previously." Jones said.

"But I don't want to be Harry's partner.  I want to take Niall in, and train him to be my partner.  He can help me, or Liam.  We could use a second body guard, even Liam admitted that.  We don't have to be the leaders, Louis and Harry could team up together." I was ranting by now, but I didn't care.