Dancing With The Devil (part two)

Chapter 40: Love Isn't Something Weak People Do

(A/N yes the title is a Fleabag quote, no I don't take criticism. Also I uploaded the wrong chapter yesterday, by accident so just ignore it.)

Astrid watched the life fly out of her father's eyes as his body fell to the floor. She lowed the gun and took a deep breath. The room was still and silent. Astrid looked down at her father and then up at everyone else in the room.

"Now that that's over." She walked into the centre of the room and took another breath, "right then, everyone who does not wish to be blown up; get the fuck out."

Shortly after that, the remaining soldiers silently left the room. She turned to look at Dominic and walked over to him, she picked up the syringe that had fallen to his feet when his boss had been shot and stood in front of him. She examined the syringe, noticing that there was still a bit of the poison left in it.

"You killed my best friend," she stated.

She didn't say anything else to him. She just grabbed him by the neck and jabbed the syringe into him, squeezing the remanence of the tube into his system. He fell to the floor, grasping his neck.

Astrid turned away from him and back to where Faith was dying. She was breathing, just about, heavily and exasperatedly as Seb cradled her body and whispered words of support and love into her ear with tears falling down his face. She crouched down next to him, hugging him from the side, Seb shifted his body so that he was hugging him back.

They stayed, conjoined for minutes and minutes, not noticing that the French woman had walked up to her husband's dead body. She kneeled down next to his body and placed her fingers over his eyes, shutting his eyelids. Suddenly, bringing Astrid and Seb out of their hug, she raised her fist and punched Hansel's body violently, several times before standing up and moving to leave the room.

"Where are you going?"

She stopped at the doorframe and turned back to look at Astrid, "anywhere."

She left the room and Astrid stood up. She walked over to Jim who let her wrap her arms around him and bury her face into his neck. She wept quietly into his shoulder for a few minutes as the consulting psychopath remained tearless, but not expressionless. She slowly pulled away from him and looked over at Seb, he nodded up at her, confirming that Faith had gone. She smiled sadly and approached him and held out her hand.

"We'll bury her, back in Oxford." She said as Seb took her hand and hauled himself up, "I just wanna get the fuck out of here."

Seb nodded and leant back down to pick up Faith's light limp body, he walked out of the room leaving Astrid and Jim alone.

"You'll have to give him time to recover from this." Astrid stated, "just a few weeks, maybe more, maybe less."

"What about you?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you okay?"

Astrid looked down at her father's body and then up at Jim. She pressed her lips together and shook her head. Jim approached her.

"But I will be," she reassured him as he cupped her face with his hands, she smiled up at him and bit her lip, "I got over mum, so I can get over Faith too."

Jim just nodded, "we should probably get out of here." He sighed and dropped his hands to his sides. He reached his hand into his pocket and pulled out the detonator, "let's blow this shithole to pieces."