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“What are you fighting for, Faith?!”
"Come on!” Kate yelled. Faith sprung from the catwalk and grabbed on to the helicopter, kicking Jacknife out as hard as she could. Jacknife screamed and shot his gun wildly, trying to finish off either of the sisters as he fell to his bloody fate."
It had been four months and five days since then.
Faith swallowed the bitter coffee on her tongue and wondered if she could have done anything different. If she could have avoided unnecessary bloodshed.
If she had stopped it though, how long until he came after them again? Having one runner on the opposite side was bad enough, two might have been enough to bring the Runner's downfall. And he had Kate at gunpoint... Would it had been her sister instead of Jacknife? Would she have gotten herself killed alongside her?
Still, she never wanted... this. As much as Jacknife riled her up, made her think she wanted him dead... She never truly did. Faith knew, deep down that she'd feel awful if he died at her hands. And she did.
"What're you thinking about?"
The deep, soothing voice of Mercury snapped Faith out of her thoughts, making her jump just a little.
"...A traitor."
Merc frowned and carefully sat next to Faith, mindful of the stitches in his stomach that were still healing.
"So, Jacknife."
Faith sighed, her shoulders slumped. There was a long silence as Merc sipped his coffee. Faith played with the rim on her styrofoam cup, frowning. Her favourite mug had been destroyed when...
When Jacknife led the raid that destroyed her home and nearly took two of the most important people in her away.
Faith looked to Merc forcibly, almost desperate. "Did I do the right thing?"
Merc looked to his companion. "What do you mean?"
"Jacknife. I... killed Jacknife."
Merc was quiet for a long time, looking over the city as he thought. Faith waited, agonizing over her decisions.
"I can't tell you that you did or didn't do the right thing, Faith. In the end, only you can say that. Just remember, kiddo... it was him, or you and your sis. Whether killing him was right or wrong is up to you, but none of us will ever fault you for defending yourself. Or your family."
Faith chewed on the inside of her lip, a subconscious action that had become more and more frequent lately. The tracker looked her over again and carefully stood up.
"Quit antagonizing yourself. You can't take it back now... Let's go inside, kiddo. We'll challenge Drake to some cards."
Faith grinned, ever so slightly. "But he cheats."
Merc grinned at the runner. "Worse than my ex-wife."
Faith laughed and downed the dregs of her coffee, standing up.
He was right. No taking it back now. The only way was forward.