"I can't believe this whole time you were working for the group that killed my parents," Meaghan ground out between clenched teeth, as anger and hurt overcame her fear. The object of her anger just shrugged.
"Our goals and responsibilities are heavy burdens, but we gladly bear them. It's important that the world understand that we are a force to be reckoned with…"
A snort interrupted her. She looked sharply over at Rickie, his hands on his hips and a cheerful smile on his face.
"You are some of the worst operatives I have ever seen, Berry. After all this time, you didn't manage a single goal, and your so-called responsibilities are a joke."
The mercenary flinched as if he struck a physical blow, but then she straightened up and stared malevolently at Rickie, who was standing tall but relaxed, as if she was a guest in the house.
Meaghan looked at him with growing concern. What was he doing? She almost immediately answered her question: he was making himself the center of attention, and forcing Shel to become angry enough to make a mistake.
Rickie began ticking off on his fingers.
"You failed to destroy or even significantly damage my FLNG tower. You failed your kidnapping attempt. You failed in procuring the data file. You've lost troops with no casualties on the other side to balance it out. Let's face, perempuan," Rick deliberately put as much contempt as possible in his voice, "there was no significance in anything your little group planned."
Shel narrowed her eyes at him before visibly forcing herself calm. She took a step behind her and picked up her bright cellphone.
"I still have the card, and with this knowledge, we will correct our mistakes and disappear. Then your precious BKN won't discover our next mission until it's too late."
"It's all false information on the chip," Rickie said bluntly, "I even added some Korean Pop music to it. Big Bang, to be exact. I thought it was apropos."
Rickie now openly laughed at the incredulous look on her face, and couldn't resist. "It's fantastic, baby."
"Stop laughing!"
The calmness was now gone, and the terrorist was vibrating with anger. "Maybe this will change your tune." And she swung the barrel towards Meaghan, who was still standing near the coffee table throughout this exchange.
"Now!" A deep voice yelled to their right.
From their respective locations, Rickie and Meaghan sent a startled look over at their family members as Tina unexpectedly leaped from her chair, the fireplace poker in her hand.
The rest of what happened was a blur in Rickie's mind, yet crystalline clear in slow-motion.
He saw the mercenary swing her handgun towards the younger girl, sensing the threat that bloomed from that area, and he knew he was too far away to stop her from bringing the gun to bear.
His father came to life and grabbed a crystal ashtray with his good hand. He tossed it, and the object arced through the air until it connected with Shel's arm and knocked her gun aside, spinning her slightly so that she now faced Rickie.
Rickie hesitated a moment too long, torn between protecting his love, and saving his family.
The hate from Shel's eyes was almost palpable as she took aim at him.
Meaghan felt her heart speed up when she realized how unstable her former neighbor was. Without a thought for herself, Meaghan lunged for Rickie and pushed him out of the way.
The sound of a single gunshot was loud in the ensuing silence.