Hannah and Penelope went to a nearby restaurant and took their seats waiting for someone to take their orders. In the main time, Hannah picked the menu from the table and Penelope mirrored her actions. When the waiter arrived, Hannah placed her order and looked at Penelope, waiting for her to place her order. The child stared at both Hannah and the waiter innocently, not knowing why they were looking at her. "Place your order, Penelope". Hannah said but the girl bent her head in embarrassment and said, "I don't know how to read". Hannah placed her hand on Penelope's small palm that was testing on the table.
"It's alright Penelope, I will help you order". She said. "So tell me, what would you like to eat? Egg noodles right? Let's see if we have that here". Hannah said and started looking at the menu again, but egg noodles were not on the menu, so she looked at the waiter. " Do you have anything that a child would like to eat?" She asked. The waiter nodded his head and answered
"yes ma'am, we have mushroom pudding, the child would like it very much". "Okay please get that for her". Hannah said and the waiter turned his back and left them alone. Minutes later, the waiter brought their dishes in a tray and placed them in front of them. Hannah took Penelope's food from the tray and put it in front of her. She also took her food and started eating, occasionally raising her head to look at Penelope who was already munching on her food. Looking at the child, Hannah just hopes that she won't choke on the food with the speed she is going at.
When they finished eating, Hannah settled the bills and left the restaurant with Penelope. Both of them walked their way home in silence. When they got home, Hannah and Penelope went straight to the room to freshen up and Hannah realised that Penelope doesn't have any clothes or shoes. She made a mental note to buy some clothes when she goes out tomorrow. Hannah made Penelope wear one of her shirts as she doesn't have any. When they got on the bed, Penelope suddenly said "we didn't search for mommy today, I miss her". Hannah didn't know what to say. She couldn't possibly tell Penelope that she had forgotten about her, not to talk if searching for her mom. Hannah felt guilty again. She had promised to search for Penelope's mother today but who knew that she was going to get into trouble today? "Don't worry Penelope, we will search for her some other time, okay? Now go to sleep". Hannah said as she weaved her hands on Penelope's head unknowingly. " Mommy sings lullabies for me to go to sleep". Penelope said and Hannah just replied with an 'oh'. She hasn't sung for as long as she could remember. She just continued rubbing Penelope's head till she heard her soft and steady breathing, signifying that the child has gone to sleep. Hannah stopped her hand's movements on the girl's bed and closed her eyes. Seconds later, she opened her eyes and started staring into space. Her black eyes looked lonely and lost. She inhaled deeply and exhaled through her lips, something that she had gotten used to. Her phone screen lit up and she picked it up from the bedside table. She was shocked when she saw numerous missed calls from Raymond. She had kept her phone on silent so she didn't hear it ring. He must have figured out that she was not with her annunciator, she thought.
She stood up from the bed and walked towards the window in her bedroom. She dialled the number and it was picked up on the first ring. The first thing she heard was Raymond's anxious voice through the phone, "what happened Hannah, where is your annunciator? I have been trying to reach you for a long time. I thought you were in some kind of trouble. Hannah speak to me, are you alright?". Raymond asked worriedly from the other end. Hannah was never the one to take off her annunciator, she has always kept her annunciator on her wrist even when she completes her mission, so he was naturally worried that something may have happened to her.
"Raymond", Hannah started, "I want to take some time off". Hannah finally said. Raymond's expression changed from being worried to utter shock. He was so shocked that he couldn't reply for a couple of minutes. Hannah on the other hand turned worried, she didn't want Raymond to come to know about her annunciator, or else he would kill that man on the spot and confine her in the basement. She had gone out of there with so much difficulty and didn't want to go back there, so she hopes that Raymond doesn't question her further and just agree to her request. Seeing that Raymond was still silent, she parted her lips to speak but Raymond beat her to it.
"Hannah, tell me what happened, why are you suddenly asking for some time off, is anything wrong?" Raymond asked again. He knew that Hannah would never ask for time off because he knew how much she wanted to keep her end of the deal. She didn't even take a break when he offered her several times, but now, she suddenly wants to take a rest. Could it be that she had suddenly gotten tired?
Hannah knew that Raymond was a smart man and that he was going to figure everything out, but she hoped that he doesn't because if he does, she would go back to being a caged Bird and she didn't want that. She had to convince him to give her some time off because she had to work in that company till she gets back her annunciator. "Raymond, I promise you, nothing is wrong with me. I just need some time off so that I will rest for a while. Just one month, I need just one month and I will get back to work. Please Raymond". She pleaded.
Raymond's tone naturally softened and relaxed when he heard her pleas, "Okay Hannah, I will grant your request but on one condition". He paused, letting her understand what he was saying, after some seconds, he continued, " I will be coming to your apartment tomorrow and from now henceforth, you will call me every day, okay?. If you don't agree to this, then I'm afraid, I cannot agree to your request". Raymond knew that something was wrong with her. He has known her long enough to know that she was trying to hide something from him. He just hopes that she hasn't gotten into any trouble.
" Fine Raymond, I accept your conditions but you should only come during the time of the evening because I am busy in the day". Hannah said gently.
"Okay Hannah, see you tomorrow". He said and ended the call. Hannah was relieved that Raymond had accepted her request. She was sure that one month would be enough for her to get back her annunciator. She went back to bed and slept beside Penelope.
Raymond stared at his phone for a long time. He dialed a number on his phone and when it was answered, he said " Bring me a report of what has happened to Hannah today and locate her annunciator. I need the report in ten minutes". He said and hung up. He knew something was wrong with Hannah's sudden request. He knows her like an open book and he has a hunch that it was something relating to her annunciator. Only her annunciator can make her do things that she wouldn't do in a norm. Ten minutes later, his phone rang and he answered the call. " Tell me". He said and the person at the other end started speaking. When the person finished talking Raymond said "Keep an eye on him, if he tries to do anything, kill him right away. Starting now, monitor them at work and give me feedback every day". He said and the person on the other end just replied "yes boss". "And Lucas, make sure to keep her safe or I will take your head". Raymond said and hung up.
That night, he couldn't sleep, he couldn't help but worry about Hannah. She always does things recklessly and he has made sure to erase the trails behind her. But now, it would be difficult to help her since she had been caught.
In a way, he was happy that because of this, she would at least take a break from her killings and he hopes that she would be able to live like a normal human. With that thought, he closed his eyes and slept.