“So, it official yet?” Raphael asked as Hope walked through the door.
“Is what official?”
“Rocky Road finishing?”
“Oh yeah. Yeah it is,” Hope nodded and patted her stomach. “I’m seriously thinking I might not pursue any other work for a while. I just want spend time raising our son for awhile.”
Raphael nodded. Any further conversation, however, was impossible, as at that moment blinding light shone through the windows of their home. There was a great deal of confusions and the next thing Hope knew there was a sweet-smelling cloth being put over her mouth. She was hit by a sense of deja vu before everything went black.
When Hope awoke some immeasurable amount of time later, she was tied up and lying against a number of boxes. She frowned and her eyes scanned the scene before her. She was in a warehouse, with a number of tough looking guys and beside her was Raphael. Raphael was still out.
“Oh look, she’s awake,” she heard a voice from behind her say.
Hope felt a hand behind her head grab hold of her hair and yanked her head up and around to look up at a scarred face.
“So, you’re the one who’s been hiding Raph from us all these years,” he said sounding vaguely amused.
“Hiding from you?” Hope repeated, startled.
“He did tell you we were planning to hunt him down and kill him, right?” he asked.
“I told her you killed my gang,” Raphael spoke up. “I could hardly tell her of your plans when I didn’t know what they were.”
The gangster dropped Hope’s head (which, while she was glad that her hair didn’t get pulled out of her skull, she wasn’t all that pleased with the hard thud that followed) and closed the distance between himself and Raphael.
“Oh good, you’re up. I was beginning to think you’d sleep all day.”
“Why did you bring Hope here? This is between me and you.”
“Why Raph, I thought you of all people would understand. The gang is your family after all...” the gangster gave a sidelong look at Hope. “And it looks like you’re about to expand your little gang soon enough.”
Raph snarled at the gangster, and he laughed, before gesturing over to a couple of the boys. They lifted Raph up and tied his arms back against one of the large crates.
“Now, you realise that from all the trouble you caused us trying to find you, we can’t just y’know, shoot you like we did your little pals, right?” the gangster smirked. “By the way, that was very cute of you, changing your last name to Hanson. Pussy.”
“Hey!” Hope objected. “I happen to like my last name.”
“Shut up.”
“Uh huh, look, you’re clearly being ridiculous. I mean, seriously, you’ve been holding a grudge for some, I don’t know, imaginary slight for how long now? You stop being a bunch of pussies!”
The gangster pointed his gun at her.
“Tell your woman to keep her mouth shut, Raph, or I will shoot her.”
“Hope.”
“Fine.”
“Good girl,” the gangster smirked.