Chapter 2 You're Chasing A Very Risky Dream, Leia

• "Answer me!" I shouted as I saw Hector frozen in front of his cell phone screen.
• "... Leia, you don't know how scary that man can be..." he said ruefully.
• He picked up the phone again, looked at the screen, took a deep breath, and swiped to answer.
• His forehead started to sweat again, his hands trembled at first sight and his voice changed completely, it was true, Hector was dying of fear just to talk to him.
• "Sir." Was the first thing he said to him. "I don't think this conversation is appropriate."
• "No, no! Tell him yes!" I whispered waving him in front of him.
• Hector raised his arms and refused, trying to concentrate and not ruin it with Darren on the phone.
• "I've got more guys, ones that have been working for years, some of them can interview you anytime, sir." He continued.
• Hector's face showed his fear, without me, for some strange reason he still didn't understand, there would be no interview.
• "She is very new sir... She knows nothing of this world, she is a novice in every way." He tried to explain.
• But in one swift move, while Hector hesitated and listened to Darren's words, I grabbed the cell phone under my own power and began to speak.
• "Darren, it's Leia, the reporter." I stammered quickly. "I'm willing to do the interview, as long as you promise to look out for my well-being."
• Also at my words, Hector paced worriedly, ran his hands over his head in regret, and brought his hands to his mouth one last time to bite his fingernails.
• He denied it, whispered repeatedly that it was all wrong, and asked to end the call and hand over his cell phone.
• But I knew it was the only chance I had for now, and like my mother, I was not afraid of anything or anyone.
• I heard her breathing after the call ended, a deep silence that made my skin tingle in the distance, and soon her hoarse voice reached me.
• "Leia." Was the first thing she said. "I just want to tell my side, my truth, then the end will come. I will turn myself in." He whispered and explained. "But first I want you all to hear from me."
• "I will hear you, Mr. Darren. I will tell your story, I will tell the truth without changing it." I confessed.
• Once again his breathing could be heard over the microphone, he took a deep breath, thought and finally agreed. "I wasn't wrong about you, Leia." He confessed. "You are brave and determined."
• "May I ask why, why me?" I asked.
• "Because you deserve a chance, Leia. You deserve a chance to prove your potential." She whispered. "Once upon a time, someone believed in me, just like that, a new era in my life began."
• "And how do you know all this?" I asked confused.
• "Darren knows everything, Leia. I have ears and eyes everywhere, even in places you think I don't. But now I expect to see you soon, just you and me, otherwise I'll send my men to end this." He warned. "No cops, no traps, Leia." He repeated. "I don't want you to meet the same fate as your mother..." He whispered.
• "My mother?" I asked. "What do you know about my mother?" I insisted.
• "Darren is all knowing, Leia, all seeing and all hearing." He reminded me. "You will soon have news of the day, time and place. Don't be impatient." He whispered before ending the conversation.
• I went blank, staring at the screen as frozen as Hector had been hours before. He walked over to me, took the phone out of my hands, grabbed my shoulders and stared at me. "What did you just do, girl, what did you just do?" he insisted nervously. "You put yourself in danger, you accepted his proposal... You're playing with fire!" She warned.
• "He knows something, Hector. He knows about the shooting, he knows about me... He knows about my mother." I whispered, furrowing my brow in confusion. "How can he know so much?" I asked.
• "... Leia, Darren has men all over town, he knows everything about everyone. My concern is his fixation on you, only you..." He whispered in confusion. "This doesn't smell right, Leia. Don't do it, don't do it for your mother."
• "I'm doing it for her, Hector. Just like me, she wouldn't have missed an opportunity like this." I warned.
• "I know, but look at you now, what was the point of your mom being like that, where is she now?" he asked looking at me blankly.
• "She died doing what she loved, Hector, standing up for everything she knew, being a hero to everyone... She died with honor." I explained.
• "Exactly Leia, she died. I don't want that for you. You have your life to live, you're a child." He insisted.
• "Nothing will change my mind, Hector. I've already sold my soul to the devil, now I have to face him once and for all. I don't want to spend the rest of my days serving coffee, that's not what I came here for. If this is how I show you my potential, then so be it."
• "You are risking your life, Leia." He reminded her.
• "We are in danger every day, Hector. Even in here, the dead are everywhere."
• "But this time you're the one going after them." He warned.
• "I'm chasing a dream, Hector." I asserted.
• "You're chasing a very risky dream, Leia."
• "I'm going anyway, Hector. Don't stop me like you've been doing all this time." I said somewhat annoyed. "Look on the bright side, if something happens to me, you won't have to make excuses every time I ask you for real work."
• "You don't know my reasons, Leia. I've taken care of you all this time, that's all I've tried to do. Your mother was my best friend, I would have wanted to keep you healthy, out of harm's way." He explained.
• "My mother would have wanted me to follow my dreams, Hector. That was what she did all her life, follow her dreams no matter how risky it was.