She saw them to the point of losing count...Women and men on their way of becoming ghosts... of losing themselves and their identity...
and there he was... a shadow of a man that she once knew... something terrible happened to him leaving him broken...
that was it... he looked the same yet he was completely changed...
his attitude... how he talked...how he thought ... even how he walked seemed off to her...

a few moments of awkward silent left her wondering... what was all of that about...
"Didn't we already?! I recall telling to try it out... didn't I ?..."
she replied with a smirk then as she processed it all... things started to get clearer...

"Did you come here to talk about weapons? because it doesn't seem like it... you come here and claim that I lie and hide...
you're making no sense... you want to start something that you don't even completely know... you're playing games...
instead of coming to me as a friend which you knew I will be there for you... because the Charlie I knew was observant...
he wasn't an empty vessel roaming around not knowing what to do...yet that what you want... to get away from your old self... 
as fast as you can... thinking it's gonna fix whatever the hell happened to you... the irony is you're the one hiding from and lying to himself...
if you came here expecting a fight by being a dick you won't get it... all you get is my sympathy for being an empty shell of a lost man and
by choice nonetheless... which of course you will say that you didn't ask for it... you don't ask for anything right ?...
you're just doing whatever this is!..."

she said the words with a blank face... empty of all emotions but sorrow... she said the words watching the look change on his face...
she might seem harsh on him...seemed to hit a nerve ...but she knew him too damn well...
he was smart and she knew that only the facts would help him...that what she would have wanted for herself... she heard the talks about him... he was in a hard situation and she respected his choices...but that wasn't an excuse for it... he was better than that...

"Heh, how pathetic, you hide it and talk of me? I am fine. The Charlie that you know is dead, can't you see that is what I am trying to tell you? I am no longer weak or a spineless fool. It was all games, I was behaving like a child and my time away, well, it allowed me to put things in order and the first thing is you."

Charlie chuckled, no longer checking out the shortsword, his good mood had been sullied by the likes of this pretender in front of him, the woman that tried to hide her very own bloodlust, the very way that she looked at the man's body like it was a masterpiece, like Leonardo himself, had come again and painted once more. 

"Do you not realize that I noticed how you were, it was a shock and perhaps, a bit unnerving, but I got over it. As should you, but then I wondered, why would she hide it from me? Her partner-in-crime, her friend, and trusted heister in jewels? Well, I came to one conclusion, your ashamed."

He walked forward, once more, invading her personal space, trying to get through to her, but whether he did or not, remained on this speech that he was too give. He wanted her to be at her best and half-assing it, was not the best and barely made a dent in the metal armor. He needed to become ruthless! 

"You cannot be this way, Partner. You need to be at one-hundred percent, otherwise, all the jobs, all the money, gold, jewels, gas stamps, hell you name it! All that goes away, because people hear things on the streets and they then hear of this big crew, The Outfit. The one team to do a Jewel Heist and succeed..."

He breathed deeply, not wanting to allow himself to get too worked up, otherwise, it was going to be a huge fight and he had brains to know that TwoB could handle her own and possibly beat his arse, should that happen. He had already gotten his face beaten in enough as it was, he was not ready for another. 

"I just need you to let that bit out, I need you to become yourself, not this....act, not this smoke and mirrors. I need a ruthless monster on my team, because the Heists that I have planned, well, they aren't as easy as the last one..."