He didn’t appreciate the babysitter comment, but the moment Alex reminded him of his promise was when he came up short and froze in his tracks.  Yes, he’d promised not to leave him, but it wasn’t like he was going far.  The assassin whipped around and stepped back into the room, pointing a finger at the young man.<br/><br/>“And I also said you do what I say, when I say it, no questions!” he reminded, showing how not happy he was about being ignored.  “That rule still applies.  It<i>always</i>applies!”  Beyond the anger, there was something more potent.  Worry, perhaps.  “Just… eat your food.  I need time to think.  Raff won’t hurt you; he’s a fucking kitten.”  And then he was heading back out, closing the sliding glass door behind him.  Andreas wasn’t used to feeling guilt, but that’s what he reckoned that little nagging feeling was, so he didn’t go so far that he couldn’t be seen from the window.  He sat at the table on the back porch and lit up a cigarette as he opened the folder and started sifting through the paperwork, reading over it carefully, memorizing every bit.<br/><br/>“He’s right,” Raff commented once they were alone.  As soon as Alex turned to face him, he took a quick picture of the young man sitting there, bruises and all.  “I don’t hurt innocent people, and you haven’t done anything wrong.  There’s no hit on you.  In fact, everyone thinks you’re dead, so that’s not likely to happen.  Besides, you’re under his protection.  If I hurt you, he’d hunt me down and kill me.  Probably my entire family first…”