Alex's words weren't lost on Richard, nor was the fact that she was essentially saying them to him without realizing it - or realizing it and feeling that he had to hear it. What did surprise him was the punch.

Thomas Warren wasn't exactly the type of person you punched. Real or hallucination. He could hear the Helvation laughing as Warren actually went down, and his hand went to Alex's as he started moving in a backward direction. He didn't want to see what his mind thought Warren would do when someone physically assaulted him.