I'll Walk You Home

"Hello?" I answered my phone. "We sent you your next target. You've got until the end of the week." I hung up and checked my texts. I packed my bags and went down to the hotel lobby. "Hi, how can I help you?" the clerk asked.

"Hi. I'm checking out." "Ok. Name or room number?" "Room 302." She typed a few things on her computer. "Ok. You are all set." "Thanks." I smiled and left. I got to my truck, threw my bag in and drove off for the airport.

******

"Hello. Where are you off to today?" "Ashby, Australia. I have a prepaid ticket on my phone." "Okay." I handed her my phone. She scanned the code and gave it back. "You are all set Miss Molloy." "Thanks." I went ahead to the security check, the gate, and on the plane.

******

When I left the airport in Australia, I got another text. A picture, a hotel, and where the target was. I got a cab and went to the hotel first. I checked in and went up to the room. It was a nice 2 bedroom suite. 4 beds, 2 bathrooms, a snack bar, the works. Usually people in our department want to keep a low profile. But we had the money and our targets deserved at least one night in a nice bed before going on the run for the next 2 weeks.

After I set the room up to be prepared for an attack, I grabbed my gear and left for the targets location. I got another cab and told him the address. "Are you sure? That's kind of out in the middle of nowhere." "Yea. I'm sure." "Alright." We listened to the radio for a while. He turned it down and asked, "You're not from here, are you?" "Nope." "Where ya from?" I looked at him through the rearview mirror. "Why do you want to know?" He shrugged, "Just trying to make conversation." I thought for a moment. "Antartica." He gave me a weird look but didn't ask.

About an hour later, we arrived. "Do you mind waiting for a bit? Or is there a bus or something that comes out here?" "There's a bus that stops just up the road, but it won't come for another hour. I'll wait for ya, no problem." "Thank you." I said and went to the little shack. I knocked on the door. A young girl opened the door. She was about 12. I had to hold back tears. She was filthy, in torn clothes, skinny and pale. Her eyes lit up when she looked at me. "Mom! The angel is here!" She shouted and ran off. I stepped in and closed the door. The Mom came in and looked just as happy to see me.

"You must be Miss Molloy." "Please, just call me Charlotte." She came up and hugged me. I awkwardly hugged her back. "Are you and your kids ready?" "Yes. Alice! Get Lawson! I'll get the bags." I helped her grab the two backpacks that were sitting in the main room. The girl came back carrying a little 2 year old boy. "When will your husband be home?" I asked as we left the shack. "Not until tomorrow." The cab driver opened the trunk for us. We put the bags in and got in the cab and left.

"Where to?" "Back to the hotel you picked me up from." I pulled food and water out of my pack and handed it to them. Alice downed both. Little Lawson awkwardly ate a banana and Opal, the mom, helped him drink the water. She ate and drank after her kids had.

Once we were back at the hotel, we went in one of the back doors and up to the room. Opal and I set the bags down. "There are two bedrooms there, two bathrooms there. Help yourselves to the snack bar, shower, I have clothes for you and your children. We'll be here for a couple days."

Alice ran up and hugged me. "Thank you angel." She said, then ran to the snack bar with her little brother. "You'll have to forgive her. I didn't know how to tell her, so I just said an angel was coming to save us...." She wiped tears from her eyes. "And you are an angel, Charlotte." I just smiled. I hated crying. I went over to my duffel bag and pulled out the clothes for all of them. "I'll put your clothes on the couch." I did so then went out onto the balcony to call my boss.

"Target secure, sir. Everything went smooth. The piece of trash husband won't be back until tomorrow." "Good job Molloy. What's the condition of the family?" I turned and looked at them through the window. They all sat together on the carpet, stuffing their faces with whatever they could find. Lawson sat in his mothers lap while Alice sat facing them, smiling at her mom. "Could be worse. They look like they haven't bathed in weeks. Their clothes are rags, they're not even looking at what they are grabbing before they eat it." "Not surprised. Kahlo will be there in a couple days to fly you out. Have you asked where they want to go?" "Not yet. I will by tonight." "Alright. Talk to you tonight." "Yes sir." We hung up and I went back in.

I sat on the floor with the little family. "What have we got here?" I asked. "Snickers." Alice giggled with her mouth full. "Oh, can I have one?" "Mm hm." She reached in the cabinet and handed me one. "Thank you." I opened it and nibbled on it. "So...Mom, Alice. There's a few things we need to discuss, it's all for your safety." "Okay." Opal said. I took a deep breath. "First, always keep the curtains shut. If you want some daylight in, ask me first so I can check the streets. Try to stay away from the windows. By that I mean, don't lean up against them or play with the curtains. Don't leave the room or use the phones. I have a phone if you need to call anyone. Try not to draw a lot of attention to this room. So no jumping on the beds or being loud. If anyone comes looking for you, we don't want anyone to give them our room number because we've been weird. Lastly, I need to ask....Where do you guys want to live?"

"What do you mean?" Opal asked. "We told you you do have to leave the country. But, we have a list of countries that we can fly you to." I pulled it out of my pack and handed it to them. "You get to pick any of these places to live. In a couple days, a friend will fly us there, I'll help you find a place and get settled in. I'll stay with you for a couple days then my friend will take over and he'll stay with you for a couple weeks to make sure you're safe."

They sat there in stunned silence. "We can really go anywhere?" Alice asked. I nodded, "Yes you can." Lawson tried to grab the paper. We all chuckled. "While you two talk about it, why don't I go give Lawson a bath and some clean clothes." "Oh that would be great, thank you." She said. "Come here little guy." I stood and picked him up. I grabbed the clothes for him and took him into one of the bathrooms. I turned the water on and put him in once the tub was full. I gave him some toys I had brought. He had a hay day. He splashed and squeeled. I rested my head on the edge of the tub and just watched him.

He was so precious. How could anyone treat such an innocent thing so horribly. He handed me one of the toys. It was actually one of my favorites from one I was a kid. My mind wandered to the possibility of having a family one day. There was no way that would ever happen unless I quit my job. And I couldn't do that.

I washed Lawson's hair and face, dried him off, put him in clean clothes, brushed his teeth, and we went back out to his mom and sister. He waddled his way to Opal and Alice. "Oh you look so beautiful." Opal cried. She scooped him up in her arms. "Momma." He giggled. Alice and Opal looked at him stunned. They looked at me. "That's the first time he's said anything in weeks." Opal cried. "My turn my turn!" Alice said. We laughed. "Why don't you go in the other one so I can clean this one up. There are some clothes for you on the couch over there." "Yea!" She jumped for joy and ran off for the shower.

I quickly cleaned the bathroom up and came back out. "What do you think Opal? You ready to feel clean again?" "Oh yes. Are you sure you don't mind watching him?" "No problem. Take your time." She hugged me for the 3rd time that day. She took my face in her hands. "Thank you again." she said and grabbed the clothes and went to the bathroom.

"Should we clean up some of these wrappers Lawson?" I said. "Aaa." was what I got. "Great."

******

Two days later, it was time to leave. We got to the private airport and met Kahlo at the plane. Kahlo and I hugged each other tight. He was like a brother to me. We did a lot of missions together. He kissed my cheek. "Glad you're safe." he whispered. "You too." I stepped back. "Kahlo, this is Opal, Alice, and Lawson. Opal, Alice, this is Kahlo." "Are you the angels boyfriend?" Alice asked. I went bright red. Kahlo laughed, "No little one. But maybe you can talk her into it, eh?" I whacked his arm. Opal and Kahlo laughed. "Why don't you all get in the plane, we'll get the bags." I said to Opal.

"Alright. Come on Alice." Kahlo and I got the bags in. "So we're off to Wyoming?" he asked. "Yea. Alice learned about the U.S. in school and she did a state project on Wyoming." "Ah. So how were they when you got there." I sighed, "Not....not good, Kahlo." "Are they ever?" "Hm..No, I guess not."

******

Two weeks later, I checked in on Opal and the kids. They were doing great. Alice was loving school and had lots of friends. Lawson was talking again and growing like crazy. Opal found a job as an Interior Designer, which is what she went to school for when she was younger. "Well I'm glad to hear everything's going well." "And how about you Charlotte? We talked about you taking some time off. Are you going to?" "Um...yea. Yea just for a few days. Nothing huge." "Good, I'm glad to hear it." "Well you let me know if you ever need anything. We're always here for you." "I know. I can't thank you enough. Say, Alice wants to send you something. Would that be okay?" "Yea, absolutely." I gave her my address, we said goodbye, and hung up.

I looked at the big sign in front of our office building. I'll Walk You Home. We're a protection service. If you're scared to drive, you don't want to walk home alone at night, or you need someone to come sit with you until your parents get home, we'll be there for you. But some of us, like me, go a little deeper. We help people that need to escape their current situation. When the cops can't help, and you have no way of getting out on your own, that's what we're for. That's what I'm for.