The final mission

The shattering of glass, in the far corner of the restaurant, was enough to tell me that my position had been compromised. My eyes darted to the woman I had been observing the entire night, dashing towards the front door and shoving people out of her way. I quickly jumped to my feet and chased after her. The blonde female struggled to carry the suitcase and often staggered as she ran.

My mission was to get the suitcase and leave but this all turned into one exciting chase. She opened the door of the restaurant and ran into the rain, in the hope of escaping me. I weaved my way through customers and waiters until I too was outside, just in time to see her get into a black car with tinted windows.

 My heartbeat accelerated. I mustn’t lose her. I spotted the agency’s getaway cab and jumped in “Follow that car.” I demanded. And with no questions asked he sped perilously through the rain and entered the hot pursuit. In that briefcase held the coordinates of the only witness to an ongoing drug cartel case. My mission is to get the suitcase, kill my driver, and return to headquarters.

The car swerved to the side and I slide and hit my shoulder on the right door. “Must I do everything myself?” I sighed. I placed my hand into my bag and pulled out a loaded pistol. I winded down the windows and placed my upper body outside in order to have a better aim at the target. The loud bang of the bullets escaping the gun was deafening, but I needed to successfully complete this mission. My shots only encourage the same from her and I soon found myself inside the swerving cab as I dodged both passing cars and her bullets. This was insufficient. I needed the perfect shot to end this back-and-forth.

“Keep accelerating,” I told Andre. “On the count of three, I want you to hit the brakes and turn the car in the opposite direction. Do you understand?” I turned to him as he side-eyed me in the rear-view mirror.

“Yes.” His reply was dry, but it was all I needed.

“One. Two.” I counted slowly and as soon as the black car ahead of us was about to turn the corner I shouted the last number “Three!”

The car came to a rough halt and began to skid. I slid over to the left side of the car and aimed my shot at the driver’s head. The pressure from the bullet and the gravity of his lifeless body caused his head to disappear from my vision. A loud screech sounded as the car lost control and toppled over. I watched with keen eyes as the car flipped and slid to the corner of the road.

The cab pulled up not far from the car and I hopped out. I opened the back door and found the woman covered in blood. She grabbed onto the suitcase with what little energy she had left, but I pried it out of her hands.

With steady hands, I took my gun out and aimed it at her face. “You should have just given me the suitcase and went home.” I sneered at her. I swiftly pulled the trigger, collected the suitcase, and closed the door.

I smiled as I walked back to the cab and opened the door. “Andre, we will head to the headquarters,” I said as I closed the door. “I have a message for you.” I tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around, “The agency no longer needs your service.” I said as I quickly grabbed my gun and shot him in the back of his head. I stretched over, opened the car door, and pushed him out.

I quickly climbed into the front seat, closed the door, and began to drive. I never questioned the agency and its decision, but the choice to kill Andre was unnecessary. They disposed of agents for reasons that are unjust and I know that someday the day will come when they no longer need me. However, today I choose to be their pawn and loyal servant.  

Suddenly, a brute force knocked the cab and causes it to topple over. There was no screeching of tires, this person intended to hit me. The breaking of glass, the screams of witnesses, and the rubbing together of metal against the concrete roads were deafening. It all seemed like one big nightmare where my mission was one destined to kill me. Slowly, everything faded to black.

The beeps from the monitor beside my bed awoke me from my slumber. I placed my hands on either side of my head in a lazy, noneffective effort to ease my headache. The white room created a sense of calm within me and contrasted well with the grey couch in the corner. I would have recognized this place anywhere; I was at the agency’s hospital. They were always one step ahead. I was amazed at the fact that they were able to rush me out of the crime scene that fast. They protected all their agents from revealing their identity and that would mean swooping in at desperate times to protect them.

Doctor Carter walked in with two nurses at his side. “Glad to have you back.” He smiled “We thought we lost you.” He said as he collected a pen and a clipboard filled with papers from the brunette nurse.

“You can’t lose me that easily.” I chuckled at him whilst my right hand ran through my hair.

“How are you feeling?” He walked towards me and placed a hand on the edge of the bed. “I imagine that the crash was horrendous.”

“My head hurts. It’s like I got hit by a truck.” I said as I threw my head back. He began to write on the papers that he had brought in.

“Close. You got hit by an SUV.” He chuckled. I smiled at his effort of trying to lighten the situation. “Do you remember anything that happened?” His eyes flush on my face.

“Yes, one moment I was driving away with the briefcase, and the other moment I was here.” I looked around in confusion.

“Do you remember what happened to the briefcase? More importantly the contents of the briefcase” he asked.

“I had it. I didn’t even open it. Did something happen to it? Did it disappear?” I said as I threw my head back upon the soft pillow.

“It’s okay.” He placed his hands upon mine. “Your health is more important. You’re our best agent after all. You’ll get them next time.” He offered me a comforting smile.

And with that, they left the room, and I was left alone. I never liked hospitals because they always freaked me out. It’s funny how God places you in your worst nightmare in order to change you. The rest of the day was a blur filled with overthinking about what the night would bring. 

The dark starry night came quickly and everything in the room seemed like it was out to get me. When my eyes averted from the chairs and tables, they seemed like drooling monsters crawling to get me.  I was practically going crazy. I convinced myself that sleep would quicken the night and cause all the hallucinations to disappear.

I squeezed my eyes tightly and placed my head on the pillow. Sleep needed to come and it needed to come fast. Just when I thought sleep was possible, there was an eerie scraping sound coming from the left side of the room. Immediately my heart leaped, almost coming out of my chest. Was someone in here or was something coming to get me? Just waiting for me to move, waiting for me to open my eyes. Beads of sweat polluted my hands and tremors were sent through my hands. Screams settled on the end of my throat waiting for that final push to leap out.

Just open your eyes. Monsters aren’t real. My breathing got heavier as the seconds passed and as the moments moved by, I swiftly opened my eyes. I turned around to face the monster, but nothing was there. However, the sounds continued. I got off the bed and followed the sound until I was at the window. I placed my shaking hands against the window frame to see what was making the sound. When suddenly there was a sharp knock on the door. A small yelp escaped from my mouth and I swiftly turned to the door.

“Hey Lucile, just checking in on you before I clock out.” The nurse smiled at me as she opened the door. “Are you okay?” she opened the door an inch more to let her left leg in.

“Yeah,” I said nervously as I smiled. “I was just about to go to bed. Just wanted to check out the sky.” I pointed to the window behind me.

“Cool. Don’t stay up too late. You need some rest.” She smiled. “Bye.” She closed the door.

I turned my attention back to the window to inspect where the noise came from. There I saw the gardener raking leaves and shoving them into a bag. A breath of relief hit me as I placed my hands on my chest. Night needed to end and fast. I didn’t know how long I could keep this up.

Let’s try this one more time. I placed my head on my pillow and closed my eyes, and eventually I drifted off into a deep sleep. The sound of a door closing was enough to wake me up. My body froze. I refused to move and risk alerting the person who snuck into my room. My heart began to rap at my chest. I began to become concerned that the perpetrator would hear my hammering heartbeats and kill me.

Just turn around. There is no one there. And with that thought, I spun around and was fully prepared to stare the monster in the eye. That was when I was met face-to-face with a masked assailant. With quick movements, they were able to place a firm grip on my neck. Squeezing tightly as they rammed me against the wall, hitting the back of my head. I lifted my hands and pulled off their mask exposing their face. They quickly released me and bent down to cover their face. They took a few staggering steps back as they bumped into the opposite wall.

A menacing laugh escaped their lips “You’re going to die tonight.” The person straightened their back and faced the wall. “That’s why we had that car crash into yours.”

“Who do you work for?” I asked as I took deep breaths.   

“I wondered when you were going to stop being paranoid.” The person spat “I thought it would be a silent murder.” I could tell that he was smiling.

“Show me your face. If you’re going to kill me at least face me.” I spat at him.

“You’ve disappointed the agency and for that, you will die.” The person said slowly as he turned around and lifted his head. It was Dr. Carter.

I knew the agency would eventually betray me, but somehow I felt surprised and hurt. I had been nothing but loyal to them and this is how they rewarded me.

He threw his head back and laughed. “We no longer need your services.” He said right before he sprung into an attack.

Right before he came close to me, I jumped off of the bed, bumping into the couch. I needed a weapon and I needed one fast. For now, I would just run.

As I began to leap to another side of the room, he grabbed my hair and yanked me back. I fell onto the bed and for a quick second, our eyes met. He sat on top of me and his hands swiftly made their way to my neck and began to apply pressure. I lifted my hands and began to dig into his eyes in a desperate effort to get him off of me. His screams brought delight to my ears as small beads of blood dripped streamed down his face.

This needed to end with Carter’s death. My eyes quickly averted to the heart monitor stand. I just needed to meet it and end him. My moves needed to be calculated. I screamed as I continued to dig into his eyes and as soon as he loosened up his grip I slipped in between the gap, head-butted him, and pushed him off of me.

I lifted the monitor and began to hit him. Every swing was stronger and more vicious than the next. He placed his hands up in defense, but the blows were so rapid and strong that I broke through the barrier. I had to resist the urge to kill him. I knelt down beside him and whispered in his ears “Tell the agency that I lied about the whereabouts of the SD card.” I chuckled. “If they want the SD card, they’re going to have to find me,” I said as I smoothed out wrinkles in his jacket. “Oh, and tell them that I no longer provide my services. I have gone rouge.”

Story by: S.RODNEY