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“What are you going to do?”
“We’re going to retire. Disappear.”
Wraith
Bullets whiz past me hitting trees and the dirt at my feet. There’s more than one sniper. They should’ve had someone a little closer to me, but I suppose they were meant to take me out at the car. Pain is an emotion you can ignore, but I can’t ignore the blood that’s pumping out of my system. If I don’t get a tourniquet on it soon, I’ll bleed out.
Taking off my shirt as I run, I stop and huddle down at the base of a tree. The upper arm bullet wound is a through and through, but the shoulder, I’m not so sure about. It’s bleeding heavily. The blood from my temple wound is stinging my eyes. I rip off one of the arms from my shirt and awkwardly tie it around my head to stem the flow. Head wounds always bleed a lot. Undoing my belt, I take it off, then ball up my shirt and stuff it into the wound. Using the tree, I lean against it and try to fasten my belt around myself. This will immobilize my arm and stem the blood flow.
All the while, I’m listening to the sounds of my pursuers. There’s nothing, but it doesn’t mean they aren’t out there. My only hope for survival is the text. Hopefully, she got it and is en route.
Alwayshave a backup plan.
And to think I nearly didn’t bother.
Ann insisted—thank God I listened to her.
Forcing my legs to work, I stand, using the tree as cover and leverage. Moving forward, I wait for the spray of bullets, but they don’t come. Willing my legs to move faster, I keep going at a slow jog.
There’s no noise behind me.
No more bullets flying past.
My gut tells me they’ve given up pursuit. It wouldn’t be easy in this woodland to track me at night.
My shirt feels soaked through. Just walking is taking a toll on me. Pulling my cell phone out of my pocket, I check my messages.
I’m at the secondary rendezvous.
Falling to my knees, I collapse face-first into the soft soil of the forest floor. I’m not going to make it to the second retrieval position. With effort, I roll onto my back and groan up at the canopy of trees above me.
This isn’t how I thought I’d end.
Not alone.
Sure, I thought I’d die in a hail of bullets, but not like this.
Jonathan Stonewall finally got what he wanted. Me dead or at the very least on the brink, with the reaper reaching out. I never thought he’d bestme.
My eyes feel heavy, and I know falling asleep right now will surely ring the death bell, but my body is shutting down. I’m dizzy, and even the act of breathing has become difficult. Closing my eyes, I will myself to think about Suzanne, Jack, and Ann.
These are the reasons I tried to bury my past, to become a good man. And because of this, I’ve become weak, and it’s enabled my enemies to finally best me.
Was it worth it?Yes.
Unequivocally, yes.
The last few years with my family have been the best years of my life.
I’ve never told them what they all mean to me.
I have made my peace.
As I close my eyes, I send up a prayer that they’re safe.
“Wake up!”
Groggily, I open my eyes.
