Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16


By the time Jon got home, it was well past ten. Humans or animals hadn’t touched the snow in his front yard yet. Jon took great pleasure in making the first set of footprints in the snow. The snow flew off of his shoes as he kicked them on the doorstep before entering.
He was tired and exhausted, yet exhilarated. Is that possible to be exhausted and exhilarated at the same time? He thought. And, isn’t it interesting that they both begin with the letters e-x-h.
The TV went on immediately. SportsTime was into its second half-hour. By now, it was time for sports like cricket and the America’s Cup. He didn’t care so much, but he was interested if they were going to say anything else about the game on Saturday. He turned up the volume so that he could hear it wherever he was upstairs.
Jon kept the lights in the house off. He liked the sense of solitude that the darkness gave him. Besides, if he fell asleep, he wanted to stay asleep. He went to his bedroom and pulled out a pair of white sweats and changed into them.
Mills wandered into the kitchen and grabbed two cans of Cherry Coke out of the fridge. He popped one open and downed half the can in one chugging session. He let out a long and laborious belch. It was great to be home alone.
His next stop was his parent’s bedroom. He liked to come in here when they were gone and just look out the window. In the living room, the window was too high and the couch back was towards the wall, so it made it a chore to stare outside for long periods. But, in this bedroom, the window was the right height, the bed was big enough and close enough to be able to stare out into space and watch the falling snow while retreating into your own thoughts.
He had just come from an amazing first date with Aleisha Madsen! And, to top it all off, she had kissed him and he had kissed her! Three monumentous occasions all in one night! Jon set the other can of Cherry Coke on the bed next to him as he thought about the warmth of Aleisha’s breath on his face. He watched the large snowflakes fall lightly on the ground. It didn’t happen often, a snow like this, this early in the season, but he could easily remember trick or treating twice in weather like this.
The neighborhood outside of his parent’s window looked calm and quiet. No cars had driven by in the few minutes he had been watching, no pedestrians had walked by, and no one had left their house.
One of his neighbors across the street had an old decrepit Russian olive tree that sagged badly during the summertime. Now that snow was on it, one of its branches was bending down and touching the sidewalk on the other side of the street. Jon watched as more and more snow piled on it. After about five minutes, the branch visibly drooped even more and a chunk of snow fell from it, lightening its load, which caused the branch to rise ever so slightly. There was a car directly next to the branch that was drooping, and Jon was sure that the stream of exhaust hanging in the air had come from it. He hadn’t noticed anyone turn the car on or off. In fact, there didn’t seem to be anyone in it now. But if that was true, where had the exhaust come from? It surely wasn’t his imagination.
The sound of SportsTime was forgotten about as Jon all of sudden heard Kate’s voice in his head, just like he still had his earpiece turned on.
“Don’t forget, Jon, you’re going up against killers here.”
Up against killers here.
Up against killers here.
Up against killers here.
Killers.
Killers.
The quote kept reverberating through his mind.
Killers here.
Killers.
Killers.
Jon slowly set his can on his father’s nightstand as the unthinkable thought made its way to his brain.
“Oh my God. They found me. I don’t know how, but they found me.”
Jon threw himself to the floor and waited for the barrage of bullets to come pouring through the windows and the walls. He waited, keeping his breathing steady and still, but the bullets didn’t come. If they were watching him, were they already in the house? Doubtful, since there were no footprints in the snow. No footprints in the snow leading to the front door. What about the back? Jon stayed on the ground and listened intently for any movement elsewhere in the house. Not hearing any, he crawled out of his parent’s room and into his own.
Jon was still crawling on the ground when he found his gymbag and unzipped it. His right hand went into the bag and rummaged around until it came out with the gun Kate had given him that morning. He popped out the magazine and checked the clip. It was full. Kate said she had fired it and that it had worked fine. Let’s hope it still does, Jon thought. Now, it wasn’t just a gun to Jon, it was his lifeline. Jon slammed the magazine back into its chamber and put it in the back waistband of his pants.
Should he call Kate and wait for her to arrive? Nah, he thought, they could come in at any time. I’ve got to go take care of this one myself. Besides, I’ll have the element of surprise on my side! He sat on the ground and slipped on his white tennis shoes. He was going to have to go out for a little walk.
Pulling himself out of the sitting position and into a crouching one, he made his way to the kitchen. Jon paused, just to make sure that he couldn’t hear anything unusual inside the house yet. Still convinced he was alone, he made his way to the sliding glass door. He examined the snow outside. No footprints and no disturbances here, either. He could safely assume that the killers had yet to make their move against the house. They were probably just waiting for the TV to go off. Jon had thought about turning off the TV, but now thought better of it. If he knew where they were, but they didn’t know where he was, he had a much better chance of taking some of them with him.
Mills cracked the sliding door open just enough to squeeze through the crack. He eased his way outside, and sucked in his gut even more when the gun clanked solidly against the doorjamb. He could just imagine shooting his own ass off. What a great story that would be to future generations. He slipped the gun through the doorjamb and gently closed the sliding glass door behind him.
The night air seemed so still and every crunching footstep he took thundered in his ear, but he knew in reality, he was moving as quietly as could be expected. After creeping down the back stairs, he flattened himself against the back of the house. For all intents as purposes, he was camouflaged quite well with his white sweats against the white snow. Movement didn’t help his chances, of course, but hopefully, they would never see him coming.
He reached the corner of the house and readied himself. He pulled the gun out and checked to make sure the safety was off. He took a deep breath and in one motion, rounded the corner, went down on one knee, and aimed his gun straight ahead. No one. There was no one on the side of the house. Jon flattened himself against the wall again and continued his journey.
Mills was now at the front edge of the house. He would have to be exposed for a few moments no matter what. He crouched low again and peeked around the corner. The scene was still just as quiet except the car was now running. There was a figure in the front seat that leaned down, as if to get something from the glove compartment. This was it. His only chance.
“God, if you’re up there, please help me.” He took a quick visual measurement of his path. There was one tree in the front yard. Jon left his safe place and scurried across to the tree and looked at the car again. The figure was still searching the glovebox.
“Let’s make it all the way,” Jon told himself as he left the confines of the tree and ran behind the back bumper of the car.
Again, Jon waited to hear loud voices, or feel the barrage of bullets pierce his body, but nothing. The only sound he could hear was the radio inside the car. It sounded like ‘The End’ by The Doors. Whoever was stalking him had good taste. KLZX was the only station in town that played that song.
The butterflies subsided, but Jon could still hear the force of blood pounding through his veins and his heart thundering in his chest. It sounded as if his raspy and straggled breathing was as loud as a siren. It must not have been because the person was still looking like they were the hunter, not the hunted. He knew he had to make his move soon, because he couldn’t stand the tension for much longer and also, he was freezing to death!
Slowly, Jon crept along the passenger side of the car. He watched the side mirror and figured that if he couldn’t see the passenger’s reflection, then they couldn’t see him. He made it to the door, raised his gun, and positioned his hand to yank the door open.
“Bad move,” he thought. “They’ll have me made before I can get the door open. I’ll be better just shooting through the glass. Besides, if I shoot first, the glass will go inside toward them, not outside toward me.” He closed his eyes and took several long, slow, deep breaths and let them out.
“Here we go, Mills, make it or break it time.” He steadied himself in his crouched position and got his gun prepared.
He stood straight up and was prepared to see several goons aiming at him. Instead, he noticed just one person in the car, and they were lying across the front seat. All Jon could see was a mass of hair pressed up against the window. A mass of red hair. A mass of very familiar red hair.
Jon clicked the safety on and tapped the side of the gun against the window.
Kate Thompson screamed and jumped almost vertically through the roof. She turned around with fear and rage in her eyes, but softened immediately upon seeing who it was. She put her hand to her chest and slowed her breathing down. Jon motioned for her to unlock the door. She did and Jon opened it.
“Kate, what the hell are you doing out here?”
“I should ask you the same question. Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping and getting ready for tomorrow?”
“I probably should, but I have to say, it’s your fault I’m out here!”
“How is it my fault?”
. Jon ignored the question. “It’s a little cold out here tonight. You want to come in and do your stakeout from inside?”
Kate knew that she had been had. Smiling at the thought of warmth and companionship, she responded, “Sure. I’d love to.”

Jon took the large steaming mug of hot chocolate over to Kate. She was shivering on a chair with two blankets over her, next to the heater vent.
Kate unburied her hands from the pile of blankets and took the mug from Jon.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” he replied. “I can make soup, or toast, or even steaks if you want.”
“Nah, this will do me just fine.” Kate lifted the spoon that Jon had left in the mug and stirred the steaming liquid. She avoided Jon’s gaze. “How did you know?”
“Excuse me?”
“How did you know I was out there?”
Jon decided to play with her. “Come on, Kate. Any good Agency member would notice that you were out there.”
Kate looked up, tilted her head to one side and raised her eyebrows.
“Okay, maybe not.” Jon went to the kitchen and returned with his own large mug of hot chocolate. “Actually, I didn’t know it was you. I assumed it was them.”
“Them who?”
“Them the killers, them.”
“Why would you think that?”
“Isn’t that what you told me? I was going up against killers? I needed to take my gun everywhere with me? I would never know when I might need to use it?”
“I did say that, yes.”
“So, at the theater, you said you would see me tomorrow. I wasn’t expecting you. I was looking out at the street and watching the snow fall, and no one had walked to the car and it started up, so I knew someone was there and it looked like a perfect vantage point for this house.” He paused his explanation and took a deep breath. “Besides, if I knew it was you, would I take my gun out?”
“Fair point.”
“How long have you been watching me, Kate?”
Kate diverted the question. “Is that the piano you learned on?”
“How long, Kate?”
She resigned herself to telling the truth. “I never stopped. Monday when you came back from the hospital, I dropped you off, circled the block and started my nightly stakeouts.”
“Why?”
“Bender wanted you protected at your most vulnerable moments.”
“Bender wanted it?”
“Of course.” Kate seemed to be searching for the right phrase. “Sort’ve. When I asked him to do it.”
“You asked him?” Jon got a triumphant grin on his face.
Kate stirred her chocolate again and stared into the swirling brown depths. “ Yes, I did.”
Jon walked over and put his hand on her shoulder. “Thanks, Kate. Thanks for looking out for me.”
“That’s my job as your trainer, isn’t it? I watch out for you. I’ve made a few mistakes, but all things considered, I think we make a good team.” Kate took her first gulp from the mug and winced slightly as the drink burned her throat. “You’re doing amazingly well, Jon. You’ve started strong, you’re getting better in just two days, and you have real potential. You may feel like a nobody, the new guy, but you have a lot more promise than I did when I started.”
Jon took a seat on the couch and put his feet on the coffee table. “How did you find out about the Agency? How did you get to where you are now?”
Jon watched as Kate got lost in her memories. Her lips turned upwards, almost imperceptibly, as she remembered the good times. Her mouth turned downwards as she thought about the bad times. Then, her mouth went into a straight line and she started biting her cheeks as her eyes moistened as she thought about the really bad times. A tear never fell from her eyes though. She was determined not to let that happen.
“Do you really want to know?” Kate’s voice was quivering.
Jon locked eyes with her. “Yes, I really do.”
Kate sat and just breathed for several minutes, contemplating how to begin. Jon waited patiently. He knew the explanation was coming, but he wasn’t about to rush her.
“I guess I owe it to you to tell you, Jon. I know all about you, and you don’t know anything about me.” Kate turned her stool away from the heater. She stood and sat down on the opposite side of the couch from Jon. Her legs folded under her in Indian Style and she re-wrapped the blankets tightly around her.
Kate took one more gulp from her hot chocolate before she dropped the bomb. “My husband was the first link to the Agency that I ever had.”
Jon’s eyebrows shot up. “Husband?”
“Yes.”
“Your husband?” Jon asked again.
Kate nodded.
Jon had never even considered this possibility. “So, you’re, uh, you’re, you know- married?”
“I was. It seems like forever ago, but I got married on May ninth, 1986. I was a young girl of just 21.” She stared at the couch cushions. “It was the best two years of my life.”
“Two years? So, you’re not married anymore?”
Kate shook her head.
“I’m sorry to hear that. When did you get divorced?”
“I didn’t.”
“You’re just separated? Trying to work things out?”
Kate shook her head again.
“Oh.” Jon felt like it was his turn to intrude on personal things. “So he, uh-“
Kate looked up and locked eyes with him. The moist eyes were back. “I’m a widow, Jon. At 25 years old, I’m a goddamned widow.”
Jon was speechless. Strange squeaks and silence came from his open mouth, but no words for the longest time. Finally, he was able to form a complete thought. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“No one does. Only Walter Bender and Earl Asshole Stanley know about Patrick.”
Jon really felt like he was intruding now. If those were the only two who knew…. “If you don’t want to tell me, Kate, it’s cool. I totally understand.”
Kate cut him off. “No, Jon. It’s okay. I owe it to you. I owe it to him. I haven’t thought about it for such a long time, it almost seems like I’m forgetting him. I can’t let that happen.”
Jon picked up his mug again and got ready for Kate’s story.