I Did The Right Thing

Click!

An agent clicked the side of the recorder to "off" and set it down on the cold silver table. He then wrote down something in his yellow notepad.

"Is that all?" he asked.

The harsh fluorescent lighting gave his whole look a shockingly depressing view. John sat on the other side of the table with his eye blacked, his lip busted, bloodstains still on his suit and the biggest smirk on his face. "Pretty much," he said.

"It is, or it isn't?"

"It is."

John sat in the CIA's 1st stage interrogation room. It was a bland piece of work with a few chairs, a silver table in the middle and a one-way mirror. The fact that he wasn't getting the hell beat out of him means that this was a debriefing and not an interrogation. The way the CIA does interrogation, the table gets in the way.

He looked in the mirror. He didn't know who all was on the other side, but he was really expecting to see-

BUZZ!

There was a loud buzzing noise at the door. Both Director Hoffman and Deputy Director Stein walked in. As soon as they did, the agent collected his things, got up and stood over to the side. The director sat down in the chair, and the deputy stood up behind him with her arms crossed.

"Where is it?" Director Hoffman asked.

John reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the ring with the satellite code on it. Stein pulled out a pen and lifted it up. When she saw the code inside, she nodded at the agent standing next to the wall. The agent then pulled out a napkin and quickly picked up the ring. They put it in a Ziplock bag and left.

"So... how did I do?" asked John.

"You disobeyed a direct order!" said Stein. "Agent Raven, I told you to-"

She was cut off by the director raising his hand. She grumbled but fell silent.

The Director sighed. "So the ring is useless now that the satellite blew up. Went off by itself, huh?"

"Maybe next time you should send an aerospace engineer. I don't exactly know how to work one of those things. I put in the code, and it exploded. I don't know what to tell you."

"If you had let Agent Hawk return it to us like he was supposed to, you wouldn't have blown it up!" said Deputy Stein. "And you partnered with a woman who tried to kill you?"

"First, I'd like to point out that I never agreed to helping Laz do anything outside identifying Bailiff. On and then off the train. I don't know where Mango came from or where she is now. The further away from me, the better! Don't make that seem like a bad thing. Laz decided to make the team go rogue and then partner with a criminal psycho-"

"-Your sister-"

'-A criminal psycho," John yelled over her. "That was aiming a nuke-type laser in space at the White House and previously let part of Tokyo get destroyed because of his poor leadership! Now, I don't know if you recall, but I didn't want to do this shit in the first fucking place. I'd appreciate it if you got off my ass for doing his job."

"You're just throwing Agent Hawk under the bus!"

"Am I? I'm an economist, Stein, not a mastermind. Tell me I could've done half the things I did without him. Tell me I'm wrong to place the responsibility on the senior agent who was in charge of me."

"It's your family!"

"It's your mission!"

The room fell silent.

The director sat back and stroked his chin. The room felt thick. The director's face was in a deep scowl. The air was so tense that, for a moment, John felt as though a bullet couldn't cut through the air.

"How did you get out of the hospital bed?" the Director asked. "You said you woke up, and the doctor helped you escape out of the cuffs. You know I sent Lea and Chief Roman to ensure that you would get taken in. I didn't have to do that."

"If it makes you feel better, they both called me an idiot before leaving. That's when the doctor requested they be removed for my sedation."

The director thought again. He stroked his facial hair. A few minutes of pure silence passed. John and Stein stared at him, waiting on his next word.

"Tell me one good reason I shouldn't fire you and put you in the most remote prison I know," said the Director, finally.

John adjusted his tie and sighed. "Because right now, thanks to me, the CIA is in control of one of the largest mafia-run weapons manufacturers in the world, and if this is going to work, there’s a lot of prepping I have to do."

"Your sister's still alive, though. No one can know. We'll put her in a blackout site, never to be seen again. That's after the interrogation. I can tell she won't talk easily. It'll be... long."

John raised an eyebrow. "What's your point?"

The director studied John's confused face for a beat. Then he stood up and fixed his tie. He reached his hand across the desk to John.

"Welcome to the fold permanently, Agent Raven," said Director Hoffman.

John stood up and shook his hand with hesitation. He then saw how red and shocked Deputy Stein's face was. A huge grin grew across John's face.

"Thank you, sir," said John.

"Anything else?"

"No. Well actually, can I choose where I heal up?"

***********************************************

John sat at a tiki bar, the sea breeze on his face and the hot sun warming his shirtless back. The bartender took two empty glasses from him. He was on the phone with the office. No matter how far he ran, work always found a way to follow him. Even when he was on a well-deserved vacation.

But he didn’t mind this call so much.

“How’s it hanging?” asked Lea.

“Pretty good,” John replied. “Healing up nicely.”

“That’s great,” Lea said. “How’s Mango?”

John turned to look at her. Mango was lounging on a chair, sunbathing, trying to give herself a deep tan. “Same as always,” he said. "Except this time, I think she's trying to get a sunburn."

Lea laughed.

“So… are you ready for your vacation to end?” she asked.

John turned to watch Mango again. As if sensing his gaze, she sat up, looked over, and waved. He patted his head. She tilted up her nose as if she were upset. She then popped on a big sunhat, followed by her large blue shades, and laid back down.

John gave her a thumbs up.

“Not really,” he said. “I'm going to decline the Director's offer and just go back to my old position. I’m actually kind of excited to get back behind a desk. Two weeks is long enough.”

“Really?” Lea asked. “You looked like you were having the time of your life out there.”

“Trust me,” said John. “I’ve had all the fun I need.”

“Well,” Lea said, “at least you won’t need to rush back. One aka Agent Eagle is already done combing through all the fallout from the mission. Apparently, it was of some interest to him. He's about to handle our new situation.”

“You and Chief Roman are the only reason I still work there,” John said. “I can’t thank you enough.”

“And you’re the reason we all still have a job. Enjoy the rest of your break. I’ll see you soon.”

Click. Lea ended the call.

John slid the phone into his swim trunks and walked back out toward the beach.

Mango lay motionless in the sun, her skin visibly pink. John chuckled and shook his head.

“Did you put on sunscreen?” he asked.

“Of course,” Mango replied, suddenly sitting up. “Why? Is it not enough?”

“You’re starting to lobster,” John said.

“Dammit!” she groaned. “It’s not fair! You play in the sun like a Greek god without a care, and I roast like a marshmallow!”

"Yeah, but I always look like this. Just get a little melanin and you'll be fine haha."

John smirked and gently laid himself down on top of her with his face close. He looked into her eyes. He could see the emerald green beyond the darkness of the shades.

“What are you doing?” she asked, scrunching her face.

“I’m being your sunblock. Sun’s good for me... and I’ll give you a different kind of vitamin D later.”

Mango laughed and smacked him in the ribs playfully.

John grinned. “Nope. That won’t work anymore! I’m all healed up.”

“Oh, yeah?” Mango said. She flipped him over, straddling him on the lounge chair, now on top.

“Well, what do you think of—”

SPLAT!

John blinked. Suddenly, his vision went black. His eyes were blinded by something. There was something that fell into his eyes.

“Ow! What the—?” John winced, rubbing his eye. “Did you spit in my eye? Was that a bird or—?”

He looked at his hands and froze. His hands were covered in blood. His mind was trying to process what he was looking at. Did he get injured just now? He wiped his face. More blood!

What was going on?! His eyes widened as he looked down. Mango's head was resting limply on his chest.

There was blood pouring out onto his chest.

His heart started pounding like a train starting to leave the station.

“No... Mango? No...no no no,” John said, heart racing. He gently lifted her head.

There it was. A bullet's entry wound on one side, and an exit wound on the other. Blood was gushing out of both sides.

“NO! No fucking way! Mango!” John ripped off her sunhat and sunglasses. He cradled her head in his arms. Her eyes were already closed. He tried to open them, but they would fall back closed.

“Mango!” he screamed. “Michelle?! Michelle, wake up! You can’t! You just can’t be!”

He looked around frantically.

Nothing.

No one.

“Someone call an ambulance!” he cried out in desperation. He picked up her body and rushed over to the bar. Her body bounced limply in his arms.

At the bar, the tiki bartender looked up, horrified. John screamed at him. “CALL A FUCKING AMBULANCE!”

The bartender nodded and ran to the phone. John laid her down softly on the counter. He put his head against her chest and felt a faint and weak heartbeat fading into silence. He put pressure on the wounds with his hands. Blood spilled all over the counter.

“Hang on!” John begged, his hands trembling as he pressed against her wounds. “Hang on, please... after everything, after all of it... after you and I…”

His voice broke. “This can’t be how it ends…I love you, Michelle! Please! Don’t leave!”

Blood pooled around them, dripping off the counter and staining the sand.

Just like that...

She was gone.