Chapter 15: Redemption and Resilience

Sarah was decorating her Christmas tree in the living room. Last year’s half-dressed tree haunted her for months. It was not until she made peace with the past that she could get rid of those lingering images. This year, she was determined to do it right and had begun putting up decorations a week early.

She was nearly finished when she reached for the only souvenir from her former life. She carefully placed the glass angel on the tree. The glass wings sparkled under the light pouring in through the window. How many nights had she clung to this ornament? she thought. This small object had given her hope and strength to embrace her new life.

Sarah’s thoughts were abruptly interrupted by an unexpected knock at her door. She wondered who it might be. She did not have many friends in the place, nor did she receive any deliveries. She carefully opened the door and was pleasantly surprised to find Jinx there.

Jinx held a single white rose in his hand as an offering for peace. Sarah accepted his silent apology. He seemed different now, more mature and confident. He had grown even taller and seemed lean and fit. What had become of that skinny boy she had seen last year? She wondered.

“Jinx?” Sarah called out in surprise. “Is that you?” She could not help smiling at the sight of him.

He smiled at her sheepishly. “Yep, same old, Jimmy the ‘Jinx’.”

Sarah opened the door wide for him. “Come on in,” she said. “It’s so good to see you. Have a seat. I’ll make us some tea.”

She sat him down on the comfortable couch in the living room.

“Have you been keeping well?” Sarah asked as she returned with two cups of hot tea for them. “I am glad to see you looking good.”

Jinx smiled at her and reached for his cup. “You don’t look so bad yourself,” he winked at her. His gaze lingered on her for a little too long.

Sarah noticed and ignored his old habit. She sat down opposite him. “So, what has life been like?” she asked, sipping on the tea.

“I’ve had my hands full this year. I had to play catch-up with a lot of learning.” He replied, sipping his tea and scowling at its flavor.

Sarah nodded in understanding but couldn’t resist asking. “And Mark? You’re still working with him, right?”

Jinx grimaced as he placed the cup aside. “I haven’t seen boss since last year,” he muttered. “He sent me to this institute where they hold special courses for guys like me,” he said, avoiding Sarah’s eyes. He was using half-truths, and she noticed it.

Sarah’s heart skipped a beat. She couldn’t help but ask, “I don’t understand. Then ... then ... How did you find me?”

Jinx noticed the fear in her eyes. “Do not worry, Sarah, your cover is intact.” He told her. “It’s a long story. I finished training and got one week of vacation. I visited the old neighborhood first. I wanted to meet you in person and apologize. So, I asked my mentor for your location.” He suddenly stopped as his face paled.

“Oh, no! I’ve made a huge mistake!” he exclaimed. He grabbed Sarah’s arm. “We have to go. NOW!”

Sarah didn’t see the two masked men who had entered the cottage from the back door. One of them moved fast and covered Sarah’s mouth before she could scream.

Jinx was swift enough to act. He kicked the first man away while grabbing the other by the throat. The man he had kicked collapsed on the ground. The other one struggled to breathe as Jinx squeezed his throat tightly with his arms around it.

Sarah screamed as she tried to step away from those men. Jinx managed to keep those men down for a minute before another masked figure appeared behind him. He hit Jinx hard on the back of his head to knock him out. Then a fourth man appeared behind Sarah and grabbed her arms.

The men tied up both Jinx and Sarah when another person appeared. It was James.

James entered the room with a smile on his face. He saw Sarah tied up and Jinx lying on the ground unconscious. “Hello, my love,” he spoke in a nauseating tone.

Sarah fought her tethers as she watched one of the men holding a syringe filled with a clear liquid. She tried to resist, but those men were too powerful for her. She felt a sting on her arm as a burning hot fluid coursed through her veins. Her senses began to numb. They held her down on the couch as she began losing her strength. Jinx was coming around slowly, but he soon became limp as someone administered the same injection to him.

“I must thank you, Jinx.” James snarled at him, his eyes cold. “You brought us right to Sarah. I should reward you appropriately for all your tricks.”

Sarah stared at James defiantly. She had a million questions to ask but Jinx nudged at her. He was asking her to keep quiet for now.

“Take them away,” James ordered his men. They dragged Sarah and Jinx towards the door and into a van waiting outside the cottage.

James followed after them. Once Sarah and Jinx were secured in the back of the van, they drove away in the distance.

Agent Vee’s Cottage, cozy living room

Agent Shade sat across from Dr. Vee, barely managing his composure as he looked at her. It had been a long session of psychological evaluation and testing, and he was exhausted.

Vee leaned back in her chair as she regarded the tired man in front of her.

“Well, Agent Shade, this concludes your evaluation,” she said in her professional tone. “You’ve made progress, but there is room for improvement with your patience and anger management.”

Shade bit back a sarcastic retort. Getting in a verbal spat with Vee was not a good idea for him. Especially when she held complete control over his future as an agent.

It had been a year since he had been tracking James. He knew James was still in the home city, but despite Shade’s best efforts, James had managed to evade him. Rather, one could say that James had not surfaced at all.

Shade had tried a little too hard and had been aggressive with James’s old contacts. He was just too desperate for the lead.

Commander Blackwell did not like this. He understood Shade’s attachment to Sarah and his personal stakes in catching James. He ordered Shade to step down from the mission and sent him to Vee for psychological evaluation.

That’s how Shade landed in this troublesome situation. Now, his future as an agent hung on Vee’s evaluation. Unfortunately, he had a history of disagreements with Vee.

Shade knew that Vee would try to make his life difficult, but he was still not ready for Vee’s final comments. Rather than a simple Yes or No review, Vee had delivered him a curveball.

“Given your exemplary performance in your last information-gathering mission, I’m going to recommend you for similar assignments,” she said in a firm voice. “I believe you’re ready.”

His anger boiled over as he leaned forward, looking at Vee with narrowed eyes. “You’ve got to be kidding me! You can’t tie me down to the desk. I am the best field agent available. Needless to say, I still have an active target on the loose out there.”

Vee’s expression remained calm and unruffled as she held up a hand to stop his outburst. “I am quite serious about my recommendation. And as for your target...” She paused, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth. “The trap is already in place. In fact, I believe James should be taking the bait even as we speak.”

Shade was confused. The mission was not handed over to anyone unless Vee herself had interfered. “Wait ... You didn’t use Sarah as bait, did you?”

Vee shook her head. “Not exactly, Agent Shade. Although she is part of the plan, she is not alone. I had tasked Jinx to lure out James and then lead him to Sarah.”

Shade slammed his fist on Vee’s desk. “What the hell did you do? Jinx had barely finished his training! He’s not ready for a mission like this!”

Vee met his gaze unflinchingly. “As his handler, I considered him fit for duty. In fact, this is to be his graduation assignment.”

Shade tried to get a grip on his emotions. Vee was clearly playing with him. He never liked to dance to her tune. First, she had worked with Sarah and kept him away from her. Now, she was acting as a handler for Jinx. There was no point in pushing this argument. The die had already been cast.

“How am I supposed to track them?” He asked.

Vee raised an eyebrow. “Why do you need to track them? I don’t recall assigning you to a rescue mission.”

“Come on,” Shade scoffed. “You want me to go in and save the damsel in distress, right? The classic trope?”

Dr. Vee smiled thinly. “Agent Shade, with all due respect, I see no damsels in need of rescue here. My only concern is the successful capture of our target. You have no role in this mission.”

Shade didn’t have time to argue further. He snatched up the tracking device Vee had strategically placed on the table. He had to save his protegee and the woman he loved.

As they drove through the dark, Sarah could feel the numbness in her thoughts and her body losing strength. The drug was taking effect. The van was soundproof and the windows were blackened from within. She could only hear the hum of the engine. Jinx was slumped opposite her, his head lolling with the movement of the van. She was worried and observed him carefully, hoping he was pretending.

Jinx cracked open his eyes, shaking his head slowly in her direction. Sarah nodded back as she understood his silent warning. Any resistance was impossible at the moment. He was asking her to stay put.

They were traveling along the bumpy road with twisting paths. Sarah recognized the terrain and had an approximate guess of where they were. It felt like hours had passed when the van finally slowed down. She heard the heavy footsteps, and the van doors opened.

James ordered gruffly to his men. “Bring our special guests inside.”

Jinx was roughly hauled up first and dragged from the van. Sarah stumbled as her feet hit the ground. She had no strength to stand but was quickly jerked upright by a burly man. He seemed to take sadistic pleasure in his task.

They were marched into what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse. The cavernous space echoed with their footsteps. The warehouse smelled of damp concrete and the air was thick with the metallic tang of decay.

Jinx spoke up. “Hey Mr. Wright,” he said, trying a nonchalant tone despite his bruised face and split lip. “Long time no see. I know I shouldn’t have taken your phone last time. But you don’t have to be so violent about it. I can still be helpful to you.” Jinx was sure the help was on the way. He was trying to buy some time.