Monday December 8th, 2014

The exercise:

The seventh and (mostly) final day of Secret Agent theme week arrives wanting to know the status of your mission - accomplished or failed?

I say mostly because I'm going to use tomorrow as an epilogue day, for those of us unable to wrap things up in the allotted time. Or to tie up any loose ends, that sort of thing.

Christmas is approaching... rather quickly all of a sudden.

Mine:

Agent Pine has always considered himself to be a good man. Reliable, trustworthy, loyal. Perhaps to a fault on that last one. He has always done what his employer has asked of him, whether he personally agreed with the assignment or not. On many of those missions he had suffered greatly.

Now, as he strolls along the crowded sidewalk, ignoring the screaming police cars that everyone else seems unable to watch while also continuing to walk, he is not so certain. His jacket has been traded for a homeless man's tattered trench coat. He walks barefoot, having left his polished black dress shoes without accepting anything in return (the bum's shoes had been too small). Underneath the coat he holds his slacks up with both hands. The cable in his belt had afforded him a twelve storey head start on the guards but had to be abandoned in his haste.

He had not tried to trade pants with the vagrant. There was little time to spare. Also, Agent Pine had his limits.

Those limits are being tested even as he makes his way in the general direction of the safe house. His mind is not yet made up as to whether or not he will actually return there. Questions await his arrival and he is not ready to greet them with his usual candor.

Was the mission successful? Well, that depends on how you look at that sort of thing...

It would be noticed.

And that could only lead to even more questions.

He needs time to think. To answer questions of his own. About his present and his future. He needs room to breathe without anyone breathing down his neck.

He needs time to consider Rose Desmarais' very, very generous offer.