Tesoro

51 | Epilogue

What was real, anymore? What wasn't?

I felt my mom hold my hand, as Stormie and Mer kept clapping, smiling. My friends seemed shocked, talking among each other.

It took a few minutes for the crowd to quiet down with the man standing right in front of them, so when they did - the other man shook hands with Ross, before they both faced the crowd once again.

Ross did not take the podium.

"The man had a bright mind, faced with dark challenges as a youngster. Born the son of the most widely known criminals in gang history, Howell Lynch, or, as they refer to him in the scene : The Machine."

Ross looked down at the mention of his father's name.

"He was only twenty three when he started officially working for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and he did more in five years for this country than his father, his entire life. Mr. Lynch rewrote history, making his last name the best honorary badge he will ever have."

Everyone started clapping again, now lifted to their feet.

I could only stand there, clapping with the proudest smile on my face, and silent tears in my eyes.

I felt internally grateful for my water-proof make up.

"There are four medals in the program intended for personnel: the FBI Star, the FBI Medal for Meritorious Achievement, the FBI Shield of Bravery, and the FBI Medal of Valor. One additional medal, the FBI Memorial Star, is for a surviving relative when a death has occurred in the line of duty. These medals are considered to be among the highest honors granted by the FBI, and fewer than 400 had been awarded as of March 2023." he kept talking, now a bit louder as the crowd relaxed once more.

I placed a hand on my heart, watching as a third person got on stage, presenting all the medals.

"Mr. Lynch, has won all." he turned to Ross, bowing, as the medals were hung around his neck by the one presenting them earlier.

I noticed as he thanked the man, before smiling and nodding at the agent that had bowed to him.

Practically sobbing, I wiped my tears as Stormie walked over to me, giving me a hug. We both had tears in our eyes, as the crowd cheered.

As Ross took his place in front of the podium, he seemed to breathe in the appreciation and applause.

It made me smile in pride. He deserved every bit of it. He deserved it all.

Once the crowd relaxed again, Ross spoke up, looking back at the man that was now standing behind him "Thank you for the speech, Agent Marrow."

Then he looked back at the crowd "Today has been surreal.. mostly because it was a day I'd never thought I'd see."

My eyebrows narrowed, as the crowd fell in silence.

"It's been a long, painful five years. I've faced death in more ways than one a lot of times, and somehow always managed to heal. Except, when I was placed on this mission all those years ago.. I'd been anything but healed. Hatered drove my desire to prove my father wrong. Agent Marrow mentioned not being afraid of death.. and to be honest, at the time, I didn't care if I lived or died. If I did, I wanted to at least go knowing it was for a good reason. I already had inside knowledge of gang activities thanks to my.. father, so it was easy to spy. That's why, CCC was the perfect mission."

He took a pause to breathe, and I sighted, still holding onto my heart. Hearing him speak out such dark thoughts.. it was torturing to say the least.

"The wounds on my body never fazed me because they'd already been there inside of me. Some of those will never heal.. some of them, already have." he looked up from his speech "I never realized how difficult it would be to keep such information from my own family. What kept me going was the thought that somehow, someway.. they'd know one day."