The last time I had to spend my days in bed recovering from an injury had been more than a year ago. Back then, I spent most of it crying. I had questions. I didn't know what I was supposed to do next. I didn't know who I was. I didn't know what to feel.
This time, I plotted. My mission wasn't over. Ray Malone was still out there, torturing and killing people. My reasons for wanting him dead still weren't that noble, but the image of that girl reminded me that maybe they should be. Maybe I should do it not out of hate but out of love for the victims. So they can have a chance to live like I got to.
The day after I got there, Mohammad popped his head in for a visit. "The prodigal daughter returns."
"Hey, Mo."
"Heard you got shot."
"You should see the other guy."
His clean-shaven face lit up. "You did it? You got Felix?"
"I did."
He walked over to pat my back. "Good job. So proud."
"Ray's still alive, though. I'm going for him next."
"Not even here a day and already wanna go back."
I didn't know what to say. Life felt better when I had a goal to work towards. And lately, that goal was sparing the world of evil from a man like Ray.
Mohammad taught me how to use the criminal database. An hour after he said 'hi' to me, I was researching Sebastian Malone and reading every bad thing he did. I looked at the faces of the girls he kidnapped, each of them young, pretty, full of life. He took them from bus stops, bars, even school. Ray didn't have an extensive list, just a connection to Sebastian, the true criminal. It was noted that Ray lived on the island for most of his adult life, enjoying the spoils of his brother's crimes but barely participating in them.
"You gonna eat something?" Mohammad poked his head in later that night. I looked at the laptop and realized it was already eight o'clock. Besides an apple for breakfast, I hadn't consumed anything all that day.
"Maybe not." My stomach was used to the hunger pangs. I was numb to them by now.
"You need to get your strength back if you wanna take him down."
He was right. And he was holding onto a tray with a black bean burger and fries. I couldn't remember the last time I had a real meal. "Ok. Maybe just a bite."
Mohammad cut it in half for me and I took my first bite, chewing slowly. The fries were fried to perfection, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, with the perfect amount of salt. The only thing missing was an ice bold beer. "Fuck." I moaned.
"Careful. Don't be giving me any ideas." His voice was teasing, but I heard the pain underneath. I used him. He probably realized that by now.
Putting the burger down, I shot him an apologetic smile. "Sorry. I was really shitty to you before."
Mohammad laughed uncomfortably. "You don't have to apologize. You did what you had to do."
"Yeah but I could have figured out another way."
"Honestly, all is forgiven. I forgave before you even left."
The door opened, wiping the smile from my face. I lowered the burger and put it back on my plate, watching as Luke stepped into the room. I didn't miss the unease in his expression when he saw Mohammad sitting so close to my bed, or the fact that we were sharing a meal.
"Hey." Luke waved awkwardly. He looked cleaner now. His facial hair had been shaved off, leaving a clear view of his jaw and lips. Wearing jeans and a black jacket, I almost didn't recognize him. "Just wanted to see how you were recovering."
"I'm fine." My voice came out rougher than I intended.
"Ok. Cool." Luke took a step back. "I'll see you around then."
I watched as he walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Confused and shocked, I stared at the door for a minute before pulling myself back together.
Well that was fucking great.
"That's the guy Daniel sent. Right?" Mohammad asked.
I nodded. Regardless of whether or not I had wanted to see him again, my reaction was sure gonna keep him away now. I was curious why he showed though, since I was only a mission to him. Nothing more.
Mohammad and I ate the rest of the meal in comfortable silence. I could only finish half of my portion before my shrunken stomach had filled up. Apparently, it was still used to just a packet of peanuts a day.
"I'm not sure how much I should try to expand my stomach before I leave again." I muttered.
"Probably not much."
"I'm gonna shower to my heart's content, though. I can't even tell you how much I missed those."
Mohammad hung out with me every day after that, always bringing me half of whatever he had for lunch that afternoon. Dan knew better than to do the same. He kept his distance besides occasionally poking his head in to check on me. The doctor came in for the same amount of time, always with a pill in hand. The antibiotics were strong enough to kill the infection and the sutures were taken out a week after I had arrived. The doctor commented on how neat they were for having been done by an amateur, and that was one of the many times I thought of Luke.
Luke. Whenever his face flashed into view, so did memories of that kiss. I pushed them away every time, reminding myself that he got paid to protect me, that I was just his mission. It didn't matter anyway since I didn't want to let anyone in. Still, I wasn't quite done with him. After two weeks of not seeing him, I decided it was about time to pay him a visit.
"I need you to find someone for me." I was standing over Mohammad's desk after having tried to use the database to find him and giving up after five minutes. Computers would never be my strong suit and I had pretty much accepted that.
"Who?"
"Luke McAlister." I had found out his last name from Dan. It was the only other interaction we'd had since the first day.
Mohammad turned to me with a weird expression on his face. "Why?"
"I want to thank him." That was far from the real reason. We left on an awkward note and I didn't like it. Besides, if I was going back to the island, I might as well see if he wanted to come with.
Mohammad made another face but didn't refuse. He had Luke's address in less than two minutes. I thanked Mohammed before leaving the building and headed to the parking lot.
When I worked for my father, he had set aside a car for me to use on my missions. It was an old black Toyota Corolla, a common car that would blend in and was reliable to boot. I searched the lot for it and found it parked in the same spot it had always been in, past the black SUVs and Teslas. After hot wiring the ignition of the fifteen year old car, I sped off in the direction of Luke's apartment.
It was only a ten minute drive to his side of town. As I drove down the ripped up pavement, I kept the speed low to try to control the bumps. The houses here reminded me of an old cookie cutter neighborhood. They were all townhomes with a small front porch and a rectangular lot. The overall shape of the houses were the same while the bushes lining the walkway and paint on the walls differed in minor ways. Back in its prime, middle class families would have packed this place. Lawns would be mowed, flowers blooming on the windowsills, neighborhood barbecues going every weekend.
Now, it looked like a ghost town. Some houses had broken windows while others were missing shutters or had plastic covering a hole in the wall. The only evidence of life came from cats rushing in front of my car and ducking under rotting porches. I pulled up to the cracked curb in front of a red house with the number that Mohammad gave me. 398.
Taking a deep breath, I gave myself a quick glance in the car's mirror. Since coming home, I had given myself a deep clean and was looking more like a human girl as opposed to a salty scarecrow. My brown hair had been cut and thoroughly washed, and hung just below my shoulders. My face was clear of any scrapes and bruises that had seemed to be a common accessory on the island. And best of all, my clothes were clean and not reeking of salt water.
Content with my appearance, I locked the car and walked up the overgrown pathway. Then I knocked and waited.
A couple seconds later, the door opened.
"Hi." Luke's face was clean still, with a bit of scruff covering it but short enough that I could see his jawline. The hair on top of his head looked clean too, and his muscles were more defined now that he probably had time to work on them.
The most striking thing was how flushed he was. And how he stepped outside with me and closed the door behind him, leaving us alone on the tiny porch.
"What are you doing here?" He asked.
Disappointment shot into my heart. Not exactly what I was expecting to hear. "A couple reasons. First, thanks again for saving my life. Someday I hope to repay you for that."
"No problem."
"Second, do you wanna go back to the island with me to finish what you started?"
Luke glanced back at the door as if he was expecting someone to come bursting out of it. He was distracted. "I'm not sure that's a good idea."
"Why not?"
"Too dangerous."
"Since when do you care about danger?"
"Listen, I'm sorry but you have to go. I'll talk to you later." Luke opened the door and slunk back inside. I heard a feminine voice in the distance call out to him.
"Who's there?"
"Sorry." Luke said to me again before he disappeared from sight.