good men always shine light to uncover the darkness.
Many blessings,
Jordyn
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
—Romans 8:28
For Carolyn Mai: loving grandmother, fellow wordsmith, lover of books and knowledge. Thank you for passing on your passion for Christ and writing to me.
Contents
As CIA spy Casper English crossed the threshold into the abandoned home, the faint wheezes of a man teetering on death whispered just above the gusting snowstorm. Drawing his weapon, he inched farther into the darkness. A cast of faint moonlight illuminated an arm, seemingly disembodied, lying on the floor across the threshold of a doorway. The wind battered against the house so badly that the old wood walls groaned in distress.
Walking quickly, Casper closed the distance.
It was his partner, Ethan.
“You...found me.”
Ethan’s breaths came quick and ineffective. Casper’s heartbeat quickened with each shallow gasp his partner...his friend...puffed out in vapors into the frigid night. Dark, thick fluid glistened from a wound in his chest, and Casper knelt down beside him to assess it. From an inner pocket of his leather jacket, Casper withdrew a small flashlight. Ethan’s hand flew up and knocked it out before Casper could turn it on.
“They’re...close. Too...close.”
Instinctively, Casper rose up and looked out into the darkness through the fractured, dust-crusted glass of the nearest window. This location was too close to the city. To everything. Too hard to keep hidden from those who had chased Ethan. It was more likely than not that they were going to be discovered. How Ethan had crawled through snow to even hide here was unfathomable. Casper concentrated on the landscape. The trees threw thorny shadows onto the silky white drifts. Nothing moved that resembled a human. Ethan pulled something from his pocket. His hand lifted up and flopped against Casper’s chest.
“Take them.”
Casper grabbed the two items. A photo and a small piece of paper. In the darkness, he couldn’t make out the information they contained. “Ethan, the terrorist attack. Did you find out anything about the date? The location?”
