“Bad Timing For Bad News”

Author’s Note: This is a Take Ten to Write story and has not been proofread for errors. If I feel inspired or if there’s interest in the story, I’ll post a revised, edited, and extended version at a later date. Happy reading!

Prompt: “I’m done.”

“That’s it,” she says. “I’m done.”

I stare at her. “What?”

She shakes her head. “I’ve had enough. I can’t stand this anymore. I can’t live like this anymore.”

A million thoughts bubble up at once. She’s done? Just like that? Is that even possible? She can’t just quit.

Can she?

“Obviously, I’ll have to iron out the details with management,” she continues. “I’m assuming most agents die before they retire.”

I scoff. “You’re talking about retiring? Ailene, you’re nowhere near old enough to do that yet.”

She fixes me in a cold and calculating stare. “You’re one to talk. You’re what, thirty-three?”

“You know I’m not allowed to say,” I mutter.

She shakes her head. “No matter. My point is, you’ve thought about leaving before, haven’t you? I know you. You long for something more than this.”

I open my mouth to argue but no words come out. She’s got me there. I’ve been considering getting out for years now, but I never got the nerve to actually say it out loud. To me, it would be like a betrayal of my values, of my life purpose. I was lucky enough to become an agent. I trained hard to be able to protect my country. I can’t just leave.

“Trust me,” Ailene says, her voice softening, “I’ve given this a lot of thought. I’m not making a rash decision. I need to leave. I just can’t handle this life anymore. It’s not for me.”

I struggle to find words. “But… but we save lives. Our jobs are important to this country. No, to this world. You’re one of our best agents. You can’t just leave!”

She shrugs. “I’m going to speak to management tomorrow. I’ve made up my mind.”

My heart drops. “The world needs you,” I repeat softly. Then, after a hesitation, I add in a whisper, “I need you.”

She smiles gently and rests a hand on my shoulder. “You’re more than capable of taking care of yourself,” she says.

A gunshot ricochets off the wall just above my head.

I sigh. “You really could’ve picked a better time to tell me this,” I say with a tinge of annoyance. “How am I supposed to shoot straight now?”

She winks at me. “You’ll find a way. I believe in you.”

Final Comments: Wow, this was a long one. I actually had an idea of how I wanted to follow this up, but the ten minutes ran out…

Overall Rating: 😏