The Quiet Before
1356 Words
The farmhouse felt different when Cole returned. Smaller. Quieter. The walls seemed to hold their breath. Evelyn was in the kitchen. The smell of bread filled the air. Clark was at the table, reading a newspaper. Normal. Too normal.
Cole sat down. The chair creaked under his weight.
“You're back early,” Evelyn said.
“The mission ended.”
“For good?”
Cole looked at his mother. “For now.”
She nodded. Didn't ask more. She had learned not to ask.
Clark put down the newspaper. “Kane called. He said you let Diana Cross go.”
“I did.”
“She'll come back.”
“Probably.”
“Then why let her live?”
Cole leaned back. The ceiling was white. The fan spun slowly.
“Because killing her wouldn't change anything. Someone else would take her place. The cycle would continue.”
“So you're just going to wait?”
“I'm going to live. Watch Ava grow up. Help Mom with her classes. Teach my students. And if Diana comes back, I'll be ready.”
Clark was quiet. Then he nodded. “I understand.”
“Do you?”
“No. But I trust you.”
Cole stood. Walked to the window. The fields were green. The sky was blue.
“I need to find a job. A real job. Teaching.”
“The school in town is hiring,” Evelyn said. “I saw the ad in the paper.”
“I'll apply tomorrow.”
---
The school was small. One building. Grades K through 12. The principal was a woman named Mrs. Chen. She had gray hair and kind eyes.
“Mr. Mathers. I've heard about you.”
Cole tensed. “What have you heard?”
“That you're a hero. That you took down a criminal empire. That you saved your mother.” She smiled. “We need heroes in this town.”
“I'm not a hero. I'm just a teacher.”
“Then you're exactly who we need.”
She offered him the job on the spot. History. Grades 10 through 12. He started Monday.
---
The first day was chaos. Students with questions. Papers to grade. Names to learn.
But Cole loved it. The routine. The normalcy. The kids didn't care about his past. They just wanted to learn.
By Friday, he had a routine. Wake up at 6. Coffee with Evelyn. Drive to school. Teach. Grade papers. Dinner with the family. Bed by 10.
It was boring. It was perfect.
---
A month passed. Then two. The leaves turned brown. The air turned cold.
Cole received a text from Kane. “Diana Cross is in Europe. She's keeping her word. No activity.”
Cole replied. “Keep watching.”
He put down the phone. Walked to the window. The stars were bright.
Clark knocked on the door. “You okay?”
“I'm fine.”
“You're thinking about her.”
“I'm always thinking about her.”
Clark sat on the bed. “You need to move on. Find someone new.”
“I'm not ready.”
“You'll never be ready. But you have to try.”
Cole turned from the window. “Is that what you did?”
Clark was quiet. Then he nodded. “I met someone. A nurse. At the hospital.”
“What's her name?”
“Eve.”
Cole smiled. “Eve. Like the first woman.”
“She's nothing like the first woman. She's better.”
“When do I meet her?”
“Soon. When you're ready.”
Cole sat on the bed next to his brother. “I'm ready.”
“No, you're not. But I'll introduce you anyway.”
---
The restaurant was Italian. Small. Candles on the tables. Eve was beautiful. Long hair. Brown eyes. She smiled when Cole walked in.
“You must be Cole. Clark talks about you all the time.”
“All bad things, I hope.”
“All good things.” She laughed. “He says you're the bravest man he knows.”
Cole looked at Clark. His brother was blushing.
“He's the brave one. He saved my life more than once.”
They ate. Talked. Laughed. For a few hours, Cole forgot about Diana Cross. Forgot about the Consortium. Forgot about the war.
When they left the restaurant, Clark walked Eve to her car. Cole stood on the sidewalk. The stars were bright.
His phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number.
“I'm watching you. Enjoying your happiness. It makes the eventual fall so much sweeter. —D.C.”
Cole read the text. Then he deleted it.
He walked to his car. Drove home.
The farmhouse was dark. Everyone was asleep.
Cole sat on the porch. The night was cold. The stars were bright.
He didn't sleep.
---
The next morning, Cole called Kane.
“She texted me last night.”
“What did it say?”
Cole read the text aloud.
Kane was quiet for a moment. “She's toying with you. Enjoying the game.”
“Then we change the game.”
“How?”
“We find her before she finds us.”
“I've been trying. She's a ghost.”
“No one is that good. She has help. Someone inside the government. Someone feeding her information.”
Kane was quiet again. “I'll look into it.”
“Do more than look. Find them. End them.”
Cole hung up. Walked to the kitchen.
Evelyn was at the stove. “You're up early.”
“Couldn't sleep.”
“Same dream?”
He nodded. Lauren. Always Lauren.
“It will fade,” Evelyn said.
“When?”
“I don't know. But it will fade.”
He sat at the table. She put a plate in front of him. He ate without tasting.
Clark walked in. His hair was wet.
“Morning.”
“Morning.”
“Eve says hi.”
Cole smiled. “She's nice.”
“She's more than nice. She's everything.”
Cole looked at his brother. The man who had tried to kill him. Who had saved him. Who had found happiness.
“I'm happy for you.”
“You'll find someone too. When you're ready.”
Cole nodded. But he wasn't sure.
---
The weeks passed. Thanksgiving came. Clark brought Eve. Ava brought a boy from school. Cole cooked the turkey. Evelyn made the pie.
They sat around the table. Holding hands. Saying what they were thankful for.
Cole was thankful for his family. For being alive. For having a second chance.
After dinner, he sat on the porch. The stars were bright.
His phone buzzed. A text from Kane.
“I found the mole. His name is Agent Miller. FBI. He's been feeding Diana information for years.”
“Where is he now?”
“In custody. We picked him up an hour ago.”
“Did he talk?”
“He talked. Diana is in France. Paris. I'm sending you the address.”
Cole read the address. Then he stood.
Clark was on the porch. “Where are you going?”
“Paris.”
“Now?”
“Now.”
“I'm coming with you.”
“No. Stay here. Protect Mom.”
Clark grabbed his arm. “You can't keep doing this alone.”
“I'm not alone. I have Kane.”
“Kane is CIA. He has his own agenda.”
“Everyone has an agenda. But right now, his agenda is the same as mine.”
Cole pulled his arm free. Walked to the car.
Clark followed. “At least take this.” He handed Cole a pistol. Extra magazines.
Cole took them. “Thank you.”
“Come back.”
“I will.”
Cole drove toward the airport. The sky was dark. The road was empty.
His phone buzzed. A text from Diana.
“Paris. How romantic. I'll be waiting. —D.C.”
Cole smiled. For the first time in months, he felt alive.
The hunter was becoming the hunted.
And Cole Mathers was ready.
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