Predestined

Chapter 13

Matt....

October 2020.... Somewhere in Chicago....

It's been a month since Sarah and I started going out and, so far, I couldn't have been happier. Everything feels like a dream. Every day I wake up and send her a text just to let her know how much I think of her and for her to have a beautiful day. I'm starting to feel a wave of positivity in my life that I never thought was possible. We talk on and on for hours on the phone, always finding something to talk about, no matter how silly it may be. She makes every conversation come to life. I always felt having that level of intimacy only came after s*x, but now I'm starting to rethink all I thought I knew about love and emotions, because besides the close call we had on my roof, we haven't really tried to get sexually intimate. Everytime we kiss, she holds back. I know it's because she's scared of taking things too fast and she wants to test how patient I could be and I'm ready to wait for her as long as it takes. Love like ours doesn't need to be rushed. It should be taken slowly and savoured. Although sometimes I feel like I'm showing way too many emotions than I should and I should just take a step back before I get hurt, but I just can't have our relationship any other way. I feel like if I took a step back, I'd become the emotionless blob I've been my whole life, always pushing people away, never having anyone get close enough. But she's someone I want to let in, I want her to see all of me, I want to give her all the love I can muster and I know taking a step back would just undo all the emotional progress I've made in the past month and she's worth every risk I could take. There's nothing I wouldn't do just to make her happy.

Back to reality. Today I have a job right here in Chicago. I'm supposed to take out a corrupt judge who uses his office to collect bribes and raise himself up the financial ladder and not care about who pays for his actions. I've done research on him; he's sentenced innocent people to prison in favour of big conglomerates who usually seem like they were in the wrong. Like a month ago when he had a case where a guy had gone on a full rampage on a nightclub close to his house because he had filed complaints about their constant noise and people leaving broken bottles and drugs around his apartment. The complaints had all been swept under the rug and ignored till the guy decided to take matters into his hands and went into the club with a baseball bat and started swinging. He was sentenced to two years in prison for assault and destruction of property. I did some research on the club and found out it was owned by some business mogul who coincidentally owns part of some real estate that the judge happens to have invested in and this judge handles most of their civil rights lawsuits. I know swinging at people in a club is wrong, but I read the report; he didn't even hit anyone and the judge could've just ordered the club to get some soundproofing materials and get better control of their clientele, but nothing was said about that and when I talked to the manager of the club about the noise, he said it was 'good for business.' Well, I'll see how their business goes after I'm done with him.

I position myself a few blocks from his office. I can see him facing the window talking to a man and a woman; what a smug look he has on his face. I guess that's how people who are corrupt always have confidence in themselves. I wonder why that is. If you had a shifty line of work, shouldn't you expect it to catch up to you someday? Should you not always expect a day of reckoning? Why do they always go around like they're untouchable? Well, this man's day of reckoning is here. I'm here as an instrument of judgement to judge the judge since the justice system won't do it themselves. I look through my scope at the two people in the room and something feels familiar about the woman sitting with her back to the window. Her hair is done just like Sarah likes her done: Dreads tied up to a ponytail. I must be falling so hard for this girl that I now see her everywhere. I really need to get my faculties in order before I lose my mind! I move my scope back to the judge, position my rifle on the chest, take a deep breath and squeeze. Job done...

Before I could move my face out of the scope, something familiar caught my eye. I moved the scope and the woman who had her back turned at the window had turned and I could see her face clearly. I wasn't losing my mind, my description was right. It was her, it was Sarah, my Sarah. But why is she here? In a corrupt judge's office, having conversations with someone so evil. Is she part of them? Does her security involve working with people so corrupt? Is my angel not so angelic? So many questions filled my head that I just laid there, staring at her face through my scope. I snapped out of it to look at her face and the look of shock on her face answered so many of my questions. There's no way she could be a bad person. But as I look at her face, a new set of questions come up when the shock in her face turns to pure horror. What have I done? I just killed someone in front of someone I'm supposed to always make happy. I just brought fear to her eyes. Am I a monster behind the scope? Does someone like me deserve to be loved by someone as pure as her? Does someone like me even deserve love? How can I turn back time?

......I really need to get out of here.....

Back in my apartment alone later that night and it feels like torture. Different thoughts and feelings rush through my head and it feels like my brain is about to explode. Just as it was all about to feel unbearable, I heard my phone ring and it was her.

"Are you home? I'd like to come over." She says

"Yeah. I am."

"Okay. I'm on my way."

That felt odd. Thats the shortest conversation we've had in a while. Does she know? Did she see me earlier? Is she coming here with the police? What do I do? Can I hurt her if she tries to take me down or turn me in? A lot of questions again fill my head as I try to figure out what's going on. After what felt like a few minutes? I hear my intercom buzz. I look through the camera and see she's alone. I breathed a sigh of relief as I buzzed her to come in. As soon as I open the door, she hugs me tightly. At first I couldn't comprehend what was going on until I heard her quiet sobs and I realised that she was crying, so I closed the door and I just held her back as she cried in my arms while we stood in the same spot. After what felt like an eternity, she finally calms down and she lets out a quiet "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry, I'm here to take care of you. Just tell me what's going on and I'll listen."

She lets off a little smile and we head to the sofa to sit.

"I just had a really bad day at work and I really needed you."

"What exactly in security do you do?" I asked.

"What do you mean security?" She asked, looking puzzled.

"Well, when we met in Berkeley, you told me your job was something in security."

"What? I'm a cop... What did you think I was doing in the diner opposite your building during a murder investigation?"

"I didn't really think about it, I was too busy observing other aspects of you." I said with a dirty smile.

"Well, I witnessed a murder today and I don't think I'm ready to talk about it. Not that I can, cos it's an ongoing investigation." She says with what seems like despair in her eyes. I cringe as the thought of me being the reason she's upset passes through my mind. How can I be the reason behind her pain? It's really hurtful to think about. So I ask:

"What can I do?"

She stares at me for what I felt was a while and then she just leans in and kisses me. We're kissing and she starts to take off her shirt and mine as well and I think I know where this is going next.

.......... Ooooooh Yeah........