Agent Assassin's Achilles ✔️

12. Otherside

"Good morning, Mrs Ludwig." a nurse is pressing on the IV bag

"Uhm, where is my child? Where is my husband?"

"Mr Ludwig is recovering from surgery in ICU while Little Ludwig is still in surgery."

"Can you take me to them?"

"Let me get the wheelchair."

"I do not need it."

"Your vitals are still low, you need it, ma'am."

"Fine." after she has helped me onto the chair, she starts heading towards the elevator.

We make it into ICU and there he is laying, hooked up to machines. I stand up and walk to kiss his forehead. After a while, we go look at Khanyi. The surgery has been happening for twelve hours because of where the bullet is lodged.

A few tears escape my eyes as I watch my little girl going through this, she does not deserve it. She deserves to be at home, be in my arms, and be safe.

I watch the entire surgery, I could not bring myself to leave, it felt illegal to blink, it burned me that I was here and she was on that table.

I want to be able to sing with her, watch movies, have her scream at me for no reason, and for her to become a rebellious teenager that I can not handle, I want my child to live.

"How is she?" Anya walks in and I barely have the strength to do anything about her presence

"What do you want?"

"I will give you the names of the men who were shooting at your family."

"For?"

"We need a few files from the CIA."

"So you want me to steal classified files for you?"

"Yes."

"One-time thing?"

"Let's say that." so it's not

"I will get it for you but I also want the names of the ones who killed my son."

"No." what

"We are going to hold on to those for a while, for when we need another favour." I guess knowledge is power.

"What files are you looking for?"

"Files on a terrorist called Vozdukh."

"I am not even going to ask why."

"Good. One more thing, the faster you get it, the sooner I can give you the names of the Gunmen."

"Thanks." sarcasm rolled between every letter, she walks out and I am left with the image of them stitching her up.

Knowing she is going to hate this, I call Sibo. After explaining the situation, she says she will get me what I need in a few hours and all I had to do was wait for Khanyi and Kai to be okay.

When she is transferred to ICU, I stay with her. Leaving felt immoral, and the doctor said that they do not know if she will wake up because she did lose a lot of blood. I am praying for a miracle.

While I look at her, I think about how insane it is that I am going to steal classified documents, a part of me, a huge part of me is afraid that I will get caught but I need to know who shot my family. Both of them deserve justice and I will give it to them.

Am I making a deal with a devil? Maybe but I honestly lost the ability to care when I realised other people do worse and then come and attack my family. Being good is not going to keep my husband safe, being good is not going to keep the CIA out of my life, and being good makes me compliant with a system that was designed to exploit me. I am done being good to things and people who do not deserve it.

Getting out of the room, I head for my room where my phone is. "Hey Megan, I need you to put up a post for the CEO position."

"You are quitting?"

"I am refocusing on the things and people I love."

"Okay, Ma'am. I will have candidates for you by tomorrow morning."

"Thank you."

"No problem." I hang up and sit there for a moment. I have worked hard to get my brand where it is and I do not want someone else to take care of my baby but I need to, I need to let someone take care of that baby so I can take care of my family.

As I think about it more, my hesitation to go through with it increases, what if I get caught? What would happen to Kai? Would they kill him? Arrest him? So many possible outcomes the decision weighs heavy on my chest.

"Hi," Kai's bed is next to Khanyi's

"Are you okay? How are you feeling?" I ask as I turn to face him

"Had better days, what happened?"

"Uhm, you got shot I'm the shoulder, near your neck," he tries to turn his head "So you then fell from the impact and a bullet hit Khanyi in the back."

"What?" tears streaming from my face

"I should have gotten there earlier if I did not spend time arguing with Anya instead of believing her. I could have saved you both." the last part a whisper between me and God.

"I need a moment." I hold his hand, hoping this is not the last straw that gets cut our connection.

As he is asleep and I am holding his hand, Khanyi's machine begins beeping. I get out of the chair and call the nurse. After a moment, two nurses and a doctor rush our way, and Kai wakes up.

"Her heart rate is dropping, give her 10ml of adrenaline!" the doctor says moving to help her

"What is going on?"

"Ma'am please stay back!"

"Is she going to be okay?" Kai asks tears lodged in his throat

"Sir, please stay back." the nurse asks before going to help the doctor.

Seconds feel like eons as we wait, antsy and on our toes for any sign of relief on their faces. Kai has his arm around my shoulders while my arms are around his waist.

After a few minutes, the monitor shows a straight line. "Is she okay?" I ask as I see the defeat on the nurse's face as she stops chest compressions. "What is going on?" tears stream from my face as the doctor uses the pedals on her little body making it jolt up but nothing happens.

A few more tries and nothing happens "Time of death..." No! I shake my head, feeling my body go limp "...twenty-seven minutes past three pm." I hide in Kai's chest, filling his hospital gown with tears. 

"I am sorry for your loss." the Nurses say leaving us with her.

"Khanyi, wake up for me." a whisper for us two, reminding her to come back to me

"She is gone, Kamo, she is gone." sadness and heartache pave the way for his words

"No, no, she will wake up, she has to." he holds me tighter "She has to Kai, she has to come back!"

"I wish she was." a mutter.

*******

Imagine losing your first born.
So far Kamo has lost her mother, her son and now her daughter
Kai has lost his grandmother, his son and his daughter. They are going through it.