The Rendezvous // Thomas Sangster

A Near Death Experience

We got a motel in the same city we were training in. Thomas and I had a room to ourselves, and most everyone else was sharing different rooms. It wasn't the coziest place, but it had a bed, hot water and breakfast. During the day we trained. At night we got dinner, came back to the motel and would meet up in someone's room to play cards or watch TV together. If the reason we were all here together weren't to bring down a network led by a scammer, it would feel like a vacation. 

On the morning of the fundraiser, I finish cleaning up Thomas and I's room, double checking the drawers and under the bed to make sure we didn't leave anything behind. We're supposed to be leaving for Seal County in a couple of hours. Thomas is in the shower, but I hear the water shut off. I step over to the curtains, pulling them together as far as they'll go and shutting the sunlight out of the room. I glance over to the bathroom door, which is cracked, allowing yellow light to fall upon the faded, red carpet. 

I sigh, sitting on the bed and staring at the wall. It feels like a normal day. Completely normal. The sun is shining and I'm dressed in a maroon sweater and regular converse. I don't feel like I should be breaking into a top security base to steal codes that access documents which will prove a man guilty of a felony. 

I'm afraid. 

I'm very afraid. 

Who knows what will happen hours from now? I could be dead. Thomas could be dead. Any of our friends could be dead. Or even worse, what if we fail? What if we die trying to bring this into the light? 

I don't want this to end badly. I want everyone to walk away from this. No one else should have to suffer because of Anon Atkinson. I want us all to be together again tonight, able to look up at the sky and contemplate how amazing life is and how fortunate we are that we all made it through this together, as a team. 

Suddenly, I hear a low voice from the bathroom. Thomas sings quietly, but his voice is magnified from the vaulted ceiling. I step silently to stand at the bathroom door. Thomas has a towel wrapped around his waist and he's searching through some of his stuff in search of a comb and a toothbrush. I lean against the door frame, closing my eyes as I listen to the song. 

"Sing for the lion and lamb.
Their hearts are hunting,
Still hunts hope ever and ever.

God and His priests and His kings
Turn their faces.
Even they feel the cold.

What you are given
Can't be forgotten
And never forsaken. 

Cold."

He hums the rest of the song, not noticing me as he brushes his teeth and finishes getting ready for the day. The words he sang stick in my head, repeating over and over again for the next hour.

Their hearts are hunting,
Still hunts hope ever and ever.

Two hours later, Thomas grabs his bag from off the floor and stands by the motel door. He looks over his shoulder at me, "You ready?"

"Yeah." I say in a quiet voice. 

Thomas gives me what I assume is a look of encouragement, but I don't feel very encouraged. We step out of our room, into the chilly December air. I pull my jacket tighter around me, feeling the sun on my cheeks and the biting wind through my hair. The motel we're at at least has planted winter flowers to make the place seem less drab. We walk by a couple of flower beds that are home to several purple and orange blooms. 

As we approach the front of the motel, I can hear several voices speaking. We find that the rest of the group is already waiting for us. They all stand in a cluster, looking solemn and alert. Pick and Ki Hong seem to actually be talking about something important, while some of the others talk about what was on TV last night. Dylan, unsurprisingly is in the latter group. Kick, shockingly, is also in that group. Thomas and I offer greetings to them.