The Mystery Danger Serials: A Kiss Goodbye

Destiny

"The person you become, is who you chose to be..."

     I think a famous poet said that once. He's probably dead now, pushing up daisies in some countryside cemetery . And, if I wasn't careful, I might have a chance to join him.

     "Okay Rose. Say you do this, then what? Some new crook will just swoop in and take control of the operation."

     "Not if we destroy the operation. We blow it up. All of it." She snapped, still holding the revolver to the Suit's forehead.

     I needed to keep her talking. Try to keep her distracted enough to move in close. If I could just do that, maybe I could inch close enough to make a grab for the gun. But I had to take her attention off the Suit, off the operation. She had to see the consequences of the actions she had planned.

     "And the guys who work here? Most of these men are just hired hands. They move boxes from truck to truck, guard what they're told to guard. Are you going to blow them up? Are you planning on hurting them too? These men have families to support. That's the only reason they're here." I was looking for some way in, some way to get through to her.      

     "They can go work somewhere else, for people with clean hands." She said.

     "If they could do that, they wouldn't be here." I took a small step.

     I needed to get that gun out of her hands.

     "If this city was safer, a better place, men like this wouldn't have to work in a place like this." I took another step. 

     I saw the emotions roll in her head, and like a storm suddenly clearing, a thought formed...

     Her voice was calm and clear.

     "They can work for me." she whispered.

     Another step.

     She spoke slowly, discovering her new purpose for the first time.

     "We will destroy the booze, the drugs. Burn them all. But we'll take the guns and money. We'll start a new operation, to keep people safe. Like an exterminator, clearing the rats out of this city. We'll be the teeth of justice. We will protect those that need protecting, and punish the men who hurt others."

     Another step. Closer, but not close enough. Not yet.

     "Rose, look at me."

     Not yet.

     "Rose."

     Purpose is a powerful thing. Anger can strengthen resolve. Fear can bring with it immense power. But purpose, destiny, creates such a will, that it can never be broken. Standing there, I watched as Rose discovered her destiny.

     And, with one slow pull of the trigger, she embraced it...

Destiny.