My Stories

I wrote this for the Reedsy contest. Enjoy

Dating can be fun!

By David Hovgaard

Copyright 2020

“How did it go” Heather Long asked the moment she came into Mary Flynn’s office.

Mary didn’t answer at first because Mary didn’t really know how to put, how it went into words. It was Monday. She was at work and Friday seemed so far away now.

“Recorders on” Daniel Rogers said to the air “this is your official after action assessment.”

“Well sir I really don’t think this was a mission, it was well… It was well, supposed to be a date” Gordon Hodge told his immediate supervisor.

“It doesn’t matter what it was supposed to be it matters what it ended up being and the involvement of a civilian makes it all the more necessary that there is a record of these events. Now start.”

When I arrived at the restaurant he was already there” Mary began. There were flowers at the table and a bottle of very nice French wine or at least I think it was French. It was in one of those silver ice buckets and he looked so nice in his suit. He looked exactly like his picture on the app, which surprised me because you know how people use younger pictures of themselves or a picture of someone else. He was as advertised.”

“I arrived early tipped the Maître d’ to set up the table with the flowers and the wine before she arrived. I wanted to make a good impression. I figured if she didn’t drink the wine she might like the flowers at least. While he was arranging that, I scoped out the surroundings and saw no hostiles. I paid extra for a table with a good view of all the exits.”

“He pulled out my chair and once we were both seated, they handed each of us a menu. The waiter then poured the wine which was very good and told us about the specials. I really liked that wine which was why I assumed it was French, but it might have been from the Napa Valley for all I know. I ordered the salmon almondine and I think he ordered a steak. They took the menus and brought bread, and we talked. I told him it was nice to meet him, and he said that I looked beautiful and that it was nice to meet me as well. I think I blushed a little at the compliment. You know I was a little afraid of using that app but on seeing him. I began to think, that it wasn’t so bad.

“So then what happened” Daniel asked?

“Nothing at first, we ordered. There was a little small talk. I told her she was beautiful which she was and we ate some bread and had some of the wine and it was nice for about two minutes or so then things started to kind of.”

“Go sideways” Daniel offered?

“Not so much sideways, more like off a cliff. I saw them come through the double doors and I was pretty sure that the ski masks and automatic weapons meant that they weren’t there to serve dessert.”

“I was right in the middle of telling him about myself when he lunged across the table and pulled me to the floor while flipping it over on its side. There were these loud noises and thuds against the table top. I think I screamed.

“And” Daniel prodded?

Well, the guys in the ski masks with the automatics started firing. I drew my service weapon and caped one but I knew that there were too many to fight off with the limited ammo I had so I decided our best bet was to retreat.”

“He pulled me up from the floor and dragged me out the back. I think I was still screaming because he slapped me” Mary said rubbing her cheek as though it just happened.

“So why exactly did you take the civilian with you Daniel asked?"

“There really wasn’t a lot of time to make a choice. I could take her with me or leave her to be tortured for information she didn’t have or just shot. Leaving her seemed like such dick move, seeing as it was our first date, so I took her with me.”

“Once we were out in the Alley and I wasn’t screaming anymore he told me.

“Look this will be okay. I am going to get you home and then you’ll be safe.”

“What did you say Heather asked?"

“I didn’t say anything. I guess I was still in shock. The date I thought I was on had just morphed into an action movie with real killers and real bullets.”

“Still don’t get why you took her to a CIA safe house. Why not just take her home.”

“He pulled me down the alley to his car. It seemed odd to me that he hadn’t parked his car in the structure next to the restaurant where I left mine but, like I said I was in shock so I just went with him. When we got to the side street where he had parked. He used his key fob to start the vehicle and open the doors. When he pressed the button on the fob his car exploded. Luckily, we weren’t near the car when it went up. Our only option then, was my car.”

“We had to take her car. The noise of my car going up drew them off the restaurant. Once we got her car and were out of the area, I felt we were safe enough that I could as you said, drop her off at her place.”

About about a mile or so from my apartment this big SUV showed up with two motorcycles and they began shooting at us.”

I took out one of the motorcycles out by running him into a parked truck. The other didn’t make that mistake and hung back firing at us along with the SUV. Taking her home wasn’t in the cards any longer. They had her plate, so they had her address Gordon said."

They destroyed my car. The blew out the back and rear side windows and put bullet holes in the trunk it’s a wonder we weren’t killed.”

“How did you evade them” Daniel asked?

I was hunkered down in the leg well of the passenger seat while the shooting went on. I poked my head up long enough to see that were its careening head on into the side of a big truck.”

“A semi was pulling out on the street ahead of us. I gunned the engine made it passed just before it blocked the road to make its turn. That was all I needed to disappear.”

“Then what happened Heather demanded excitedly?"

“He um, well he um, he stole another car.”

“I left her car and took another hoping that they didn’t have access to a satellite. There was only one thing to do at that point, go to a CIA safe house.”

“Okay so you got to the safe house.” But that wasn’t the end of it was it” Daniel said.

“Well for a while it was. I really thought that we had lost them. I called it in and let the sweepers deal with the mess. My plan was to spend the night and then get her home in the morning.”

Mary stops talking which drove Heather a little nuts. “You can’t just stop telling this story now what happened after you got to the house Heather demanded?"

“Come on spill it, Daniel prodded."

“Well, I made her dinner seeing as ours was interrupted and we got to talking and well one thing led to another, two people like us having gone through what we’d just went through.”

“We ended up in the bedroom and I told him, I don’t do this kind of thing on a first dates but we…”

“Did Gordon said, to Daniel."

“Yep, I’ll bet you did and almost got your ass shot off for a little nookie.” Daniel told him almost laughing a smirk on his face.

“That wasn’t what I thought would happen. We were in a CIA safe house Gordon reminded his Boss."

“How was it” Heather asked like a giddy schoolgirl.

“It was good” Gordon said, “and that’s all I am going to say about that.”

“I loved it right up until the guys with guns showed up again” Mary told her Friend.

“Okay yes, laugh all you want, they caught me literally with my pants down. But I think I responded appropriately” Gordon told his boss.

“They started firing through the windows but the bullets got stuck in what I guess was bullet proof glass. We grabbed our cloths and he took me to a part of the wall in the next bedroom.”

“Lucky for you that was bullet proof glass” Daniel told Gordon.

“I get it you don’t have to remind me again, I screwed up. I forgot the first rule always be ready. But, after nearly ten years of being so wound up all the time, waiting for something to go wrong. It felt good to be a normal human being for a little while. Besides it came out alright I put her in the safe room and I dealt with the unwanted party guests.”

“That you did but, one of them almost dealt with you. Doc says another couple inches and you’d have gotten your star on the wall at Langley. By the way she’s a pretty good field medic Daniel added."

“A door opened in the wall and he pushed me through said sorry honey but he had something he had to do and it was better that I was safe. Then he closed the door and I couldn’t get out. But he did call me honey.”

“I got to the armory before the guest made it inside.”

“There were screens in the room with cameras showing different parts of the house. I figured out how to toggle through them and I could see the men forcing the front door.”

“I used my phone to access the house system. I watched them force the door. Got a couple with a clamor I setup in the hallway adjacent to the foyer. After that it was just a lethal game of hide and seek. By the way tell the guys in engineering that I really appreciated all the oblique angels they built into the house and that mirror trap was genius.

“And Heather prodded when Mary went silent again."

“And well, he killed them all she said with a little sadness in her voice tempered by the realization that if he hadn’t, they would both be dead." 

“There was a bright flash at the door followed by a low rumble through the floor.  There were the shapes of bodies and a lot of blood. Those that were left tried to catch him. I saw him get shot and I thought at first, he was dead. Then when he wasn’t I worried that he would get killed.”

“I finished off the last of them just before you guys arrived” Gordon reported.

“When he came for me, his shirt was soaked through with blood. I tore off the bottom of my dress to bind his wound. We kissed” she told Heather.

“That’s about all there is to tell. Do we know who they were” Gordon asked?

“Remember Ali Khan you killed his brother and he swore vengeance against you.”

“I thought he was dead. Drone strike or something like that.”

“Well, he is now the guy that shot you, that was Ali.”

“Funny I didn’t recognize him.”

“You wouldn’t he had reconstructive surgery. He was badly burned in the attack. He couldn’t change his DNA however, just got the results back, it’s him” Daniel said.

“So, what now” Heather asked?

“I don’t know. It’s clear that you can no longer be a field agent. You’re blown. There’s always a desk or maybe the farm. You are one of our best. Maybe you could train the next generation and maybe you could ask her out again you did say you liked her” Daniel reminded him “besides she already knows who you really are.

Mary didn’t feel much like work. After he took her home on Friday night they made love on her couch. He was injured so they took it slow. He was so gentle. She needed that after everything. He was there on Saturday morning with French toast, eggs, bacon and tea. She’d never had anyone not even her ex brings her breakfast in bed. They didn’t say much beyond pleasantries. They made love a few more times and on Sunday morning he was gone. If it weren’t for the blood-stained shirt he left behind, she would have thought it was a dream and then her phone rang.