Rosemarie Clark Stories

Six months later…

The sun was streaming through the slats on the window and into Vic’s eyes. You would think she would invest in blackout curtains with how much sleep she lost from the early rising sun and her East facing window. Her career wasn’t any help either. She would get home at all hours especially after an op. She hadn’t done an op in a few months though so she really had little excuse why she didn’t go to sleep until 4am, other than the eternal thoughts of impending doom Vic trudged through daily. 

It had been six months since she broke into the server room of that investment firm and tried to steal… something. Vic wasn’t privy to what she was stealing, only how to steal it. That was part of the job, secrecy. Vic hadn’t had an op for so long because she sustained a pretty bad injury while trying to escape from security that fateful day. In the moment, the adrenaline had kept her moving to safety but once she made it back to the van, the pain was right behind. Vic was a little embarrassed with how she acted on that ride back to HQ, screaming and blubbering in pain, clutching her knee that was already double in size, and straining the fabric of the delivery uniform pants. It made sense that she had lost her mind since Vic had fractured her kneecap, even though she was usually composed and able to handle pain with grace. The pain of that type of injury would break anybody, even a semi-seasoned spy.  

A moment she wouldn’t forget soon, as the sharp ache in her knee still bothered her every time she stood up. Swinging her feet over the side of the bed, she braced for rising to her feet. A groan emanated from deep within her chest as she stood and slightly limped to the bathroom. Stepping over the neglected physical therapy bands and papers full of daily exercises to regain strength and range of motion in her knee, Vic made it to the bathroom in only 1.5 times longer than normal. Much better than the 3 times it used to take over the last half a year. 

Vic only glanced in the mirror, she couldn’t face herself just like every other day. It wasn’t her dark circles or developing crows feet. It wasn’t even the adult acne she dealt with to this day, it was the long scar that traveled from her right ear all the way to her chin. It might have been 5 years since she got that scar but seeing it brought her right back to that moment. Vic shook her head in an attempt to Etch-A-Sketch erase her impending flashback. 

She had many ways to suppress her emotions, a significant feature that helped Vic make her way through life and being a spy. Well, former spy. Vic wasn’t sure if she would ever be in the field again, especially after her injury. What shocked her more was that she was even trusted to go into the field at all. She didn’t want to think about it, so she didn’t. When the thoughts crept into her brain, all she needed to do was scream internally. Just shriek at the top of her voice but silently in her head. It took the edge off. 

Vic trudged through her morning routine just like any other day, but today was different. Today was going to be the first day back at HQ as a full time employee. They granted her these last six months as a combination of paid time off and forced sick leave. See, Vic hadn’t only fractured her kneecap that day, but she didn’t complete the mission. In her haste to leave, Vic pulled the drive out too soon and corrupted about 12% of the file download. She felt that 88% was a passing grade, a high B even. Good enough for her, but her employers were less than thrilled. She guessed that the last 12% was where the magic must have happened.