Retired Goldfish [Fiction]

The cool breeze toyed with her brown hair, lifting silky strands back into her face. She brushed and tucked them behind her ears, faintly irritated as she sipped her coffee.

Then she paused, her head turning as though she sensed someone watching her.

The man in black sweats seated two tables behind Tarah Grant glanced away at the exact moment she turned. Anyone could see the trapped pain in his icy blue eyes, so he pulled up his hood, grabbed the small leather bag at his feet and walked away.

She didn't see him and he needed to keep it that way.

He had planned to watch her for a while without drawing attention. Finding her alone on an outdoor cafe patio on a quiet evening had been perfect. A perfect setting for anyone like him, and that set his nerves on edge.

The job had come through the fax machine and it was clear:

Task: Clean elimination, no trace
Target: Tarah Grant
Agent: Goldfish
Location: Valencia

Teeth clenched, he called his former handler. Before he could speak, Tanko murmured, “It's out of my hands, Mick. Management wants you on this. The target is sniffing around.”

“I’m retired, jerk.”

“I miss you too. And management knows that. You know the route. Call when it's done.”

The call ended, leaving Mick with a sour taste in his mouth.

When he arrived in Valencia and found his target, he nearly crumpled on the street.

Tarah Grant wasn't just some wanna be detective sniffing around a secret organisation. She was the daughter from a brief assignment about two decades ago, the one he never acknowledged.

Was she searching for him? Did Management know who she really was?

He stood at a distance, watching her. In all his tasks, he'd never been torn or second guessed them. His kills were clean and nothing ever traced back to him.

For the first time, something shifted inside him. His paternal instincts flared. It was time to disappear, out of Management's reach.

He wouldn't do it alone.

I hope you enjoyed reading this short piece. It's inspired by the Freewrite #dailyprompt phrase "retired goldfish".

Thank you for visiting my blog.

^{Image credit: Pixabay}