The Call
Joseph Borten had been with the British Intelligence Agency for nearly 6 years. He always loved his job. He always took it seriously, but sometimes it was just too much to handle in one day. He was a very high-strung man. His wife has often suggested a different job, but every time the subject arose he would absolutely refuse. He loved his job too much to quit.
He had just been finishing up some work on his last assignment, when he decided it was time to go home. He walked up to his gold Mini Cooper. Unlocked it, and drove out the 5-story garage. There were only a few cars left in the garage, some janitors and security people. He was headed home to his somewhat large apartment where his wife and his son were waiting for him to get home. He had just gotten off work and was exhausted. He reached the apartment, parked his Mini, went to the elevator, and up to the 3rd floor. The jingling of his keys put his wife and son on the alert for his presence. He opened the door to see his wife and son dressed nicely and ready for dinner.
His wife, Nancy, a young brunette, mid twenties, walked up to him, smiled, and kissed him softly on the lips and took his coat and hat and hung them up in the coat closet. His son ran up to him and Joseph picked him up, swung him around, and pecked a kiss on his cheek. "So little buddy, how was school today?"
Kyle who was only five years old and missing a front tooth replied
"Just great! I learned how to add two new numbers, 6 and 4."
Joseph asked, "And what do those equal?"
"Ten!" Kyle replied with proudness in his voice.
To Joseph minutes seemed like hours. The only thought running through his head was that he needed to get some sleep. Finally, after about ten minutes the dinner table was set and it was time to eat. Nancy set a large plate of grilled chicken on the table followed by a few side dishes of mashed potatoes, gravy, and cooked carrots.
After each of them washed their hands they sat down and Joseph began gathering food on his plate when his wife cleared her throat and asked "Aren't you forgetting something dear?"
He set his plate down and they all bowed their heads and Joseph began to pray. "Dear Father in Heaven, please bless this food that we are about to eat that it may strengthen and nourish us. Amen."
All of their plates were full and Joseph was about to compliment his wife on the chicken until the phone rang. Kyle pushed back his chair and started running toward the phone yelling, " I'll get it! I'll get it!" He picked up the phone and the voice of a man asked whom he was speaking to.
"This is Kyle Borten. Who is this?"
Joseph walked up to Kyle with his hand out. Kyle handed him the phone and walked back to the table.
"Hello?"
The man again asked whom he was speaking to but also asked where the exact location was.
"Who is this?" Joseph asked with concern in his voice.
He could hear men in the background saying that's him, that's him. Joseph could barley tell what they were saying.
Just then the phone went dead.
"Hello? Hello? That was weird." He said walking back to the table.
" Who was it?" His wife asked.
"Oh nobody. Probably just a prank call." He said trying not to worry her, but he felt it was more than just a prank call because the people talking had weird accents. He thought maybe he just worries too much. It was probably nothing.
The night went on just as it normally did. When dinner was over Joseph walked into the living room, sat down on the couch and let out a big sigh. His wife walked in the room and sat down next to him.
"Rough day at work, huh?"
"Yea, this case has really worn me out. I just hope I made the right decision." He paused for a moment. "Anybody else that was in my position would have done the same thing. Right?" he said.
"I know I would have. I mean, if I had the chance to kill a terrorist I saw on the streets I would have. Why let him get away and do more damage?"
She sat up and kissed Joseph on the head. "You did the right thing. I'm going to bed. Goodnight sweetie." Joseph sat further back in his seat and flipped on the TV to see what was happening on the news. Josephs face went pale. At the bottom of the screen was a special report that read, "A British Terrorist Group has been spotted by civilians outside of London about an hour ago. The group has stolen a gray van and is headed towards Chatham. More details later on this evening." Joseph ran to the phone and called the office. He first asked if this was the same group they had been following in Belgium. Yes. He asked if they needed him there, but they didn't. They asked if he should come in early in the morning. Joseph was now to exhausted to do anything. He went straight to bed. The next morning he woke up to the noise of an annoying alarm clock at about 5:30 and took a five-minute shower, ate breakfast, and left the house at about 6:15. London seemed more busy than usual to Joseph, but he managed cut through traffic as quickly as he could.
As he sat impatiently in the stopped traffic he looked out the window to see a newspaper stand with the daily paper on which the headline said, "IS THE GOVERNMENT DOING ENOUGH TO PREVENT TERRORISM? ". Joseph sat back in his seat thinking to himself.