Jessie Ch. 22

Sienna woke up to a click. She'd fought and struggled and twisted and pulled against the restraints, wearing herself out. Jane had been of no help. Called over, her little fingers had explored the locks at her mother's direction and found no weakness. She couldn't even get the door open.

She looked down at the open metal binders wonderingly. They must have a computer in them? A timer? An antenna to receive a signal?

It didn't matter.

Jane had cried herself to sleep in the bathroom, and Sienna picked her up, holding her protectively. "C'mon, we're gonna go home."

Home. The word didn't have much meaning now. Couldn't stay with Jessie anymore, not after this. The woman was crazy.

The bedroom door didn't open. Forcing it, shaking it, twisting the knob, it refused to budge. Sienna almost swore, but remembered she shouldn't. Not around Jane.

Nothing in the bedroom looked substantial enough to batter the door down. The bathroom yielded only the toilet tank lid. "Stay here," she told her daughter. "I'll be right back."

The thin, hollow-core door splintered under assault from the heavy porcelain, and her body ached after battering enough of a hole in the top half of the door to reach down and push the chair out from under the knob. She dropped the lid on the bed and pushed the door open, feeling foolish at her stealthy movements. Anyone in the house would've heard the destruction.

Sienna held her breath when she reached the bottom step, and she peered around the lower level suspiciously. Was Morgan here? Jessie, waiting to attack her again?

It was night, snow falling across moonlit farm fields, and if it weren't for the pain and worry she felt, she would've found the scene through the patio door beautiful. Instead, she was apprehensive. No way to leave, no way to communicate, no way to know what was coming.

A metal cylinder on the kitchen counter caught her eye. It weighted down a piece of paper. Jessie's baton, and a note.

She didn't want to read it, but she picked it up anyway, held it with trembling hands, and started at the top.

"Dear Sienna

If you're reading this, I'm dead.

Isn't that how all dramatic notes start in books and movies? In this case though, it's not just a cliché, it's the truth.

Morgan is dead too.

You're free.

As Gary would say, good trade.

The Brotherhood of The Red Flag of Milwaukee doesn't exist anymore, and even if they reconstitute, without Morgan, they don't have a leader, much less a reason to come after you.

I've left you the house and some money. A lot of money actually. Don't spend it all in one place, LOL. The number for my attorney is at the end of this letter. Call him and he can guide you through receiving it, taking care of it. Reach out to McKenna as well, when she gets back. She's always been a good friend to me, and I like to think she'll help you out too.

I'm not going to put this as a condition of receiving the money, but it's something I'd like you to do anyway. And I can't verify that you did it, so I'm just going to trust that you did, ok? My lawyer has the telephone number for the facility where Gary and I stored our...stuff. I'd still like you to be a surrogate for me and him. Please.

If you do... If you and I have a son, name him Jesse. If it's a girl, Jessie. And if you want to have a child of your own with Gary's DNA, that's ok too. It's all set up.

I want Gary to live forever. I want to live forever.

I want Morgan to die and be forgotten.

Teach your children, my children, OUR children to hate him. To hate what he believes in. Teach them to fight. Particularly with my baton, I'd get a kick out of that. Teach them to be good people. And you be good too. You might want to stay single though, your track record with men has been pretty iffy.

I'm rambling, I'm sorry. I kinda don't want this letter to end. Tomorrow I'm gonna die. When you read this, I'm not gonna be here anymore. That's weird to think about. Tonight is the last night I fall asleep, and tomorrow is the last day I wake up. Bizarre, huh? The thought doesn't scare me though. I'm not gonna say I'm glad, but I feel...relieved? Is that the word? I know how it ends now. I know why. And I'm at peace with it. I don't have to wonder anymore.

I want you to know that Gary loved you. I know you loved him once. I imagine you still do. He loved you and Jane, that's why he gave his life for you. And why I'm giving my life for you.

I love you too.

I wish all of us had've gotten more time together. You're pretty cool.

Have a good life, Sienna. Enjoy watching your kids grow up. Enjoy warm summer nights with the windows open. Shoveling the snow. The sparkle of the sun off the water in the pool. Grocery shopping. Taking the kids to school. The feeling of weightlessness when you go down a slide. The bitter and sweet and cold of a piece of chocolate cake. The guitar solos in classic rock music, the classics are always better. The way the lights of the downtown light up the sky when you sit at the top of my rocket.

You get that life and I don't, and I'm ok with that. Enjoy it for me, will ya? Feel it all.

Love,

Jessie"

Sienna walked slowly to the patio door and watched the snow fall. Eventually, she opened the door to the icy wind, sat down on the deck steps. The snow rustled as it hit the ground, and the trees creaked in the blowing gusts.

She sat on the steps and listened to the night, and felt the cold.

###

There's nothing that I wouldn't face

With vengance and annihilate

Sever off the hands of fate

If it were to keep you safe

...You will never be alone

I will never let you, Let You Go

- Let You Go, Operator