Nick slammed the door shut to his flat, causing Nicole to jump. She put the remote down on the coffee table, rushing to the door. What she saw frightened her, immediately realizing something was very wrong even before Nick opened his mouth.
Nick stood in front of the door, pacing, every few seconds looking out of the peephole. His eyes were wild, his pupils dilated. Nick ran his fingers through his hair, a look of panic and confusion etched on his face.
“Nick, baby, what is it?” Nicole asked her voice rising with fear. She reached out to touch his hand, trying to calm him down. Nick jerked his hand back quickly, as if her touch caused him physical pain.
“Nick, please, tell me what’s wrong.” Nicole tried to talk to him in a soothing, reassuring voice, hoping this would calm him down enough so that he would talk to her. Nicole was aware he worked for the government, in a fairly high-level position, and that Nick’s work could at times be dangerous. Nicole didn’t know anything else, and very often wondered if she would ever know more.
Nicole had noticed some odd behavior from Nick recently. First it started with a lack of sleep, dark circles under Nick’s eyes, his face pale and drawn. Then, the nightmares that would cause Nick to wake up screaming, drenched in a cold sweat. Once, Nicole awoke in the middle of the night to find Nick on the floor, curled up in a corner of the room, shaking uncontrollably. Nicole tried discussing these disturbing occurrences with Nick, pleading with him to open up to her, to let her help him. She even suggested Nick see a doctor. Nick became defensive and angry, saying he didn’t know what she was talking about.
“He’s after me,” Nick said, his voice barely a whisper.
“Who’s after you?” Nicole asked gently.
“Him.”
“Tell me about him, Nick. Please.”
Nick looked at Nicole, his brown eyes filled with fear and panic, his mind racing, unable to hold on to any coherent thought, feeling as though he was walking along the edge of insanity.
Suddenly, Nick had a gut-wrenching thought – what if he was here? What if Vincent Rossi had managed to get inside their flat, hiding, waiting an
y second now to leap out of the shadows?
Nick searched the flat, his eyes darting back and forth, as he frantically went from room to room, wanting to make absolutely certain that Vincent wasn’t lurking somewhere in their home. Nick checked the locks on each window, while hastily pulling the drapes closed.
Nicole stood in the middle of the dark living room, speechless. She reached for the phone, determined to get Nick the help he so desperately needed.
Nick grabbed the phone out her hand and threw it on the floor. “You can’t do that!” Nick shrieked, convinced Rossi had bugged their phone. “He’s listening!” he said angrily, thinking how stupid Nicole was to do such a thing. Didn’t she realize how dangerous Rossi is?
Nicole was at a loss. Her concern for Nick had been growing more and more as the weeks went by. Now she was scared. She began shaking, and she sat down on the couch suddenly, her legs ready to give out. Nicole buried her face in her hands, sobbing, tears streaking down her pretty face.
“I don’t know what to do!” Nicole cried helplessly. She looked up at Nick, praying he would come to his senses and snap out of whatever this was.
Nick, feeling more in control now that he had assessed the area and determined that their home was safe, sat down next to Nicole, leaning over to comfort her. He was okay, Nick decided. Rossi wasn’t going to get him that easily. He was Nick Stone - highly trained, specialized field operative for MI-5. He was trained to be calm, cool, and collected. In control of himself and his surroundings. These thoughts calmed Nick, reminding him of who he was.
Nick leaned back on the couch, stroking Nicole’s hair. He suddenly felt extremely tired, his eyelids drooping, barely able to stay open. Within two minutes, Nick Stone feel into a deep sleep, his body and mind exhausted.
Nick went about his daily routine, trying to keep up with appearances. He attempted to busy himself with work. Nick and Alex were given new cases, new assignments. He did his best to conceal his escalating fear and paranoia. Nick and Nicole never discussed what happened that Saturday afternoon. Nicole was too afraid to bring it up. Nick, his mind deteriorating, fully believing that Vincent Rossi was still alive, thought it was best to keep the information to himself. He could handle this. And he would. Nick decided he would take Rossi out. When the time was right, he’d kill the son-of-a-bitch once and for all.
Alex sensed something was wrong with his partner. Showing up late for meetings, forgetting important details of the cases they were working on. Alex would ask Nick a question and would get no response whatsoever, as if Nick didn’t even hear him. On one occasion, Alex popped his head into Nick’s office, after knocking several times and getting no answer, only to find Nick pacing around his desk, head down, mumbling to himself.
Nick jerked his head up, startled. Alex stared at Nick, unable to hide his worry and concern. “Hey, Nick. I knocked, you didn’t answer. Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine! What do you want?” Nick snapped, obviously agitated. He had been in deep thought about his plan to murder Vincent Rossi and didn’t appreciate Alex interrupting him.
“I just needed to get a file.” Alex walked to the filing cabinet, taking another glance at Nick, while he retrieved the file he needed. Alex frowned, realizing something was seriously wrong with his partner. Nick was usually so pulled together, shirts perfectly pressed, shoes always shining. Not the disheveled, unshaven man in front of him.
“If you need to talk, you know I’m here for you,” said Alex, trying to reach out.
“Yeah, okay, thanks,” Nick responded dismissively, trying to keep the conversation to a minimum. He wished Alex would hurry up and get the hell out of his office.
“Seriously, Nick. I’m here for you.” Alex pushed.
“Fuck, man! I heard you! Can’t you see I’m busy?!” Nick exploded, eyes blazing.
“Okay, okay,” Alex said, holding his hands up, taking a step back. Don’t push it, Alex thought. He’d seen a few others lose it while at MI-5, the st ress and pressures of the job too much for them. He knew the warning signs.
The next day Alex received a phone call from Nicole.