Nobody would remember the house when she died. Nobody would look at it and understand the sacrifice that had been made to turn it into a home. Nobody would stop to consider just what she had tried to do.
“Ben has been right all along,” she whispered. “I have been so blind.”
She knew then that she had been right to sleep with Marcus. She had taken the opportunity he had brought her with open arms, and revelled in his loving attentions. Mainly because he had been the only person in her life ever to make her feel like a person rather than a sister, a landlady, or a daughter. Deep in her heart, beneath his loving caresses, she had changed beyond all recognition. She had grown stronger, less fearful, and considerably more selfish. She had started to think about what she felt, what she wanted, and how she was going to go about getting it.
Now that she had stared death in the face, something deep within her, some stubborn refusal to accept the life she had, began to crumble, and the harsh reality of her foolishness was staring her blatantly in the face.
It was a decaying house full of duplicitous strangers who didn’t give a damn about her. The guests never thought about the work that went into putting food on the table. Or the many hours of cleaning, washing, and shopping that was needed to make sure people had warm beds to sleep in at night. Nobody knew what ungodly hour she had to get up in the morning to light fires to ward off the chill within the house.
When the lodgers moved on to their lives, wherever that might be, they wouldn’t stop to appreciate the sacrifice she had made – nobody would. But she had given her all. For a decaying pile of wood and bricks that someone could put a torch to in a fit of murderous criminality, and destroy completely within hours.
In that one single stroke, Sayers had set fire to all of her dreams, hopes, and aspirations.
What she had to do now was decide what she wanted to do about it.
Marcus raced through the undergrowth. He stumbled ov
er the uneven forest floor and fought to regain his balance without losing speed. His lungs, already struggling from inhaling the thick fog of smoke, coughed in protest. Dizziness assailed him, but he couldn’t stop. He could see Sayers’ back only yards ahead of him, and was determined not to lose him this time.
He knew now that the man he had followed all the way from Framley Meadows had been Sayers himself. Cursing his own stupidity, he realised then that he should have done something to stop him ever reaching Smothey. Having said that, though, he would then never have met Jess, or stopped at the boarding house. He would never have met Ben, and would most probably have never had the opportunity to turn either of their lives around.
Jess had taught him so much about hope, home, what he wanted out of life that he needed to stop and consider the full ramifications of her presence in his life. She was that special someone who would always be an integral part of him, and she had made him stop and reconsider everything he thought he was.
His work had always been his life. It was what he did, but also who he was. Or so he had thought. He had always felt that his work for the Star Elite was worth the personal sacrifices he made. Now he understood all too well that he had sacrificed too much.
All of the torment from his work, the residual pain, and anger he carried with him on a daily basis, was emotional and mental. The sheer frustration of working in his job, succeeding in one task by getting one convict to see the error of their ways only for ten more to appear was a heavy burden. He hadn’t realised before just how heavy it was until Jess had made him stop, and experience the softer side of life.
In a way, his work was a thankless job. He had spent the better part of his life fighting the enemy; looking for ways to seek out the truth, in spite of people’s best attempts to hide it. The veritable flood of people always looking for a way to better themselves no matter who they had to step on, or what souls they had to destroy, was endless. While he had always had the satisfaction of being able to put someone behind bars where they were unable to hurt anyone, or steal something someone else had earned or helped themselves to the sanctuary of someone’s home or torment someone’s life with a total and callous disregard for their life, he had sacrificed so much of himself that he had lost sight of what life was really all about.
Unfortunately, nobody would look at a list of convicts and thank the person who put them behind bars. Nobody would stop to consider the sheer weight of paper needed to send notes and correspondence. Or think about the time it took to gather the evidence, proof, facts, and details necessary to ensure that criminals stayed behind bars where they belonged. People always looked toward the convicts, and talked about what they had done, what had gone wrong with them.
The sacrifices Marcus had made of his own wants, dreams, aspirations, and needs were never recognised, and would never be recognised. He was painfully aware that if he were cut down stomping through the wilderness of Mother Nature; yes, his friends would mourn him. Yes, he would be grieved for by his family, but people would continue to live their lives. The criminals would continue to inflict their puerile hatred onto others; innocent souls who had the right to go about their lives unhindered by others’ greed.
He would always be grateful to Jess for opening his eyes to the value of true love, and what it felt like to be loved. As a result of her generosity, he now wanted a life of his own. He wanted Jess as his wife. He wanted to be able to go home to her, and watch his children race around the garden. It was imperative to his future; his own survival, that he get the opportunity to keep her in his life. He didn’t want to be cut down in the undergrowth like some wild animal. He wanted to die in his bed, when he was old and grey, surrounded by his loved ones, and able to reflect back on his life with a sense of pride and accomplishment.
It would be impossible to get any of that if he continued to ignore the dangers that surrounded him every day, and spent his life in the shadows.
Jess was his life. She had taken him into her home, shared her body and her bed with him, and worked to wash his clothing, feed him, and keep him warm at night. And she had not ever asked for a blessed thing in return. All she had ever wanted from him was the truth; honesty, and not to be hurt in return. He owed her.
To fulfil that debt to her, he had to rid the country of criminals like Sayers. Future generations deserved a world where there was no hatred, no greed, no malice, no scorn, no derision, no threat or danger from others. For the sake of his and Jess’ future, and the future of their children, Marcus knew he had to keep on fighting with the Star Elite, but in a different way. The world had to get rid of the criminals who used the shadows to their own benefit, and dragged innocent souls into their relentless treachery. Like, Terrence Sayers.
Was it possible for him to have it all? Could he continue to work for the Star Elite, but live a relatively ordinary life with Jess? He hoped so, because if it came down to a single choice, he knew he could never find the strength to walk away from Jess.
Marcus studied the back of the man up ahead, more determined than ever to bring the man down so that he could go back to the woman he loved and begin his future. He glanced around. There was a veritable army of his colleagues around somewhere, but he couldn’t see them. They had to be in the trees with him, hopefully forging ahead in an attempt to intercept the man. Until something turned to his advantage, Marcus had to keep following.
“Damn it,” Marcus growled when darkness began to swirl around the periphery of his vision.
The sense of helplessness that swept through him was humbling, but he couldn’t give up. Not now that he was so close to bringing Sayers to justice. If he escaped, Sayers could crawl back into his sewer; his network of underground tunnels of illegality and would be hidden by his network of co-conspirators. It was time the tide got turned against him. It was time the people he bullied into his evil schemes witnessed just how cowardly he was, and understood just how much he lied to himself, and how vulnerable he was because of it.
If the Star Elite brought down one or two members of his group, in addition to the man himself, those who had been bullied into participating in Sayers schemes would talk. In exchange for protection, and freedom, and the ability to go about their lives without threat, they would work to eradicate the world of people like Sayers. They could be called upon to provide the evidence the Star Elite needed to ensure that not only Sayers, but each and every bully, thug, criminal, murderer, terrorist, rapist, and thief, was gathered up and put behind bars. Not only that but were never allowed out again to taint the world with their warped way of thinking.
Marcus couldn’t ignore the fact that once Sayers was behind bars, he was a free man and could turn his attention toward making Jess his wife. With renewed determination, he ignored his physical discomfort and lengthened his stride.
Jess listened to the silence. The longer she sat in the front garden, the more she began to wonder where everybody was. There had been at least six men racing after Sayers, one of whom had been her brother, but she had yet to see any of them return. There were no shouts or sounds of gunfire. There was no sound at all to indicate that they were anywhere nearby.
She could have been the only person in the world right then, yet she didn’t feel lonely. She felt strong, determined, although incredibly worried about Marcus and Ben. It was a relief to know that they had help from the group of men who had followed him into the woods. She had no doubt that they would succeed in capturing Sayers and put him behind bars where he belonged. Whatever Marcus set out to do, Marcus did. All she had to do was wait for him to come back.
As soon as Lloyd and Carruthers were also made to account for their recent actions, the village of Smothey would be able to return to peace and tranquillity.