Welcome to my online cyber thriller, The Phisherman. To learn more about the story and meet the three main characters, click HERE. If you’d prefer to start at Chapter 1, click HERE.
Nick snarled at the heartwarming music playing softly in the background as he scanned a packed Dulles Airport for the only person in the world that mattered. However, he couldn’t see Lucy anywhere. It wasn’t until she screamed out ‘Nicky’ that he noticed her desperately pushing her way through the crowd.
Nick’s mind flooded with a million memories. He’d forgotten how stunning his sister was, though her vary-colored, short, spiky hair and the full-sleeve tattoo on her left arm startled him. Despite being in her thirties, she was still turning heads. And it wasn’t merely the hot-pink tee and mid-thigh denim skirt she wore that emphasized her physical curves. Lucy carried the magical presence that reminded Nick of his mum. It made people stop and subliminally demanded that Lucy became the focus of their attention.
Drawing close, Lucy paused when she surveyed Nick’s scarred face, her radiant smile turning to shock in a flash. However, it was a mere instant before she resumed her frantic dash to wrap her arms around him.
Hesitantly, he responded, slowly enfolding Lucy in his arms. She instantly melted in his gentle embrace. Nick’s anger and hate disappeared for a moment, replaced by overwhelming tenderness and sorrow for the best friend he’d lost many years ago. His eyes began to moisten – something that hadn’t happened for a lifetime.
Nick swiftly steeled himself, reminding himself of why he’d returned.
And why I’ll have to leave.
After a hug long enough to encapsulate the thousands he sensed she’d longed for over the last fifteen years, Lucy stood back and stared into his eyes. Her full, crimson lips trembled as tears slid gently from her large, blue eyes.
‘Welcome home, bro,’ she said in that distinctive husky voice.
Nick stared intently into her eyes, pleading for their long-lost connection to be re-established as their souls tried to traverse the gap of a million hours apart. He saw the hurt in her eyes, a pain he’d intensified by leaving his young sister for all those years. Nick wanted to hold Lucy close and tell her he wouldn’t leave her again.
However, it was a promise he could not fulfil. The hatred still burned too intensely within him. Nick had never told her about the pain and anger he harbored in his darkest places. Despairingly, he realized that the fire still raged within despite the hundreds of lives he’d taken and the uncountable nests he’d destroyed. The brother he had been to Lucy before their world blew apart was dead.
At the same time, she’ll never be the sister I was inseparable from before that day.
Pushing painful memories and vain hopes aside, he gave her a reassuring hug.
‘It’s so good to be back, Luce. I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed you.’
Within an instant, they returned to where they’d left off when Nick departed DC many years ago. As it had been since those SOBs killed their parents, their conversation was only skin-deep. It would probably remain that way for the rest of their lives. The truth was too painful to dwell on.
Lucy drove Nick back to his Georgetown mansion she lived in as she updated him on her life. Nick was sad to hear of her continuing failed relationships and unsuccessful careers. Unfortunately, it was the continuing price she paid and always would after what had happened when they were teenagers living a vastly different life. Although Lucy appeared to have so much going for her, her spirit was broken and would probably never heal. She was the same as Nick – she simply handled the pain differently.
When Lucy asked after him, he kept to the story he’d fed her for a long time.
‘You know I’m a CIA analyst stationed in Sweden, Luce – I’m a mere desk jockey.’
As always, she believed him. No one outside the Agency knew he was an active spy, fighting face-to-face in the War on Terror. He’d kept the cover he’d built over many years simple. That made it harder to err in the stories he told. And neither she nor any of his family or few personal friends had seen him for so long; no one could verify or dispute one instance of the lies he’d fabricated for them.
Of course, he’d needed to explain the scar on his face. Although the Agency provided him with the best cosmetic surgeons in the UK, they could not remove every vestige of the deep wound the shrapnel ripped across his face. Consequently, the email he’d sent Lucy before leaving London told of his recent horrific skiing accident when a rocky outcrop became an unintended landing point and proceeded to shred half his face.
His heart was torn when they stopped at the final traffic lights and she gently stroked the scar as she whispered, ‘Oh, Nicky, it must have been awful being alone in the hospital. Why didn’t you call me? I would have flown to Stockholm and been there for you.’
As he casually brushed her hand away and downplayed the fictitious incident, her face transformed into glee as she asked, ‘Can you take me skiing while you’re here, Nicky? Please? It’s the perfect time of year. And we haven’t skied together since mum and dad died.’
For a moment, Nick was caught up in her enthusiasm.
I don’t remember the last time I did anything like that merely to relax.
However, as they pulled up in front of the impressive homestead, Nick realized how mentally exhausted he was. After a long chat with Lucy over half a bottle of top-shelf bourbon as she enjoyed some bright-colored cocktail Nick refused to try, he excused himself and disappeared into his old bedroom filled with belongings from another lifetime. Flopping onto the king-sized mattress, he fell asleep in an instant.
The next six weeks flew by. Understandably, Nick spent most of his time with Lucy as they enjoyed movies, shopping, eating out, and watching countless live shows. And if they weren’t out and about, he loved relaxing at home, though Willow, Lucy’s grey and white Persian cat, would not stop climbing into Nick’s lap and hugging him.
It’s as if the damn cat knows I hate felines.
Sadly, the cat had made its mark inside Nick’s house in other ways. The scratches on the furniture and walls were too many to count. So, during his time back in Washington, Nick refurnished the Georgetown mansion. He couldn’t give Lucy what he knew she wanted from him – staying in DC – but he could look after her that way.
No matter what they did, Nick relished their time together, especially when Lucy laughed in the carefree manner he fondly remembered.
Of course, that was before those asswipes took her smile away.
However, despite the joy resurrecting within Lucy, something wasn’t right for Nick. His time in DC was a welcome escape from the violence and pressure his everyday life had been for the last decade. Yet, it didn’t feel real. He was used to a life filled with all-or-nothing risks. His mundane life in DC felt empty. Nick was missing the buzz he needed to cope with life.
Consequently, he turned to the vice that had been his escape from the potentially lethal consequences of his job overseas. The difference was that, in DC, it provided the angst of the challenge and thrill of the win he craved amid a humdrum life. Gambling became the only thing that centered him. It was there, irrespective of whether he was serving as a black ops killer in a distant land or spending the day shopping with his sister.
Because of the virtually unlimited funds of his inheritance, Nick could gamble as often and as much as he wanted. And living such an ordinary life in DC, he needed the kick it gave him. By the time his leave was up, he was gambling online for hours every day. Once Lucy went to bed, Nick played poker or blackjack on his laptop until three or four in the morning.
Of course, in his eyes, it was not an addiction.
I can stop it whenever I want.
I just don’t want to.
I hope you enjoyed observing Nick in a more relaxed setting. I'm sure you can see where the story is going (though there are bountiful surprises that you won’t see coming). If you enjoyed the chapter, please click the heart-shaped LIKE button below - that's the best way to encourage me as a storyteller. And if you have any feedback / thoughts to share, why not leave a comment?