Failsafe
On an inconspicuous hospital bed, on a lazy Sunday afternoon, lies an old yet handsome man who has seen and done it all. More than 40 successful infiltrations. Over 100 confirmed kills. A master of disguise, with a doctorate in sniping, very familiar with improvised weapons, fluent in seventeen languages, an expert at dancing, World champion in poker, a delight on the piano, and just about okay at checkers. This man is dying.
Agent 18564, with more aliases than we can count, had been an agent for over 50 years. A lucky one, to be dying surrounded by his loved ones instead of some random wheat field in secret Nicaragua, or at the hands of the Common-core devils, kings of the underworld. Agent of what organization? If you knew, he would have to kill you.
His son, his daughter in law, and his favorite grandson managed to come visit him again, on this, his last day on earth. He could not be happier. Little Jeanie here has grown so tall, and his son looks as strong as an oak. It was a treat to see their faces once again.
But as lucky and happy as he is, an agent is always prepared. He had long doubted that he would be allowed to retire as peacefully as he wanted, given the tendency his job had to “tie up loose ends”. So just in case, he had a failsafe. A silly thing really, an incantation he encountered when picking up the holy sword Excalibur when he was tasked to clean it a good 40 years ago. An incantation that would banish and free oneself from containtment.
A gate to another world.
Naturally, he gave his favorite grandson, Jeanie, the instructions to disable it. Mustard Yellow, Neon Yellow, Dark Green, Red. NEVER touch the Blue, Brown or the Olive buttons.
And so he passed away in peace.
This man with a thousand faces knew many things, like how to crack eggs without breaking them, or how to snipe a mans wig off from 437 miles away. But it is man's folly that when we know too much. we forget and ignore the details. Details like the fact that little Jeanie here, is colorblind.
And it was two hours later that the whole world would find out, that EVERYONE had a escape route.
And the prisons, office buildings, and schools, rang empty
I really enjoyed the mood and depth in your story, it paints such vivid imagery.
It made me think how powerful it could be as a visual piece or c0mic.
I’m involved in visual storytelling, and your work caught my attention.
Let me know if you’d like to connect.