Saving Grace

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Life is a journey and a process just like farming, where you have periods of sowing and the time where you are supposed to just sit back and enjoy the harvest of your struggles. Or at least that was what Derek thought.

At the ripe age of 62 he would have expected to be spending his winding down days on the shores of exotic landscapes of strange lands, sipping cultural beverages and exploring different strange traditions. He would have expected to be sunbathing in the carribeans while being surrounded by model-like Latinas.

But just as he had experienced over the course of his six decades on earth, life seldom goes according to our plans. Instead of being on vacation in a strange land, he was scouring the hinterlands with his only friend, his dog, hunting down erstwhile foes who have decided to awaken the beastly side of a sleeping lion.

Just then, his burner phone rang and he hurriedly searched through his pockets to produce the little device.

"hello" he whispered into the phone

"Have you found my daughter" a shaky voice echoed through the phone's speaker. The very texture and tone of the reply broke his heart as he tried to put his emotions in check.

"Not yet. But I promise you that I will bring her home safe" he replied. The phone went quiet for a few seconds before a reply came back.

"Please, I'm begging you. She's all I've got and I don't know if I'll forgive myself if anything happened to her" she started before her voice started breaking again, sounding sorrowful and hoarse. "I should've been there with her, they should've taken me instead of her" she continued as she broke down in tears.

"I promise you that I'll bring her home unhurt. Please don't hurt yourself, it wasn't your fault" Derek consoled, knowing very well that the last part of the sentence was true. It wasn't her daughter's fault that her daughter was kidnapped, but his.

He retired without being able to afford the kind of retirement package he wished for. But Grace was the only thing that kept him sane. It was as if their souls were intertwined and even when he knew this could happen, he still couldn't leave or live without her.

He dropped the call as he couldn't bear hearing his only daughter having a breakdown, called upon his dog and continued his tracking journey. Having hit the assailants' safe house, he had tracked the fleeing remnants of the cartel to the swamp on the north eastern part of the city. This could only mean one thing; that they're trying to cross into South America with the kidnapped.

He followed the footprints left in the swamp as his dog tracked the scent of the assailants. Derek stooped to assess the footprints and they looked fresh which meant that they were not too far behind. With the night pitch dark, and only a sparkle of the stars, the only semblance of light, it was easy to detect every little trace of light in the bush.

As he tiptoed a few meters forward, he noticed a flicker of light, very faint, but observable. It was as if someone was smoking about fifty meters away. He crouched on the floor and crawled slowly towards the source of the light and as he got closer, the figure became clearer and it was definitely one of the cartel members having a smoke.

Then the cigarette fell from his hand on the floor, and as he picked it up, the lights went out. Searching his pockets for a lighter, Derek appeared before him, flicking on his lighter to help relight the cigarette. Shocked, the guard looked up to see who it was and with just a single punch, Derek knocked him out cold.

"Ouch" he whispered as he felt the pain on his knuckle. It's been some time since he punched that hard, but having served in the army for years, before retiring as the local sheriff of his town, he still had it in him.

Immediately, he dragged the guard out of site and went around the little bamboo hut, picking at individual guards till the coast was clear. Then he went into the outer room of the hut dressed like one of the guards, looked around and saw an adjoining door by his right which led into a hallway. He moved swiftly as the guards were busy playing games and drinking.

As he stepped through the door, he turned around and locked the latch on the door. He noticed other guards stationed on strategic positions in the hallway and tiptoed towards the first one, coming up just behind him, and snapped his neck.

The second one turned immediately towards Derek and opened fire at which point Derek used the first guard as a shield while moving swiftly towards the second guy, used the first guy's gun on the second one and knocked him off.

Sweating profusely and holding onto Grace with a gun to her head, Machema looked angrily at the door, hoping that Derek won't make it through the door. Few seconds later, the door swung open and in strolled Derek with droplets of blood dripping on his arm.

"You thought you could ruin my life and go enjoy your retirement?" Machema started backtracking. "You destroyed my life and business that I spent my whole life building"

"I never fought against you, I only fought against crime" Derek replied. "You were only caught on the wrong side of things" he added

"That's just you trying to make yourself feel good" Machema answered

"It doesn't matter. What matters is you bringing my niece into the equation, and now I'm going to lock your body mind and soul away, and send the keys to the depths of hell where you belong" Derek replied and then whistled, at which point his dog flew in through the window and landed on Machema's arm.

Wrestling with the dog and trying to wriggle free, Derek moved in swiftly and grabbed Machema, handcuffed him before calling the police. He then embraced his niece who had been blindfolded all the while, with earmuffs used to block her hearing.

"Let's get you home" he whispered into her ears and carried her up in his arms.