Meant To Be
A Christmas Mission
By Toni Walker
Chapter 1: KEVIN
The winter chill was a bit more biting than Kevin Fairchild was used to. He zipped his leather jacket up a bit farther and adjusted his gloves and hat. He’d spent most of his adult life trekking across Europe on one mission or another. So now living in small town America was quite a change. He’d always had dual citizenship because his dad, Franklin was American and his mother, now passed on, had been British.
The term small town was quite relative. The town he currently resided in was pretty sizable but when compared to European standards, it was more of a village. He definitely had been enjoying his time here. Taking a few years off from the spy game had been a hard sell for him. Joining Mackenzie Gray in the American version of his dad’s new endeavor had been a bit odd at best. He’d forgotten so much about living here. He’d been only a child then.
Growing up in England was all he really knew. But he did know one thing, he found the gift of silence here. The benefit of days of peace where he could finally hear his own thoughts without life intruding was so heartwarming. There weren’t really a lot of truly quiet places in the world, but they were there if you only took the time to look for them. The park here had given him so much peace and calm that it made his transition more gentle. Even Nathan Able and his need to take credit for everything or turn a quick prank couldn’t crush his positive attitude.
His dad had given him a sizable check to pass onto the Christmas mission Hannah Collins was spearheading. His father was still in England getting ready for some big changes he was about to make in his life. One of them was focusing more on his growing faith in God and the new life he hoped to build with Hannah. Hannah had really changed him and Kevin wasn’t sure he’d ever seen his father so happy… even when his mom was still alive.
Kevin himself hadn’t really considered more than a casual relationship here and there. Michela Forsythe had gotten between him and his older brother, Ethan and their relationship while better now was far from being where he wanted to see it. Family had always been important to him and the distance between him and Ethan was a thorn in his heart, a wound that never seemed to completely heal.
His dad had implored him to be the Santa at Hannah’s Christmas Dinner at the mission she and her many volunteers were preparing. Franklin wanted to do it himself but he knew he wouldn’t be back until sometime in the new year. There were a lot of things to wrap up and put to bed in England. His dad was passing the torch to Nathan’s father, Abraham. And while Kevin was looking forward to new endeavors, his heart was still going to miss being “the Boy Scout”, his code name at The Legacy. It was a whole new world for sure. His brother, the Chameleon, was a master of disguise and blending in. He was on a mission somewhere in England. And he had a feeling his dad was doing his best to leave his sons both better roads to travel. He wasn’t sure what that meant for Ethan, but it was sure to be an adventure.
Kevin had picked up a small bunch of Christmas blooming flowers. Mostly to give to Hannah because his dad had requested it. But he considered keeping one bloom as a white flag to give to Michela. This was her town after all. She’d left The Legacy and came back home not long after the Bulgarian incident. It made them all very cognizant of how precious life was. She wanted to rebuild ties with her family. She’d only been a freelance agent as a way to fund her mission to hide away from them and lick her wounds. And that life had kept her busy enough but the evil specter that haunted her had never quite left her eyes.
Kevin himself had gotten together with some military chums. John Holland was a pretty popular police sketch artist who found a huge following on YouTube during the Covid Years. And Nick Boyd had been their photographer and videographer. Kevin was sure he’d probably made a few movies by now. And not just military documentaries. Nick had a real penchant for films. No one knew films like he did. It was quite interesting getting together with them coming back here. He’d renewed his interest in art and photography because of those boys. Even got in a few games of racquetball at the local Rec Center. But he’d also found something else here in the peace of this place — God. He wasn’t sure how he’d made it through so many years without him. God had been his undercover secret, his way to deal with the perils of a spy life.
It was when he met Hannah that he discovered the soundtrack that would populate his mind from that day forward. He had met her during a series of unfortunate events and eventually realized she was the woman taking care of Phoenix and Scarlett whom he’d met during his Bulgarian mission. She showed him how God was speaking to him through songs he found running on a loop in the back of his mind. He’d never really paid attention to it much but those repeating song lyrics always seemed to apply to whatever was going on in his life.
He had only gotten to know Hannah through the kids and his job at The Legacy kept him on the road a lot. But he seemed to be the one grounding male influence in those kids lives. Gray, their father, was a ghost and seemed to be away even more than Kevin was.
The Life, as he began to call his missions made him more of a loner and a solitary person. But shining images of Hannah, Phoenix and Scarlett made his spy life more meaningful. He was more of a loner on the road even when tasked to lead a team. Most of those kids liked to party hard while Kevin retreated to local libraries. He loved to read and found comfort in families bringing their kids to read books. He’d never had a chance to have a family of his own. It didn’t really seem in the cards for him. But those three had his heart for sure.
When Scarlett had spoken of going something like he and Ethan did or wanting to become a behavioral analyst, Hannah encouraged him not to limit her. “Let her dream,” she’d said. “She may not become you but she will find her way that fills her heart and makes sense to her.”
Hannah had explained how her own father had nixed her idea of being a private eye or a detective. He told her to go into art. She’d discovered journalism and theater in high school and it helped grow her life beyond her original need to detect or save the day. Hannah was a closet mystery writer and sometimes worked closely with the local LEOs as the owner of AKA Cafe, where she was a bit of an informant. So, things did eventually even out in life when given time to simmer on low.
A winter storm system had been hovering over the city like an ominous cloud and the night before let loose with an early December snow. It covered the city in about three inches of the white stuff. It was just enough to be annoying but not enough to keep the motivated inside.
As Kevin walked toward AKA Cafe, Hannah’s new enterprise he found himself losing his footing as a dark figure dodged past him nudging him just enough to send him sliding toward an open hole in the sidewalk with signs cautioning him to be careful. It was a bit late for that warning as he quickly found himself at the bottom of that opening. His pride was hurt more than anything. The blue and white cat that roamed the neighborhood peered into the hole from up above. A slight cat smirk crossed his face as if saying “I saw that, Mr.” He felt a bit of standing water underneath him, probably run off from the melting snow start to deep into his pants.
“Perfect,” he muttered. “Definitely not going to impress the kids or Hannah with his tailored Santa suit. Kevin was too slim to pretend to be jolly but he was creeping up on old. Not that 56 was old but to some, it was ancient. His hair was more dark gray with tinges of white. He’d make a convincing Santa, he figured. He hoped the phone he’d secured in his breast pocket had survived the fall because he wasn’t sure he could get out of the hole on his own. His fall had dislodged the temporary ladder. Of course, fate had that ladder still up top but out of his reach.
He was half wishing he’d been on a mission. Bobbie, Taffy or Echo would have called in help by now. Being on his own in America definitely had its disadvantages. The buzzing in his head ceased and he tested the functionality of his limbs. Everything still seemed to be in tact. That blue and white cat’s expression was now a bit judgmental. He still sat quietly above him now a look of disdain and pity.
“Happy Christmas to me,” he mumbled. Luckily his teeth felt all in place but the brunt of the fall had bruised his back. He could foresee more time in the gym recovering. As he located his phone still in his breast pocket, he called for assistance. This was going to be a fun call.
