Nick Stone had always dreamed of being a hero. As a child, he would pretend he was the good cop out to get the bad guys. As a teenager, he wanted to be a firefighter, rescuing people from burning buildings. By the time he graduated from university, he knew what he wanted do. He decided he would dedicate his life to protecting and preserving the national security of the United Kingdom. Nick wanted to work for the British government at the Security Service, commonly
known as MI-5, the country’s counter-intelligence and security agency. The thought excited him, images of James Bond flashing through his mind. He knew this was where he belonged. Nick submitted an application to the agency, went through several interviews, including an in-depth psychological profile, and was hired as a field operative. Nick was ecstatic.
Around the time of Nick’s job offer to join MI-5, he met Nicole, a kind, beautiful woman who Nick fell in love with instantly. Nick couldn’t believe his good luck. Acceptance to MI-5 and meeting the woman of his dreams. He felt life couldn’t get any better. Sometimes Nick would abruptly wake up in the middle of the night, in a cold sweat, terrified that something horrible would happen to shatter his perfect life. Nicole would console him, assuring him that everything was okay, and eventually Nick would drift off back to sleep.
Nick completed the MI-5 training, an intensive program, where he learned the skills of intelligence gathering, surveillance, and data analysis. He loved every second of it and strove to be the best he could. And he was – Nick graduated top of his class along with another student, Alex McCall.
Nick and Alex became close friends as well as partners, working on top-level, highly classified, covert operations. Secrecy, discretion, and double lives were part of the job. Many of the operations were dangerous, putting both their lives at risk. One such operation was the Vincent Rossi case, code name Operation Roman Holiday. It was a case that MI-5 had put a tremendous amount of time and effort into, involving as it did the USA and Italian governments. Nick and Alex had hours and hours of surveillance on Vincent, observing his actions and daily routine. Alex had even gone undercover, posing as a salesman at the department store Vinnie worked at, befriending him in an attempt to gain incriminating evidence of his past Mafia life.
Enough evidence was obtained, and MI-5 was given clearance to issue an arrest and bring Vincent Rossi in for interrogation. The plan was to do it quietly, discreetly, in the dead of night, before Vincent had a chance to flee again. It was a night Nick would never forget.
He and Alex arrived at Vincent’s home, dressed in head to toe black. Alex disabled the security alarm, while Nick scouted around the home, ensuring no bodyguards, attack dogs, or booby traps were laid. Then, Alex gave the signal and Nick silently entered the back door, using a window glass cutter to slice open a hole in the window, allowing him to slip his hand through to open the deadbolt on the other side of the door. Alex stood outside as watch guard, his body pressed firmly against the side of the house.
Nick knew his way around Vinnie’s home, having obtained blueprints of the house, memorizing the layout of the interior. Nick moved quickly, silently, through the living room, his heart pounding, ready for action.
Nick turned the corner of the hallway, adrenaline pumping through his veins. Suddenly, he heard something, a slight creak, and stopped dead in his tracks, his gut telling him something had gone terribly wrong. Slowly he turned around, and came face to face with the cold, shiny barrel of a Glock 21, pointed directly at him.
“Scream and I’ll kill you.” Vincent Rossi stood directly in front of Nick, his gun pointed at Nick’s head. “Drop your gun,” Vincent demanded in his harsh Italian accent. Nick did as he was told, dropping his gun to the floor with a clatter. Nick stared into murderous, hateful black eyes, praying to God this wasn’t the end.
Vincent, thinking Nick was from a rival Mafia gang sent to settle an old score, had no idea Nick was from MI-5. He had no clue that the British government, with assistance from the United States and Italian authorities, had been watching and waiting, and that he had been under constant surveillance for many years. If Vincent had known all of this, he might have been more cooperative, knowing that his highly paid, very powerful Mafia lawyers could get him out of jail.
Vincent, with the end of his pistol pressed firmly into Nick’s back, pushed him to the couch, Nick’s hands raised high above his head.
“Who sent you?” Vincent demanded.
Nick gave no response.
“I said who sent you?” Vincent said, voice bellowing, his temper getting the best of him. Vincent was not a man who kept his cool.
Nick only stared at Vincent, vowing not to give any information away, struggling to keep his fear at bay.
Vincent punched Nick in the stomach as hard as he could, causing Nick to double over in agonizing pain, gasping for breath. Then a hard left to his jaw. Nick could feel his jawbone cracking under Vincent’s fist as he fell down to the ground, spitting out blood.
Nick desperately tried to get away, crawling on his stomach towards the door.
Vincent pounced, pinning Nick down with his foot, determined to kill this intruder. Vincent pointed his gun at the base of Nick’s skull, seconds away from pulling the trigger.
“AHHH!!!” Vincent screamed out like a wild animal, the pain slicing through his back and radiating throughout the rest of his body. Blood seeped through his shirt, a deep, crimson patch slowly spreading its way across his back. Vincent collapsed in a heap, falling down on the hard floor.
Nick, still lying face down on the ground, stared into Vincent’s cold, lifeless eyes. Nick rolled over and saw Alex standing only a few feet away, lowering his gun, eyes glued to Vincent’s dead body. This is not what they had planned.
“Are you okay?!” Alex said to Nick, crouching down to help his partner. Nick could smell the smoke from the pistol, causing his stomach to roll with waves of nausea. Nick turned his head, vomiting uncontrollably, causing his body to convulse with spasms of fear.
They left the scene after contacting their superiors at MI-5, informing them of the status of the operation. Nick and Alex were both heralded as heroes, bringing to justice one of the most dangerous fugitives in the country. Nick was finally the hero he always wanted to be.
In the months that followed, Nick began having difficulty sleeping. He started to feel that being a hero wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Each time he closed his eyes, all he could see was Vincent Rossi’s dead eyes staring back at him. He had chilling nightmares of Rossi chasing him down dark, seedy alleyways, while laughing a crazy maniacal laugh. Nick tried to push it out of his mind, telling himself to give it time and that this would pass. It didn’t. It only got worse. Much worse.
One Saturday afternoon, Nick was out, walking to his and Nicole’s favorite fish and chip shop to pick up an early dinner. Nick felt fine, noting that he had slept well the previous night, the best night’s sleep he’d had in a long time. He was glad to be outside, getting some fresh air, thoughts of plans that he and Nicole had that evening.
He strolled along, whistling to himself. Suddenly, a man caught Nick’s eye, causing Nick to jerk his head back, double taking. This wasn’t just any man. It was Vincent Rossi. Nick stopped in his tracks, his heart pumping faster, his breathing quicker. No, it’s impossible, thought Nick. Bloody hell, the man was dead! Alex put a bullet in the fucker’s back!
Only maybe he wasn’t dead, Nick thought, his mind racing. He stepped back from the sidewalk into a quiet side street, put on a cap, trying his best to conceal himself. Nick looked across the street to where he saw Vincent, eyes straining, scanning the area, desperate to locate him.
There he was. Vincent Rossi. Nick saw him sitting at a table, at an outdoor café, sipping a glass of red wine. The red wine reminded him of Vincent’s blood soaked shirt. The man glanced in Nick’s direction, allowing Nick to get a good look at him. Nick was certain. It was Vincent Rossi.
Oh fuck! His nightmares were turning into reality. Suddenly, standing in the middle of the little side alley, Nick felt the walls of the buildings crushing down on him. He felt a wave of sheer panic, knowing that Vincent Rossi was still alive, and it was just a matter of time before Vincent would hunt him down and kill him.
Nick bolted, running down the alleyway, as fast as he could, just like in his nightmares. Only now he was certain, it wasn’t a nightmare.