Email to a Friend

I’m going to deviate a bit from D65’s prompt for Day 5 of her 7 Posts 7 Days.
The prompt is: Write a letter to someone explaining your life right now.

It’s an excellent prompt, but I don’t have anyone I feel I need to explain my life to. Also, if it’s pertinent in my life right now, it’s on my Now page—no reason to repeat myself.

So, here’s the deviation bit. I’m going to have one of my characters write the letter (it’s an email, ‘cause he doesn’t do snail-mail).

The character is Ward Mitchell, the hero from my second Deniable Unit series. He’s responding to an email from his childhood (and former Army) buddy, Laughlin.

Hey L,

Sorry about dragging my ass on getting back to you. You know the drill: Op, coma, op… repeat ad nauseam.

Congrats on getting Stone Security off the ground. Can’t imagine how you’re dealing with working with your sis. Rather you than me, dude.

Thanks for the job offer, but you might want to find someone better suited to the job than me. I’ve been on desk duty for the last few weeks. Yeah, I know, me driving a desk. But, things went tits up a while back.

I can’t go into details, but I fucked up and, well… Collateral was two civvies and Eric in a chair for life. Head injury has messed with the events in my head. One minute I swear I hit my target; the next, I just don’t know. But the bigwigs ruled it as clean, sent me back out there. Hell, I wanted back out there, needed to be back in the thick of it.

Then when I took a round to the arm, Brenner pulls me out of the field for “having a death wish.” He’s been out of the field for too long; can’t remember the risks needed to get the job done. Which is how I’m behind a desk using my “sniper’s eye” on fucking surveillance footage.

I’m going to take you up on the offer of a drink next time I get back to Los Almas.

Later, Ward