The Note

A stranger sat at her table claiming to be her soulmate.

The man, elderly wearing an old suit and with a side parting with the little hair he had left, read this sentence from a scrap of paper. He was sweating.

The woman put her cup of tea down on the saucer and just looked at him. She was cool and confident and took her time to reply. 

Eventually she said, “pardon?”.

He just repeated what was on the piece of paper. The woman, called Sky said,

“OK, Soulmate, tell me about yourself? What’s your name?”

The old man whispered, “Mike”. 

It was as though he was scared and someone was watching him. Sky picked up her cup and drank some tea whilst scanning the people sat in the restaurant garden. Most of them were couples, however there was a single man in his thirties speaking on his phone. 

Sky got up and walked over to the man. She smiled and kissed him on the cheek. Before she walked off she slipped a keycard into his jacket pocket. The man barely flinched. Sky walked off and returned to her hotel room. She was staying at The Grand Hotel in Brighton and had a beautiful room overlooking the sea. Sky had never stayed there before but unfortunately after today she will never return. 

Sky has a unique job whereby she had the ability to stay hidden in full view of the public. She is a lady in her late thirties, average build, conservative clothing and hair and once met, instantly forgotten. There was nothing memorable about her, no tattoos, no scars and had the ability to blend in, she was like an arctic fox, but in the bustling city. 

An hour passed and her hotel door was unlocked. The younger gentleman from the restaurant entered. Sky was sat on the sofa with her legs crossed. He had a brown leather bag and walked over to her, he placed the bag on to the coffee table and said nothing. He moved over to the bed and lay down. Sky picked up the bag and left the room, she headed for the foyer where she was hailed a taxi. 

Sky worked for the British Intelligence Service MI5. This was called “a drop”. A paranoid Russian spy had made contact and was concerned about his country’s future. He had good intentions, but if the current regime in Russia were to find out then he would be tried for treason or worse. In the bag was information and a code for a satellite that would give the British access to Russia’s next move. Sky was driven to London where she met her superior and handed over the bag. 

Sky wasn’t a decision maker in the MI5 she was an operative, going from location to location doing various tasks for her country. Sky enjoyed it, there was a sense of danger but there wasn’t time to settle down with someone. She enjoyed dressing up and going out with friends, but the older she got the less this happened. 

Sky’s next mission was to return to Brighton and follow the Russian national who had given her the bag. MI5 just wanted to make sure he wasn’t attempting to trick them with a distraction and have them busy looking in one direction when the Russians move in another. 

After locating him and tracking his movements for a few days, Sky began to enjoy watching him. He was polite and kind to people, he exercised and was a good looking guy. Sky began to wear more attractive clothing and would do her hair differently. She was ordered not to make contact but she kinda wanted to. 

Sky followed him to the seafront one day whilst he went for a walk but got too close, he recognised her. He hid behind a motor home on Madeira Drive and confronted her as she walked past. Sky denied following him and claimed it was a coincidence. He didn’t believe her but invited Sky for a quick drink, his motivation was purely for self preservation. 

They had a few glasses of wine and Sky found him charming and attractive. His name was Pete and he seemed like a good guy. He told Sky that he had to fly to Budapest the next day, he had some work to do. Sky was smitten and after a passionate kiss he asked her if she would accompany him. 

Sky broke protocol and went to Budapest, if her superiors found out she would have been in serious trouble. Pete and Sky had an amazing time together, they went to the Hungarian National Gallery, the Buda Castle and had long lunches in Heroes’ Square. It was romantic and something that had been missing from her life for years. Sky was worried about getting old and being alone but now she had met someone and she was elated. 

On their last day they went Margaret Island, it is a green oasis on the river Danube. It was beautiful and extremely romantic. Pete whispered into her ear, “I’m your soulmate”. 

Those words, the words which brought them together a few weeks ago were now repeated but this time they meant the world to Sky. 

They traveled back to England together with love in their eyes and an unknown but exciting future to look forward to. Sky had received a message from HQ that she was to abort her mission. MI5 suspected that the Russian intelligence services had discovered a leak which could lead them back to Pete. Sky was ordered not to tell him anything as it would compromise their own operation. 

Sky refused to listen and returned to Brighton to warn Pete. Together they could disappear for a year or two and escape this nightmare. When she got back to the hotel she was informed that Pete was in hospital. Sky panicked but was reassured it was just because he’d sprained his ankle slipping out of the bath. 

Sky jumped in a taxi to see the clumsy man, she was going to make fun out of him when she got to the hospital. She got in the lift and walked down the sterile corridor to his room, as she got close a nurse walked past her, she had a face mask on which struck Sky as odd. When she opened the door Pete was fast asleep, Sky put her hand through his hair then sat down. After a few moments she realised Pete was extremely quiet, she got up and tried to wake him, she couldn’t. He wouldn’t wake. 

On the floor next to the bed was a used needle, discarded like that first crumpled note which read,

“I’m your soulmate”. 

There was still some liquid left in the needle, Sky was crying, she picked it up……..