The Ribbon Chasers

The Ribbon Chasers

A short story.

It was a dream he had every night. A dream that made his heart pump, his sweat drip and his head hurt. The same damn dream every night. He remembered the squeal and then the gunshot. He watched those brown eyes flash before he heard her final scream, and then silence.

He tried. As much as he tried to change the outcome of his dream, it was always the same. He couldn't fix the ending. It was set, though he tried desperately to save her. He remembered the day he took the case. Sometimes he wished he hadn't. 

Maybe another agent could have saved her.

*

"Why did you name the case 'Ribbon'?" Federal agent, Patrick Bale, asked as he looked at the folder. The report had classified stamped across the face of a young brunette.

"This is Sadie Harris, seventeen, from Melbourne. Witnessed her father get gunned down by one of Melbourne's underbelly gangs. The AFP has her under protection until the trial. You're the leading agent, Bale. You've got Agent Dawson as your case partner. You've worked together a few times. This is a high-priority case. Her testimony will send a couple of the gang leaders to prison. You need to keep the Ribbon alive." Patrick Bale glanced at his team leader, Frank Riley, and composed himself. The young girl's file photo was drawing him in.

"You didn't answer my question, Frank. We don't code name our assignments. We're not Special Ops."

"She's an exception. She wears a ribbon necklace that her father gave to her for her sixteenth birthday. When you talk about this case, you reference her as the Ribbon. Got it? No one outside of us knows about the necklace. It has a small GPS tracking device in it. We can't let them get her. You can't let her die. We need to keep her alive and get her on that stand. Dawson will be joining us in the next hour for a briefing. She knows about the Ribbon codename but not the tracker. You need to gain this girl's trust. The last trial her father handled was the prosecution of some AFP agents tied with the Melbourne ganglands. She doesn't trust anyone with a badge, Bale. Protect her and make sure she comes out alive." Frank opened the top drawer of his desk and shoved his gun inside with a sigh.

"Understood. Why isn't Dawson filled in on the GPS?"

"The more people know, the more at risk she is. The girl's testimony could clean up the streets of Melbourne for good. Take her out to the safe house and have her monitored," Frank had explained before turning his attention to another file on his desk. "She won't live a normal life once this trial finishes. The moment it ends, Sadie Harris disappears. She will become Rachel Sims." 

Patrick nodded and skimmed her file. Sadie Harris, grades that put her in the top five per cent in the state, a popular and active member of the social scene. 

It would be hard for her to disappear.

*