The Redemption Saga Box Set

by Kristen Banet

  “James was my oldest friend. He was a passionate soul that dedicated himself wholeheartedly to a goal. The goal was always the same, tied to the one thing he wanted to defeat more than anything else: injustice. He couldn’t tolerate it. He’d never been able to. The first moment we met in the IMPO Academy, I could tell he would either be the best agent in the world or the worst, and I told him as much. We were sitting next to each other for an Internal Affairs and Investigations class, the perfect place to talk about how he was going to treat everyone equal, from criminals to his fellow future coworkers. Let’s just say he didn’t make a good impression on many with that speech.”

  A round of chuckles. Even Sawyer couldn’t resist snorting, covering her mouth to stop from getting too loud.

  “But it struck a chord with me, and it turned into one of the most important things I’ll remember about the man. Everyone deserves a chance, a fair shake. Everyone deserved to meet justice on a level playing field. No one got special privileges with him. We’re all Magi, and therefore equal. I would always remind him it’s much more complicated than that. Politics, power, lifestyles, and so many other things contribute to the world we live in, but none of that ever colored the way he approached the world and the people in it. If he met two wildly different people on the same day, he met them both with the same open mind, ready to hear their side and draw his own conclusions.”

  The Director closed his eyes for a moment. She watched him tap fingers on the podium, his knuckles going white as he stopped and just clutched it. Signs he was breaking down.

  Then they were gone. She watched Thompson collect himself and continue as if that moment never happened.

  “And he passed it on to anyone he could. Two men were offered the position of Director: him and me. After all the things our own team had gone through, and as the last two members of it remaining in the IMPO, everyone thought he would take the job. When he passed and I stepped into the role, I asked him why. He said he wanted the chance to truly teach the next generation the ideals he and I hoped to instill in the IMPO, ones that had been lacking. He did that with the same wholehearted dedication he did everything else. And I would say he succeeded.”

  She couldn’t listen anymore, tears flooding her eyes. She leaned over, knowing the next part of the speech was going to continue with the impact James left on the people around him, and particularly, the two teams he’d been handler for. The two teams that gave her chances. One team that stole her heart.

  Oh, she knew the impact James had on the world. She knew better than most, even though she had never gotten to know the man well enough.

  Sawyer regretted it. She should have spent more time with him. Talked to him on the phone about anything. Maybe even told him about the guys and her earlier. Something.

  Sooner than she anticipated, Thompson was done and Vincent was given the podium. Jasper clutched her hand as he walked up.

  Her heart broke with the first words out of his mouth.

  “He was the father I never thought I would have.”

  Next to her, Zander’s shoulders began to shake and she squeezed his hand tightly. Jasper’s fingers began to dig into her hand.

  “He never forced himself into my life. I could rely on him without expectations, much like a son could blindly believe in a father in their youth. I know…” Vincent trailed off. Unlike Thompson, he wasn’t keeping himself under control as well. Vincent always had control – but not today. Not now. She knew it was eating him, tearing him apart. “I know my brothers…” He gestured to the team. “I know they feel the same.” Vincent took a deep breath before continuing. “I…James was a man who believed in people. He always saw the good, always saw how we could impact the world around us in a positive light, and guided us to do that. He always thought that the good a person could do would always outweigh the bad, if they put the effort into it. He knew what sort of team he had in me and these guys.” He waved back at the team. Elijah and Zander, the known worst troublemakers in the group, both chuckled. “He knew we’d break the rules to do what we thought was right. I would say he was proud of us for that, but we gave him a lot of paperwork in the process.”

  More chuckles filled the room, a bright spot in the pain.

  “And he let us make our own decisions and stood behind us.” Vincent’s dark, olive-green eyes fell on her and she couldn’t break the eye contact. “Even if those decisions would upset everyone around us. If we thought we could make the world better in the end, he followed us. A father supporting his sons in their endeavors, only offering a kind word and a warning. He let us take the risks and see what happened. He picked us up if we failed and he praised us when we succeeded. He was just that type of man.

  “His impact will continue to be felt. He’ll forever be a guiding light in our lives, and, I hope, in the IMPO. I hope we can aspire to be him, to be like him. I hope we can continue to take everything he taught us and continue to make the world a better, more just place. A fairer place. A more equal place. A place where we can come from anything and try to do more, be more. He gave me the chance to fight against the family and life I had growing up. He gave my teammates, my brothers, chances to prove themselves in the world. I hope we continue to take that into the future. I know I will. I know my teammates will.”

  Vincent’s eyes stayed on her. She didn’t think he would say anything about her, but the message was clear. Not to her. She already knew. No, the message was to the onlookers, the grievers.

  He continued for longer, but she was overloaded with it all. This was his last chance to say something about a man who had changed his life. It was too much for her. It was all too much.

  The music came back as she and most of the guys stood up. Elijah rolled on his own, following them. She had offered to be pallbearer for him and he’d graciously accepted. It shocked several people to see her there, but she didn’t mind helping James and the guys with this. No, she could pull her weight. Thompson was the sixth person, and they walked it down the center aisle, ignoring the staring eyes and keeping the march to the beat of the somber music.

  The coffin was loaded carefully. While the funeral was smack dab in the middle of the city, James was going to be buried in upstate New York. They had a drive ahead of them and they loaded into a limo for the second half of this sad journey.

  There was a heavy silence when the trip started, but it didn’t last long.

  “I’m upset James never had the chance to tell us a ton of outrageous stories about you,” Elijah said softly, looking at Thompson expectantly.

  “Yeah, he knew some things,” Thompson mumbled. “I wish our last teammate could be here, but not even I could convince him. He doesn’t do the IMPO scene anymore. If it were smaller, maybe.”

  “Last?” She couldn’t stop the question.

  “Well, we have two other old teammates still alive, but…” Thompson sighed heavily. “One left the IMPO, permanently disabled after the other betrayed the team. Our Judas is still in prison. I haven’t told him yet. I’m not sure I want to.”

  “Yeah, you never know what you’ll find on those trips,” Vincent commented, looking away from all of them. Trips to the prison. She knew she hadn’t expected what they would find on their own visit to the Magi prison.

  “I’ll tell you one anyway.” Thompson smiled wearily at them. “The time I caught James with another man.”

  It was Zander who began to sputter. Elijah laughed, the wonderful sound filling the space.

  “There’s not really much to the story. He hadn’t known the fellow was a man until it was too late. There was a lot of alcohol involved. It was a Halloween party while we were in the Academy.” Thompson was now snickering. “Now, this is where James would always cut in and try to tell me to be kind. The guy was nice and I liked him. He was a really decent fellow, but there was some cross-dressing involved that night. I still knew he was a guy. Not sure how James missed it. I think he was lying.”

  “Did he freak out?” Zander asked, looking at
the Director with wide-eyed fascination.

  “No. James always slid around on what he was interested in. He was vocally into women, but I had caught him behaving strangely on more than one occasion with another man. From my understanding, once it started that night, it didn’t stop.” Thompson just kept chuckling. Sawyer snorted into her palm, leaning on Quinn. They quieted down, something uncomfortable falling over the group.

  “Who’s going to be our new handler?” Vincent asked, still staring out his window.

  Sawyer made a noise. Now wasn’t the time for that question. From the look on the rest of the guys’ faces, they agreed. What could he possibly be thinking?

  “Thanks to the…nature of your current investigation…” Thompson shifted around, like he was suddenly in pain. He purposefully didn’t look in her direction. “I’m not going to assign you one.”

  “Why?” Vin finally turned away from the window. Sawyer wanted to hold him. He looked beaten down and abused, with dark circles and redness around his eyes. His skin was too pale and washed out. He wasn’t getting enough sleep. She could swear he had dropped ten pounds in the last few days.

  “Because you were important to him, so you’re going to be important to me. You’re going to report directly to me until the time you all leave the IMPO, whenever that may be. You’ll be the first team with the Director of the IMPO as your handler.” Thompson sighed. “It’s the only thing I could think of. There’s no one I would want to place you with. James handled you solo. He had no other active teams. I don’t want to put you with a handler that has another team. Plus, I can get you whatever you need. I have the weight of my position to help you. I think you’ll need it.”

  “Thank you,” Vincent whispered, turning back out his window.

  “Tomorrow, I need you all at my office for one last thing: his will. The lawyers are ready to get through the reading and sign everything to where it needs to go.”

  “Fuck.” Elijah groaned. “Between that and getting a new place that’s secure, we’re going to be in red tape for weeks before we can get anything done about the case.”

  “Don’t worry about that,” Vincent said sternly. “You just need to worry about healing.”

  “Yes.” Quinn patted Elijah’s leg, the big cowboy on his other side. Sawyer wanted to curl up in a ball, remembering how she’d seen him on the pavement. There had been no reason for her to believe he was alive, much less able to heal. He’d been bent and broken, twisted like one of the pieces of metal from the SUV.

  It haunted her. Thanks to that, her mind kept going back to Quinn in the Amazon, and Jasper without his leg for the first time.

  They had all been so broken and hurt, and it wasn’t over. They were still trying to put it all back together, and yet their future hung over their heads. A job.

  A hit.

  She needed to get through this without thinking about it more. She knew she couldn’t let the rage come back up, not yet.

  The talking died off and they arrived at the cemetery in dead silence. They helped get the casket over the grave and onto the crazy lift used to lower it down into the freshly dug hole.

  The priest said a few more words and they began putting flowers on it.

  And sooner than she expected, it was over. They watched the casket being lowered, and it was done.

  The other mourners began to leave until it was just Thompson and the team. She started to get uncomfortable once more. Again, she was hit with the fact that she had never gone to a funeral before. How did someone leave without feeling like they were leaving someone important behind? How did someone tell others it was time to go?

  Thompson left first, without a word. She knew he wasn’t going to go far. They all had to go back to the city together. She couldn’t stay longer. She was amazed she’d stayed as long as she had.

  “Take your time,” she mumbled to them. She touched the closest one to her on the arm - Quinn. He’d been amazingly silent through it all. Since the moment she broke the news, since his initial breakdown. There had never been any tears, but she knew it hurt him.

  “Stay close to Thompson,” he ordered softly, glancing at her. She nodded in agreement. For her safety. The team had guards, a protection detail, thanks to Thompson, just for this. They were discreet, thankfully, had done well to disappear during the service, but there was reason to believe things could get ugly again at any moment. With Axel out, the team’s safety wasn’t secure. She knew from experience that the man was good at surprises.

  She walked away quickly, trying not to look at the other gravestones. The moment she could see Thompson and one of the guards talking in the parking lot, she blinked the rest of the way. It made the guard jump, since she appeared right in his line of sight. Thompson didn’t spook, though. He turned to see what had freaked out the IMAS soldier and waved a hand for her to come closer.

  It was odd. She did step closer and he grabbed her, an arm over her shoulder in a somewhat possessive manner. In some ways, she knew Thompson better than she ever knew James. She spent more time with the Director, and even that was only a few short encounters.

  But she had saved his life. That was something they both knew. He was the first person who spoke to her when the WMC gave her their decision. He’d been furious. They hadn’t told him what was going to happen. She had already guessed. Even if they hadn’t set her to the task, she had been preparing for it the moment she knew he was out.

  “You seem more put together than them,” he noted softly. “How are you, really?”

  “I’ve never been to a funeral, but I’ve lost people. It’s okay. It’s not, but…I have personal experience knowing that it will be.” She didn’t try to pull away.

  He nodded slowly. “If you need anything, any help with them or on your own, let me know.”

  “How are you?” She needed the attention off of her.

  “My oldest friend was just laid to rest, but I also have an organization to run. Just like you have a…”

  “Yeah.”

  The IMAS soldier stared at them strangely. Thompson waved him away and just kept holding her as they watched the guys stand next to James’ grave.

  “When do we tell them it’s time to go?” she asked softly.

  “When they’re ready. Though if we need to drag one or two away, I’ll need your help. It’s possible.”

  It felt like an eternity before Quinn took the back of Elijah’s wheelchair and began to leave.

  “I never read the report on his injuries,” Thompson said, and she knew he was fishing.

  “The accident broke his back in two places,” she answered. She hadn’t yet vocalized the words. Saying it made it seem so real, even though nothing got more real than seeing it, being there. She couldn’t even bring herself to say all of it. “The internal damage is just bruises now, but that’s the reason he’s still in the wheelchair.”

  “Is he doing physical therapy?”

  “Yeah. Once a day, along with Zander pumping a little more magic into the healing. The problem is, so much magic has already been used that his body needs to make the last couple of steps itself. Just time and rebuilding the strength at this point.”

  “Of course. I’m glad he’s healing. James was so worried-”

  “I know.” Her throat tightened.

  “About both of you,” he finished, tightening his hold on her. “Sawyer, if you need anything, please tell me. Please. I know they are all grieving and need time, and that leaves you in a strange place.”

  “I’m grieving too,” she reminded him.

  “You are, but you’re a lot like me. And Vincent. I’ll help you stop him from working himself to death.” He eyed her, not continuing as Quinn and Elijah got closer. Neither of that pair said anything as they slowed and stopped next to her and Thompson. Elijah grabbed her hand and squeezed.

  And slowly, the group continued to grow until it was only Vincent standing out there, staring at the grave. None of them said anything, or made any move to go get him until Th
ompson tried.

  She grabbed him. “I got it,” she whispered.

  This was something she needed to do. She walked back out to Vincent, who didn’t turn to look at her. She reached out and touched his shoulder as gently as she could.

  Even that made him jump and spin. His eyes looked wild. It was the most startling thing. How wild and angry his eyes looked. “What?” he demanded.

  “It’s time to go, Vincent.”

  He looked stricken and turned back to the grave without saying anything. He wrapped his arms around himself.

  She stepped closer, wrapping her arm around his waist. “It’s time to go,” she repeated in a murmur, trying not to be forceful.

  “I’m not ready.”

  “You never will be.” It was a simple truth. No one was ever ready to say goodbye like this. The person just had to be strong enough to keep moving forward.

  “This is Axel’s fault,” he growled.

  “Abstractly, yes. He wasn’t the one who did it, though.” Right now, that distinction seemed important. “The woman who killed him is dead as well. He went down a hero, Vincent. He saved a lot of people.”

  “You don’t need to tell me that,” he snapped, glaring back at her like she offended him. “This is his fault, abstractly or not. Whether James is a hero or not. My brother-”

  “Is going to die very soon, too,” she snapped back. “Don’t forget that.” She never would, since she was the one tasked with the job. Since she was the one who fully intended to deliver that final blow.

  Scars. Every kill was a scar on her soul, but she was willing to take them now more than ever. She would take all those scars on her soul to keep the people she loved alive. Her approach to death-dealing, her mindset about it, had changed over the last months.

  That wiped all the emotion off his face. Then it began to turn green. She pulled him close, his head slamming into her shoulder. She felt guilty for reminding him of it at that moment, but knew it had to be done.

  And finally, the tears came.

  He was grieving a father figure. He was scared and running on fumes. He was in so much pain; she knew he didn’t know how to cope with it.