Drip… drip… drip… the faint sound of a leaky faucet in a rundown apartment. Lou Wright, is drying his hands as he looks in a faded mirror. He closes his eyes, starts to mouth his traditional prayer, and bows his head. The struggle of being a trained assassin that has found religion. His job versus his faith. After 6 years of internal struggle he has found a routine that lets him live with his choices. Working his way up through the government with his skills, he is now the go to for the missions no one ever knows about. You hear the stories on the news of another head of something evil taken out. Over the years, the stories are manipulated for the public to think it was militia, rebellion, rival ambush… but it all has been Lou.
Lou repents his own sins by taking what he believes is the right actions against evil. Every year on December 25th a manila envelope is sent to him by Max Pennington, his former Special Op brother who is now a hirer up in the CIA. Max and Lou have worked side by side for over 20 years and now they both have extremely important jobs within the government. Both jobs are on a need to know basis but this duo has taken down 21 of the top 40 most dangerous threats to National Security.
Within the envelope each year are 3 names. Lou has the decision of vetting all 3 within 364 days to make a choice. Which one is most important to take out. Each year Max and Lou get the green light to do what is needed from the CIA. Each year Lou repents his sins by making the World a better place. The only issue with year 7 and this specific envelope is the name inside…
Lou finishes his prayer in front of the faded mirror in the abandon apartment… December 24th and he just completed year 6 of his assignments. He took out the head of a militia group that was planning unfathomable acts along the east coast. The story in the news the next day will be “drug deal gone wrong” but Lou, Max, and the CIA know what really happened. Lou gets back to his loft in New York City… it is now 3:21 in the morning, Christmas day. As he is about to pass out on his bed he hears the sliding envelope coming from under his front door.
“Ughh, not even a minute in here” Lou mumbles as he walks to the front door. He picks up the envelope… bends the two metal prongs to open it up… slides out the white paper… his eyes widen… “Max, how is this possible” he whispers as his voice breaks. 1 name on the Bad List instead of 3. Under the name Max wrote “sorry bud, this is the most important person the CIA needs you to vet and to make the choice.” Lou grips the paper and closes his eyes… not Damian. He drops the paper to the ground and falls to his knees. The paper begins to uncrumple… the only name written on the Bad List is Damian Wright.
Creative Writings and Fan Theories at a Glance 