Conviction

Wyatt keeps his smile as they walk, every once in a while getting jerked to the side by Trooper’s enthusiasm towards anything that caught his attention.
“Yeah…it’s not a bad place,” he muses. “I’ve seen a lot...been a lot of places…but this is still home.”
He chuckles at Katie’s questions. “The one nice thing around TJY is that we’re pretty open with each other…the staff is personally selected and screened to ensure that the best are hired, and as such, are trusted.” He shrugs. “I doubt any case isn’t interesting that we’re working on. There’s a few local cases…one in particular involving a gang that the law is ignoring. Then we got several guys who have their own private investigation offices, and we work with them on their cases… right now I’m helping Hal with a dogfight racket in Arizona. I’ve been back and forth with that, trying to take it down. And, of course we got the Agency case that everyone tries to get in on at one point or another when time allows, whether they’re on the roster or not.”
Wyatt pauses, throwing a glance in Katie’s direction. “I know the feeling of wanting to get out and do something, but trust me…it’s not always all that it’s cracked up to be. There are days that I’d give just about anything to be back behind a desk instead of sitting in a cold car on a stakeout reevaluating my life again because I don’t know if I’ll see morning.” He lets a smile break up his solemn tone. “But don’t worry…stick around and you’ll get your shot. Carter doesn’t hire anyone just because they’re good at filing papers. The best you can do is learn to not itch where you are…then once they let you out, it’ll be all the more sweeter.”
It seems like they just left Laura’s, but they find themselves one again at the end of her sidewalk. Wyatt sighs, trying to force Trooper to sit down, but failing and giving up. “Well…I guess this is where we part.” He studies Katie’s face for just a moment. “I’ll be around to pick you two up in the morning…. Thanks for walking with me.”



It’s a while later that the mess hall door finally opens again and Mick slips into the living room. He waits a moment, just watching Rosetta and BJ on the couch, enjoying seeing the peaceful scene. He sighs, trying not to let the tension show on his face – no one needed any more stress right now. But what he’d really like to do at the moment is hop in his truck and drive. Sparky had caught him off guard, and their conversation had not been a pleasant one. His brother had evoked thoughts and feelings that he didn’t want to deal with right now…. There was too much else going on to think about those kinds of things… besides that, he’d already made up his mind years before what path he’d taken in life…. “When this life is over, Mick, what’s left? No one lives forever. Then what?”
Mick grits his teeth. He’d argued that God couldn’t be loving to allow things to happen that He did. Sparky’s rebuttal had been simple. “The things in this life are consequences of actions, either ours or someone else’s. In this life we are tested to endure. We are tested to help us grow stronger. God loves everyone dearly…and sometimes we simply have to have faith in that fact to get us through. We don’t always know why the bad things happen, but we can’t let that spoil our faith.”
But Mick just wasn’t convinced. He didn’t want to be bogged down to a religion. He didn’t want to have all those obligations and be tied down to that narrow path.
“…it’s a path that leads to eternal life, Mick. Yes, it’s hard, and yes persecution comes. But why would you not want the end result? Why would you deprive yourself the joy of a secure future with God, no matter what happens?” Sparky had read to him some pretty pointed verses about salvation, heaven and hell. He’d stated his case well, and Mick could not deny the sincerity with which he had spoken. But how could Mick put his faith in a God he didn’t trust? Maybe at one point in his past he’d thought it wasn’t so bad, but now? After everything that had happened in his life? How could he return to a God he had perceived to have let him down?
“God doesn’t let anyone down.” Sparky had been firm on his opinion of that. “It’s us who walk away from him then trip and fall on our faces because we try to do things on our own.”
Mick sighs again, trying to get his mind to concentrate on something else. He stares at the tv, watching the animated movie, but it wasn’t helping much. In a last attempt to throw the strange convictions out the window, he goes and eases himself down next to Rosetta.


Luke takes Angel’s hand and stands up. He smiles, though declines the offer. “How about the porch swing instead…I think I’m more up to that tonight.”


Cindy settles into her seat at the theater, a smile on her face. It’s been so long since she’s done anything like this….it’s almost exciting in a way, making her feel like a young girl again.
As the movie plays on, her concentration shifts as she realizes Wes has put his arm behind her, and she feels him moving to take it back. Surprising even herself, she reaches up to stop him, putting his arm back where it was, and settling herself in just a little closer.