Mortal Sins - Finale

It is Linda who opens the blank envelope on the kitchen table. It has arrived with the rest of the mail, mostly bills and junk. It contains only a small piece of paper with a straightforward message: "Don't worry, I'm alright. Can't tell you much this way, but let's meet Sunday noon on these GPS coordinates. Love, C." Three numbers stand on the other side of the paper.
She calls in Virgil immediately.
"Look at this."
He examines the paper closely. "Hm. Carol. It's been a month..."
"Seems like she was preparing for this disappearance."
"I have been suspecting that as well. Maybe not to endanger us..."
"Let me see those coordinates."
Linda pulls out her smartphone - a device still mystifying for her husband - and taps the numbers in. "Hm. In the middle of nowhere. That doesn't tell much. We'll know more when we see her, right?"
"So we will see her."
"Why not? I mean, aren't you interested..."
Virgil laughs. "Of course I am. But I did not expect you to want to come with me in the middle of nowhere."
"I'd go to hell with you. Provided you'd bring me back," the woman winks.
"I would bring you back even if I had to fight all the devils and Lucifer himself."
They kiss briefly, then start gathering their camping gear. In the autumn wetness, they are going to need some more than boots and a light jacket.

Between two steep hills, among tall and ancient trees, they make their way forward. Linda carries the GPS and leads. Then she comes to a halt.
"Here."
"There's nothing here."
"That's the point," comes a voice from behind a tree, then the blonde steps forward. She looks leaner and tougher than when Virgil has seen her last. She's wearing a suit of Loki personal armor, visibly tailored to her body, perhaps her own handiwork. "Long time no see, Mr. Instructor."
"Carol." Virgil steps closer, inquisitive. "What's going on?"
"Long story short, I have become what I always wanted to be." She sits down on a log and invites the visitors to do the same with a gesture. "A menace to abusive spouses and drug dealers."
"I haven't been your only teacher. Is that correct?"
Carol nods. "There are many skills I needed to acquire in order to make the dream come true."
"And what dream would that be?" Linda joins the conversation, slight resentment coloring her voice. "That of a serial killer?"
"Call it what you like. At least I'm doing something."
"I understand," says Virgil, sending a 'calm down' glance towards his wife, who lowers her eyes. "But why did you call us here?"
The vigilante's face turns serious, almost dour. "I wanted to see you one last time. This kind of life doesn't lend itself well to keeping friends."
"I have been a little worried..."
"Don't be," Carol touches his shoulder. "I know the Golden Rule. Always keep the last round for yourself."
"What is that supposed to..." Linda jumps up and would start complaining, but seeing the connection in their eyes, she stops. With a sigh, she sits down again. Warriors...they are all alike, she thinks.
"I see. Well... Good luck, Carol." He squeezes her hand.
"Thanks. For everything."
Linda finally listens to her heart and gives the woman a hug. "I may not agree with what you are doing, but I have to trust Virgil's judgment. And I hope," she pauses, swallowing, "that you don't have to rely on that rule soon."
"Thank you too, Linda," the blonde acknowledges her with a warm smile. Then suddenly, her eyes take on a mischievous glow.
"But enough of the drama. How about a last dinner together? I brought bacon."
She doesn't have to say it twice - Virgil is already building a fire.

After the meal, Carol tells them it's time to go home, and they start walking back to the car. Linda looks back, but Carol has already disappeared into the thickest of the forest.
"Isn't it just beautiful out here?", Virgil turns to his wife. "I nearly forgot what it's like to be this far from the city, from work and everything."
"Yes, it is. If a little cold," she replies absent-mindedly.
"I don't mind that. I mean, look at this." He makes a wide gesture. "The only thing that never really changed."
Linda zips up her coat and takes a moment to look around. Bright colors cover the hills; dashing yellow, mellow auburn, rusty red, and all their subtle shades in an intricate carpet. The wind brings scents previously unknown in her bookish life, and the sounds of rustling leaves and singing birds fill her ears. She takes in a good lungful of the brisk air and smiles, throwing her head back in glee. Her russet locks dance wild in the wind.
"Well, you're right. We should go out more."
"Hmmm. Two weeks, and it's hunting season..."
"I've never been hunting before," the woman admits, embarrassed.
"It's not that difficult," Virgil pokes her playfully in the arm, "besides, everyone has to start somewhere."

At the beginning of the hunting trip, Linda seems to be a natural, imitating her man's movements with ease. Soon, she starts pursuing her own prey, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. In the process of stalking a buck, however, she gets carried away, and the man loses sight of her. He begins looking for her.
"Linda! Where are you?"
But she doesn't hear him, too focused on her target. She's got the 10-pointer in the sights of her Marlin, nearly ready to lay him down - when the bear attacks the quarry from behind. Linda reflexively shoots and wounds the predator, but only angers it, as the terrifying roar lets her know. The deer is gone, having taken flight panic-stricken into the safety of the woods. The woman trembles with adrenaline coursing in her veins. A bear! A wounded bear... I have to warn Virgil! The thought blazes like fire in her mind as she runs forward, in the direction where she suspects to find either the beast or the man. Suddenly, behind her, something rustles and she whirls around, already bringing her rifle up, aligning it on target. Mind clouded by fear, she pulls the trigger before knowing what she's found - or what found her. But instead of an animal scream, she hears a man's groan as the "target" falls down.
Stepping closer, she finds Virgil fallen with a serious wound in his side. His liver has been ripped open and he is bleeding heavily on the leaf-littered ground. She kneels beside him, with terror and disbelief bleaching her face and widening her eyes.
"How...? I thought you were..."
Her immortal man is lying on the forest floor...dying. How is this possible? No, it can't be, this is not happening..." Harried thoughts chase each other in her head, and she is frozen.
"Just like before," Virgil says, struggling for each word. "Only...someone who loves me...could deal the final blow... Just...like...I did."
he grabs her hand. Peace and understanding smoothen his features, making him look a lot younger than he actually is. She finally understands what he's trying to tell, and the first tears begin to roll down her cheeks. She kisses the fading man's hand, realizing that she gave him what he needed the most.
"General...I am coming...Here. Deo Vindice..."
His last words are merely a whisper. Then his gaze breaks and his body relaxes at last. Linda cries as she gently closes his eyelids.
After 150 years, Stonewall's innocent killer is forgiven. And under her heart, there's the precious gift she never had a chance to reveal to him - Virgil's only child, the bearer of his honor.