Daily Flash Fiction Challenge

She was gone. I found no note, no phone message, and no Tiffany. Also, there was no furniture, no kitchen appliances, and no photos. I stood there, not just unable to speak, but unable to form words in my mind. I was standing in a building that was supposed to be my home, but it had been turned into an empty structure instead, and it took several minutes before my brain caught up with what I was seeing.

Finally, I started reviewing what I knew. I was just home from a week-long trip to Washington DC where I was helping to draft a cyber defense plan for U.S. Nuclear Command. When I left, my wife was in my home, where we had raised our daughter to adulthood, where we had furniture, kitchen appliances, and even photos. How does everything that makes a home get stolen?

“Mr. Milton, I’m Tim Parker with the F.B.I. I need you to…”

“What, I mean, where…where is my wife? Is she okay, what happened?” I managed to stammer.

“Sir, this is hard, but I need you calm, your wife was killed yesterday. She was caught providing current live nuclear codes to operatives of the North Korean government. “

“I’m sorry, I...need to sit down.” I said as I fell against the wall and slid to the floor. This had to be a mistake, but I was unable to tell him, I just couldn’t talk.

“Based on what we know now, she began clearing this place immediately after you left. We’ve had a team following her, there was a shootout, and your wife is dead. Three agents were also killed. Sir, I’m going to need you to come with me.”

That was when I noticed his hand on his weapon. Was that a swat team outside?