Special Protection
Title: Special Protection
Date posted: 09-29-08
Fandom: Alias
Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.
Notes: Written for no challenge.
Prayer to Saint Anne:
Glorious Saint Anne, we think of you as filled with compassion for those who invoke you and with love for those who suffer. Heavily laden with the weight of my troubles, I cast myself at your feet and humbly beg of you to take the present affair which I commend to you under you special protection.
She receives the file on a Monday morning.
"Shouldn't be hard. The target is careless. We feel that your usual method will work best."
She nods, her face smooth. "Any particular instructions?"
The man has a smile best described as cruel. "Let him see that pretty face."
-
She has three days.
She needs to make this work.
-
Communicating with her mother is not an option. Her mother will try to rescue her, to prevent her from making hard decisions. Her employers need this to happen, or they will make something happen to her.
She instead starts monitoring her mother's communication and formulating other ideas.
-
Simon sharpens her knives as she drinks her third glass of vodka in an hour. They're both in a sober mood. When he finishes his task and she's finished another drink they'll go to bed.
He'll be jovial in the morning. She's a good actress.
-
Tuesday morning there's a bite. It's something so minimal most wouldn't catch it, but she knows her mother's words well enough.
The meet is set for Wednesday night.
-
She hears her name from across the street and stops. Tires squeal as she crosses against the light. There’s an alley, dark in spite of the Roman sunshine. "Your target will be in Budapest Friday morning."
In spite of herself, her stomach clenches. "I understand."
-
Wednesday she flies to Budapest and takes the train to Prague. It's quiet and quick and she finds herself wiping away tears more than once. She is not as strong as she pretends to be.
Her hotel room is small and dank and she shines out, her hair making her gleam, under a name she forces into her mind. She hopes this will crowd out the others. She's had so many names.
-
They meet on the Charles Bridge by the statue of Saint Anne, taking hands like lovers. They have taken no precautions.
She hates to think that her employers were right as the shutter snaps.
-
She reviews the pictures on her memory card. She is careful to remove the ones in which they look most vulnerable. There is enough, though, for an arrest.
She mails it to the NSC.
-
The train to Budapest is filled with children on a school holiday, noisy and sticky and crunching wrappers. Parents and teachers try to control them. There is a quiet girl sitting the side, her dark hair falling across her face as she reads a book.
There is a sharp pain where her heart once was.
-
Friday morning she waits in a cafe near the corner where her target is supposed to meet the informant. She is careful to make sure that her seat is far enough from the window to be hidden.
At 10:06 am her target is arrested for working with unsanctioned sources and enemies of the state. Her knife, unmarred, gleams in the fluorescent light.
-
"There was nothing I could do," she says to her handler. "He was arrested just as I was arriving."
"So it appears," he replies. "But you would've gone through with it otherwise, no?"
She arches a surprised eyebrow. "What would've stopped me? The death of a CIA agent would've been a coup. I only regret missing out."
His eyes watch hers very carefully. "Bristow will get what he deserves."
There isn't a flicker of recognition.
Date posted: 09-29-08
Fandom: Alias
Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.
Notes: Written for no challenge.
Prayer to Saint Anne:
Glorious Saint Anne, we think of you as filled with compassion for those who invoke you and with love for those who suffer. Heavily laden with the weight of my troubles, I cast myself at your feet and humbly beg of you to take the present affair which I commend to you under you special protection.
She receives the file on a Monday morning.
"Shouldn't be hard. The target is careless. We feel that your usual method will work best."
She nods, her face smooth. "Any particular instructions?"
The man has a smile best described as cruel. "Let him see that pretty face."
-
She has three days.
She needs to make this work.
-
Communicating with her mother is not an option. Her mother will try to rescue her, to prevent her from making hard decisions. Her employers need this to happen, or they will make something happen to her.
She instead starts monitoring her mother's communication and formulating other ideas.
-
Simon sharpens her knives as she drinks her third glass of vodka in an hour. They're both in a sober mood. When he finishes his task and she's finished another drink they'll go to bed.
He'll be jovial in the morning. She's a good actress.
-
Tuesday morning there's a bite. It's something so minimal most wouldn't catch it, but she knows her mother's words well enough.
The meet is set for Wednesday night.
-
She hears her name from across the street and stops. Tires squeal as she crosses against the light. There’s an alley, dark in spite of the Roman sunshine. "Your target will be in Budapest Friday morning."
In spite of herself, her stomach clenches. "I understand."
-
Wednesday she flies to Budapest and takes the train to Prague. It's quiet and quick and she finds herself wiping away tears more than once. She is not as strong as she pretends to be.
Her hotel room is small and dank and she shines out, her hair making her gleam, under a name she forces into her mind. She hopes this will crowd out the others. She's had so many names.
-
They meet on the Charles Bridge by the statue of Saint Anne, taking hands like lovers. They have taken no precautions.
She hates to think that her employers were right as the shutter snaps.
-
She reviews the pictures on her memory card. She is careful to remove the ones in which they look most vulnerable. There is enough, though, for an arrest.
She mails it to the NSC.
-
The train to Budapest is filled with children on a school holiday, noisy and sticky and crunching wrappers. Parents and teachers try to control them. There is a quiet girl sitting the side, her dark hair falling across her face as she reads a book.
There is a sharp pain where her heart once was.
-
Friday morning she waits in a cafe near the corner where her target is supposed to meet the informant. She is careful to make sure that her seat is far enough from the window to be hidden.
At 10:06 am her target is arrested for working with unsanctioned sources and enemies of the state. Her knife, unmarred, gleams in the fluorescent light.
-
"There was nothing I could do," she says to her handler. "He was arrested just as I was arriving."
"So it appears," he replies. "But you would've gone through with it otherwise, no?"
She arches a surprised eyebrow. "What would've stopped me? The death of a CIA agent would've been a coup. I only regret missing out."
His eyes watch hers very carefully. "Bristow will get what he deserves."
There isn't a flicker of recognition.