Scarecrow and Mrs. King is copyrighted to Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Production. The characters are theirs, the story is mine.
Author: Microdotty
Written: August, 2002
Time setting: October, 1998. The marriage is known by all. Jobs are still secret.
Author's notes:
I enjoyed writing this story. While some passages seemed to write themselves, for others parts, I had to drag the words kicking and screaming onto the page. So, don't be surprised if some of them are still bruised, battered and bloodied. C'est la guerre. But, like a mama bird kicking her fledgling out of the nest, even though its feathers are still short and ragged, I'm kicking my story out. If it flies, it will be a blessing. If on the other hand, it plummets to the ground and flops around, well, c'est la vie! Peace.
Prologue
Afghanistan
October 10, 1998
Pale October sunlight filtered in through the small, high openings in the dirty concrete walls. Cigarette smoke and dust choked the air, but the eight men in the room paid little attention to their surroundings, as they listened intently to their leader, Abu Terzei, "Brothers, you are all aware of the evil that has been done to 'The Foundation' by the infidels. Their news media glorify the arrest of twelve of our number. How is it possible they found our cell? Those twelve were the best trained in 'The Foundation.' Yet, they were not in place more than one month before they were discovered. I want to know how!"
One of the lieutenants spoke up, "Our source in the Agency swears it was not intelligence, merely luck on their part."
"I don't believe in luck, only our cause. Explain."
"It appears one of their agents recognized several members in a photograph taken of our brothers. They were then able to set up teams to spy on their movements and follow them to the base."
"Impossible. The Agency could not have known enough to have the cell under surveillance. Where did the photo come from?"
"Our source says that it was taken by the son of one of their top operatives: Codename, Sovereign."