Chapter 1

Standing beside Artie's desk, Pete Lattimer and Myka Berring looked at the new agent who had been assigned to the warehouse as of that morning. Her creditials no doubt checked out otherwise she wouldn't have gotten the transfer. Pete glanced over at Myka who was taking in the words coming out of the young woman's mouth and while he should be trying to pay attention his mind kept straying. One would have to be blind not to notice how beautiful she was. She was of average height, obviously worked out from the way her body was shaped and toned, straight brown hair almost mid-way down her back, green eyes and her voice was just very pleasent to listen to. Minimal jewelry decorated her body from what Pete could tell. Small silver chain around her neck and a silver ring on her right index finger. The clothes she wore was appropriate for the job but left things open to intrepretation as to who she was. All in all Pete just got a feeling there was more to her than what met the eye.

"...so I packed a small amount of things and here I am..."

Smiling politely at her uncrossing his arms, Pete now realized that while he was trying to get a solid read on her he had completely missed her name. Lucky for him his welcoming partner did him a favor and said her name as she spoke of how nice it was to meet her. Alyssa. Taking a step forward when it was his turn to be the welcome wagon he let his eyes meet hers when he took her hand to shake it gently. "Welcome to South Dakota...the most boring yet exciting state in the country."

"Thank you..." Alyssa said softly giving his hand a gentle squeeze before they slowly let each other go. "Sometimes boring towns are where the action is. You just have to dig a little deeper to find it..."

Pete laughed a little. "If you say so, I've been here over a year and well...the ice cream shop and chinese restaurant are about as high class as it gets around here."

Smiling and turning to Artie, Alyssa points back to her things. "I don't have a place to stay yet...is that my job or..."

"Oh no, there's a room for you at the bed and breakfast with Lena. She's expecting you. Welcome to Warehouse 13." Artie said with a friendly tone still not wild about having another agent to "babysit" while he found Pete to be more than he could handle on a good day but now adding someone else to the mix was not going to make his days anymore enjoyable.

"Thank you...I will go get settled. I look forward to working with you all." Alyssa replied with a very friendly tone of voice noticing as she bent down to pick up her suitcase she glanced over at Pete flashing him a small smile. He wasn't the reason why she was here and she had to remind herself of that. There was one thing that mattered and one thing only. It had consumed her life and she had to complete this search otherwise everything she had sacrificed would be for nothing.

Pete watched her walk out the door and let out a low whistle. Myka rolled her eyes a bit in his direction and then looked at Artie. "Artie, what's wrong?" She asked as she noticed he was still looking at the door Alyssa had just left through.

Shaking his head slightly Artie turned to Pete mumbling that he was fine. "You can go to Lena's after...you check this out." He says handing Pete a folder knowing him well enough by now to read the expression on his face clearly. If he wanted anything for Pete and Myka it was for them to have a normal life. Being consumed by the warehouse was not the way anyone should live. He may not be open with them about these things but regardless of what he originally had wanted when they came to the warehouse he cared for them both.

"I didn't say..." Pete says frowning a little as he took the folder before Myka pushed him towards the door.

"You didn't have to say anything Pete...you couldn't keep your eyes off of her the entire time she was talking." Myka says voicing the obvious and laughs when Pete looked back at her with another frown. "Go...you can play Cassanova later...but for now we have to check out this artifact."

"For your information my eyes were on her because you know...that's what you do when someone talks to you...you look at them and pay attention." Pete said as they went out the door trying to come up with some defense for himself.

Artie watched the door close hearing the two of them bickering as usual shaking his head before he turned back to his desk glancing at the phone. After a moment's hesitation he finally picked it up and dialed a number. "It's Artie...do me a favor and..." Pausing when the person on the other line finished his sentence he wasn't surprised anymore that she knew exactly what he wanted. It was a request for all new agents. "Just let me know what you figure out."

Alyssa parked her SUV in front of the bed and breakfast looking at the structure through the front window. It was nice, quaint but she wasn't sure exactly how much privacy she'd have there. Glancing over in the passenger seat at a small zippered bag she debated on whether or not she should accept the lodgings or try to find something for herself. She had hid herself from many people, dodged hundreds of questions, changed homes almost every few years. She was tired of running from it, that was very true, but she hadn't had a choice. Twisting the ring she wore a few times still fighting with herself on whether or not this was the right thing to do she was startled when a tapping on the driver's side window snapped her out of the inner war she was having.

Smiling a bit as she slowly got out she assumed that this was the owner that was expecting her. "You must be Lena...I'm Alyssa...Artie said you were..."

"Expecting you...yes. I have a room set up for you. Can I help you carry anything?" Lena asked looking over the woman slowly, reading into her aura finding that it was different than most but in this town different didn't always mean bad. Her initial reaction didn't see anything out of the ordinary though.

"No, I...I think that I'm okay. I just have a couple of bags." Alyssa said pausing and smiled. "If you wanted to read my aura, you could have just asked." It was a friendly tone that was spoken, non threatening but it made her question just what exactly this woman was looking for. It could have simply been something she did with all new residents to her establishment. Not that one could blame her. Reaching in she grabbed the small zippered bag before going to the back seat to remove her suit case turning to see Lena was a bit stunned. "Oh I hope that I didn't offend you...I mean I get why...but I always feel as if it's polite to ask."

"You can read them?" Lena asked cocking her head to the side.

"Not exactly...what I can do is..." Alyssa said pausing as she lifted the handle up on her suitcase allowing it to be rolled instead of carried. "Well...lets just say that it's a bit more advanced then looking at some colors." When she saw a questioning look come from Lena then a quick breath was taken, exhaled and she put a hand on the womans shoulder looking deep into her eyes. "You are going to take me to my room, make me feel comfortable, and not mention a single word of this to anyone. My aura showed you nothing but a happy, normal girl nervous on her first day." Watching the womans pupils dilate a bit she smiled as she took a step back. "This place is really beautiful..." Was it wrong? Probably since the woman wasn't a threat but it allowed her to dodge a series of questions that she knew too well were coming.

"Yes, it's very peaceful." Lena says returning the smile unaware of just what had happeneed. "Let me show you to your room."