Allen and his Commanding Officer were currently ordering coffee.
"Medium dark roast with room for cream and sugar, please." Marion ordered.
"Large, French Vanilla, please." Allen requested. The barista gave the two men their total, and Marion charged it to his card. The pair waited for their drinks, left the coffee shop, started wandering the streets of Boston, and started chatting.
"Tired?" Marion asked. It was, no doubt, a sly comment on the size of the order
"I had trouble sleeping," Allen mumbled, sipping at his drink.
"Why's that?" Marion asked, cheekily.
"Those files weren't exactly 'light reading', Sir."
"Truly? I find the formal language to be quite exhausting."
"Cut the shit, Sir." Allen requested.
"Okay, let's be frank," Marion said, sobering up, "What did you think?"
"I like the name," Allen commented, "'Icarus Contingency,' it's fitting"
"Glad you approve."
"Have you thought about it more than just the 'flying close to the sun' relation?"
"What do you mean?" Marion asked, taking a rather large sip from his coffee.
"In many Greek tragedies, the mortals were punished for their hubris, believing themselves to be above the rules of the gods."
"I'm familiar with hubris, Agent Marks."
"Truly sir? Because this plan of yours is nothing short of it."
"It is neither my plan, nor my hope. It is a contingency centered around the worst case scenario."
"What gives us the right to decide this?" Allen demanded.
"The same thing that gives us the right to win the war against Russia or China, nothing save the moral code we hold close." Marion lectured. Allen sighed and threw his empty cup of coffee away.
"Who else knows about this?"
"Aside from us? Four people: two active agents, one retired, and another one retired with alzheimer's." Marion mused.
"Why tell me?" Allen asked.
"Because I can trust you."
"You trust all of the agents, there has to be more to it than that." Allen pointed out. Marion rubbed the bridge of his nose, sighed and started talking.
"The Icarus Contingency's greatest weapon is its secrecy. If America were to fall, it must be by it's own hand. It's people must rebel, because no nation can win against us. You've seen how we react to even the slightest hints of threats. The Lusitania wasn't even an American ship and Pearl Harbor was barely a pinprick compared to what we proved we could do." Marion got pensive, "If anyone finds out about this, if the government, the media, or even the people find out about Icarus, than that revolution may never come. After all, how do they know they aren't being manipulated?"
"You have very little faith in people." Allen observed. The pair stopping at a crosswalk.
"I trust people, that's the problem."
"Trust?"
"People trust people, so when someone they trust tells them something, they believe it - even if it's wrong. That snowballs, escalates, and pretty soon you have six million dead Jews." Marion explained.
"I think there's a little more to it than that," Allen argued.
"A little," Marion granted. "But this is logistics, what I need to know, Allen, is whether or not I can count on you."
"To do what? Bring about the fall of my government? My home? Everything I've been fighting for all this time. To make it all," Allen spread his arms out, "To make Kiev, Moscow, and Prague mean nothing?"
"We're not doing it, Agent Marks," Marion soothed
"Than why tell me? I can't be that special, I can't be the absolute best you have, there's an entire division fighting against China that I've never even seen."
"You're wrong, Agent Marks, you think any agent would have done what you've done? Would have go through with Kiev, Moscow, and Prague?"
"I'm not proud of those days, Sir." Allen mumbled, looking down.
"But you did it!" Marion exclaimed, "You did what needed to be done!" Marion sobered up a little, "But you're right, there's more to it."
"What is it, Sir?"
"I'm getting old, Agent Marks, only a few good years left, I need someone in the new generation to keep 'Icarus' alive," Marion explained
"Sir, I'm engaged to be married, the ceremony is in two weeks. My child is due in late winter," Allen recited the list as if he'd practiced.
"So?"
"So...I plan on retiring soon."
"As we've discussed." Marion recalled
"I won't be a part of the CIA to keep Icarus alive."
"You never completely leave, Agent Marks, you'll always have contacts, training, and knowledge. You'll have the knowledge of Icarus, the chance to pass it on, and the chance to start it. Now Allen, I have one last question."
"What is it, Sir?"
"Can I trust you? or will I have to kill you?" Marion asked, seriously. Allen sighed, clasped his hands together, and rubbed the back of his neck.
"I obeyed orders at Moscow, I believed at Prague, and I trusted you at Kiev," Allen said quietly, "I'm not walking away now." Allen relented.
"Good." Marion said with a nod. "On an unrelated note, why wasn't I invited to your wedding?"
"You don't exist, sir." Allen reminded the man.
"Only officially, Agent Marks." Marion chuckled, "Only officially"