Chapter 1- the angel in red

Riza sat at her desk idly. This was rare for her…she never just sat there. It wasn't that she didn't have anything to do…far from it. She actually had quite a lot to do, but for some reason she couldn't concentrate for nothing. She felt restless. She lifted her eyes from her work and studied her comrades. Storm had just left…something about needing a smoke break…Riza sneered at the thought, since when did he need to leave for a smoke break? Most likely he just wanted an excuse to walk by the new secretary. Michaels was also gone…he most presumably went to the bathroom. Bryce had been called away to help the new secretary with her typewriter…Riza smiled, even if Storm had tried to strike up a conversation with the new girl, she would probably brush him off while she was trying to get her typewriter fixed. Riza's eyes roamed around the room. The only person left other than herself was Colonel Hunter. She silently studied his form. His hair fell in his eyes as he hunched diligently over his paperwork. She raised an eyebrow. 'Did we switch bodies today? He's usually the one that can't seem to stay on his work.' The feeling of restlessness washed back over her, and she looked back at the clock- 6:30…she still had a half hour left. She looked back at the orderly papers stacked on her desk. Irritated she let out a loud sigh.

"Something wrong Humphrey?" Hunter asked, not looking up from his work.

The sound of his voice snapped her to attention, "No, sir." She replied rapidly.

There was something in her voice that made him look up at her. He studied her features. Her brow was furrowed and her arms were crossed…as if she was having a staring contest with her paper work. It really wasn't like her…usually by now she was already done with her work and was trying to get him to finish his.

He raised his eyebrow at her response, "Are you sure?"

NO! She wanted to scream. I'm not fine, everything isn't okay! She felt like something was just trying to scratch its way out of her head. She was sick and tired of paperwork, she was tired of being so quiet all the time, of being a perfect little soldier, she was tired of being his Nanny, and most of all she was tired of being unappreciated and unnoticed. Plain and simple, she was tired of the monotony…she needed to break out. She just wanted to be someone else for a while…

She desperately tried to shake the feelings out of her head as she responded, "No sir, everything's fine. Please, continue with your work."

Her response didn't convince him, but he knew Humphrey well, if she didn't want to tell you something, she wouldn't tell you. Dejectedly, Hunter lowered his head and continued with his paperwork.

The day finished off as quietly as it'd started and Riza began her walk home. She still felt restless, as if insects were making her skin crawl. She tried to suppress the feeling…but she knew it wouldn't last that long, somehow something needed to happen…she needed to do something. And bottling up these feelings wasn't going to help.

She took a left down Kingston Street. She was only a block away from her apartment. As she walked by The goldfish, the local tavern, a poster caught her eye.

Amateur Hour

10-11 pm

TONIGHT

Walk-Ins Welcome

…maybe she wouldn't have to bottle up these emotions after all. The more she thought about it the more she liked the idea. She only was to do something…be someone else for a little while—what better way?

"Sorry Hunter, I can't tonight." Mayhal said to his longtime friend over the phone. "No, I promised Gabriella that I'd take her out tonight…yes…all right, see you later." He finished into the telephone receiver.

Hughes was excited to spend a night out with his wife, but he wasn't too crazy about where she was making him go. She wanted to take him to the ballet, definitely not his idea of a great evening out, but it's where she wanted to go and he loved her more than his dislike for the ballet.

Back at Riza's apartment

Riza was busy looking for something to wear. She pulled a neon blue dress out of her closet, "No." she said monotone as she put it back. She pulled out a purple dress, "No…" she replied as she quickly put it back.

She then pulled out one of the slinkiest dresses she owned. It was a little black number that was V-necked so sharply down the point of the "v" ended at her naval. She sighed loudly, "No!" Riza crammed the outfit back into the closet.

She turned around blindly and flopped onto the bed. The ceiling fan spun around and around as she stared.

"Sayate, I have nothing to wear." She said as she sat up to stare at her puppy. He titled his head and gave her an inquisitive look. Suddenly it came to her. Riza jumped up from the bed like a lightning bolt and ran down the hall.

"Please still be there." She said to no one in particular. The door on the left was a hall closet and she ripped the door open as her eyes rapidly skimmed the closet's contents. The purple hat box at the top of the closet held what she was looking for. Riza had to jump a little to reach it, because she was so short even if she didn't want to admit it, but it was worth it, she hoped it still fit…

The music of "The Nutcracker" flowed throughout the theater as the graceful dancers made their way on stage. Gabby sat eagerly on the edge of her seat. Hugh slouched in his chair. His bow tie was choking him 'I must really love her a lot to wear this monkey suit.' He thought as he glanced in his wife's direction. His face softened as he watched her stare at the stage with child-like amazement. He did love her, more than life itself…for everything she was, and for everything she wasn't. She wasn't perfect, but it was her flaws that attracted him—she was so perfectly imperfect, it fascinated him. He continued to stare at her and while it seemed only moments to him, suddenly the show was over and he'd been staring at her for almost two hours. He hadn't even noticed the time.

The two walked out of the theater and were met with a blast of cold air. Gabby shivered in the wind. "Honey?" she said. Mayhal could hear it in her voice, she was going to ask for something.

"…sweetie?" she continued. "I'm a little cold…and I thought maybe it'd be nice to get a cup of coffee.."

Mayhal sighed, "But Gabby all the coffee shops are closed…and besides it's just the wind that's making you a little chilly. You can have my jacket and-"

"Hugh…please? I'm sure there's someplace still open…"

He glanced at his watch—10:30, "Well the only place I can think of is The goldfish…but that's not really—"

"Great let's go!" she interrupted. He wanted to tell her 'no', but one look at her and he just couldn't. He smiled slightly and offered her his arm. Together they marched off in the direction of The goldfish.

Riza stood backstage nervously. Butterflies pressed against the walls of her stomach. For the first time in weeks she was actually enjoying herself, even though she was a little nervous. She was terrified, but it felt good. Not only did she feel good, but she looked good. She looked at herself in the full length mirror backstage. Her long dirty blonde hair fell over her shoulders; it was nice to finally get it out of that clip for once even if I preferred it like that.

She had been surprised the dress she was wearing still fit. She'd had it for years and she'd only worn it once. The dress was strapless and red. It was short and it barely reached mid-thigh. The bottom of the dress had two frills at the bottom, making the bottom of the dress flounce out a bit. She remembered the first time she'd worn it, it was back during her last year of school. A boy she knew wanted to impress a girl he liked by learning the salsa, but he didn't have a partner to learn it with. After about two days of begging Riza, she finally gave in…though she almost pulled out of the deal when she found out she was going to have to wear a dress.. Eventually she'd given in to that too, but on the condition that he bought the dress. Ironically, he'd done a pretty good job at picking it out and Riza looked fabulous. 'It still looks good 6 years later.' She was jarred out of her reverie by a hand on her bare shoulder.

"Ma'am?" the stagehand said, "You're on in ten minutes."

She gave him a silent nod. She was pleased that she hadn't given the people her name-she didn't want any of this getting back to the base, she'd never live it down. At first the people wouldn't allow her to go on without a name, but in the end they gave in to her demands…she wasn't the easiest person to argue with she was pretty stubborn.

10:45, they were going to catch the end of amateur night. Mayhal sighed inwardly, he hated amateur night. It was usually filled with karaoke singers and bad magic acts. Out of the whole night they usually only ended up with one decent singer.

"Oh look Hugh! It's amateur night! Let's go watch!" Gabby said excitedly.

'Apparently she's never suffered through amateur night before!' he was about to tell her no, but when he looked into those big green eyes he just didn't have the heart. He put on a brave face and a smile and said, "Why not?" 'Besides, it's only 15 minutes.'

The couple walked inside and Gabby sat at a floor table close to the stage. Hugh waved a waiter over and ordered two coffees. One act was just finishing. He had apparently been a magician. He wasn't very organized because as he was trying to go off stage several rabbits jumped out of his pants leg and started to hop toward the opposite side of the stage.

Thankfully on of the stage hands caught the stray rabbits and helped the man off with the rest of his things. Finally the manager of the club came out. He was a short round man with a bald head and many rings on his left hand. He conducted the stage as if he was a circus ringleader. 'I suppose you'd have to be a ringleader to master a circus like amateur night!' Hugh thought to himself.

"All right ladies and gents! Give this pretty little lady a hand; it's her first time coming out here on amateur night. I hear she's got a sweet little number she wants to sing to you, so give this little lady a hand!" The manager said.

The audience clapped weakly and the lights went out. When they came back up a beautiful blonde in a short red dress stood on stage holding a microphone in her hands. Hugh had to blink twice because he couldn't believe what he was seeing…Riza Humphrey was standing on stage and she actually looked like she was going to sing!

The lights on the stage were bright. So bright in fact the audience was completely shadowed from Riza's view…it was so dark in the audience that Riza couldn't even tell if there was anyone in the house. An empty room. Suddenly any butterflies she had were gone. The music began to play and all traces of the old, dull Riza melted away and a brand new woman exposed herself.

"do you think time would pass me by

Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles

If I could just see you tonight

It's time like these" her voice resounded in the room absorbing the small audience into her own little world. Mayhal and his wife sat spellbound. 'Who knew Humphrey had it in her!' Mayhal thought to himself, 'David wouldn't believe this!'

"when I think of you and wonder

If you ever think of me

Cause everything's so wrong

And I don't belong living in

Your precious memories

Cause I need you

And I miss you

Now I wonder

If I could fall into the sky

Do you think time would pass me by

Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles

If I could just see you tonight

And I, I don't want to let you know

I,I drown in your memory" As Riza sang it she couldn't help but think of David. 'He'd never believe this…he'd never let me live it down!'

"I,I don't want to let this go

I,I don't…..

Making my way downtown

Walking fast faces pass

And I'm homebound

Staring blankly ahead

Just making my way

Making my way

Through the crowd

And I still need you

And I still miss you

And now I wonder…..

If I could fall into the sky

Do you think time would pass us by

Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles

If I could just see you…

If I could fall into the sky

Do you think time would pass me by

Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles

If I could just see you

If I could just hold you

Tonight. The lights dimmed and she disappeared behind the curtain.

When the lights came up Riza seemed to have disappeared as if she'd never been there. For a moment Mayhal seriously wondered if the whole thing had been some sort of elaborate dream. He was stunned speechless. Clapping suddenly filled the room as the audience came out of their bewildered spell and jumped to their feet.

"Oh Hugh! That was wonderful! I haven't heard a rendition of 'a thousand miles' that good in years!" Gabby said to her husband who was still stunned looking at the stage. When he didn't respond at first she said, "Darling? Are you all right? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Gabriella, did that woman look familiar to you?" he asked never taking his eyes from the stage. He was starting to doubt it'd really been Riza and maybe this new woman had just looked like David's subordinate.

"…now that you mention it, she did look a lot like that Lieutenant that works for David. You know, I wouldn't be surprised if that was her."

"At that Mayhal jumped up, "Where are you going?" his wife asked.

"I want to see if that really was Lt. Humphrey." He said as he walked toward the stage door.

"Well if it is her, tell her I thought she did a wonderful job!" Gabby called after him.

Riza smiled at her reflection in a mirror encircled in light bulbs. She felt wonderful. 'I can't believe they clapped!' she thought to herself. Protecting Hunter was a thankless and unnoticed job. It felt nice to finally be appreciated for something. 'Maybe I should be someone else more often.' She mused.

"You have a beautiful voice." Someone said behind her.

Riza knew who it was before she even turned around. She turned to face him quickly, praying inwardly that Mayhal really wasn't there.

He was there though, in the flesh…and complimenting her at that.

"I thought that was you on stage," he said. "My wife told me to tell you that you did a wonderful job. Personally I'm inclined to agree with her—you know my wife has good taste." He said with a wink, "After all, she chose yours truly here."

Riza was still so stunned she could barely speak, " How d-did you-"

"Oh, Gabriella wanted a cup of coffee, and you happened to walk on stage."

"I-I" she started, desperately trying to find the words. She was never one to stutter, but the entire situation was just too overwhelming. If he told anyone, no one would ever take her seriously again. The office would be like hell, people would hum little tunes under their breath and Hunter—'Oh God! Hunter!' "Please don't tell the Colonel!"

"Oh why not? You did amazing. I'm sure everyone would love to see it!"

"No! Please don't tell anyone! I'd never live it down." She pleaded, feeling sick at the thought that he'd tell anyone.

Mayhal attempted to calm her, "Don't worry Lieutenant, I won't say a word…but I was wondering if you could do me a favor…"

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, "What sort of favor?"

"Well you see, Gabriella was very impressed with your abilities, and I have yet to get her an anniversary gift, and seeing as how 'a thousand miles' is one of her favorite songs, I was wondering if you'd sing at our anniversary party…" he said as he looked at her hopefully.

Riza thought about it for a moment, she'd already heard about the Lieutenant Colonel's anniversary party, pretty much everyone had—Hunter, of course received an invitation.

"No." she replied flatly.

"Why?" he ask desperately.

"I won't make a fool out of myself in front of Hunter or the team."

"Oh yes, I'd forgotten he was coming…"

"Miss? Miss?" The little round manager called to her as he rushed around the corner.

"What do you need?" she asked him curtly. This entire business was becoming more than she'd anticipated and the sooner she was able to settle things with the Lieutenant Colonel, the faster she'd be able to get out of this place and back to her plain, boring life.

"I'm glad I caught you before you left. You see next Friday I'd lined up Stella Ronald to sing, but she was forced to cancel on me. You did an amazing job out there tonight…could you possibly fill in for her on Friday?"

What was with people tonight and asking her favors? She was beginning to feel a little like a soccer mom that'd promised to bake cookies for the entire district. Still, being asked to fill in with someone as well-known as Stella Ronald was flattering. She couldn't help but be a little taken back, after all Stella Ronald was her favorite singer. "I don't know what to say…"

"Say you'll do it." Mayhal said unexpectedly, for a moment Riza had almost forgotten he was there. Both the manager and Riza looked at him.

"It'll be perfect," he continued. "The goldfish will have an act for Friday night and you can sing for Gabriella at the same time!"

Riza continued to stare at him. "I'll pay you," the manager offered, trying hard to convince her. "You'll get $700."

Riza turned to stare at him, her eyes widened. '$700 for singing?' It was an insane amount of money for just singing a few songs.

"Please." The two men said in sync.

Riza couldn't say no "…All right." She responded, still a little shocked.

"Wonderful!" the manager said, "I'll start making the promotion posters immediately! …What's your name Miss?"

"No names." She said firmly. "I want to remain anonymous."

"Then what am I supposed to put on the posters?" he asked.

The three sat for a moment, trying to think of some solution. It didn't occur to them until Hughes glanced down at Riza's little red dress. He snapped his fingers in enlightenment. "You could use a stage name! You could call yourself, 'The Angel in Red.'" Riza and the manager both smiled.

"Perfect," the little man said, "I'll start making the posters immediately. Just be sure to wear the same dress on Friday," he told Riza. He turned to walk away, but he stopped for a moment and snapped his fingers as if he just remembered something. He turned to her and said, "I'll need you to come back every night this week. We need to choose some songs and do some sound checks. I want to make sure that this show is a smash."

Riza only nodded…this whole business, 'The Angel in Red', excited her. This was just what she'd been waiting for lately, she needed a break from the norm—and boy was she getting a break! Not only was she getting a break from the office and military, but she was getting a break from herself.

Riza's mood greatly improved over the next week. She was seen smiling and humming little tunes under her breath. David couldn't help but smile at her. Her mood was practically contagious. The entire office seemed bright and energetic. David couldn't remember the last time she was so happy. It was on Friday that he finally couldn't help himself.

"What's got you so happy?" he asked with a smile to his Lieutenant.

She smiled happily at her little secret. "Oh, nothing."

He gave her a sly smirk. "Well that must be some fantastic kind of nothing. You sure you don't have a date or something?"

"The only date I have is with a little red dress." She said mysteriously.

David raised an eyebrow at her comment, but decided against pushing her for details. 'There's no need to pry.' he thought, 'Not when she's this happy.' Her remark played back through his head, 'The only date I have is with a little red dress.' He smiled uncontrollably. 'I bet she'd look pretty hot in a-' he stopped before he allowed himself to finish the thought. 'No, I can't think of her like that. If I start thinking of Humphrey as more than just a soldier…things could get messy—not like I'd actually fall for a girl like her…so stiff and all, but damn, she'd look hot in—STOP that!'

He tried to get back to his work, but the more David tried to not think about her in a little red dress, the more he thought about it. Eventually he found himself giving into to a few of the fantasies and actually considering not just how good she'd look, but actually what the dresses looked like and what they'd look like on her. After a while he even started to wonder where she was going in those dresses, first it was places like the movies and clubs, but eventually it became lavish ballrooms. Then the fantasies took on a life of their own and not only was his fantasy-Riza dressing like she never would in work and going places he couldn't usually picture her going, but now she had a date on her arm…and it just wasn't anyone—it was him. Suddenly he was jarred out of his reveries with a hand on his shoulder.

"Sir?" He couldn't help but jump a little when he saw that it was Humphrey speaking. "You were murmuring." She said. "Did you need something?"

He shook his head quickly, "No! I was just thinking."

He felt his cheeks flush. It was embarrassing enough to be having fantasies about one of his subordinates, but it was even worse being caught by the one he was thinking about. He felt his body burn…especially his shoulder. He felt as if he were about to blush out into a fever.

"All right." She said simply and went back to her desk.

He turned back to look at his paperwork, but his mind continued to wander. This time, he made sure it was far away from the fantasy-Riza's he'd cooked up. He glanced at the clock, 6:00. 'Only an hour before me and Mayhal hit the town.' Tonight was going to be their night out, and David was looking forward to it. It felt like it'd been weeks since he'd seen his friend and he was anxious to play catch-up. David glanced over at Riza happily filling out paperwork at her desk. David also wanted to ask Mayhal if he knew anything about Lieutenant Humphrey's strange change of disposition…if anyone would know about her reasons, Mayhal would. He wasn't in intelligence for nothing.

"Hey Dave!" Mayhal said as he stuck his head inside David's office. "I'm going have to cancel on you tonight."

"Why?" David asked getting slightly annoyed. This was the second time in two weeks. This really wasn't like Mayhal.

"I've got a date with an angel in red." He said with a wink. With that said he walked quickly on his way down the hall.

David rushed to the door in attempts to get a real answer out of his friend before he left. "I thought your anniversary was next week!" he called down the hall.

"It is." Mayhal replied back mysteriously.

This was about all David could stand. Suddenly Mayhal's words echo in his head, 'I've got a date with an angel in red…' Riza's words followed after, 'The only date I have is with a little red dress' These couldn't be just a normal coincidence, could they? 'First Humphrey makes a mention of a little red dress,' David thought, 'then Mayhal cancels on me for the second week in a row for some "Angel in Red"? This is more than a coincidence' he deduced, 'Time for a little investigation.'