1 Will's Girl
Disclaimer: Everything Alias is the property of JJ Abrams, Bad Robot Productions, ABC, and Touchstone. Please consider this a humble tribute to the genius of the Alias characters and plotlines. No harm intended.
Rating: PG for mild language.
Archive: Please ask first.
Feedback: Appreciated, especially on writing techniques.
1.1 Chapter Three – Raven Song
Murphy's Pub was a small dive three blocks away from the office. It was a traditional pub that served only two draft beers and no wine coolers. Murphy's had the best burgers in the city. Most agency employees bypassed the pub in favor of trendy chain restaurants and bars. And that was the main reason Vaughn and Weiss liked the place. The only Agency people that frequented the bar were older agents and officers that minded their own business but would be first to volunteer if you needed help.
On the short walk to the pub, Weiss tried to make small talk. Vaughn was too angry to pretend to be interested. They walked into Murphy's and headed for their favorite table. They greeted several regulars and as they passed the bar, Murphy, the owner asked, "Your usual boys?"
The second his butt hit the vinyl chair, Vaughn said, "Okay, start explaining."
"Could you be more specific?" Weiss asked.
"You ass! You've been wrapped up in the bureaucracy too long – looking only to answer specific questions." The two just stared at each other – a stand off of sorts. "Just start talking, and I'll let you know if I have any questions."
Weiss sighed heavily and said, "I need a beer. Where's my beer?" Just then Murph walked over and put two glasses of beer down on the table. As Weiss drank he could see Vaughn scowling at him, urging him to get on with it.
He set his glass down, "I don't know where to start," Weiss said honestly.
"How about explaining why Jess hasn't contacted me yet. And why she didn't even want you to tell me."
"Well, there are several reasons, but I'm not sure you're going to understand any of them," Weiss said taking another drink of his beer.
"Try me," Vaughn said in a steely tone.
"She planning on coming to see you as soon as she is able…" Weiss grimaced when he heard how that sounded.
"Is she hurt?" Vaughn was suddenly concerned.
Weiss stammered, "No. Well, yes. I mean she was injured, but she's totally recovered now. At least physically."
Just then Murph appeared with a burger for each of them. "Anything else I can get you fellas?"
"Yeah," Weiss said. He lifted his beer glass and drained it. "I'll take another," he said as he handed the glass to Murph.
"Me too," Vaughn said and emptied his glass also.
Neither man paid any attention to the burger in front of him.
"At least physically?" Vaughn returned to the previous conversation. "So, she's having problems…" Vaughn didn't know how to put it into kind words.
"She's messed up, man," Weiss shook his head sadly. "I mean, she'd never fully recovered from losing Jeff. But now that is the least of her problems."
"What the hell happened on that op?"
"You know I can't tell you details, hell, I don't even know all the details myself," Weiss said. "Here's what I know: Code named Raven Song, the target was an Italian business man who was suspected of selling arms to Muslim extremists. She was supposed to verify whether he was dealing and if he was she was supposed to identify as many buyers as she could."
"So, she had to get close to this guy," Vaughn said.
"Uh huh."
"And to do that, she became his girlfriend," Vaughn's stomach started to churn.
Weiss nodded, "More than that. She became his wife."
"What?!" Vaughn started feeling physically sick.
Murph showed up and set their two fresh beers on the table. Once Murph was out of earshot, Weiss answered his question. "She had no choice. This guy fell hard for her. He proposed to her after just two months. She put him off as long as she could, but he pushed and they were married about 9 months into the op."
Vaughn pushed his plate away and took a deep drink of beer. "I don't understand," he said. "Jess was always against getting involved in those types of missions. She said that she could never use sex like that… no matter how important the op."
"Yes, she was. And she still is," Weiss said.
"So, why did she accept the mission?" Vaughn was afraid of what the answer would be. He prayed that he had not driven her to it.
"Because of you," Weiss said simply. Vaughn grimaced. "Because she loves you," Weiss added.
"What?" Vaughn was stunned. "That doesn't make any sense."
Weiss sighed. "The first time Geary came to her with the mission, she turned it down. Geary supported her, but this was a high priority mission with lots of office politics behind it. They had reconnaissance that indicated Jess was just the type of woman this man liked. Eventually Devlin talked to her. He made it quiet clear that she was either going to take the assignment or her career in intelligence was over. She agreed to do it if it would be her last mission – if they would let her move to an officer position. Devlin agreed – even put it in writing."
Vaughn was silent for a while. Finally he asked, "Why didn't she just tell me all of this?"
"She didn't want you waiting for her incase she didn't come home. She didn't want to tell what was really going on because she knew that you would wait for her – you would put your entire personal life on hold until she returned. She didn't think that was fair to you. And she felt that if she could distance herself from you that you wouldn't be affected if she ended up dead."
"She should have given me the choice!" Vaughn was angry and hurt. "How could you let her do that?"
"I told her that she should be truthful with you. She made her own decision, said that I didn't know what it was like to be waiting for someone that never comes home."
They sat in sad silence for several minutes. Weiss broke the silence. "Look Mike, she's coming home this weekend, and I'm certain that she will come see you." Vaughn nodded his head. "And there's something else I think you should know about the mission that I doubt she will tell you."
"What?" Vaughn asked.
"The target, Giovanni Espasi… well, he was brutal." Weiss paused trying to decide if Vaughn wanted any more details.
Vaughn hung his head slightly and closed his eyes, "He hit her?"
"Yeah, and then some. It started shortly after they were married. He was insanely jealous. He…" Weiss had a hard time finishing his sentence.
Vaughn held up his hand to indicate that he had heard enough. He was already sick to his stomach. His emotions were already raging. If Weiss had said one word more, he would have lost control.
Disclaimer: Everything Alias is the property of JJ Abrams, Bad Robot Productions, ABC, and Touchstone. Please consider this a humble tribute to the genius of the Alias characters and plotlines. No harm intended.
Rating: PG for mild language.
Archive: Please ask first.
Feedback: Appreciated, especially on writing techniques.
1.1 Chapter Three – Raven Song
Murphy's Pub was a small dive three blocks away from the office. It was a traditional pub that served only two draft beers and no wine coolers. Murphy's had the best burgers in the city. Most agency employees bypassed the pub in favor of trendy chain restaurants and bars. And that was the main reason Vaughn and Weiss liked the place. The only Agency people that frequented the bar were older agents and officers that minded their own business but would be first to volunteer if you needed help.
On the short walk to the pub, Weiss tried to make small talk. Vaughn was too angry to pretend to be interested. They walked into Murphy's and headed for their favorite table. They greeted several regulars and as they passed the bar, Murphy, the owner asked, "Your usual boys?"
The second his butt hit the vinyl chair, Vaughn said, "Okay, start explaining."
"Could you be more specific?" Weiss asked.
"You ass! You've been wrapped up in the bureaucracy too long – looking only to answer specific questions." The two just stared at each other – a stand off of sorts. "Just start talking, and I'll let you know if I have any questions."
Weiss sighed heavily and said, "I need a beer. Where's my beer?" Just then Murph walked over and put two glasses of beer down on the table. As Weiss drank he could see Vaughn scowling at him, urging him to get on with it.
He set his glass down, "I don't know where to start," Weiss said honestly.
"How about explaining why Jess hasn't contacted me yet. And why she didn't even want you to tell me."
"Well, there are several reasons, but I'm not sure you're going to understand any of them," Weiss said taking another drink of his beer.
"Try me," Vaughn said in a steely tone.
"She planning on coming to see you as soon as she is able…" Weiss grimaced when he heard how that sounded.
"Is she hurt?" Vaughn was suddenly concerned.
Weiss stammered, "No. Well, yes. I mean she was injured, but she's totally recovered now. At least physically."
Just then Murph appeared with a burger for each of them. "Anything else I can get you fellas?"
"Yeah," Weiss said. He lifted his beer glass and drained it. "I'll take another," he said as he handed the glass to Murph.
"Me too," Vaughn said and emptied his glass also.
Neither man paid any attention to the burger in front of him.
"At least physically?" Vaughn returned to the previous conversation. "So, she's having problems…" Vaughn didn't know how to put it into kind words.
"She's messed up, man," Weiss shook his head sadly. "I mean, she'd never fully recovered from losing Jeff. But now that is the least of her problems."
"What the hell happened on that op?"
"You know I can't tell you details, hell, I don't even know all the details myself," Weiss said. "Here's what I know: Code named Raven Song, the target was an Italian business man who was suspected of selling arms to Muslim extremists. She was supposed to verify whether he was dealing and if he was she was supposed to identify as many buyers as she could."
"So, she had to get close to this guy," Vaughn said.
"Uh huh."
"And to do that, she became his girlfriend," Vaughn's stomach started to churn.
Weiss nodded, "More than that. She became his wife."
"What?!" Vaughn started feeling physically sick.
Murph showed up and set their two fresh beers on the table. Once Murph was out of earshot, Weiss answered his question. "She had no choice. This guy fell hard for her. He proposed to her after just two months. She put him off as long as she could, but he pushed and they were married about 9 months into the op."
Vaughn pushed his plate away and took a deep drink of beer. "I don't understand," he said. "Jess was always against getting involved in those types of missions. She said that she could never use sex like that… no matter how important the op."
"Yes, she was. And she still is," Weiss said.
"So, why did she accept the mission?" Vaughn was afraid of what the answer would be. He prayed that he had not driven her to it.
"Because of you," Weiss said simply. Vaughn grimaced. "Because she loves you," Weiss added.
"What?" Vaughn was stunned. "That doesn't make any sense."
Weiss sighed. "The first time Geary came to her with the mission, she turned it down. Geary supported her, but this was a high priority mission with lots of office politics behind it. They had reconnaissance that indicated Jess was just the type of woman this man liked. Eventually Devlin talked to her. He made it quiet clear that she was either going to take the assignment or her career in intelligence was over. She agreed to do it if it would be her last mission – if they would let her move to an officer position. Devlin agreed – even put it in writing."
Vaughn was silent for a while. Finally he asked, "Why didn't she just tell me all of this?"
"She didn't want you waiting for her incase she didn't come home. She didn't want to tell what was really going on because she knew that you would wait for her – you would put your entire personal life on hold until she returned. She didn't think that was fair to you. And she felt that if she could distance herself from you that you wouldn't be affected if she ended up dead."
"She should have given me the choice!" Vaughn was angry and hurt. "How could you let her do that?"
"I told her that she should be truthful with you. She made her own decision, said that I didn't know what it was like to be waiting for someone that never comes home."
They sat in sad silence for several minutes. Weiss broke the silence. "Look Mike, she's coming home this weekend, and I'm certain that she will come see you." Vaughn nodded his head. "And there's something else I think you should know about the mission that I doubt she will tell you."
"What?" Vaughn asked.
"The target, Giovanni Espasi… well, he was brutal." Weiss paused trying to decide if Vaughn wanted any more details.
Vaughn hung his head slightly and closed his eyes, "He hit her?"
"Yeah, and then some. It started shortly after they were married. He was insanely jealous. He…" Weiss had a hard time finishing his sentence.
Vaughn held up his hand to indicate that he had heard enough. He was already sick to his stomach. His emotions were already raging. If Weiss had said one word more, he would have lost control.
