Chapter 1 : A Time to Build up
September 2009
CIA Headquarters
Langley, Virginia
Today was the day he had been waiting for, working towards and
dreading all at the same time. He looked in the bathroom mirror. In
it he saw his brown hair, in it s constantly mussed up state. No
matter how hard he tried it just never seemed to behave. His hazel
eyes stared back at him from behind gold rimmed glasses. He always
wished that he looked more like a movie star, a man that women took
notice of right away, but he had grown accustomed to his looks and
now found them to be an asset. The man looking back at him lived
alone; he had no wife, no children, and no girlfriend. He was the
only child of wonderful parents that had tragically died in a car
crash 3 years ago. He had no pets, not even goldfish. He had not
wanted anything that would tie him down. He knew in his new job he
would need to be free, nothing and nobody to worry about when he was
away and no one to worry about him during his travels. Many would
find this life boring and lonely, but it was what made him the
perfect CIA agent. And today was his first day on the job since he
completed training. Today he was going to meet his supervisor; he was
going to start making a difference in the world. He was thrilled to
have become one of the elite but it terrified him at the same time.
Malone took one more look in the mirror and turned out the light in
the bathroom and walked to the kitchen. He grabbed a glass of Orange
Juice and scarfed down a corn muffin. He grabbed his keys and his
briefcase and headed out the door. He jumped into his car and headed
to the office. He turned on the radio and rolled down the windows
to enjoy the beautiful weather that the DC area was being blessed
with. A cheesy love song started and he listened for only a
minute. 'No point in thinking about sappy crap like that. Love would
only get in the way of his career.' His changed the station until he
heard the heavy sound of an old Metallica tune. 'That's more like it'
The rest of the way he sang along with the heavy metal music blaring
out of the speakers and thought about the best way to make a good
first impression with the new boss.
He knew that he was to meet with his supervisor, Assistant Director
Weiss. Knowing that he was to work under an Agency legend like AD
Weiss was a bit nerve-racking. The man had been on the front line in
the search for Irina Derevko and was shot while trying to retrieve
vital intel. He came back to the Agency and was then instrumental in
securing the intel that brought down the Alliance. Just thinking
about that Operation sent chills down Malone's spine. The Agency had
had a lot of great Ops over the years but the one that brought down
the Alliance was what created legends like AD Weiss, who had been
transferred to Langley two years prior. He had asked questions about
the time and operations surrounding the take down of the Alliance but
most were never answered and much of what he knew was based on
hearsay and speculation.
Malone pulled into a parking space and took one final look at his
reflection in the rearview mirror. He walked toward the building in
his blue suit from The Mens Warehouse and disappeared into the line
of people making their way towards the security checkpoint. He
entered the CIA building and looked immediately to the floor where a
large inlay showed the Company seal. His heart beat faster and he
started to break out onto a sweat. There was no turning back now. He
passed through security and was led to the 5 floor. He found his way
to AD Weiss's office.
"Agent Malone, to meet with Assistant Director Weiss." He spoke
kindly to the assistant out side the door.
"The director is in a meeting at the moment. Have a seat and I will
tell him know you are here."
Malone could see into Weiss' office and saw a woman sitting in one of
the chairs in front of the desk. A man, who he assumed was AD Weiss,
was crouched down in front of her, talking earnestly. From what he
could gather the two were having some sort of disagreement. The woman
was vigorously gesturing about something and AD Weiss grabbed her
shoulders and tried to speak to her. She was not listening, as far as
he could figure. She stood abruptly and poked the AD in the chest.
Malone was surprised that someone would be so bold as to make contact
with the AD. He assumed the woman was his wife or girlfriend, based
on the fact that no agent would dare treat the AD the way she had.
As he contemplated the situation the woman yanked open the door.
"After all these years, I would think you would know me better than
that."
For the first time Malone got a look at the woman. She was beautiful
but weathered. She had a classic look about her, dignified and
strong, yet Malone could easily see what appeared to be years of
worry etched in her face. She carried herself with self-assurance
that Malone had never seen before.
"I do know you, but you have to let go. This has become a dangerous
obsession. Its time to move on with your life." Weiss answered.
"I can't let it go. You of all people should know that." She
sighed, "I will talk to you later." The woman turned to go but
seemed to think twice about it and turned back to AD Weiss and gave
him a kiss and a hug. "Thank you," she said quietly and was gone.
She paid no attention to Malone as he sat in the waiting area.
AD Weiss stood at the door to his office watching the woman leave. He
had a haunted look on his face and seemed to be lost in thought.
Malone vowed to never let a woman have that much power over him, it
could only lead to distraction and problems in the field.
"You must be Malone, come on in" The AD was finally speaking o him.
Malone stood up and walked into the office and sat down in the seat
the woman had vacated. Weiss stood behind his desk and read through
his file occasionally grunting or nodding his head. He finally put
the file down and looked at Malone for a long minute.
"Why did you join the CIA?" Weiss asked.
"Well sir, long story short, I have always wanted to work for the
Agency, ever since I was a kid, I love the intrigue and the thought
that I could do something for my country. "
"It says here you speak 10 languages, that's pretty impressive."
"Yes sir, I have always had an ear for languages, my mom was French
and my father Spanish, so I grew up speaking both, when we moved to
the States I was immersed in the language at school but kept up the
other two at home. In school I took as many languages as possible. So
now I speak, English, French, Spanish, Cantonese, Farsi, Portuguese,
Russian, Japanese, Dutch, and Greek."
"Bit of an overachiever eh. Well, the Agency needs people like you.
Glad to have you on board. I know that you signed on with the hope
of being in the field but before we send you out you will need to be
on the other side. You will work with me as my second hand. You will
be by my side as I run Ops with my field agent." Weiss said, "Once I
see that you know how the other side works I will let you go on a few
field Ops. Recon missions and surveillance to start." He paused, "You
look like you have a question Malone, well, spit it out. Don't stand
on formality."
"Well to be honest sir, I am just surprised that you still work on
operations. I would have though that a man in your position would no
longer be working with field agents."
"For the most part you are right. In general I supervise agents such
as you during the missions but I am the contact for one agent. I have
worked with this agent for years and we have rapport. You will learn
in this business Malone, that when you find someone you can trust you
don't let them go."
"Yes sir, I look forward to working with you and your agent. May I
ask who the agent is sir?"
"You may ask, but you do not need to know that information right now.
Soon enough you will know more than you ever wanted to know. My
assistant will show you to you temporary desk and get you filling out
the paperwork I will need, emergency contacts and such."
"I don't have an emergency contact sir"
"What no wife or girlfriend?" Weiss asked.
"No sir, nothing tying me down, no one worrying about me."
"Well Malone, while it may seem sometimes that you have chosen the
right path, not having someone worrying about you, or having someone
to worry about, let me tell you, sometimes having someone to come
home to, having someone worth fighting for, is the only thing that
keeps you going." Weiss sounded almost sad when he spoke about love
and it import.
"Yes sir." Malone turned to leave when Weiss excused him. As he got
to the door, he turned around and spoke one last time. "If I may sir,
I am sure your wife will forgive you for whatever it is that has
happened"
Weiss looked confused for a second until it dawned on him what the
young agent was taking about. "She's not my wife and if you knew
her, you would know that she gives up on nothing."
Malone nodded his head and walked out of the office. The receptionist
led him to his desk and he started on his paperwork. He looked up
once to see the woman from Weiss' office walking past his door. On
second glance, he saw the she was overly thin and looked distraught
if not determined. He hoped that whatever was bothering her would
resolve itself, and went back to his forms.
September 2009
CIA Headquarters
Langley, Virginia
Today was the day he had been waiting for, working towards and
dreading all at the same time. He looked in the bathroom mirror. In
it he saw his brown hair, in it s constantly mussed up state. No
matter how hard he tried it just never seemed to behave. His hazel
eyes stared back at him from behind gold rimmed glasses. He always
wished that he looked more like a movie star, a man that women took
notice of right away, but he had grown accustomed to his looks and
now found them to be an asset. The man looking back at him lived
alone; he had no wife, no children, and no girlfriend. He was the
only child of wonderful parents that had tragically died in a car
crash 3 years ago. He had no pets, not even goldfish. He had not
wanted anything that would tie him down. He knew in his new job he
would need to be free, nothing and nobody to worry about when he was
away and no one to worry about him during his travels. Many would
find this life boring and lonely, but it was what made him the
perfect CIA agent. And today was his first day on the job since he
completed training. Today he was going to meet his supervisor; he was
going to start making a difference in the world. He was thrilled to
have become one of the elite but it terrified him at the same time.
Malone took one more look in the mirror and turned out the light in
the bathroom and walked to the kitchen. He grabbed a glass of Orange
Juice and scarfed down a corn muffin. He grabbed his keys and his
briefcase and headed out the door. He jumped into his car and headed
to the office. He turned on the radio and rolled down the windows
to enjoy the beautiful weather that the DC area was being blessed
with. A cheesy love song started and he listened for only a
minute. 'No point in thinking about sappy crap like that. Love would
only get in the way of his career.' His changed the station until he
heard the heavy sound of an old Metallica tune. 'That's more like it'
The rest of the way he sang along with the heavy metal music blaring
out of the speakers and thought about the best way to make a good
first impression with the new boss.
He knew that he was to meet with his supervisor, Assistant Director
Weiss. Knowing that he was to work under an Agency legend like AD
Weiss was a bit nerve-racking. The man had been on the front line in
the search for Irina Derevko and was shot while trying to retrieve
vital intel. He came back to the Agency and was then instrumental in
securing the intel that brought down the Alliance. Just thinking
about that Operation sent chills down Malone's spine. The Agency had
had a lot of great Ops over the years but the one that brought down
the Alliance was what created legends like AD Weiss, who had been
transferred to Langley two years prior. He had asked questions about
the time and operations surrounding the take down of the Alliance but
most were never answered and much of what he knew was based on
hearsay and speculation.
Malone pulled into a parking space and took one final look at his
reflection in the rearview mirror. He walked toward the building in
his blue suit from The Mens Warehouse and disappeared into the line
of people making their way towards the security checkpoint. He
entered the CIA building and looked immediately to the floor where a
large inlay showed the Company seal. His heart beat faster and he
started to break out onto a sweat. There was no turning back now. He
passed through security and was led to the 5 floor. He found his way
to AD Weiss's office.
"Agent Malone, to meet with Assistant Director Weiss." He spoke
kindly to the assistant out side the door.
"The director is in a meeting at the moment. Have a seat and I will
tell him know you are here."
Malone could see into Weiss' office and saw a woman sitting in one of
the chairs in front of the desk. A man, who he assumed was AD Weiss,
was crouched down in front of her, talking earnestly. From what he
could gather the two were having some sort of disagreement. The woman
was vigorously gesturing about something and AD Weiss grabbed her
shoulders and tried to speak to her. She was not listening, as far as
he could figure. She stood abruptly and poked the AD in the chest.
Malone was surprised that someone would be so bold as to make contact
with the AD. He assumed the woman was his wife or girlfriend, based
on the fact that no agent would dare treat the AD the way she had.
As he contemplated the situation the woman yanked open the door.
"After all these years, I would think you would know me better than
that."
For the first time Malone got a look at the woman. She was beautiful
but weathered. She had a classic look about her, dignified and
strong, yet Malone could easily see what appeared to be years of
worry etched in her face. She carried herself with self-assurance
that Malone had never seen before.
"I do know you, but you have to let go. This has become a dangerous
obsession. Its time to move on with your life." Weiss answered.
"I can't let it go. You of all people should know that." She
sighed, "I will talk to you later." The woman turned to go but
seemed to think twice about it and turned back to AD Weiss and gave
him a kiss and a hug. "Thank you," she said quietly and was gone.
She paid no attention to Malone as he sat in the waiting area.
AD Weiss stood at the door to his office watching the woman leave. He
had a haunted look on his face and seemed to be lost in thought.
Malone vowed to never let a woman have that much power over him, it
could only lead to distraction and problems in the field.
"You must be Malone, come on in" The AD was finally speaking o him.
Malone stood up and walked into the office and sat down in the seat
the woman had vacated. Weiss stood behind his desk and read through
his file occasionally grunting or nodding his head. He finally put
the file down and looked at Malone for a long minute.
"Why did you join the CIA?" Weiss asked.
"Well sir, long story short, I have always wanted to work for the
Agency, ever since I was a kid, I love the intrigue and the thought
that I could do something for my country. "
"It says here you speak 10 languages, that's pretty impressive."
"Yes sir, I have always had an ear for languages, my mom was French
and my father Spanish, so I grew up speaking both, when we moved to
the States I was immersed in the language at school but kept up the
other two at home. In school I took as many languages as possible. So
now I speak, English, French, Spanish, Cantonese, Farsi, Portuguese,
Russian, Japanese, Dutch, and Greek."
"Bit of an overachiever eh. Well, the Agency needs people like you.
Glad to have you on board. I know that you signed on with the hope
of being in the field but before we send you out you will need to be
on the other side. You will work with me as my second hand. You will
be by my side as I run Ops with my field agent." Weiss said, "Once I
see that you know how the other side works I will let you go on a few
field Ops. Recon missions and surveillance to start." He paused, "You
look like you have a question Malone, well, spit it out. Don't stand
on formality."
"Well to be honest sir, I am just surprised that you still work on
operations. I would have though that a man in your position would no
longer be working with field agents."
"For the most part you are right. In general I supervise agents such
as you during the missions but I am the contact for one agent. I have
worked with this agent for years and we have rapport. You will learn
in this business Malone, that when you find someone you can trust you
don't let them go."
"Yes sir, I look forward to working with you and your agent. May I
ask who the agent is sir?"
"You may ask, but you do not need to know that information right now.
Soon enough you will know more than you ever wanted to know. My
assistant will show you to you temporary desk and get you filling out
the paperwork I will need, emergency contacts and such."
"I don't have an emergency contact sir"
"What no wife or girlfriend?" Weiss asked.
"No sir, nothing tying me down, no one worrying about me."
"Well Malone, while it may seem sometimes that you have chosen the
right path, not having someone worrying about you, or having someone
to worry about, let me tell you, sometimes having someone to come
home to, having someone worth fighting for, is the only thing that
keeps you going." Weiss sounded almost sad when he spoke about love
and it import.
"Yes sir." Malone turned to leave when Weiss excused him. As he got
to the door, he turned around and spoke one last time. "If I may sir,
I am sure your wife will forgive you for whatever it is that has
happened"
Weiss looked confused for a second until it dawned on him what the
young agent was taking about. "She's not my wife and if you knew
her, you would know that she gives up on nothing."
Malone nodded his head and walked out of the office. The receptionist
led him to his desk and he started on his paperwork. He looked up
once to see the woman from Weiss' office walking past his door. On
second glance, he saw the she was overly thin and looked distraught
if not determined. He hoped that whatever was bothering her would
resolve itself, and went back to his forms.