Daughter of Darkness

Chapter 5: The Phoenix and the Turtle

By Gaz Destiny

Rated: PG-13

Spoiler: Snowman

Disclaimer: the show and its respective characters (except for Claudia and my ingenious plot) were created by J. J. Abrams and are owned by ABC. The Phoenix and the Turtle is a poem from Shakespeare, not me, but if anyone knows where I can find him (alive that is), tell me, he has a meeting with my fist in a few days (I have to read Romeo and Juliet in my English class).

A/N: oops…I missed my deadline…oh well…it's not like anyone's reading this anyways…um…I've actually got the sequel all planned out…the first chapter's almost done…that's bad I know…doing a sequel before the first one's even done…but it's been taking over my brain this weekend so that's what I've been writing…Oh…one more thing, yes, I am so pathetic that I have to take my chapter title from Shakespeare.

"Here the anthem doth commence:
Love and constancy is dead;
Phoenix and the turtle fled
In a mutual flam from hence.

So they loved, as love in twain
Had the essence but in one;
Two distances, division none:
Number there in love was slain.

Hearts remote, yet not asunder;
Distance, and no space was seen
'Twixt the turtle and his queen:
But in them it were a wonder.

So between them love did shine,
That the turtle saw his right
Flaming in the phoenix' sight;
Either was the other's mine.

…

"That it cried, How true a twain
Seemeth this concordant one!
Love hath reason, reason none,
It what parts can so remain.

Whereupon it made this threne
To the phoenix and the dove
Co-supremes and stars of love,
As chorus to their tragic scene."

---Shakespeare (The Phoenix and the Turtle)

"Claudia, put your feet down, on the floor," Sloan told her, walking into his office to see her feet propped up on his desk.

"Evil," she muttered, doing what he told her. Then, her voice dripping with insincere sweetener, she asked, "So, what did you call me about?"

"I'm transferring you upstairs for a couple months," he answered.

"Why?" she asked, dropping the sweetly.

"Evaluation, you know that," he answered, turning his attention to his computer.

"That it?" she asked.

"Yes," he told her, not even bothering to look up.

~*~

She was at the post office, dropping off a simple letter. The post office was so much better than the box down the street from her apartment, her father had no power there, he'd never get a hold of the letter she was mailing off.

She bought the necessary stamps to send her letter to Spain, and put the white envelope through the slot, sending with it her hope that it would reach its destination soon. As she left, the envelope had already fallen among other envelopes, some the same, some different, but this was the only one with her quick scrawling handwriting in green ink.

From: Fiona Lawrence
P.O. Box 977
Los Angeles, California, USA
90001-90089

To: Andrew Williams

P.O. Box 14793

Madrid, SP 09642

~*~

Back at SD-6, Sloane was sitting in front of his computer, looking over several files that had been there for quite some time. Vaughn, Michael C. was the first open window, it included only basic information from the DMV, he hadn't bothered to get more information after he'd seen that his daughter was about to marry a CIA boy ("State Department, my ass," he'd thought. "Just a poorly devised cover-up.").

He moved the mouse and clicked on the window behind it. It was a picture from a security camera in some kind of club with a bar. In the photo, Claudia was sitting not one whole seat away from Sark, her mouth was open, mid-word, and he seemed to be the only one listening to whatever she was saying. He clicked a button in the bottom right-hand corner and the picture started moving. It was a copy of the security camera tape for that night. There wasn't any sound, it would have been pointless with the loud music overpowering everybody talking.

~*~

"Sydney, Dixon, you will be breaking into the Russian Embassy to recover several disks that were taken from Claudia while she was there. We've found that they're being kept on the third floor in a vault in the Russian Embassador's office," Sloane told the two in the briefing room, where Marshall also sat, ready to tell them about his newest gadgets.

~*~

"I'm in," Sydney told Dixon over microphone.

The safe opened, getting to it had been almost too easy. Inside there was absolutely nothing, someone must have been there just before them. Except, no, there was one thing, a business card.

Too Late,

The Phoenix

On the back was written an exert from Shakespeare's 'The Phoenix and the Turtle.'

Truth may seem, but cannot be;

Beauty brag, but 'tis not she;

Truth and beauty buried be.

~*~

End A/N: two days late…I know…I know…I'm very bad…but so are you for not reviewing…all you need to do is write a few words in the little box that comes from clicking the button next to the box that says 'Submit Review.' See how simple it is? Now lets try it people. Having problems with the html…hopefully they're better by the time you get this…