By GeoGirl
Disclaimer: I do not own anything of Alias. I'm just borrowing the characters for a little while in order to play a few games of Pictionary.
Distribution: Fanfiction.net, SD-1, Cover Me and anyone else who asks.
Rating: PG for now. Other chapters will be marked accordingly.
A/N: I'm a feedback junkie. Please support my habit.
"She's here again," one guard said to the other. Of course they would notice her, a beautiful woman. She showed up every now and again, there at Langley and stood for hours at the wall. The wall of stars, the wall of heroes, the wall of lives cut too short. She would just stand there for hours, never bringing anything, just counting the stars. Her visits were sporadic, but they had come to rely on her visits.
Each time she looked upon the granite wall with the brass stars the number had increased, by one, by two, by more. Each time she came she wore black, with a red scarf.
This time when she counted there were twelve. Twelve that she knew, twelve that were her responsibility. Twelve. Twelve months in a year. Twelve in a dozen. Twelve signs of the zodiac. Twelve inches in a foot. Twelve apostles. Twelve shiny brass stars, each with a name, each scorching her mind.
Matthew – The Tax Collector
The syncopated clip clop of his daughter bounding down the stairs brought David Farrington's head out of the morning newspaper. He looked up just in time to see the whirlwind of red ringlets in a Holly Hobby nightgown bounce off the final step and turn the corner into the kitchen.
"Morning Princess."
"Morning Daddy." He was rewarded with a hug and a kiss as she snatched a piece of toast from his plate. She greeted her mother with the same enthusiastic hug and buttery kiss. Karen plopped into an empty chair at the kitchen table and her mother placed a bowl of cereal in front of her. Mary Ellen proceeded to the laundry room, just off the kitchen, and retrieved a freshly ironed white button-down shirt and tie, which she passed to her husband. He stood, took the hanger from her, and leaned over to give gave his wife a kiss on the cheek.
"Daddy, are you coming home early today? Remember, it's my birthday party after school," the young girl asked between heaping spoonfuls of cereal.
"Yes, Karen honey. I told my boss that I had to leave early today because my little girl turns 10 today and I cannot miss her birthday." He winked at his two favorite girls. In the background a baby started to cry and the mother headed toward the stairs to check on the baby.
"You'd better get upstairs young lady and get ready for school. Give your old dad a kiss and I'll see you tonight." He was rewarded with a milky kiss and a hug. He gave her a tickle on her side and she backed up quickly, giggling.
"Karen," her mother called from the second floor.
"Bye Daddy, have a good day at work." She ran up the stairs and waved to her father.
He finished buttoning his shirt and tied his tie looking into the mirror in the hall. He went back into the kitchen to retrieve a piece of toast and a cup of coffee before he put on his suit coat. He found his keys; toast hanging from his mouth and his wife came down the steps holding the baby.
"Have a good day at work today, honey. Don't let the number crunching get to you today." His wife handed him a briefcase and kissed him on the cheek. She walked him to the door; baby propped on her hip and watched as his car pulled out of the driveway.
David Farrington drove the 15 or so miles to his job in Washington D.C. He was excited to get to work this particular morning because a new clue had come to him in a dream. His wife thought he was an accountant with the State Department. But he really was a code breaker for the CIA and he was currently attempting to break the code that would allow the CIA to tap into Russian spy satellites. They were very close and David hoped that this new inspiration would prove to be the key.
The drive was typical, with backups in all the normal places. He pulled into the parking garage and greeted the security guard. His ID was checked and he pulled through the gate and up to his assigned parking space on the third level. What he failed to notice right away was the lady in black on the ramp, walking towards him.
He looked up and noticed the woman with a smile on her face.
"Good morning" were his last words as she quickly pulled a gun and shot him in the chest. As he dropped to the ground, she vanished.
His last thoughts were of the unwrapped birthday gift in the truck of his car that he wouldn't be able to give to Karen.