Chapter 3
I Did Not Die
I Did Not Die
Do not stand at my grave and forever weep.
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn's rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and forever cry.
I am not there. I did not die.
Melinda Sue Pacho "I Did Not Die"
Allison replaced the last screw on the VCR. They had found her first bugs. She was going to have to be much more careful now. She knew that Sydney had her suspicions, and to add to it, she was going to have to deal with the sudden and unexplained absence of Will.
She had been formulating an explanation the whole morning; one that would be accepted. She had learned from him that he had a sister, Amy. Figuring that he would probably go to her once he thought that his girlfriend was a double, she dug up his body and placed it in Amy's apartment building.
Creating a gas leak in Amy's apartment, and then putting a piece of paper into the toaster and starting it, Allison hoped that the resulting fire would appear to kill Will. She was mortified when she saw the woman from Will's picture of his sister, now with blue hair, walk into her apartment building.
The explosion came a few minutes later. Driving away with a smile on her face, Allison returned to their apartment. Now that she was finally done, she called Sloane, who again seemed uncharacteristically unsure, and had him send in a person who scanned for bugs. All the scans came up negative. The man was leaving when her phone rang.
"Fran? It's Sydney," Sydney said with a huge smile on her face. "You'll never guess what just happened!"
"You'll never guess what just happened here, either," Allison said, sounding as sad as she could.
"What? What's wrong?"
"It's Will."
"What about him?"
"He's…" Allison left off there, making it be Sydney's job to prompt her.
"He's what?"
"I just can't believe it!"
"What? What happened?"
"Will…he…"
"What happened to Will?" Sydney was concerned now.
"He went to see his sister. There was a gas leak."
"Francie, what happened?"
"There was a spark from the toaster!"
"Oh my God, Francie! Is Will alright?"
"No, Syd, he's…"
"What?"
"Syd, Will's dead." Allison heard a thud on the other end of the line and chuckled quietly. Who knows what had just happened in the utopia that Sydney was no doubt in.
Allison heard shuffling, "Francie, do you need me to come home?"
"Don't end your trip just because of me."
"It's not just because of you; it's because of you and Will."
"I could use some help. I just can't believe it," Allison said, sounding like she was choking back tears.
"Listen, Fran, I'm going to talk to Vaughn, okay?"
"Okay. You called me, what was your news?"
"I'll tell you when I get there," Sydney said, starting to pack her stuff.
Vaughn came out of the bathroom to see Sydney placing clothes into her suitcase.
"What's going on?"
"Will's dead! We need to get back, NOW!"
"Wait! Will as in Tippin, Will?"
"Yes!"
"What happened?"
"According to Francie there was a gas leak at his sister's apartment and there was a stray spark."
"Not to belittle your grief, Syd, but has it occurred to you that he may have been right about Francie?"
"Of course, but I don't think he was. I gave Francie a test. She passed it."
"Maybe he got too close. Maybe Will found out something he wasn't supposed to. Maybe his death wasn't accidental!"
"Why are you so into the idea that Francie is the double?"
"Look at the evidence. The obvious evidence being that both Allison Doren and Francie Calfo are both black females. Due to the fact that we know that the double is a female, and there's no way to change that. Second, when Francie gave me the necktie, Will said it was the weirdest thing ever. And then she couldn't remember the quarterback's name. Finally, Will leaves a message on your phone saying that he found Provacillium and that he thinks that Francie is the double. Will is a paid - was a paid - CIA analyst. Don't discount what he says so easily. Test her again."
"With what?"
"You know her better than I do."
"So you want me to bait my best friend, my only surviving best friend, you know, besides you, to prove that she isn't what she seems."
"I just want you to be sure before you blindly trust her. Look what happened when you finally trusted your mother."
"Irina Derevko and Francie Calfo are not the same people!" Sydney exclaimed.
"Allison, it's Irina. I have a request for you."
Jack walked up to Kendall. "I may have another lead on Derevko. An old contact of mine recently stated that she was seen in Santa Cruz, Argentina buying a plane ticket somewhere. I'd like authorization to go after her."
"Authorization granted. And Jack, don't screw up this time."
"I won't."
Sloane looked down at the telephone receiver in his hand, dialing slowly. He sighed loudly when the person at the other end said, "CIA switchboard, how may I help you?"
…TBC…