CHAPTER 23

FEBRUARY 28, 2014 6:00 AM

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

The alarm clock screamed for her to wake up. Allie groaned as she stretched out her arm and slammed her hand on the snooze button. She squinted her eyes to adjust to her dim lit room as she sat up on her bed. A yawn escaped her lips and her body involuntarily stretched. Slamming her arms down on the mattress, she let out a sigh. She wanted nothing more than to crawl back into her warm blankets and sleep the day away, but that day was Nick Fury's assassination. The very thought caused her to jump out of bed and she quickly dressed herself.

As she attempted to put on a shoe, she stumbled while trying to keep her balance. She reached out for the door knob and held on for dear life to avoid from tripping and falling onto the floor. When she finally was able to put the shoe on her foot, she opened her door and walked out of her room. She was about to lose her door, but stopped when she heard her father's voice coming from the kitchen.

"-mission will be difficult -," she heard Pierce say. "-But, I feel you're the best man for the job. Fury knows too much. Make sure that Fury and the flash drive are destroyed."

Allie covered her mouth to prevent a gasp from being heard. She had a hunch that her father would have something to do with it, but to make her soldier be the one to kill Fury caught her by surprise. She took in a few deep breaths as she composed herself. The last thing she wanted was her father to be suspicious of her, at least for the time being. She straightened her back and took in one long, deep breath before shutting her bedroom door. She slowly walked across the balcony and headed down the stairs. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, silence from the kitchen suddenly made her stomach churn.

Pierce watched his daughter enter the kitchen as he took a sip of his beverage from his coffee cup. "Good morning, Alexandra. Nice of you to finally join us," he greeted.

"Morning, father," she forced a smile at him. "Soldier," she nodded at the Asset. She looked deep into his dark blue eyes as he stared back.

"So," Pierce spoke out, causing Allie to tear her eyes away from the soldier. "I think you should take the day off."

She looked at her father in surprise. "Seriously?"

"You've been working hard and staying clean I think you deserve a day off," her father explained.

She looked at her father with suspicion, but tried not to over think it. "Okay. Maybe a day off would do me some good." She headed over to the coffee maker and opened the cupboard above her head.

"Glad to hear. Rumlow will be here in twenty minutes," Pierce took another sip from his mug.

4:30 PM

"Veo tristeza en sus ojos," (I see sadness in your eyes) Renata, Pierce's house maid, said as Allie read her book at the kitchen table.

Allie gave the maid a tight smile. "I'm not sad."

"Como es eso?" (Is that so?) She asked with concern. "Then, why are you sulking?"

"I'm not sulking," she said, defensively.

Renata gave her a look.

Allie felt as though Renata could see through her facade, but still tried her best to act as though nothing was wrong by shaking her head and rolling her eyes. "Honestly, Renata, you spend too much time examining me rather than the dust that piles up."

The maid laughed wholeheartedly. "You don't need to be defensive with me, mija," she said as she sat on a chair next to Allie. She took her hand to gently caress a strand of Allie's hair and pull it behind her ear. "Tell me everything."

The younger woman sighed. "I may have... a crush on someone."

"Oy!" Renata exclaimed. "You sit and sigh for what? Love?"

Allie's eyes widened in horror. "Oh, god! No! No, no, Renata. Not love. Just -um- infatuacion, nothing more!"

"Okay, but did you tell him how you feel?"

Well, if you count her trial and error to kiss the Asset as an attempt to express how she felt about him, then yes. However, she didn't think he actually liked her back. He did push her away, after all. Allie nodded her head in response.

Judging by the look Allie gave, Renata assumed it did not turn out well. She gave Allie a sympathetic look as she patted her on the hand that laid out on the table. "You are so beautiful, inside and out. Any man who cannot see that is, no man for you, Ms. Allie."