Mission: Darkstone
Prologue, Episode One and Two
by Toni Walker
Prologue
The life of a spy was indeed a strange one.
In what other occupation could you go from the wilds of Bulgaria, to the foggy streets of London and end up in the concrete jungle that is Hollywood?
When Ethan Fairchild finally stepped onto the studio lot after finding a creative entrance, he found each building was a muted shade of death. The color seemed to washout everything around it, even any feeling people surrounding the building might be experiencing. It was exactly like a black hole in outer space, except this black hole was tan. It was a rather numbing sensation to take in.
Finding a dark corner, on the sunny lot wasn't easy. Luckily, the Darkstone set was filled with such niches. Ethan placed a call to his Legacy contact and awaited a response.
"This is hell," he said, once his superior, Gia Doyle came online. His PDA displayed her image to crisp perfection. "You've sent me to hell. I always knew you'd find a way to get me back for Amsterdam."
Gia chuckled at the memory. He deserved to be tortured for Amsterdam, but that wasn't the reason he was in Hollywood. It hadn't been her intention to send him to hell, but subconsciously she knew she wanted payback. For now, she'd let him stew in the fire with Satan.
"It can't be that bad," Gia said, sharply. "You're a trained operative. It's not like I"m sending you into the middle of a war."
"Speak for yourself." Ethan observed actors of all shapes and sizes as they paraded around the lot in the most bizarre costumes. "This makes Carnival look like a cake walk."
"You should be in heaven. After all, aren't all the women blonde, skinny and brain dead? Sounds like a recipe for your favorite date." Gia couldn't help but throw in the slam.
"She could hear the catch in his breath even through the small, souped-up spy gadget that resembled a PDA.
"They are not," he said in defense of women everywhere. "Some of them are brunette."
Even he laughed at that one.
"Well, hot shot. If you can control your sexual urges long enough to focus on this mission, you could be back in the land of fog in little over a week."
"What am I looking for?" Ethan asked, suddenly serious.
"Anything out of the ordinary. We accidently intercepted a burst transmission during one of Darkstone's broadcasts."
"I thought those types of spy tactics went out with the dark ages."
"Apparently, not. We've got the most advanced equipment and even we almost missed it. If it hadn't been for Sogard's obsession with that damn spy television show, I doubt we would have put two and two together." Gia's face left the small screen for a moment. "We have no names, but we do know this particular spy has gone rogue. He or she was working for the International Espionage Agency. And you know how they work. No one knows the identity of any of the agents."
"So, track down the rogue spy and foil their mission?"
"That about sums it up. Jeffrey will have the dossiers on each member of the Darkstone staff that is suspected. So far, the most likely candidate is web designer, Angela Hastings. During a routine sweep we found a microdot embedded in one of her handmade journals. You're mission..."
"Should I choose to accept it?" Ethan said, playfully.
"Is to find the rogue IEA agent and bring him or her down by any means necessary. If any more information gets released via the television show, we don't know what the president will do."
Gia's image disappeared from the PDA and he placed the computer device into his pocket. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted what appeared to be a scuffle between two people. One was a large man he had already identified as Carter Wayne. The other person was obscured by the large trash dumpsters separating them.
Ethan ran to intercept, but by the time he arrived on scene, the perp was long gone. What lay left behind was a crumpled Carter Wayne lying among piles of black trash bags.
"Well, Fairchild," he said to himself. "I think you've found your something out of the ordinary.
He checked the man for a pulse. Thready, but still there.
"Looks like the game is afoot."
Ethan placed an anonymous call to 911.
Episode 1
She wasn't expecting to see him, especially not this close, mere inches away.
Who was he?
For two weeks, Angela Hastings had watched him, gazing at him like some star-struck teenager mooning over this week's hottest teen heartthrob. She was far from the groupie type. In fact, the entire time she had been working as web designer for the television series, Darkstone: Secret Agent, she hadn't once felt attracted to any member of the cast.
So then, what was she doing fantasizing over this unassuming mystery man on the train?
It would have been easier to be attracted to Darkstone star, Chance Michaels. At least, he she knew. But when had Angela ever taken the easy road?
Today, he was closer to her than he had ever been. All she could remember was the sudden connection she felt and strange way her breath had literally been taken away by the sight of him. She thought such things only happened in the movies and books.
How wrong she had been.
It wasn't as if she had done anything to draw his attention. She didn't even know he was on the train until he was suddenly there. She looked up. He looked up. And bam, connection time.
Angela couldn't say exactly what it was that attracted her to this mystery man. Why did he draw her attention like the south end to the north end of a magnet? Were they unconsciously seeking each other out in some cosmic way? She had never believed in such things, but certain circumstances were beginning to make her wonder.
When his eyes rested on her face and fully took in her features, she could see recognition light his eyes. Did he wonder about her in the same way she wondered about him? There had to be a reason for this almost unearthly attraction. Or maybe Angela had blown this all up in her mind into some obsessive fantasy. She wouldn't put it past herself. She was the dreamer of the family, after all.
Angela had never been one to moon over the looks or body of a man, but there was something different about him. Something that drew her on a carnal level, a level not seen by the human eye.
But she knew nothing would ever happen between them. First off, she was painfully shy around men. And secondly, last week she had spied a wedding band on his finger. It figured he was married. The only man she had ever really been attracted to at first sight and he wasn't even on the market.
It just damn figured!
The "cute man on the train," as she had come to refer to him, passed by that day and said nothing, and she had stupidly kept her trap clapped as well. When you didn't put yourself out there, you didn't get burned. But she knew if eyes could speak, his were saying something to hers. A minute later, he was gone and it seemed the incident had never occurred or was only a figment of her fertile imagination.
"That was him, wasn't it?"
Angela spun around to find her friend, Janey, from work, standing behind her. When had she gotten on the train, Angela wondered.
"Him?" Angela couldn't remember ever telling Janey about the "cute guy on the train."
"Your mystery man. The one who always eyes you. That was him, in the red jacket, wasn't it?" Janey was more observant than Angela had ever given her credit for, but Janey was one of the biggest contributors to the office grapevine. Next to her Jack Richards, the make-up artist paled in comparison.
"Yes," she admitted. "That was him. But... how did you know?"
"Oh, honey," she said, in her candy-coated southern drawl. "That had to be him. The air practically crackled between you when he walked by. And my, my, my! He had no trouble at all zeroing in on you. It was like watching a ballet. He looked up and saw you. Then almost as if you sensed him, your head jerked around."
Janey sighed.
"I tell you, it's kismet. The two of you are meant to be."
Angela couldn't help but laugh. "Maybe you better tell that to his wife. If you hadn't noticed, he's wearing a wedding ring. That means off limits."
"Oh, pooh!" Janey's bottom lip jutted out. "That could only be a ruse ring. I'm going to find out for sure."
While Angela was still contemplating what a ruse ring was, Janey disappeared, enveloped by the commuters on the train, and headed in the same direction as her mystery man.
"Wait!" Angela cried. "Janey, no!"
***
It wasn't hard following Angela Hastings around. Ethan Fairchild tried to blend into the mish-mash of passengers on the train, but Angela's eyes always invariably sought him out. As if, she somehow knew he was observing her.
While trying to keep his eye on her, Ethan found himself distracted by a bevy of women who were throwing themselves at him. He wasn't doing anything to attract their attention. In fact, he dressed in a casual way, to give them impression he was a man who didn't have a care in the world, or a job for that matter. Still, they clung to him like cheap aftershave.
In usual circumstances, he would take advantage of such a compelling opportunity, but today, he had a mission to attend to. His physical needs would have to be put on hold for awhile.
Having the female passengers hit on him was a distraction he didn't need. That's why a week ago he purchased a simple gold band to throw them all off the scent. That tactic alone seemed to keep most of them at bay.
He thought he was having good luck with his woman detractor device until a petite red-head bounced his way. She had more spring in her step than she did in her curls which cork screwed around her face like a demented mop.
She came straight up to him without reservation.
"There you are," she said, with a sigh. "Did you know you are one hard person to locate?"
Now, there was an interesting question to ask an international spy. Ethan wondered if he would have to take the woman out in order to remain on his current mission.
"No," he said, simply. "I hadn't noticed that."
"Well, you are. I'm Janey, by the way. Janey Harris."
She thrust her hand at him and Ethan carefully stepped away. Sometimes the most unassuming person could be the most deadly. Ethan ignored her extended hand and nodded a greeting to her.
Janey's mouth turned into a frown. "Aren't you going to tell me your name? It's only polite."
"No, I wasn't planning on it." Ethan eyed his escape route carefully considering if he might have to use it.
Janey grumbled and gave Ethan the evil eye, at least, what she thought was the evil eye. The attempt failed making her look like her eye was nervously twitching.
"So the mystery man wants to remain mysterious? I can respect that."
Why did Ethan have a feeling he wouldn't like what was coming?
"If you're interested," she said, slyly. "I have a proposition for you."
Episode 2
"Perfect. That's perfect." Ethan watched through Jeffrey's computer monitor as Gia Doyle, their superior, paced back and forth in her office in London. "Get close to her. She's our first link. You can use this to insinuate yourself into the situation. Become her boyfriend. It's absolute perfection."
Jeffrey glanced nervously at Ethan and then toward the monitor where Gia's image was displayed. "That tactic is good," he said, looking to Ethan for conformation. "But I still think it would be better to go in as one of the actors. Now that Carter Wayne is in the hospital in a coma, he'll be out of commission for awhile. They'll need someone to take his place."
"Good. That's good too. We'll work on that from our end. We may end up needing both covers. But until we find out who is transmitting United States secrets through that damn television show, you'll be stuck in America, and I'll be without my best operative." Gia paused, but continued immediately. "Funds are tight, although, we've managed to let you have Jeffrey there as back up for a time. We'll arrange for a command center for you both near the studio."
Ethan could tell Jeffrey was holding back his shout of approval.
"As far as we can tell from our intel, no one has caught on that the Legacy stumbled across these burst transmissions. We've been lucky so far. Let's hope we remain that way."
The screen crackled and Gia's image disappeared from view.
"I'll delve into Carter Wayne's past and see why anyone would want him eliminated," Jeffrey said booting up his laptop.
"And I guess I'll ask Angela Hastings out on a date."
Jeffrey watched Ethan leave and sighed. "That is so unfair."
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