A short buzzing noise cut through the silence that filled Carly's home. She sat down on the tattered lounge chair with a pink basket in front of her. An assortment of clothes piled high came crashing down when Carly jumped from her seat. Crap. Now I've got to refold everything. 

Carly huffed as she shuffled to the front door. Who on Earth? What time is it? It's nearly ten. This better be important.  Standing on her tip toes she peeked out the peephole and saw her father standing on the other side. Carly opened the door and cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"Hi dad, I didn't know you would be coming over," Carly said

"Well, I know evaluations were today and I know how stressed you get. I thought I'd drop by and see if you wanted some of this pizza," Jude said as he stepped into the house.

Dusting off his black overcoat Jude wiped his feet on the welcome mat before stepping towards the kitchen. Closing the door Carly thought, Odd. 

Carly reached for the pizza as she said: "Thanks, Dad, you didn't have to do this."

Carly followed her father into the kitchen wondering if he had other motivations for being here. Does he know? He must. He's going to. Never. He wouldn't. Maybe. Oh. Nope. Calm down. Breathe. Act Normal. Normal? What's normal about any of this. I'm a spy. My father is the head of a. Breathe. Get it together.  

Jude sat the box down and turned to look for the paper towels. Carly already had the paper towels in her hand as she calmed her thoughts.  Carly tore off two paper towels and handed one to her dad. 

Opening the box the sweet aroma hit her nose and smiling she said "Oh, dad you shouldn't have. It smells like heaven."

"Well, I know you aren't much of a cook and I knew it was your favorite," Jude replied

"Yeah well, I know how much you don't like onions with pepperoni." Replied Carly

"Well, I'll just pull off the onions." Jude felt a slight headache coming on as he responded.

"Ju--" The sound of laughter filled Jude's ears as the image of a pizza flooded his mind. Onions. 

"Dad? Are you coming?" Carly called from the other room.

Weird. I really need to speak with the doctor about this new medicine. "Yes. Just a moment." Jude gathered himself and joined Carly at the table.  

The pair sat quietly enjoying the pizza.

When they were finished Jude asked, "So, how was your day?"

"It was alright. I think I did well on my evaluations." Replied Carly nodding.

"That's good anything interesting happen?" probed Jude raising an eyebrow.

Oh crap. He knows. Stay calm. 

Carly shook her head and shrugged as she responded, "Not really just a normal day."

Is she lying? She wouldn't. Would she? Jude held her gaze for a moment. A sudden small ping of pain hit Jude. Not again. It's getting worse. He squinted his eyes looking deeper into his daughter's eyes. He saw something. A face. It was gone before he could blink and Carly snapped him out of his trance. 

Looking confused Carly asked, "Dad? Are you ok? You're giving me a weird look." 

Shaking his head Jude quickly rubbed his eyes and responded: "Yes, your eyes there was something familiar about them for a moment." 

Looking concerned Carly said, "Well, I am your daughter I would hope my eyes are familiar." 

Jude nodded as he replied, "You're right it's probably just this new medicine I'm on."

"Yeah probably." 

The two of them talked for a while before Jude decided he should head home for the night.

"Ok, well I'll see you at work tomorrow. Love you." Said, Jude, as he walked to his car.

"Love you too dad." Replied Carly as she waved goodbye.

#

Sal woke up early to the sound of clanking downstairs in his kitchen. He quickly grabbed his robe and headed to find the source of the commotion. Walking into the kitchen Sal smiled finding Joanie going to battle with the coffee maker.

"You stupid machine. Why. Won't. You. Work. Stupid. Why does Sal buy such an infernal contraption." Said Joanie as she fiddled with the coffee maker.

"Just to watch you struggle with them." Responded Sal smiling as he leaned against the doorway.

Startled Joanie jumped at Sal's voice and turned around with the coffee pot stuck out in front of her as a weapon. "Don't do that Sal. You scared me half to death." Joanie said as she was lowering her weapon.

Laughing Sal replied "And what was the coffee pot going to do? Save you from an intruder?"

"No Sal, you just surprised me." replied Joanie giving Sal an irritated look.

Waving his hand Sal said, "Here let me see your weapon and I'll make some coffee." 

Joanie handed over the pot and watched as Sal started the coffee with ease. Clicking buttons at lighting speed Sal started the coffee and stepped back. 

With her arms crossed Joanie responded, "Well if you wouldn't buy the most complex coffee pot it wouldn't have been a problem."

"Oh, but then I wouldn't get to watch you struggle to work it." Replied Sal smugly.

Joanie just rolled her eyes as she watched the liquid pour into the pot. Sal pulled out a few pans while he hummed. Searching the fridge for his ingredients Sal set out everything in order before he began making breakfast. The pair sat down at the table and ate their breakfast before discussing work.

"How are you going to deliver that package to Megan?" asked Joanie curious of Sal's plans.

Smiling smugly and looking confident Sal replied "I have my ways, Jo. I have my ways."

"Wow that cleared everything up," replied Joanie sarcastically

"Yeah, it sure did." Quipped Sal.

#

Megan woke up stretching her arms and legs as she stepped out of the bed. She shuffled her feet across the soft carpet to a pair of slippers. Megan reached for a robe before she stepped out of the room. Yawning she held onto the banister making her way down the stairs. She moved towards her front door opening it, a breeze ruffled her robe causing her grasp at the string. Don't want to share that with the whole neighborhood. Ooo. It's chilly. She waved to a neighbor and then leaned down to pick up the paper. 

She opened up the paper to read the headlines. Reaching for her glasses on her head she squinted to see if there were any smudges on the lenses before putting them on. As she squinted she briefly scanned the area spotting a black van parked near the corner of her road. Too easy. They think they're so sneaky. A 10-year-old would do a better job. They'd been watching her since the escape but they had no idea she was watching them. I wish they'd at least make it a challenge. Sad. They have no chance. She knew their routine by now in the mornings they were at the corner then in the evening they changed corners trying not to draw attention. At least they could try to mix things up maybe a new van. Mrs. Garvey smiled to herself as she read a headline about the President visiting the Mill soon. He'd made the announcement recently saying it was to check on local the Mill facility to learn how they operate. 

As she walked into the house she laughed at the thought. The President doing a checkup. Sounds like the Mill was in deep trouble. Entering her kitchen with the paper Megan thought about how to prepare for her mission. She would need to brush up her knowledge on Morse Code considering it had been years since she had been in the field. She was nervous but understood the importance of the mission. HQ needed more information on what was happening in the Mill facilities if they had any hope of forming a resistance. Megan found her old Code book and dusted it off setting it on the counter in the kitchen. She sat down and looked at the various letters practicing with her tongue ".- --..-- / -... --..-- / -.-. --..-- / -.. --..-- / . --..--" thinking as she clicked her tongue A, B, C, D, E, Stopping to rest her tongue Mrs. Garvey thought This might just work. 

#

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