Alias

Prologue

          He walks into her room and covers her mouth. She wakes up and grabs at his hands. “Shhh,” he whispers, “Don’t struggle. It will only make this harder.” He pulls out a knife and holds it to her neck. “Tell me where it is and I’ll let you go, okay?” he says. The woman nods and he slowly uncovers her mouth. She kicks his legs and knocks the knife out of his hand. “Amanda,” he says, mocking disapproval, “I thought you were better than this. You gave that life up, remember?” She looks at him angrily and says, “I remember quite well, X. It was all so Tarron wouldn’t have to live with such a burden. Her mother being an assassin wouldn’t do her too much good.” She lunges at X and he darts out of the way. She grabs his knife and stabs his arm. “Ah, good technique. You need to be a bit faster though,” he says, and kicks the knife away. Amanda grunts in anger and charges at him. He steps out of the way and she runs into the wall. Upstairs, a little baby girl, no more than a few months old, cries out for her mother, awoken by the sound of the fight. The fight downstairs slowly comes to its end as the man holds the woman up by her neck. She is bloodied and battered, and she can barely stay conscious. “I’ll ask you one more time, Amanda,” X says, “Where is it?” She lets out a twisted, broken laugh and says, “You could search the world and you’ll never find it.” He shouts angrily and stabs her neck with the knife. She slides to the ground, leaving a trail of her own blood on the wall. X looks around, trying to think when he hears sirens outside. He curses under his breath and jumps out the window. A woman, waiting outside, walks in. She isn’t police, but she isn’t enemy, either. She runs upstairs and grabs the child out of her crib. She shushes her and whispers, “Tarron, don’t worry. You’re safe now.” Then, she jumps out the window and runs.