Under Fire and Undercover

Tell Me a Secret

Alice had been sitting at the kitchen table, reading over her testimony for The Farm, when someone knocked on her door. She smiled when she saw FP through the peep hole, opening the door for him.

"Hey there, handsome. I didn't know you were coming." She moved to the side, so he could come in, and was leaning up to kiss him when she noticed something in his hand. "Why do you have my mail?"

"Because I got this," He held up a black envelope, "in the mail today. It says it's from the Gargoyle King. Apparently, our presence is requested at the speakeasy tonight. I grabbed your mail on the way in to see if you got one too. Sure enough." He held up another invitation, identical to his. She took them from him, opening them. She gasped at the use of their character names. They were addressed to the Sorceress and the Deadeye, rather than Alice and FP.

"Well, we're not going." Alice said matter-of-factly, though FP heard her voice waiver slightly.

"Alice, we have to go. Jug is playing the game. If this could put an end to it, we have to do it." He grabbed her shoulders, staring into her eyes. She saw the desperation in his, and knew he was right.

"Okay. You're right. Maybe all of this can finally just be over." She wrapped her arms around his middle, laying her head against his chest. She smiled as she listened to his heartbeat, and her breathing slowed to mimic its pace.

"What were you up to before I ruined your day with the news?" He chucked, leading her to the couch. He put his arm around her and she tucked a leg beneath her.

"You could never ruin my day, Jones." She pecked a quick kiss to his lips. "I was just reading."

"Reading what?" He probed, but Alice didn't want to tell him. She was able to keep up her Farmie façade with everyone else but doing it around FP made her feel ridiculous.

"My Farm testimony. A scribe writes down everything you say so you can revisit those feelings later." She said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. She hated that those people knew these things about her. Her deepest secrets, her darkest feelings.

"You know, you can always just talk to me instead." FP said, almost hesitantly.

"I do talk to you." She said, raising an eyebrow.

"I just worry about those people using what you say against you." FP raised the same concern Betty had. Alice would be saying the same thing if the circumstances were different. In fact, she would be saying worse if she were in their position.

"Everyone knows everyone's secrets, so exposing one person would lead to everyone else being exposed too. It's a sort of honor code." Alice explained, though she was infiltrating the Farm to do just that, expose them. She did her best to maintain the new breezy tone of voice she had taken to of late.

"Tell me a secret." FP said, nuzzling his head into her hair. She panicked because she had one big secret right now, and his father was tracing small circles along her thigh.

"I feel responsible for all those people Hal murdered." She blurted out. It wasn't a lie, but she also didn't want to talk about this right now and couldn't fathom why that was the first think that flew out of her mouth. Damn that FP Jones.

"What? Alice, Hal killed those people. Not you." He pulled back, turning her face so he could look her in the eyes as he said it.

"I know, but I slept next to him for over two decades, giving him the perfect cover story with our perfect little family. And all the 'sinners' that he killed mercilessly, I led him right to them." She was starting to get worked up. This was the last thing she had read from her testimony before FP showed up and it was fresh on her mind.