Under Fire and Undercover

Is It True?

A/N: This gets kind of dark and violent due to the circumstances under which Alice admitted she was undercover, so keep that in mind

The next few weeks passed in a whirlwind. After Alice found out about Hal, things were really put into perspective for her. She hated him with every bone in her body, but she couldn't deny how much he'd taught her over the years. This time, he showed her that she could not let herself leave this world without knowing her girls forgave her. She pulled away from most of the other Farmies, focusing on her relationship with Polly.

She had taken her father's death as expected, but Alice knew it was a facade. Polly hadn't actually forgiven him. Edgar had tricked her into believing that she could just let go of everything he'd ever done to her, but it would've taken more than that. Alice wouldn't let their story end the same way.

So, she kept to herself and Polly for weeks, keeping up appearances enough to get the scoop on what was going on. She continued her check ins with Charles, giving as much information as she possibly could, but still, they didn't have any idea where she was.

Thankfully, Edgar was too enthralled with his own plans to notice that she was distancing herself from him. He was planning something, something huge, but he had himself locked on the roof most days. She hardly saw him, and it was becoming more and more difficult to get him to speak with her in confidence. He had reduced the number of sessions he was giving, only focusing on the newer Farmies, ensuring they were fully under his spell. But he was sloppy, manic, forgetful.

That's how Alice came across of a copy of the Riverdale Register in his office.

A smile crossed her face when she picked it up, a photo of Fred Andrews on the front page. It was fleeting though, a gasp escaping her mouth as she read the headline. What she thought was an announcement that Fred was finally mayor, registered as his obituary. She took in the words slowly, reading each sentence twice before moving onto the next one, the shock running through her body too strong for her to properly comprehend what it was suggesting.

She didn't believe it. There was no way he was gone. This was fake, some tactic of Edgar's to ensure she'd think there was nothing left for her in Riverdale. Fred was just the first of many people he'd make her think was gone from her life.

Alice threw the newspaper back down on the desk, running upstairs to her room, whatever task she'd been performing for Edgar, long forgotten.

She slammed her door behind her and stumbled over to her mattress, lifting the corner and pulling her phone out from underneath. The dial tone was singing out before she'd even realized she clicked on Charles' name.

"Hello?" He answered on the second ring, concern lacing his voice. It was too early in the day for her to call. She usually waited until everyone was asleep.

"Is it true?" Alice asked, her voice ragged and foreign-sounding over the phone.

"Is what true?" Charles retorted, growing increasingly worried once he heard the tone of his mother's voice.

"Fred Andrew. Is it true?" Alice asked again, her voice fading to a whisper as reality dawned on her. As Charles' sigh sounded through the phone, Alice knew. Edgar wasn't in any kind of mindset to fake people's deaths just to keep her around. He was preoccupied, and besides, she had been good at her job. He didn't have any reason to doubt her loyalty. That had been wishful thinking.

"Yeah, I'm sorry." Her son said softly.

She didn't say anything as the tears filled her eyes. She couldn't believe it. She grew up with Fred Andrews. Sure, they didn't truly know each other until high school, and even then, the circumstances were extreme. And Alice knew she hadn't always treated him particularly well as adults.