To Cheat or Not To Cheat? Pt. 02

"Don't know, they didn't tell me," Allen replied, "nor would they on an unsecured line," he quickly added to himself.

"How long will you be gone?"

"Don't know, probably late," Allen said, quickly dressing. Not seeing the look in Darlene's eyes when he slid his wallet into his back pocket.

"No goodbye kiss?" Darlene asked, incensed that he would leave without giving her one as he neared the door. The moment he bent down, she pounced, passionately kissing her husband, unlike anything the woman he was going to see could ever give him. The moment Allen had left the room, Darlene jumped out of bed, snatching her dress from the floor. Shimming it down her body, she was going to find out just who this woman was. She wouldn't confront him. She just needed to see this woman that he was leaving her bed for.

"Going somewhere?" Tracy asked, from behind her.

"Mmmhmm," Darlene hummed as she waited and watched as Allen pulled out of the driveway.

"Then you might need this," Tracy said, tapping her sister's purse that she had dropped on the floor against her left arm.

"I'll be..."

"I'm coming with you; it's amusing to watch you run around not trusting your husband," Tracy said, with a cruel grin.

Darlene didn't say a word; she simply opened the door and raced to her own car. Leaving locking up her house to her sister as she climbed into the driver's seat and cranked the ignition. She threw the car into reverse before her sister could even close her door.

"Awful impatient, aren't we?" Tracy stated, holding onto the door handle as Darlene sped to catch up to Allen's car.

"I just know he has someone already," Darlene muttered low. She wasn't about to lose her husband to some other woman. Sure, she might sleep around, yet she never got involved with another man. To her mind, that would just dishonor their marriage as twisted as that sounded. Glancing over at her sister when she snickered.

"That's rich coming from you, Darlene. You've made it a habit of sleeping around on him, and now you don't trust your own husband," Tracy uttered, chuckling at the absurdity of it.

Darlene's cheeks grew flushed with embarrassment. Her sister wasn't wrong. She knew it was hypocritical of what she was suspecting. Still, the thought of Allen having an affair just tore at her heart. Seeing how she couldn't refute her sister's words, Darlene opted to drive in silence the rest of the way.

"You sure this is where Allen works?" Tracy asked, staring up at the skyscraper.

"No, he told me he works in a building on the south end. What's he doing here?" Darlene asked aloud, parking across the street from the building, watching Allen pulling up to the gated opening. Watching his arm reach out and slid something, what that was she couldn't see given the distance, and how the gate just automatically began to rise.

"Sis, I'm getting a bad feeling here," Tracy said, with a little worry in her voice. "That place kind of gives off the government type of feeling if you know what I mean." Seeing Darlene nod in agreement. "Have you never been to his work before?" she asked, seeing her sister shake her head.

"He's always told me not to bother. It wasn't that impressive of a building or company to show off," Darlene uttered, repeating the line he had fed her when she asked about having lunch with him when they were dating.

"Okay, maybe you're wrong about another woman, but he definitely is hiding something." The both of them jumped when Darlene's cellphone went off. Their collective sigh resounded in the car when the caller ID showed it was her father calling. "Let's go home Darlene, I think we've had enough excitement for one day," Tracy said, taking Darlene's phone from her and answering it. "Hey, Dad."

All through the drive home, her mind played back everything Allen had told her about his job. Knowing that he hasn't once gotten a promotion in all that time. She would have thought with the amount of hours he puts in, he would have. Then again, he lied about where his place of work was. Couldn't he be lying about what he actually does when he leaves their house in the mornings? Chewing on her lip, wondering what is a lie and what is the truth as they pulled back into the driveway of her home.

"Sis... don't take this the wrong way, but what if, I'm saying if here," holding up her hands when Darlene turned to look at her as they approached the front door, "what if Allen isn't even his real name?" Tracy asked, seeing the shock playing along her sister's eyes at the thought. "There has to be a reason why he would lie about his job. I mean, who lies about their jobs?!" Tilting her head to the side as Darlene's pumps flew off her feet as she raced to the door. Growing a little bit concerned about her sister's mental state as Darlene ran around the house like a madwoman. Shutting the door behind her as Darlene was tossing the cushions, flinging down picture frames, overturning tables to find anything that would shed light on why Allen would lie to them. Taking her sister by the shoulders, seeing the frantic look in her eyes as the living room and den lay in disarray. "Get a hold of yourself, Darlene," giving her sister a little shake, "what's Allen going to think if he comes home to this mess?"

"What of its all a lie?!" Darlene broke down, collapsing to her knees, burying her face in her hands, weeping loudly into them at the thought of the man she loved was a total stranger.

"I don't... know," Tracy spoke, softening her tone at what her sister was facing. While Nate might have been a lying bastard to her, at least she knew the man. Pondering what other secrets Allen had been hiding from Darlene and their family. "Come on, I'll help you clean up before Allen gets back," she said, lightly rubbing her sister's back as Darlene nodded.

******

"Thank you for coming back in." Allen nodded as he stood in his Chief's office. "You know the reason why you aren't back in the field yet." Again, Allen simply nodded. "We believe we have good intel on who might have blown your cover in Libya."

"Oh? And who do you suspect, sir?" Allen asked, standing at-ease in front of his boss's desk.

"One of our own, I'm sad to say." Allen tried to keep his shock from his face when Maria's photo appeared on the computer screen when he turned it towards him. "We can't confirm anything yet. However, there is chatter that she has been compromised. We think the man she's with is the one that sold your data to the Libyans."

"What are your orders, sir?" Allen asked, compartmentalizing his feelings for Maria to the back of his mind. Knowing it wouldn't do if they affected his judgment with what had to be done.

"We're aware that she's contacted you. Since the two of you have worked so closely with one another, and she thinks we don't know that she might be a double agent. We want you to see if you can find evidence that points to her dealings, if there is any to be found, or her innocence. This is strictly off the books; you'll be on your own on this assignment. Do you think you can handle it?"

"Yes, sir," Allen nodded.

"You are not to authorized to take her out unless you're given the order to. Am I clear on that?"

"Very."

"Good. Now, Agent Acharya will be landing in DC late Sunday night. We want you in there before she does. Once she's debriefed by HQ, that's when we want you to make yourself known. Everything you need to know is in here." Taking the manila folder, his Chief held out to him. "Study everything in there and let no one see it."

"Understood, sir."

"I pray she hasn't turned; it would be a loss to the Agency to lose such a fine agent." Allen remained silent as he shook his boss's hand. He knew it had to be a mistake. Maria had dedicated her life to the Agency. It wasn't unheard of that the Agency would burn one of their agents if they thought they had been compromised, or they would send someone like him to make sure those agents never spoke another word. "You're dismissed; take the rest of the week off to prepare for your op. Oh, Agent Douglass, stop by the equipment quartermaster and get yourself a new encrypted phone."

"Yes, sir." Was the only words Allen spoke as he shut the door on his way out. His mind raced as he walked down the hallway. Wondering if the Agency was setting them both up. He knew it could get bad if they did that. Given what he has done for the Agency, it wouldn't be hard for them to spin his record as some soldier-of-fortune renegade. Nodding to the counterintelligence agents as he stepped into the cab of the elevator. Hitting the button for basement sublevel one, where the quartermaster was located. He would follow orders; however, that didn't mean he'd was going to blindly follow them, or would he'd blindly trust the intel or his people. He was a spy and assassin, after all. He's seen what the Agency and government will do to those that they deem expendable.

Keeping his thoughts to himself as he signed out the phone. Hiding the scowl from his face when it was one with an enclosed battery in it. Knowing his Agency, they most likely placed a bug in it. Keeping it turned off wouldn't stop the bug from transmitting, seeing how it was likely tied into the battery itself. He was just going to have to tear it apart once he got home. He was also going to have to visit the range just in case Maria was indeed a double agent. In his line of work, Allen had learned not to trust anyone. Yet he did relax that rule when he was around Maria before his cover was blown.

It was eight-thirty in the evening when Allen arrived back home. Slipping silently into the house, hearing the TV going in the living room. His eyes darted around the den, noting how it wasn't the same when he left a few hours ago. Walking into his office, closing and locking the door. Setting the folder on the desk before lifting and moving the left side of it off the hidden door for his floor safe he had installed when he bought the place. Not that Darlene knew about it. The safe's door opened with ease once he had unlocked it. Placing the folder inside and pulling out his locked pistol box. It wasn't his government-issued one. This was for his backup if he needed a backup. He could always rely on his Sig Sauer, P320, M17, 9mm pistol than the Berettas the government likes to use. Placing the box on his desk, turning his head when he heard footsteps approaching. Sliding his desk back as quietly as he could and quickly hiding his lockbox in the small closet before a knock came upon the door.

"Allen?! Are you in there?" Blowing out a breath at the sound of Darlene's voice. "Honey is something..." Her voice stilled as he opened the door. "Why was the door locked?" Darlene asked, knowing that wasn't something that occurred regularly in their home.

"Was going over some sensitive documents," Allen lied. Keeping his thoughts to himself when he noticed how she wasn't buying it or not all of it.

"Is that why you had to go back into the office?" Darlene asked, trying not to let on that he lied to her.

"Sort of," Allen nodded, "you remember the account I told you about?"

"Yeah? What about it?" Darlene inquired, arching an eyebrow. Wondering why her husband was flat out lying to her with a straight face too. Pondering how long had he been lying to her, and how did he get so good at it that she didn't question a thing until now.

"Well, things aren't going so well; it seems I'm going to have to go to Seattle Friday night to see if I can't get things straightened out."

"Friday?! But that's in two days! What about our anniversary?!" Darlene exclaimed.

"Our anniversary isn't for another three months," Allen retorted.

"Not our wedding anniversary, the anniversary of the day I met the man I fell in love with," Darlene said, laying on the charm. Slipping her arms around his waist, "Don't you want to celebrate it with me?"

"Since when have we ever done that?" Allen inquired, with a pointed look.

"Well, I was thinking since we're starting a new chapter in our lives, that we celebrate every important moment of our lives together," Darlene said, sweetly. Wondering how he was going to play this off.

"We'll celebrate it when I get back, I promise," Allen said, to placate his wife as he moved past her.

Not seeing how her eyes moved around his office, noting how the desk was a skewed slightly the last she seen of it. Darlene's eyes flickered over to his back, questioning if she truly knew the man that shared her bed. She hadn't searched that room, given how she didn't want to raise his suspicions if she inadvertently moved some papers that he had laying about in some order of his.

"I left you a plate in the stove to keep warm if your hungry," Darlene said, from behind him. The look in his eyes as he nodded as he turned into the kitchen had her worried. It wasn't the look of the man she's known all these years. Wondering what could it have been that made her husband become like this in such a short time. "Why can't he just tell me what's going on?!" she asked herself, watching how he carefully pulled the plate out from the stove.

That night Darlene tried to put on a brave front for her husband, yet a divide had started to form between the two of them. They said little to one another as each of them climbed into bed. It was the first time in her married life she didn't fall asleep snuggled up to her husband.

******

Two days later...

"I'll call once I reach Seattle," Allen lied as he closed the lid of his trunk.

"I bet you will," Darlene uttered in her mind. "You have a safe flight Allen and come home soon. I'll have something special waiting for you when you do," she said, putting on a brave face as her sister stood beside her. She didn't believe for one second he was going to Seattle. Knowing she was going to turn his office upside down just to get to the bottom of just who her husband was and why all the lying to her.

"Can't wait," Allen said, feeling something off with Darlene as he hugged her. Yet he didn't have the time or the energy to sort that out, at least not at the moment. First, he had to determine if Maria was a double agent or not. While it would hurt him greatly to have to kill her, yet he was what he was. The assassin they turned him into.

Darlene looked over to her sister, who nodded. Tracy, too wanted to know the reason why Allen would lie to her. Hopping into Tracy's car on the off chance that Allen would recognize hers and know they were tailing him. Not great, mind you; still, they did keep a safe distance from Allen as they followed him to a small airfield and not the regular airport they had thought he would be using.

"Darlene, what the hell is going on?" Tracy muttered as they watched as Allen spoke to two men in black suits before they and Allen headed towards the small jet with its stairs down waiting for them to board.

"How the hell would I know?!" Darlene exclaimed. Wondering just where in the hell her husband was going and who those two men were. For some reason, she got a weird government vibe from them; it was like she was looking at secret service agents like she had seen on TV so many times. They sat there watching as the plane took off, heading east and not northwest like it would have if Allen was going to Seattle like he had told her. Her nails scraped down her jeans, wondering if she even knew her husband at all?!

"Maybe Allen has a reason for all this secrecy," Tracy said, peering over at Darlene.

"But I'm his wife! I should be the one he could tell everything too!"

"Really? You really aren't the wife I'm sure he expected to have when he married you," Tracy said, seeing Darlene look away, knowing she couldn't refute her words.

"I'm scared, Tracy? I'm scared that I'm going to lose Allen, scared that if I find out the truth, then he won't be the man I love," Darlene spoke, her voice quivered, her tears reamed her eyes at that thought.

"We'll just see what we can find out, alright?" Tracy whispered, hugging her sister; as much as she wanted to rag on her sister for the slut she was, this didn't seem like the time. "I got a friend in the police department. Maybe he could run Allen's name through a background check."

"Alright," Darlene sniffled, wiping her tears from her eyes.

"Let's go home so we can sort this out," Tracy said, seeing her sister nod weakly.

******

Tracy was on the phone when they walked into Darlene's home, noting how her sister made a beeline towards Allen's office. "Hey Harry, can you do me a tinny tiny favor?" Tracy asked, setting down her purse onto the couch.

"Sure, Tracy, what do you need?"

"Could you run a name for me, or would that get you into trouble?"

"No, who do you want this on?"

"My brother-in-law," Tracy stated matter-of-factly.

"Kind of late in doing a background check on the man, don't you think?" Tracy's cheeks heated in embarrassment at the sound of Harry's chuckle. "What's the name and address?"

"Allen Scott Douglass," Tracy offered, listening to the tapping of the keys over the line when she gave their address. Turning her head towards the office when she heard something large being moved. Hurriedly walking to Allen's office, seeing her sister staring dumbfoundedly down at the floor safe. They each looked at each other, then back down to the lock. She had never seen anything like it; sure, she had seen safes before, just not this sophisticated. "Harry? You wouldn't know anyone good with safes?"

"Maybe. Send me a pic of it, and I'll see what I can find out... wait."

"What is it?" Tracy asked, seeing her sister's head snapping towards her after she had snapped a picture and sent it off.

"You sure that's his name?"

"Yes, why?" Tracy asked, with a touch of worry in her voice.

"Because I just got red-flagged. What have you gotten me into, Tracy?" Her eyes cut to her sister; her heart raced, wondering what they had stumbled into.

"What do you mean red-flagged?!" Tracy asked, seeing the fear rising in her sister's voice.

"I mean, I just had some government agency shut down my search, that's what I mean. Just who is this man? You know what I don't want to know. Whatever it is, it's big, and I'm not about to lose my job over it."

"Alright, thanks for your help; I hope this doesn't get you into trouble," Tracy spoke, her heart was pounding in her ears.

Darlene reached over and took her sister's hand. Immediately she felt how it was trembling in fear. Which only caused her own fears to double at who her husband truly was.

"As for that safe... it's old, the best back in the day, and pricy too. It shouldn't be a problem to unlock it."

"You can do that?!" Tracy uttered in surprise.

"Yeah, I moonlight as a locksmith; safecracking is a hobby of mine. I'm off tomorrow. I can swing by then and see if I can't open it for you."

"How much?" Tracy asked, seeing Darlene nod that she would cover the cost.

"For you, Tracy, let's call it an even hundred."

"Thanks, Harry, you're a lifesaver!" Tracy said, putting on the charm. If he didn't bat for the other team, she would have chased after him and wouldn't have to deal with learning that her former fiancé was nothing more than cheating scum.

"I'll put on your tab." Which got a chuckle from both of them before Tracy hung up the phone.

"Come on, I think you'll want to sit down for this," Tracy said, trying not to let her worry touch her voice at what had happened when Harry ran Allen's name through the database.

Darlene sat in shock, stupefaction at what her sister had repeated of her phone conversation. What could her husband be into? What would require some government agency to flag Allen's name? For that matter, why would they? Was he some kind of wanted man? Was he in witness protection? Is that why there were men in suits there at the airport? Was that why her husband had been lying to her all this time? What was Allen's real name anyway? All these questions ran through her mind.