Childhood in Boxes

JP with Jaxx, Trustno1 and Cindy

Agent Powers looked at the beautiful drunk woman on the chair looking not so elegant like Ekaterina. Then he gave Alyssa's mom a smolder as he waited quietly. Ekaterina glanced the room over and smiled elegantly as she looked at Alyssa's mother. She was not going to form any opinions since she was used to diplomatic situations due to her family and work with the Templars.

"I wasn't expecting an audience, Alyssa." The warmth that one would expect to hear from a mother to her child was completely absent from Francis's tone. "Tell them we need to speak in private."

Alyssa rolled her eyes, and almost asked the group to go - almost, but between her mother's coldness and realizing who was with her, the hacker shook her head. "No, mother, anything you have to say to me you can say in front of them."

Francis did not look happy at that prospect but relented. "Very well, if you want it that way - so be it."

Alyssa didn't wait on an invitation she stepped into the room and then said to Peter, Max and Ekaterina. "Come in, and have a seat "

The room had a few leather chairs, a leather couch, a dark wooden antique desk, several lamps and floor to ceiling bookcases which were filled but looked, surprisingly, untouched. Upon closer inspection it would become clear that many of the books were first editions, or rare copies, even a few rare sets. Also, the more one took the room and the drunken women, the more she'd seem out of place, except for the brass bar on wheels which stood near where she was sitting.

Alyssa, once again, went through introductions. Francis did not seem to care much about who the other people were, but her eyes did wander to Alyssa's hand which was intermingled with Peter's. However, no comment was made about their relationship either way.

"So.." the drunken woman started. "Your no good father finally called me - he's still traveling for work. We had a looong talk - fight really. I am done with him, he with me. - we're getting a divorce."

Now, most children, even adult children would be floored by that news. Alyssa remained calm, standing and said. "You made me drive all the way here to tell me that?" She was not, at all, surprised by the news.

"Nope," Francis stated. "There's more.... I've decided to tell you the truth."

Sartre looked oddly at Francis. There was no reason for her to treat Alyssa like that.

Agent Powers gave Francis a smolder as he quietly listened to her. He was concerned the woman was going to cross the line by saying she was a spy or wanted to kill her daughter Alyssa. he had seen similar situations while hunting drug lords. He was ready to block a bullet if it came to it. He was not worried about small bullets since he could take the hit, so unless the old drunk lady was packing a bazooka he felt confident. Ekaterina on the other hand had a pained expression on her face since this situation reminded her of her life at home. Arranged marriages were always troublesome and came with a lot of drama. She noticed Agent Powers was alert like a Pitbull ready to jump into action. She was hoping things didn't escalate..

"I'm listening, Ms. Francis." Sartre said angrily.

Alyssa sat down, on a chair that was close to another chair so Peter could stay near her. She felt like she might need his support. "Go ahead," Alyssa said to her mother.

Well," Francis started. "First of all, I am not stupid and do not believe you and your father work from some tech company." The woman stared at Alyssa's reaction, but Alyssa barely reacted at all. "Anyway, some years ago your father had an affair with a coworker. She got pregnant. We or more like I - agreed to adopt the baby. That would be you. You are adopted." This time the woman didn't stop for a reaction or to let the words sink in. "As you know, you were never what I had in mind for a daughter and I do not care to really be around you. So, I have decided to disown you. You won't have me any more - nothing from me. Certainly, not this house or my money. You can take anything, that is yours with you, but then that's it."

Alyssa did not say anything. She was silent for several seconds. Really, the woman shooting her with an actual gun would have been less painful, but Alyssa did not want to give her mother the satisfaction of showing it. "I see." Then another pause. "I suppose you are correct. We have nothing in common. Thank you for verifying what I already suspected. " Then the hacker could not hold her tongue any longer. "I am glad. Glad that I am not a part of whatever messed genetic make-up created you." She did not let her mother say anything else. The hacker stood up and stormed out of the room.

Agent Powers shook his head as he got up with Ekaterina. He replied, "Wow mother of the year over here. Lets go help her move out." Ekaterina had a pained expression as she shook her head yes. They followed Alyssa out and Agent Powers asked Alyssa quietly, "Should I get a moving truck here?"

Alyssa shook her head and responded, "Thanks but no. There's not that much stuff I want to keep."

Ekaterina sighed as she said, "So should we collect your things and find a hotel? I could get us a nice suite at the Aman. The room service is to die for."
Agent Powers replied, "Sounds fancy. Is the food good?" Ekaterina smiled elegantly and replied, "Of course."

"Well, thanks for the offer but the rest of the team is at the RV and the last time we stayed at a hotel it didn't go well." Alyssa said, they would know she meant the bomb threat. "But I do appreciate the offer. How about a raincheck? Or at least wait to decide until we get back to the RV and see what the others think?"

Ekaterina elegantly smiled as she replied, "Fair enough." Agent Powers shrugged as he said, "Okay then we help move what you want and head out?"

"Alyssa; I can help you collect the things you want and then we can go back to the RV." said Sartre.

Alyssa nodded. She led the other three to the center hallway, where there was an elaborate wooden staircase, with inlaid flooring in the same floral design that had met them in the front hall. It had gold and white scroll design ironwork for the banister. The wide stairs started out together but then split into two , forming a Y-shape. Alyssa led the group to the stairs leading to the right and down a long hallway. They came to a white door, which she opened. Inside wasn't just a bedroom but a suite area, with an extremely large bedroom, another room, which was full of computers and tech items, a library with floor to ceiling bookcases, filled to the rim. Unlike the room downstairs, these books looked well used, except for one small shelf that had 4 books behind glass. A desk sat to one side and a few chairs. There was a TV room with a mini-fridge, microwave and theater style popcorn maker. Alyssa said, "Welcome to my former world." Then gave them a brief tour, briefly explaining each room. "There was a playroom, but it didn't have many toys in it. A few dolls, a handmade toy castle, with all the accessories, complete with a dragon. An easel and desk sat near each other. Possibly a few other toys, none looked very worn. Almost as if this room hadn't been used a lot.

There was a private full bathroom, with a tub that turned into a jacuzzi and a separate shower. A walk-in closet the size of a room itself. And lastly an area that looked like a combo dance studio - workout room. It was an odd combination of rooms that seemed to not exactly fit together.

Alyssa picked up what seemed like a house phone and asked for a few boxes to be brought upstairs. She then opened the door to her walk-in closet.

Surprisingly, for a woman who preferred jeans, t-shirts and her beloved leather jacket over fancier options, the closet was brimming with designer clothes. There were suits, sweaters, skirts, tops, jackets, shoes, and so on. The one thing that really did not fit with Alyssa were the 200 or so designer dresses, many were quite formal. None looked like they had been worn more than once. Some still had tags on them.

"My guess is you did not stay at home much." said Sartre. In the chip; "It's okay Alyssa, we are your family now. I care about you. I would much rather talk to your father than that lady."

Agent Powers looked around and nodded his head as he gave the room a smolder. Then he asked, "So what are we taking?"

"I didn't. I was away at college pretty young, then working." The hacker then said, into the chip. "Thanks. And I agree about my father." Alyssa went to the back of the closest and opened another door, inside seemed to be a storage area. It had suitcases and garment bags with some other items. "I think we can start with 2 suitcases and one garment bag. If I need more, we can just get them." It didn't matter which suitcases or garment bags they took.

Then it was to the main part of the closet. Alyssa picked out a few articles of clothing that were fancier than what she usually wore but still seemed to work for her. As she sifted though clothes there were a few fancy outfits too small for her. She pulled out a purple one complete with sparkles and ruffles, and visibly shivered slightly. "This was from my very brief attempt at pageants. I actually competed in one. I was 6 at the time." She put the dress back. Then it was on to her bedroom. The room was large, a king sized four poster bed sat on the wall opposite the door. There were dressers, a trophy case held mostly academic awards. Plaques took up the majority of it. Alyssa looked at them as if trying to decide if she should take them.

Douglas and a maid brought some empty boxes. He looked at Alyssa for a moment. "Can we help Miss Alyssa?"

"No, thank you Douglas." Alyssa stated. "But anything I don't take with me, feel free to donate, or keep if you or one of the staff wants it."

"Very good, Miss." Douglas and the maid left.

On the side wall was a large bay window with a window seat, it had a magnificent view of the Atlantic Ocean.

Alyssa handed one of the larger sized boxes to Max and Ekaterina, "Can you, both, go back into the playroom and pack the castle and accessories? The dragon is a little fragile." Alyssa asked.

Agent Powers took the box and nodded at Alyssa. Ekaterina then asked, "If we are packing fragile things can we use some sheets or shirts you don't worry about to wrap them in?"

"Yes,,Alyssa opened a drawer to one of her dressers. It was packed with various t-shirts. "You can use anything from this draw."

Ekaterina elegantly smiled as she replied, "Splendid." She then elegantly nudge Agent powers to help her hold the box as she loaded it with some shirts. Then the two of them left to collect Alyssa's collectables. Then Ekaterina showed Agent Powers how to properly wrap the collectables with the shirts to protect them from chipping and cracking, since they would bump around when the box was moved. Agent Powers did his best to follow the instructions of Ekaterina who seemed very knowledgeable in protecting collectables.

While Max and Ekaterina were busy, Alyssa took a moment to collect her thoughts. She stared out upon the view from her large window. "I won't miss much about this house, but I will miss that view." The hacker randomly stated.

Alright on to other things, she went over to a nightstand and opened the draw. She pulled our a set of small keys, choosing one then handing it to Peter. "Can you open the lock on my trophy case?"

It was high enough that Alyssa would need a step ladder to reach it. On the side of the glass was a small keyhole.

He opened the trophy case. "Any idea where we can store your valuables?" asked Sartre.

"No. I wonder if I should get a small storage unit." Alyssa responded. "It's not a lot but might take up space we don't have in the RV

Sartre looked at what was in the trophy case.

The case contained about 8 plaques, for academic achievement mostly in math or science classes. There were metals indicating the hacker had graduated Summa cum laude. There was a trophy that stated first place for a technology fair. A medal for dance class.

"I should also take my degrees." Pointing to her college degrees and high school diploma.

"Congratulations Alyssa." Sartre said. He helped her grab her degrees and achievements.

"Thanks. Seems like ages ago that I got those." Alyssa responded.

The hacker went over to the window seat and opened it, using another key. She lifted the seat. Inside were a few papers. Alyssa pulled over a trash can and started throwing them out. They just seemed like random schoolwork but under them, the woman pulled out a small cloth bound book with a lock on the top. It was engraved with ALYSSA on the front. Clearly it was a journal or diary of some sort. She didn't open it but pulled one of two of the small keys from the ring and started a new box, putting in the diary and the keys. Alyssa then started on her clothes.

Alyssa receives this text message, It clearly came from an official illuminati intranet source. "Prudence watches Alyssa, her gaze piercing the gilded lies of Crows. The red star glimmers.—only the faithful can see the path before it burns . The Labyrinth splits, and with it, the soul of the Illuminati. Join us, and together we will fulfill what was foretold, not what is fabricated. Seek Prudence, for she awaits you at the edge of the storm."

Alyssa pulled her phone out of her pocket when she heard her phone buzz. "Oh, what now." The hacker remarked, then looked at her phone. She was not in the mood for this. "What the hell? Why am I the only one that seems to get the cryptic messages." She showed Peter the message.

"Where did that come from?" Peter asked. "And why did you not just run away from here, Alyssa?"

"It's from an official Illuminati source but I don't know which one." Without digging into it, anyway, Alyssa thought.

"Interesting." Peter commented, "The other one did not come from an Illuminati source?"

“No, those came from that same site Kolchak talked about.” The hacker paused. "And I didn't run away because I went to college at 8. What would have been the point? I was young. Besides, for the most part, my mother ignored me." Alyssa paused. "I, also, used to think that some day my father would come home to stay and things would be better. Then I got older and realized that A: He wasn't coming home and B: Even if he did things wouldn't be any better."

Peter moved to hug the hacker. "We are your family now Alyssa."

Alyssa accepted the hug and said, "I know but thanks for reminding me."

"I can carry this stuff out with you." Peter said.

"OK." After she took what she wanted from her bedroom. She got the 4 books that were locked behind the glass out. 4 first editions signed by the author. Little Women, The Wizard of Oz, Hackers and a collection of Short Stories by Ray Bradbury. She packed those carefully but didn't bother with the other books. A few boxes, two suitcases, a garment bag later and Alyssa was done. She had everything she wanted to keep. Except one thing. Going into the TV room was a gaming system with a bunch of games. They went into the last empty box. "I have not used it much but thought we might like to have it in the RV."

The things were carried downstairs. Alyssa said goodbye to Douglas but her mother didn't come out of the study and Alyssa didn't bother going to look for her. Everything packed into her van, it fit with no issues.

Once everyone was ready, Alyssa took one last look at the mansion and drove off.