Fallen

Chapter 1:
Whisper

August 10th, One A.M.

\"Operative Wallace, I want to commend you for your excellent work last night,\" boomed a feminine voice.

The tall figure nodded silently as his red and black eyes shone through two small holes in the mask he wore. A small child no older than seven years old ran past the figure causing a soft sigh to escape the shadowy figure\'s lips. So young, he thought.

Hesitantly, the black clad assassin reached up and slowly pulled away his mask, revealing a youthful, female face surrounded by long fiery red hair. She carefully ran a hand through her hair, groaning at both the fatigue and the pain which coursed through her.

\"What is the matter, child?\" questioned the voice.

\"The victim had yet to die before I killed her assailant. Her pain is still racing through me, but I will be fine before tomor-\"

\"I want you to rest. Tomorrow you will not accept any missions. If you do, and I find out, you will regret ever doing so,\" said the voice as a tall woman with long billowy black hair materialized in front of Agent Wallace. \"You do not need to push yourself so hard. You can leave on mission to the other recruits.\"

\"Many thanks, Mother, but-\"

\"Go and rest, Agent Wallace!\" commanded the woman whose booming voice echoed throughout the room. \"It is a command which I give you myself.\"

Agent Wallace bowed, her waist-length hair dangling freely before she straightened. \"Thank you, Mother,\" she sighed before she turned and walked down a long corridor. At the end of the passageway was a bright light which almost blinded the young woman. When her eyes had adjusted, Agent Wallace found herself in a brightly lit dorm room with a set of bunk beds, two portable closets, and two sets of dressers.

\"And here I thought I would be sent home like always,\" she muttered softly as she looked to see her roommate lying blissfully asleep in the top bunk. The red haired assassin fell back onto her bed with the grace of a drunkard, and allowed a pained groan to escape her lips before she too fell into Morpheus\' realm.

* * * * *

Joseph Dobson walked slowly down a small hallway looking for room 284. Repeatedly, he muttered that number, unaware of the woman who was silently following him. Finally, he found room 283, but there was no longer another corridor for him to go down. It was then that his silent pursuer made herself known by laughing softly.

Sighing, Joseph turned around to see a woman about his ago with scarlet colored hair tied back in a braid. She looked quite pretty, but he wondered if her eyes were green like so many other redheads he had known in high school. He then heard the laughter rise from her throat, the sound pushing any curiosity about the orbs hidden by the leopard print sunglasses out of his mind.

\"Ok, just what are you staring at?\" she asked through a bout of giggles after a minute had passed.

\"The person who is standing here laughing at me instead of going to class or at least helping me find room 284,\" he snapped.

\"I\'m sorry. I\'m not really laughing at you. It\'s more like I am laughing at the predicament that your schedule has you in. You have Professor Evans, right?\" she questioned in an attempt to rectify her rude behavior.

\"Yeah, how\'d-\"

\"The old building is the reference point for the schedules this semester. The computer\'s database needs to be updated. Anyways, the room you are looking for is room 348. I can show you the way if you want,\" she said with a small smile as she pushed her shades up her nose from where they had fallen.

\"That sounds good, thanks,\" he replied. \"So, if you will.\" He motioned for her to go ahead of him.\"

\"Right this way, monsieur,\" she told him as she stepped past him to lead him to an elevator. She looked at it almost fearfully before rolling her shoulders and pressing the up button on the console. A moment later, the door opened and the two stepped inside. As soon as the doors closed, she leaned back against the wall, clenching her eyes shut.

\"Are you all right?\" Joseph asked as he studied her fear lined facial features.

\"Yeah, just getting through some issues,\" she replied with a laugh. Despite the attempt at being jovial, he could see the way her skin paled, and her grip on the railing behind her become so hard that her knuckles turned white.

\"Are you claustrophobic?\" he asked.

\"No, well, not really. I just had something traumatic happen to me when I was a kid, and until a couple of months ago, I was too scared to actually step foot in one of these things,\" she explained as the doors opened, releasing the two.

\"So, which way now?\" he asked as she turned left and started walking.

\"Follow me,\" she replied simply as she led him to a wooden door with a sign that informed of the class being cancelled. \"Great. I just wasted a good two hours getting ready for class, just to end up not having to go.\"

\"Was this your only class today?\" the dark haired man questioned.

Whisper sighed a soft, \"Yeah,\" before walking back down the hall.

\"Then how about I take you out to lunch to repay you for your troubles of leading me to class?\" he replied.

The red haired teen laughed. \"You\'re not used to asking people to go anywhere anymore are you?\"

\"Is it that obvious?\" Joseph retorted.

She nodded before agreeing to the lunch date. Joseph led her to a small black truck that was greatly in need of a wash from what Whisper could tell.

\"Any where in particular you would like to go?\" he questioned as he cranked the engine and started out of the parking lot. He was answered with a shrug. \"Ok. then how about I take you to someplace I always thought looked kinda cool but never had the nerve to go into alone?\"

\"That sounds all right,\" she stated as they quickly raced away from the school. Fifteen minutes later, Whisper found herself outside a place that she couldn\'t help but laugh at.

\"What\'s so funny?\" he asked.

\"You said you were scared of this place right?\" He started to say something but stopped and nodded slowly causing her to burst into a fresh bout of giggles while stating, \"I work here.\"

\"Oh, God.\" he muttered with an air of disappointment. \"Ok, then. I guess you don\'t want to eat here.\"

\"I didn\'t say that. I like it here. Besides, you should eat here once, just to prove to yourself that it isn\'t all that bad,\" she told him with a smile. He returned the look and nodded before pulling into one of the few remaining parking spots.

The two climbed out of the pick up and chatted until they reached the small restaurant. Within the confines of the small building, was a mass of people yet barely an ounce of noise.

\"This is why I was so hesitant to come into this place.\" he whispered. \"It\'s so quiet here, and I worry that I am going to shatter the silence.\"

\"Don\'t worry about it. Give it about twenty minutes and this place will be so loud that you will barely be able to hear your own voice,\" she whispered softly into his ear before walking out into the middle of the dining area and clearing her throat. \"Hey, everyone. The silent night is over. The hectic whispers are no longer needed. Feel free to talk as loud as you want!\"

\"Are you sure that-\" Joseph was cut off by a boisterous roar over took the room.

\"That is what I do here? There is a space of about twenty minutes every two hours in which everyone either whispers or doesn\'t speak. My employer decided that because of my name I should be the one to snap everyone out of their trance.\"

\"Whisper Wallace. What did I tell you about coming in to work today?\" questioned a tall woman with black hair pulled back in a loose bun which allowed strands of hair to fall, framing her face beautifully.

\"I\'m not here to work today. I\'m out to lunch with someone,\" she replied with a slight nod of the head towards Joseph. \"I would not dare risk my job.\"

\"That\'s good, child,\" the older woman said before leading the two to a small table in the back. \"Now, what can I get you two?\"

\"What exactly do you serve here?\" he said before leading the two to a small table in the back. \"Now what can I get you two?\"

\"What exactly do you serve here?\" he asked curiously.

\"The veggie burgers here are great, and so is the tofu, but aside from that I\'m not real sure.\" Whisper said, the last few words, dropping in volume due to a mixture of trying not to sound like she is working, and embarrassment at the look she was getting from Joseph.

\"You\'re a vegetarian?\" Joseph questioned.

\"Yeah. It kinda goes with my lifestyle.\" she said. \"And before you ask, I will not answer any questions about it. I like to remain a mystery.\"

\"All right,\" he said with a cheerful nod. \"So how about we order and we can talk about whatever you want to talk about?\"

\"That\'s sounds good,\" she replied with a smile. They ordered their food and talked as they waited and ate. Just as Joseph was about to ask her out, a shrill noise set to the tune of what he recognized to be the theme from some vampire show on television.

\"What is that?\" he asked.

\"My cell phone,\" she told him as she removed her phone from her purse and pressed a button before lifting it to her ear. \"Hello. Yes. But mother. I understand. Four. I\'ll be there. Ciao.\"

\"I\'m sorry, but I am afraid that I have to go, Joseph,\" she said as she looked at her watch.

\"You have to be somewhere by four, right?\"

\"Yeah. Hey, maybe we can have lunch again sometime?\" she said as she replaced her phone and stood up.

\"That sounds all right,\" he said.

\"I guess I\'ll see you around then,\" she said with a smile before putting some money on the table and walking out.

\"Today has got to be my lucky day,\" he said to himself as she walked out of the restaurant. He was snapped out of his reverie when he heard his own cell phone ring a moment later. \"Hello. Mom, what\'s wrong? Mom. Okay. Mom, get out of the now! Mom, get out now! All right. I\'ll be there as soon as I can. Just get somewhere safe. Mom. Mom!\" He quickly jumped out of his seat, throwing some cash on the table and raced out of the restaurant.

Whisper stood next to the door of the building and watched as he raced to his car. \"I\'m sorry, Joseph, but this is one time you would have been too late.\" She then raced into an alley, pulling her shirt over her head, and pushing down the sleeves of a long black sleeved shirt. She ripped open her bag and took out a mask which she quickly pulled on, shoving her braid into the covering and jumping over a fence, using the top of it to give herself a push to the top of a building.

\"I should have known not to do that.\" she groaned as she knelt on the ground and placed a hand to her side, where she felt something move around unnaturally. \"Mother was right about going out but too late now.\"

The dark figure raced from rooftop to rooftop until she reached the section of town known as home to the cheap apartment high rises and the local drug rings. She swiftly shoved her way up to the fourth fire escape from the ground and stood outside for a minute when she heard the pained screams of a woman and the angry shouts of a drunken man.

\"Shut up, Conni, you stupid bitch!\" roared the man e sle slammed his foot into the woman\'s side. Her shoulder length black hair was plastered to her normally beautiful face by blood and tears which poured down from chocolate brown eyes,

\"Oh, God, please don\'t kill me,\" she pleaded in between sobs. \"I- I\'m sorry. I won\'t forget to fix dinner again.\"

\"Damn right you won\'t, lazy whore!\" he shouted as he lifted the woman up and shoved her into the dresser, causing the woman to scream as she felt her arm snap on impact.

\"That\'s enough, Michael!\" said another voice in a deathly cold tone.

\"Who the hell are you?\" questioned the man as he turned and looked at Whisper, who was nothing more to him than a figure dressed in head to toe black clothing.

\"I am your judge, jury, and executioner,\" replied the young woman as she reached to her waist and pulled a dagger from her belt. \"Time to face death like a man, which is something a coward like you has never had to do.\"

\"You think I\'m scared of you? I\'m not scared of you. Some miserable punk who thinks he can take my place,\" Michael sneered before he looked over at the woman. \"Tell me, is this the bastard that you\'ve been sleeping with while I\'m gone all day getting money for your sorry ass?\"

\"No, Mike, I swear!\" sobbed the woman.

\"Lying whore!\" he said as he lifted his foot to kick Conni one more time. Before he made contact with her, Michael found himself on the floor with the dark figure looming over him with the dagger pointing into his midsection.

\"I said that was enough, Michael,\" said the figure, revealing himself to be ally lly be female. \"You have hurt too many women and gotten by for far too long. Say goodbye, you miserable son of a bitch.\"

\"You are gonna pay for this. I\'ll make sure that- Ahhhh!\" he shouted out as she plunged her dagger into his abdomen and ripped it open in the shape of a \"Z.\" \"I hope you enjoy feeling every ounce of pain that you caused her to feel because trust me, this is going to hurt you more than it will me.\"

Whisper then placed a hand on his forehead and looked over at Conni. As the seconds passed, he felt his ribs crack, arm snap, and ankle pop. Multiple lacerations formed on his face and he soon passed out from pain and blood loss.

Groaning, the dark figure stood up and walked over to Conni as her braid slowly fell out of her mask to hang down her back.

\"Who- Who are you?\" questioned the dark haired woman as Whisper knelt in front of her.

\"I am a person who does not believe in the abuse of women or the survival of the abuser,\" she replied.

\"H-How did you know what was going to happen?\" she asked.

\"I have my ways. I am sorry that I did not get here in time to stop him from hurting you.\"

\"You saved my life.\" Conni said.

\"No. Your will to live long enough to see your son graduate from college saved your life. I was just a means of making sure that you did,\" stated the figure as she carefully removed a cloth from her back pocket and handed it to the woman. \"Here. Try to see if you can clean yourself up a bit all right?\"

\"Mom!\" shouted Joseph from the living room.

\"I have to go,\" said Whisper softly as she moved to the window. \"Don\'t tell anyone about me, please.\"

\"I won\'t and thank you,\" called out Connie as Joseph walked into the room. Whisper nodded and quickly climbed out.

\"Mom, are you all right?\" questioned the young man as he hurried over to his mother, stepping over the dead body of Michael.

\"I\'m going to be all right, Joe. I think I just met a guardian angel,\" she said as she looked over to the window.

Joseph sighed and carefully helped his mother wipe the blood off of her face. \"I called the police and paramedics. They\'ll be here soon.\"

\"Thank you, Joe. You always were such a good son,\" replied Conni as she thought back to what the dark figure had told her.

\"If I had been a good son, none of this would have happened.\" he sighed as he looked over to the clock to see that the time was four o\'clock.