by Casi McLean
Slowing her pace, she entered the Capitol Rotunda and gazed at the vast marvel surrounding her. How did her dream morph into the nightmare now clenching her throat in a stranglehold…a nightmare from which she couldn’t awaken? She shuddered. Not in her wildest dreams had she ever expected the politicized bureaucrats and pundits on Capitol Hill would swallow her whole.
Discovering an encrypted list had her bursting at the seams to tell someone. How could she simply ignore the message and let the powers that be sweep their dirty little secrets under a politicized rug? But who could she turn to or believe in enough to provide solid advice? Anyone could be involved in this “Association.” For weeks, trust no one had been her mantra. But each passing day had her more convinced someone lurked in the shadows, watching her every move, and the paranoia smothered her with feelings of impending doom.
Fiddling with the locket around her neck, she thought about her twin…the only person Alyssa truly trusted, aside from her brother. Emily had a sixth sense that seemed to guide her decisions. She would know whether to pass along the secret list or burn it.
Several times over the last three weeks, Alyssa started to call Emily, and each time she stopped short of pushing Send. Derek taught his intern well. If “The Association” tailed Alyssa, her phone would likely be bugged, too. The thought of putting her twin in danger clamped Alyssa’s stomach like a coiling snake squeezing until she couldn’t breathe. A letter sent from a random mail drop would go undetected. She’d wait until the two could meet. In the meantime, Alyssa would lay low, do her job, and avoid confrontation.
Glancing at her watch, she realized the late hour. Another workday drew to an end, and she’d need to rush if she wanted to catch her train home. Exiting at the rear of the Capitol Rotunda, she again tightened the grasp on her coat collar, wishing she’d remembered to grab the blue and white scarf she usually wore on windy mornings. The chill within her deepened as she strode the same route she had walked every day for the past year. West on Independence to the L’Enfant Plaza Metro Station where she caught the Silver train line to McLean, Virginia. From there, she drove home.
Arriving just in time to catch her shuttle, she drew in a deep breath and stepped from the platform into the train. When the door closed, she squeezed her eyes tightly then released the pressure to relax the pinch twisting in the back of her neck. Once she knew Emily received her message, Alyssa felt sure together they could devise a plan to end her nightmare. She leaned back in her seat deep in thought, feeling thankful she survived another day––looking past a dark, hooded figure hunched only a few seats away.