It had been a long day for Matthew Mulligan. A long, stressful day. His alarm clock went off late, his good uniform was in the laundry basket and a back tax notice came in as he left the house. Things were not looking good. He worked as a security guard at the JFK airport. Signing in late earned him a scowl from the receptionist; he knew a salary cut was underway. Manning his post, he began looking around for any suspicious individuals. Not that he had seen any in his ten years working at the airport. He just had to put on a good show for his superior in hope that his penalty wouldn't be so bad.
Time dragged on as the day went slowly. Matthew had forgotten how many times he had yawned. His eyes were heavy with sleep and his bones stiff from maintaining his position. As he was about to leave for the restroom, he caught movement at the corner of his eye. A young boy, barely 16, was fidgeting and looking around constantly, worry written on his face. Matthew sighed; cases like this were common: the kid got distracted while moving with his parents and lost track of them. Not having anything better to do, Matthew went up to the kid. As soon as he placed his hand on the boy's shoulder, it was flung off as the boy retreated, fear in his eyes.
"Its okay kid. I'm not trying to hurt you", Matthew said, putting his hands up to emphasize his point.
The boy had calmed down a bit when he saw the security badge on Matthew but still maintained his distance.
He attempted to put on a strong front and asked: "Who are you?". "I'm the person that's gonna help you find your parents kid", Matthew said, amused at the boy's actions. Hope flickered in the boy's eyes. "Really?!", he asked, tears welling up in his eyes. As Matthew nodded, the boy's front tore apart, "Please help me!", he pleaded.
Matthew scratched the back of his head in embarrassment; he never turned down a cry for help for as long as he remembered. Assuming a hero's pose, he asked for the boy's details and flight plans. It turned out that he was only at JFK as a stopover. His next flight was leaving in 20 mins at terminal E-5. It would take at least 30 minutes to get there and process his flight.
'Unless we take the abandoned service tunnels', he thought. But it was only open to employees. Turning back to the boy to express the problem, he saw the hope and worry in his face. Gritting his teeth, he decided to help him.
"Your terminal is pretty far from here. But I know a shortcut that can get you there quickly and meet up with your parents. You up for that?" Matthew asked concernedly. The boy nodded without hesitation. Matthew smiled and signalled to his colleague to cover for him. He quickly led the boy through the door at the back of his guard station and descended a flight of stairs that were rusty from age.
Naked bulbs hung from the ceiling and a constant sound of dripping water echoed through the long halls. Wasting no time, he took the lead and moved through the tunnel. Getting halfway to their destination however, Matthew heard the sound of footsteps behind him stop. Assuming that the boy was getting scared, Matthew turned to him, words of comfort on his lips. The sight that greeted him was shocking.
Gone was the look of fear, worry and hope. In its place was nothing. Absolutely nothing. The boy's face looked chiselled out of stone, his eyes radiating a coldness that could freeze hell over. Matthew felt the hairs on his neck rise and unconsciously took a step back. The boy cocked his head to the side and stared at the man, as a human would stare at a fly. When he spoke, his voice was emotionless, akin to a robot, and radiated coldness as well.
"Matthew Warren Mulligan. Former CIA director's secretary for 15 years. A widower. No kids. No living relatives. Fired for seemingly no reason after processing red level files. Currently working as a security guard. Died while on duty". Matthew was shocked at the information the boy knew of him, as it had been wiped from every database after his sacking but was more shocked at the last sentence.
"Wh-what do you mean by died?! I'm alive! Fuck this, I'm leaving!", Matthew said, not wanting to stay a single second longer with the strange boy. Before he could take a step however, a flash of silver light and a slight bit of pain in his forehead stopped him. An intense feeling of weakness came over him as the pain in his forehead increased quickly. Straining to move his body, he raised his hand to his forehead and felt the cold steel handle of a dagger on his fingertips.
'Huh? When? How?', questions raced through his head as the pain and weakness rendered him unable to stay on his feet. He crumpled to the ground, staring at the ceiling of the service tunnel.
'Am I dying? No! I don't wanna die yet! Not yet....' he thought, as he felt darkness close in on him. The sound of footsteps echoed in the tunnel and came to a stop beside the dying man as the face of the emotionless boy came into his view. Matthew felt incredible fear and anger at this face but was helpless to do anything.
Mustering his last bit of strength, he asked his killer a deeply needed question, "Who are you?". The boy bent down and closed his fingers around the dagger's hilt. Looking into the man's eyes, he spoke four words: "My name is Alpha" and then pulled the dagger out of the man's head. Matthew's head lulled to the side as the light of life left his eyes.
Alpha removed the tape surrounding the blade and placed it into a compartment of his clothes, along with the dagger. Continuing along the tunnel, he came out at terminal E-5 and boarded his plane. Mid-flight, he pulled out a transmitter and typed: It is done. Leaning back into his chair, Alpha closed his eyes as the plane continued its flight. To him, it was a day like any other.