Carol hated the sound of her beeping alarm. It was too early to get up. Yes, yes, she had set the alarm herself and yes, yes, this hour was necessary for her to be able to get everything done before starting her work as a cruciverbalist.
Carol rolled out of bed and mussed her short, curly, blonde hair. She usually found the gesture soothing, but something was bothering her.
There was another annoying noise. But, she'd turned off her alarm, hadn't she?
It wasn't her alarm, but it was her phone. Ringing. Ringing at 5:30am.
"What the Hell?" muttered Carol as she looked down at her phone. It said simply: A. Now Carol couldn't think of any number she'd saved as 'A' but she was too tired to be sure, so she answered. "Hel--?" she rasped before clearing her throat and trying again, "Hello?"
"Agent Swordfish has been activated. Expect them on the hour."
"What kind of spam call is this?" Carol said, but the line had gone dead. She shook her head, letting the messy curls tickle her face. Kids must be getting up early to do prank calls these days, she thought lazily before starting her morning routine.
She was halfway through her morning yoga when there was a knock at her door. Carol glanced at the time on her phone and it said it was only six. Figuring it could be her landlord with some urgent issue, she went to the door.
Unnervingly, it was unlocked by the time she got to it, allowing the person on the other side to burst through.
A person now stood in her apartment, wearing nondescript jeans and gray t-shirt. They also had a dark gray, or perhaps it was black--Carol couldn't decide--baseball cap pulled down over their face. "Close the door," they said in an urgent voice.
Blinking, Carol hesitantly closed the door, but didn't lock it in case she needed to make a quick exit.
"We got your message," the person said, taking off their baseball cap to reveal a striking face with angled features.
Something clicked in Carol's still sleepy brain, "Are you Agent Swordfish?"
"Yes, I see Agent A was able to reach you to inform you of my arrival."
"Yes..." Carol trailed off, still not sure what was going on. "So my message?"
"Yes. Quite clever to hide it in the pattern of the crossword instead of the crossword itself. But we got your call for aid. You must be deep undercover because even Agent A looked surprised to get the message."
"Yes...of course..." Carol wasn't sure what to say. She had rather liked the pattern the black boxes made in her last crossword, but she certainly hadn't planned to "call for aid" from mysterious agents.
"Pack a bag, we have to get you away from here."
"Why?"
Agent Swordfish had approached Carol's window, glancing out of it rapidly. "It isn't safe here, surely you've realized that."
Carol pinched the bridge of her nose. Her phone was in her hand, perhaps she should just dial 911, but something was nagging at her. Was she safer with Agent Swordfish? Why did they bring such a sense of calm despite being frantic?
"Too late," said Agent Swordfish, "it looks like Agent Lemon Drop has intercepted your message." They moved away from the window quickly and grabbed Carol's arm. "We must leave now."
"Lemon Drop?"
"Yes, I see her reputation proceeds her."
Carol was about to wrench her arm away when her window suddenly crashed in, shattering glass everywhere.
"She's here, we have to run," commanded Agent Swordfish.
Carol only had one choice. "Let's go."
(Prompt by Kimisha Cassidy)
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