Life In Smallville

Linda Lee

Красная дочь had only been in America for a few minutes and already she hated it. On top of all the terrible things that she had been taught about this land and its inhabitants it was also louder than she could ever have imagined back in her cell.

If she hadn't been taught how to block out most unwanted noises she was sure she'd have turned around and flown straight back to Siberia and her cell. The consequences would be severe but worth it. She was considering it even now because of how many noises were slipping past her block.

The smell of this place was also terrible. But that she couldn't block out. It made her tempted to just vaporize everything in sight.

"Linda Lee?" She quickly looked up, responding to the alias she had been given for her time undercover.

"That's me!" She called in her fake American accent and ran up to the counter. She pulled out her driver's license to prove her identity. The license had been supplied by her commander along with most other things she'd need here.

"Alright, into the room on the left. A photographer will come in a moment and then your passport will be sent to you in the mail" Красная дочь nodded and quickly walked over to the room she had been instructed to go to.

"Linda" she whispered her name as she entered the room. It was weird, going by something so American. She'd have to start thinking of herself as Linda instead of as Красная дочь.

She sat down in front of the camera and activated her X-Ray vision. Getting her passport had only been part of her reason for coming here. Right next door to this library she was in was a target of hers, another spy. This one was from Bialya.

Queen Bee had insulted Linda's nation a couple days ago on live television. That didn't sit well with Linda and that certainly didn't sit well with her superiors. She had been ordered to take out her main spy as a way of sending a message.

Once her X-Ray vision had found the Bialyan spy next door Linda focused on the man's spine. She watched him crumble to the floor in agony and smirked. She quickly dropped the smirk and her X-ray vision as the photographer entered the room. "Howdy!" She smiled widely as she looked him over.

Ten minutes later Kara was walking out of the library. She glanced over at the house of the spy and with her X-ray vision noticed he had almost reached the phone. Impressive considering he couldn't move from the neck down. He could be trouble.

She squinted and suddenly the drapes inside the house were on fire. It was an old house so the fire spread quickly. Linda turned again before quickly yelling "fire! Someone call the fire department!"

People who had been waking on the street quickly turned and noticed what was going on. Linda in the meantime pretended to watch in horror. She felt a jab of guilt when the fire jumped from the house to the library but she had done her job. She buried that guilt deep down.

These were Americans, they used to burn each other simply for their skin color. They deserved to burn. That's what Linda told herself at least to justify it all.

Now Linda would wait with the onlookers. The fire department was on the way, she'd wait around and give a statement as she cried and acted innocent. Then she'd return to her new home and ignore her guilt as she planned her next mission.

She could hear the fire trucks now. The thought popped into Linda's mind that she could put out this fire with just a quick breath. Her target had already burnt to death, she could save those left in the library. She wanted to. She wanted to save them.

Why did she feel this way? She should have reveled in their screams. Their entrances were blocked and the American pigs would burn. Why didn't this make her happy? She was loyal to her country, she was doing her duty, that should have brought the ultimate level of satisfaction to her. Instead she turned her head and held back tears as she failed to block out the smell of burning flesh and the sound of roaring flames and cries for help.

The fire fighters arrived. They made everyone stand back as they got to work on putting out the fires.

It all went by very quickly. The screaming had stopped inside the buildings and Linda stared at the burnt corpses as they were wheeled out of the building. Occasionally someone would be brought out alive and Linda was both overjoyed at that and furious at herself for her reactions to that. They deserved to burn, that's what she had been taught. That's what she knew, yet her natural reactions resisted those teachings.

Soon enough the fire fighters had evacuated all the survivors. They went in again to sift through the debris as the police came to questions the bystanders.

"I had gone to get my passport. I looked back as I was walking away and saw the drapes next door on fire" Linda explained to the officer as he wrote her words down on a small notepad. "I called out for someone to call the fire department. I don't have a phone" she explained as she willed herself to begin tearing up. It wasn't hard to cry after everything that she had just done. "If I was-" she sobbed and the officer put a hand on her arm comfortingly. "If I had still been in-" she burst into tears.

Linda Lee missed being Красная дочь. She miss Siberia and her cell. She missed being dependent on her commander. She didn't like being in America with the enemy. She didn't like killing. She didn't like civilian casualties, even if they were filthy Americans. She thought about all of this as she cried, ensuring that the tears were genuine and would fool the police officer.

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