A Game of Chess

D.C. Washington, USA

November 3 , 1950

2:30 PM

Coffee stained folders were stacked in an arbitrarily placed holder at the entrance of the building, sounds of fax machines buzzing in and out filling his ears. And the smell of fresh ink had never been so satisfying. Alfred tossed his hat onto the coat hanger, practically savoring the comforting feeling of being back in the office. After traveling around Europe so much, it never struck him how homesick he felt. Even now, he wanted to grab a newspaper and crash on a bed. But due to his airplane ticket booked in seven hours, he couldn't even enjoy being back.

"Welcome back Jones!" A familiar face greeted him, an old raspy voice that was suspiciously less serious grabbing his attention. "Did you enjoy your work in Naples?" Mr. Marshall asked, grabbing his hand for a handshake without warning.

The American confusedly grinned at the General's unusually warm demeanor, though he wasn't complaining after such a hectic trip from Italy. "Hahahah.. yeah, sure." He managed out with a nervous smile on his face. Honestly, he never wanted to be reminded of the day Lovino threatened to knock him out. "But nothing beats home I guess." He added, moving away from the topic. That only sent the old man into a soft chuckle.

"Something else came in for you the other day, not from the Russian, I assure you." General Marshall mentioned as they walked towards his section. "I can't say I'm too disappointed with you after inspecting the package. Must've wanted to roll for a lucky streak huh?" He asked, slapping his back approvingly.

"Wha-" Alfred began, now seemingly being pushed to his office by the General. He wanted to say something but seeing the old man so cheerful, especially when he usually wasn't, was something that he didn't want to ruin by accident.

The general gave him a satisfied huff, walking his way merrily towards the printer with his chest sticking out proudly. Alfred stood stranded in front of his small office door, still trying to process Mr. Marshall's words. He didn't quite know what made that old grump so happy, but whatever it was, he sure was thankful.

He unlocked the door, quickly shutting it behind him to let out a sigh of relief. Another cool thing with having deep roots with the government was that he was entitled to privacy so that nothing too major like aliens or new weapons would be accessed by the general public. But more importantly, that also meant non-see through walls. General Marshall would've probably scolded him to hell by now if he knew how many crackers the American had snuck into eat while working.

As if by nature, he slung off his bag, aiming to toss it on the floor near his desk when he noticed a large square box lying on top of it with the flaps already opened. His relaxed demeanor disappeared, letting out a groan of exhaustion. Of course with him being a government secret himself, his privacy was entitled to the government, including any packages he receives at his work place.

With the box already wide opened, he couldn't help but notice a rounded surface with a flat ring circling it pointing out of the hole. He gave it a wary look, before glancing back at the door. General Marshall did say he received something, but what he received was never answered. For a moment, he thought to himself.

'Did Arthur send me another gift box? But two, even one gift is excessive, especially from him. Matthew then?'

The only way to solve the mystery was to find the answer himself. He slowly approached the desk, standing taller than he was before to peek into the package which only revealed more of its ball-like shape. After a bit, he lost his guard and just picked it up from the box. It obviously wasn't anything dangerous; it was just a globe.