The wind blew softly in the darkness, caressing her skin like gentle fingers. It was soothing, reassuring, and hopefully, it would be healing. The air still held the heat of the day, as did the sand sifting between Alex's toes as she walked along the deserted beach. It was after midnight, and all of the tourists had long since retired for the night. This was the time of day Alex liked to walk the beach. There was something about the darkness and the unending roar of the surf that calmed her. Maybe it was the simple fact that the ocean never slept, never tired. Or maybe it was because she felt so comfortable in the darkness. Who knew, who cared, as long as the peace came?

For Alex, peace had been a distant friend for far too long. The last six years had been hard, mentally and physically. However, Alex knew that if life were to move forward, she would have to finally find some sort of peace within herself. Too many days and nights had been spent running from the past. Now she was here, back where it all started, to face the demons, exorcise them, and hopefully move on.

The drive had taken sixteen hours, and Alex had driven it non-stop. Once she had made up her mind to come back, she hastily packed, called the agency to get the house prepared, and set off for the long journey home. Alex had arrived in Jacksonville earlier in the afternoon, and spent the first few hours settling into the house. Sam, the owner of the agency, had as usual gone beyond the call of duty.

When Alex arrived there had been fresh flowers, a bottle of wine chilling in the refrigerator, and a well-stocked pantry. Sam had even put the usual personal touches on everything by leaving a prepared dinner, ready to heat and eat. Alex made a mental note to call Sam the next day and say thank you. She knew she would have to see some of her old friends while she was here, but all she wanted to do for the first few days was get settled in the house and relax a while.

Now walking on the deserted beach, Alex began wondering if she had made the right decision to come back. Maybe it was too late to attempt to reconcile the past, but that nagging pull kept tugging away until Alex finally decided it would not go away until she just dealt with it.

Alex remembered her childhood years in Cedar Cove. She had been one of the few that had bolted after graduating from CHS. She attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, a few hours north of her hometown. There she focused all of her attentions on her studies, and graduated six years later with a master's degree in Political Science with an emphasis in International Relations. After graduation, she felt caged working a desk job. She wanted, needed to be free, so when she heard the FBI was taking applications for field agents, she jumped at the chance to apply.

Alex had always been athletic, playing basketball, softball, and volleyball in high school. While in college she had also developed a daily routine of running to keep in shape. What with her natural athletic ability and her excellent grades at UF, she made the initial cut, and was invited into the Inner sanctum of the elite FBI.

Alex stood about five foot nine, and weighed 130 pounds soaking wet. She was a tall svelte creature. Her body was like a panther, dark skin, and rippling muscles. She had dark shoulder length hair that she allowed to fall in a naturally curly style. Her face was, was simply indescribable. Her cheekbones high and sharp, a nose that was absolutely perfect, and led right down to the most delectable mouth you could possibly want to taste. Unbeknown to most were the hidden twin dimples on each side of that luscious mouth. Only when she smiled did they appear from the depths of her cheeks. She smiled very little, especially lately, but on the rare occasion that she did, it was an all-encompassing caress that warmed the soul. Unless, of course, the smile was a cold calculating expression, then it could send chills throughout its recipient's body, warning of the barely contained fury that raged within. Probably her most intriguing feature were her eyes, so blue they could kill or seduce you, depending on her mood. Combined with the smile, one could easily tell if they were loved or hated.

Alex fit in well at the Quantico, excelling academically as well as cruising through the physical tests much to her classmate's astonishment. She could do a 15 miler with a 30-pound backpack, and spend only 10 minutes re-energizing before taking off for the gym or the obstacle course for a little practice. She was hated and admired by all of her classmates. Hated because it all came so easy, admired because she excelled in almost everything she attempted but never let it go to her head.

Alex was always the first to give a high five to one of her classmates for a job well done. The competition so often present between the trainees at the academy was absent within Alex. The only competition Alex desired was to better her personal record. She believed the adolescent competition between the trainees only consumed their much-needed energy and took up too much of their thought processes.

After graduating from the academy, Alex spent the first four years learning the job inside and out. After two years, she was assigned to the counter-intelligence department of the Chicago FBI Field Office. There she spent her time collecting,
analyzing, and utilizing information. Information that would identify and neutralize the activities of foreign powers and their agents.

While this area of work fell within her area of education and expertise, she often felt pulled towards the sometimes-darker world of drug trafficking, and organized crime. When an opening came available with the Jacksonville Field Office in the drug and organized crime department, she put in for a transfer to Florida. To her surprise, she found herself moving everything south a short time later. Alex thought she would finally find her niche in life, but what she found, almost too late, was her worst nightmare.

Jacksonville allowed Alex more time for visits with her family, and she would often travel to Cedar Cove for long weekends when she wasn't on an active investigation. Alex had always thought of Cedar Cove as a haven away from the dark world in which she lived. When she went home she was simply Alex, not Agent Montgomery, Special Agent for the FBI. There was a peace that surrounded the small south Florida town. A stillness that allowed her to drop her guard and simply relax and enjoy her surroundings.

These long weekends had allowed her to regenerate, refocus, and smooth out the ragged edges of her mind. On occasion, Alex was lucky enough to plan a weekend home when Karen her baby sister would be there as well. Alex and Karen had always had a special bond, like twins, although there were four years separating their birth. One would know what the other was thinking or feeling just by looking into the other's eyes. Sometimes that was good, for it opened the door for long heart to heart conversations. Other times it wasn't so good for Alex, when all she wanted to do was forget and not think of the darkness in her soul.

Karen could somehow tell when these times were present, and would allow Alex the time and space to reveal what she could. Other times Karen knew the only way for Alex to escape the darkness was to stage a frontal assault and force Alex to purge the blackness from her soul. Now as she walked the darkness she wished that Karen were here to help her purge. The last time Alex had talked to Karen was a little more than a year ago. Alex hoped she was safe, and happy, rebuilding her life. A life that had almost been destroyed because of Alex.

Alex, at 35, had been an FBI agent for 10 years. Now as she walked on the beach, she wondered if she wanted to come back. This was a time in her life that crossroads were presented, and choices made. Choices that not only affected her, but everyone she cared for. The last few years had proven to Alex that she didn't live in an encapsulated world within the FBI.

Everyday her life was in danger, but more terrifying than anything else was that everyone she cared about was endangered as well. Her last case had proven that the best way to get to an agent was to get to someone they loved. It had been drilled into them at the academy. Alex had always been careful that she kept her family and friends well away from her work. However, somehow they had found the one thing she loved most dearly in her life, and extinguished it like a match. They not only destroyed the only person she had ever allowed her self to love, they had destroyed her heart and darkened her soul. As Alex walked through the darkness, she vowed that they would pay.

"I will come for you, Malcolm and when I do you will pray for an escape to hell."

Alex walked up the steps towards the warm lights shining in the house. She sat on the deck a while and drank a glass of the wine, and ate one of the sandwiches Sam had left for her. She laid her head back against the cushion of the deck chair and was instantly asleep.

Around 2 AM, Alex awoke to the sounds of the tide coming in, and crashing on the shore out in the darkness. She shivered in the cool breeze and pulled her self up to a standing position. Groaning at the aches her body felt, she slowly made her way into the house, locked up, and went to bed. Falling into a restless sleep filled with dreams of times since past.

Continue to Part Two of Storm Surge