I am so inspired by this show that I had to write something in this universe. I haven't been on this site in a long time. But The Americans is a good enough reason to get me back. This is a very dark story so be warned. The only characters I own are the ones not from the show. All others are property of FX. Be patient in this first chapter as the villains of the piece are set up. Reviews are appreciated.
Chapter 1
Jack Taylor had been fast asleep when the knock sounded on the door. His wife Eleanor was the one who woke him up with a shake.
"Jack, someone's knocking on the door," she whispered.
Jack got the gun out from his under his pillow and turned the light on. He checked out the window to see if there were any flashing lights. There was a downpour but the street was clear save for a single car in front of his house.
"No cops. Wait here. If you hear shooting, start burning shit," ordered Jack.
Eleanor nodded and got her robe on as Jack moved into the hallway. A loud clap of thunder sounded and he woke his son and daughter.
"We got company. Heads up. Don't see any cops but who knows. This could be it."
Marcus and Becca came out of their rooms with files in their arms and moved into the master bedroom as Jack went downstairs. The knocks were more furious now. Jack went to the door.
"Who the fuck is it? It's the middle of the night."
"Jack, it's Claudia. Open the damn door. It's pouring out here."
Jack sighed in relief and opened the door, letting Claudia move past him. He closed the door angrily and glared at her.
"What the fuck are you doing? You gave us a heart attack. You can call here. My phone is clean for fuck's sake," snapped Jack.
"I didn't have time. I raced over here. Not many known I've come to see you, Jack. We're off the grid on this one so to speak."
Jack nodded and invited Claudia to have a seat, turning on some lights. Eleanor came downstairs as she had heard Claudia's voice. Marcus and Becca were behind her.
"Jesus, Claudia. You scared us half to death," exclaimed Eleanor.
"I know. I'm sorry, guys. But we have a situation. A situation I'm sick of dealing with. I'll need all four of you on this."
"Why don't we all sit down?" asked Jack.
They moved into the living room. Jack then noticed Claudia had a file under her arm. She handed it to Jack.
"Who is this?" asked Jack.
"Another family. Two of the best agents. Kids unaware. They got one of my best men killed tonight, They were distracted. Their minds elsewhere," explained Claudia.
Jack nodded as he looked through the folder.
"You want us to kill the family? We haven't had sleepers killed in awhile. It might raise some eyebrows. Especially if you're doing this on your own"
"I don't want them killed. Philip and Elizabeth are too valuable. But I do want to teach them a lesson. A lesson that will make it clear its their country above all else."
"Torture?" asked Eleanor.
Claudia shook her head.
"It'll be a great risk to all of you I know. And I give you a green light to terminate at the first sign of danger."
"What are you thinking, Claudia?" asked Jack.
"Indoctrination."
A hush went over the room and Marcus and Becca exchanged looks as Jack sighed.
"It's risky," replied Jack, after a minute of silence. "Very risky."
"I know. But you have the skill, Jack. You know how to do it. This needs to be done. I need to teach these two a lesson."
"Well that's not the point of indoctrination. Generally the parents never see the kids again. And most times we end up killing the rest of the family at completion."
"Well not this time. I figure once Philip and Elizabeth are aware something is wrong, they'll contact their handler. Eventually word will get to me. I'll send you as the agent who will help them. You can keep an eye on everything. You start to worry, kill them. No questions asked. And we can prepare a cover story that this is being done by a rogue Soviet. Someone trying to return to the old ways. In the end you can be the hero and reunite the family. If everything goes well."
Jack didn't say anything. His family was looking at him. They would be the babysitters during the process now if Jack was gone all the time. One of them would be the killer if Jack called with word.
"Jack?" asked Claudia.
Jack turned to Marcus and Becca.
"We survey the neighborhood tomorrow morning and tomorrow around three. If we think it's an easy grab, we do it. If it's risky we find an alternate means if we can. We've done kidnappings before but we are dealing with agents. So we have to be on our toes. If I decide to go along with it, I'll make the grab. Ellie, you get the drugs ready. You're in charge of that. No Russian. English always. Understood?"
They all nodded. Jack turned to Claudia.
"I'll make my decision tomorrow night. I'll let you know. We're going to move fast if I say yes. We'll pull it off the day after. Is that ok?"
"Of course. It's in your hands now, Jack. Everything you need is in that folder."
Jack saw Claudia out and watched her rush back to the car. He closed the door and turned around to find his family standing up and looking at him.
"If you don't want to do this, speak now or forever shut the fuck up. Anyone?"
No one said anything. Jack nodded.
"Let's get ready."
,…..
Jack was wearing a heavy beard and sunglasses and Eleanor had a blond curly wig on with sunglasses and leopard print dominating her wardrobe. Marcus and Becca were in the backseat. The Jennings came out of their house together. The kids rushed off towards the school bus coming down the street.
"Fuck they ride the same bus," exclaimed Jack.
Marcus had binoculars out.
"Bus number 312," explained Marcus.
"Find out where that goes," replied Jack. "Make sure you're here at three. I want to know what time they get home."
Marcus was out of high school so his spying had become more involved in the past year.
"Dad, I think the daughter goes to my school. I think," offered Becca.
"Find out for a fact. Find out everything you can about her. You might need to play interference tomorrow. We need to separate the family. I need an hour window at the most," replied Jack.
Philip and Elizabeth got into their separate cars and drove off. They had looked distracted to Jack. They hadn't even noticed his sedan with the tinted windows. The Taylor's got out of their car and began to walk down the road together. Jack pointed out the Beeman's house.
"Next door neighbor, Stan Beeman. Fed. It's ok though. He comes and goes. Never here during the day. They might go to him but I doubt it. They'll approach us first. If they go to him first, we terminate the project. Make it look random. Shallow grave. Agreed?" asked Jack.
There were nods. Claudia had provided good cover for their surveillance. There was a house for sale down the street and they had an open house. They just looked like a family checking out a new house.
"Can you do this tomorrow?" asked Eleanor.
"I think so. As of right now we proceed."
…
The afternoon surveillance showed the kids got back at 3:30 and were home alone till at least five-fifteen. If Becca could pull off a distraction, Jack would have no problem. He met up with Claudia in a park that evening to let her know.
"We're going forward. This is easy. You're right. The parents are distracted. They won't see this coming,"
"I know it's a great risk to your family, Jack. I do appreciate this."
"How long do you want us to keep him?"
"As long as possible. Take him right to the edge and then give him back. If he survives the process of course. If not then you will have to eliminate Philip and Elizabeth. I hope it doesn't come to that."
"Me too."
"One more thing, Jack. I want someone else on this. You've worked with Sergei Zykov before right? I'd like him to learn how to do this. He can sleep on your couch. Please."
"He's a punk but fine. I know he has skill. Have him report to me at noon tomorrow. He can run interference with my kids. We're going to divide the family, ensure I have my window."
"Whatever you need to do, Jack. Just be ready for when Philip and Elizabeth reach out. Ok?"
"We will be."
They went their separate ways.
…
Sergei Zykov arrived at noon just as Jack had requested. He stepped into the house as soon as Jack entered the door.
"You're lucky I know who you are. I would have killed you if I didn't," warned Jack, closing the door.
"Claudia said you were expecting me," replied Zykov.
"I am. You know what this is?"
"Indoctrination. I'm excited. This is the shit you only hear about. I didn't know there were any active agents who could do it."
"I'm the only one. You're going with Marcus to run interference. My daughter has befriended the girl and convinced her to come to a club meeting after school today. Your job is the parents. Keep them in that office for as long as possible. I don't want to have them come home. If they do, the game is over. Everyone dies. Understand?"
"Yes, sir. You're the boss. I like the beard get up. Nice disguise."
Jack said nothing and nodded at Marcus who walked over. He had on a wig and thick glasses. Zykov would need a disguise.
"They might know who you are actually. So Marcus is going to give you a good one. Alright? Can you hide your accent?"
"Yes. I'm a field agent. I know what I'm doing," assured Zykov.
"Very well. Claudia sent reports on all four of the Jennings. Study those. Know who we're dealing with it. Marcus, get him a disguise."
Marcus took Zykov to get a disguise and Jack walked into the spare room off the kitchen. Inside Eleanor was attaching handcuffs to the radiator behind the mattress on the floor. There was a bucket in the corner. Indoctrination was not a pleasant experience for anyone.
"You ready?" asked Jack.
"Yes."
"Let's run through it again."
"Jack, for fuck's sake."
'Ellie, it needs to be perfect. As soon as I get back, we get him in here. We get him secured and blindfolded and wait for the chloroform to wear off. Then you feed him and afterwards start the drugs. By then I might be back at the Jennings house. If I call with word that things have gone to shit, you gave to kill him. Or have Zykov do it. We clear?"
"Yes. I know what to do, Jack."
"I know you do. We're going to be fine. We have the upper hand. Ok?"
He checked his watch. It was time to go.
"I'm going. I will call upon completion. Stay by the phone. Make sure Zykov and Marcus know what to do. Alright?"
Eleanor nodded. Jack put a hand on her cheek and then left without a word.
,,,,,,,,,
Jack had no problem gaining entry to the house. He knew all the tricks, any possible booby traps. Plus sleepers with children generally never booby-trapped the house. There had no cars in the driveway but Jack made a quick sweep of the house. If anyone was home early, he would kill them but he got lucky. The house was empty. He took a seat near the front door and waited. He was counting on everyone. Becca especially had to keep the daughter off the bus. If both of them walked through the door, that was it.
Jack had no problem waiting. Patience was a skill of his. He checked his watch every once and awhile. It was getting close. Eventually he heard the bus moving down the street. Jack stood up and went to the wall, waiting for the front door to open. He had the chloroform out and poured a nice bit of it on a rag. His timing would have to be perfect. He heard the front door open and the sound of keys in a metal dish. Jack closed his eyes and listened as the footsteps moved from the front door into the kitchen.
"After school. You're hungry," whispered Jack to himself.
Jack snapped to attention when he heard the doorbell ring. If that was a friend coming over to play or something, this was going to get ugly. He heard Henry move from the kitchen and open the front door. Jack's hand went to his gun.
"Hi, Henry.
It was a woman.
"Hello."
"Your parents aren't home yet?"
"Not yet."
"Ok. Will you let them know you're all invited to dinner? Stan will be home."
"Yeah sure."
"Thanks, Henry. You guys can come over whenever."
They said goodbye and Henry closed the door. Jack's hand left his gun and he heard Henry walk a few steps from the door. He heard a phone being picked up. Jack began to move. Henry's back was to him and he was slowly dialing a number. Jack closed the gap before Henry could finish dialing and had the cloth around his mouth and nose. He picked him up and although there was thrashing and kicking, Jack never lost his grip. He heard Henry screaming behind the cloth but eventually that subsided and he went limp in Jack's arms. Jack set him down gently and saw he was fast asleep. He checked his pulse and found it was steady. Good. He made his exit quickly. He had pulled his car into the garage. He put Henry in the trunk and closed it. He went back into the house, returned the phone to the receiver, and made sure the cloth with the chloroform was somewhere to be found. They had to find it at one point so they would reach out for help. With that Jack made his exit. No one noticed a strange car pulling out of the Jennings garage and managing to close it. No one ever paid attention in suburbia. Jack shot a glance over at the Beeman house as he left. He figured that it had been Stan's wife Sandra who had come to the door. There was no sign of her.