Title: Dark of Night
Author: Mai
Email: Maisfeeka@AOL.com
Feedback: Always nice
Distribution: Cover Me. Any others, just let me know, please.
Disclaimer: Alias and its characters do not belong to me. No
copyright infringement is intended here. Ree is mine.
Spoilers: Up through Higher Echelon
Summary: A little post -Higher Echelon Jack and Ree piece
Rating: PG
Classification: AU, Post Ep, OC
A/N: Thanks yet again to Karen T. and Tammy for their
fabulous beta work. :) (Especially the last minute ending beta so I could post it before the new ep aired!)
******************
It was late. 12:30, maybe 1:00 AM. She'd made her way down to her darkened kitchen to get a drink of something to soothe her parched throat. She didn't know why she'd woken up out of a sound sleep, but when she had, the thirst was something she couldn't make herself ignore. So here she stood, peering sleepily into the refrigerator, trying to choose between cranberry juice and water. She took a bottle of cranberry juice, opened it, and let the cool liquid trickle down her throat.
God, that felt good. The Mexican food she'd had for dinner had been delicious, but a little too spicy. She closed up the bottle and slipped it back onto its shelf in the refrigerator.
He was there in the shadows when she turned around. His hand was over her mouth before she could even take a breath.
"Shh..." he whispered, but by then her body had recognized his.
"Jack," she murmured and pressed herself closer to him. The tension in his body told her that something was terribly wrong. She moved away slightly and looked up at him with a question in her eyes. "What's wrong?"
He pulled her into an even darker area of the room. "I don't have much time, Ree. This is the first place they'll look for me."
Her eyes widened in shock. "Look for you? What do you mean? Jack?"
In the dim light, he could see her face pale, and he cursed himself again for making her a part of this. Almost without his noticing it, his hands slid down her arm until their fingers linked together. Even now he couldn't seem to keep his hands off of her, to be near her without touching her. Damn it, Bristow, focus!
"I just left Arvin Sloane's house. By now he's contacted a woman named Ariana Kane to tell her he's seen me. He will undoubtedly tell her about you -- about our ... that I might be able to be found here. Or barring that, that you may know where I've gone."
"Where you've gone?" She was struggling to keep up, but knew she had to be missing several vital pieces of information. "Gone, Jack? What's happened? And where are you going?"
"I don't have time to give you the details --"
"Then tell me what you can." She was scared now. She'd never seen him like this before, contained and incredibly focused, but with a slightly frantic air.
He was silent for a long moment, motionless except for the tightening of his hand around hers. "This woman -- Ariana Kane -- has convinced Sloane that I murdered Emily, his wife. If they take me in..."
She understood immediately. "God, Jack." She wrapped her free arm around him and buried her face in his chest. He held her to him with a strength that was almost bruising, and for another moment they just stood there, giving and taking comfort from each other.
"The CIA!" Ree said suddenly, pulling back and looking up at him, but Jack shook his head firmly.
"I can't," he told her. "They're... they'll be looking for me too." He closed his eyes so he couldn't see her reaction to his news. "I murdered someone."
A gasp was her only response.
He disengaged himself from her and took a step back, turning away before she could reject him. "Do you remember that night? When you dreamed that I'd killed someone?"
"And you told me you had," she responded. "You told me he'd put Sydney in danger and that once you'd gotten the information you needed out of him, you... killed him."
"I murdered him," Jack said bluntly, already feeling the loss of her. "I got what I wanted and I killed him. He was a mole, but he was also a CIA operative. He might have had information the agency could have used, but... I lost control... I killed him in cold blood for what he had done to my daughter."
"Jack," she began and took a step towards him, but he held her off.
"I never told them, Ree. I covered it up. If I'd gone to them, they might have found a way to let it go -- called it extreme stress... something." He shook his head. "But I was on thin ice with them already and if I'd been detained, I could have lost Sydney. And then afterwards... the time passed when I could have said something, so I never did."
He held himself rigidly, unable to face her, knowing that at any moment she was going to turn away from him for good. "And today they found out. I don't know if Vaughn's reported it yet, but if he hasn't, it won't be long until he does."
"What are we going to do?" Ree asked quietly.
He looked at her sharply. "We? We aren't going to do anything. I am going to disappear for a while until I can get some of this straightened out. You are going to stay here and pretend you never saw me tonight."
"I want to go with you."
"Out of the question." His tone brooked no objections. "Now listen. I don't know who or how many or which side, but people will be coming to talk to you. Be honest about the other times we've been together, but tell them you haven't seen me since I left for work today -- yesterday, now," he corrected himself. "Both sides will be watching you and the house. If the CIA feels that Sloane's people are a concern, they'll make some excuse to bring you in. Go with them. They may hold you, but at least they won't torture or kill you."
"You're scaring me, Jack."
He went to her then and took her face in his hands. "I want you to be scared. This isn't a game, Ree. These people are serious."
She squirmed out of his grasp and away from him, planting herself firmly with her hands on her hips. "Don't patronize me, Jack," she said angrily. "I know it's not a goddamned game! I was an agent for eight years, and I'm not a complete idiot."
"I know. I didn't mean..." He shook his head again, trying to find the right thing to say, but failing. "Actually, I'm amazed you haven't thrown me out by now," he said finally.
"Because you killed that weasel?" Ree hissed. "Damn it, Jack, don't you know me better than that by now? I knew about him when it happened. It isn't news to me. Granted, I thought you'd reported it, explained the circumstances, but God, Jack -- it's not like you were out killing children and old ladies for the fun of it!"
She looked down at the floor and forced herself to take a deep breath and calm down before she gave in to the urge to start throwing things. "I'm scared for you, Jack," she said finally. "I love you and I'm terrified that something will happen to you, and I'll never see you again."
"I'll be back as soon as I can," he said quietly.
"Not good enough, Jack. I want promises -- guarantees!"
"I can't give them to you."
"I know, goddamnit, I know!" To her dismay she found herself on the verge of tears. She reached for him blindly, and he took her into his arms. They clung to each other, both hoping -- praying -- it wouldn't be the last time they would be so close.
"Promise me one thing," she whispered into his ear.
"If I can."
"If you have to leave for good. if you can't fix things...?"
He waited.
"Promise me you will come back and take me with you? Don't leave me here alone without you. I couldn't bear it."
He held her to him even more tightly. "It won't come to that."
She leaned back enough to be able to look into his eyes. "But if it does..."
"If it does... I promise you that I will try to come back for you," he replied, knowing it was a promise he wouldn't keep.
"All right then," she said and kissed him.
The kiss quickly went beyond tender and gentle. All their anxiety and anger came out in what both feared might be their last kiss.
Jack pulled himself away reluctantly. "I have to go. I shouldn't have stayed this long -- probably shouldn't have come at all, but..."
"But?"
"I needed to see you -- needed you," he admitted reluctantly.
She smiled slightly through her tears. "Go," she told him. "But you come back to me, Jack Bristow. I love you."
"I know," he said quietly. "And you know..." He let his eyes tell her what he couldn't quite make himself say out loud.
"I know," she said. "Now go quickly."
And he was gone -- another silent shadow in the night.
She let the tears come then -- indulged herself for a few minutes before pulling herself together. Then she crossed to the sink and splashed some water on her face. "All right," she said to herself. "Let them come."
And she went upstairs to wait.
******* Her phone rang at about 5 AM.
"Ree? This is Arvin Sloane. I'm sorry to bother you so early in the morning, but we have a bit of a problem here. Is Jack there?"
"No, I'm sorry, he's not," Ree said politely. "I haven't seen him since yesterday morning. Is there something I can help you with?" It killed her to have to be nice to this man, to pretend she didn't think he was a disgusting worm.
"It's very important that I find Jack as soon as possible." He sighed on the other end of the line. "Truthfully, Ree, Jack could be in a great deal of trouble. There was a problem with some... accounts... at the bank. Accounts Jack was in charge of. He knew he was going to be questioned about them and, well... he seems to have. fled."
"Jack? I can't believe Jack would do anything inappropriate!"
"I know, I know," Sloane said soothingly. "I'm sure it's all some mistake. But you must understand how this looks. I've been able to cover for him so far, but I'm afraid if he's not at the office first thing this morning..." He let his voice trail off sadly.
Right. Sure, you covered for him, you sanctimonious bastard, Ree thought to herself.
"Do you have any idea where he might be?" Sloane asked.
"Honestly, Arvin," Ree said, lying through her teeth, "if anyone else had called to ask me that, I would have told them to check with you. You're his friend. He trusts you. If he needed help, you're the person he would turn to. And if he hasn't... I'm afraid something might have happened to him."
There was a long silence on the other end. Then finally Sloane spoke again. "If you do hear from him --"
"I'll tell him to get in touch with you right away."
"Good enough."
She sat there listening to the dial tone and hoping that wherever Jack was, he was safe.
********
Sloane hung up the phone then immediately dialed again. "Agent Kane, send a team to pick up Ms. Ash. You have the address."
"Is Jack there?"
"No," Sloane said slowly, "but she might be just the bait we need to draw him out. Sydney would be better, but I need her expertise just now."
"You realize that if we bring Ms. Ash in, we may not be able to release her."
Sloane shrugged. "I've had people killed before for less cause. Bring her in."
*******
"Sir?"
Kendall turned around to see a junior agent standing nervously in the doorway. "Yes?"
"We just intercepted a call to Ms. Ash's residence from Arvin Sloane."
"And?"
"Sir, we believe he may try to bring her in. A team from Security Section has been mobilized."
Kendall's eyes narrowed. "Damn... send a car for her immediately -- divert someone nearby -- LAPD if you need to. Have one of her usual contacts call her ASAP. Tell her we have an urgent need for her talents here. Bring her directly to me when she arrives."
"And if she doesn't want to come?"
"Persuade her."
********
"Ms. Ash has just entered the building, sir. She'll be here momentarily."
"Good. Any difficulties?"
"No, sir. She came along without a problem."
"Any sign of SD-6?"
"No, sir. No sign of them."
"Good."
The junior agent hesitated briefly, but Kendall had turned his attention back to his monitor.
A short time later Ree stood in his doorway, discreetly flanked by Vaughn.
"Rhiannon, nice to see you."
She raised an eyebrow. "Agent Kendall. So, what's this urgent case you needed my services on?"
Kendall crossed his arms and perched one hip on the edge of the desk. "Let's not play games, Rhiannon. I think we both know why you're here."
She cocked her head to one side, "I'm assuming by "we" you're referring to you and Agent Vaughn? I'm certainly at a loss."
Kendall's eyes hardened. "Where's Jack, Rhiannon? It's important that we get to him before SD-6 does."
A look of sadness crossed her face. "I don't know. I wish I did." She sighed and met his eyes directly. "Now, what's all this about?"
"Come off it, Rhiannon!" Kendall rose impatiently, running a hand over his head. "You expect me to believe Jack didn't contact you before he went under?"
"I'm not asking you to believe anything. I'm asking you to tell me what's going on."
"You can stand there and honestly tell me you have no idea what this is about?"
Ree rolled her eyes at him. "I'm not stupid. Clearly, Jack's disappeared for some reason. Just as clearly, it has something to do with SD-6, which I'm assuming is the organization you have Jack infiltrating -- and do you realize the danger you put me in by telling me that sort of information? Let that go for now," she said, holding up a hand to stop his response, "we'll worry about it later. So... Jack's gone, the other agency is after him, and he didn't come here for cover, which suggests one of two things. Either he believes there's a leak and he'd be in danger here or the CIA wants to question him about something he'd rather not be questioned about. I'm here because you think I have information on where to find him. Or, just possibly, because you think I might be in danger. Accurate?"
"Very. Almost too accurate," Kendall said curtly.
"Good. Then how about telling me something I haven't figured out from our little games."
"Did you see or speak to Jack Bristow last night?"
"No."
"You're lying."
Ree raised her hands helplessly, "You can't get blood from a stone, Terry. There's no way you can get information out of me that I don't have."
"Damn it, Rhiannon! Jack murdered someone. He needs to answer for that!"
Ree made no response. Kendall moved closer, reading her face. "You knew. God damn it! You knew about the murder, didn't you?"
Ree's face didn't change in the slightest. "What do you want from me, Kendall?"
"The truth, goddamnit!"
"The truth is that I have no information which would be useful to you. Believe that or not as you choose."
Kendall turned his back on her and took a few steps away to cool himself down. When he faced her again he was more composed. "What I don't understand is why you're covering for him. Jack Bristow is. not a nice man."
"You're right. He's not," Ree answered, surprising both Kendall and Vaughn. "Jack Bristow is not a nice person. There's an awful lot of gray in his world. Areas that we see as black and white he doesn't see that way. And whose fault is that?"
She took a deep breath before continuing. "Jack Bristow was recruited into the CIA when he was 17 years old. Seventeen." She turned to Agent Vaughn. "Do you know how old he was when he killed for the first time? He was one month shy of his 18th birthday. These days at that age he wouldn't be allowed to drink or vote or smoke. He'd barely be old enough to drive. But the CIA figured he was old enough to kill. And in cold blood, no less. He was deep behind enemy lines -- they couldn't let the man go free, but they couldn't take him with them either. So Jack Bristow was given a direct order to kill the man. And he did." She made her hand into a gun and pointed it at Agent Vaughn. "One shot through the forehead. How old were you the first time you killed a man, Agent Vaughn?"
Vaughn was taken aback by her question, but Ree was already moving on before he could decide what to answer -- or if to answer.
"He has worked as an agent of the CIA for almost 36 years. Twenty years of that as a double agent. He has lied, stolen, tortured, and killed for his government and to protect his status within the organization he was ordered to infiltrate. That's what he was taught to do and that's what he was ordered to do by the very government which is now unhappy because the methods they taught him to use don't suit them!"
She took another steadying breath and forced herself to calm down. "No. Jack Bristow is not a nice man. But he is a good man. He has done what he felt he had to do to protect himself and his country and his daughter in a number of impossible situations. A lesser man wouldn't have survived, much less completed the objectives he was required to. I would trust him with my life." She looked up at Kendall. "You and I go back a long way, Terry. You know me and you know my instincts. Do you honestly think I'd be involved with Jack Bristow if he was a monster?"
"No one is suggesting he's a monster, Rhiannon." Kendall said placatingly. "But the bottom line is that there are things he has to answer for. Things we need him to explain, if you will. And until all that has been straightened out..." He shrugged.
Ree sighed. "Fine. Well then. what are the odds of my finding an aspirin and a bed in this place?"
"A bed?" Vaughn asked.
She glanced over at him, "I assume you're not going to let me go home..."
"Well... no. We don't feel that we could assure your safety --"
"Yeah, yeah," she interrupted, "I know the speech. But I'm exhausted, and I have a killer headache. I have no useful information for you, so you might as well let me catch a little sleep."
"Late night conversation keep you up?" Kendall asked snidely.
"I don't sleep so well when Jack's not with me," she retorted.
Kendall snorted then moved into the doorway to beckon another agent over. "Take Ms. Ash to a room where she can get some sleep and get her a couple of aspirin. Post a guard at the door to make sure she doesn't... wander off somewhere."
Ree rolled her eyes.
"If you'd prefer, I'm sure we could make space where Derevko is being held," he growled.
"Oh, now that would win you points with Jack when he returns."
Kendall smiled in spite of himself. "You know, Rhiannon --"
"I know, I know. I should have been born with red hair." She threw him a mock salute and accompanied the other agent out of the room.
Kendall watched her go, shaking his head. "She's a real piece of work, isn't she, Mr. Vaughn."
"I'll say." His forehead wrinkled as he turned towards Kendall. "Red hair, sir?"
"The temper. I used to tell her that if she had red hair at least people would have fair warning."
Vaughn's lips quirked into a half smile. "I see what you mean."
There was silence for a moment.
"Do you really think Jack went to see her before he went under?"
"No doubt in my mind," Kendall said firmly. "It's why she came in with no questions. He'd have told her we'd protect her."
Vaughn shook his head. "I don't know. It seems like it would be out of character for him."
"That's because you haven't seen them together, Mr. Vaughn. When you do, you'll understand." He tilted his head and looked at Vaughn sharply. "Or maybe you do now. Is there anybody you'd risk going to see before you disappeared?"
Vaughn flushed slightly and looked away.
"That's what I thought. Now... let's go see how we're doing at tracking down the elusive Jack Bristow."
********************** The End . for now.
Author: Mai
Email: Maisfeeka@AOL.com
Feedback: Always nice
Distribution: Cover Me. Any others, just let me know, please.
Disclaimer: Alias and its characters do not belong to me. No
copyright infringement is intended here. Ree is mine.
Spoilers: Up through Higher Echelon
Summary: A little post -Higher Echelon Jack and Ree piece
Rating: PG
Classification: AU, Post Ep, OC
A/N: Thanks yet again to Karen T. and Tammy for their
fabulous beta work. :) (Especially the last minute ending beta so I could post it before the new ep aired!)
******************
It was late. 12:30, maybe 1:00 AM. She'd made her way down to her darkened kitchen to get a drink of something to soothe her parched throat. She didn't know why she'd woken up out of a sound sleep, but when she had, the thirst was something she couldn't make herself ignore. So here she stood, peering sleepily into the refrigerator, trying to choose between cranberry juice and water. She took a bottle of cranberry juice, opened it, and let the cool liquid trickle down her throat.
God, that felt good. The Mexican food she'd had for dinner had been delicious, but a little too spicy. She closed up the bottle and slipped it back onto its shelf in the refrigerator.
He was there in the shadows when she turned around. His hand was over her mouth before she could even take a breath.
"Shh..." he whispered, but by then her body had recognized his.
"Jack," she murmured and pressed herself closer to him. The tension in his body told her that something was terribly wrong. She moved away slightly and looked up at him with a question in her eyes. "What's wrong?"
He pulled her into an even darker area of the room. "I don't have much time, Ree. This is the first place they'll look for me."
Her eyes widened in shock. "Look for you? What do you mean? Jack?"
In the dim light, he could see her face pale, and he cursed himself again for making her a part of this. Almost without his noticing it, his hands slid down her arm until their fingers linked together. Even now he couldn't seem to keep his hands off of her, to be near her without touching her. Damn it, Bristow, focus!
"I just left Arvin Sloane's house. By now he's contacted a woman named Ariana Kane to tell her he's seen me. He will undoubtedly tell her about you -- about our ... that I might be able to be found here. Or barring that, that you may know where I've gone."
"Where you've gone?" She was struggling to keep up, but knew she had to be missing several vital pieces of information. "Gone, Jack? What's happened? And where are you going?"
"I don't have time to give you the details --"
"Then tell me what you can." She was scared now. She'd never seen him like this before, contained and incredibly focused, but with a slightly frantic air.
He was silent for a long moment, motionless except for the tightening of his hand around hers. "This woman -- Ariana Kane -- has convinced Sloane that I murdered Emily, his wife. If they take me in..."
She understood immediately. "God, Jack." She wrapped her free arm around him and buried her face in his chest. He held her to him with a strength that was almost bruising, and for another moment they just stood there, giving and taking comfort from each other.
"The CIA!" Ree said suddenly, pulling back and looking up at him, but Jack shook his head firmly.
"I can't," he told her. "They're... they'll be looking for me too." He closed his eyes so he couldn't see her reaction to his news. "I murdered someone."
A gasp was her only response.
He disengaged himself from her and took a step back, turning away before she could reject him. "Do you remember that night? When you dreamed that I'd killed someone?"
"And you told me you had," she responded. "You told me he'd put Sydney in danger and that once you'd gotten the information you needed out of him, you... killed him."
"I murdered him," Jack said bluntly, already feeling the loss of her. "I got what I wanted and I killed him. He was a mole, but he was also a CIA operative. He might have had information the agency could have used, but... I lost control... I killed him in cold blood for what he had done to my daughter."
"Jack," she began and took a step towards him, but he held her off.
"I never told them, Ree. I covered it up. If I'd gone to them, they might have found a way to let it go -- called it extreme stress... something." He shook his head. "But I was on thin ice with them already and if I'd been detained, I could have lost Sydney. And then afterwards... the time passed when I could have said something, so I never did."
He held himself rigidly, unable to face her, knowing that at any moment she was going to turn away from him for good. "And today they found out. I don't know if Vaughn's reported it yet, but if he hasn't, it won't be long until he does."
"What are we going to do?" Ree asked quietly.
He looked at her sharply. "We? We aren't going to do anything. I am going to disappear for a while until I can get some of this straightened out. You are going to stay here and pretend you never saw me tonight."
"I want to go with you."
"Out of the question." His tone brooked no objections. "Now listen. I don't know who or how many or which side, but people will be coming to talk to you. Be honest about the other times we've been together, but tell them you haven't seen me since I left for work today -- yesterday, now," he corrected himself. "Both sides will be watching you and the house. If the CIA feels that Sloane's people are a concern, they'll make some excuse to bring you in. Go with them. They may hold you, but at least they won't torture or kill you."
"You're scaring me, Jack."
He went to her then and took her face in his hands. "I want you to be scared. This isn't a game, Ree. These people are serious."
She squirmed out of his grasp and away from him, planting herself firmly with her hands on her hips. "Don't patronize me, Jack," she said angrily. "I know it's not a goddamned game! I was an agent for eight years, and I'm not a complete idiot."
"I know. I didn't mean..." He shook his head again, trying to find the right thing to say, but failing. "Actually, I'm amazed you haven't thrown me out by now," he said finally.
"Because you killed that weasel?" Ree hissed. "Damn it, Jack, don't you know me better than that by now? I knew about him when it happened. It isn't news to me. Granted, I thought you'd reported it, explained the circumstances, but God, Jack -- it's not like you were out killing children and old ladies for the fun of it!"
She looked down at the floor and forced herself to take a deep breath and calm down before she gave in to the urge to start throwing things. "I'm scared for you, Jack," she said finally. "I love you and I'm terrified that something will happen to you, and I'll never see you again."
"I'll be back as soon as I can," he said quietly.
"Not good enough, Jack. I want promises -- guarantees!"
"I can't give them to you."
"I know, goddamnit, I know!" To her dismay she found herself on the verge of tears. She reached for him blindly, and he took her into his arms. They clung to each other, both hoping -- praying -- it wouldn't be the last time they would be so close.
"Promise me one thing," she whispered into his ear.
"If I can."
"If you have to leave for good. if you can't fix things...?"
He waited.
"Promise me you will come back and take me with you? Don't leave me here alone without you. I couldn't bear it."
He held her to him even more tightly. "It won't come to that."
She leaned back enough to be able to look into his eyes. "But if it does..."
"If it does... I promise you that I will try to come back for you," he replied, knowing it was a promise he wouldn't keep.
"All right then," she said and kissed him.
The kiss quickly went beyond tender and gentle. All their anxiety and anger came out in what both feared might be their last kiss.
Jack pulled himself away reluctantly. "I have to go. I shouldn't have stayed this long -- probably shouldn't have come at all, but..."
"But?"
"I needed to see you -- needed you," he admitted reluctantly.
She smiled slightly through her tears. "Go," she told him. "But you come back to me, Jack Bristow. I love you."
"I know," he said quietly. "And you know..." He let his eyes tell her what he couldn't quite make himself say out loud.
"I know," she said. "Now go quickly."
And he was gone -- another silent shadow in the night.
She let the tears come then -- indulged herself for a few minutes before pulling herself together. Then she crossed to the sink and splashed some water on her face. "All right," she said to herself. "Let them come."
And she went upstairs to wait.
******* Her phone rang at about 5 AM.
"Ree? This is Arvin Sloane. I'm sorry to bother you so early in the morning, but we have a bit of a problem here. Is Jack there?"
"No, I'm sorry, he's not," Ree said politely. "I haven't seen him since yesterday morning. Is there something I can help you with?" It killed her to have to be nice to this man, to pretend she didn't think he was a disgusting worm.
"It's very important that I find Jack as soon as possible." He sighed on the other end of the line. "Truthfully, Ree, Jack could be in a great deal of trouble. There was a problem with some... accounts... at the bank. Accounts Jack was in charge of. He knew he was going to be questioned about them and, well... he seems to have. fled."
"Jack? I can't believe Jack would do anything inappropriate!"
"I know, I know," Sloane said soothingly. "I'm sure it's all some mistake. But you must understand how this looks. I've been able to cover for him so far, but I'm afraid if he's not at the office first thing this morning..." He let his voice trail off sadly.
Right. Sure, you covered for him, you sanctimonious bastard, Ree thought to herself.
"Do you have any idea where he might be?" Sloane asked.
"Honestly, Arvin," Ree said, lying through her teeth, "if anyone else had called to ask me that, I would have told them to check with you. You're his friend. He trusts you. If he needed help, you're the person he would turn to. And if he hasn't... I'm afraid something might have happened to him."
There was a long silence on the other end. Then finally Sloane spoke again. "If you do hear from him --"
"I'll tell him to get in touch with you right away."
"Good enough."
She sat there listening to the dial tone and hoping that wherever Jack was, he was safe.
********
Sloane hung up the phone then immediately dialed again. "Agent Kane, send a team to pick up Ms. Ash. You have the address."
"Is Jack there?"
"No," Sloane said slowly, "but she might be just the bait we need to draw him out. Sydney would be better, but I need her expertise just now."
"You realize that if we bring Ms. Ash in, we may not be able to release her."
Sloane shrugged. "I've had people killed before for less cause. Bring her in."
*******
"Sir?"
Kendall turned around to see a junior agent standing nervously in the doorway. "Yes?"
"We just intercepted a call to Ms. Ash's residence from Arvin Sloane."
"And?"
"Sir, we believe he may try to bring her in. A team from Security Section has been mobilized."
Kendall's eyes narrowed. "Damn... send a car for her immediately -- divert someone nearby -- LAPD if you need to. Have one of her usual contacts call her ASAP. Tell her we have an urgent need for her talents here. Bring her directly to me when she arrives."
"And if she doesn't want to come?"
"Persuade her."
********
"Ms. Ash has just entered the building, sir. She'll be here momentarily."
"Good. Any difficulties?"
"No, sir. She came along without a problem."
"Any sign of SD-6?"
"No, sir. No sign of them."
"Good."
The junior agent hesitated briefly, but Kendall had turned his attention back to his monitor.
A short time later Ree stood in his doorway, discreetly flanked by Vaughn.
"Rhiannon, nice to see you."
She raised an eyebrow. "Agent Kendall. So, what's this urgent case you needed my services on?"
Kendall crossed his arms and perched one hip on the edge of the desk. "Let's not play games, Rhiannon. I think we both know why you're here."
She cocked her head to one side, "I'm assuming by "we" you're referring to you and Agent Vaughn? I'm certainly at a loss."
Kendall's eyes hardened. "Where's Jack, Rhiannon? It's important that we get to him before SD-6 does."
A look of sadness crossed her face. "I don't know. I wish I did." She sighed and met his eyes directly. "Now, what's all this about?"
"Come off it, Rhiannon!" Kendall rose impatiently, running a hand over his head. "You expect me to believe Jack didn't contact you before he went under?"
"I'm not asking you to believe anything. I'm asking you to tell me what's going on."
"You can stand there and honestly tell me you have no idea what this is about?"
Ree rolled her eyes at him. "I'm not stupid. Clearly, Jack's disappeared for some reason. Just as clearly, it has something to do with SD-6, which I'm assuming is the organization you have Jack infiltrating -- and do you realize the danger you put me in by telling me that sort of information? Let that go for now," she said, holding up a hand to stop his response, "we'll worry about it later. So... Jack's gone, the other agency is after him, and he didn't come here for cover, which suggests one of two things. Either he believes there's a leak and he'd be in danger here or the CIA wants to question him about something he'd rather not be questioned about. I'm here because you think I have information on where to find him. Or, just possibly, because you think I might be in danger. Accurate?"
"Very. Almost too accurate," Kendall said curtly.
"Good. Then how about telling me something I haven't figured out from our little games."
"Did you see or speak to Jack Bristow last night?"
"No."
"You're lying."
Ree raised her hands helplessly, "You can't get blood from a stone, Terry. There's no way you can get information out of me that I don't have."
"Damn it, Rhiannon! Jack murdered someone. He needs to answer for that!"
Ree made no response. Kendall moved closer, reading her face. "You knew. God damn it! You knew about the murder, didn't you?"
Ree's face didn't change in the slightest. "What do you want from me, Kendall?"
"The truth, goddamnit!"
"The truth is that I have no information which would be useful to you. Believe that or not as you choose."
Kendall turned his back on her and took a few steps away to cool himself down. When he faced her again he was more composed. "What I don't understand is why you're covering for him. Jack Bristow is. not a nice man."
"You're right. He's not," Ree answered, surprising both Kendall and Vaughn. "Jack Bristow is not a nice person. There's an awful lot of gray in his world. Areas that we see as black and white he doesn't see that way. And whose fault is that?"
She took a deep breath before continuing. "Jack Bristow was recruited into the CIA when he was 17 years old. Seventeen." She turned to Agent Vaughn. "Do you know how old he was when he killed for the first time? He was one month shy of his 18th birthday. These days at that age he wouldn't be allowed to drink or vote or smoke. He'd barely be old enough to drive. But the CIA figured he was old enough to kill. And in cold blood, no less. He was deep behind enemy lines -- they couldn't let the man go free, but they couldn't take him with them either. So Jack Bristow was given a direct order to kill the man. And he did." She made her hand into a gun and pointed it at Agent Vaughn. "One shot through the forehead. How old were you the first time you killed a man, Agent Vaughn?"
Vaughn was taken aback by her question, but Ree was already moving on before he could decide what to answer -- or if to answer.
"He has worked as an agent of the CIA for almost 36 years. Twenty years of that as a double agent. He has lied, stolen, tortured, and killed for his government and to protect his status within the organization he was ordered to infiltrate. That's what he was taught to do and that's what he was ordered to do by the very government which is now unhappy because the methods they taught him to use don't suit them!"
She took another steadying breath and forced herself to calm down. "No. Jack Bristow is not a nice man. But he is a good man. He has done what he felt he had to do to protect himself and his country and his daughter in a number of impossible situations. A lesser man wouldn't have survived, much less completed the objectives he was required to. I would trust him with my life." She looked up at Kendall. "You and I go back a long way, Terry. You know me and you know my instincts. Do you honestly think I'd be involved with Jack Bristow if he was a monster?"
"No one is suggesting he's a monster, Rhiannon." Kendall said placatingly. "But the bottom line is that there are things he has to answer for. Things we need him to explain, if you will. And until all that has been straightened out..." He shrugged.
Ree sighed. "Fine. Well then. what are the odds of my finding an aspirin and a bed in this place?"
"A bed?" Vaughn asked.
She glanced over at him, "I assume you're not going to let me go home..."
"Well... no. We don't feel that we could assure your safety --"
"Yeah, yeah," she interrupted, "I know the speech. But I'm exhausted, and I have a killer headache. I have no useful information for you, so you might as well let me catch a little sleep."
"Late night conversation keep you up?" Kendall asked snidely.
"I don't sleep so well when Jack's not with me," she retorted.
Kendall snorted then moved into the doorway to beckon another agent over. "Take Ms. Ash to a room where she can get some sleep and get her a couple of aspirin. Post a guard at the door to make sure she doesn't... wander off somewhere."
Ree rolled her eyes.
"If you'd prefer, I'm sure we could make space where Derevko is being held," he growled.
"Oh, now that would win you points with Jack when he returns."
Kendall smiled in spite of himself. "You know, Rhiannon --"
"I know, I know. I should have been born with red hair." She threw him a mock salute and accompanied the other agent out of the room.
Kendall watched her go, shaking his head. "She's a real piece of work, isn't she, Mr. Vaughn."
"I'll say." His forehead wrinkled as he turned towards Kendall. "Red hair, sir?"
"The temper. I used to tell her that if she had red hair at least people would have fair warning."
Vaughn's lips quirked into a half smile. "I see what you mean."
There was silence for a moment.
"Do you really think Jack went to see her before he went under?"
"No doubt in my mind," Kendall said firmly. "It's why she came in with no questions. He'd have told her we'd protect her."
Vaughn shook his head. "I don't know. It seems like it would be out of character for him."
"That's because you haven't seen them together, Mr. Vaughn. When you do, you'll understand." He tilted his head and looked at Vaughn sharply. "Or maybe you do now. Is there anybody you'd risk going to see before you disappeared?"
Vaughn flushed slightly and looked away.
"That's what I thought. Now... let's go see how we're doing at tracking down the elusive Jack Bristow."
********************** The End . for now.