The Bourne Vengeance

Prologue: Family Matters

A/N: This fic is in many ways, the magnum opus of my Bourne fics, since it's the longest, most elaborate one I've written and I've been working at it for months. This fic is essentially a loose sequel of sorts to The Bourne Identity novel by Ludlum, so I'd highly recommend you read that before you read this story. Its set in the present day however, so therefore I've had to take a few liberties with the timeline, but the essence of the Identity story has been preserved. There will also be references to the other Ludlum books and Lustbader continuation novels, and therefore, mild SPOILERS.

Ontario, Canada

Today, he was not Jason Bourne.

He was not the legendary assassin; a myth who had left a trail of corpses stretching across the globe. He was not the nemesis, and eventual vanquisher, of Carlos the Jackal. He was not the one-time elite CIA operative, the product of Alexander Conklin's Treadstone project.

Today, he was David Webb. A widower twice over. A father to two children.

A ghost of a man who was.

But ghost or no ghost, he had to concentrate. He had to focus. He had to be that man again, if only for a short while. If only for the sake of his son and his daughter.

Jamie and Allison.

It was the anniversary of Marie's death and he knew he simply could not put off this visit. He had already missed both of the children's birthdays, much to their disappointment...and much to the chagrin of his brother-in-law, Johnny St. Jacques.

Johnny had never really understood why the kids couldn't live with him. Or why he couldn't even visit them regularly. But then, few men understood him and the world he lived in. A world which could not be allowed to touch Jamie and Allison Webb's reasonably normal existence.

There was a time when he'd said it was for the children's protection. He had too many enemies, known and unknown. Any moment, some nemesis from a forgotten past might resurface and target his family...hence the need to keep the family at a safe distance, and then some...

But over the last few years he'd wondered if that was truly the answer. After all, his greatest enemy, Carlos, was dead. Severus Domna, the secret cabal he'd most recently thwarted, was in no state to initiate any kind of activity. The Secretary of State who'd wanted him dead had been discredited and was now in federal prison. And furthermore, he was entitled to all the protection he could ever want, both for himself and for the kids! The men in Washington might have hated him, wanted nothing more than to forget he ever existed, but they were still entitled, morally and legally, to protect him and his family if asked.

No, the real reason was himself.

After Marie's death, he slowly but surely come to the horrifying realisation that he wasn't David Webb. He had been Webb in a forgotten lifetime. He had been Webb for Marie's sake, but with her passing, it seemed that Webb had lost his sense of purpose, his will to exist. He found himself living and breathing a lie-the lie of the mild-mannered academic, the Georgetown University professor and linguistics expert. Above all, the lie of a so-called 'family man'...

And in stark contrast, the shadow world of Jason Bourne became increasingly more real, increasingly more vivid, with each passing day. There was an emptiness inside him now, a void which could never be filled, and the thrill of action and the shock of adrenaline at least briefly relieved him of his psychological aches. In the field, where one was perpetually a hair's breadth away from death, there was no time to brood; to reflect on who one was and what one's purpose was...There was only one thought, one goal-survival.

But whatever else he had forgotten, he knew he could never truly afford to forget he had a family. Hence the irregular, but necessary, visits to the St. Jacques family ranch in Ontario.

His latest visit, which began around three days ago, was now at an end. And as he kissed his daughter goodbye, his son asked him, yet again, the one question which it always pained him to answer.

"Why do you have to leave, Dad?" Jamie Webb asked.

He sighed. As always, there was no easy answer...none that was completely true in any case. So he lied, "Because I have to get back to work".

"Where? You're not teaching at the university anymore are you?" Jamie asked.

"No", he replied.

"Are...are people trying to kill you Dad?" Jamie asked anxiously.

There...he had said it. The one thing they had both carefully skirted over in all their conversations. There was no denying it of course. Jamie had once experienced first-hand the innate tensions and dangers of Jason Bourne's shadow world. Allison thankfully had been too young to recollect anything...

"Don't worry", he said, trying hard to give his son a reassuring smile. "I can take care of myself. And Uncle John will take care of you". He knelt down to his son and gently touched his face. "You're safe here...both you and Allison. You have nothing to be afraid of".

And with those words, David Webb picked up his overnight bag and prepared to leave.

As he made his way to his hired car, parked out front, he nodded at Agent Johnson whom he passed near the front door. Johnson was the latest Canadian Intelligence operative assigned as head of the security detail protecting the St. Jacques ranch. Marie St. Jacques had been one of the Canadian government's finest economists and Ottawa, mindful of all she had been through, was therefore more than willing to ensure the security of her children.

Johnny was leaning against his car. When he approached, the two men faced each other, in a scene born of futility they had both enacted countless times in the last few years.

"I don't suppose there's any point in asking you to stay a bit longer", Johnny said.

He didn't answer that. He couldn't. Neither did he want to put it plainly in words, nor did Johnny truly want to hear the words uttered.

Johnny sighed. "Dammit David. You know I love the kids...I don't mind them being here in the least. But...they've already lost their mother. These kids need to know they have a father. And it's going to take more than the occasional visit to convince them of that!"

"You know I wish it wasn't this way Johnny", he said.

"Yeah I know. But think about it David. These kids are going to be in danger anyway just by virtue of being...your kids. It's not as though they're going to be any less safe with you. Or in more danger...whichever way you look at it!"

"Not really Johnny", he replied. "Not all my...enemies...are madmen like Carlos. Some of them have families, loved ones, of their own. They...understand...the need for certain things to remain inviolate...as far as possible". He paused and added, "Bottom line is, they won't target the kids unless absolutely necessary for them. And the chances of that happening are exponentially lesser if I keep away".

Johnny still did not look convinced. "You know David...don't think I don't know what this is all about. Your whole dual identity thing...Jekyll and Hyde. But remember, you can call yourself David Webb, Jason Bourne or any goddamn thing you like, it doesn't change the fact that these are your kids. They are your blood. And your place will always be with them".

"Bye Johnny", he said, anxious to put an end to this conversation. Johnny was right of course...and there was nothing else to do but run away from here. Run away from this realisation. Run...like he'd been running for as far back as he could remember.

And as the car pulled out of the drive-way, David Webb vanished from the face of the earth, and Jason Bourne was reborn yet again...

A/N: The story starts proper in the next chapter...