Disclaimer: Hi, I do not own Alias or the characters… or come to mention it Rambaldi, the plot (as thru season 5), or…well, any of it really. I am however, the proud creator of this fan-fic. So besides for a few of the plot additions or something here or there, I don't own any of it. Also this chapter is taken from a monologue Sloane had with Jack in the episode, Spirit (Season 1 episode 10).
A/n: Hey, to all of my readers! I just want to say that I'm very glad you've decided to give my Jack & Irina Fic. a second chance. Like I stated previously, this story is pretty much little stories put together, I hope you enjoy them or at least some of them. Please review, it's nice to know what people think of my work or what I need to work on.
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Washington D.C. 1969 (Two years before meeting Jack)
It was one of those days, those days when you weren't really sure of anything.
It was too cold for most people to even want to be outside, much less be walking around in it, yet here he was—taking a stroll.
Arvin Sloane had been working one mission after another for several weeks and he had finally been called to the White House to give a far-east briefing. Several other high ranking officers of the CIA had been there, not to mention several heads of state. It was exciting. He hadn't been in the CIA very long and he felt rather privileged to be able to give a briefing in front of so many powerful men.
Once he had given his briefing everyone in attendance discussed the matter and posed several questions so the meeting lasted for about an hour—even though the information he shared didn't take that long to deliver.
As everyone rose and left, they waited outside on the top of the White House steps as their limousines drove up. The other agents were getting into one of the limousines when a thought suddenly came to him. It was a feeling— one which, at first, he couldn't place.
"Arvin?" one of the agents questioned, "are you coming?"
Arvin Sloane suddenly snapped back out of his thoughts and replied, "No, you guys go without me. I'm going to go take a walk."
The agent who had spoken to him gave him a look of disbelief—clearly he thought his fellow agent was nuts—considering the temperature for that night was about thirty degrees. "I… I just need some air." Arvin spoke, slightly stammered. He didn't know what else to say… he just wanted some time alone to decipher this strange feeling he had.
"Well, okay I guess." The agent responded looking at the other agents in the car, "I'll see you back at Headquarters then?"
"Yeah." Sloane affirmed, nodding.
With that the limo drove off down the driveway and headed out the gate, leaving Sloane standing on the top stairs. He headed down the driveway and walked outside the gate. The gate closed behind him as he absentmindedly continued walking down the sidewalk. At first, he didn't notice tourists taking late night pictures of the White House and couples strolling hand in hand until he almost walked into one of them. He smiled and made his apologies to the woman with the long curly blonde hair and the red glasses. She returned the smile and accepted his apology. Believe it or not he actually enjoyed seeing people like this.
What was this feeling though, and why was it here? Nothing was wrong with work… in fact things were going great with it, he had been moving up in rank. He was happy with his life, even though he hadn't found that someone to share his life with. He was content. Maybe it was just that. Maybe, he was living in "a perfect moment." Was that it? "Is that what's bothering me?" he asked himself.
He kept walking.
"It couldn't be," he found himself answering, silently, "then again, maybe it could."
Maybe what was bothering him was that he knew it couldn't last forever, the perfect moment was just that, a moment. It couldn't last – something would come, a darkness.
How that darkness would materialize was another matter however, and quite frankly it was the how that truly scared him.
He kept walking.
Darkness would come—he felt it, even though he would have preferred to deny it for as long as possible. What it would be, how it would take hold of his life-- he was perfectly ignorant of, yet it's presence could be felt even as he walked through the night of this perfect moment. And then….
He stopped walking.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw lights glistening off the surface of the water next to him. Curious as to where he had ended up, he turned and looked out from the road where he stood, and saw the water basin stretching all out in front of him. And as he looked up a little further, he saw the Jefferson Memorial – it had always been his favorite. "It is neither wealth nor splendor; but tranquility and occupation which give you happiness," he quoted mentally. The person he had been quoting was none other than that who's monument he stared at, Thomas Jefferson.
He decided to walk over there and so he did. As he stood on the grass just in front of the opening to the monument, overseeing the basin, he could see in the distance another monument—Lincoln's. Somehow it seemed right… standing in the presence two such influential individuals, and sure they weren't really there in the flesh, but somehow standing in light of their monuments honored him.
"Maybe everything would be fine. It couldn't be that bad."
And so he stood, residing between two monuments, choosing to stay and enjoy if only for a little while, the perfect moment that was now.
A/n: Thanks for reading. Please review. I appreciate it more than you know. It doesn't have to be long or detailed I appreciate them just the same.
Also if you remember the scene in Spirit where Sloane tells Jack about this night tell me if you think this is a good expansion of that monologue. Thanks! Until later—