~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Devlin waited silently in the alley where his car was parked, until he was startled from behind.
"Mr. Devlin, kindly step out of you're vehicle," said a man with a Scottish accent.
Devlin did as he was told and stepped out of his car, "Is she ready to see me yet?"
The man did not answer him. Instead, he led Devlin to the side of a building and into a door.
"Wait here for a moment."
A few moments later the man had returned with several men and Irina.
"Benjamin, so nice of you to come. I appreciate you meeting with me personally rather than over the phone. Now my friend, what is this little problem that you want to discuss with me?" Irina said, offering Devlin a glass of wine.
Devlin kindly refused it, "It's Jack, Irina. I think he knows."
"Knows what…that you're the mole?"
"Yes, I'm pretty sure he does."
"Pretty sure isn't certain, Ben. Now, what makes you believe that he knows you're the mole?"
Devlin paused for a moment, trying to think of a relevant excuse, "Well, there hasn't been any new information regarding SD-6 or any of its affiliates."
"That's it?" Irina asked, uninterested. "Well maybe there hasn't been anything to report. You know Jack, he lives his life for the job now."
"Maybe so, but now that he's reconnected with Sydney, his interests have changed. And Jack isn't stupid Irina. He'll find out what you're doing eventually, and when he does… well, I assure you that it will get ugly."
Irina thought for a moment before responding, "Yes of course, you're right. Well, since Jack is a little suspicious, let's give him something that will lead his interest towards another direction."
"Like what?"
"Leave that part up to me. Well, now that we're done, I thank you for stopping by, and I'll have one of my men escort you to your car."
As Irina was about to turn away, Devlin called out to her, "Irina, wait."
"Yes, Ben?"
"You haven't filled me in on all the details here. If we're going to work together, I think I should be entitled to know what's fully going on."
Irina gave Devlin a smile, "Of course you are. But at the moment you haven't proven yourself to be quite loyal to me yet."
"Loyal!" Devlin yelled. "If I wasn't loyal, would I be telling you this?"
"Yes Ben, but loyalty is a complicated thing. One minute you say you're loyal to me, and the next…well, the next will lead to betrayal."
"I understand. Well then, how can I prove myself to you?"
"That my friend… only time can tell."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sydney knocked on her father's door, waiting for an answer. When none came, she took a small key from her pocket and unlocked the door. Sydney entered the house and headed towards the stairs, when she heard a loud noise coming from her father's den. Sydney cautiously entered the room and find her father in front of his computer.
"Dad?"
"Sydney, what are you…what are you doing here?" Jack said, slowly standing up.
Sydney could tell that he was drunk, "I just came here to talk to you about something."
Jack put his hand on top of his head. "Talk to me about what?"
"It's about Dixon…" Sydney stopped when she noticed Vera on the computer screen. "What's that?"
Jack turned to face his computer and quickly turned it off, "That's nothing," he said hastily.
"Dad, is that…is that Vera?"
"Sydney, I said it was nothing!" Jack quickly changed his tone when he saw the expression that Sydney was giving him. "I mean, what is it that you want to talk to me about?"
"It can wait," Sydney said, heading towards the computer. She quickly turned it on and recovered the data from Jack's computer. Jack allowed her to continue, for he knew it was no use arguing with her. Especially since his head ached. Soon enough Sydney played the Video file.
*VIDEO*
"Vera, you're just as weak and just as pathetic as Khasinau. Of all the things you could have inherited, you inherited stupidity. How could you be so naïve as to think that Sark would actually save you…from me? Look at what you've done. Your grandfather is dead, and where is Sark…nowhere. He left you in a cowardly attempt to save his life. Irina bent over looking Vera straight in the eye, "You see Vera, in the end I always win."
Vera glared back at her mother and then spat in her face, taking the gun away from her, "No, I win. All I have to do is pull this trigger and…"
"And you'll what?…Kill me?" Irina interrupted.
Vera paused for a moment, staring back at her mother. Then her program started to take control. Not now…please not now. Irina knew this and motioned forward toward her daughter.
"All right then, Vera… prove me wrong. Kill me."
Vera tried to hold back tears but found it unsuccessful, for her eyes started to blur and tears rolled down her face, "Step back or…or I'll kill you."
Irina was now face to face with Vera, "Shhh," Irina said stroking Vera's hair. Vera allowed Irina to take the gun from her. Irina whispered softly into her ear, "I always knew you were weak, but now I'm going to set you free."
Vera looked at her mother confused, "What…?" Then a sudden sound of a gun went off and Vera lay motionless on the ground. As Irina walked away, she turned to face her daughter one last time. "Such a waste," Irina whispered, spitting on the ground.
*END OF VIDEO*
Sydney stared at the computer screen in awe, "What…how can she do that? To her own daughter."
Jack remained silent and poured himself another drink. "Dad, don't. That doesn't solve anything."
Jack continued to ignore Sydney and started to consume his drink, "Dad, no!" Sydney said, knocking the glass from Jack's hand.
"Sydney, please, just leave. I don't want you to see me like this."
"Dad, I know how you must feel, but you shouldn't do this to yourself. Besides, Vera wasn't an innocent herself, you know."
"Yes, she was," Jack said hoarsely. "She is as much an innocent as you are."
"What…Dad, she murdered an innocent man right in front of us. I can't even begin to imagine what other notorious crimes she's committed."
"It was out of her control. Irina implanted some sort of microchip into her, which enhances aggression, allowing her to do all those things. But the program was short-circuiting. She started to remember, and from what we can tell in that video, Irina wasn't too pleased."
Sydney looked at her father with sympathy. She had never seen him act emotional before, only when the topic of her mother was started. Sydney's perspective of her father was now starting to change. Jack left Sydney to use the bathroom. As she watched her father leave, the thought of Dixon entered her mind.
"Dad, wait."
Jack turned to face Sydney, "Yes?"
"I think you should sit down first."
Jack didn't like the sound of Sydney's tone. "No thanks, I prefer to stand."
"Ok, dad…" Sydney hesitated.
"Sydney, what is it?"
"Dixon knows."
"He what!" Jack yelled.
"He must have followed us that night. He was already suspicious of me, ever since he caught me retrieving the Rambaldi page. Then he confronted me about it. Dad, I panicked; I didn't know what to do."
"There are better ways to have handled that situation, Sydney. I can't believe you were careless enough to have told Dixon the truth," Jack said rubbing his head. What if Sloane were to get a hold of this information. Do you realize what kind of risk you've put yourself in? Not to mention…"
"Yes dad I know…I got the speech from Vaughn. I don't need it from you right now," Sydney interrupted.
"Fine, are we through…or are there anymore little surprises on the way."
Sydney was shocked as to how fast Jack's mood had changed, "No."
"Well then, if you'll excuse me, I'll be getting to bed. I trust that you know your way out?"
Sydney felt hurt that Jack was treating her with such contempt. She thought the barrier between them had somehow been broken, but soon realized that it was still very much standing. For there was only a mere crack, and that was all she would ever get from her father.
Jack, on the other hand, was utterly ashamed and disgusted with himself. There was so much he wanted to say and do to make himself a better father to Sydney, but sadly, his own arrogance got in his way. Jack just wanted to hold Sydney and tell her he how sorry he was for acting the way he did, but instead he merely turned away and headed up the stairs, leaving Sydney alone. Sydney soon left the house and went back home, where she collapsed on her couch and began to sob. Francie heard this and headed to the living room to see what was the matter.
"Honey, what's wrong?"
Sydney buried her head on the couch pillow. "It's nothing really. I just need some time alone."
Francie sat beside Sydney, "Come on, Syd. I know you better than that. Tell me what happened."
Sydney sat up and faced Francie, "It's my father…it's like, every time I get close to him, he takes two steps back. Sometimes I wonder why I even try."
Francie wanted to explain to Sydney exactly what her opinion of Jack was, but found it best not to, "Because you're a good person, that's why. And I bet your father knows this; that's why he's kept himself away from you. He's afraid that if he gets too close to you, you might see something you don't like about him. And trust me Syd your father loves you…he might not show it, but it's there."
Sydney gave Francie a huge hug and realized she was right. Her father would have died for her. Sydney began to feel foolish thinking Jack didn't love her.
"Thanks Fran…what would I do without you?" Sydney asked, letting out a small laugh.
Francie sighed and smiled at Sydney, "What would you or Will ever do without me?"
"Nothing, absolutely nothing."
"Get some sleep…and cheer up; there'll be brighter days. I promise."
Sydney gave Francie one last hug before heading off to bed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 24
Sloane was patiently waiting in his office for Jack's arrival. Soon enough, Jack walked in through the door.
"You wanted to see me about something?"
"Yeah, why don't you have a seat first?"
Jack took a seat facing Sloane.
"Jack I haven't told you this, but…", Sloane's voice drifted.
"But what?" Jack asked, looking concerned.
"Jack, Emily died a few days ago. It seems that the lymphoma spread rather quickly and well…things just took a turn for the worst. I didn't want to tell anyone this, especially you and Sydney. Considering how Irina just surfaced out of nowhere."
Jack gave Sloane a look of sympathy, "I'm sorry to hear that. Are you all right?"
Sloane seemed dazed, but he soon focused his attention back on Jack, "Yes, yes I'm fine. Well, we're straying of topic here. I wanted to ask you if you could oversee SD-6's activities while I'm gone. I have to fly to London to meet with the Alliance."
"Of course. I'd be happy to fill in for you. Although I'm curious, does your meeting with the Alliance have anything to do with Laura?"
"No, it doesn't. But it has something to do with my current position here in SD-6. And I'm going to be honest with you, Jack, there are going to be some very big changes around here…very big."
Jack stared at Sloane's malicious expression. "Well, I think that'll be all. Thanks in advance Jack."
"No problem."
As Jack left Sloane's office, he spotted Sydney. He quickly walked over to her. "Sydney about the other night…I…"
Sydney cut him off, "It doesn't matter, dad, I put it behind me."
"No Sydney, it doesn't give me an excuse to have acted that way. You have to understand the whole situation that we're in. There isn't any room for mistakes, and…"
"Really dad, it's ok. I understand why you said what you said…and I forgive you."
Jack smiled at Sydney and lightly touched her shoulder. "Sydney I'm…well, what I'm trying to say is…"
"Jack, Sydney, the meeting is about to begin," Sloane said interrupting them.
"Yes well, we better get going."
"Dad, wait…what were you going to tell me."
"It's nothing. Well, we don't want to keep Sloane waiting."
Sydney smiled at her father. She knew exactly what he was trying to say.
"Sydney…" Jack said, interrupting her thoughts.
"Oh yes…right."
Sydney and Jack entered the conference room to find Sloane and Dixon waiting for them.
"Well then, now that we're all here, we can begin. From what we've gathered about Irina Derevko, she's working on some sort of Rambaldi invention, very similar to the device that we've gathered back in Taipei."
Sydney looked at Sloane curiously, "What does she plan to use it for?"
"We're not quite sure what she planning on using it for. We have very little intel about this device. All we know is that it's some sort of weapon, and since we don't have that book, we're not sure what its use is."
Sloane motioned for Jack to take over the conversation. "That's where you two come in. You are to go to Zurich. Retrieve the book, capture Irina tomorrow night, and bring her back here."
Sydney looked at her father, shocked. The last time she had faced her mother, they were all almost killed. Dixon watched Sydney curiously, and as soon as she noticed, she shook the look off.
Sloane began to speak again, "Now ,you two have to understand that this is going to be a rather difficult mission. It's not like the rest. Irina Derevko is quite observant, so she might already know you're coming. That's why we're going to set up a team, just in case any surprises turn up. Another thing, I will be absent for a few days, and while I'm gone Jack will head the SD-6 office. Now that you both have been briefed…good luck tomorrow."
As Sydney and Dixon exited the room, Jack pulled Sloane to the side, "Arvin, I want to be part of the extraction team."
"Jack, Sydney's a big girl. She doesn't need you looking out for her anymore."
"I know that, but you have to understand something here, Sydney's going after Irina. We both know what she's capable of!"
"All right, Jack, if it pleases you, you can head the extraction team. I'll just appoint someone else to head up SD-6 while I'm gone.
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get some of my affairs in order before my flight tomorrow."
"Certainly."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Warehouse)
Jack slowly made his way to where Vaughn was standing.
"The place is clear; we can talk."
"Sydney tells me you were aware that Dixon knew she was a double."
"Yes, that's true. I was going to contact you about this, but…"
"It doesn't matter," Jack interrupted. "What I need you to do, is to follow him. Make sure that he really is true about becoming a double, that he's not secretly reporting to Sloane on the side."
"Sure…but Jack the CIA knows Sydney's going back to Zurich, and they've been curious to know what happened to those surveillance photos she took of Irina."
"Yes, I was aware of that, as for the surveillance photos I took care of that problem myself."
"How?"
"I scrambled the transmission and made it seem as if it were equipment problems."
"Oh… Jack I'm worried about Sydney. Do you think it's safe for Sloane to send her. I mean he knows that…".
"Yes, I know," Jack interrupted. "But Sloane is quite fond of Sydney somehow."
"Strange."
"Yes, well I better get back."
"Sure thing."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sydney entered her house to find Will sitting on the couch.
"Will…what are you doing here?" Sydney asked, sitting next to him.
"I tried to get a hold of you yesterday, but Francie said you were at Dixon's."
"Hold on, Will," Sydney said, blasting up some music. "I was…um, does my father know you're out?"
"No, I don't think so…but they said I was free to leave."
"Who cleared you?"
"Um...Devlin, I think?"
Sydney looked confused, "Devlin cleared you?"
"Yeah why? Is something wrong?"
"No, no it's nothing."
"Syd, I need to talk to you about something."
"What about?"
"When I was over at the CIA, they gave two options. One, to be agent, and two, to be in a witness protection program. And Syd…I don't wanna hide."
"Will please, you have to promise you won't let them recruit you."
"Syd, it seems better than hiding. I mean…if I become an agent, I'd be able to look out for you."
Sydney began to sob, "Will, trust me you don't want my life. The lies…watching people die. It's…It's…"
Will took Sydney into his arms. "It's ok. Shhh…it's ok. If you don't want me to, then I won't."
"Promise me you won't, Will."
"I promise."
After countless conversations, Will and Sydney fell asleep next to one another. Soon enough, the sun began to rise. Sydney quietly got up, making sure she didn't wake Will. As soon as she was ready, she left and went to work.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dixon and Sydney entered Marshall's office to find him sitting down fiddling with something.
Sydney noticed Marshall had quite an intense look on his face. Then Marshall began to yell, "Jump…come on, jump! Ahhh," Marshall said smacking his head.
Dixon and Sydney looked at one another, puzzled as to why Marshall was yelling. "Marshall?"
Marshall was startled by the sound of Dixon's voice, "Oh, I didn't…I didn't know anyone was here."
Sydney smiled at him, "Marshall, what are you doing?"
"Oh, I'm just playing Spiderman. It's a…it's a game, see," Marshall held up a Gameboy Advance. "I was on the final level, when this thing just popped out of nowhere. It's like, ahhh," Marshall said, pretending his hand was a claw. "Um… ok, if you'd just follow me. I'll show you the equipment you're going to use."
Marshall walked over to a table and picked up a jar filled with dead insects. He removed a fly out and handed it to Sydney.
"What is it?"
"It's a fly…well, a replica of one, that is. Looks pretty real, doesn't it?"
Sydney touched the fly with her pinky, "What does it do?"
"That's a very good question. This is actually a scrambler. You pin it on any electronic lock and it unscrambles the lock code like that," Marshall said snapping his fingers. "And if anyone finds this they'll simply…"
"They'll simply think it's a bug," Dixon said interrupting him.
"Yes, exactly."
Dixon looked at Marshall, "Is this it?"
"Oh no, Mr. Sloane asked me to make these for you," Marshall said, handing them two guns. "It's a…it's a 9-mm semiautomatic equipped with a silencer. I'm sorry, guns…guns make me nervous. You never know when they might go off. Yes, well the ammunition is over there."
Marshall pointed to a large bag, "Oh, and there's a pair of night vision goggles in there, which also have heat sensors. Those things are quite handy…especially when you're on the other side of a wall," Marshall said laughing. "Well, good luck on your mission."
Dixon grabbed the equipment and headed out the door, while Sydney thanked Marshall.
"Thanks." Sydney knew she was going to need it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ben Devlin was sitting at his desk anxiously waiting for a call. Soon enough, his phone rang. "Hello?"
Devlin heard no response. Instead, the line went dead.
"What, hello…hello?" Devlin screamed.
When Devlin got no response, he decided to check the number. He soon realized that the caller used a code. For the numbers 732-3943 meant R-E-A-D-Y I-D. Devlin knew that it was time for him to meet with Irina.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
