Sydney stopped in front of the house before she even realized it. She looked up, confused about where she was. Then, she sobbed and smiled at the same time. She had driven around the city until finally stopping right in front of Will's house.
Taking in a deep shaky breath, she opened the door and stumbled out onto the pavement. Her legs screamed in protest. They had lost feeling earlier, and now the blood was flowing free again.
She walked towards Will's door, hoping and praying with every step that he was alone, that Jenny was not spending the night. She knocked the door.
He opened it and smiled when he seen it was her. Then, he noticed her face. She slid into his arms, and he hugged her just like she knew he would. Will remained constant. Her Mom and Dad no longer even liked one another. They were a part of her other world now. Vaughn had somehow managed to become a part of her normal life. Her mother had killed his father. Murdered him.
She had stolen a child's father from him. Sydney bent over as her stomach protested. "Come here," Will said, leading her to the couch.
He followed her down as she sank onto the soft leather. He wrapped his arms around her, and she felt like she could breathe again.
As she lay there, he stroked her hair. Her thoughts continued to swirl around. She felt her muscles start to relax, drawn into the steady rhythm. Finally, her eyes closed, and her body got the much-needed sleep it had been demanding.
Her brain, however, continued to provide her images of her beautiful Mom murdering a man in cold blood.
***
Laura stared at the mirror. For someone who did not get any sleep the night before, she didn't look that bad. Her arm protested, and Laura looked down and realized that she was holding her compact. Had been holding it for some time. She quickly swapped her brush across the blush and applied to her cheeks. Now she looked a little more alive.
She walked out into a dead house. That's what it felt like. Everything that had happened yesterday had destroyed the laughter that used to ring in the hallways. Old happy memories were now tainted by the truth she had tried so hard to hide.
Well, he still didn't know the whole truth. As she poured herself a cup of coffee--brewed just as it had been programmed--she struggled to find an excuse he would accept. She knew he wanted answers, that he would demand them when he had calmed himself down, when he felt like he could handle the complete truth without reacting emotionally.
Not that she would ever tell him the complete truth. She could never tell him why she had started working for SD-6. He could never forgive that reason. Her stomach rolled, and she put down her cup of coffee. It tasted like rotten fruit in her mouth.
Sighing, she turned and reached for her briefcase. She had a meeting with Sloane today, and she had packed the pictures last night. It had given her some hope that Sydney--and Jack--had cared enough to fake Hassan's death.
She noticed the book lying on the desk besides her briefcase. It was the one she had loaned Sydney earlier. She picked it up and noticed the inscription inside. His love. Something she used to scorn had become the most important thing in the world to her.
She traced his name with her finger. She would think of something to return her world to the way it had been. She would. Her finger trailed from his name to the side of the book.
She noticed the rough edges almost immediately. It felt like someone had spilt something on it, gotten it wet. Then, she remembered Francie's call. Lemonade now stained the picture. She flipped it open and noticed the now-visible markings inside.
Swallowing the scream that fought to come out, Laura sat down the book and backed away from it. Her daughter now knew the whole truth; Jack would soon. There was no going back, and she had to stop lying to herself.
Taking two deep breaths to steady herself, Laura grabbed the briefcase and marched out to the car. She had a meeting to get to, and she would focus on her life later.
***
As she drove to Credit Dauphine, she thought about SD-6 and her recruitment into that organization. Not that she had ever wanted to be a part of it. Sloane had not given her any choice in the matter.
She had still been in her hospital bed . . .
"Hello, Laura," said her husband's friend as he sailed into the room. He held a large bouquet of flowers in front of him. Laura forced herself to smile as she sat up straight in bed. She didn't wince when he leaned down and kissed her cheek.
"Hello, Arvin," she said. "It's so good to see you," she lied. "Where's Emily?"
"She couldn't make it, I'm afraid. I told her that I would stop by to see you after work," Sloane said. He sat down on the edge of the bed instead of in the seat where Jack usually sat. "Besides, I wanted to talk to you about a proposition."
"A proposition?" Laura laughed. "About what?"
"About a job," he answered with a serious look on his face. "I'm sure you've heard about the big free-lance movement in our business."
Laura made sure she looked confused, but everyone in intelligence had heard the whispers of what was about to happen. She knew about it, but why would he think she did?
"Oh, please, Laura. There is no need for lies between us. We are a lot alike, you and I," Sloane said, pulling up his pant leg as he leaned back. "And don't worry about Jack. He's over hounding the poor Vaughn widow. I must admit you set that man up nicely."
"What are you talking about?" Laura's heart pounded in her ears. She had set up William Vaughn to take the fall if they found anything that could implicate a double or KGB agent that was close in ranks to them. She had thought Calder was smart enough to destroy any such evidence, but she had wanted to make sure that her bases were covered.
She was changing her life. She had told them that she would no longer be taking their orders; orders that she had followed without question until they told her it was time to leave her life behind. And she had almost followed that one, too. Except Sydney's friend had lost her mother to cancer, and Sydney, with tears in her eyes, had begged Laura not to leave her. Jack had been equally upset at the news. "It could have as easily have been me, Laura. Trying to raise Sydney on my own."
She had known then that she could not leave them, and she had worked damn hard to get everything in order so that she could stay. Calder had been taken care of; she had seen his car slam head-on into a tree seconds before Jack's car had found its own tree to stop against.
Her injuries were major, but she would recover. She could handle her wounds; she deserved the pain for the lies she had done. But now she could live lie free.
Sitting in her hospital bed, staring into Sloane's eyes, she realized that she would never be allowed the happy, normal life that she now craved, that she had worked so hard to achieve.
Sloane leaned down and pulled out a file folder from beneath the mound of flowers. He handed it to Laura. "What do you think my good friend Jack would say if he knew you were KGB, Laura? Or should I say 'Irena'?"
The honking of a horn brought Laura's thoughts back to today. She pushed the gas pedal and sped through the light. She struggled to regain control of her thoughts as she turned towards the Credit Dauphine parking garage. She would live through today, wear the mask, and handle everything later. When she had time to think.
***
Sloane stared at her strangely. Was she wearing a sign that said, "I'm now lying to you to protect my double-agent daughter and my CIA husband"?
He smiled. "I'm glad you're back safely. To tell the truth, I was a little nervous."
Laura smiled and chuckled. "I've been a lot worse than Havana, Arvin." She lost her smile and looked at him. "We both have."
Sloane nodded as he played with the back of his chair. He was standing behind it, a familiar gesture on his part. He used that chair and his desk like shields, keeping the world at bay. "Yeah," he said. "When I didn't hear from you, I thought that maybe Hassan had gotten a lead. Maybe that he knew you were coming."
Laura sank down in the chair. She hated these chairs. They looked like lounge chairs instead of the professional furniture they should be. "That's why I took my time asking around. I knew some of my contacts might not be so loyal to me anymore." She shrugged. "It all worked out."
"Not for all of us," Sloane said with a grin that made her want to wince.
She smiled back. "No, not for him." Had there really been a time when she had enjoyed a successful assassination?
"Thank you." Sloane was being his most honest self. His appreciation was sincere.
"It's my job," she said, wanting to throw up.
***
Jack stared at the wall. He knew he should working on the increasing pile of paperwork on his desk, but he didn't seem to have the strength to even lift the pen.
Everything was over. All secrets were out and on the table. Looking back over his marriage, he knew that he was the first liar. Sure, he had always told her that he was CIA, but he had never shared details with her. Not the real ones. He never told her when he had been close to losing his life.
Sighing, he turned to stare out the window. The blue skies mocked him. Still, after everything he had learned, he wanted to forgive Laura. Wanted to excuse her behavior, her lies. He had started the lying, so her betrayal was okay? A pathetic old man. That's what he was.
A soft knock on the door forced him to turn around, to face the room. "Come in," he said, knowing that it was his secretary.
"I'm sorry to bother you, sir," Janet said as she strolled into the room. "But this envelope just arrived for you, and it is marked urgent."
He took it from her hands and tried to smile. "Thank you."
Janet nodded and started to turn away. "Jack, I--" He looked at her, surprised by her informality. She usually kept her distance, at her own choice. Personally, he preferred everyone referring to him as 'Jack'. "I just wanted to say that I've noticed that things aren't the same between you and Laura lately."
He wanted to deny it, but he needed to set the stage for his eventual departure from that house of lies. His stomach rolled at the thought of leaving Laura. "No, they are not," he admitted, looking down at his desk. He picked up his pen, the one Laura had given him as a birthday gift, and it felt heavy in his hand.
"I've been there, and I know it's rough. I-I wanted to tell you that I think you are a great guy," she whispered.
He looked up at her and saw something in her eyes that he had never noticed before. She thought she was in love with him, and she was letting him know that she was available. He saw the vulnerability in her eyes. "Thank you," he said, trying to let her know that while he wasn't willing to accept the offer, he honestly did appreciate it.
She smiled sadly, and he saw that she understood. "Will there be anything else, Sir?"
"Not right now," he answered. He watched her walk from the room.
Looking down he opened the package. Inside was a file. The paperwork seemed to be about airplane parts, but Jack was familiar with the code. It was from Vaughn, informing him that Sydney was on her way to Greece to get the specs of a weapon Hassan had been developing. He also let him know that Hassan was not cooperating; he was demanding that his wife and children be brought to the US and protected from his enemies.
He stuck the folder back in the envelope and wondered what his wife was doing. Unfortunately, he couldn't protect her from herself. She was the enemy, and there was a damn thing he could do about it.
***
Vaughn sat in a bloodmobile and stared at the beautiful girl in front of him. She had turned his life upside down and spun it around. He no longer knew for sure where he was, and the part the bothered him the most was that he didn't seem to care.
He shouldn't even like her. Her father had filled in for his, and a small part of himself had been jealous of the "real" kid. She had what he wanted, and the man he was today knew why Jack had never introduced them. He had told him it was because Sydney didn't know the truth like Michael, but Vaughn knew better now. Jack did it to protect him. He had known that Vaughn wanted their time together to be all about them, and introducing Sydney into the mix would change their relationship.
Her mother had murdered his father. Hell, Laura was destroying Jack now. He couldn't forgive her for any of it. Sydney was the reason he hadn't reported her, yet. Yes, Jack was a factor; the biggest factor right now. However, Vaughn hadn't immediately gone to Devlin with the notes from NSA because of Sydney. He had wanted her to tell him herself where they had come from, and he had known she wasn't comfortable giving him those codes.
"He licked my face," Sydney said.
Vaughn wanted to wince. "I understand."
"You don't really," Sydney said with a small shudder. "He licked my face." She sighed in anger. "You want to know the worst part? Because of him, I didn't succeed. Because of him, Dixon accessed the information, the CIA got nothing, and SD-6 ended up with what they wanted. I want to go to Crete myself," she said suddenly. He had told her earlier what Hassan had said. "I want to find the stockpile Hassan told you about, get the package, and bring it back."
Vaughn wanted her to go. It would be great for the CIA to get their hands on this mysterious package, this weapon that Hassan had been developing. The CIA would be for it, but Jack would be against it. He could imagine Jack's calm voice telling him the problems with the operation. "I just don't feel it's the right time for the CIA to send you anywhere without SD-6's knowledge. We just did that with Cuba. I think it's too dangerous."
Sydney stared at him for a few seconds, and the hairs on his neck screamed to attention. "We could use my mother."
"What? Are you crazy? Laura Bristow is a loyal SD-6 agent. Before that she was loyal KGB! You're mother is not a double agent for us, Sydney."
She sighed and shifted in her seat. "I know, but I also know that Mom will help me."
"Sydney, she's a killer."
"She's my mother," she replied.
Vaughn heard his jaw pop from the sudden pressure he was exerting on it. "She let you be recruited by mercenaries, Sydney. Not a very loving action."
She looked back at him, her gaze steady and sure. "We don't know that, Vaughn. I mean, Dad didn't exactly invite me to be a part of the CIA." He wanted to protest, but before he could he saw her arrive at her own decision. "I'm going to let Mom help me get that package."