Disclaimer: Alias is owned by ABC and Touchstone, and was created by the brilliant JJ Abrams and Bad Robot Productions.
AN: Sorry for the wait…I know I promised I would have this up by the weekend, but my dad wouldn't let me go on the internet because of that bug. Please BEWARE!!! This part has not been beta'd, because I wanted to get it posted ASAP…sorry for any mistakes!
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I finally notice the black Sedan when Elise and I are about to turn the corner, four blocks from my house. It stops by the curb at the other end of the block, apparently waiting for us to turn the corner before following.
Elise has been talking non-stop for the past ten minutes, and when I tighten my grip on her small hand she glances up at me and her chatter stops abruptly.
"What?" she asks, fear flashing in her hazel eyes.
How did she become so perceptive? But then I remember that she has you as a mother.
"It's nothing," I reply, but I can tell by her small frown that she is in no way convinced.
"Are they following us?" she questions as we turn the corner.
"Who?" I glance down at her, feigning confusion to buy myself time.
But she doesn't get the chance to reply. A second black Sedan squeals to a halt in front of us, coming from the other direction. I leap in front of Elise, hoping to fend off any danger. But there is no echo of a gunshot, no stinging heat, no salty blood smell.
"Get in!" The driver's words echo through the suspended silence.
"Grandpa!" Elise squeals, and the driver's face, visible through the open car window, finally registers in my head.
"Jack?" I stare in utter disbelief.
"GET IN!" he yells more forcefully.
Elise and I scramble into the backseat and the car takes off with a jolt.
"Base Ops this is Warbucks, we've got the package." Jack says, and waits for a reply to crackle into his earpiece.
"Okay, pickup is waiting two blocks ahead," a male voice announces, as if out of nowhere, as I buckle Elise's seatbelt.
"What's going on?" I finally ask Jack.
"There isn't time to explain right now. You're going to be taken to a safe house." He answers, his eyes traveling back and forth between the road and the rearview mirror.
I can feel the blood draining from my face at his words. A safe house? From my experience, safe houses aren't safe at all…just the beginning to getting yourself kidnapped, tortured and eventually forgotten.
"You're joking, right?"
"No, Mr. Carson, this is not my idea of a joke," he answers tersely.
Elise, who is gripping my arm with both of her small hands, finally speaks.
"Are we going back to France?" she asks, much more than a hint of excitement in her voice.
Jack Bristow actually smiles at this, although his eyes are brimmed with sadness.
"No, sweetheart, not yet."
"But someday?" she asks.
Jack flinches at her innocent question, but forces his voice to remain light.
"Yes, Elise, someday."
"Pickup is straight ahead," the mysterious voice announces as we turn another corner.
I glance up from Elise, only to see a truck with the words Joey's Moving painted across the side. The ramp at the back is down, and Jack speeds up, driving up it and into the truck as if it is something he does everyday. But then again, maybe it is.
The ramp rises behind us, closing off the back of the truck, and we are trapped in darkness. The fear rises in my stomach only to be alleviated moments later when a light is turned on somewhere outside the car.
"We'll be in here for a few minutes," Jack explains. "We need to make sure we've lost them before we continue on our own.
"On our own?" I ask.
"Without the truck," he clarifies.
"Where are we going?" Elise inquires.
"Somewhere safe," Jack answers.
"But not France," Elise continues somewhat sadly.
"Not quite, but it's somewhere almost as beautiful," Jack answers, hoping to please his granddaughter.
It is a weird feeling, sitting in a motionless car while the truck below you rumbles through the streets. The feeling only lasts ten minutes, though, and then the truck slows to a stop and the ramp opens again.
The open sky is bright, despite the approaching darkness of night. The car turn off the city street and onto a fairly deserted gravel road. Elise's head rests on my arm and her eyes drift closed. It is only now that I remember the paper that you handed me.
But before I get a chance to pull it out and read it, Jack speaks.
"It'll be a few hours before we get to the next checkpoint," he says, "you should get some rest."
"I'm not sure that that's possible." I reply honestly.
"It's going to be a long couple of days," he continues, trying to convince me.
"Couple of days? How far are we going?"
"Far enough to ensure safety."
"There's no such thing as safety," I mutter.
"No Mr. Carson, but there is the feeling of safety, and for Elise that feeling is her parents. We're going as far as we need to in order to keep the child's life as intact as possible."
"Intact? Jack, her life has already been ripped apart. I mean, being chased by Sloane, and then left in the hands of a person she's never met only to be followed again?"
"I'm well aware of the circumstances, Mr. Carson."
"Would you stop calling me that?" I hiss, "it's not my name!"
Jack turns his head so that his eyes meet mine briefly, before flickering to Elise's sleeping form.
"It is your name, Mr. Carson. Will Tippin is dead," he says flatly.
A few hours later the car stops, startling me out of a light sleep. The images of my past are wiped away as my eyes adjust to the thick darkness, and the chirp of crickets fills my ears.
"Wake Elise, we're getting out," Jack instructs.
I obey, shaking the child slightly.
"Daddy?" she asks, her eyes fluttering open.
"No, Elise, it's me, Andrew."
"Oh," she doesn't try to disguise her disappointment.
"We have to get out of the car," I continue.
I pick up her bags in one hand, taking her hand in the other. We climb out of the car and find ourselves in a field of dry grass, dusted with a light layer of snow.
And then I see the helicopter sitting in the distance, it's silhouette just visible in the darkness.
"Let's go," Jack says, leading the way across the field. A man I can only assume is another agent, walks by, and Jack hands him the car keys.
"Good luck, Mr. Bristow," he says, and Jack nods.
We climb into the helicopter, take our seats, and seconds later we are flying through the darkness, into the unknown.
When we land it is the next morning. Jack thanks the driver, and we trudge down the steps into the fresh morning air. It is only then, standing in the dew-covered grass, that I notice the mountains towering around us. A log cabin is visible in the distance, nestled into the pine trees at the foot of the vast peaks.
"Mountains!" Elise exclaims, a wide grin spreading across her face.
"Let's go take a look inside," Jack suggests to his granddaughter, and I follow behind in a complete daze.
We are greeted by the spicy Italian smell of pasta, and the warmth of a fire crackling in the huge fireplace against the far wall.
"Can I look?" Elise asks me. I glance at Jack uncertainly, and he nods.
"Go pick a room," he tells her, and she runs off down a hall.
"It's nice," I say to no one in particular, and Jack stares at me.
"There's something in the kitchen you should see," he says calmly, a small smile playing with the corners of his mouth.
I frown, assuming he means the source of the delicious smell, but follow my nose towards the kitchen.
I step into the kitchen to be suffocated by a strong hug…
"Francie?"
But I am interrupted by an energetic squeal from down the hall.
"Mommy and daddy!" Elise exclaims from somewhere in the cabin.
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AN#2: Ok, I know it's an abrupt ending for this part, but I didn't know how to end it…Anyway, part 6 will be posted soon.