Chapter 4
Wearily, Jack sank into his airplane seat as the plane took off. Every muscle in his body still ached from Geiger's handiwork. Last night, his first out of the hospital and without the benefit of sleeping pills, had not gone well. The night had been punctuated by vivid nightmares. When dawn finally came he had greeted it with relief.
He glanced over at Irina. She was brimming with energy, smiling coquettishly at the pilots, chatting with the stewardesses. What a pair they made, he thought sourly. All the stewardesses were feeling sorry for her, no doubt, saddled with her irritable husband. This was not exactly their cover story, so he pulled himself together to nod pleasantly at the closest attendant and leant over to chat with his wife. "The watch you're wearing is C-4, darling," he said quietly while smiling at her. "Don't try anything."
She looked at him in surprise. "And miss Sydney's graduation? Of course not."
"What?" said Jack, his voice rising. He lowered it as he saw heads turn in their direction.
With one look at Jack, Irina quickly deduced that Kendall had not told him. She decided to probe a little bit to see if she could break through this new shell he had erected. "Didn't Kendall tell you?" she smirked, knowing this was the best way to get under Jack's skin. "As her mother, of course I am invited to Sydney's graduation. Kendall agreed to let me go in exchange for cooperation with Langley." She put a triumphant look on her face. That should send him over the edge, she thought expectantly.
Jack closed his eyes. He knew it should matter to him, but right now he could not summon up the will to deal with it. Or her. There would be plenty of time next week to work something out. He opened his eyes and saw her watching him with anticipation. "Fine," he muttered.
He ignored Irina's look of astonishment. He stood up and grabbed a pillow and blanket from the overhead compartment. "I'm going to take a nap," he said, forestalling any further conversation, and lay back in his chair with his eyes closed.
JACK: We've met before, you and I. I'm surprised you don't recall. You have such attention to detail.
Geiger put a metal bracelet around one of Jack's ankles.
GEIGER: I can't quite place you.
JACK: Neither could I, but then I remembered. Kanagawa, '87.
GEIGER: Were you with Nagayo?
JACK: We had dinner.
GEIGER: Oh yes, now I remember! What a night that was.
JACK: The woman with the club foot.
GEIGER: That's -- (laughs) That's right!
Jack woke with a start, sweating. He looked around wildly for a moment, trying to place where he was. The plane, taking Irina to Langley. He looked over to check on her. She was watching him, her brow furrowed. "Excuse me," he said, and headed back to the lavatory. He washed his face with cold water, and gave his racing heart time to slow down. He didn't glance at Irina as he sat back down in his seat. He pulled out a magazine and started leafing through it. No more dozing off.
What, Irina wondered, was going on with Jack? Was it something he was worried about? Probing again, but this time more delicately, she asked, "Jack, is there anything about Sydney that I should know?"
Jack put down his magazine with a sigh. "No, actually she's great," he replied. He wondered how much more to tell her, then decided to forge ahead. He was proud of her. "Three days ago, Sydney managed to crack the code on the Alliance. Based on her work, all 12 SD cells were simultaneously raided and shut down. They're just doing mop-up work now," he finished quietly.
Irina was startled. The Alliance take-down had happened faster than she thought possible. She felt a surge of relief for both Sydney and Jack.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. "Didn't you say that Sloane was MIA?"
"Yes, Sloane slipped through the net." Jack glanced over at his wife, then smiled briefly. "I know what you're thinking."
"Yes," Irina said, looking thoughtful. "Convenient, isn't it?"
Jack relaxed slightly. There were times when he really valued Irina's counsel. She was smart enough that he didn't need to spell things out for her, and knew him well enough that many things could be left unspoken.
"Excuse me, can I get you something to drink?" interrupted the stewardess, smiling at the couple. They seemed to be getting along a little better.
"Club soda with a twist of lemon, please," requested Irina. "Coke," said Jack. The stewardess carefully set down the glasses and moved off.
As Jack lifted the glass to his lips, he saw with dismay that his left hand was beginning to tremble uncontrollably. He quickly switched the glass to his right hand and lowered his left arm. The doctor had warned him that this might happen for the next few days. Muscles and nerve endings which had been damaged by the shocks which Geiger had inflicted were still repairing. He looked around. The other passengers hadn't noticed. Reluctantly, he looked to his right. Irina had. She was looking thoughtful again.
Any questions she might have asked, though, were averted by the pilot's announcement. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the captain. We have just been advised by Minneapolis/St.Paul air traffic control that a fast moving storm is moving into the Minneapolis area. They are allowing us to land before they close the airport, but I'm afraid that those of you with connections to onward destinations will find them cancelled for the evening. A Northwest Airlines customer service representative will meet connecting passengers at the end of the jetway to assist you in making arrangements for tonight. Thank you for flying with Northwest today."
Jack groaned.