A/N- Thanks for the reviews guys! Keep them coming, and I'll keep writing!
Trust Me
Chapter Two
Irina sat on their bed, watching a Cheers rerun. She heard Jack brushing his teeth in the bathroom. The theme song started to play, and Irina felt a headache forming.
"I hate this show." She whined.
"Then change the channel." Jack shrugged.
Just then, the phone rang. Irina rolled over to Jack's side where the phone was on the bedside table.
"Bristow residence." She said breezily.
"Irina, it's Khasinau."
Irina's heart jumped in her chest. She didn't reply.
"Kristoff has informed you that you have provided no valuable intel on the Jack Bristow case in three months and that you keep putting off extraction from the Bristow case with weak excuses. We need you for another mission, now. Your extraction date is tomorrow."
"No." Irina said resolutely.
"Then we will kill your husband and daughter and make you come back." Khasinau replied simply.
Irina's blood ran cold.
"I'm not coming back. I'm staying. You have other capable agents, let them do the mission." She whispered urgently into the phone, feeling tears forming in her eyes.
"Irina, I'm not calling again. You will call Kristoff as soon as Jack leaves for work and Sydney for school. You two will meet and plan your disappearance, which will take place tomorrow night. You call Kristoff tomorrow morning, or I will have your family killed. You know I can do it. It's over, Irina."
Click. Khasinau had hung up. She couldn't argue, couldn't plead. She could do nothing but leave. Irina put the phone down with violently shaking hand.
"The new toothpaste you bought tastes really weird." Jack's voice snapped her out of her shock as he entered their room.
Irina couldn't speak for a moment; she was so overwhelmed with emotions at the sight of her husband.
"Laura, are you all right?" Jack looked at her curiously.
She stood up, looking at him for a very long moment, trying to commit every detail of his face to her memory.
"Who was that on the phone? Did they say something that upset you?" Jack still tried to figure what could possibly be making her act so strange.
He didn't much time to think, however, because in the next moment, Irina stepped towards him, crushing her mouth against his. Jack responded, a bit surprised as Irina's kiss grew in urgency. Irina couldn't help it-she wanted to remember everything about him, and wasn't about to waste their last night together.
Jack knew Laura to be very passionate, but this was different. It was almost as if she was trying to prove something. It was almost as if she was saying good-bye.
~*~
Irina woke up the next morning alone. Jack had already left for work. She looked over to his empty side of the bed, and was overwhelmed with grief. She had seen him, been with him for the last time last night. She wanted to cry so badly that her insides ached. But she couldn't. Irina stood up, pulling on her white bathrobe. She noticed her wedding ring on her finger as she did this. She couldn't bear to take it off.
"Mommy, are you awake?" Irina suddenly heard Sydney's sweet little voice from downstairs.
"Yes, honey, I'm awake." Irina forced her voice to be normal.
Sydney entered the room, dressed in a skirt and adorable shirt with apples on it.
"Do you think this is good for school pictures?" Sydney asked, spinning around.
"I love it, darling." Irina said, hating that she would have to leave her perfect little girl behind.
"I love you, Mommy." Sydney smiled, climbing into bed with Irina.
"You know I love you too, don't you Sydney?" Irina asked.
"Of course." Sydney said simply as if she never even thought of doubting it.
They sat like that for a moment, Irina holding her daughter in her arms, stroking her silky brown hair.
"Mommy, will you make me pancakes?"
"Of course, honey."
They walked downstairs together, and after they ate pancakes, the school bus pulled up to the corner.
"Bye, Mommy!" Sydney kissed her mother on the cheek, grabbing her little red backpack, and racing out the front door.
"Good-bye, Sydney." Irina said to the already closed door, finally letting the tears fall as she picked up the phone to dial Kristoff's number.
~*~
Irina snapped back awake in her cell. She didn't even remember falling asleep. And here she was, alone, after another dream, another memory.
Irina couldn't take this anymore. She couldn't keep remembering things that she had tried so desperately to forget. It was too hard, to painful, even for someone as calloused as her.
She jumped when she heard the bars to her cell rising. Who could possibly be coming to see her this late at night?
Jack stepped in front of her cell, answering her question. Of course it was him.
He looked sick…very pale, exhausted. It must be important if he'd come to see her like this.
"I know it's late." He started.
She waited, trying very hard to clear her mind and focus on what he was saying.
"Has anyone told you about what happened at SD-6?" He asked.
She shook her head.
"Sydney was able to gain access to something called Server 47, and with it, the CIA managed to infiltrate and destroy all SD cells, successfully eradicating the Alliance." Jack said all in one breath.
Irina blinked, a little surprised. She regarded his expression for a moment.
"And you and I are both thinking it can't be that simple." She said, smiling slightly.
"Of course. Because here's the thing that's worrying me. Sloane disappeared days before the take-over. Absolutely no word from him throughout this entire ordeal." Jack explained.
They both thought for a moment.
"Sloane wanted this to happen." Irina deduced.
Jack nodded.
"Exactly. I just don't understand quite what his motives were- I mean, he went so far as to take his own wife's life for the Alliance, and now he wants them destroyed? I just doesn't make sense." Jack shook his head.
"Sloane killed Emily?" Irina's voice sounded upset.
"Yes. I didn't realize I hadn't mentioned it. But, in these past few months, Sloane's been having…episodes that have led him to believe Emily is still alive."
Irina shut her eyes for a moment, thinking. Finally, she opened them again.
"What about Sark?" She asked.
"He wasn't there the day SD-6 was compromised." Jack said.
"Well, you and I both know that Sloane does not enjoy having anyone hold authority over him. Isn't it possible that he and Sark have abandoned SD-6 and started an "alliance" of their own?" Irina proposed.
"Honestly, I couldn't believe no one else at the CIA came to the same conclusion." Jack said, relieved that she was thinking along the same lines as him.
"So what did you come here to ask me?" Irina regarded him thoughtfully.
"Well, what steps should I take here? Where would Sloane and Sark take this project and any of their new recruits?"
"Don't Sloane and Emily own a home in France?" Irina asked.
"Yes, but that would be too risky, it's too close to the Alliance's base of operations. Just because they're destroyed doesn't mean no one will attempt a revenge mission on whoever went rogue on the Alliance. Sloane could be under suspicion for that."
Irina knew he was right, thinking harder, trying to think of anywhere else Sloane had mentioned in the entire time she and Jack had known him. Suddenly, Jack's eyes got very wide just as Irina looked up with a broad smile.
"Fiji." They said at the same moment.
Jack nodded as both of their minds began formulating a plan.
"I'll be back tomorrow with Kendall, Sydney and Vaughn." He promised her, leaving just as abruptly as he had come.
~*~
A/N- That's it for now! Give me good long reviews and chapter three will be out in no time! Next chapter- Irina gets out of the cell and she and Jack realize that now they've got to follow protocol as handler-asset. Curious? Then review!
Trust Me
Chapter Two
Irina sat on their bed, watching a Cheers rerun. She heard Jack brushing his teeth in the bathroom. The theme song started to play, and Irina felt a headache forming.
"I hate this show." She whined.
"Then change the channel." Jack shrugged.
Just then, the phone rang. Irina rolled over to Jack's side where the phone was on the bedside table.
"Bristow residence." She said breezily.
"Irina, it's Khasinau."
Irina's heart jumped in her chest. She didn't reply.
"Kristoff has informed you that you have provided no valuable intel on the Jack Bristow case in three months and that you keep putting off extraction from the Bristow case with weak excuses. We need you for another mission, now. Your extraction date is tomorrow."
"No." Irina said resolutely.
"Then we will kill your husband and daughter and make you come back." Khasinau replied simply.
Irina's blood ran cold.
"I'm not coming back. I'm staying. You have other capable agents, let them do the mission." She whispered urgently into the phone, feeling tears forming in her eyes.
"Irina, I'm not calling again. You will call Kristoff as soon as Jack leaves for work and Sydney for school. You two will meet and plan your disappearance, which will take place tomorrow night. You call Kristoff tomorrow morning, or I will have your family killed. You know I can do it. It's over, Irina."
Click. Khasinau had hung up. She couldn't argue, couldn't plead. She could do nothing but leave. Irina put the phone down with violently shaking hand.
"The new toothpaste you bought tastes really weird." Jack's voice snapped her out of her shock as he entered their room.
Irina couldn't speak for a moment; she was so overwhelmed with emotions at the sight of her husband.
"Laura, are you all right?" Jack looked at her curiously.
She stood up, looking at him for a very long moment, trying to commit every detail of his face to her memory.
"Who was that on the phone? Did they say something that upset you?" Jack still tried to figure what could possibly be making her act so strange.
He didn't much time to think, however, because in the next moment, Irina stepped towards him, crushing her mouth against his. Jack responded, a bit surprised as Irina's kiss grew in urgency. Irina couldn't help it-she wanted to remember everything about him, and wasn't about to waste their last night together.
Jack knew Laura to be very passionate, but this was different. It was almost as if she was trying to prove something. It was almost as if she was saying good-bye.
~*~
Irina woke up the next morning alone. Jack had already left for work. She looked over to his empty side of the bed, and was overwhelmed with grief. She had seen him, been with him for the last time last night. She wanted to cry so badly that her insides ached. But she couldn't. Irina stood up, pulling on her white bathrobe. She noticed her wedding ring on her finger as she did this. She couldn't bear to take it off.
"Mommy, are you awake?" Irina suddenly heard Sydney's sweet little voice from downstairs.
"Yes, honey, I'm awake." Irina forced her voice to be normal.
Sydney entered the room, dressed in a skirt and adorable shirt with apples on it.
"Do you think this is good for school pictures?" Sydney asked, spinning around.
"I love it, darling." Irina said, hating that she would have to leave her perfect little girl behind.
"I love you, Mommy." Sydney smiled, climbing into bed with Irina.
"You know I love you too, don't you Sydney?" Irina asked.
"Of course." Sydney said simply as if she never even thought of doubting it.
They sat like that for a moment, Irina holding her daughter in her arms, stroking her silky brown hair.
"Mommy, will you make me pancakes?"
"Of course, honey."
They walked downstairs together, and after they ate pancakes, the school bus pulled up to the corner.
"Bye, Mommy!" Sydney kissed her mother on the cheek, grabbing her little red backpack, and racing out the front door.
"Good-bye, Sydney." Irina said to the already closed door, finally letting the tears fall as she picked up the phone to dial Kristoff's number.
~*~
Irina snapped back awake in her cell. She didn't even remember falling asleep. And here she was, alone, after another dream, another memory.
Irina couldn't take this anymore. She couldn't keep remembering things that she had tried so desperately to forget. It was too hard, to painful, even for someone as calloused as her.
She jumped when she heard the bars to her cell rising. Who could possibly be coming to see her this late at night?
Jack stepped in front of her cell, answering her question. Of course it was him.
He looked sick…very pale, exhausted. It must be important if he'd come to see her like this.
"I know it's late." He started.
She waited, trying very hard to clear her mind and focus on what he was saying.
"Has anyone told you about what happened at SD-6?" He asked.
She shook her head.
"Sydney was able to gain access to something called Server 47, and with it, the CIA managed to infiltrate and destroy all SD cells, successfully eradicating the Alliance." Jack said all in one breath.
Irina blinked, a little surprised. She regarded his expression for a moment.
"And you and I are both thinking it can't be that simple." She said, smiling slightly.
"Of course. Because here's the thing that's worrying me. Sloane disappeared days before the take-over. Absolutely no word from him throughout this entire ordeal." Jack explained.
They both thought for a moment.
"Sloane wanted this to happen." Irina deduced.
Jack nodded.
"Exactly. I just don't understand quite what his motives were- I mean, he went so far as to take his own wife's life for the Alliance, and now he wants them destroyed? I just doesn't make sense." Jack shook his head.
"Sloane killed Emily?" Irina's voice sounded upset.
"Yes. I didn't realize I hadn't mentioned it. But, in these past few months, Sloane's been having…episodes that have led him to believe Emily is still alive."
Irina shut her eyes for a moment, thinking. Finally, she opened them again.
"What about Sark?" She asked.
"He wasn't there the day SD-6 was compromised." Jack said.
"Well, you and I both know that Sloane does not enjoy having anyone hold authority over him. Isn't it possible that he and Sark have abandoned SD-6 and started an "alliance" of their own?" Irina proposed.
"Honestly, I couldn't believe no one else at the CIA came to the same conclusion." Jack said, relieved that she was thinking along the same lines as him.
"So what did you come here to ask me?" Irina regarded him thoughtfully.
"Well, what steps should I take here? Where would Sloane and Sark take this project and any of their new recruits?"
"Don't Sloane and Emily own a home in France?" Irina asked.
"Yes, but that would be too risky, it's too close to the Alliance's base of operations. Just because they're destroyed doesn't mean no one will attempt a revenge mission on whoever went rogue on the Alliance. Sloane could be under suspicion for that."
Irina knew he was right, thinking harder, trying to think of anywhere else Sloane had mentioned in the entire time she and Jack had known him. Suddenly, Jack's eyes got very wide just as Irina looked up with a broad smile.
"Fiji." They said at the same moment.
Jack nodded as both of their minds began formulating a plan.
"I'll be back tomorrow with Kendall, Sydney and Vaughn." He promised her, leaving just as abruptly as he had come.
~*~
A/N- That's it for now! Give me good long reviews and chapter three will be out in no time! Next chapter- Irina gets out of the cell and she and Jack realize that now they've got to follow protocol as handler-asset. Curious? Then review!