Chapter Twenty-nine: Away from the Island

Dearest Sydney and Michael,

As I'm sure you realize, I have your daughter. Such a lovely girl. So beautiful and spirited-- so much like you, Sydney. I'm sure she's the apple of her father's eye. I'm sure you must miss her a great deal.

Well, fear not, my darlings. I have hardly contacted you just to torment you, and I hardly kidnapped your precious Emily just so I could spend time with my granddaughter. As always, I have a plan, for your daughter, and for the two of you as well.

The day after you receive this letter, please make sure you are at the Credit Dauphine building in Los Angeles, CA, at 6 p.m. I'm sure you remember where it is. At that time, you will see that your daughter is safe. I'm sure I don't have to tell you not to involve local or federal authorities.

See you soon, Sydney and Michael. I hope that you've enjoyed the last decade. I'd hate to think that you sold me out to the CIA for nothing.

Sincerely,

Irina

P.S. Please be sure to bring your son to the meeting, and be sure to thank him for his cooperation on New Year's Eve.

Jack Bristow looked up from the letter as Sydney hung up the phone, tears in her eyes, a hand clasped over her mouth. Michael was quick to wrap his arms around her, to whisper to her soothingly. It's okay, baby. We'll get through this.

"Well, clearly, this is a trap," Jack said flatly, waving the letter in the air.

"What is that?" Michael asked, frowning at the letter curiously.

"Oh, Michael, you have to read that," Sydney said, disengaging herself from his embrace. "It's-- instructions."

Jack handed the letter to his son-in-law wordlessly, watching as he read the letter. "Son of a bitch," Michael muttered. "She's summoning us to SD-6 headquarters?"

"Surely you know what she plans to do," Jack said, looking from Michael to Sydney expectantly.

"I don't know, I suspect," Michael said, his voice flat. "I suspect she has no intention of letting Emily go, and once she has Sydney, Jack, and me, she won't let us go, either."

"Precisely," Jack said, shooting a quick glance at his grandson. The young man looked nothing if not completely dazed. "Only of course she won't trust the two of you to work for her. She'll keep you in a prison that you'll step into willingly, telling you that she'll kill your children if you don't obey her every whim. Meanwhile, she'll put Jack and Emily to work, telling them, of course, that she'll kill the two of you if they don't do as she says."

"God, she knows how to turn the screws," Sydney murmured, leaning against the back of the couch. "We're idiots if we step into her trap, but we can't just leave Emily there, either."

"It's curious that she didn't involve me in the note," Jack said thoughtfully. "Surely she suspects you've contacted me. I wouldn't think she'd want to leave any member of your team free."

"I'm sure she has some plan for you later, some demand to make of the CIA that she needs you free for," Sydney sighed. "I just--"

She was interrupted by a rapping on the door. "Oh, God. Jack," she said, nodding at her son. "Send whoever it is away, hmm?"

Unfortunately, Michael hadn't locked the door behind him when he'd come in, and their visitor didn't wait for a reply.

"Hey," said a young man, appearing among them. "Any word on Emily?"

"Who the hell is this?" Jack asked, looking from the boy to Michael and Sydney in dismay. Surely they hadn't been foolish enough to let people know that Emily was missing.

"Dad, this is Keith Jones, Emily's boyfriend," Sydney said with a sigh. "He was there with Jack the night Irina took Emily away. He heard everything."

"You haven't told anyone, have you?" Jack asked in alarm. It irked him that there was some random teenager wandering around knowing things he had no business knowing. And besides-- "Isn't Emily too young to have a boyfriend?"

"Tell me about it," Michael groaned.

"Emily's in high school, you know," Keith said defensively. "And no, I haven't told anyone. Emily's grandma told me not to, and she was--" he paused as if searching for the right words. "Kind of scary."

"Tell me about it," Jack groaned.

"Keith, Emily is safe, and we'll be seeing her soon," Sydney told him. "I really can't tell you anymore."

"No, wait," Jack said, as an idea occurred to him. "Keith, how involved in this are you willing to be?"

"Dad, we can't just put Emily's boyfriend in danger," Sydney said, looking exasperated.

"He won't be in danger," Jack insisted, then frowned. "Much."

"I want to be involved," Keith said eagerly. "And I don't mind danger."

"Please," Jack Vaughn scoffed. "Your idea of danger is sneaking into Emily's bedroom in the middle of the night when you know our dad is home."

"What?" Michael asked, eyes nearly popping out of his head.

"Michael, please, we can worry about your daughter's virtue later," Jack Bristow said with a smirk. He turned his attention to Emily's boyfriend.

"So what do you say, Keith? You think you can get away from the island for a few days?"