Chapter 29 A Thin Line
Jack walked into the room prepared. It had been 12 years since he'd last seen her and he'd rehearse what he was going to say to the last word. Before he could speak Irina's voice penetrated his concentration.
"How could you let Sydney get into this mess?" Irina said accusingly. "You were suppose to protect her from all this." She was pacing the room like a lioness in a cage.
"You have no right to lecture me on my failings as a parent, Irina. I've done the best I could under the circumstances." Jack said defensively. His rehearsed speech was forgotten as anger took over.
"Well it wasn't good enough!" Irina said angrily. She stopped her pacing to stand in front on him. Her eyes were flashing.
"How dare you, I raised her by myself since you were so conveniently dead." Jack countered just as angry. He stared into her eyes looking for some kind of apology or remorse. He didn't find either.
"You didn't give me a choice Jack!" Irina spat. "You made it clear that you didn't want me in your life or Sydney's."
"I want you out of our lives." Jack said coldly.
"Sydney is my daughter! I have a right to see her."
"You lost all rights as her mother when you killed those agents."
"I told you the truth when I said that I didn't know that they were CIA, I was told that they were KGB operatives that went rogue. By the time I found out the truth, you'd found out the truth." Irina tried to explain. She read his blank face and knew that he didn't believe a word.
"How convenient. Irina you are one of the smartest women I know, I find it difficult to believe that you'd be duped into doing anything. No, you'll never see your daughter again." Jack said avoiding her eyes. He wanted to believe her so much that it ached. God help him, he still loved her so much that one look into her eyes could unravel all his defenses.
Please Jack, I'll do anything you want. I'll turn myself in, I know that I can make a deal with the CIA. We can work together and correct this mistake. Don't keep my daughter from me, she's the only thing left in my life that's…." She saw his determined face and realized that her plea was futile. She'd lost everything in the world that had mattered to her, her husband and her daughter.
"It's too late Irina, I'm taking you in now. I'll make sure that if they don't execute you for your crimes, you'll end up in jail until you die. You will never see our daughter again. As of now, you're dead; you died in a car accident. Sydney will know her mother as a professor of literature, who loved her, not a cold-blooded KGB assassin."
"I know that you won't believe anything I say but believe that I love both of you more then my life. If my death is what you want, so be it. Just promise me that you'll keep Sydney safe, and faraway from this lifestyle." Irina said defeated.
"If you hadn't faked your own death, I might have believed all the lies that you tried to tell me." Jack said as he tried to hide the emotions that came to the surface.
"Oh please!" Irina scoffed. "You knew that I wasn't dead, I send you a letter."
"Yes the damn letter. I should have turned you in. I believed that you'd turn your life around, prove to everyone and me that we'd been wrong about you." Jack said shaking his head. "I was a fool!"
"Jack!" Irina said softly. There was brightness in her eyes and bewilderment. It wasn't until this moment that she realized that Jack had still loved her even after he'd found out about her secret life.
"All this time I thought that you hated and despised me." Her shoulders were slightly slumped as if the realization was too much for her to bear. "You love me."
"Loved, Irina, as in past tense. You're like opium, an addictive drug. Now that I know what you are… you have no power over me. All I see now is a power hungry bitch that needs to be put to sleep." Jack spat before walking away.
"I'm what you made me Jack." She yelled out angrily to him before he left the room.
"It's taken 21 years to get where I want. I've given you a front row seat, now you'll see who I really am and what I'm capable of." Irina said under her breath, she had a determined look on her face. He had shown her his Achilles heel. A smile slowly formed on her face. "Let the games begin."
