CHAPTER SEVENTEEN – THE LETTER, PT. I

Jack sat sunk into the recliner, Irina's letter splayed out on his lap, too exhausted from her disclosures to do anything else.

After the boy had skated away, Jack stood in the driveway, just staring at the overflowing envelope.  The idea that Irina had that much information was nothing new, but the thought that she would share it with him – without wanting something in return – was bizarre.  The situation only got more bizarre after he returned to the house and opened the envelope.

Jack,

Do not go to the CIA with Sydney until you have read all of this!  You and Sydney need to discuss how much of this information you feel prudent revealing.

Without a thought of reading any further, Jack immediately strode from the living room into the kitchen and picked up the phone.  He dialed the CIA main line, asked for Kendall, and informed a surprisingly compliant Director that the Bristows would not be returning until the next morning.  After hanging up the phone, Jack stood at the kitchen counter, trying to mentally prepare for whatever surprises Irina had in store for them this time.  Needing a reminder of why he had to be strong, he left the kitchen and moved silently down the hall to Sydney's bedroom door.

After listening with his ear to the door and hearing nothing but her even breathing, Jack softly turned the knob and entered the room.  He paused just inside the entry, watching as the golden afternoon sun played off his daughter's peaceful face.  He moved to her bedside, carefully removed the book she clutched to her chest, picked up a blanket folded at the foot of the bed and laid it over Sydney's shoulders.  He softly pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, resting his hand on her cheek, then turned and left the room.  Jack had no intention of waking Sydney until it was necessary, and he wanted time alone to read the remainder of Irina's letter. 

He did read it.  All twenty, double-sided pages of it, and now he couldn't think what could possibly be his next move.  He couldn't quite comprehend the enormity of… well… Sydney's past two years. 

Jack had been right on target.  Sloane's minons had kidnapped Sydney from her own home after the fight with Allison Doran, who had contacted her employer when she realized her position had been compromised by Will Tippin.  But knowing he was right in following Sloane didn't make the knowledge of what happened to Sydney any easier to digest.  Irina was blessedly vague about the types of torture that their daughter suffered, but the reason the pain was inflicted upon her was enough to make Jack nauseated.  He looked back down at the elegant writing which conveyed such horrible truths.

Sloane, as you are well aware, has completed assembling Il Dire.  What you may not know is the reason he abducted Sydney and why he tried so aggressively to recruit you as his partner.

I assume that you are now aware that it was Sydney in Rambaldi's prophecy, not me.  Sloane needed Sydney to complete Rambaldi's work.  Il Dire, "The Telling," would only give its secrets to one person, and that person was our daughter.  The purpose of Rambaldi's machine was to relay all of his greatest secrets, including the key to immortality, but there was a catch. 

The machine only works with the 'chosen one' connected to it through a tube inserted into her abdomen.  Her blood runs through the machine and she becomes part of it, and it part of her.  It will tell her whichever of Rambaldi's secrets she wishes to know, but she has to want to know them.  The chosen one must freely become part of the machine.  Sloane would only get Rambaldi's knowledge if Sydney was first willing to obtain it, then willing to give it to him.  He was well aware of the challenge that task presented after he had so thoroughly destroyed her life.

This is where you come in, Jack.  Sloane needed Sydney to cooperate, and he knew that having you on his side would be the best way to convince her to help him.  However, you were not the only plan he had for breaking her.  He tortured her extensively, using every method he knew, both physical and mental, but she would still not comply with his wishes.  She held on tightly to the idea of her family and friends and all the grief Sloane had caused you all. 

So, in a last-ditch effort to remove all Sydney's hope of return to her normal life, he faked her death.  He planted Sydney's locket – the one that Emily had given her for her 21st birthday – on an unidentifiable body and left it for the CIA to conclude that she was dead.  Sloane's torment of Sydney consisted of pictures of her funeral, her grave, and then finally, pictures of the man she loved… married to another woman.

It was at that point that I located Sloane.  I managed to extract Sydney and remove her to a safe place.  It took her nearly a month to physically recover from the damage Sloane had done in the months she was in his captivity.  The mental wounds never fully healed.

Jack had to force himself to breathe as he read those blood-chilling words.  The fact that he had been so close... that if he had only accepted Sloane's offer, he may have been able to save Sydney months of suffering… it was too much.  Thank God that Irina had succeeded where he had failed.  Who knows what might have happened if she hadn't discovered and rescued Sydney when she did?

Irina's next narrative should have surprised him, but after the way he had failed Sydney, it didn't.  Irina had not held her against her will.  After Sydney recovered, she refused to return to the CIA… or to Jack.  Irina seemed to know the guilt he would feel, and tried to assuage him:

It wasn't that she didn't want to be with you, Jack.  Sydney had finally come to understand the power that Rambaldi's prophecy was to have in her life.  She felt that before she could do anything… attempt any kind of return to her life and loved ones… she needed to be rid of Sloane forever.  She thought that nobody would ever be safe – especially you and Agent Vaughn – until the Rambaldi mess was finished.

I agreed to help her.  We spent weeks training her to be certain she was back at full strength, then we commenced our search for Sloane.  Although he was evasive, he wanted Sydney as much as she wanted him, and eventually we found him.

Jack recalled the scene from the villa in Fiesole.  After two years of watching her life being stolen from her, Sydney had gotten her revenge.  She had killed Sloane.  Jack tried to imagine her life… how she must have suffered, even after the torture was over.  If Sydney felt things were so horrible that she could not turn to him for help…

A shudder escaped his rigid form as he grieved for his daughter's innocence.  This was never supposed to happen… he had worked so hard to keep her from harm, but it never seemed to do any good.  Every plan he had made for her safety had backfired and now all was left with was a broken daughter and a mountain of guilt to rival the Rockies.

Jack heaved a sigh and began to stack the papers.  He suddenly heard the sound of feet on the carpet and saw Sydney walking down the hallway toward him.

"Why didn't you wake me?  Kendall's going to throw a fit," she commented.  She stopped cold when she saw her father's sickened expression.

"Dad?  What's wrong?"

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A/N:  OK, in case you missed it… the long delay (this time) was not my fault!  FF.net wasn't allowing anyone to upload new content for a few days, but it's been fixed now.  I guess all my readers here get a treat, because the next chapter goes up tomorrow!!  big sigh  I'm tired, now.  Thank you SO much to everyone who has read my story… there's still a good bit to go, so I hope you've been getting your rest in.  Please keep reviewing… those little comments make my days!