Jack groaned when the alarm finally invaded his consciousness.  He'd had sleepless nights before, restless thoughts of love and betrayal, but morning usually brought solace and renewed strength against his demons.  Not this morning.  His ghosts were all too real.

Irina. 

Why had she called?  Jack pulled himself from the bed and made his way to the shower, letting the sting of water soothe away the tension of the night.  He liked showers.  They cleared away the morning cobwebs, allowing him to simply think. Laura had liked baths. He steered his mind away from that memory. 

Once again he thought of his early morning phone conversation.  It almost felt like he'd dreamt it.  Almost.  She taken a risk to call him, of that he was sure.  So there was an important message in what she'd said.  Gophers.  That was the key.  But what?  Computers?  The University of Minnesota had developed a search engine in the early days of home computing called Gopher. Surely too obscure.  She used to love watching "The Love Boat".  Her favorite character was Gopher.  But what kind of a warning was that?  He and Sydney had been watching the videos, maybe his tv was bugged.  God, he hoped not. 

The water for his shower cooled, but not his thoughts.  Panama.  She was so beautiful and he could feel the heat of her eyes on him all evening.  Perhaps he should have protested more when she asked for the tracker to be removed, but anticipation made him careless.  When she turned to him, his desire overwhelmed him and he was lost.

They made love fast and hard.  He reveled when she lost control and groaned as he fell into the same abyss. He held her close and Irina lay quietly against him.

"Jack?" He tried to fake sleep, not wanting to destroy the moment with talk, but Irina was insistent.  "Jack.  I know you are not asleep."

He turned to her, caressing her hair.  She stilled his hand.  "What's your real plan?"

"Real plan?"

"Kendall may have fallen for it, but I know you better, Jack.  I've studied your strategies.  This is far too simple and straightforward.  You don't do simple and straightforward."

He had to admire her keen intelligence, even if it did present a slight problem in his plans. His brain automatically began analyzing new strategies, some way to incorporate this new twist in to his ultimate goal.

She sighed and brushed a hand across his cheek and behind his ear.  He shivered, his body quickly reacting to her touch.  He could feel it and he knew she could feel it.  "You don't trust me." She continued her caresses, knowing that each touch would excite him more.  "You want Sloane.  I want Rambaldi.  You want Sydney safe.  So do I. We could work together?" 

"I thought we were.  You meet with Sloane, we nab him.  That's the plan."

"No, Jack, it isn't.  But we'll have to discuss this more later." She moved over him and let her body caress his.  "Right now, I simply want you. And I don't want you to think I'm seducing you for information.  I'm simply seducing you.  We don't have much time and I don't plan on wasting it."

By morning, they had formulated an alternate plan.  It had been an uneasy truce, but Irina was willing enough to submit to the passive transmitter.  They agreed the only way their plan would work was for everyone to think Irina had betrayed Jack again.  It was a sacrifice for both of them.  She, in the loss of her daughters' newborn trust and he, in being thought a colossal fool once again.

He dressed, then made his way downstairs. It was still early, the sun just rising above the horizon. He set the coffeemaker and moved to the patio off the breakfast nook.  When he and Laura had purchased the house, the backyard had been a mass of weeds and overgrown fauna.  They had worked on the yard together, spending their weekends digging and planting, until it looked like an outdoor garden.  Two years later, they had added a small pool.  Once upon a time a hammock occupied the spot between two trees.  Their yard had been a refuge of sorts for him.  It pulled him away from the ugliness that surrounded his work to a place of innocence and laughter.

He looked at the neatly manicured grounds.  Gophers, he thought.  Why gophers?  Gophers like to burrow underground and eat vegetation. Irina was right; they were not pleasant creatures.  They could wreak havoc in lawns, just like moles.  Moles.  Of course. Jack replayed the conversation in his head.

 "I remember when I left we had a gopher problem.  You wouldn't put poison out because you were worried that Sydney might accidentally get in to it.  I always wondered how you got rid of them.  Nasty animals.  I hated them being so close to our home."

A mole. And it was someone close to Sydney.  It was the obvious answer. But was that what she meant?  Which of his daughter's friends would betray her?  He could think of none.  Still, it only affirmed that they had made the right decision to keep Sydney out of the loop. Her daughter's genuine anger and grief would make Irina's cover more convincing. 

"Dad?"

"Good morning, Sydney.  Coffee? Breakfast?" Jack closed the door to the patio and headed back to the kitchen. 

"Just coffee, Dad."  She looked him over somewhat critically, then asked softly, "Are you okay?"

"Nothing a little coffee won't cure," he said as he reached for two mugs.

"You don't have to watch anymore, if you don't want to."

"I'm sorry about last night.  It just took me a little by surprise.  I'm fine, sweetheart."

She looked at him doubtfully for a moment.  He placed the mugs on the small table and they sat, quietly sipping their coffee.

"Um, Dad, about last night."  Jack stiffened slightly.  "That chef, he thought you had a date?"

Jack nodded cautiously, not knowing where the conversation was going.

"It was kind of weird."

"Weird? In what way?" He was almost afraid to hear her answer.

"I don't know.  I guess I never thought of you in that way before."  At Jack's questioning look, Sydney tried to explain further.  "With other women."

Jack relaxed.  "So, what are you asking me?" he teased.

"I don't know.  In my mind, it was always you and Mom. I don't remember you dating when I was growing up.  I always thought it was because you were being faithful to Mom." She gave him a wry smile.  "Silly of me, right?" Her look became pensive.  "Funny, even knowing what Mom did, I still think of you as..."

"Not silly," Jack interrupted abruptly.  "Naive, maybe."  He looked at his daughter, eyes hooded.  "I haven't lived as monk, if that's what you're wondering.  I'm sure your mother hasn't abstained, either."

Sydney nodded.  She wasn't sure why, but her father's admission saddened her. Her memories of her parents marriage had assumed fairy tale status over the years.  She hated when real life reared its ugly head.   

"Do you mind if I go ahead and start watching the rest of your trip to Europe?" She decided it best to avoid the word 'honeymoon'.

He smiled, immediately noticing the careful choice in words.  "Only if I get to control the remote."