Assistant Director Kendall, FBI, poked unenthusiastically at his limp salad. At HQ for a series of counter-terrorism briefings, he sat alone in the cavernous Quantico cafeteria. A cacophony of clattering silverware, murmuring voices, and shuffling feet played in the background.
"Kendall, mind if I join you?"
Kendall looked up from his lunch to see the inquisitive face of Sam Binder. "Go right ahead," he said neutrally, waving Sam to a seat next to him.
"I heard that Jack Bristow got released today. Didn't he work for you at one point?"
Kendall's fork paused midway between his plate and his mouth. He had completely forgotten about Bristow. How long had it been? A year? "If your definition of 'worked for me' includes doing whatever the hell he wanted, when he wanted, then yes, he 'worked for me'," he replied testily.
"Not exactly a company man, huh?"
Kendall shrugged. "A damn fine agent, but a pain in the ass to manage. Figured the policies were for lesser mortals. But you know, I was still pretty shocked - ," he stopped and looked around.
"Yes?" prompted his companion.
"- pretty shocked," Kendall continued in a lower tone, "that they tossed him into solitary. There was absolutely no evidence of conspiracy or wrongdoing."
"Well something must have gotten the NSC's knickers in a twist," his companion observed sagely. "What happened?"
"Dammit! This is crazy. If he really is working with Derevko, I can't think of a worse way of locating her," Kendall stormed angrily at the NSC representatives in his office.
"Sloane advised us -,"
"Sloane! Are you telling me that this is *Sloane's* idea?"
"Arvin Sloane has known Jack Bristow for 35 years. And he advises that direct confrontation is the best way to get the information from him. That Bristow will never let himself take the fall for Derevko again."
"Let me get this straight," Kendall ground out. "Instead of tracing Bristow to Derevko, you're going to *ask* him where she is?"
"Yes," answered the NSC director smugly.
"I'm telling you, Sam," said Kendall aggrieved, "after one week with Jack Bristow I could have told you it was going to be a disaster. But back then, Sloane's intel on terrorists was 100%. The sun shone out of his ass."
"So what happened?"
"Bristow."
"Agent Bristow, please come down to Interview Room 3," ordered Kendall over the telephone. It was not an unusual request. Room 3 was the secured room, equipped with audio and video recording equipment, and utilized for the more difficult interrogations. Bristow had a special flair for those.
"Now?" came the irritated voice.
"Now."
Kendall watched as Jack flashed his ID at the door and stride in confidently. Saw Jack swiftly assess the two visitors and the lack of suspects. "Director Kendall?"
"Agent Bristow, I'd like you to meet Director Robert Lindsey from the NSC and Eric Sherborne, Assistant Director in charge of Counter-Espionage. They have a few questions for you," said Kendall tersely.
"Here?" queried Jack, face impassive.
"Here," replied Kendall grimly, telling Jack everything he needed to know. The snick of the door lock behind Jack confirmed it.
"Very well," said Jack, the model of cooperation, "what can I do for our colleagues at the NSC today?"
"You can explain this." An 8x10 glossy was slapped on the table.
Jack casually studied the photo of a man and a woman sitting at a long worktable littered with maps and papers. He looked up and shrugged. "It looks like a photo of me with Irina Derevko." He flipped the photo over. "No time or location markings. Not an NSC photo. How do you know it hasn't been tampered with?"
"It came to us from a source that has proven exceptionally reliable lately at apprehending terrorists," responded Sherborne arrogantly.
Jack flashed a look at Kendall and caught the look of contempt on his face. "Sloane," said Jack coolly. He took the silence in response as affirmation.
"Are you denying that you met with Derevko?" pressed Lindsey.
"Of course not," said Jack patiently. "I'm sure Director Kendall told you that I've crossed paths with Derevko several times over the past year. Unfortunately, those occasions didn't result in her recapture, but they are well-documented in my mission reports."
"Yes, remarkable how you're the only CIA operative that runs into her," said Lindsey snidely.
Jack shrugged. "Luck of the draw."
"Maybe unlucky," replied Sherborne smoothly. "This contact was quite recent - August 20th - and your last filed mission report was in February."
"Wait a minute," interjected Kendall. "That was *five weeks* ago. You've known all this time and haven't said anything?"
"The photo was only provided by our source this morning."
"This morning?" Jack repeated, stunned. Kendall looked over at Jack curiously. Why had that piece of information been so important?
"Did you ever figure out why the timing was so important?"
"No. And knowing Bristow, we probably never will. But his whole attitude changed at that point. Like all of a sudden he was taking it very, very seriously."
"Very well," said Jack in clipped tones. "A full report of this contact is on my computer, waiting to be filed. I'll get it for you now," he offered, starting to rise.
"Like hell. You're not going anywhere," snapped Sherborne.
Jack rolled his eyes. "Fine," he said evenly. "Download it yourself. The file name is D820, the password is," he paused, thinking, "'ts3-97gt47/n-14%'."
Sherborne stood up and whispered to the guard, then sat back down again. The 4 men in the room stared at each other in uncomfortable silence. Kendall glanced over at Jack, who was looking relaxed. Relaxed? Kendall replayed the conversation in his head. "Oh sh*t!" he groaned, jumping up and running to the door.
"Unusual password," remarked Sam with a sideways glance.
"Yeah, I know, I missed it," said Kendall with disgust. "Afterwards we were able to verify that a transmission had been sent from his computer at the time the agent typed in the password. Some kind of code."
"Here you are, Director Kendall." An agent met Kendall at the door and pushed 6 pages of computer printout into his hands. "It worked just like Bristow said."
Kendall glanced at Jack, who returned his look blandly. "I'll bet," muttered Kendall. He could have sworn he saw a triumphant gleam in Bristow's eye. He quickly scanned the pages and looked up, startled. "Derevko is *Amber*?"
"What the hell is "Amber"?" snarled Lindsey.
"Amber is an informant that Bristow has been using that has provided some very high quality intelligence for us over the past few months," replied Kendall, his face flushed. "Obviously I had no idea it was Derevko."
"It's standard tradecraft to disguise your source," said Jack calmly.
Kendall's brows snapped together and he opened his mouth for an angry reply, but was cut off.
"Tell me, Agent Bristow," interjected Lindsey, leering, "what else passes for standard tradecraft in this operation?" He slapped down a second photo of Jack and Irina, apparently from the same surveillance camera sometime later. Both on top of the table, their joint activity was unmistakable. It was, thought Kendall to himself, pretty impressive.
"You mean he had been screwing the CIA's #6 most wanted terrorist all that time?"
Kendall shrugged. "Their relationship was always pretty complicated. He had tried to send her to the chair a couple of years earlier. They say that love and hate are two sides of the same coin. The coin just flips a lot with the Bristows."
"Conspiracy. Treason. You're facing some pretty serious charges here, Bristow. She must be pretty incredible in bed for you to sell out your country."
Jack's face whitened. Kendall had no doubt that Jack was mentally calculating the distance between himself and Lindsey. And had no doubt about the outcome.
"You have proof for those charges?" Kendall interjected, torn between his fury with Jack's insubordination and his irritation with Lindsey's approach.
"I'm sure we'll get it eventually," said Lindsey unconcernedly. "But if you help us capture Derevko, Bristow, I'll make sure the judge is lenient."
"F*ck you." Jack had spoken for the first time. "You have absolutely. no. proof. I did not, would not, betray my country. Your logic is faulty, your accusations baseless."
Lindsey leaned into Jack's face. Kendall winced. "You don't seem to understand, Bristow. You've been f*cking a wanted terrorist - your career's over. If you don't help me find Derevko I'll charge you with obstruction of justice now, and I'll nail you for treason later."
"You can't," said Jack flatly
"I can't what?" sneered Lindsey.
"Can't charge me with obstruction of justice." Jack's eyes glittered coldly.
"I can if you refuse to tell me where to find Derevko."
"No. A husband can not be compelled to testify against his. . . .wife."
"She's your ex-wife!" snapped Lindsey.
"Do your research next time," said Jack with disdain.
"You're *kidding* me. He was still married to her 20 years later?"
"Yeah. Gives a whole new meaning to 'for better, for worse', doesn't it?"
Lindsey jumped up and started pacing. "You think you're pretty goddamn smart, don't you?"
"If we're done here, I have work to do," said Jack coldly.
Lindsey stopped pacing and smiled. "We're not done Agent Bristow. Not even close." He gestured at the guards.
"What am I being charged with?" Jack had demanded, incredulous, as the guards had approached him with handcuffs.
"Resisting authority."
"Resisting authority? Since when was 'resisting authority' an arrestable offense?" He jumped to his feet, furious now.
"We're not arresting you. We're *detaining* you. Welcome to the war on terror," Lindsey smirked.
"You're bluffing."
"This is your last chance. We've got a cell that's going to be filled. It's hers. . . or yours."
"Go to hell," Jack spat.
"Jack." Jack looked up at Kendall as the guards were putting on the handcuffs. "Jack, she's not worth it."
Jack's face stiffened as the cuffs were attached, then relaxed. "Oh, yes *she* is," he said softly.
"So he went to prison rather than set up Derevko?" Kendall's companion asked curiously. "Even after what she did to him last time?"
Kendall grimaced. "Hard to believe, isn't it? But the way they handled it, it was a foregone conclusion. It was almost as if they wanted him in prison. Press Bristow's buttons the wrong way, and he can be one stubborn sonovabitch. Runs in the family," he said reflectively.
"So why do you think they let him out? His daughter just reappeared a week ago - you think the NSC's getting soft?"
Kendall thought for a moment, then barked with laughter. "Oh, I'm sure the two incidents are related," he said, smothering a grin. "Poor Lindsey."
"Poor Lindsey? What about Bristow? He's been in solitary for more than a year."
Kendall shook his head briskly. "Don't worry about Bristow. He's the toughest guy I know. Nothing touches him."