Chapter 7
A knock at the door to her study interrupted her thoughts. She glanced up in irritation. "Pardon, Madame. You asked to be notified immediately if there was any news."
"News?"
"A man matching Jack Bristow's description walked out of the San Carlos Federal Penitentiary 2 hours ago."
Irina's hands twisted together in her lap, but when she looked up her features were calm. "Very well, then. We must pack, and quickly. He knows of this location."
Her major domo nodded and backed out the door. They would be ready to leave in 30 minutes.
Irina watched the door close behind him and lowered her head to her hands. Angrily she brushed away an errant tear.
He was safe. She would not see him again.
The passage of time would once more be her trusted ally. Time to move on. Time to forget.
It was over.
*
"...a 3:30 meeting with Foreign Minister Michel of Belgium, a 4:15 conference call with the R&D heads of Merck, Bayer, and Amgen, a..." Arvin Sloane's attention drifted as his administrative assistant reviewed the afternoon's schedule. It had been four days since Sydney had come to visit him, he thought impatiently; surely, by now...
"Mr. Sloane?" came through his intercom.
"Yes, Arlena?"
"Director Lindsey on line 2, sir."
Sloane waved his hand towards his assistant in dismissal and picked up the phone with a wrinkle of distaste. "Robert," purred Sloane. "What can I do for you today?"
"Just a courtesy call, Arvin," came Lindsey's arrogant voice through the receiver. "After a careful review, I've decided to release Jack Bristow. Waste of resources, frankly. I think you and I underestimated just how stubborn he could be." Sloane smirked. "And much as I'd like to let him rot in prison forever, I'm not unsympathetic to his daughter's situation."
"That's very generous of you, Robert."
"We'll keep him on a tight leash, though. If he contacts Derevko, we'll know it."
"Oh?" replied Sloane, entertained despite himself.
"Bristow won't suspect a thing."
"Keep me updated on your, uh progress," replied Sloane, rolling his eyes as he hung up. It appeared that Sydney had been successful. Not that he had doubted it - Sydney had extorted much better men than Robert Lindsey.
So, Jack Bristow was free. There was something oddly satisfying about orchestrating his release. Since he had orchestrated his capture. Sloane rubbed his hands together. He was looking forward to seeing Jack again.
Jack would be able to succeed where Sloane's vast resources had failed. He would flush Irina Derevko out of hiding. Sloane's lips tightened for a moment as he contemplated the damage she had caused him over the past 3 months. No matter, he reminded himself. With Jack's help he'd be able to fix that problem permanently.
It was just beginning.
A knock at the door to her study interrupted her thoughts. She glanced up in irritation. "Pardon, Madame. You asked to be notified immediately if there was any news."
"News?"
"A man matching Jack Bristow's description walked out of the San Carlos Federal Penitentiary 2 hours ago."
Irina's hands twisted together in her lap, but when she looked up her features were calm. "Very well, then. We must pack, and quickly. He knows of this location."
Her major domo nodded and backed out the door. They would be ready to leave in 30 minutes.
Irina watched the door close behind him and lowered her head to her hands. Angrily she brushed away an errant tear.
He was safe. She would not see him again.
The passage of time would once more be her trusted ally. Time to move on. Time to forget.
It was over.
*
"...a 3:30 meeting with Foreign Minister Michel of Belgium, a 4:15 conference call with the R&D heads of Merck, Bayer, and Amgen, a..." Arvin Sloane's attention drifted as his administrative assistant reviewed the afternoon's schedule. It had been four days since Sydney had come to visit him, he thought impatiently; surely, by now...
"Mr. Sloane?" came through his intercom.
"Yes, Arlena?"
"Director Lindsey on line 2, sir."
Sloane waved his hand towards his assistant in dismissal and picked up the phone with a wrinkle of distaste. "Robert," purred Sloane. "What can I do for you today?"
"Just a courtesy call, Arvin," came Lindsey's arrogant voice through the receiver. "After a careful review, I've decided to release Jack Bristow. Waste of resources, frankly. I think you and I underestimated just how stubborn he could be." Sloane smirked. "And much as I'd like to let him rot in prison forever, I'm not unsympathetic to his daughter's situation."
"That's very generous of you, Robert."
"We'll keep him on a tight leash, though. If he contacts Derevko, we'll know it."
"Oh?" replied Sloane, entertained despite himself.
"Bristow won't suspect a thing."
"Keep me updated on your, uh progress," replied Sloane, rolling his eyes as he hung up. It appeared that Sydney had been successful. Not that he had doubted it - Sydney had extorted much better men than Robert Lindsey.
So, Jack Bristow was free. There was something oddly satisfying about orchestrating his release. Since he had orchestrated his capture. Sloane rubbed his hands together. He was looking forward to seeing Jack again.
Jack would be able to succeed where Sloane's vast resources had failed. He would flush Irina Derevko out of hiding. Sloane's lips tightened for a moment as he contemplated the damage she had caused him over the past 3 months. No matter, he reminded himself. With Jack's help he'd be able to fix that problem permanently.
It was just beginning.