Title: True Lies
Author: Puts hand up. Yes me! Aeria, Doona, donna__rose@hotmail.com
Rating: PG-13
Please Read and Review
Summary: Jack and Irina have a chat
Disclaimer: Duh, not mine, Wish they were.
A/N: Ahem keep reviewing and I do know that jack seems out of character but, no offence to him, he doesn't really have any character, oh and I am a bit hopeless at writing, that might be why.
Chapter Eight
"Daddy," Sydney yelped, having no idea why she had intervened, her mind telling her over and over again that it was simply them keeping the façade alive. "What did you buy mom?"
Jack looked around, momentarily startled, "Just some perfume. I bought it for her on our honeymoon and your mother wanted some more." He smiled, forcing it as he tried to recall just what he had almost done. "4711 by Muelhens, it's just wonderful stuff," he smiled at Irina who was watching him, sensing something was up as she turned to find Sydney franticly trying to calm her father down with conversation. He suddenly regained his composure and nodded to Vaughn, his son-in-law. "Keeping this up in expensive," he frowned, his sentence not making sense for neither his character nor himself. Irina simply laughed, gaining another hungry glance from the shop assistant.
"We done?" Sydney asked, loud enough for passers by to hear. When everyone had agreed they headed out, now in single file, Sydney making a show, both to her father and the young blond to the right who was looking at her husband, of grabbing Vaughn's hand from behind him. Jack just hoped that Irina wouldn't catch on and decide that public displays of affection were needed.
As they approached customs, Jack pulled a pen from his pocket, ready to activate a device to deceive the metal detector while the four walked through, a gun hidden under each arm of himself, Sydney and Vaughn. The suitcases, he knew, were being taken onto and off the plane by a CIA agent and the contents could therefore pose to threat as far as their exposure went.
Walking through, an attendant checked their bags before pointing them over to a desk where an elderly, mustached man sat, smiling cheerfully at a young couple with three children as they wandered away heading for the boarding lounge.
Approaching, the elderly man looked them over before asking, "Good evening. Are any of you carrying any wood, food, raw materials or illegal products?" He smiled obviously. His expertise when it came to seeing through people as they tried to hide their guilt or fear over hidden objects blatant to all four agents.
Jack shook his head along with Irina and Vaughn. Sydney, ready to have a go at her character, in typical fashion, let a yelp escape her lips and rose her hand to her forehead. The man looked her over, trying to work out what had happened. Giving him a look she pulled her denim backpack off and produced a ripe, green apple from its depths, hidden below the papers.
Shaking her head, she said, "Oh my goodness, I totally forgot. I bought this as my last meal in America; I'm going to miss this place." She looked up to see how she was going, her eyes falsely sullen. "I suppose I have to hand over the apple..." she sighed as she held it out, allowing the attendant to look at her perfectly manicured fingers.
He looked up at her, biting his lip. I really should take this off you." She nodded, her hand reaching further slightly. "If you promise to leave the core behind...I'll let you have it this once."
Sydney grinning, "Oh thank you, so much." She smiled at him and he let them walk through to the hall that led them down to the boarding lounge. Sydney and Vaughn couldn't help but crack up as they rounded the corner, leaning on each other slightly for support, Vaughn severely aware that she was there. Sydney took a large bite of her apple and gained a raised eyebrow and a wide grin of pride and humour from her mother while Jack just continued to look around them for possible threats, a small smile gracing his lips for a brief amount of time and only noticed by her supposed wife.
Twenty minutes later, boarding began for first and business classes and the four of them stood, ready to board, the young red head taking their tickets without a second's glance and allowing them past.
Once on the 747, Sydney and Vaughn each ordered a drink and sat down, beginning to exchange details over each other's new histories quietly, trying to learn while both secretly listening to any conversation in front.
Irina sat down and instantly pulled out the airline magazine leaving Jack to stare at her having expected her to do something controversial; start a conversation or just look at him, trying to pull his defenses down again. But she just sat down and pulled out the magazine. When the air hostess walked past offering drinks, Irina simply looked up, for a tenth of a second startled before kindly declining.
It was the fraction of time's alarmed look that brought Jack to the conclusion that Irina was thinking about something too hard. What that something was, he had no idea and so went back to staring at the chair in front of him, occasionally looking over at people as they boarded.
The day had begun in the normal way for Jack; he'd woken at six and gone through the morning routine of showering, dressing, eating, before organizing his house and his day. It had been during breakfast that he had decided that he would have to face Irina, to finally say thank you so that he could stop feeling this itchy sort of guilt. Of course he had expected some problems but now he was sitting beside her, supposedly perfectly happily married and, still yet to thank her. He decided that he had severely underestimated the possibility of something going wrong.
He'd admitted far too many truths and somehow been tricked into letting her see into his deepest and most private mind. Jack ran a hand through his loose black hair, closing his eyes and breathing in deeply through his nose and exhaling through his mouth. Whatever happened In Australia, and after that, Jack swore to himself that he wouldn't fall under Irina's spell, not again, not now that he knew better, not now that he knew the truth. 'But you already have,' the voice within his own ears was quickly quelled.
Irina let her eyes slide from the magazine to where Jack was running a hand through his now black hair. She turned a page, her eyes now completely focused on Jack as he closed his eyes, obviously thinking about her. She smiled a small smile as she realized the affect she was having on him. God knows why she had allowed him into her mind in the first place. A month before she would have scoffed at the idea of such complete honesty with anyone, but now...now she wasn't so sure that it was indeed such a bad thing.
Now she was slowly letting him in, letting him lock eyes with her, playing with him while she tried to figure out why she didn't dislike being with him, why she was never waiting for him to leave, but instead, waiting for him to arrive. She turned another page and glanced at Jack who now seemed to be staring at his left hand, his brow again creased low. Slowly she sighed silently and continued to contemplate her predicament, closing her eyes she allowed herself to slip into a deep sleep, in the hope of missing take off, a part of missions she would always hate.
Take off was relatively uneventful, Sydney and Vaughn swapping bios and silently reading as the plane continued to climb higher and fly faster. Sydney finding that her husband, Craig, was 31, a Harvard graduate, corporate lawyer. Born and raised in Oregon with a pent house in New York and a house in LA. His parents sailed the world and every Christmas they'd get together and celebrate. Vaughn had learnt that his Sydney or Naomi had completed High School before retiring to a house her parents had provided her with in Boston. The pair had met in Seattle at a gallery opening and fallen instantly in love. Sydney and Vaughn continued their study, going over the finer points and the personalities until far into the flight.
It was around this time that a brunette, thin-faced, woman approached Jack. "There's a call for you Mr Pearson." She handed him a rather large cream coloured phone and left.
Jack looked around discreetly before putting the phone to his ear, "Yes?"
Kendall's voice rang through the phone, delayed a little, "Jack, I hope everything is going well. You are to arrive in Melbourne and spend the night in the Crown Casino Complex. You will spend the next four days establishing yourselves as tourists and be connected via phone which will be delivered by an agent, at seven pm Thursday, with details regarding your mission." Kendall paused, "Do you understand?"
Jack was, of course, fuming by now, Irina's theory proving true; they were going to be stuck here for at least another four days. He simply nodded, slowly, noticing his daughter and his temporary son-in-law, watching the conversation. "Yes, that's fine. Everything is going well here." He hung the phone up and gave it to the agent as she walked back past. Turning around, he repeated the conversation to the pair.
Jack glanced over to where Irina was sitting, curled up and hands in her lap, face relaxed and her eyes closed. Jack presumed she was asleep but watched her closely for the next twenty minutes to make sure. Once he saw that she neither moved nor breathed quicker or slower, he slowly relaxed into watching her, seriously trying to learn as much as he could from her while there was no chance of her forging a counter attack.
Watching her, he noticed small lines at the corner of her eyes and long streaks across her forehead, all a result of a mixture of age, tension and strain. They didn't dim her beauty, a characteristic she possessed that could not be denied, they enhanced the sharp and, until recently, faultless intelligence that her features possessed.
Jack noticed her hair was a duller brown, almost blond where it fell down around her ears. He smiled, happy to have found a weakness, even if it was age. That hair would be going grey soon. Looking behind him he found Vaughn and Sydney deeply engrossed in each other's bios, turning back he couldn't help but feel guilty as he looked at Irina, quietly and simply comparing her to Laura.
Laura had had much straighter hair, and slightly darker. Her face had also been younger, but also seemed more naïve and innocent, whether Irina had truly been those things of if they were simply faked was indeterminable. Laura's face had seemed to be a different shape, longer and softer. Jack felt a kick in the stomach as he realized that he thought of Irina as being the more beautiful of the two. That he considered a woman who had ruined him more beautiful than his wife. Even if they were the same person, that was wrong to think.
Shaking his head, he watched her as her chest rose and fell, her every move clearly outlined through the thin material of her thin top. She shivered in her sleep, with an eye on Sydney and Vaughn; Jack felt under his own seat and pulled out the light blue blanket. A scowl in place, but something inside slightly warmer than usual, Jack reached over and gingerly placed the blanket over Irina, a small smile lighting her lips as he did so, but her eyes never flickering or opening.
Vaughn looked up a couple of seconds after he had felt Jack's eyes on him. Through the gap between the two chairs, Vaughn saw Jack guiltily holding a blanket. Seeing what was about to happen, he nudged Sydney, not allowing his eyes to leave the scene playing out in front of him. Together they watched, turning to each other, utterly shocked, as Jack turned back around, sitting silently, thinking about something.
Author: Puts hand up. Yes me! Aeria, Doona, donna__rose@hotmail.com
Rating: PG-13
Please Read and Review
Summary: Jack and Irina have a chat
Disclaimer: Duh, not mine, Wish they were.
A/N: Ahem keep reviewing and I do know that jack seems out of character but, no offence to him, he doesn't really have any character, oh and I am a bit hopeless at writing, that might be why.
Chapter Eight
"Daddy," Sydney yelped, having no idea why she had intervened, her mind telling her over and over again that it was simply them keeping the façade alive. "What did you buy mom?"
Jack looked around, momentarily startled, "Just some perfume. I bought it for her on our honeymoon and your mother wanted some more." He smiled, forcing it as he tried to recall just what he had almost done. "4711 by Muelhens, it's just wonderful stuff," he smiled at Irina who was watching him, sensing something was up as she turned to find Sydney franticly trying to calm her father down with conversation. He suddenly regained his composure and nodded to Vaughn, his son-in-law. "Keeping this up in expensive," he frowned, his sentence not making sense for neither his character nor himself. Irina simply laughed, gaining another hungry glance from the shop assistant.
"We done?" Sydney asked, loud enough for passers by to hear. When everyone had agreed they headed out, now in single file, Sydney making a show, both to her father and the young blond to the right who was looking at her husband, of grabbing Vaughn's hand from behind him. Jack just hoped that Irina wouldn't catch on and decide that public displays of affection were needed.
As they approached customs, Jack pulled a pen from his pocket, ready to activate a device to deceive the metal detector while the four walked through, a gun hidden under each arm of himself, Sydney and Vaughn. The suitcases, he knew, were being taken onto and off the plane by a CIA agent and the contents could therefore pose to threat as far as their exposure went.
Walking through, an attendant checked their bags before pointing them over to a desk where an elderly, mustached man sat, smiling cheerfully at a young couple with three children as they wandered away heading for the boarding lounge.
Approaching, the elderly man looked them over before asking, "Good evening. Are any of you carrying any wood, food, raw materials or illegal products?" He smiled obviously. His expertise when it came to seeing through people as they tried to hide their guilt or fear over hidden objects blatant to all four agents.
Jack shook his head along with Irina and Vaughn. Sydney, ready to have a go at her character, in typical fashion, let a yelp escape her lips and rose her hand to her forehead. The man looked her over, trying to work out what had happened. Giving him a look she pulled her denim backpack off and produced a ripe, green apple from its depths, hidden below the papers.
Shaking her head, she said, "Oh my goodness, I totally forgot. I bought this as my last meal in America; I'm going to miss this place." She looked up to see how she was going, her eyes falsely sullen. "I suppose I have to hand over the apple..." she sighed as she held it out, allowing the attendant to look at her perfectly manicured fingers.
He looked up at her, biting his lip. I really should take this off you." She nodded, her hand reaching further slightly. "If you promise to leave the core behind...I'll let you have it this once."
Sydney grinning, "Oh thank you, so much." She smiled at him and he let them walk through to the hall that led them down to the boarding lounge. Sydney and Vaughn couldn't help but crack up as they rounded the corner, leaning on each other slightly for support, Vaughn severely aware that she was there. Sydney took a large bite of her apple and gained a raised eyebrow and a wide grin of pride and humour from her mother while Jack just continued to look around them for possible threats, a small smile gracing his lips for a brief amount of time and only noticed by her supposed wife.
Twenty minutes later, boarding began for first and business classes and the four of them stood, ready to board, the young red head taking their tickets without a second's glance and allowing them past.
Once on the 747, Sydney and Vaughn each ordered a drink and sat down, beginning to exchange details over each other's new histories quietly, trying to learn while both secretly listening to any conversation in front.
Irina sat down and instantly pulled out the airline magazine leaving Jack to stare at her having expected her to do something controversial; start a conversation or just look at him, trying to pull his defenses down again. But she just sat down and pulled out the magazine. When the air hostess walked past offering drinks, Irina simply looked up, for a tenth of a second startled before kindly declining.
It was the fraction of time's alarmed look that brought Jack to the conclusion that Irina was thinking about something too hard. What that something was, he had no idea and so went back to staring at the chair in front of him, occasionally looking over at people as they boarded.
The day had begun in the normal way for Jack; he'd woken at six and gone through the morning routine of showering, dressing, eating, before organizing his house and his day. It had been during breakfast that he had decided that he would have to face Irina, to finally say thank you so that he could stop feeling this itchy sort of guilt. Of course he had expected some problems but now he was sitting beside her, supposedly perfectly happily married and, still yet to thank her. He decided that he had severely underestimated the possibility of something going wrong.
He'd admitted far too many truths and somehow been tricked into letting her see into his deepest and most private mind. Jack ran a hand through his loose black hair, closing his eyes and breathing in deeply through his nose and exhaling through his mouth. Whatever happened In Australia, and after that, Jack swore to himself that he wouldn't fall under Irina's spell, not again, not now that he knew better, not now that he knew the truth. 'But you already have,' the voice within his own ears was quickly quelled.
Irina let her eyes slide from the magazine to where Jack was running a hand through his now black hair. She turned a page, her eyes now completely focused on Jack as he closed his eyes, obviously thinking about her. She smiled a small smile as she realized the affect she was having on him. God knows why she had allowed him into her mind in the first place. A month before she would have scoffed at the idea of such complete honesty with anyone, but now...now she wasn't so sure that it was indeed such a bad thing.
Now she was slowly letting him in, letting him lock eyes with her, playing with him while she tried to figure out why she didn't dislike being with him, why she was never waiting for him to leave, but instead, waiting for him to arrive. She turned another page and glanced at Jack who now seemed to be staring at his left hand, his brow again creased low. Slowly she sighed silently and continued to contemplate her predicament, closing her eyes she allowed herself to slip into a deep sleep, in the hope of missing take off, a part of missions she would always hate.
Take off was relatively uneventful, Sydney and Vaughn swapping bios and silently reading as the plane continued to climb higher and fly faster. Sydney finding that her husband, Craig, was 31, a Harvard graduate, corporate lawyer. Born and raised in Oregon with a pent house in New York and a house in LA. His parents sailed the world and every Christmas they'd get together and celebrate. Vaughn had learnt that his Sydney or Naomi had completed High School before retiring to a house her parents had provided her with in Boston. The pair had met in Seattle at a gallery opening and fallen instantly in love. Sydney and Vaughn continued their study, going over the finer points and the personalities until far into the flight.
It was around this time that a brunette, thin-faced, woman approached Jack. "There's a call for you Mr Pearson." She handed him a rather large cream coloured phone and left.
Jack looked around discreetly before putting the phone to his ear, "Yes?"
Kendall's voice rang through the phone, delayed a little, "Jack, I hope everything is going well. You are to arrive in Melbourne and spend the night in the Crown Casino Complex. You will spend the next four days establishing yourselves as tourists and be connected via phone which will be delivered by an agent, at seven pm Thursday, with details regarding your mission." Kendall paused, "Do you understand?"
Jack was, of course, fuming by now, Irina's theory proving true; they were going to be stuck here for at least another four days. He simply nodded, slowly, noticing his daughter and his temporary son-in-law, watching the conversation. "Yes, that's fine. Everything is going well here." He hung the phone up and gave it to the agent as she walked back past. Turning around, he repeated the conversation to the pair.
Jack glanced over to where Irina was sitting, curled up and hands in her lap, face relaxed and her eyes closed. Jack presumed she was asleep but watched her closely for the next twenty minutes to make sure. Once he saw that she neither moved nor breathed quicker or slower, he slowly relaxed into watching her, seriously trying to learn as much as he could from her while there was no chance of her forging a counter attack.
Watching her, he noticed small lines at the corner of her eyes and long streaks across her forehead, all a result of a mixture of age, tension and strain. They didn't dim her beauty, a characteristic she possessed that could not be denied, they enhanced the sharp and, until recently, faultless intelligence that her features possessed.
Jack noticed her hair was a duller brown, almost blond where it fell down around her ears. He smiled, happy to have found a weakness, even if it was age. That hair would be going grey soon. Looking behind him he found Vaughn and Sydney deeply engrossed in each other's bios, turning back he couldn't help but feel guilty as he looked at Irina, quietly and simply comparing her to Laura.
Laura had had much straighter hair, and slightly darker. Her face had also been younger, but also seemed more naïve and innocent, whether Irina had truly been those things of if they were simply faked was indeterminable. Laura's face had seemed to be a different shape, longer and softer. Jack felt a kick in the stomach as he realized that he thought of Irina as being the more beautiful of the two. That he considered a woman who had ruined him more beautiful than his wife. Even if they were the same person, that was wrong to think.
Shaking his head, he watched her as her chest rose and fell, her every move clearly outlined through the thin material of her thin top. She shivered in her sleep, with an eye on Sydney and Vaughn; Jack felt under his own seat and pulled out the light blue blanket. A scowl in place, but something inside slightly warmer than usual, Jack reached over and gingerly placed the blanket over Irina, a small smile lighting her lips as he did so, but her eyes never flickering or opening.
Vaughn looked up a couple of seconds after he had felt Jack's eyes on him. Through the gap between the two chairs, Vaughn saw Jack guiltily holding a blanket. Seeing what was about to happen, he nudged Sydney, not allowing his eyes to leave the scene playing out in front of him. Together they watched, turning to each other, utterly shocked, as Jack turned back around, sitting silently, thinking about something.