Disclaimer: I don't any of the characters, wished they were, but then, what will I do with them?

~~~~~~~

CHAPTER SIX

"Hi mom."

Irina opened her eyes and saw her youngest daughter standing in front of the glass. She smiled a bit, and then stood up to approach her.

"Hello, Paris. Does Agent Dixon need anything from me?" Irina asked. Paris shook her head.

"No, I just came to see you." Paris answered and smiled. It didn't quite reach her eyes.

Irina saw the sadness in her eyes. "Are you okay? You look… unhappy."

"Unhappy? ME? Haha. No, of course not." Paris answered and gave her a toothy grin she got from her father.

"Well then, how are things with your father and sister?"

"Uh… well, Sydney's in a mission. But she's very nice, funny, fun and cheerful and…"

"Okay… how about your father?" Irina asked.

"Agent Bristow's okay." Paris answered.

Her mother looked at her. Paris avoided her eyes.

"Its not okay around him, is it?" It took a while before she replied.

"Of course it's not okay, after all what's been happening, I just wish I haven't met him." Paris answered and turned her back against her mother and leaned on the glass.

"Now, why'd you say that? You wanted to meet him ever since you've found out he was alive." Irina said.

"Well, that is the point. You see, I wanted to meet the man you've described. The sweet, funny, caring, loving and protective man. He is not what you've describe him."

"People change, you know that."

"I know, its just that… are you sure you didn't invent him? You know, his personality?"

"Why would I do that?" Irina asked in a challenging tone.

"Nothing… I'm sorry. Its just… a wee bit disappointing." Paris said and sighed. She turned to face her mother again. "He rarely smiles and the only thing he cares about is his work. He speaks to me only when needed and he avoids me."

"Paris…"

"Yeah, I know. Don't force people to like you. But then again, he doesn't need me as his daughter and I don't need him as my father."

"Now, don't say that. He just needs time."

"Whatever you say, mom. But I'm not going to wait." Paris replied and looked at her watch. She smiled a bit and touched the glass with her left hand. "I'd better go. They want to check my weapons skills."

Irina raised one of her eyebrows.

"They found out that back in MI5, I'm, what they call here, a black ops agent, and they want to try out my shooting skills, to check if I can still hold a firearm." Paris explained.

"Oh."

Paris smiled at her mother then left. Irina watched her go.

Meanwhile, in the surveillance room, Jack Bristow heard and watched the whole conversation. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed.

'So my daughter thinks I hate her?' he thought. She didn't actually voice it, but with the way she said all of those things about him, he can sense that she believes he hates her.

He left the surveillance room to go to his office. He opened the door and let himself in. He approached his desk and took a thick folder on the table.

Jack sat down on his chair and opened it. The smiling face of Parisenne Mikaela Derevko greeted him. It was her MI5 file and everything he had read tells him she's a brilliant spy, a wonderful woman, just like Sydney. But she did grow up with Irina Derevko, master manipulator, brilliant liar, a deceptive woman.

He read one of her psychological profiles. It was said that she is a bit of a loner but works well in groups. The doctor also wrote that she would do and finish her responsibility, whatever it takes. She would also try to fix problems and not just accept them.

'Like somebody I know.' Jack thought as Sydney's image popped into his head. They had gotten along. Sydney was looking for someone to talk to. Paris was all alone when she arrived in the country. They were like a positive charge and a negative charge. It didn't hurt that they were sisters.

'Do I really care about what she thinks?' Jack thought. Well, in terms of feelings, he cares for Irina, even if he continually denies it, and he loves Sydney. But what about Paris?

He read her files again and after a while, he finally has an answer.

'Yeah. I think I do."

***

[SOMEWHERE OUT THERE]

Sydney was high in adrenaline. Armed guards were chasing her and she was running up to the rooftop. Gunshots were being fired and she was trying very hard not to get shot or be caught.

"Freelancer, this is Delta pilot, we're up in the roof."

"Copy that, delta pilot. There are others following me." Sydney answered as she ran up the stairs.

"We'll take care of that."

Sydney can feel her legs getting tired. She has climbed up nine floors and went down three to escape her pursuers. Her legs were getting heavy and even the disk she was ordered to retrieve seem to weigh like a ton.

She reached the door and kicked it open. The helicopter was hovering a few feet off the ground. She ran towards the rope ladder and climb up. Her pursuers reached the roof and began to shoot at her again. The delta forces inside the helicopter fired back.

Sydney reached the top of the rope and she was helped up by one of the men. She mumbled 'thanks' and sat down on one of the seats. She breathed out a sigh of relief and tried to catch her breath. She was going home.

~~~~~~~~~

[A FEW DAYS LATER]

Sydney walked into the front door of the safe house. Dixon informed her that they had given three of the disks to Marshall and the remaining three to Paris. It seems that her sister was already finished decoding the encrypted information on her disks.

"Agent Bristow?" an agent of about forty years of age appeared behind her.

"Yes?" Sydney asked.

"Oh, Agent Westfield. I'm part of the security team together with Agent Marlowe." He answered and offered his hand. Sydney shook it.

"I'm her…"

"Her sister, yes, I know. Uh… we're going to enter through the kitchen." He said and led her to the bushes near the garage.

Sydney followed him and he escorted her to the door of the kitchen. Agent Westfield opened the door and he let her inside.

"She's in her room. She was up all night working on her laptop." Agent Westfield said as he closed the door.

"Thank you." Sydney said and looked around. She saw a box of cake on the table. She looked at him inquiringly.

"I wont be here tomorrow 'til next week, and Paris's birthday is on Wednesday, so I thought that I'll just give her an advance birthday gift." Agent Westfield replied and smiled at her. Sydney smiled back then went on to go to Paris' room. The door was closed, so she knocked first. Nobody answered.

Sydney opened the door and found everything quiet. She entered and looked for Paris. She approached the bed and saw Paris curled up in one side, facing the wall, pillows covering her upper body and her head. The laptop was by her side.

Shaking her head, Sydney lifted the pillows. Paris didn't stir at all. Sydney then gently poked Paris' shoulder. She still didn't wake up.

"Paris?" Sydney whispered and tapped her sister's shoulder. Paris woke up in a jolt and sat up. Her eyes roved around, as if looking for any threat. She then noticed Sydney.

"Oh, hey. Sorry, I must have dozed off." Paris, who was still groggy, said and handed her six disks. "The blue ones are the decrypted info. The others are what you gave me."

"Thanks." Sydney said and took them from her.

Paris yawned. "You're welcome." Then, her eyes lit up. "Do you want some cake?"

"Sure." Sydney answered. Paris stood up and fixed the bed. She took the laptop and set it on the table. She looked at Sydney and went out of the room and to the kitchen.

"Its Black Forest." Paris said as she sliced a piece for Sydney.

"I love that flavor."

"Yeah, me too." Paris said and gave her the plate. "How's Agent Vaughn doing?"

It's been three weeks since they discovered that Lauren was 'The Covenant' mole, thanks to Paris' identification and the bugs Vaughn placed around his house. She has disappeared and they were still tracking her down. She has been spotted with Sark and Allison Doren, but they can't seem to pinpoint a current location.

"He's doing fine, I guess." Sydney answered.

"I hope you don't mind if the question's a bit intruding, but were you and Agent Vaughn…?"

"Yes, we were. Before." She replied.

"Hmmm…" was Paris's reply. Sydney took a bite. The cake was delicious and creamy.

Then, Sydney's cell phone rang. It was Dixon. He called to tell Sydney to bring Paris in to the operations center. It was urgent.

***

"Are you sure it's me you want?" Paris asked.

It was six hours after the meeting. She was asked to assist in a mission, which was to infiltrate Sloane's so-called palace, a very big house in the middle of nowhere, in Madagascar. It was learned that Veleverkova and Cuvee sent a package, a Rambaldi artifact, to Sloane. They had gathered intel about the place, the security, the location, all in a few hours.

"Yes. You're records show that you had infiltrated the place when you were still an agent for the MI5." Dixon replied.

"You did know that, that mission failed? Faulty intel reports caused that failure. How can you be sure that yours isn't?" she answered.

"It came from the inside." Vaughn told her.

"Our intel was also from the inside. But why did the damn mission fail? Was it because of us? It was good thing luck was on our side or we could all have been castrated and fed to the wild animals that were roaming around that place." Paris replied sardonically to Vaughn.

"Agent Derevko." Dixon said in a warning tone. "You have done this before. I assure you that the intel will be fine. Besides, you are the only person qualified enough to do this mission. The other one… never mind. But Agent Bristow and Agent Vaughn will help you. If we're done, Marshall will be here shortly. The plane leaves in four hours." Dixon said as he went out of the room.

The three of them, Sydney, Vaughn and Paris were left inside the room. Sydney and Vaughn started talking about the situation, what possible obstacles they might encounter in this mission, the gadgets Marshall might give and all other stuff. They both steered away from the conversation of Lauren.

Sydney knew that Vaughn already started the annulment of his marriage to Lauren. The final copies were to be delivered next week. Paris listened to them but kept out of the conversation. A few minutes later, Marshall arrived.

~~~~~~~~~

(Two days after)

"So, Ms. Derevko, how are we feeling today?" Dr. Barnett asked Irina as she sat down the chair provided for her. She was, of course, at the other side of the glass pane, but Dr. Barnett makes it look like they were in her office.

"Why do you ask?" Irina replied.

"I just wanted to know what you feel about this, that's all. You do know that we are to have a session today?" Dr. Barnett asked.

"Yes. Agent Dixon told me." Irina answered. She didn't say anything else. She has no intention of speaking to this shrink.

"So… what do you want to talk about?" Dr. Barnett asked, leaning on her chair. She recognized the rebuff of Irina to talk. She doesn't want to let her 'patient' to have her own way. She had read Irina's files and she concluded that this woman has many layers, many secrets that she doesn't want to tell. She likens Irina Derevko to a very complex maze and if you make wrong move, you get trapped.

"I don't want to talk about anything. But thank you very much for asking." Irina replied curtly.

"Not even Paris? I got a chance to talk to her. She's very nice, intelligent. You must be very proud of her."

"Paris is none of your concern, she's fine."

"How can you tell she's fine?" Dr. Barnett asked.

"Because I'm her mother" Irina said.

"But you're inside this cell, how can you be sure?" the doctor asked again.

"I see her when she visits me."

"Three years is such a long time when you've been a constant presence in her life. She might have changed." Dr. Barnett said. Irina didn't answer her. Instead, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and refused to speak.

Dr. Barnett, upon noting that Irina didn't want to talk again, tried another tactic.

"Paris told me that she tried to gather information about her father. She had acquired a lot of them actually."

"Really? When did she do that?" Irina asked.

"The first time you turned yourself in, from what I can tell." Dr. Barnett replied.

"KGB documents were destroyed after the Iron Curtain fell." Irina informed her.

"That's what we know. But she had documentation of your mission, the pre and post planning of it, Jack Bristow's profile, the ten years of your life together and the rules that were created after your extraction. She didn't give it to me, of course, but she told me part of what she had retrieved. Agent Dixon already had gotten hold of it, but they can't decode it. Even Mr. Flinkman can't decode the thing."

"She's very resourceful, and smart."

"You have raised an intelligent and emotionally stable woman who had no negative reaction whatsoever, when she met her sister and father she hadn't known existed until the past three years or so." Dr. Barnett said.

"That's what you think. But why are you telling me this? Am I not the one you should be analyzing?" Irina asked.

It was a long time before Dr. Barnett answered her.

"Well, you are her mother. She's really very warm towards her and sister, but as she told me, she rarely sees her father. It's not really a normal reaction of people with almost the same family background." She answered Irina.

"Well, she's more resistant to emotional hurts than most people."

"Yes. I can see that. Tell me, whom do you think Paris is more similar to? You or her father?" Dr. Barnett asked.

"She's more like her father. She has… unconventional ways with dealing with things and as enthusiastic when it comes to work. But she's… stubborn." Irina answered as she thought that Dr. Barnett is so interested in Paris.

"Stubborn? Well, I think we know where that came from. What about Sydney? Who do you think is she more similar to?" Dr. Barnett asked.

"I don't really know. She has the energy and the warmth her father had when I first met him. But she knows how to wait. She knows when the right time is going to be. To say something, to do something." Irina replied and looked at Dr. Barnett as if to say, 'what now, doc?'

"That was very insightful… I guess, its time." Dr. Barnett said as she looked at her watch. It was only after fifty minutes but she wants Irina to have answers the next time they meet. She doesn't want stony silence when the session is with this woman. She stood up and left.

Irina watched her as she walked to the barred gates and breathed out a sigh of relief as she heard the guards acknowledge her. She thought that the secret she was trying hard to keep would be revealed unknowingly. The secret that she kept from Jack and Sydney, her secret that resulted into what they are right now.

But when Dr. Barnett told her that Paris had the documents pertaining to the whole mission, she was sure that Paris knows, and only through her swift deciphering of her own codes will show her mother's weakness. Irina wants to tell Jack, but he will suspect that she's just playing with him and she's out to wreck his life again. She is, as Jack said, a manipulative sociopath. She sat down on her bed, and thought on what might have happened if she told Jack, 20 years ago, that she was a KGB agent.

'What would have Jack done?' she asked herself. She was pondering for a long time on what would have happened if she fought back against her superiors, when she heard the security gates clanging open and shut. She looked at the glass pane and saw Dixon and Jack standing where Dr. Barnett originally sat on a chair.

"Do you know the blueprint of Sloane's base in Madagascar?" Dixon asked, not wasting time.

"Yes… I had the chance to study it; actually… I helped the architect with the plans. Sloane 'renovated' the house when I was still in his alliance."

"We need your knowledge of the house. The lives of three agents hang in a balance." Jack said.

Irina looked at Jack, confused. And upon seeing his eyes, warning bells began to ring in her head.

~~~~~~

[A little before the scene above]

MADAGASCAR

"The signal's jammed in this part. We've got to get out of this area." Vaughn said to Sydney. The mission was a part failure, part success. Paris was able to infiltrate the place and get what they wanted. But with the faulty intel that Paris warned them about, she got caught after giving them the artifact.

"You go out of this area and contact dad or Dixon. I'm going to stay here." Sydney replied.

"You're crazy if you think I'm just going to leave you." Vaughn answered.

Sydney faced Vaughn and hissed, "You're wasting time if you're going to argue with me."

"Look, we'll go to the extraction point, contact Dixon or your dad and request for a rescue team to get Paris. Staying here is too risky." Vaughn said.

"By the time the extraction team arrives here, Paris could be dead. I'm not going to leave my sister to die." Sydney said as she took a look behind her back.

"You'll both die if you stay here. You can't rescue her all by yourself." Vaughn replied. He doesn't want to leave Sydney without back up.

"We'll run fast. GO!" Sydney hissed. Vaughn staggered off, not really willing to leave Sydney behind, took one last look at her and hurriedly went to the drop off point.

***

"Sir, its Agent Vaughn." An agent told Jack as he gave him the satellite phone.

"Bristow."

"Sir, we need an extraction team. The intel that was given to us was faulty. Agent Derevko was caught after giving us the artifact." Vaughn said over the phone.

"What are your coordinates?" Jack asked.

"Sir, I'm in the extraction point, frequencies were jammed in that area and the only way to go in without being detected is to go on foot. Going inside the base is the problem…" Vaughn replied.

"We'll be there, wait for us." Jack ordered.

"But sir…" Vaughn replied but wasn't able to finish because the person he was talking to, ended the call.

***

Sydney was sitting behind a humongous tree, her hiding place for the last six hours. She had managed to find the place's 'conversation' room aka torture room. She doesn't really think that the room was actually a room. It looks more like a gigantic freezer. But even from afar, she can hear Paris's spiteful responses to the questions her interrogators were asking. 'Where is Vaughn?' Sydney thought.

She heard Paris screaming in pain. Sydney tried to restrain herself from leaving her hiding place and barging in without any plan.

The men were shouting curses. One of them barged out of the room. Sydney saw a mist of cold air following the man out of the room, before he shut it closed. A while later, Sydney saw Allison on her way to the room.

'Oh my god.' Sydney thought.

Meanwhile, in the torture room

"Who sent you?"

They have addressed this question to Paris ever since the start of the first hour. She still hadn't answered it even if she had been electrocuted, beaten and frozen.

"The devil on earth." Paris sputtered. The man lunged towards her and slammed his fist on her face. Paris saw stars.

The man looked at her. 'This mite is tough.' He thought. The girl looked like she has encountered hell on earth. She was drenched and cold. Her face was filled with wounds and bruises. Her right arm is broken and her clothes were ripped almost in all sides from the beating she received from the whip.

John Savage, who spent ten years working for people like Sloane as a hired killer, has never encountered another person who hadn't broke with the methods he used.

'She hasn't even pleaded for them to stop.' He thought as he circled the chair. His other companions, three of them, were shaking their heads. They have all given up.

The door to the room opened. It was Allison.

She entered the room and slammed the door shut. She approached John Savage.

"One of your men approached me. Kill her, she's just here for revenge." Allison said and looked at Paris.

"This is not like you to rush headlong to your opponent, little assassin. But you are you're mother's daughter." Allison said and smirked at her appearance that can be likened to a wet and bloody kitten.

"Kill her. She has no use." Allison said and went out of the room.

John Savage waited until he can no longer hear Allison's footsteps before he ordered his men to unchain Paris and throw her to one of the corners of the room to be executed.

Paris groaned as her body came in brutal contact to the wall. She was violently pulled up again and was made to kneel.

"Too bad you have to die. You're so pretty." One of the men said and cupped her chin. He was spat on the face.

"You're going to hell." Paris muttered and executed a head butt. She deftly took his gun and knife she had spied upon during her interrogation and began shooting.

She has fired five shots and saw that all men were down. She managed to shoot all of them. Shivering, she tried to stand up. Her legs were wobbly and she can't walk without feeling any pain. Paris cried out in pain as she tried to walk.

Tears spilled out of her face as she tried to bear the pain in her fingers. The metal door was too heavy.

But then, the door opened. Light from the fluorescent bulb outside streamed in. she recognized the person standing before her.

It was Sark.

He looked at her, surprised that she inside and at her appearance. He seemed to be in conflict on what to do after he saw the fear and the anger at her eyes. Will he kill her or will he let her go?

Sark took a step back and looked around. Nobody seems to be in sight since he turned his attention back to her.

He took her wrist gently then quickly led her out of the room.

"Go." He said, whispering to her ear.

***

Irina was sitting opposite Jack in the plane. Paris was lying down on a pillow that was on Irina's lap. They found Sydney and Paris together when they reached their position.

Sydney recounted on how Sark helped Paris and how she escaped. Jack and Vaughn gaped at her when she was through with the narration.

"Sark let her go?" Vaughn asked, whispering, to Sydney. They were near Jack and Irina's seats but both thought that they were asleep.

"Yes. He took one look at her then he took a step back. He led her out of the room."

"Sark actually has emotions other than arrogance and self confidence?"

"It seems to it. Allison was also there."

Vaughn shook his head. He can hear Jack and Irina talking. "Go to sleep, your father might scold us for not resting."

Meanwhile, Jack was watching Irina having a 'conversation' with Paris. It seems that Paris also talks in her sleep.

"Sunburn at my back, mommy." He heard her say.

"Do you want to put cream on it?" Irina asked in a low voice as she smoothed out Paris's hair. She has a high temperature.

"No, thank you." Paris mumbled.

Irina was quiet for a few minutes, and then looked at Jack.

"Must be the wounds on her back." Irina explained. Aside from the wounds on Paris's back, she has a broken right arm, and deep wounds on her face.

"What is she going to do with the wounds on her face?" Jack asked.

"Paris heals fast. And when her wounds heal, its as if they were never there. No scars."

"She hates me." Jack said after a few minutes.

"No, she doesn't." Irina answered. "She's very much like you."

"So, she really hates me."

"No. Unlike you, she knows how to forgive easily when somebody asks for her forgiveness."

Jack looked at her then looked down.

"Get some rest." He said and stood up. He looked to where Sydney and Vaughn were seated. They were sitting near each other, with Sydney's head resting on Vaughn's shoulder. They were both asleep.

Jack went to the bathroom. He wants to escape from this situation. He called Dixon after they have safely reached the plane hangar. Upon hearing Paris's condition, Dixon ordered that Irina stay with them for twenty-four more hours after they've landed.

'I'm feeling desperation that I'm stuck with her while Sydney's thrilled that her mother will be staying.' Jack thought as he splashed water in his face. He looked in to the mirror.

'Now that Lauren's gone, Vaughn and Sydney will be back together. What is it with Vaughn does Sydney loves so much? Why didn't their relationship disintegrate after Lauren?' he asked himself. He doesn't exactly like Michael Vaughn ever since he broke Sydney's heart by marrying another woman, but he knows that he can count on him if his daughter's life is ever in danger.

He can't answer the question. So he went out of the bathroom to face one of his inner demons.

Irina.

Her name means peace but she seems to be the opposite of it. He trusted her a bit when they collaborated to find Sydney. But he can't fully trust her. Especially when she can hide the very existence of his child for twenty-two years.

'Maybe she's just good in hiding things from you.' an inner thought said.

"Maybe." He said aloud. He sat down on his chair across Irina. She was already asleep.

All of the passengers were asleep except for him. Jack just watched over them the whole trip back home.