Chapter 25

Jack went to see Irina later that week. "You're a grandmother now."

"Good," Irina said with a smile. "How's the baby look?"

"He's got Sydney's eyes, Vaughn's nose, and you can just tell that this baby's smart. Please tell me that you aren't sure about that prophecy."

"I wish I could, but I told you what it said. Rambaldi hasn't been proven wrong yet."

Jack looked away for a bit. "I don't want anything to happen to him. He's my grandson." When Jack looked back up at Irina, she could see that his eyes were wet, even through the glare of the Plexiglas division.

"Is there any chance I'll be able to see him sometime?"

"I think that can be arranged. You know, I've never thanked you."

"For what?"

"For Sydney," Jack said, "and for J. D."

"You're welcome, and thank you for them both. You do realize that I have never told you about my other daughter."

"Yes, you have."

"Well, yes, I have, but not what you need to know."

"Which is?"

"I had an affair with Arvin Sloane while we were married."

"You and Sloane? Together?"

"It was an order. I complied, and that was all it was."

"So Sloane's the father?"

"I don't know!" Irina said with tears in her eyes. "She was taken from me before they could run any tests. I miss her." The tears started to fall. "I miss her, and I don't even know her. There's a way to find her, but I need your help."

"What is it?"

"There's a guy."

"Of course there is."

"Let me finish. His name is Masa Raidon. R-A-I-D-O-N."

"What about him?"

"He purchased a Rambaldi artifact known as 'The Hourglass.'"

"What's this hourglass do?"

"In itself, nothing!"

"Then why is it important."

"It contains a liquid inside of it. The liquid is the power source for another Rambaldi artifact."

"Do you know where that other artifact is?"

"The last I knew, Sloane had it."

"Sloane?"

"He's the one you'd have to talk to."

Sydney gently laid J. D. into the cradle with a smile. "Hey, there, little fella."

"Syd," Vaughn said with a laugh. "He can't understand you."

"I know." Turning to Vaughn, she laid her head on his shoulder with a sigh. "What a beautiful baby."

"Yeah, he is." Vaughn's eyes met Sydney's. "I love you, Sydney."

"I love you, Vaughn."

Vaughn smiled. "How come you never call me Michael?"

Both laughed. "I do sometimes…Vaughn?"

"What?" Vaughn responded with a smile.

"He's safe right?"

"Yeah, he's safe. I had Marshall install some extra safety features in addition to what we already had done."

"Good." Sydney nodded. "I finally understand where Dad's coming from."

"About what?"

"About doing anything to protect those you love."

"Amen."

With this word, a silent understanding passed between the two of them. No matter what happened, no matter what trials they faced, they would always protect each other, regardless of the outcome.

Weiss shifted the bouquet of flowers to his other hand as he pulled out the key Sally had given him a month ago. Quietly unlocking the door, he slipped in. Planning on giving her the biggest surprise of her life, Weiss started to put out the place settings for the meal he had cooked earlier. Placing the candles on the table, Weiss did a double take to make sure that he hadn't everything but the food was ready. Everything was perfect. Going out to the car, he grabbed the food, and checked the ring box in his pocket. It had to be perfect. When everything was ready, Weiss sat in a chair and waited for Sally to return.

"Jack, so nice to see you," Sloane said, ushering the stoic faced man into his vast office of Omnifam. "Can I get you a glass of water?"

"No thank you."

"What can I do for you?"

"You can tell me how to find Irina's other daughter."

A small smile and a silent nod was Sloane's reaction. "So she told you?"

"Yes."

"I'm curious, what else did she say?"

"She said that you had an artifact that could disclose the location of my daughter's sister."

"Did she give any indication as to the parentage of her second daughter?"

"No. Why does it matter?"

"It doesn't…much."

"Quit playing games, Arvin. Do you have it or not?"

"I'm afraid I don't."

"Then where is it?"

"When I turned myself in to the CIA, I turned over all my possessions that dealt with Rambaldi. You only need to search within your own government to find the answer."

"I searched. That search came up empty."

"Then I'm afraid I can't help you. I'm sorry you came all this way for nothing." Nodding, Jack turned and left the office.

Sydney and Vaughn were snuggled in tight against each other. The soft sound of a board creeking woke both. "Someone's inside," Vaughn whispered.

Grabbing her gun from her drawer, Sydney nodded. "So it begins," she whispered back.

…TBC…