Redemption
Chapter Twenty Eight
"Papa?" Her eyes grew wide seeing the man before her. She inched back as he took several steps into the room. She reached the end of the bed and she could go no further.
He took several more steps into the room until he was directly in front of her, close enough to touch, and he did. He reached out brushing the hair back from her face. His fingers trailed lightly down her cheek, cupping her cheek in his hand he brushed his thumb over her cheekbone. "Look at you," he said softly.
She reached up pulling his hand away from her face staring at his palm running her fingers over it, feeling that it was real. "But you're- I saw him-He-"
"I know," he wrapped his around her tucking her head under his chin and stroking her hair. She stood motionless her arms at her sides, tears sliding down her cheek.
"Papa?" her voice quivered and she looked up at him.
"Yes, it's me," he wiped her cheeks with the back of his hand and pulled her over to the bed. "Let's have a little talk, just you and Papa, hunh." Kat nodded and slid back onto the bed tucking her knees to chest.
He knelt at her feet his hands lightly holding her waist; she glanced down curiously as his pressure increased. "Don't cry," he said and she nodded wiping her cheeks. "Now you wouldn't lie to Papa would you?"
"No," she shook her head.
"So you'll tell me the truth."
"Yes Papa," she nodded.
"Katarina, tell me, what is The Contessa."
She looked at him in disbelief her lower lip trembled slightly. A movement near the door caught her attention and she looked up to see Viktor Melnikov in the doorway. "No," her voice was barely above a whisper as she looked back at him. "No, not you-"
"Tell me the truth, be a good girl and tell Papa the truth"
A strangled sob escaped her throat and she kicked him in the chest, hard. Doing a backward somersault she got over to the other side of the bed. She stood in the corner of the room; Melnikov started to approach her but her Papa held up his hand signaling him to stand back. He stood and walked to the other side of the room. She tried to fight him but she couldn't; she'd given up. He squeezed her arms and shook her hard, "Stop." She stilled obeying his command. "I want you to think about what I asked you." He touched her face again and she tried to pull away but there was no where to go. "Get dressed, eat your breakfast and think. When you're done Viktor will bring you to see me and we'll have another talk. Do you understand?"
She said nothing but looked at him and swallowed hard noticing something she hadn't seen before. She didn't see the warm caring eyes of her Papa, what she saw were the cold and menacing eyes of Petrov Khasinau. He turned away from her; he did not see the tears in her eyes as she came to the realization that he was not who he pretended to be all those years before. He was merely another player in a game she did not understand. As she watched the two men walk out of the room Kat sank to the floor in complete defeat, maybe she should just tell them what she knew. What harm could it do?
~ ~ ~
"You think she'll talk if you treat her well?" Viktor asked his employer in disbelief, he'd resorted to trying everything except shock therapy but still she hadn't given him an answer.
Petrov Khasinau turned to face him. "If not, we have other options."
Viktor eyed the older man but didn't ask of his methods.
Khasinau walked down the hall but stopped and turned back. "Give her ten minutes then bring her to my office."
Viktor nodded and took the opposite hallway going to stand outside her door.
~ ~ ~
"You're sure we can get all this by tomorrow?" Will asked going over the list Jack and Sydney had created. He and Weiss were in his apartment going over last minute security details. They would be leaving in the morning to go and find Kathryn.
"Yeah," Weiss nodded. "Jack's already got most of it already, Vaughn's picking up the rest tonight from a supplier in South Central and Marshall's bringing the tech. Did Jack get the rest of the Intel yet?"
"Not yet," Will shook his head. "We're picking her up on our way-"
"Did you say picking her up?" Weiss asked in disbelief.
"Yeah," Will lifted himself onto the kitchen counter and took the beer Eric handed him. "I talked to Sydney. We don't have floor plans and the place where Melnikov has her-Derevko's been there before."
"I don't like this-"
"Yeah I know," Will took a gulp of beer. "I can't say I disagree but without her-we're going in blind, at least this way we've got a better chance."
Absently Weiss reached up to his neck touching his scar, the one left by Irina Derevko when she'd shot him in the jugular.
"I know what you're thinking," Will said seeing him rub his scar. "I don't trust her either but she's her mother and she's all we've got. I trust Jack on this one."
Weiss grabbed another beer from his fridge and flicked the cap off. He drank ¾ of the bottle before pulling it from his lips. He was going to need it if he was even going to be in the same vicinity as Irina Derevko.
~ ~ ~
Petrov Khasinau looked up from the papers he was reading as his office door opened and Melnikov walked in pushing Kathryn in front of him. She sat down in the large armchair in front of his desk and he dismissed Melnikov.
"You didn't get dressed, would I assume you haven't eaten either." Khasinau came out from behind his desk and sat on the edge of it.
"I'm not hungry," she drew her knees to her chest wrapping her arms around them.
"It's a long way till lunch-"
"I said I wasn't hungry." She looked up at him her eyes just as cold as his, a far cry from the tears she had shed after realizing he was alive.
He opened his jacket and pulled out a syringe and vile. He filled the syringe with the required amount of medication. "It's insulin."
Reluctantly Kat held out her arm, flinching slightly as he gave her the injection. "People are looking for me."
"No," he shook his head. "They're not."
"Yes they are. My-"
"Your sister?" Khasinau pulled the needle out of her arm. "Your father?"
"You know-" she said slowly.
"That Jack Bristow is your father? Of course I know." He leaned forwards gripping her wrist tightly. "Did you think I was a fool? Did you think Alexander was a fool?" He laughed and shook his head in amusement. "Your mother was the fool."
"It was all a set up," she realized. "Him killing you, there was no murder, no suicide. I saw it happen, what was that just an added bonus? You just wanted us in Russia- Why? Did you tell her? Is that why she killed him three years ago? Has she known this whole time?"
"What do you remember about living in Russia?" Khasinau asked deciding to switch topics.
"Not much, just that well my mother was never there, my father had just died but-"
"But?"
"When mom would visit me, I used to tell her that Papa was coming to visit me at night, but she said it wasn't true that I was just dreaming. She wouldn't believe me. Papa was dead, but I knew I was right. Every morning I'd wake up with socks on my feet. You put them on, just like when we lived in.Chicago. We lived in Chicago before New York-" she remembered
Khasinau smiled slightly, "you always kick your covers off at night, your feet were always cold."
"What have you done? Look at what you've become-"
"Enough." Khasinau stood abruptly.
"You're a cold heartless nothing," she stood to face him. "All you care about is the damn Contessa, you don't even know what it is-"
"Enough," Khasinau slapped her hard across the face.
Surprised and in severe pain as his hand struck her swollen jaw, she lost her balance and fell to the floor. She looked up at him gently wiping away the trail of blood forming in the corner of her mouth. She'd expected to find his eyes wild with rage, she'd expected him to hit her again but what she found was exactly the opposite. He was calm his eyes were cold and his hands steady. "They're looking for me," she repeated as he grabbed her arm hauling her up and back onto the chair.
Calmly he returned to his seat behind the desk and passed a folder into her hands. "No Katarina, they're not." He watched as she opened the folder swallowing hard as she saw the first few pictures. Pictures from the footage of her murder. He pulled out one of her gravestone laden with white roses. "You're dead."
Calmly Kat flipped through the remaining photos, but with each passing one her spirits lowered. No one would be coming for her. She closed the file and pushed it back towards him. "You might as well kill me now then, because I'm not telling you anything."
"We'll see about that." They were interrupted as Viktor entered the office. He handed Khasinau a package wrapped in brown paper.
Kat wiped away the last bit of blood from her face, watching curiously as he unwrapped it. She took a sharp breath in seeing the object in his hands.
"Who is this Katy?"
"Mishca?" a look of confusion crossed her face momentarily before she smiled strangely reaching for the doll but he held it out of her reach.
A slow smile spread across his face as he watched her eyes light up. "What color dress is Mishca wearing Katy?"
"Blue," she reached for the doll again but he pulled it away. Viktor stood next to Khasinau surprised at the sudden change in the girl.
"Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water-sing with me Katy," he held out the doll to her.
"Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after," she finished.
"Amazing," Viktor knelt beside her chair looking at her face. She was smiling and her eyes had glazed over as she played with the doll Mishca. "How did you do that?"
Khasinau grinned leaning back in his chair. "The nursery rhyme is the trigger, but it can only be done with the doll present, only this doll. She will respond only to the sound of my voice or the voice of the person who hypnotized her. She doesn't feel pain and is oblivious to her surroundings unless I instruct her to do so."
Deciding to test her out, Viktor took the lighter from the desk and lit it holding her arm out he placed the flame just under her outstretched wrist. She didn't even flinch as the searing heat burned her skin. "Remarkable," he smiled
"That's enough," Khasinau pulled a gun from inside his desk and placed it on his desk. "Well Katy lets see what you remember." The use of her name captured her attention and she picked up the gun and followed his instruction to disassemble and reassemble it. Khasinau smiled watching her. "When she was four, she could do this blindfolded in less than five seconds. She was a natural. Look at this," he turned his computer to face Melnikov & Kat in inserted a disk. A video feed came onto the screen.
Four-year-old Kathryn clad in overalls, a pink t-shirt, pink sneakers and pigtails held a semi-automatic handgun, her fingers barely big enough to pull the trigger. She crouched near the end of a hallway then proceeded to crawl on her knees around the corner, her gun ready. She looked around the corner and then turned aiming her gun and firing. She took down three guards before standing on her tiptoes and picking the lock of the door they were guarding. The top of her head barely reached the handle. Another guard came around the corner surprising her and she shot him at close range before successfully opening the door.
Melnikov glanced over at Kathryn. She was still hypnotized gazing in fascination at the video feed, the doll held motionless in her hands. Her eyes were glazed, clouded over, and vacant. "Impressive."
"Just a simulation of course, they were paint bullets."
Melnikov nodded seeing the guards stand and Petrov Khasinau came into view. He lifted the four-year-old into his arms settling her on his hip and took the gun from her exchanging it for the Mishca doll, which she happily accepted. "Good work Katy."
"Just think of what she can do now that she can tie her own shoes," Khasinau grinned closing the laptop.
"And she never comes out of it?" Melnikov leaned against the edge of the desk.
Khasinau suddenly gave Kat a command and Melnikov found himself staring down the barrel of a gun, which she'd pointed directly at his forehead.
"Point taken," Melnikov nodded. "You want to call her off?" He breathed a sigh of relief as Khasinau did and Kat put the gun back down on the desk picking up her discarded doll.
"Once I pull her out, she won't remember a thing." Khasinau took the doll away from her and began the nursery rhyme again. "Jack and Jill went up the hill to catch a pail of water.."
Kat blinked several times and looked across at Khasinau slightly confused, "did you say something?"
"No," Khasinau leaned across the desk. "Viktor is going to take you back to your room now, I want you to think about what we talked about and I'll come to see you later."
"I've already given my answer."
"I think given some time, you will reconsider."
"Well forgive me but I doubt it." She stood and Melnikov put his hand on her shoulder but she shrugged him off.
"I know you better than you think."
"You've been out of my life for the past fourteen years. You don't know a thing about me Papa."
Khasinau remained silent. He simply opened his laptop and began typing.
Melnikov pushed Kathryn towards the door, but she stopped. "I have one last question, you owe me that."
Khasinau looked up at her expectantly and nodded.
"Did you love her? Four years is a long time. Did you have any feelings towards her at all? To me? You read me stories, took me to the park, tucked me in at night." She swallowed the lump building in her throat. "Everything a father would do with his daughter. Did you ever care for us at all? Or was it all just a fabrication, a lie? A game? Just part of the plan?"
Kathryn stood in the doorway awaiting his answer but he never gave one. His silence was all she needed to know the truth. And the truth hurt.
"Perhaps an alternate arrangement can be made between you and I," Melnikov whispered in her ear, his hand travelled down and slipped around her waist. "You tell me about The Contessa and I will see that you remain comfortable."
Kat stopped and turned to face him. "Don't you touch me, don't you ever touch me."
"My offer remains open."
~ ~ ~
Sydney stood next to her father, her arms crossed over her chest. Her breaths came deep and long as she squinted at the setting sun. "Are you sure about this?"
There was no hesitation in his voice. "Trusting her is a gamble, but it is a gamble we have to take. I believe she wants to find Kathryn as much as we do." He glanced back at their team who were preparing for the mission while awaiting their last member to join them. "They've all been informed?"
"Yes," she nodded and glanced back at her friends the tension evident on all their faces. "I'd be lying if I said they were happy about it."
"They'll get over it."
"This could all be for nothing." Sydney said softly. "She might not even be there anymore."
"Then we'll look elsewhere." Jack turned to face her, "I don't think she's going to give them anything easily-"
"That's what scares me."
"Be that as it is, Sydney-they won't kill her, she's far too valuable. This isn't just about determining her knowledge of The Contessa. This is personal. The house where she's being held, your mother was held prisoner there. Its possible this is more about Irina Derevko than it is about Kathryn-"
Jack was interrupted by the sound of an approaching car. Instinctively all agents reached for their guns.
Irina was not surprised to see their guns trained on her as she stepped out of the car, which immediately drove off. She held up her hands in surrender style as she walked towards Jack and Sydney.
"Mom," she nodded.
"Hello Sydney, Jack."
"Irina." Jack acknowledged her and the three turned walking towards the waiting plane. Upon entering the plane, it took off and the team began going over the mission specs.
Hours later Irina folded up the map she'd been using to explain their positioning and how they would approach the residence where Kathryn was supposedly being held. The tension in the air was so thick one could cut it with a knife and she wasn't surprised when she felt a gun placed against the back of her head.
"This is about finding Kathryn and getting her back. Nothing else matters but so help me god if you even look the wrong way, I'll blow your head off myself" Weiss was in possession of the gun.
Irina took a step forwards and turned to face him. "Good to know we are on the same page. Now please lower your weapon, I'd like to get a few moments of rest before we land."
Reluctantly Weiss pocketed his gun and turned away from her.
"Agent Weiss?" she called him back to her. "The Port of Barcelona, I am pleased to see you've recovered with no permanent damage I hope."
Weiss shook his head curious as to why she'd brought that up. Perhaps she'd seen the scar peeking out just above the top of his collar; he knew Sydney had told her of his injury when she was in CIA custody.
"You've been a good friend to my daughter. To both of them and I am grateful for that. Their lives are very difficult and they need good friends, loyal friends. I appreciate that."
"What ever game you are playing-you won't win."
"There is no game Agent Weiss. My sole concern right now is my daughters safety." Irina turned to walk away.
"She hates you, you know."
"The one thing I know about my daughter is that she doesn't appreciate betrayal. She's a lot like me, like Sydney. I'd expect nothing less." Irina took a seat across from Jack and closed her eyes the last thing she saw was Agent Weiss' cold hard stare as he pocketed his gun.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* A/N Thank you to my faithful reviewers!! And if your reading but not reviewing PLEASE just hit that little button that says go and just let me know what you think.
Happy Holidays
Erin
"Papa?" Her eyes grew wide seeing the man before her. She inched back as he took several steps into the room. She reached the end of the bed and she could go no further.
He took several more steps into the room until he was directly in front of her, close enough to touch, and he did. He reached out brushing the hair back from her face. His fingers trailed lightly down her cheek, cupping her cheek in his hand he brushed his thumb over her cheekbone. "Look at you," he said softly.
She reached up pulling his hand away from her face staring at his palm running her fingers over it, feeling that it was real. "But you're- I saw him-He-"
"I know," he wrapped his around her tucking her head under his chin and stroking her hair. She stood motionless her arms at her sides, tears sliding down her cheek.
"Papa?" her voice quivered and she looked up at him.
"Yes, it's me," he wiped her cheeks with the back of his hand and pulled her over to the bed. "Let's have a little talk, just you and Papa, hunh." Kat nodded and slid back onto the bed tucking her knees to chest.
He knelt at her feet his hands lightly holding her waist; she glanced down curiously as his pressure increased. "Don't cry," he said and she nodded wiping her cheeks. "Now you wouldn't lie to Papa would you?"
"No," she shook her head.
"So you'll tell me the truth."
"Yes Papa," she nodded.
"Katarina, tell me, what is The Contessa."
She looked at him in disbelief her lower lip trembled slightly. A movement near the door caught her attention and she looked up to see Viktor Melnikov in the doorway. "No," her voice was barely above a whisper as she looked back at him. "No, not you-"
"Tell me the truth, be a good girl and tell Papa the truth"
A strangled sob escaped her throat and she kicked him in the chest, hard. Doing a backward somersault she got over to the other side of the bed. She stood in the corner of the room; Melnikov started to approach her but her Papa held up his hand signaling him to stand back. He stood and walked to the other side of the room. She tried to fight him but she couldn't; she'd given up. He squeezed her arms and shook her hard, "Stop." She stilled obeying his command. "I want you to think about what I asked you." He touched her face again and she tried to pull away but there was no where to go. "Get dressed, eat your breakfast and think. When you're done Viktor will bring you to see me and we'll have another talk. Do you understand?"
She said nothing but looked at him and swallowed hard noticing something she hadn't seen before. She didn't see the warm caring eyes of her Papa, what she saw were the cold and menacing eyes of Petrov Khasinau. He turned away from her; he did not see the tears in her eyes as she came to the realization that he was not who he pretended to be all those years before. He was merely another player in a game she did not understand. As she watched the two men walk out of the room Kat sank to the floor in complete defeat, maybe she should just tell them what she knew. What harm could it do?
~ ~ ~
"You think she'll talk if you treat her well?" Viktor asked his employer in disbelief, he'd resorted to trying everything except shock therapy but still she hadn't given him an answer.
Petrov Khasinau turned to face him. "If not, we have other options."
Viktor eyed the older man but didn't ask of his methods.
Khasinau walked down the hall but stopped and turned back. "Give her ten minutes then bring her to my office."
Viktor nodded and took the opposite hallway going to stand outside her door.
~ ~ ~
"You're sure we can get all this by tomorrow?" Will asked going over the list Jack and Sydney had created. He and Weiss were in his apartment going over last minute security details. They would be leaving in the morning to go and find Kathryn.
"Yeah," Weiss nodded. "Jack's already got most of it already, Vaughn's picking up the rest tonight from a supplier in South Central and Marshall's bringing the tech. Did Jack get the rest of the Intel yet?"
"Not yet," Will shook his head. "We're picking her up on our way-"
"Did you say picking her up?" Weiss asked in disbelief.
"Yeah," Will lifted himself onto the kitchen counter and took the beer Eric handed him. "I talked to Sydney. We don't have floor plans and the place where Melnikov has her-Derevko's been there before."
"I don't like this-"
"Yeah I know," Will took a gulp of beer. "I can't say I disagree but without her-we're going in blind, at least this way we've got a better chance."
Absently Weiss reached up to his neck touching his scar, the one left by Irina Derevko when she'd shot him in the jugular.
"I know what you're thinking," Will said seeing him rub his scar. "I don't trust her either but she's her mother and she's all we've got. I trust Jack on this one."
Weiss grabbed another beer from his fridge and flicked the cap off. He drank ¾ of the bottle before pulling it from his lips. He was going to need it if he was even going to be in the same vicinity as Irina Derevko.
~ ~ ~
Petrov Khasinau looked up from the papers he was reading as his office door opened and Melnikov walked in pushing Kathryn in front of him. She sat down in the large armchair in front of his desk and he dismissed Melnikov.
"You didn't get dressed, would I assume you haven't eaten either." Khasinau came out from behind his desk and sat on the edge of it.
"I'm not hungry," she drew her knees to her chest wrapping her arms around them.
"It's a long way till lunch-"
"I said I wasn't hungry." She looked up at him her eyes just as cold as his, a far cry from the tears she had shed after realizing he was alive.
He opened his jacket and pulled out a syringe and vile. He filled the syringe with the required amount of medication. "It's insulin."
Reluctantly Kat held out her arm, flinching slightly as he gave her the injection. "People are looking for me."
"No," he shook his head. "They're not."
"Yes they are. My-"
"Your sister?" Khasinau pulled the needle out of her arm. "Your father?"
"You know-" she said slowly.
"That Jack Bristow is your father? Of course I know." He leaned forwards gripping her wrist tightly. "Did you think I was a fool? Did you think Alexander was a fool?" He laughed and shook his head in amusement. "Your mother was the fool."
"It was all a set up," she realized. "Him killing you, there was no murder, no suicide. I saw it happen, what was that just an added bonus? You just wanted us in Russia- Why? Did you tell her? Is that why she killed him three years ago? Has she known this whole time?"
"What do you remember about living in Russia?" Khasinau asked deciding to switch topics.
"Not much, just that well my mother was never there, my father had just died but-"
"But?"
"When mom would visit me, I used to tell her that Papa was coming to visit me at night, but she said it wasn't true that I was just dreaming. She wouldn't believe me. Papa was dead, but I knew I was right. Every morning I'd wake up with socks on my feet. You put them on, just like when we lived in.Chicago. We lived in Chicago before New York-" she remembered
Khasinau smiled slightly, "you always kick your covers off at night, your feet were always cold."
"What have you done? Look at what you've become-"
"Enough." Khasinau stood abruptly.
"You're a cold heartless nothing," she stood to face him. "All you care about is the damn Contessa, you don't even know what it is-"
"Enough," Khasinau slapped her hard across the face.
Surprised and in severe pain as his hand struck her swollen jaw, she lost her balance and fell to the floor. She looked up at him gently wiping away the trail of blood forming in the corner of her mouth. She'd expected to find his eyes wild with rage, she'd expected him to hit her again but what she found was exactly the opposite. He was calm his eyes were cold and his hands steady. "They're looking for me," she repeated as he grabbed her arm hauling her up and back onto the chair.
Calmly he returned to his seat behind the desk and passed a folder into her hands. "No Katarina, they're not." He watched as she opened the folder swallowing hard as she saw the first few pictures. Pictures from the footage of her murder. He pulled out one of her gravestone laden with white roses. "You're dead."
Calmly Kat flipped through the remaining photos, but with each passing one her spirits lowered. No one would be coming for her. She closed the file and pushed it back towards him. "You might as well kill me now then, because I'm not telling you anything."
"We'll see about that." They were interrupted as Viktor entered the office. He handed Khasinau a package wrapped in brown paper.
Kat wiped away the last bit of blood from her face, watching curiously as he unwrapped it. She took a sharp breath in seeing the object in his hands.
"Who is this Katy?"
"Mishca?" a look of confusion crossed her face momentarily before she smiled strangely reaching for the doll but he held it out of her reach.
A slow smile spread across his face as he watched her eyes light up. "What color dress is Mishca wearing Katy?"
"Blue," she reached for the doll again but he pulled it away. Viktor stood next to Khasinau surprised at the sudden change in the girl.
"Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water-sing with me Katy," he held out the doll to her.
"Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after," she finished.
"Amazing," Viktor knelt beside her chair looking at her face. She was smiling and her eyes had glazed over as she played with the doll Mishca. "How did you do that?"
Khasinau grinned leaning back in his chair. "The nursery rhyme is the trigger, but it can only be done with the doll present, only this doll. She will respond only to the sound of my voice or the voice of the person who hypnotized her. She doesn't feel pain and is oblivious to her surroundings unless I instruct her to do so."
Deciding to test her out, Viktor took the lighter from the desk and lit it holding her arm out he placed the flame just under her outstretched wrist. She didn't even flinch as the searing heat burned her skin. "Remarkable," he smiled
"That's enough," Khasinau pulled a gun from inside his desk and placed it on his desk. "Well Katy lets see what you remember." The use of her name captured her attention and she picked up the gun and followed his instruction to disassemble and reassemble it. Khasinau smiled watching her. "When she was four, she could do this blindfolded in less than five seconds. She was a natural. Look at this," he turned his computer to face Melnikov & Kat in inserted a disk. A video feed came onto the screen.
Four-year-old Kathryn clad in overalls, a pink t-shirt, pink sneakers and pigtails held a semi-automatic handgun, her fingers barely big enough to pull the trigger. She crouched near the end of a hallway then proceeded to crawl on her knees around the corner, her gun ready. She looked around the corner and then turned aiming her gun and firing. She took down three guards before standing on her tiptoes and picking the lock of the door they were guarding. The top of her head barely reached the handle. Another guard came around the corner surprising her and she shot him at close range before successfully opening the door.
Melnikov glanced over at Kathryn. She was still hypnotized gazing in fascination at the video feed, the doll held motionless in her hands. Her eyes were glazed, clouded over, and vacant. "Impressive."
"Just a simulation of course, they were paint bullets."
Melnikov nodded seeing the guards stand and Petrov Khasinau came into view. He lifted the four-year-old into his arms settling her on his hip and took the gun from her exchanging it for the Mishca doll, which she happily accepted. "Good work Katy."
"Just think of what she can do now that she can tie her own shoes," Khasinau grinned closing the laptop.
"And she never comes out of it?" Melnikov leaned against the edge of the desk.
Khasinau suddenly gave Kat a command and Melnikov found himself staring down the barrel of a gun, which she'd pointed directly at his forehead.
"Point taken," Melnikov nodded. "You want to call her off?" He breathed a sigh of relief as Khasinau did and Kat put the gun back down on the desk picking up her discarded doll.
"Once I pull her out, she won't remember a thing." Khasinau took the doll away from her and began the nursery rhyme again. "Jack and Jill went up the hill to catch a pail of water.."
Kat blinked several times and looked across at Khasinau slightly confused, "did you say something?"
"No," Khasinau leaned across the desk. "Viktor is going to take you back to your room now, I want you to think about what we talked about and I'll come to see you later."
"I've already given my answer."
"I think given some time, you will reconsider."
"Well forgive me but I doubt it." She stood and Melnikov put his hand on her shoulder but she shrugged him off.
"I know you better than you think."
"You've been out of my life for the past fourteen years. You don't know a thing about me Papa."
Khasinau remained silent. He simply opened his laptop and began typing.
Melnikov pushed Kathryn towards the door, but she stopped. "I have one last question, you owe me that."
Khasinau looked up at her expectantly and nodded.
"Did you love her? Four years is a long time. Did you have any feelings towards her at all? To me? You read me stories, took me to the park, tucked me in at night." She swallowed the lump building in her throat. "Everything a father would do with his daughter. Did you ever care for us at all? Or was it all just a fabrication, a lie? A game? Just part of the plan?"
Kathryn stood in the doorway awaiting his answer but he never gave one. His silence was all she needed to know the truth. And the truth hurt.
"Perhaps an alternate arrangement can be made between you and I," Melnikov whispered in her ear, his hand travelled down and slipped around her waist. "You tell me about The Contessa and I will see that you remain comfortable."
Kat stopped and turned to face him. "Don't you touch me, don't you ever touch me."
"My offer remains open."
~ ~ ~
Sydney stood next to her father, her arms crossed over her chest. Her breaths came deep and long as she squinted at the setting sun. "Are you sure about this?"
There was no hesitation in his voice. "Trusting her is a gamble, but it is a gamble we have to take. I believe she wants to find Kathryn as much as we do." He glanced back at their team who were preparing for the mission while awaiting their last member to join them. "They've all been informed?"
"Yes," she nodded and glanced back at her friends the tension evident on all their faces. "I'd be lying if I said they were happy about it."
"They'll get over it."
"This could all be for nothing." Sydney said softly. "She might not even be there anymore."
"Then we'll look elsewhere." Jack turned to face her, "I don't think she's going to give them anything easily-"
"That's what scares me."
"Be that as it is, Sydney-they won't kill her, she's far too valuable. This isn't just about determining her knowledge of The Contessa. This is personal. The house where she's being held, your mother was held prisoner there. Its possible this is more about Irina Derevko than it is about Kathryn-"
Jack was interrupted by the sound of an approaching car. Instinctively all agents reached for their guns.
Irina was not surprised to see their guns trained on her as she stepped out of the car, which immediately drove off. She held up her hands in surrender style as she walked towards Jack and Sydney.
"Mom," she nodded.
"Hello Sydney, Jack."
"Irina." Jack acknowledged her and the three turned walking towards the waiting plane. Upon entering the plane, it took off and the team began going over the mission specs.
Hours later Irina folded up the map she'd been using to explain their positioning and how they would approach the residence where Kathryn was supposedly being held. The tension in the air was so thick one could cut it with a knife and she wasn't surprised when she felt a gun placed against the back of her head.
"This is about finding Kathryn and getting her back. Nothing else matters but so help me god if you even look the wrong way, I'll blow your head off myself" Weiss was in possession of the gun.
Irina took a step forwards and turned to face him. "Good to know we are on the same page. Now please lower your weapon, I'd like to get a few moments of rest before we land."
Reluctantly Weiss pocketed his gun and turned away from her.
"Agent Weiss?" she called him back to her. "The Port of Barcelona, I am pleased to see you've recovered with no permanent damage I hope."
Weiss shook his head curious as to why she'd brought that up. Perhaps she'd seen the scar peeking out just above the top of his collar; he knew Sydney had told her of his injury when she was in CIA custody.
"You've been a good friend to my daughter. To both of them and I am grateful for that. Their lives are very difficult and they need good friends, loyal friends. I appreciate that."
"What ever game you are playing-you won't win."
"There is no game Agent Weiss. My sole concern right now is my daughters safety." Irina turned to walk away.
"She hates you, you know."
"The one thing I know about my daughter is that she doesn't appreciate betrayal. She's a lot like me, like Sydney. I'd expect nothing less." Irina took a seat across from Jack and closed her eyes the last thing she saw was Agent Weiss' cold hard stare as he pocketed his gun.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* A/N Thank you to my faithful reviewers!! And if your reading but not reviewing PLEASE just hit that little button that says go and just let me know what you think.
Happy Holidays
Erin