A/N Oh Dizzy Izzy, you are so very funny. But I didn't say anything about
Aidan now did I. Hmmmmmmm
Chapter Fifty One
PART TWO
The air was heavy with sweat and the after essence of lovemaking. Jack lay on his back, one leg thrown casually across Irina. She lay on her side, her head resting on his chest. With one arm around her, his fingers traced lazy circles across her back.
Irina hadn't changed much since she'd been Laura. Every inch of her was still soft and seductive. She'd acquired more marks and scars over the years but every inch of her body was still burned into his brain. Every memory was still the same, but was tainted by her betrayal. Still he remembered everything he loved about her. He loved the way she held her head. The way her eyes turned almost to black with desire and the freeness and abandon she displayed when they made love. They were two very different people- Laura and Irina, but they were also the same. They were two beings molded into one.
It had only been recently that'd he'd begun to believe that not all aspects of her portrayal of Laura had been a lie. It had taken Kat for him to realize that. More had been truth, than lie. His daughter had provided an insight into Irina's life that he'd not been able to see before.
Jack was a very different person now than he was back then. Laura's betrayal, the loss of his relationship with his daughter, his work for SD-6 and The CIA had hardened him. They'd created the shell of the man he was today. The man he had to be to survive and the man others feared, the man who'd pushed away his own daughter. It was a lonely life; until Katarina.
Irina shifted against him signaling that she was awake. His fingers returned to the patterns he drew across her dampened skin. She shivered at the touch and Jack tightened his hold on her.
"Coming here-this was not my intention." Irina soft voice whispered against his chest.
"I know," he kissed the top of her head. "What was it that you wanted to talk about?" he asked drawing the sheet up to cover their bodies.
"I needed to tell you-"
"Yes?"
"Tell me about her?" Irina requested changing the subject. Her hand sought out his and she laced their fingers together.
"About who?" he asked noting the shift.
"Our daughter."
"Katarina?" When Irina nodded in confirmation he thought for a few moments and then continued. "She's a lot like Sydney. Her instincts, the way she talks and moves are very similar. But they are as similar as they are different. When I first met her, she was only the shell of the person she is today. She was scared, vulnerable, distrustful and so very grownup. She was an old soul trapped in the body of a child." Jack began to stroke Irina's long dark tresses as he spoke. "She's different now, more alive. She fights now, really fights for what she wants. There's a spirit, a fire inside her—you'd be proud. Don't get the wrong idea though; she's still very damaged. That's what she calls herself on occasion... damaged goods."
Irina swallowed hard at the mention of those words. "Tell me more."
"She's like a chameleon." Jack kissed the top of Irina's head and trailed his index finger up and down her spine. "I told you before that it's difficult to decipher the truth in her. What she shows isn't always what she feels. She was a robot when I first met her. A robot or a puppet with strings. It was as if someone was controlling her, pulling her strings, telling her what to feel or how to act. She felt nothing except fear; the fear and the hurt were real. She'd compartmentalized her emotions for far too long and she didn't know how to feel things. She didn't know how to react in certain situations or how to trust. Like a chameleon, she would change her colors to adapt to new situations. Similar to a maze, sometimes she would get through an open passage and what she showed was real, other times it was like hitting a brick wall. It was what she'd had to do in order to stay strong and to survive. It was Spain, where things began to change."
"How so?"
"Pretending to be someone else, made her realize how much she wanted to be herself. To find out who she was. She began to force herself to open up, for real, not just the façade she normally presented. She began to change. The change was for the better and then everything she gained seemed lost when I told her that I was her father and Khasinau took her-"
"I never meant to keep her paternity from you for that long," Irina interrupted gently grazing her nails lightly across his chest. "I wanted to tell you the moment you told me that the CIA had found her, but I didn't know the circumstances and there just never seemed to be a good time. She deserved a wonderful father, and I wasn't sure that given your current opinion of me at the time, that either of you would be able to give each other a chance. I wanted things to be perfect, but when Sydney told me the truth, about how she'd grown up, my reasons were inconsequential in comparison to her need for your guidance."
"I know, but Irina--it wasn't all lost. Realizing that Petrov Khasinau was not her father shattered her, but it was only then that she could let go of that part of her past that she was trying to hold on to and accept me." Jack blew gently across her back and grinned as she shivered at the cool breeze. "When I first met her, I wanted to hate her. She was your daughter with another man. I wanted to hate her for it, but I couldn't. She was a part of Sydney; a part of you, and then a part of me." Jack was silent for several moments as he collected his thoughts before continuing and Irina watched his face carefully noting the sparkle in his eye as he spoke of their daughter. "It's impossible to dislike anything about her. She's like a star. She's beautiful and she's bright. She makes you smile just thinking of her. When she smiles, you can't help but smile or when she laughs, you laugh along. She's loyal, courageous, stubborn as all hell, and genuinely brilliant. She doesn't talk a lot, but when she does, you have to stop and pay close attention because it's usually quite important. She's very skilled at practical jokes and is quite unassuming-"
"What kind of jokes?" Irina interrupted her eyes twinkling.
"She tampered with Will Tippin's shampoo and he was left with this atrocious neon pink hair for several days. She glued a baseball hat to Director Kendall's head and changed the washroom signs at the office creating complete chaos. Her biggest one was that she hacked into the CIA's computer system and has changed all the screensavers and mouse icons to different barnyard animals-complete with sound. Tech is still trying to figure out how she did that one-"
"I doubt they ever will," Irina grinned. "When she was young, her sense of humor was rather morbid, it still is-she reminds me of you. What else?"
"I don't know." Jack thought for several moments before continuing. "I honestly don't know a lot about her. From what I've heard, she's a very good singer, gymnast and she plays the piano. She taps a pattern with her left index finger when she lies. She bites her lower lip when she's thinking and she dots her I's with hearts. I've heard her play the violin flawlessly. Her defense skills are quite admirable, acting-accents- improvisation, all very believable. Her linguistics are astounding, computer and code deciphering impecable and you've seen her drawings. I don't know what else to tell you," he shrugged.
"In time," Irina whispered. She looked up at him and was rewarded with a reserved smile as she snuggled into his chest. "It's tempting to want to stay like this forever, safe.... content."
"Forever is a long time."
"Not really." Irina shook her head sadly. "Time goes by so quickly when you're away. Weeks pass into months and months into years. Before you know it, time has just blended together until one day you wake up and realize just how long it's been, how long you've been away from them." Irina fought to keep the tears from her eyes and she succeeded, not wanting Jack to see her so remorseful. "On the other hand, some days are so endless, you'd give anything to blink them away as a distant memory."
Jack reached across Irina into the bedside table and pulled out a photograph of Sydney and Katy at the beach. It had been taken several months before, most likely by Vaughn or Tippin and the two girls sat on the jetty as the sun set. Sydney had her arm around her sister who sat on the rocks; her knees tucked up to her chest, wearing an oversized sweater belonging to one of the guys. Sydney's smile was bright and wide showing the perfect end of a perfect day. Katy's was small; a small upturn of her lips could be seen as rested her chin on her knees. She was merely content; the sadness still remained hidden in her eyes.
He handed the photograph to Irina. "Take this, perhaps the days won't... seem so long."
Touched by his generosity, she couldn't speak and they lay there in silence in each other's arms, consumed by their own thoughts and feelings.
Jack stroked her hair threading the silky strands through his fingers. "What was it you needed to tell me?" he asked softly. When Irina didn't answer he whispered her name only to find her asleep. He kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes, succumbing to a peaceful sleep.
His footsteps echoed through the narrow corridors as JJ made his way down the stairs to the training center. It was late or early depending on how you looked at it. Unable to sleep he'd gone for a walk on the heavily secured grounds and seen the light from the training center. He didn't have to look through the window in order to know who it was. JJ took several steps towards her but stayed in the shadows, watching.
Her hair was encased in a long braid hanging down her back and she wore work out shorts and a sports top. The only sounds were that of her fists hitting the leather punching bag. Over and over and over again, her fists pounded the bag stopping only every so often to wipe the sweat from her face.
He watched her for a long time, studying her movements as she fought with the bag. Sweat dripped from every part of her. Her arms shook with exhaustion but still she kept the battle. Feeling someone watching her, she turned and JJ made his presence known.
"You're dropping your left elbow," JJ pointed out.
"Really," Kat said sarcastically. She watched him walk towards her offering a bottle of water. Kat pulled off her glove and took it. She tilted her head back allowing the cool liquid to trickle down the back of her throat.
"You need to keep it-"
"I know!" Kat snapped. She tossed the bottle back to him and replaced her glove, delivering several harsh blows to the bag. "What do you want?" she turned back to face him.
JJ shrugged. "You're up late."
"Couldn't sleep."
"Why not?"
"What do you care." Kat turned and began walking away from him.
"What are you running from Mandy? What are you hiding?" JJ followed her doubling his stride to keep up with her. He grabbed her arm. "How did you get those scars on your back? What's going on?"
"Don't. Touch. Me." Kat said slowly her voice low and slightly wavering. "Don't you ever touch me."
JJ kept his hold on her arm. "Not until you tell me what's going on."
"Leave me alone!" Kat jerked her arm away so hard she fell. Regaining her stance she continued to the stairs at a quick pace.
"Come on Katarina, let's play a game. It's called Let's Tell The Truth." JJ crossed his arms over his chest and watched as she froze mid step and slowly turned around.
"What did you call me?" she asked quietly.
"Katarina, that is your name isn't it? Katarina Bristow?" JJ took several steps towards her and looked her in the eye. "Or is it Kathryn Sullivan? I wasn't too clear on that part, you know, considering she's dead and all."
"You don't know what you're doing," she whispered her voice shaking either from fear or the exhaustion of her lies.
"What am I doing?" he asked. "Come on, Mandy, or Kathryn, or who ever you are, just tell the truth. There's an old saying, 'the truth will set you free', why don't you try it. What's your name?"
As Kat looked him in the eye, she could actually see the pain this was causing him. JJ had been the only one who hadn't treated her like glass since she'd come to the farm. In training they'd gone head to head and he wasn't afraid of her, he'd used his full strength. She respected him for that. "I can't."
"Why not? What are you hiding? Why are you pretending to be someone else?"
"It wasn't my idea. He thought it would be easier. I'm under orders-"
"Whose orders?"
"Director Devlin."
"But he's-"
"I know, the Director of The Central Intelligence Agency." Kat nodded and walked past him, over to the balance beam. She lifted herself onto it with ease and waited for JJ to join her, which he did. She held out her hand to him. "My name is Katarina Bristow."
JJ took her hand and shook it. He was silent allowing her to explain.
"My name used to be Kathryn Sullivan but it was just an alias I used for years so that certain people wouldn't find me. She died and I had to be Katarina again."
"Why did you lie, why did Devlin want you to lie."
"He thought it would be easier for me, and for others, if people didn't know who I really was. What do you know about The Man? Or her real name is Irina Derevko?"
JJ shrugged. "Just what we learned in the terrorist sessions," he said. "She was Russian KGB who was sent on a swallow mission to the USA. Thirty years ago, she seduced and married an American CIA Officer. She worked for years and then gained her own organization and became 'The Man'. What does that have to do with you?"
"The American Agent she married was Jack Bristow. Jack Bristow is my father."
"What?" he asked incredulously.
"I spent basically my entire life, up until five months ago thinking that one man was my father and that he died when I was four and my mom died when I was five. Five months ago, I found out that everything I thought I knew to be truth, was a lie. My mother was alive and I had a sister. The man I thought was my father actually wasn't and he was alive and potentially trying to kill me. And I found out that a man that at first I both despised and respected, was actually my father." Kat allowed JJ a few minutes to let everything sink in before she continued.
"I was born to do this. That may seem a little presumptuous but really it's not. My father is a spy, my mother is a spy and my sister is a spy, and that's only the immediate family that I know exists. Different people have been training me to do this since I was a baby. The worst part is that I didn't even know it, but the truth is that I love it." Kat's eyes lit up as she spoke. "I love everything about it. I even liked writing the post mission report-"
"Wait post mission?" JJ raised an eyebrow.
Kat nodded. "For the last five months, I've been living with my sister or my father or in a safehouse. I've been helping the CIA look for information about something, but I can't go into it, it's confidential. I did participate on an undercover operation in Spain and it was so cool. The adrenaline rush, JJ, there's nothing like it." Kat began picking at the tape surrounding her hands. "I can't really tell you much else, it's mostly confidential, but I did participate in a low risk recovery operation as well. The end result is the reason why I'm here. The CIA knows I'll be a good agent, I just need a little fine-tuning."
"What about the scars?" JJ asked and leaned over slightly to see the traces peeking out from the top of her shorts.
Kat reached behind and lowered the edge of the shorts slightly so that JJ could see the full brunt. She grimaced at the sharp intake of his breath. "They're courtesy of a sonofa bastard in Moscow who wasn't too happy that I didn't know the answers to his questions. I killed him." She took one look at JJ's shocked face and then quickly added more details. "I didn't kill him just like that. It was self defense and it wasn't an easy thing to do."
"How old are you really?" JJ asked and slipped off the beam. "Anna said you weren't 21 so I was figuring 19 maybe?"
"You really want to know?"
"I really want to know."
"It's just a number, don't let it change how you treat me. You're the only one here, whose treated me like an equal from the start. I don't want that to change."
"You have to be honest Katarina," JJ gave her hand a quick squeeze. "I won't tell anyone anything that you're not going to tell them, but we need to be able to trust each other, all of us. People can't trust you if you're lying to them."
"Truth hurts." Kat gave him a half smile. "I'm seventeen."
"Seventeen?" JJ's mouth dropped. "You shouldn't be here, you're just a kid, you're a baby."
"I'm not," Kat shook her head. "I haven't been a kid since I was five years old, just remember what you said."
"Only if you tell the truth." JJ held out his hand to her and they shook on it.
Kat smiled at him. For the first time in the past two weeks, the truth had set her free.
Jack woke to the early morning light peeking through the blinds. He smiled remembering the previous night and reached beside him, but found the bed empty and cold. Jack got out of bed and dressed quickly. He checked the rest of his apartment but found it empty. She was gone. Irina had slipped away during the early morning. As he returned to his bedroom he found that she'd left her mark. Written across his dresser mirror in red lipstick and accompanied by a kiss were three words.
'Truth Takes Time'.
Chapter Fifty One
PART TWO
The air was heavy with sweat and the after essence of lovemaking. Jack lay on his back, one leg thrown casually across Irina. She lay on her side, her head resting on his chest. With one arm around her, his fingers traced lazy circles across her back.
Irina hadn't changed much since she'd been Laura. Every inch of her was still soft and seductive. She'd acquired more marks and scars over the years but every inch of her body was still burned into his brain. Every memory was still the same, but was tainted by her betrayal. Still he remembered everything he loved about her. He loved the way she held her head. The way her eyes turned almost to black with desire and the freeness and abandon she displayed when they made love. They were two very different people- Laura and Irina, but they were also the same. They were two beings molded into one.
It had only been recently that'd he'd begun to believe that not all aspects of her portrayal of Laura had been a lie. It had taken Kat for him to realize that. More had been truth, than lie. His daughter had provided an insight into Irina's life that he'd not been able to see before.
Jack was a very different person now than he was back then. Laura's betrayal, the loss of his relationship with his daughter, his work for SD-6 and The CIA had hardened him. They'd created the shell of the man he was today. The man he had to be to survive and the man others feared, the man who'd pushed away his own daughter. It was a lonely life; until Katarina.
Irina shifted against him signaling that she was awake. His fingers returned to the patterns he drew across her dampened skin. She shivered at the touch and Jack tightened his hold on her.
"Coming here-this was not my intention." Irina soft voice whispered against his chest.
"I know," he kissed the top of her head. "What was it that you wanted to talk about?" he asked drawing the sheet up to cover their bodies.
"I needed to tell you-"
"Yes?"
"Tell me about her?" Irina requested changing the subject. Her hand sought out his and she laced their fingers together.
"About who?" he asked noting the shift.
"Our daughter."
"Katarina?" When Irina nodded in confirmation he thought for a few moments and then continued. "She's a lot like Sydney. Her instincts, the way she talks and moves are very similar. But they are as similar as they are different. When I first met her, she was only the shell of the person she is today. She was scared, vulnerable, distrustful and so very grownup. She was an old soul trapped in the body of a child." Jack began to stroke Irina's long dark tresses as he spoke. "She's different now, more alive. She fights now, really fights for what she wants. There's a spirit, a fire inside her—you'd be proud. Don't get the wrong idea though; she's still very damaged. That's what she calls herself on occasion... damaged goods."
Irina swallowed hard at the mention of those words. "Tell me more."
"She's like a chameleon." Jack kissed the top of Irina's head and trailed his index finger up and down her spine. "I told you before that it's difficult to decipher the truth in her. What she shows isn't always what she feels. She was a robot when I first met her. A robot or a puppet with strings. It was as if someone was controlling her, pulling her strings, telling her what to feel or how to act. She felt nothing except fear; the fear and the hurt were real. She'd compartmentalized her emotions for far too long and she didn't know how to feel things. She didn't know how to react in certain situations or how to trust. Like a chameleon, she would change her colors to adapt to new situations. Similar to a maze, sometimes she would get through an open passage and what she showed was real, other times it was like hitting a brick wall. It was what she'd had to do in order to stay strong and to survive. It was Spain, where things began to change."
"How so?"
"Pretending to be someone else, made her realize how much she wanted to be herself. To find out who she was. She began to force herself to open up, for real, not just the façade she normally presented. She began to change. The change was for the better and then everything she gained seemed lost when I told her that I was her father and Khasinau took her-"
"I never meant to keep her paternity from you for that long," Irina interrupted gently grazing her nails lightly across his chest. "I wanted to tell you the moment you told me that the CIA had found her, but I didn't know the circumstances and there just never seemed to be a good time. She deserved a wonderful father, and I wasn't sure that given your current opinion of me at the time, that either of you would be able to give each other a chance. I wanted things to be perfect, but when Sydney told me the truth, about how she'd grown up, my reasons were inconsequential in comparison to her need for your guidance."
"I know, but Irina--it wasn't all lost. Realizing that Petrov Khasinau was not her father shattered her, but it was only then that she could let go of that part of her past that she was trying to hold on to and accept me." Jack blew gently across her back and grinned as she shivered at the cool breeze. "When I first met her, I wanted to hate her. She was your daughter with another man. I wanted to hate her for it, but I couldn't. She was a part of Sydney; a part of you, and then a part of me." Jack was silent for several moments as he collected his thoughts before continuing and Irina watched his face carefully noting the sparkle in his eye as he spoke of their daughter. "It's impossible to dislike anything about her. She's like a star. She's beautiful and she's bright. She makes you smile just thinking of her. When she smiles, you can't help but smile or when she laughs, you laugh along. She's loyal, courageous, stubborn as all hell, and genuinely brilliant. She doesn't talk a lot, but when she does, you have to stop and pay close attention because it's usually quite important. She's very skilled at practical jokes and is quite unassuming-"
"What kind of jokes?" Irina interrupted her eyes twinkling.
"She tampered with Will Tippin's shampoo and he was left with this atrocious neon pink hair for several days. She glued a baseball hat to Director Kendall's head and changed the washroom signs at the office creating complete chaos. Her biggest one was that she hacked into the CIA's computer system and has changed all the screensavers and mouse icons to different barnyard animals-complete with sound. Tech is still trying to figure out how she did that one-"
"I doubt they ever will," Irina grinned. "When she was young, her sense of humor was rather morbid, it still is-she reminds me of you. What else?"
"I don't know." Jack thought for several moments before continuing. "I honestly don't know a lot about her. From what I've heard, she's a very good singer, gymnast and she plays the piano. She taps a pattern with her left index finger when she lies. She bites her lower lip when she's thinking and she dots her I's with hearts. I've heard her play the violin flawlessly. Her defense skills are quite admirable, acting-accents- improvisation, all very believable. Her linguistics are astounding, computer and code deciphering impecable and you've seen her drawings. I don't know what else to tell you," he shrugged.
"In time," Irina whispered. She looked up at him and was rewarded with a reserved smile as she snuggled into his chest. "It's tempting to want to stay like this forever, safe.... content."
"Forever is a long time."
"Not really." Irina shook her head sadly. "Time goes by so quickly when you're away. Weeks pass into months and months into years. Before you know it, time has just blended together until one day you wake up and realize just how long it's been, how long you've been away from them." Irina fought to keep the tears from her eyes and she succeeded, not wanting Jack to see her so remorseful. "On the other hand, some days are so endless, you'd give anything to blink them away as a distant memory."
Jack reached across Irina into the bedside table and pulled out a photograph of Sydney and Katy at the beach. It had been taken several months before, most likely by Vaughn or Tippin and the two girls sat on the jetty as the sun set. Sydney had her arm around her sister who sat on the rocks; her knees tucked up to her chest, wearing an oversized sweater belonging to one of the guys. Sydney's smile was bright and wide showing the perfect end of a perfect day. Katy's was small; a small upturn of her lips could be seen as rested her chin on her knees. She was merely content; the sadness still remained hidden in her eyes.
He handed the photograph to Irina. "Take this, perhaps the days won't... seem so long."
Touched by his generosity, she couldn't speak and they lay there in silence in each other's arms, consumed by their own thoughts and feelings.
Jack stroked her hair threading the silky strands through his fingers. "What was it you needed to tell me?" he asked softly. When Irina didn't answer he whispered her name only to find her asleep. He kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes, succumbing to a peaceful sleep.
His footsteps echoed through the narrow corridors as JJ made his way down the stairs to the training center. It was late or early depending on how you looked at it. Unable to sleep he'd gone for a walk on the heavily secured grounds and seen the light from the training center. He didn't have to look through the window in order to know who it was. JJ took several steps towards her but stayed in the shadows, watching.
Her hair was encased in a long braid hanging down her back and she wore work out shorts and a sports top. The only sounds were that of her fists hitting the leather punching bag. Over and over and over again, her fists pounded the bag stopping only every so often to wipe the sweat from her face.
He watched her for a long time, studying her movements as she fought with the bag. Sweat dripped from every part of her. Her arms shook with exhaustion but still she kept the battle. Feeling someone watching her, she turned and JJ made his presence known.
"You're dropping your left elbow," JJ pointed out.
"Really," Kat said sarcastically. She watched him walk towards her offering a bottle of water. Kat pulled off her glove and took it. She tilted her head back allowing the cool liquid to trickle down the back of her throat.
"You need to keep it-"
"I know!" Kat snapped. She tossed the bottle back to him and replaced her glove, delivering several harsh blows to the bag. "What do you want?" she turned back to face him.
JJ shrugged. "You're up late."
"Couldn't sleep."
"Why not?"
"What do you care." Kat turned and began walking away from him.
"What are you running from Mandy? What are you hiding?" JJ followed her doubling his stride to keep up with her. He grabbed her arm. "How did you get those scars on your back? What's going on?"
"Don't. Touch. Me." Kat said slowly her voice low and slightly wavering. "Don't you ever touch me."
JJ kept his hold on her arm. "Not until you tell me what's going on."
"Leave me alone!" Kat jerked her arm away so hard she fell. Regaining her stance she continued to the stairs at a quick pace.
"Come on Katarina, let's play a game. It's called Let's Tell The Truth." JJ crossed his arms over his chest and watched as she froze mid step and slowly turned around.
"What did you call me?" she asked quietly.
"Katarina, that is your name isn't it? Katarina Bristow?" JJ took several steps towards her and looked her in the eye. "Or is it Kathryn Sullivan? I wasn't too clear on that part, you know, considering she's dead and all."
"You don't know what you're doing," she whispered her voice shaking either from fear or the exhaustion of her lies.
"What am I doing?" he asked. "Come on, Mandy, or Kathryn, or who ever you are, just tell the truth. There's an old saying, 'the truth will set you free', why don't you try it. What's your name?"
As Kat looked him in the eye, she could actually see the pain this was causing him. JJ had been the only one who hadn't treated her like glass since she'd come to the farm. In training they'd gone head to head and he wasn't afraid of her, he'd used his full strength. She respected him for that. "I can't."
"Why not? What are you hiding? Why are you pretending to be someone else?"
"It wasn't my idea. He thought it would be easier. I'm under orders-"
"Whose orders?"
"Director Devlin."
"But he's-"
"I know, the Director of The Central Intelligence Agency." Kat nodded and walked past him, over to the balance beam. She lifted herself onto it with ease and waited for JJ to join her, which he did. She held out her hand to him. "My name is Katarina Bristow."
JJ took her hand and shook it. He was silent allowing her to explain.
"My name used to be Kathryn Sullivan but it was just an alias I used for years so that certain people wouldn't find me. She died and I had to be Katarina again."
"Why did you lie, why did Devlin want you to lie."
"He thought it would be easier for me, and for others, if people didn't know who I really was. What do you know about The Man? Or her real name is Irina Derevko?"
JJ shrugged. "Just what we learned in the terrorist sessions," he said. "She was Russian KGB who was sent on a swallow mission to the USA. Thirty years ago, she seduced and married an American CIA Officer. She worked for years and then gained her own organization and became 'The Man'. What does that have to do with you?"
"The American Agent she married was Jack Bristow. Jack Bristow is my father."
"What?" he asked incredulously.
"I spent basically my entire life, up until five months ago thinking that one man was my father and that he died when I was four and my mom died when I was five. Five months ago, I found out that everything I thought I knew to be truth, was a lie. My mother was alive and I had a sister. The man I thought was my father actually wasn't and he was alive and potentially trying to kill me. And I found out that a man that at first I both despised and respected, was actually my father." Kat allowed JJ a few minutes to let everything sink in before she continued.
"I was born to do this. That may seem a little presumptuous but really it's not. My father is a spy, my mother is a spy and my sister is a spy, and that's only the immediate family that I know exists. Different people have been training me to do this since I was a baby. The worst part is that I didn't even know it, but the truth is that I love it." Kat's eyes lit up as she spoke. "I love everything about it. I even liked writing the post mission report-"
"Wait post mission?" JJ raised an eyebrow.
Kat nodded. "For the last five months, I've been living with my sister or my father or in a safehouse. I've been helping the CIA look for information about something, but I can't go into it, it's confidential. I did participate on an undercover operation in Spain and it was so cool. The adrenaline rush, JJ, there's nothing like it." Kat began picking at the tape surrounding her hands. "I can't really tell you much else, it's mostly confidential, but I did participate in a low risk recovery operation as well. The end result is the reason why I'm here. The CIA knows I'll be a good agent, I just need a little fine-tuning."
"What about the scars?" JJ asked and leaned over slightly to see the traces peeking out from the top of her shorts.
Kat reached behind and lowered the edge of the shorts slightly so that JJ could see the full brunt. She grimaced at the sharp intake of his breath. "They're courtesy of a sonofa bastard in Moscow who wasn't too happy that I didn't know the answers to his questions. I killed him." She took one look at JJ's shocked face and then quickly added more details. "I didn't kill him just like that. It was self defense and it wasn't an easy thing to do."
"How old are you really?" JJ asked and slipped off the beam. "Anna said you weren't 21 so I was figuring 19 maybe?"
"You really want to know?"
"I really want to know."
"It's just a number, don't let it change how you treat me. You're the only one here, whose treated me like an equal from the start. I don't want that to change."
"You have to be honest Katarina," JJ gave her hand a quick squeeze. "I won't tell anyone anything that you're not going to tell them, but we need to be able to trust each other, all of us. People can't trust you if you're lying to them."
"Truth hurts." Kat gave him a half smile. "I'm seventeen."
"Seventeen?" JJ's mouth dropped. "You shouldn't be here, you're just a kid, you're a baby."
"I'm not," Kat shook her head. "I haven't been a kid since I was five years old, just remember what you said."
"Only if you tell the truth." JJ held out his hand to her and they shook on it.
Kat smiled at him. For the first time in the past two weeks, the truth had set her free.
Jack woke to the early morning light peeking through the blinds. He smiled remembering the previous night and reached beside him, but found the bed empty and cold. Jack got out of bed and dressed quickly. He checked the rest of his apartment but found it empty. She was gone. Irina had slipped away during the early morning. As he returned to his bedroom he found that she'd left her mark. Written across his dresser mirror in red lipstick and accompanied by a kiss were three words.
'Truth Takes Time'.