Review Replies for the last chapter

Sorry for the long wait. I want to thank everyone. That was the most amount of reviews I have ever received for one chapter and I didn't even think it was very good lol. Anyway here are the review replies and then the next NEW chapter of Redemption.

The Contessa-That's hillarious how incredibly ironic, I love your screen name. The guy from the mission in Spain is Aidan MacGreggor (I had to change his name for future plotlines) You don't like Weiss? Awwww.

Grouchy—I hope you enjoy the next chapter

Agent Flamingo—I adored writing the Jack and Baby Kate snippets. It is just so uncharacteristic of Jack but Carrie well she's not afraid of anyone lol. And I took great delight in writing the part where Jack dropped the Baby in Weiss' lap. And Lisa, oh lisa lol. Glad you liked and thank you.

Eyghon—Yes JJ is gay. He would be perfect for her if he wasn't gay lol. I'm sorry this chapter took so long, it was giving me a lot of grief. I'm curious, who did you think was the person from Kat's past? She is complicated. Being happy seems to only be an occaisional state for her.

Derevko-Bristow Spawn—Sorry this one took so long but I hope you like it!

Alllieee—Thank you for the compliment that means a lot as that is exactly what she is supposed to be. A creation of good and bad lol. Hope you like the next chapter

Majesticness—Yes JJ is gay sadly and he will remain so. But that doesn't mean he and Kat won't be good friends. And yes Weiss has a girlfriend, but she's nice! Mrs. Fields, sorry to disappoint you but she's just a nosy neighbour.

Landi—nope no way Irina would miss Katy's birthday.

AnnaSun—thanks for reading and I am doing better now. Kat finally feels like she has a real home. Living with Jack or Sydney, she only ever felt like a guest but now she has a real home.

Without Further Ado...

Redemption

Chapter Fifty Seven

Weiss' eyes grew wide as he stared at the mess in Kat's hair. It was purple. It was supposed to be red but it was an atrocious dark purple. His gloves were also purple. He closed his eyes and grimaced; this mission really was going to hell in a handbasket.

Kat winced slightly as Weiss' gloved hands rubbed her scalp a little too hard. She acknowledged his quiet apology though didn't really hear the words. The smell of ammonia from the dye attacked her sense of smell, and the feel of the gloves rubbing into her hair made her scalp hurt. She couldn't seem to focus her attention on anything.

Ammonia and rubber gloves. Why did that combination seem so familiar?

Weiss had been strangely quiet for the last few moments and Kat ventured a look up at his face. He was deep in concentration twisting her hair on top of her head. "Eric, something wrong?" she asked finally.

"It's purple," he blurted out.

"Purple?"

"Your hair, Katy, it's purple."

Kat let out a sigh of relief. She'd been thinking that it was something much worse. "Eric it's supposed to be purple. Don't worry, it'll turn red when I wash the dye out."

"Oh thank god, I really thought we were screwed."

"Eric relax." Kat turned to look in the mirror and examine the purple hair for herself. "Everything is going to be fine." She looked down watching in almost fascination as Weiss removed the rubber gloves and dropped them in a plastic garbage bag. What was it about those damn rubber gloves?

She and Weiss were in Morocco investigating a lead on possible Covenant activity. There was to be a party at The Delphi hotel in Casablanca that night, which the CIA believed, was a front to conceal an information exchange between two members of The Covenant. Kat's assignment, only her fourth field operation since joining the CIA three weeks prior, was to photograph the exchange so the CIA could identify the men. Weiss would be running surveillance and providing any needed backup. While examining the hotel's surveillance footage, Kat thought she might have recognized a guest as being one of the guards that was hired by Viktor Melnikov when he kidnapped her and held her Spain for Petrov Khasinau. She wasn't sure though, so they decided to go the safe route and change her appearance slightly by dying her hair red just in case. It was a simple reconnaissance mission. But even with simple, seemingly less dangerous missions there was always a risk.

"Are you nervous?" Weiss asked as he washed his hands in the bathroom sink.

Kat lifted herself onto the counter, turning to face him. "No why?"

"I don't know," he shrugged and dried his hands watching her in the mirror. "It's only your fourth mission, it's Covenant, it's-. You're just quiet, tonight, and ever since you came back from agent training." He turned to face her and she turned away watching his reflection in the mirror.

"Eric-"

Weiss crossed his arms over his chest. "'Shiner, are you keeping something from me?"

Kat slipped off the counter and moved to exit the washroom. "Don't be ridiculous."

Weiss grabbed her wrist as she moved to slip past him. "Last night- You're having nightmares again." He searched her face for some flicker of emotion, but all he received was the accustomed blank stare. "I need to know that I can trust you."

"Then why are you questioning me?" Kat gently pulled her hand away. "Have I ever given you a reason not to trust me?" Weiss didn't say anything and Kat nodded. "That's what I thought." She slipped past him.

Weiss turned and watched her go. "I'm just worried about you," he said softly but she wasn't there to hear.

Kat surveyed the ballroom sipping her wine slowly. So far everything was going according to plan. With the dress, the shoes, the make up and the jewels, no one had any idea that she wasn't Sophie Harrison, a representative from The BleuMarine Cancer Research Foundation. She touched her newly dyed hair and was grateful that Weiss had the sense to buy the washout kind for her. She hated dyeing her hair.

"How's it going? Spotted anything?"

"No, no activity."

"Alright, well keep me posted Baby."

"Excuse me?" Kat turned away from the crowd into a small alcove. "What did you just say?" She adjusted the straps of her black sequinned gown in an attempt to be as discrete as possible.

"I said to keep me posted." Weiss attempted to hide the snicker in his voice, but of course it was unavoidable. "It's your new call sign, remind me to thank Cruz."

"JJ is so toast," Kat sighed and took another sip of the wine. "Remind me I don't like white wine, only red."

"You're not even supposed to be drinking it," he reminded her. "You're not legal."

"I am in Morocco," she shot back. "Besides what is legal age but a mere suggestion..."

"Uh Kat-?" Weiss interrupted nervously.

"Just don't tell my dad."

"Too late."

"What?"

"Base Ops uploaded your communications two minutes ago."

"You mean he's-?"

"Hello Katarina," Jack interrupted.

Shit. "Hi dad."

"Kat it's almost time, you better get into position."

"Alright, I'm going."

As she slipped away from the ballroom, Kat made a mental note to thank Weiss for getting her out of that. Her father was going to be none too impressed that she'd been drinking wine, even though it had been part of her cover. He hadn't even allowed her half a glass at her eighteenth birthday party. It was at those moments that she wondered if living with Jack was the best thing. The empty silences, occasional awkwardness, and the knowledge that no matter how hard either tried they would probably never be able to live up to each others expectations. She missed being on her own, living in her own space and by her own rules, with no one to account for her actions. Now, having someone tell her what she could and could not do, was intrusive, but at the same moment it was difficult to imagine her life without him and Sydney now. They were everything she'd always wanted and she could now truly understand the phrase, to die for ones family.

"Take the second corridor on your left."

Kat followed Weiss' directions as he led her through the back hallways up to a high vantagepoint in the storage area where she could watch the exchange.

"Their security cameras are looped. Baseops are you getting the feed?" From his position outside the hotel in the security Van, Weiss could monitor all comings and goings of the hotels guests and staff and ensure that each move Kat made would be undetectable.

"We can see her," Marshall confirmed.

"Baby, proceed with caution," Jack warned. "There is staff in surrounding areas."

"I can't believe you just said that," Kat whispered and took off her shoes. Soundlessly she climbed the metal ladders up to the catwalk. "When I get back there, you all are toast. Crisp and deep fried," she whispered under her breath.

Back in LA, Sydney covered her smile with her hand and Jack held back his convincingly. Teasing Kat, had become the new fun thing to do and neither one had missed out.

Kat crawled on her hands and knees across the catwalk staying as low and as quiet as possibly. She checked her watch. It was almost time for The Covenant exchange and she settled into position pulling the lipstick camera from her tiny purse.

"Agent Bristow, may I need to remind you that this is simply a reconnaissance mission." Kendall's voice was broken slightly as it came through the comlink. "We want the pictures, nothing else."

"Aye aye Captain," she muttered adjusting her position slightly.

"Baby, I've got one man entering the storage room."

Kat focused her attention on the door and waited until The Covenant Operative came into view. She couldn't see very well in the dim light to make out any faces but took a few pictures hoping they would turn out. A few moments later the second Covenant Operative entered the storage room. The second man stood with his back to her as they made the exchange. They were both dressed in dark suits in order to sufficiently blend with the party guests. Kat listened carefully to their conversation and was able to make out a few words, but they spoke quietly and she wasn't able understand the full context. It was also too difficult to read their lips in the dark.

"The pictures are coming in clear," Marshall said. "I might even be able to blow them up and see what exactly is being exchanged.

From her vantagepoint on the catwalk Kat could almost make out the second man. All she needed to do was lean out a little bit and she could probably see his face. With one hand grasping tightly to the railing and the other holding the lipstick camera she leaned out into the empty space. She almost had a view of the second man when the metal catwalk she was hanging on to made an undeniable loud creak.

Kat froze. She was hanging almost mid air and the two men began looking around for the disturbance. She closed her eyes praying they wouldn't spot her. She had no such luck. One of the men let out a yell and Kat pulled herself back onto the catwalk. She took off running, her bare feet slamming onto the metal walkway.

"Agent Bristow what is your status?" Kendall's voice broke through the communications link.

"I've been made." Kat could hear Jack and Kendall in her ear ordering her, telling her what to do but she ignored them and just ran relying on Weiss to guide her once she made it out of the storage room. She looked down at the ground and could see one of the men tracking her from below. She had a slight lead on him and used it to her advantage by throwing her purse and shoes down at him as she ran. The purse and first shoe missed but the second shoe hit him squarely on the head delaying him slightly and giving Kat a further lead. She had lost track of the other man moments before and as she reached the edge of the catwalk without thought she tucked the lipstick camera down the front of her dress and climbed over the railing and jumped, grabbing a water pipe just within her reach. She wrapped her legs around it and shimmied down to the far end of it. Once she was within reach of the wall Kat swung herself on the pipe gathering momentum until she was able to swing and launch her body to the one attached to the wall. Easily she slid down it and took off running. She made it out the storage room door before the Covenant operative and pushed it closed behind her. There was a folding metal chair directly across from the door and she grabbed it pushing the back up under the door handle. It would hold the man back temporarily.

"Take the next left and then two rights," Weiss instructed.

Kat followed his orders tearing through the back hallways at breakneck speed.

"Katy wait, someone's in front of you!" Sydney shot up from her chair as the information was displayed on the infrared screen.

It was too late for Kat to do anything. She saw the man and tried to stop as he stepped directly in her path, but wearing only the nylons she skidded right into him knocking them both into a heap on the ground. Kat saw the gun fall from his hand and immediately recognized him as the second Covenant operative; the one she'd been trying to get a picture of. She dove for the gun but the man tackled her and she only managed to push it against the wall away from them both.

Kat got to her feet and kicked the man squarely in the chest. He responded with a quick jab to her side and a drop kick, which ended with her on her backside. Kat stood quickly and defended herself as he went after her. She matched him punch for punch, kick for kick and to the viewers of the hotels security camera it seemed like an endless game of cat and mouse.

Sydney was leaning over the monitor her hands clenched into fists as she watched the fight. "It's Sark," she realized as Kat dropkicked him and his face was revealed to the camera.

"Retriever, go after her," Jack ordered.

"Already on my way," Weiss answered as he ran towards the hotels staff entrance.

"Kat it's Sark."

"What?" Kat turned away to search for the gun but didn't see it. She did hear it however as the unmistakable sound of a gun being cocked as it filled the silent air.

"It's Sark!"

Kat held up her hands slowly and acknowledged her opponent. "Hello Sark."

"Miss. Bristow, I thought you didn't work for the CIA." Sark took a few steps towards her keeping his gun aimed at her back.

"Some things change." Kat shrugged nonchalantly keeping her eyes cast at the floor in search of his shadow. "And it's Agent Bristow."

"Turn around, Agent Bristow."

She obeyed and recognized the man as being the one who'd returned her to Viktor Melnikov when she'd attempted her escape. "I wondered what happened to you after Moscow. I suppose I owe you a debt of gratitude for securing my rescue."

"I'll keep that in mind," Sark said slowly and watched her curiously. Kat's expression had changed slightly and she appeared to be confused for some reason. "I want the camera."

Kat tried to concentrate on his words but it was nearly impossible. There was something that was bothering her. His eyes, they reminded her of... ammonia and rubber gloves. She swallowed hard and suddenly had difficulty breathing. Her breathing came in short shallow gasps and her hands trembled.

"Just give him the camera Bristow," Kendall said. "We already have the pictures of the other guy."

Sark watched the girl and became slightly apprehensive. Her hands shook as she reached into the top of her dress and pulled out the lipstick camera. She offered it to Sark and he stepped closer to take it but Kat didn't let go. His eyes locked with hers and she spoke.

"'To be or not to be: that is the question:

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,

And by opposing end them. To die: to sleep;

No more; and by a sleep to say we end

The heartache and the thousand natural shocks

That flesh is heir to,-- 'tis a consumation

Devoutly to be wish'd. to die, to sleep;

To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;

For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,

When we have shuffled off this mortal coil.' "

"Agent Bristow, what the hell is going on?" Kendall asked but his questions went unanswered.

Kat took a step forwards and Sark took three back increasing the distance between them. She'd seen the change in him when she'd begun the quote. His eyes widened in surprise or maybe remembrance she wasn't quite sure.

Her mind was assaulted with so many images that she wasn't sure what was real and what was not.

"Kat, I'm almost there." Weiss said breathlessly into his comlink as he ran through the corridors.

"You used to read Shakespeare to me. That was your favourite. Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 1." Her voice trembled, as she spoke almost not believing the words herself.

Sark took a few more steps back, now in possession of the camera; she'd so willingly given up. He tried to ignore her words but it was impossible and the text repeated in his mind over and over again.

"No."

"You used to tuck me in at night, and read me Shakespeare before I went to sleep. You gave me Sophie. You-"

Sark shook his head disbelieving. "You're mistaken."

"No," she whispered. Sark turned and walked away from her. "Julian?" she called out desperately.

Sark stopped dead in his tracks. It wasn't possible, but it did make sense. The light was shining on her and he could finally see her, different now from what she'd been in Moscow. Different, but still the same and now more familiar than before. She had red hair, she knew his real name and there were tears in her eyes that were not false. "Katia."

"Julian."

That was the last thing the others heard before Kat's communications link was silenced.

Julian