"Connor MacBride."
Sloane announces the name of their latest target in the same monotone he always reserved for these meetings. Sydney's rapt attention is focused, not on the oversized picture of MacBride being displayed on the wall, but instead on her father who's sitting across from her.
Something about his demeanor this afternoon was different.
From the time she was a little girl Sydney could always detect when something was bothering him. He would become very reserved and contemplative; not that those descriptors weren't usually appropriate for Jack Bristow. But something about him today was off. He had hardly even looked at her since he'd returned from lunch…it was like he was avoiding her for some reason.
"MacBride is an Irish national thought to have alliances with the Irish Republican Army. In addition, he's a self-made millionaire whose fortune is the result of a carefully orchestrated illegal arms operation and smuggling ring. Recent communicade with SD-4 indicates that MacBride has come into possession of one of Milo Rambaldi's artifacts. A device which if left in the wrong hands can become a very dangerous weapon."
Great, just what I needed today!
"Intel indicates that MacBride has no invested interest in the device except to sell it for top dollar to the highest bidder," Sloane continues.
"He doesn't know what it's capable of?" Sydney's astonishment is not lost on any of them.
"No, thankfully it appears he doesn't. And considering his ignorance of its power, you're mission should be fairly simple," Sloane is solely addressing Sydney at this point. "Posing as a prospective buyer you'll gain entrance into MacBride's estate and extract the device."
Nodding her understanding, she takes one last glance in her father's direction as she notices that he's now watching her intently. Diverting his eyes once he realizes she's caught him he returns his full attention to the proceedings at hand, and she wisely does the same.
"MacBride's security detail will no doubt be patrolling the wing where the device is being kept, but your training and adeptness should prove no match for them." Sloane's confident smile and the look of pride on his face when he addresses her makes her want to wretch; but maintaining her composure, and suppressing the urge to lunge at him and snap his neck, she thinks better of her frustration and instead manages a tight smile in his direction.
Sensing his daughter's disgust Jack tries to steer Sloane into a more detailed explanation of this latest mission.
"What does this device look like?"
Upon the conclusion of the mission debrief, Sydney asks her father to stay behind for a minute. After taking a quick moment to ensure that the room is secure she releases her carefully controlled frustration.
"Every time he looks at me with that prideful smile I want reach over and strangle him with his necktie." Her blatant admission makes him almost crack a smile in fatherly pride; instead Jack just appeases her with a thoughtful look. It was all he could do himself to contain his anger whenever Arvin Sloane looked at his daughter with that perverse fatherly affection.
"Are you going to be alright by yourself on this op?" While his words imply obvious concern, the stoic way in which he delivers them wouldn't give away the true level of his concern to anyone but her. Controlled though it is, Sydney is touched by his attentiveness.
Smiling her reassurance she promises, "I'll be fine."
Slightly confused then he asks, "Then why did you want to talk?"
Cutting to the chase she asks him, "Is everything alright?"
If she was being honest with herself, his demeanor earlier was unnerving to her. "You seem…preoccupied since you came back from lunch." She needed to be careful with her words; she didn't want to upset him, and neither did she want to give anything away in case they were being watched.
Instantly she notices the same distracted look in his eyes as before. "I've just got a lot on my mind Sydney. I'm fine, probably just tired." He's using his dismissive tone now, the one that made her feel like she was a little girl all over again.
"Dad, you know you can tell me if there's something bothering you? I realize we haven't always had the ideal father daughter relationship, but you are still my father. And with all that's happened in the last year…"
"I understand that Sydney…and I am not trying to upset you. There's just nothing you can do. I'm fine."
Nodding her comprehension that this subject was not something he wanted to discuss she tries to excuse herself, "Okay. Well, I should get going. I'll have to make the appropriate "preparations" before my flight to Dublin", the insinuation of her CIA debriefing with Vaughn was evident.
At the mention of her intentions, Jack feels the need to ask his daughter a very important question.
"Sydney?" The tenderness in his voice stops her instantly and threatens to pull tears from her eyes…he hadn't used that tone calling her name since she was a little girl. Turning to face him she is amazed to see the sudden warmth in his gaze. It floored her how beautifully complex her father could be.
But nothing could have prepared her for what he was about to ask.
"Are you in love?"
"What?" Her response was nearly a whisper.
He repeats his question quietly, all the while praying that she would have enough faith in him to entrust him with the truth. "Are you in love?"
Tears well in her eyes as she tries to piece together an answer, "Dad…I'm…are you talking about…" Realizing that this sudden question came on the heels of her mentioning of Vaughn, she begins to comprehend what he's asking her.
"I am." His confirmation was quiet but steady as tears begin to stream down her cheeks and blur her line of sight.
She couldn't form a verbal response, instead looking at her father she nods her answer and watches as he grins in response. Watching as he closes the little distance between them, she realizes that she's just confided something in him that she wouldn't even admit to herself.
Once he approaches, she allows herself the comfort of his embrace. Holding his daughter close, Jack squeezes her affectionately as he realizes the magnitude of this moment between them.
After a moment of indulging in their embrace, he gently extracts himself from her and smiles tenderly. Leaning forward he places a kiss atop her forehead…something he shamefully realized he hadn't done in years.
"Then tell him…and be happy," he whispers with difficulty.
For in that moment, Jack Bristow painfully understood that for every father who had a daughter, there came a moment of surrender.
…And in such a moment, a father's last responsibility became the relinquishing of their position as the most important man in their daughter's life.
And this Jack realized…was his moment.
