Eyghon
Summary: Katya is not happy about her sister's death, something that should have never happened. She's going to make things right again. She is a woman with a plan.
Chapter 4: TheftSydney handed in her resignation within a week of coming back from Hong Kong. She completed all her paperwork and cleared her desk, more than happy to leave APO. Rachel also resigned and gone back home to her family who'd just been let out of the (spell out )-WPP. Both women promised to stay in touch and Rachel wanted her family to meet her new best friend. In fact, the 'soon-to-be-Vaughns' were invited over for Rachel's birthday the following month, along with the Flinkmans.
For Sydney, it had been three weeks of blissful happiness with Vaughn and Isabelle. They were taking things easy, enjoying their daughter, planning the perfect wedding. It would be on the beach and the couple and the guests would be barefoot, just like they decided a lifetime ago. All their friends were invited but no family because, sadly, there was none left alive to invite. Vaughn's mother had died in a banal car accident shortly after his own 'death'.
"I'll get it," she said as the phone rang while Vaughn was on the patio playing with his daughter. "Hello?"
"Agent Bristow, we need you to come in."
She froze and glanced behind her to make sure she couldn't be overheard. "I am not an Agent anymore, I resigned. Please forget this number." She was about to hang up but what the woman said next chilled her.
"Alright, give me thirty minutes." She quietly put the phone back on its cradle and composed herself. "Honey, I need to go out for a few hours. I'll try and make it back by dinner." She grabbed her bag and her keys and was in her car before Vaughn could question her. She hated to hide things from him but didn't want to risk an argument. They'd both promised each other that, for their daughter's sake and their own, they would never again get involved with the CIA, for fear of being sucked back in, in Vaughn's words.
'This is in regards to Irina Derevko,' the woman on the phone had said. Sydney purposefully walked into the rotunda, not caring if she didn't look professional in her cream coloured summer dress. She had no intention of sticking around very long anyway.
"Agent Bristow." It was the woman from the phone, Vicki.
"Please refer to me as Miss Bristow. What happened?"
"Follow me." The woman led her to a conference room. "Sir, A…Miss Bristow has arrived." She quickly left without a word, leaving Sydney alone with none other that Kendall.
"Sydney," he greeted, holding out his hand.
"Kendall." She was stunned to see him here but did not comment. "What is going on?"
"Irina Derevko's body was stolen."
"Come again?"
"Last night at 0100, five heavily armed men wearing masks broke into the DSR facility where bodies are stored. They disabled the security and neutralised the guards in a matter of minutes."
"God!" Of all the things she'd expected, this wasn't one of them. Someone had profaned her mother's body!
"A professional job, clean, in and out under five minutes total."
"Any casualties?"
"None. They used tranqs. Any idea who would want your mother's body?" He asked, brows raised, as he gave her an appraising look.
"What you think I'm responsible for this?" She asked, outraged.
"It is a safe assumption, given that no CIA personnel was killed. A number of items are stored in that same building. Valued items. And yet the intruders only took the dead corpse of a terrorist?"
"No, I had nothing to do with." But I know who does, she thought. God I hope I'm not wrong. "Show some decency Kendall, she was still my mother."
"I called you here and talked to you in person, didn't I? I respect you, Agent Bristow, but my respect doesn't extend to family members, dead or otherwise."
Sydney glared at him. He was one of the higher ups who wasn't happy about what Vaughn, her father and herself had done to protect him. He was also part of the hearing board that had questioned Vaughn relentlessly for days in Langley. "What is being done to find…her?"
"We have no lead and we have other things to worry about. Nobody was hurt, it's not worth pursuing."
"I see. Well, thank you for contacting me, Director." He was right. He could have left her in the dark about the theft of her mother's body. After all, she wasn't an agent anymore, her clearance had been revoked. He must have gone through a lot of bureaucracy to be allowed to tell her about this.
She left and drove straight to the pier. There, feeling more relaxed, she dialled Katya's phone number.
"Hello?"
"Tell me it was you."
"Sydney. I thought you might call."
"So you did it?"
"Yes."
"Thank God!" She was relieved it wasn't some terrorist group who had her mother's body. However, anger quickly replaced her relief. "Why did you do that?"
"I left all your CIA friends alive as respect for you, that should be enough."
Sydney sighed. "I'm glad no one was killed, but you stole my mother's body, it's…what are you going to do with it?"
Katya smiled inwardly. She enjoyed toying with her niece, but in this case, this wasn't only about having fun. It was about hiding the truth without raising suspicions and her niece was one piece of work. She was not an easy girl to get rid of.
"What do you think it is for, silly? Your mother deserves better than to rot in a drawer in the enemy's basement!"
"You're right. I'm glad you have her, Katya. What are you going to do? What would she have wanted?"
Katya was angry over Sydney's willingness to let the CIA handle her mother's body while she should have done everything she could to get her to a proper resting place.
"To be with the rest of our family, in Russia. Like you did with that…disgusting clone."
"I had it taken care of as soon as I found out. There is no trace of an Irina Derevko ever being cremated."
"I know. I was glad." Katya said.
"You should have told me what you were doing."
"I wasn't sure you would approve."
"I would have helped." Sydney snapped.
"I know that now. Goodbye, Sydney."
"Goodbye, Aunt Katya."
Sydney couldn't see the soft smile displayed on the other woman's lips. Being called 'aunt' was heart warming. She'd felt a twinge of guilt as she'd lied to Sydney about her motives for stealing Irina's body, but it was for the best. For now, she would keep her plan to herself and pray to every God she knew but didn't believe in that it would work.
She stepped out of the car. They'd just arrived at the airstrip. The hearse was not passenger-friendly but she didn't care. She refused to let her sister's body out of her sight. The driver and the man sitting beside her in the front seat were both dressed in dark suits. Katya nodded to them and they deftly manoeuvred the heavy wooden casket through the tiny gate before setting it into the back cabin of the plane, out of sight. The CIA had graciously furnished Irina with a body bag, but it was Katya who had it put into a casket.
"Hello Miss Derevko," greeted the pilot, giving her a charming smile. She was used to flying with him, in every sense of the word, but it wasn't going to happen tonight. She distractedly nodded at him and tiredly lowered herself into a seat.
"I need to know where we are going, if you want to leave rapidly, Ma'am."
She'd been distracted, thinking of what she would have to do very soon, and of the consequences of her actions. "Huh? Oh, yes, of course. We will be landing at Ulaanbaatar Airport, Christopher."
"Yes Ma'am." He closed the cockpit door behind him and immediately contacted the Control Tower through his radio.
"Control Tower this is flight NY-24858, requests permission to take off."
"Flight NY-24858 this is Control, it's the middle of night, where you headed buddy?" It was a small, private airstrip, and Christopher often travelled here. His boss found it more discreet than LAX. His orders were always to stay nearby in case Katya Derevko needed to take off in a hurry. He was actually forbidden from leaving the airstrip so he usually hangs out with whoever was on duty. He'd quickly become friends with Mike, the night shift controller.
"Mongolia."
TBC
