Chapter 9

Alex's eyes ached from studying the code sequences in the middle of her father's book. She was able to validate her mother's work with the missing pages that were sent to her. But there was a considerable piece of the puzzle missing. She slammed the book shut and stood up to stretch. She had not seen Zach or her father since she agreed to break the code. Which was proving to be problematic.

Come on, Mom. What have I missed? Thinking about her mother, made her think about her father and the words she said to him. She started to feel guilty, but then pushed her emotions away. She and her brother grew up without a mother, and it was her father's fault. Or was it? A little voice inside her head asked.

She heard a key in the lock to her room. She breathed a sigh of relief when James entered the room with Zach and Marion, who looked at Indy's children with interest.

"Hey." She said to him. She glanced at Marion and briefly wondered who she was.

Zach glared at his sister, which immediately put her on the defensive. "What?" She demanded.

"Oh don't even try it," he replied heatedly. "How could you say those things to Dad?"

Anger grew in the young woman, "I had every right to say those things. It's his fault our mother is dead!"

"Says who?" Demanded her brother.

"Williamson!"

"You know what, for as being as smart as you are, you really are an idiot." Zach was infuriated with his sister and he made sure she knew it. "Who are you going to trust? The man who kidnapped us and blackmailed Dad and you? Or, the man who raised us and has shown us unconditional love our whole lives?"

"Did you ever think he might be doing it out of guilt?"

That was the last straw for Zach, "You know what, if you weren't a girl and my sister, I would deck you!"

Marion stepped forward and got in between brother and sister, and holding out her arms so they were separated, "Okay, both of you stop it. This is not solving anything." In the two minutes since she had set eyes on the offspring of Indiana Jones, she saw their father in them. She also saw the striking resemblance between James and Zach. There was no denying they were their father's sons.

"Who the hell are you anyway?" Alex asked.

Marion did not have a chance to respond, because Zach answered for her, "You're Marion," he took a second to think, and then added her last name, "Marion Ravenwood. I saw you in the newspaper clippings my father has saved. You and he were engaged."

Alex shook her head and added, "One of his conquests."

"Watch what you say about my mother," was the stern reply from James. "You don't know everything, Alex. And if you ask me, your acting very immature right now."

"Well, I'm sorry! All I can think of right now is that we grew up without a mother, and maybe he could have done something to prevent her death." She took a moment to fight back tears. "It's just not fair."

"Newsflash, life isn't always fair." Was the retort.

Zach came forward, "Wait a second, she is your mother?" He stared at James and saw his own eyes staring back at him, all at once he understood. "No, shit." He grinned.

James grinned back, he always wanted a brother. It was crazy, since he knew it would make more sense for him to be angry at the situation and his mother for not telling him the truth of his parentage, but he wasn't.

At that point, Alex really did feel stupid, for all she managed to say was, "You're our brother?"

There was a sharp knock on the door and James quickly moved into position and stood guard. He relaxed when Luke entered. Anxiety was etched in his face. Luke went directly to Alex, "Williamson wants to see you. Bring the diary."

During this visit to Williamson's office, Alex made note of her surroundings. If this is was where resistance fighters attempted to take down the Third Reich, more clues were bound to be somewhere. She glanced at Luke, who was stone faced, but there was something in his eyes. Of course, there was. This was at one time his family's home and as a toddler, he had lived here. This is where his grandfather took a stand against the Nazis and lost. James was right, life was not always fair. She knew she had to stop acting like a spoiled brat who was not getting her way and clear her mind for the task at hand. Their survival hinged on her abilities, and she planned to use those abilities well. Along the way, she would pick up what clues she could about her mother and what really happened.

Alex stiffened when they entered the room and she saw her father there, flanked by Williamson's personal guards. Damn it! She said to herself. She was not ready to face him yet and as much as she wanted to apologize, she could not bring herself to do it.

Williamson saw the tension between father and daughter and said, "You are both a very important element to the success of this operation." He moved to a table that was really a map with red dots placed in strategic spots, "How much progress have you been able to make with the code?" He asked Alex.

"Not as much as I would like," She answered truthfully, "I have been able to authenticate everything my mother did before me, but even with the pages that were removed from the diary, something is still missing."

"Do not fail me," Williamson said menacingly, "Remember the safety and well being of your brother is in your hands. We leave in twelve hours. I trust you will have made some progress by then."

He then turned to her father, "Dr. Jones, sixteen years ago, you embarked on a perilous mission at the request of President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. How far did you make it into Norway before the mission was aborted?"

"My team and I had just arrived at a safe house in Namsos when a coded message came across our shortwave radio."

"What was the message?"

Indy's eyes went towards his daughter, "It was telling us to terminate the operation. The Kilburne's had been betrayed and their estate was now overrun by Nazis."

Williamson was enjoying the psychological agony he was causing, "And, who sent that message, Dr. Jones?"

"My wife."

"Ah, yes, the proper Mrs. Jones," Williamson gloated, "Did you know she was a spy, and did you know she secured your safety back to Great Britain by sleeping with the enemy?"

"You son of a bitch!" Indy lunged toward the man and managed to land a punch square on his jaw before he was knocked down and kicked by the guards. He heard his daughter scream. Indy had heard the rumors about his wife, but he never believed them. There was never any proof to validate the claim. He knew Elizabeth was a spy, but beyond that she was a humanitarian. Images long suppressed played violently in his mind as he was brutally pulled to his feet.

Him standing near the guard tower on the Swiss side of the border staring at the gate that separated the two countries, hoping each person that made it through the checkpoint was Elizabeth. For two weeks, Elizabeth had managed to avoid capture. The underground had provided papers to enable her to cross into Switzerland. Abruptly, there was an uproar. Just past the gates, he could see a small group of children screaming and running. Not far behind them was his wife, and not far behind her, three men wearing the dreaded Gestapo uniform. Before the checkpoint guards knew what was happening, two children ran through the gate, not stopping. One was left on the German side, a little girl about 6 years old. A member of the Gestapo screamed an order to shoot her. Elizabeth screamed, NO! And shielded the child with her own body. Miraculously, she did not die instantly. Instead, she pushed the little girl and told her to run. Indy ran toward the gate, but was held back by two British Agents as he reached the gate. Suddenly, another man raced on the scene. He scooped Elizabeth up and among shots being fired at him, raced to the gate. As two bullets tore into his back, he fell to his knees and pushed Elizabeth across the border. Indy recognized the man as Johan, one of Axel Kilburne's sons. He managed to grip his hand and pull him over to neutral territory.

Indy held his wife in his arms, willing her to live. She opened her eyes and seeing Indy's face, managed a weak smile. Her breath was growing shallow, and it took all the strength she had left in her to raise her hand to Indy's cheek. Indy's hand held it there as he begged her to hang on. But, it was too late. Indy kissed the palm of her hand and wept.

Those were the images he held secret in his heart and mind all those years. He wanted to spare his children the gruesome details of their mother's death. In essence, she had saved three children that were in hiding. Two Jewish, who had family in Switzerland, and the 6 year old girl belonged to Johan, whose life was saved when Indy pulled him to safety.

Enraged was not a strong enough word to describe Indy's emotions, "So that is why my daughter hates me? You told her lies about her mother…and me." He turned to Alex, "Honey, don't believe him. I have never lied to you before, don't believe him."

Alex wanted to believe her father, but was confused, "I don't know what to believe. All I know is that the father I knew was good and strong. But now, it seems my whole life has been a lie." Looking at Williamson she added, "If you want me to break this thing, I need to get back to work."

After she was locked back up in her room, she sat on the bed and opened the book again. Alex knew that the incident with Williamson was his way of trying to drive a further wedge between her and her father. She wished for time alone with him so he could tell her everything. It was true, he had never lied to her, but then again, did he tell her everything?