SHADO HQ, Commander's Office
The next day
By now the casino's clientèle and staff had received selective amnesia treatments; the damage to the hotel (already being repaired) was explained away by terrorist action on the part of separatists. These days such things were accepted as almost routine...however repellent that notion might be, as it was a return to the bad old days of the IRA et al.
One member of the hotel staff had received very selective treatment: Lucija. Jennifer had pleaded with Kelly to ensure Lucija didn't forget what they'd shared, and Kelly acceded on compassionate grounds...but now she no longer remembered Jennifer's status as a 'secret agent' and thus her hurt no longer existed in her mind. Instead, according to her now-altered memories Lucija's on-again-off-again lover Tomislav had interrupted them in a fit of jealousy and, moreover, of homophobic anger at Lucija's insistence on having sex with women.
This had led to an argument which finally settled matters for Lucija re Tomislav. Drawing inspiration from Jennifer's attitudes on sexual freedom, she had angrily declared that her body was hers to do with as she pleased and to share with whomever she pleased, and if he couldn't accept that then she never wanted to see him again. He retorted furiously that that would be the case, and stormed out - not merely leaving the hotel but packing and leaving Dubrovnik altogether, since he'd now lost any chance of marrying her as he'd long hoped.
Jennifer felt a little guilty about dragging the previously uninvolved Tomislav into this at first, since all she knew about him was what Lucija had told her in pillow talk, until Kelly assured her the man had first been subjected to a brief psycho-analytic exam and his homophobic tendencies, of which Lucija had in fact been unaware, came to light. Thus in effect the selective amnesia treatments had only precipitated a confrontation that would've occurred anyway sooner or later.
Plus there was no longer any bad blood between Lucija and Jennifer. Before she left for New York and once she'd pulled herself together after the casino fight, they had a tearful reunion, each reassuring the other that she was unharmed, and bade each other farewell...in typical Jennifer style. When Kelly went looking for her, he wasn't especially surprised to discover them naked in bed. He was even less surprised when Lucija coyly invited him to join them, but she casually accepted his request for a rain check when he explained what he was about, and she kissed Jennifer goodbye-for-now. She promised to return once her business was concluded.
Kelly knew perfectly well that Jennifer would damn well keep that promise, too. It seemed she was entirely willing to go on the prowl across oceans and continents, let alone streets and towns...
Deal with that another day, he pragmatically decided; for now, he had SHADO-related business to conduct. Over a videophone he conferred with Claude Renoir, who had some rather welcome news:
"The CCTV footage has been partly recovered, and reviewed by the casino adjudicator," Claude informed him pleasantly. "He has ruled that Mademoiselle Ivánovna's most unusual action of sliding her cards off the table was, in effect, a fold. In other words, since she conceded defeat and you never revealed your cards, you are judged to have won the game, and thus the entire pot has been deposited to your account. Toutes nos félicitations and well played, Monsieur McAllister!"
"Well, thank you, Monsieur Renoir," Kelly grinned, "$19.6billion, wasn't it?"
"Indeed it was, truly incroyable. In my fifteen years as a game director I have never witnessed a game remotely like it," Claude marvelled. He wasn't to know that the only reason he even 'remembered' the conclusion of the game was that, on Kelly's orders, SHADO Medical had modified memories such that certain individuals would forget anything pertaining to SHADO, the Aliens or the Constructs while still remembering the game; thanks to Alien-derived technology and Lisa Hardcastle's expertise, Medical now possessed such a capability.
Claude and the others now 'remembered' that the separatists, it had transpired, had intended to interrupt a game which they saw as a typical example of Western decadent capitalist excess, but they'd gotten their timing wrong (that part was per Penelope's suggestion, wryly recalling the sage wisdom of her sensei), and they had struck just as Natalia had 'folded' - in other words, too late. The casino security staff and a detachment of local troops who had in theory been on leave dealt with the separatists - some were killed, some captured and delivered into UN custody.
As far as they knew, that was. Of course the 'separatists' were actually Constructs and were transported to SHADO HQ, once a SHADAIR Heavy Transporter disguised as a UN troop carrier arrived at the airport. Most of the ones anaesthetised by Jennifer didn't survive the trip, though it was unclear if this was due to a reaction to the anaesthetic or if they'd willed themselves to die, or perhaps the Aliens had somehow sent them a self-destruct signal or mental command. Nor did it really matter; the Constructs were more valuable in terms of the fresh tissue samples they would provide.
While selective amnesia treatment was a far more difficult and exacting procedure than the amnesia drug, it was more effective, with the added advantages that immunity such as Sylvia's was impossible and it left no memory gaps; the only side-effect was a mild migraine lasting a few days, an acceptable price.
Later, Sylvia was in fact offered the procedure - it would effectively remove her PTSD and allow her to come back to SHADO - but after a long in-depth consultation with Harriet she decided that she had, finally, come to terms with her trauma. Telling Jennifer about it had helped her to achieve closure by providing her with a conclusive catharsis she hadn't realised she'd needed, and so she politely but firmly refused.
"We still need you, Sylvia," Kelly appealed.
But Sylvia disagreed. "No, you don't...you've got Jennifer now," she shrewdly pointed out. "In time I bet she'll be as good as I was, if not better. Besides, I like the life I have now, the person I am now. Also...I don't want to forget such a sexy, beautiful boy as Chris, even though I...well, you know. Thank you so much for the offer, Kelly, but...no, I can't."
"Your choice," he sighed, "but the offer's open if you ever change your mind."
"Hmm...you're not offering this just to entice me back, are you?"
"No," Kelly answered gently, "you deserve some peace if anyone does."
She smiled fondly and kissed his cheek. "Compassion. That's why she loves you...and why you thoroughly deserve her." Then she grinned. "For all your faults."
As she'd demanded, Trixie's memories remained intact. The Security Council had granted her SHADO security clearance, while revoking Johann's; family or not, Trixie should not have been told and he should have known better, regardless of the wholly positive outcome of his action - namely Trixie's financial aid to Kelly at the casino and the fact that she'd had the good sense to keep the knowledge of SHADO et al to herself. He was still lucky to have escaped a prison sentence or even execution, spared by Commander's Discretion as a gesture of goodwill towards Trixie; she was now on board as an investor in Shadow Enterprises, Inc. to the tune of $4billion.
("Thanks for not executing my Dad," she quipped, "he's really not a bad sort most of the time.")
The casino's CCTV footage had been carefully doctored by Penelope's team in accordance with the similarly doctored memories, timestamps and metadata changed and the resulting altered, and partly corrupted, footage rerecorded onto the original media so that it would appear to be a first-generation recording if anyone ever went to the trouble of subjecting it to in-depth analysis. None of the imagery on the recording, not a single frame, was actually false; it was merely...edited, all coverage ceasing just as the 'separatists' attacked; the camera was hit by a stray shot.
(Actually the shot was anything but stray, fired as it was by Penelope, though of course she didn't appear in the footage...)
"A very strange affair all round," Claude mused, "and I know I am not alone in feeling I have...forgotten something...ah, peu importe, c'est la vie," he shook his head, dismissing it...thankfully. "However, I do have a personal request, purely out of curiosity: may I know, Monsieur, whether or not you did, in fact, possess la quinte royale?"
Kelly chuckled; he'd entirely expected the question. "Technically that'd cost you $6.4billion for the answer."
"Ah, Monsieur, please, I must know!" Claude pleaded earnestly.
But Commander McAllister was nothing if not compassionate, which was why he'd insisted the casino staff be permitted to remember (or 'remember') as much as they did; he didn't want them to have to wonder for the rest of their lives how that remarkable game had ended. It didn't seem fair, somehow. "Actually, I still have those two cards..." He'd kept them as a souvenir, and showed them to Claude one at a time, first displaying their backs which showed the casino logo, thus proving their provenance.
For a long minute Claude did not respond on seeing the second card, such was his astonishment. Then he laughed delightedly. "Oh, mon Dieu! Of all the...! Well played indeed!"
SHADO HQ, Control Room
Shortly after
"Colonel, Interpol report a refusal on the part of the Russian police to arrest Shostakovich," Keith reported, frowning.
"What?! Why won't they arrest him?!"
Keith answered soberly, "Because he's been admitted to hospital in critical condition, sir...he's not expected to survive the week."
That news did, Alec had to concede, have an effect on the landscape. So he called the Commander to pass on the information.
Jennifer had just joined him in his office. She immediately turned to him with a heartfelt plea written across her face; he merely nodded. She was as compassionate as he, if not more so, and thus it didn't even occur to him to refuse her unspoken request.
Her debriefing could wait. For compassion's sake, Shostakovich could not.
Hospital of Terjola, Georgia
Six hours later
The hospital receptionist looked up as a beautiful, striking redhead passed briskly by his desk, apparently heading for gospodin Shostakovich's room. He hurried around the desk and blocked her way, protesting in Russian.
Though she didn't understand a single word, of course, the 'no visitors' context was as obvious to her as that of Hirohito's question had been. She answered, "I'm sorry, I don't speak Russian - but I have to see him! Please, it's very important!"
On hearing and recognising English, the receptionist repeated in the same language, "No visitors, gospazha, he is very ill -"
"He's dying, I know," she interrupted urgently. "Please, I must speak to him! It's about his daughter!"
The receptionist frowned and firmly shook his head. "Nyet. Gospodin Shostakovich does not have daughter -"
"No, he does! Her name's Natalia! Look, it's hard to explain, but -"
A weak voice was heard in Russian, though Jennifer couldn't have recognised the Georgian accent. The receptionist started, and hurried into the room. A brief, rapid exchange followed...and the receptionist, puzzled, returned to where Jennifer was waiting. Frowning, he said, "He will see you...if you can answer one question: What does 'shadow' mean to you?"
You mean 'SHADO', Jennifer mused ironically. Shostakovich must've guessed her affiliation; given what Kelly had told her about the man she wasn't surprised, as he sounded shrewd and intelligent. Besides, who else would be interested in him on his deathbed?
Who else would know about Natalia?
So she put every scrap of conviction she could into her reply:
"Everything."
The receptionist's frown deepened, but he was apparently convinced. He stood aside, cautioning, "Please do not be long, gospazha...we do not expect him to live past tonight."
She thanked him (using one of the very few Russian words she knew, courtesy of the movie 2010 - she later amusedly realised that was also how Kelly had learned how to count to three in Russian), and closed the door behind her.
Ivan Shostakovich bore little resemblance to the photo Kelly had shown her; this man looked much older, a...shadow...of his former self. He was very pale and in obvious pain, and she sympathetically stroked his brow, asking, "Do you understand me?"
"Da," he weakly returned, "I speak English; these days, is required in business world. But I do not know you, gospazha." Clearly he had an eye for beauty, as he saucily added, "I truly wish I did." He smiled weakly when he saw the lady took no offence at that; she was clearly mature - and the impish gleam in her eyes told him she actually appreciated and shared the spirit of it.
"I'm Jennifer Harrison. I'm a cadet in SHADO. I was at the poker game in Montenegro," she explained, and smiled. "Playing the part of the Commander's floozy, if you know what that means."
He chuckled somehow, his sallow features softening. "Who is Commander now? Not still Ed Straker, surely. He would be old now." A dry cough; she poured a glass of water and helped him sip from it. "Spaseba, gospazha, most kind."
"No, Kelly McAllister's the Commander now."
"Ah, I recognise name. They hate him," he confided, "he confounds their plans, second-guesses them. They were desperate to find out how."
"I know," she nodded, "that's partly how I met him. I was bait in a trap." She briefly explained, bearing in mind the passage of time and how little of it this man had left.
"And you forgave him?"
"I had to. He didn't really have any choice, and rejecting him was just hurting myself as well...and my daughter."
"Daughter," he sighed, "da, is nothing more important than family. Is why I was so desperate to have child. I wanted son," he went on brokenly, "but...Y chromosome was too badly damaged, yet I kept making boys. Tatiana, my beloved...our son killed her," he sobbed.
"I know, Kelly told me," she replied sympathetically. "I'm so sorry." She hugged him carefully, mindful of his infirm condition; he sighed, clearly grateful for the feminine contact.
"Ah, if I were twenty years younger...and not riddled with radiation," he lamented, and then dropped the banter. "Natalia...my kitten...she is only one quarter me - they could only use half of my X chromosome. I did not want to deal with them...but I was desperate, I - I had to leave something behind. No human doctors could help me. There seemed no other way." He sounded pleading.
"As a parent myself, I can understand that," Jennifer gently assured him. "Kelly suspected you were only planning to cooperate with them up to a point, and then renege."
"Da, that was plan," he agreed. "They are enemies. They must be fought -" He coughed again, and again Jennifer helped him drink.
"So...why isn't Natalia your heir, if you care so much about her?"
"She will not live," he answered simply, brokenly. "They did not tell me, when they created her, of Constructs' temporary nature. They lied to me," he finished bitterly. "Is only reason - only reason - I did not make her heir. She has not long, if not already dead...she is like Agave franzosinii, which blooms so beautifully, but only once..."
Jennifer steeled herself, then gave him what Kelly had termed 'a compassionate, partial lie'. "No, she'll be okay, Ivan. Dr. Jackson, SHADO's CMO, found a way to stabilise her DNA."
Shostakovich gasped. "She...will live?! Bozhe moi!" He straightened up in bed with new energy and pressed the button to summon an orderly. Once he arrived Shostakovich gave him rapid instructions in Russian; the orderly looked surprised, but nodded and left hurriedly.
"I asked him to fetch notary," he explained happily, "to alter online will. I will leave everything to my little kitten...everything."
Once the notary arrived, Shostakovich named Jennifer as a witness, citing her as 'trusted business associate'. On seeing his client's confidence the notary accepted this even though he'd never seen her before, and altered the online will in accordance with his instructions. Shostakovich was clearly running out of time, his voice growing fainter and his breathing more laboured, but finally he was able to press his shaking thumb to the touch-sensitive screen and thus authenticate the alterations. "Spaseba, tovarishch," he managed.
The notary, a very young and handsome dark-haired individual, smiled and replied in Russian (and Jennifer somehow understood), "Sleep well, tovarishch." He nodded politely to Jennifer and left with the tablet.
"He is friend of family, he will take...care of...everything," Shostakovich murmured. He was fading fast now, Jennifer knew.
"I'll let her know when I get back," she promised, taking his hand in both of hers. She could barely feel any warmth from it. "Do you...is there anything you want me to tell her?" she gently asked.
"Tell her...she is daughter," he barely managed. "Tell her...I love her, and...I am...content..."
"I will," she swore very softly but with the utter conviction she knew he needed to hear.
His eyes fluttered closed and his head lolled back, and an alarm sounded from the medical monitoring equipment. Two doctors and a nurse entered and examined him, but the senior doctor merely shook his head, knowing it was hopeless, and noted the time. The nurse smiled at Jennifer and inquired, "Are you relative or friend, gospazha?"
"More of an associate," Jennifer corrected mildly, "I barely knew him. I wish there'd been more time." She meant it; he'd seemed a decent sort, a good man pressured by a bad situation.
"As do we all," the senior doctor remarked ruefully. "At least he did not die alone; spaseba, gospazha."
"You're welcome," Jennifer replied softly, stroked Ivan's cheek in farewell and left.
She'd hated lying to a dying man, even if it was for the best of reasons.
But the real hell of it was that the lie wasn't quite finished yet.
SHADO Medical
Ten hours later
"Everything?!" Natalia gasped. "Why?"
"Well, why not?" Jennifer returned. "You're his daughter. I managed to convince him of that by telling him your DNA's been stabilised."
"Then...I will live?" Natalia asked, barely able to believe it. "But...I am Construct. We do not live. Are not meant to," she added bitterly.
"Normally, no, but they had to do a better job with you so as to secure your father's cooperation," Jennifer told her per the briefing Jackson had delivered. "Dr. Jackson was able to build on that, repair the telomeres." She chuckled. "Ooh, listen to me, I almost sound as if I know what I'm talking about."
Natalia couldn't help but chuckle in response. Then she sobered. "But...this means I am heir to business, da?"
"That's right."
"I did not want business!" she cursed. "I wanted freedom, independence, not responsibility!"
"In other words, just the money," Jennifer observed wryly.
"Da!"
"Well, there's a really simple answer," Jennifer smiled, producing a tablet. "The Commander's offering you two options: either you can sell the entire business to Shadow Enterprises, Inc., or you can appoint them as a silent partner. That might be better - on paper you retain control, but in practice SHADO runs everything. That way you get all the privileges and benefits of being mega-rich with none of the responsibilities," she finished brightly.
"I will be...free," Natalia breathed, "independent...!" She laughed delightedly, looking years younger (and, Jennifer thought lustily, endearingly cute and sexy). "Da, I will do it!" She perused the online document only briefly before licking her thumb and pressing it to the lighted panel on the tablet; the technology to combine DNA and thumbprint biometric data had recently been released by SHADO and was rapidly spreading worldwide...and already earning hundreds of millions of dollars with profits projected only to increase.
Along with crackers' frustration, as the tech was internally encrypted and thus unhackable.
"And with that, you're now a very, very rich and fully independent young woman," Jennifer grinned. "Congratulations, gospazha!"
They hugged ecstatically, and Natalia cupped Jennifer's face in her tiny hands to give her a long, deep French kiss. One hand strayed towards Jennifer's breast, slipping into her cleavage.
Jennifer, naturally, didn't object in the slightest; she was too busy sliding her tongue into Natalia's eager mouth...
Later Natalia sighed happily. "Is strange feeling, being free, but...is good. Is very good." She stroked Jennifer's cheek, and Jennifer leaned into her hand, capturing it with her own much as she would have with Kelly.
"So what are you going to do first, love?"
Natalia started to reply - then paused, frowning. "I...I do not know. I can do anything...but I do not know what to do. I...so many choices..."
"That, I gather, is the best part of being rich," Jennifer readily observed, "in a sense you don't have to choose. Just make a list of things you want to do - and do them!" she laughed. "There's nothing to stop you!"
That, too, was a lie, of course...
"Is one thing," Natalia decided quietly. "I want to...make love with man. Is not that I didn't enjoy it with you, gospazha," she hastily added, "no, you were wonderful...but..."
"No, I understand," Jennifer smiled, kissing her cute little nose, "I adore women, I love pussy, but there really are times when you just can't beat a good hard cock! Especially," she added fondly, "when it's attached to a good, kind man who knows how to use it properly."
"Like Commander," Natalia answered knowingly, displaying a wisdom far beyond her apparent, and certainly her actual, age. "Is clear - is obvious - you love him," she finished tenderly.
"I do, with all my heart," Jennifer affirmed, "and he loves me just as deeply."
"Is good and is right," Natalia said quietly, with solemnity and sincerity. "Is good you have found each other."
Tears sparkled in Jennifer's eyes. "Thank you. Thank you so much." She kissed the younger woman again; then, as was her wont, she decided things had gotten just a little too solemn and that it was time to break the mood. Thus she impishly asked, "So which lucky man gets to pop your cherry, huh?"
Natalia started, and chuckled. "So many choices...perhaps I should make list!" They laughed together...and Jennifer showed not the slightest sign that her heart was breaking. She didn't dare, for Natalia's sake.
In time they sobered a little, still chuckling, and Natalia declared, "Well, is no rush...is not time to make such choices," she yawned, "nyet, is time to sleep. Very long day. Good, but long," she yawned again.
Jackson had told Jennifer that such tiredness was a symptom of what was to come. It took every scrap of discipline she possessed to hide the distress she was feeling.
It wouldn't be long now, she knew.
But she only said gently, "Yes, you should get some sleep, darling. You can always get laid tomorrow," she quipped, somehow keeping the catch out of her voice. "I know plenty of cute young lads, both in SHADO and out, who'd be eager to do a lovely virgin like you!" I'm sure Ian Halford would appreciate her, or Denny, or John Russell, they all like cute little blondes...if only there were time...
"Da," Natalia returned sleepily, smiling. "Will you be here when I wake?" she asked, as a child might - as Sophie had done more than once, bless her.
Time for one last lie, Jennifer knew. As sincerely as she could she answered, "Yes, sweetheart. I'll be here when you wake up." She leaned over the girl and kissed her again. "Sleep well, love."
Natalia's eyes fluttered closed, and she sighed contentedly as sleep took her.
She looks so young, so innocent...so beautiful. This isn't fair. She deserves more...
Jennifer watched the girl very carefully, still trying not to cry in case it woke her. It was better that she be asleep when...when...
She breathed in and out once...twice...then there was a final, involuntary exhalation. Her skin tone changed, becoming sallow. Jennifer had seen that happen before, when Uncle Jeff had passed away.
With that, she was gone.
The dam of Jennifer's tears broke at last.
An hour later, as Kelly quietly entered and very gently took Jennifer in his arms, she was still crying.
But he knew it wasn't just her grief. She'd lied both to Ivan and Natalia, and for her that went against the grain. She'd only agreed to do it because the alternative - allowing both to die in despair - was far worse.
"I'm sorry, Jen. Dr. Jackson gave her all the time he could."
It was true; he'd worked desperately, against the clock, with Hardcastle lending her own extensive expertise. They'd worked out a way of temporarily stabilising Natalia's DNA, but ensuring long-term stability was beyond the state of the art. In fact Jackson was reasonably sure even the Aliens could not have done more - after all, he pointed out, if that were not the case, then surely they could simply fabricate new bodies for themselves, and thus eliminate the entire organ transplant/decrepitude issue altogether.
"She deserved more," Jennifer sobbed, "she did..."
"Yes, she did," Kelly agreed sadly, "the Aliens made her too well. She was human in every way that matters. She deserved a long life...we just couldn't give her one. The Alien Constructs are designed to be short-lived, and there's no way around that, I'm afraid." He shook his head. "It's likely she'll be the last, too. They won't make such Constructs if they know they can't trust them."
"It's cruel," she cried, "making such creatures who want to live when they know that they can't...!"
"I hate to say it, but that isn't really fair," Kelly had to point out. "Constructs usually aren't made to be so self-aware. Natalia was unique, very much an exception, far and away the best they ever made...and she was even more than they made or intended her to be. Or rather she became more. And you helped her to do that, by helping her discover her own humanity. I'm so very proud of you, love."
"But...so little time..."
"She didn't have much, it's true...but at least she had it," he replied firmly. "How long you live doesn't matter as much as how you live in the time you've got. Some butterflies only live for two days...but they're no less beautiful for it. As the Vision said, a thing isn't beautiful because it lasts. And if nothing else," he added softly, "at least she lived long enough to know she was loved."
He was right as usual, she numbly saw; Natalia had only lived briefly, but she had lived.
In addition, her death had served a worthwhile purpose: the document Natalia signed was exactly what Jennifer told her it was...but there was a clause buried in it which transferred ownership to Shadow Enterprises, Inc. in the event of Natalia's death - which, of course, they'd known would happen shortly. The finances and resources would be utilised in the war against the Aliens.
Natalia's revenge from beyond the grave.
"It also matters how you die," Kelly gently continued. "Yes, you lied...but it was a kind lie, the best sort. You have to focus on what it gave them...namely everything they wanted. Ivan wanted to leave a legacy, and as far as he knew, he did, so he died content. Natalia died happy...because she was free. How many people get to achieve their aims in life, Jen? How many live and die feeling they haven't done everything they set out to do? Not those two, thanks to you. They got what they wanted most. No-one could ask for more." He kissed her. "One day I know you'll accept that."
"We live a lie, don't we?" Jennifer remarked hollowly. "Every day..."
"Very true, but what choice do we have?" he returned rhetorically. He was right again, damn him.
No, stop it, she remonstrated with herself. He is right, and you know it, woman. We all did as much as we could, and that'll have to be enough. At least they died happy. God knows there are worse ways to go.
"So what now? What happens to Natalia's...to Natalia?"
"By my direct order, even though it's contrary to standard regs, she'll be buried next to her father," Kelly answered firmly. "We'd never normally take the risk of a Construct being discovered, but the coffin will be treated with something that'll cause more rapid decomposition than normal, thus minimising the possibility that anyone might accidentally find out what she was. This is by Commander's Discretion," he added. "She was human in every way that matters, so she deserves to be treated as such, even in death. If we fail to acknowledge such things we're surrendering what it means to be human, and if we do that -"
"- then we might as well give up and just let Them win," Jennifer finished, seeing his point.
"Exactly," he nodded grimly. "Not on my watch." Then he recalled a report he'd received a few hours ago. "Hey, I know something that'll cheer you up: the Alien in charge at the casino?" She nodded in understanding. "Post-mortem confirmed he had Phoebe Klein's heart and thyroid." He smiled grimly. "What do you want to bet that he was the bastard who tortured and killed her?"
"Ooh, I bet he was," she spat, "he certainly struck me as being a petty-minded sadist!" But then she again saw his point, and managed a smile. "So Phoebe's been avenged? Good!"
She relaxed on hearing that he'd been judged as having won the game, with the $19.6billion price tag. That, she knew, would pay for a lot, and the investors would be sufficiently confident to put in more. Then a thought occurred to her.
"What really happened to them? The researchers?"
"They did in fact volunteer for what we did to them, Jen. They all had their memories wiped and their appearances altered surgically and, to a degree, genetically. In effect they were transformed into entirely different people, given entirely new and different lives. Hell," he found a chuckle, "one's a woman now."
"Say what?" she gaped.
"Gunter Heinrich - he'd been trying to decide for years whether or not he should be a man, but the psycho-analytic workup showed he'd be happier as a woman, so Medical swapped his Y chromosome for another X to make him into one, shades of Elizabeth Andrew Jackson Libby. 'He' is Olive Andress now. Can't get much more different than that, can you?"
"'He's a man, sweetheart, that's different enough!'" Jennifer couldn't help impishly quoting her favourite line from the new Doctor Who; Kelly chuckled, then sobered.
"The changes are permanent...and they'll never remember who they were. For all intents and purposes, they are dead. It was the best we could do for a convincing cover story," he sighed. "Obviously Janine couldn't tell the world the real reason for the strikes...and certainly not the truth about how they were launched, or from where. There's a nuclear launch officer in Moscow who's now firmly convinced he did it, on direct orders from the Premier at the request of the Secretary General.
"He'll receive counselling if he needs it - poor bugger deserves that much at least, especially as he volunteered to carry the can. Needless to say the UN granted him immunity; he won't be charged with anything, nor should he be. Hell, he's a recipient of the Special Services Medal and a Hero of the Russian Federation."
"The Secretary General won't be impeached, will she?" Jennifer asked beseechingly. "I mean, she didn't give the order - you did. It wouldn't be fair."
He shook his head. "The Security Council won't allow it. As it consists of the most influential members of the UN, they'll persuade the other members to leave her be...their argument will be that she's already punishing herself more severely than they ever could. To a degree, that's actually true; the whole point of the UN is, among other things, to prevent the use of WMDs, not authorise it."
"But she - and you - had to," she pointed out.
"True. But that doesn't change what we did, or make it any easier. It was always the hope that one day Pripyat might be decontaminated somehow and its contents returned to their owners or the families thereof, or even that it might be repopulated...now that'll never happen," he sighed sadly, remembering Natasha's heartfelt grief.
At that point the intercom sounded. "Commander, General Henderson is here to see you and Cadet Harrison," Keith Ford informed him.
"Thanks, Keith," he acknowledged, shifting mental gears, and keyed the control to permit the General to enter. "Okay," he pronounced, "time for your belated debriefing, Cadet."
She glanced briefly at Henderson as he took a seat and replied, "Yes, sir. We took off from the SHADAIR field on schedule, and arrived in Montenegro without incident. Then..."
When she'd finished relating her account, Henderson rumbled, "What's your assessment of your performance, Cadet?"
Jennifer instantly (and correctly) responded, "I don't believe it's really my place to say, sir. That's the Commander's prerogative, surely."
Henderson barely smiled. "Indulge me."
She shrugged. "Well, given my relative lack of experience I believe I did pretty well. The 'distraction' part certainly worked, as Commander McAllister can attest -"
"Too bloody right," Kelly exhaled with feeling, recalling vividly what that dress had done for her...and him.
"- and I believe I accounted for about a third of the hostile Constructs; some knocked out, others terminated."
"Nearer 45%," Kelly complimented her, "and we now have several live specimens - or at least live tissue, given that Constructs are short-lived - for research. She conducted herself amazingly well, General - I wouldn't hesitate to recommend her for future field operations once her training's complete and she receives her commission."
"About that, Commander," Jennifer interjected, turning to Kelly, "I would like to formally request that I not be assigned to field operations."
Both men raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Might I ask why, Cadet?"
"You know why," she answered quietly. "I was terrified. Please don't ask me to do that again."
"As I'm sure you know, courage isn't about not being scared, Jen. It's about being scared, but not letting -"
"I do know that, yes. And we both know, I'm sure, that it's not about lack of nerve or courage. But I know - I just know - it wouldn't suit me, sir. I recall you telling me about making a similar choice, Commander, because you wanted to go where you knew you could do the most good. I'm only asking you to let me do the same."
For a long moment Kelly did not reply. Then he gave a long, resigned sigh. "Which is exactly what TAPS told me you'd say, almost word for word. We have to take the operative's sensibilities into account, up to a point, when deciding where to assign them. Plus your analytical capabilities are sharper than your field operative skills, but it's such a close call that essentially it comes down to Commander's Discretion." He gazed long and hard at her, contemplating the highly capable SHADO Cadet and the woman he loved who would perhaps, in time, bear his children...he hoped.
They were definitely going to have to find the time, somehow, to talk about that. He was pretty sure she wanted more kids, and he'd started to think he would also like to have one or two of his own, but it would be unfair to both of them not to make certain first that it was a mutual desire.
He had to reconcile her needs with SHADO's...while giving the latter the higher priority. He had to do that.
So: field operative, or the STAND? Where would she serve best?
Maybe fieldwork would grow on her as it had with Sylvia, who'd originally requested a Moonbase post. He could assign Jennifer to the Intelligence and Counter-Espionage Division, and maybe Sylvia could serve as an unofficial mentor. She'd make one hell of an ICE Queen, he was sure.
But his command intuition was telling him something else.
For some time now he'd felt the situation re the Aliens was about to undergo a profound shift - how, or when, or what form it would take, he had no idea...but the feeling persisted nonetheless. In fact, for no reason he could readily pin down, he'd recently begun to believe that said shift had, somehow, already started.
His command intuition was telling him she would be needed in the STAND when it happened.
As he'd told her, he had learned never to ignore his command intuition.
Ever.
He made his decision.
"The STAND," he pronounced firmly, "but as a compromise, I hope you'll keep your fieldwork skills sharp in case we need you to serve in the field on an ad hoc basis. I'd suggest you take permanent implants like mine, and practice regularly."
Jennifer smiled. "I can do that, sir. Thank you very much." Then it occurred to her to ask, "Sir...what was my final assessment rating?"
"First Class," he grinned. "Marksmanship: spot on - in fact I'm pretty sure you didn't miss more than two, maybe three times. Considering that this was no exercise and it was your very first combat engagement, that's very impressive.
"Comportment: absolutely superb. At no time did you panic, hesitate or show indecision.
"Obedience of orders in the course of the mission: perfect, with a valid degree of initiative and creative interpretation appropriate to the circumstances.
"Teamwork: brilliant - when things went so thoroughly south, you meshed perfectly with the A.R.T. Penelope and Luanne would love to take you in, they told me." They'd probably want to do you as well, he didn't say, though he was sure of it. He'd seen the look on Penelope's face when discussing Jennifer on other women's faces. Not that he could blame them; Jennifer was so bloody hot she frequently appealed even to hetero women. Hell, he was willing to bet she could get a stiffy out of a gay bloke, as Bo did in Lost Girl...
"Initiative: oodles of it. You armed your guns without needing to be told, improvised with Natalia...and above all," he smiled warmly, "you showed the compassion I've come to expect of you, Jen, both as a SHADO operative and as the beautiful person you are. I am very, very proud of you, and so is everyone who's been training you."
Tears sparkled in her emerald eyes as she said, touched, "Thank you, Kelly. Would it, um, be a breach of protocol if I...?"
He knew what she was asking, and grinned. "Technically, yes, but...ah, what the hell, c'mere!" He rose, kissed her and held her close.
Henderson didn't say a word...even when he dared to fondle Jennifer's bottom.
Toni's Place
"Okay," Henderson said an hour later after a light lunch, "the funding for Shadow Enterprises, Inc. is now firmly in place; five of the six investors we originally approached are now onboard...and," he grinned, "I'm pretty sure we'll talk Dyson into it eventually. Plus we now have Trixie Laplâce and potentially, through her, several smaller investors. We also have the, ah, insurance the Commander suggested," he added wryly. "There's the profit from Montenegro, too; if we deduct the UN loan and various expenses, including that sensational dress of yours, Cadet - and I'd really like to see you in it sometime -" he grinned, "we made $18.7billion on the deal."
"More than enough to cover the planned expansion," Kelly put in. "There'll be a steady stream of income from sales of the new material, the sonic baffles, a civilian version of TAPS and one or two other things. So for the foreseeable future, and for the first time since its creation," he couldn't help pointedly adding, "finance is now the least of SHADO's worries."
"Well, that's good," Jennifer opined, "but there is just one last detail."
Kelly smiled. "I can guess."
"Kelly, I have to know," Jennifer pleaded, "were you bluffing? Did you have a Royal Flush?"
"Technically you didn't pay to know that," he quipped, as he had with Claude, "so it'll cost you $6.4billion to find out."
"I will spank you."
That was one threat Claude couldn't call upon. Thus he conceded, "I had the King of Spades."
"And the other card?" she insisted. "Please, just tell me!"
He slowly smiled. "The Two of Diamonds."
"Not the Ace of Spades?"
"Nope."
"So...that's not even a straight, just a high card," she realised incredulously. "It's...you had nothing? She had four Queens, and you had jack?!"
"Yep."
She burst out laughing. "You bet $6.4billion...with more than twice that much at stake...on a busted flush?!"
He grinned. "Yep."
"That's why he's the Commander," Henderson also grinned, "he's a nervy son of a bitch."
"But...but what if she'd called your bluff?"
"Ultimately, it's like I told you, Jen: the fundamental truth of poker is that it's never about the cards...it's always about the players."
TO BE CONCLUDED
IN
UFO: ENDGAME