The first thing Irina noticed was the heat bearing down on her neck. She lifted her head to see the sun beating down on her. She scanned her surrounding and saw she was in the middle of a vast field. She tried to move but noticed she was tied to a pole. Just as she got the ropes loosened she heard footsteps behind her. Two men where carrying Jack and Katya and Gerard Cuvee were following them.
They threw Jack onto the ground. His face was swollen and his eyes were purple. A small trickle of blood was coming out of his mouth.
"Hello my little witch." Cuvee said taking Irina's face in her hands.
Irina turned away from him in defiance. His fist connected with her face. She spit out blood and turned back to him.
"Katya, how could you?!" Irina yelled at her sister.
"It had to be done Rishka. Sometimes to get what you want, you have to go through some pawns." Katya spit back.
By this time Jack had begun to awake. He tried to fight against the guards but failed.
"Irina." he said feebly.
"Jack." Irina said her voice full of panic.
"Ah, now that your awake we can get started." Cuvee announced.
"Bring out the victim." he yelled.
Two more guards brought out an unconscious Nick.
"Nick! You never said you were going to hurt him." Katya gasped.
"He's a pawn." Cuvee said shooting Nick between the eyes.
"Nooo!" Katya screamed running and taking Nick's lifeless body in her arms.
"You see the anguish death causes," Cuvee said addressing Jack "You have the power to heal that anguish. Resurrect him."
"How?" Jack said confused.
"I don't know. You are the messenger. You tell me, or better yet show me."
"Jack please, I love him." Katya cried.
Jack looked at Nick's lifeless body unsure of what to do. He just imagined the first time he saw Nick. Suddenly the bullet came out of Nick's head and the bullet hole closed up, Nick's eyes fluttered open.
"Oh my God!" Katya said standing.
"Amazing." Cuvee said enviously.
"What. . . . .what happened?" Nick sputtered.
Katya pulled her gun and shot Nick in the head again.
"Doesn't matter." she said her voice cold
"I thought you said you loved him." Irina spoke.
"Ha, you know me sis. I'm not a one man kind of woman."
"Thanks for the demonstration though Jack. Now we know that you do possess the power to resurrect people. But your skills need a little honing. Here, I'll give you some incentive," Cuvee said they hooked up Irina to an IV "Every two hours Irina will suffer a massive heart attack. It's up to you to save her."
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Jack spit at Cuvee. The guards dragged him over to Irina and chained him to a stump in front of Irina.
"You might want to learn how to control your power quickly." Katya said as she and Gerard walked away.
Once they were alone Jack whispered to Irina.
"Irina, why are they doing this? How am I able to bring people back to life."
"You're the messenger."
"What is the messenger?"
"Rambaldi spoke of a man, a man who would have the power of resurrection. This man here described will possess a power beyond the realm of reality. The power to bring back that which is gone."
"How long have you known this?"
"I've suspected it for quite some time. I just found out for sure yesterday."
"What do they want with me?"
"They want you to. . . . . . . .resurrect Rambaldi."
"What?! He's been dead for centuries."
"They believe that you can resurrect him, if you do it willingly."
"I won't."
"They'll kill you if you don't."They sat in silence for a moment. Then Irina screamed.
"What. . . .what's wrong."
"My chest, I . . . ." she screamed again.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH, YOU SAID WE HAD TWO HOURS. IRINA! IRINA!" Jack screamed.
After a minute Irina's body went limp. He shut his eyes and focused on his memories of Irina. He saw her smiling at him from across the table at briefings. He saw her lounging on the side of the pool in that skimpy red bikini that he loved so much. He heard her gasping for air and looked up.
"Irina." he whispered concern dripping from his voice.
Irina weakly smiled before passing out again.