CREATING SOME DISTANCE
"Anybody can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody's power and is not easy." -Aristotle
San Felipe, Mexico (Elysium)
Mary Falk steps out into the clear Mexican night. Inside the San Felipe chapter of the San Marcos Orphanage, we see Bill Vaughn helping the infant orphan mother Lucia with clean-up from the kids' dinner. Mary would be in there helping, but she's got other things on her mind.
This was just supposed to be a routine couple of hours of relieving Julieta Romero while she supervised the orphan boy Emilio Ortega and his best friend Maria Falk enjoying the beach. But she realized that this act of charity might be anything but routine when she received a frantic call from her son Tom a couple hours ago.
It took just about every ounce of energy for her to keep her cool in front of the orphans when she got the news of the kidnapping. She wanted to snap and scream at the top of her lungs, and she had another reason to do that besides the fact that her granddaughter's life is in jeopardy.
Irina Derevko betrayed her...or did she?
When she finally got a moment to break away from the kids, she calmly and casually went to Julieta's office/bedroom for some privacy.
That's when she screamed loudly into a pillow. She needed that.
Then, once she was done taking her anger out on an innocent pillow and when she regained her composure, she returned to the kids for a couple hours and acted like nothing out of the ordinary was going on.
She filled Bill in on what's going on a half hour ago. Even he was impressed at how composed she was from the time she got Tom's call. But then again, he wasn't all that surprised. He knows Mary as well as anyone, having worked side by side with her for almost a decade before she died while helping him save young Nadia from the Soviets.
After consulting with Bill, she then went back to Julieta's room and, secret from Bill, had the text exchange she had with Irina that closed the last chapter.
As usual, Irina was sparse on details, but she did promise that all of this would be over tomorrow and that Maria, Julieta, and Emilio would be returned safely.
But on top of all that, she was going to give up Mitch Hayes to Tom and Nadia. Was she setting him up to be the scapegoat of this whole thing? Mary knows that Mitch wouldn't be the mastermind of such a thing when the egos of Arvin Sloane and the Derevko sisters involved.
Mary wouldn't put it past Irina to sacrifice one of her subordinates...after all, she fed Julian Sark to Tom Falk not once, but twice in the span of 18 months of their lives. The first time was for a purpose that Mary herself thought of, the second was just to put the cherry on top of the Project Nadia sundae.
So the mere act of making Mitch a scapegoat can't be the entirety of Irina's plan. Mary knows it ain't worth the 5 seconds it took to think it up. She knows that Irina is much more calculated than that. Plus, Irina has had five years to think of this plan in Hell.
Therefore, Mary knows there's something else going on in Irina's complicated head. Sacrificing Mitch isn't her endgame. At most, it's a small piece to a much bigger puzzle.
Mary ends her wandering at the east side of the building, which has a small picnic area. It's designed for potential adoptive parents to have sort of a one-on-one with orphans they have interest in adopting. It's private and set off to the side, and tonight it will be a perfect venue for Mary to have her chat with Tom and Eddie.
There's no way that she can let Julieta's absence get back to the orphans, and this spot is completely out of view of any curious orphan. Eventually, when they ask where she and Emilio went off to. At this point, Mary will probably say Julieta and Emilio went on a vacation. Of course, this will make the kids jealous of Emilio, so she'll have to think of a story to cover for him. She hasn't gotten that far yet.
Behind her, Tom and Eddie appear. Mary turns and sees her concerned sons. Tom looks particularly traumatized.
Mary immediately walks over to her youngest son and gives him a hug. Tom hugs his mother back tightly. They say nothing, but both squeeze each other tightly, needing to release some tension.
Mary is the first to release the hug and asks "How are you holding up?" Tom shakes his head and says "I've never been more frightened of anything in my life." Eddie solemnly says "I can't get my mind off of them. Maria, Emilio...Julieta..."
Eddie then hangs his head as his heart drops at the mention of his girlfriend Julieta. Suddenly, Mary remembers that Eddie has his heart invested into this caper beyond Maria. It was rough for Eddie, getting over his real-life wife getting remarried for the first time since his death. It's kosher to wait for your loved ones unless they moved on, and Eddie waited. And just when he's moved on from her and started something with Julieta, this happens.
A sympathetic Mary steps over to Eddie and gives him a warm hug as well. "Eddie, Julieta was just caught in the middle. I don't think anything's going to happen to her." Eddie doesn't say anything and releases the hug with his mother. He does notice that Mary did seem awfully certain that Julieta wouldn't be harmed.
Mary looks back over at Tom. "Sit down, let's talk." Tom and Eddie follow Mary over to the picnic table. Mary sits alone on her side of the table while Tom and Eddie claim the other side.
Upon sitting down, Tom then asks "Mom, you know Irina Derevko better than any of us. You knew her late in her life, you knew her hangouts, her tendencies. You never told me much about your dealings with Irina, but I need to know why she would do this." Mary lets out a sigh and says "Can I see the letter that Mitch wrote?"
Tom reaches into his pants pocket and gives Mary the letter. She takes about a minute or so to read it.
She hands the letter back to Tom without saying anything. Instead, she leans forward and stares at the table, thinking.
She taps her finger on the table as she figures out what to make of things. Under no circumstances can she tell Tom or Eddie about her text messages back and forth with Irina, as much as she'd like to. That's part of the agreement between them two and she can't break it without risking the lives of Maria, Julieta, and Emilio.
But the part in the letter about Irina wanting to take a more peaceful approach and being overruled is interesting to her. Irina somewhat alluded to that in her text exchange. But it helps getting verification from someone else, especially when it comes to Irina and the truth.
Suddenly, a theory pops in her mind.
Mary stops the finger tapping and says "We're not the only ones that have to wonder what Irina's intentions are." Tom leans forward, happy to hear some wisdom from his mother finally, and asks "What do you mean?"
BEEP BEEP!
Mary's eyes bug out of her head. That's the signal from her phone that she's received a text just now. Could it be Irina?
Tom and Eddie watch with great interest as Mary pulls the cell phone out of her pocket. She rapidly opens it up and sighs.
It's not from Irina.
It's from Thomas Falk, her husband and Tom and Eddie's father that she's still on the outs with. It simply says "I miss you. Could you please talk to me?"
Mary slams the cell phone shut and puts it back in her pocket. Tom asks "Who was that?" An irritated Mary replies "Your father. I'm not dealing with him now."
But before Tom can ask what's going on between those two, Jack Bristow and Nadia Falk appear behind Tom and Eddie, with the two Il Credo Divino assassins assigned to them appearing behind them. Perfect timing, Mary thinks. She really wanted to change the subject away from Thomas.
Mary stands up immediately and says "Did you find anything?" Tom and Eddie quickly look behind them just as Jack says "We found the van..." Tom shoots up to his feet and says "Did you find them?" Jack shakes his head. "No. The van was abandoned. We think they were teleported away from that location." Mary asks "Are you sure that was the van?"
Nadia storms over to the picnic table and slams Maria's pink butterfly hair clip on the table. "That's Maria's! She was there!" Mary examines the hair clip quickly and defensively says "Ok, ok. I'm sorry, Nadia."
Nadia doesn't say anything, but her pained face speaks a thousand words. Tom steps towards her and goes to hug her, but she slaps his right hand away and snappily snarls "Don't touch me!" This takes Mary aback, apparently not aware of the strife between Tom and Nadia at the moment. Tom steps away and looks at Nadia angrily, feeling very offended that Nadia still holds a grudge over the mistake he made dismissing Il Credo Divino.
Mary turns to Tom, then looks back at Nadia. "What's going on?" Nadia goes to speak, but Tom angrily cuts her off. "My wife is blaming me for Maria's abduction. It's not Irina's fault, it's not Sloane's fault, it's not Mitch's fault. No, it's all my fault. Right, Nadia?" Nadia looks at Tom with a hateful scowl. "It's not all your fault, but you're a pretty big part of it!"
Tom steps forward. "You don't think that I realize I made a mistake?"
Nadia fires back "I don't care whether you realize it or not! Maria is gone because there was no security! Whether or not you realized it, it happened!"
"Hey! The security I did have died, Nadia! I just had to make the hardest conference call I had to make in my life when I told Coop, Alvarez, Jacob, and Luke that Charlie and Jerome won't be with us anymore! I'm responsible for their deaths...again!"
"At least you admit it."
"That really hurts, Nadia. If you're surprised that I'd admit I led two men I love like brothers to their deaths and then be tore up about it, then clearly you forgot the man you married."
"And apparently I forgot about myself over the years, too. Because if this happened before we got married, I would have NEVER let you turn away Laurent! But no, I stood by you like a good freaking wife. I stood by you because I trusted you! I stood by you because I was stupid enough..."
Finally, Mary shouts "ENOUGH!" That ends the arguing session between Tom and Nadia, but not before the two exchange some cold glares at each other that Mary hasn't seen directed at each other at any point of their relationship.
A tense Mary says "I can't believe I'm hearing this from you two! You're better than this! And I can't believe that you're playing right into Sloane's hands." Tom and Nadia look over at Mary with confused looks. Mary notices and says "Has it been that long since you two were agents? Hell, has it been that long since you two faced any danger at all? Do the words 'united we stand, divided we fall' mean anything to you two anymore?"
Mary looks over at Jack, then back at Nadia. "You two, have a seat. You've been all over hell and back, have a rest." Jack and Nadia take the seats previously occupied by Tom and Eddie, who just stand behind them.
Mary eases into her seat and says "Before you got here Nadia, I was about to tell Tom what I think Irina is doing." Mary then focuses her attention on Nadia, who's interested in hearing what Mary has to say about Irina, but still wears a somewhat perturbed look on her face. Mary says "Your mother is trying to do to her colleagues what you and Tom are doing to each other. Dividing, questioning, sniping...she's trying to disrupt the harmony of The Nine."
Jack asks "Why? What's the point?" Mary shakes her head. "That's the part I don't understand. Irina's not one of those types that just likes to sit back and watch the world burn around her because it's fun. She could if she wanted to, but no. She has a purpose for doing this." Tom then says "But if she's trying to divide and conquer, it's not working! Sloane overruled her and Mitch had no problem putting bullets in the brains of Charlie and Jerome!"
Mary nods and says "If Irina has an Achilles' Heel, it's Sloane. Think about it. Who duped Irina to take the Horizon for himself? And how could Sloane get a woman of Irina's elegance and class to have an affair with him of all people?" Mary looks over at Jack, realizing what she just said. "Sorry, Jack. I forgot you were there for a moment." Jack shrugs. "The moment I read Nadia was really my daughter and not his, I got over it."
Nadia looks over at Jack and cracks a small smirk at that comment. Even though she's pissed at the man in her life, at least she has her father to lean on. Yes, her father...something that she never thought would happen in any lifetime.
Mary clears her throat and says "Right. And now, Sloane sicked Irina's rottweiler under her nose to attack Charlie and Jerome with force. Irina thought she had Mitch under her control, but Sloane appealed to Mitch's desire for revenge. She must not have been counting on that." Jack appears not to buy it. "No. I don't think Irina would have neglected that possibility."
Mary retorts "She could have if she felt that Sloane was out of the picture somehow. If I were a betting woman, I'd say that this operation was Sloane's idea, but seeing as he doesn't like to get his hands dirty, he ordered Irina to oversee the mission. Irina thought she controlled the puppet strings, but Sloane's megalomania took over and he threw a wrench into the whole thing right before it was to go down. As Tom and Nadia can attest, having worked under him for a while, this wouldn't be the first time Sloane has tried switching things up in a mission that was already underway or about to get underway. It's a trait that someone like Tom or Nadia would have known about, but maybe not Irina, since she was never really a subordinate of Sloane's at any given point."
Nadia then says "Do you think she's going to hurt Maria, or Julieta or Emilio?" Mary immediately shakes her head. She already knows that answer...at least she thinks she does anyway based on her communications with Irina. But again, they cannot know about those conversations.
Mary instead says "During my time with Irina, I did have a few conversations with her about motherhood. She'd talk about how she raised Sydney before she left, and I'd tell her about raising Karen, Eddie, and briefly Tom. She always enjoyed those chats. She has a soft spot for family, and Maria is family to her. I don't think she'll hurt her, and I don't think she would do anything to Julieta or Emilio because that could hurt Maria or Nadia."
Speaking of the last woman in that sentence, Mary focuses her attention on Nadia. "Speaking of you, Irina asked about you a lot during our time together." Nadia's eyes perk up at that. Irina really asked about her? "What all did she ask, Mary?" Mary shrugs and says "Just how you were doing and if they found a cure for you. Once that was taken care of, she was especially interested in your wedding and how you were coming along with your pregnancy." As Nadia reflects on that, Tom asks "What do you think that means?"
Mary thinks about that question for a bit. The subject of motherhood, Sydney Bristow, and/or Nadia was actually a very popular topic of conversation during their time together. And in texts, Irina has expressed a willingness to protect anyone she calls family and even got downright snappy at Mary when Irina reminded her that Nadia was her daughter.
Does Irina still have feelings for Nadia...or does she just want Mary to believe that?
Not wanting to give Tom and Nadia any hints that she's already spoken to Irina, Mary dismissively replies "I think it's just natural maternal instinct to wonder how the children you cannot interact with are doing." Tom points out "I guess you would know a thing or two about that, considering all the attempts you made to watch over me even after you faked your death." Remorse and sadness floods Mary's face suddenly. "Yes...yes."
Jack then asks "Regardless of what Irina's intentions may or may not be, the fact remains that she is still holding three innocent people hostage. We need to find out where they could be." Mary snickers and says "Good luck with that."
"What do you mean by that?" Jack asks.
"They could be anywhere." Mary replies.
"But they'll probably be close to a property that either she, Sloane, or Mitch owns."
"What makes you say that?"
"People can only teleport to places that they've been in Elysium, right?"
"Right, but you're talking about three people that have seen darn near the entire planet between the three of them."
"Hold on, why can't Julieta and the kids just teleport to safety?"
"One, kids Maria's and Emilio's ages can't teleport. It's too complicated for them and even if they had the mental capacity for that, they haven't gone through training. Two, Julieta probably can escape, but there's no way she'll abandon those kids, and if Irina is smart like I know she is, she's keeping her and the kids isolated from one another. They may not even be in the same location."
Tom lets out a loud sigh. "So you're saying that hunting for them will be pointless." Mary replies "Probably. Knowing Irina, she's got them in a place that is about as random as it gets and has absolutely no connection to anything. Irina knows better than to leave breadcrumbs unless she wants to, and in this case she's not."
Eddie asks "So what should we do, Mom?" Mary replies "Get some sleep, nothing's going to happen tonight probably. I do have a feeling that Irina's not going to want to drag this out too long and she'll take manners into her own hands regardless of what Sloane wants. She never was big on hostages, and she always cut bait on the ones she did have early on, so her endgame will come soon. I'm not sure she'll risk contacting you two again, so she might go after me. She probably knows I'm at the orphanage." One of the assassins steps forward and says "If she steps foot on this property, she is dead. We've been ordered by Laurent L'Andre to protect the orphanage until relieved, my lady."
Mary raises an eyebrow at that, then looks up over at Tom. "You have Il Credo Divino guarding the house?" Tom nods. "Yeah...something I should have done already." Nadia lets out a sarcastic chuckle at that, but doesn't follow it up with anything.
With that chuckle, Tom turns to Eddie and says "That spare bedroom of yours available?" Nadia's sarcastically angry look suddenly turns into a surprised one as she quickly turns back to look at Tom. Eddie looks at Nadia, then back at Tom. "Yeah, but you sure you want to..." Tom, ignoring Nadia completely, says "Yeah. I think I should create some space between me and Nadia for at least one night. I know when I'm not wanted."
Nadia looks like she wants to say something, perhaps a refute to that last part. But instead, she stays quiet and turns back towards Mary, staring off into space and looking disappointed. Meanwhile, Mary just looks away and sighs, disappointed that a wedge has been driven between Tom and Nadia.
Jack turns to Nadia and says "If you don't want to be alone tonight, you can stay at my house. I have a spare bedroom myself." Nadia thinks about the offer, but shakes her head. "Thanks, but someone really should stay back at our house. Guess it'll be me. I do appreciate the offer, though."
Suddenly, Nadia stands up and she looks at Tom. She's still upset with him, but as she stares into Tom's blue eyes, she slowly starts to feel somewhat sad that he won't be with her tonight. She looks down at the ground and passively says "You don't have to stay at your brother's, Tom. I'm not kicking you out."
Tom thinks about that for a bit, but the damage has been done. "I just think it'd be best if we didn't see each other's faces for a night. It really hurts me to argue with you, and if I'm not around to argue with you..." Now it's Tom's turn to look at the ground, afraid of saying something to set the volcano that is Nadia off again. "I just think we should create some space between us for at least a night. That's all." Nadia lets out a loud sigh and says "Fine."
And then, she teleports away, presumably go back home. No goodbyes, no nothing. But Tom and Mary both share a feeling that Nadia's hurt that Tom won't be with her tonight.
Tom looks over at Eddie and says "Come on, let's go." Eddie then turns to the assassins and says "Take good care of this place." The assassin that spoke up earlier cordially bows as he holds his hand up to his chest and says "You have our word. And Mary and the kids will have our blades. We are honored to serve."
Tom and Eddie leave, followed closely by Jack. Mary would return to the orphans, again hiding the fact that anything out of the ordinary is going on.
She wouldn't sleep very well that night, however. The question of what Irina's going to do next wouldn't leave her thoughts, as well as the apparent friction between Tom and Nadia.
That last part actually hurts her the most.
? (Elysium)
Irina Derevko appears in Julieta Romero's room, holding a large plastic bag. The sudden sight of Irina makes Julieta jump up a bit in her cot, but unlike the last time, Julieta was actually expecting Irina this time.
Irina walks in front of Julieta and sets the bag down. She pulls out the remnants of a tray of lasagna, what's left from a gallon of milk, a plastic fork, and a book called 'Catching Fire', the second book of the Hunger Games series.
Julieta picks up the book as Irina pulls two paper plates from the bag. "Wow, I'm surprised." Irina pulls the plates away from each other and says "Why's that?" Julieta replies "Captors don't usually honor hostage's requests."
Irina shrugs and says "I never had a lot of hostages in life. I didn't believe in being cruel. I don't know what Nadia told you about me, but my sister Elena was always the cruel one. I always wanted to be the opposite of her." Julieta grabs a plate and says "I know Elena's involved in this...whatever it is you people are doing. Doe she know you're feeding us lasagna and giving me books?"
Irina shakes her head. "I don't know where she is. Maria and Emilio are eating as we speak." Julieta nods as Irina cuts her a piece of lasagna and says "Thank you. You don't have to do all this." Irina finishes transferring the lasagna piece and, dismissing Julieta's offer of thanks, says "When we're done with this, we'll discuss breakfast."
Irina then grabs what's left in the tray, grabs a fork and napkin from the bag next to Julieta's feet, and takes a seat across from Julieta on the ground, with her back to the wall.
Julieta takes notice and asks "What are you doing?" Irina replies "I'm going to eat with you. Then, we'll talk about my daughter."
Julieta turns away, mystified at this behavior from her captor. "Why are you being so...nice? If you're setting us up for a letdown, just get it over with." Irina was about to cut off a piece of lasagna, but stops in mid-cut. "I said you'd be back home tomorrow. I meant it. Sloane wants to keep you for as long as it takes to lure Tom and Nadia here. I don't."
Julieta looks at Irina and asks "Why?"
Irina replies "Because like I said before, I'm not my sister."
"You're not cruel. I find that hard to believe given what you did in life."
"What did Nadia tell you I did in life?"
"You were a criminal! And not just that, but a mastermind! That's why a big part of me believes you're setting me and the kids up somehow! When you say we're going to be home tomorrow...why should I believe you?"
"What other choice do you have?"
"I could close my eyes and leave right now!"
"But you'd be abandoning the kids, and you have no idea how to access their room because you've never seen or been in it. And you have no frame of reference for where you are besides this room."
"Then why keep us here if you want to let us go?"
"I know what I'm doing. Now eat. I don't like talking during dinner."
Well, Irina lived up to her word there. The next 10 minutes or so consisted of nothing but eating lasagna and drinking milk between the two women. Irina said nothing, and Julieta knew better than to ask her anything.
They both finished up about the same time. Julieta wipes her mouth off with a napkin and says "That was good, thank you. Where did you get this from?" Irina also wipes off her mouth and replies "This little place in Rome. I was happy to see it was still in business even in the afterlife."
Julieta's eyes bug out. "You went to ROME for this?" Irina just shrugs and says "Lasagna sounded good when the kids suggested it, and I wanted the best lasagna I've ever tasted. You're welcome."
Julieta sets her plate and fork off to the side. "Maybe you should go check on the kids. They're probably done." Irina shakes her head as she slouches down further. "No, I'll clean up after them when we're done here and I tell them their goodnight story."
Julieta gives her a funny look. "You're going to tell them a goodnight story? Seriously?"
Irina nodded. "Yeah, Maria asked if I would. She says I sound like Nadia."
Julieta says after a pause "Yeah, you kind of do actually. What story are you going to tell them?"
"Twelve Months."
"Never heard of it. What's it about?"
Irina chuckles and says "My mother would always tell me this story because I always asked to hear it. It's about a stepdaughter whose stepmother hates her, but loves her own brat daughter. On a very cold day in January, the stepdaughter is sent to pick snowdrops, which are a flower that grows in March in Russia. Problem was, it was January, and the mother knew she'd freeze to death."
"Oh my gosh, that's terrible!"
"Well, not only did she not find any snowdrops, she didn't find any flowers at all. But just as the snow starts to fall and she starts to freeze, twelve men emerge from the woods. Young men, old men, all dressed in these fancy clothes. They took pity on the poor stepdaughter and decided to help her."
"What did they do?"
"The oldest man, named January, hit his cane on the ground and chanted a spell. The coldest month of the year passed right before their eyes. He then handed the cane to a slightly younger man named February, and he did the same thing. Now, it was March's turn, and he did the same thing. All of the sudden, the snow disappeared, and flowers bloomed all around them. The stepdaughter picked the most beautiful flowers, put the flowers in her basket and went back to the house."
Julieta giggles and says "I bet the stepmother wasn't happy!"
With a smile, Irina says "No she wasn't. In fact, the stepmother sent her own daughter out to find these twelve men for herself. She found them, but was extremely rude to them. So they buried her in snow and left her to die." Irina then laughs and says "I always imagined that was Elena...probably why I liked this story so much."
"You really hated Elena, didn't you?"
"Still do. Anyway, the stepmother went out looking for her, but couldn't find her either. Instead, she froze to death as well. But now that they were gone, the happy stepdaughter always had the freshest flowers in May, the best berries in her garden in June, and the best apples in September. She lived happily ever after, and even entertained the twelve months when they stopped by to say hello. Anyway, that's the short version of the story. I'll tell the kids the longer version I know."
Julieta laughs and says "I wish I could be there to hear it. I'd like to tell the orphans that story." Irina smiles and says "I'll relieve Mitch and keep watch during the night. I'll write down the story for you and give it to you in the morning." Julieta smiles back and says "Thank you."
Irina then slides up and says "Now you know why I'm not cruel." Julieta doesn't really react to that. She does realize that there is probably some truth to that, however.
Irina then says "Ok, let's talk about Nadia." Julieta folds her hands on her lap and asks "What would you like to know?"
Irina replies "Tell me about when you two first met."
Julieta nods and says "Ok, well I was at the orphanage already when Nadia arrived on one rainy day. I was six, and so was she."
"But you look much younger than Nadia."
"How do you know what Nadia looks like now?"
"I scouted their place for a while and saw her a few times." What Irina doesn't mention is that she saw Nadia emerge from the store after Cesar attacked her.
Julieta appears to buy it and says "Oh. Well, Nadia died when she was 27 and kept her age. I was killed when I was 20. Long story."
"We have all night."
"Maybe later. But anyway, she got the bed to the right of me. At first, she was timid and shy. She looked so rough, too. I knew she wasn't treated well wherever she came from. But I had no idea until I saw her left arm hanging from her bed one night. I couldn't believe all the needle holes I saw! Who would do such a thing?"
"That was the Soviets for you. Has she told you what they did to her?"
"I thought she was forced to take drugs at first! But yeah, I know about the Rambaldi Fluid treatments. But I didn't learn about that until a few years ago. Nadia never said much about where she came from, probably wasn't pleasant. Over the course of the next year after she arrived, Nadia still was very shy around everyone, but slowly started opening up to me. I don't know if it was because our beds were next to each other and we just got familiar with each other or what. Sometimes, kids just pick out one another like that. Emilio was very shy when he arrived at my orphanage until Maria kept trying and trying to be his friend. She's such a good kid, I think she took pity on him."
"She seems nice. She also seems to trust Emilio pretty well."
Julieta nods and says "She does. They are the best of friends. They remind me of how I was with Nadia. Me and Nadia always partnered up for playtime and just did things together whenever we could. Nadia had a hard time trusting anyone else and in fact, she was downright intimidating at times to others. I think she scared everyone else off. But she was always nice to me because I didn't back down."
"How did you make it to the orphanage?"
"I was brought there as an infant. I have no idea who my parents are. And neither did Nadia. But she always dreamed of her father or mother taking her away from that place. She'd always dirty herself up on adoption days and make herself as undesirable as possible. She was so smart...and downright devious! At night, when we were supposed to be getting ready for bed, she'd often grab my arm and sneak away to the roof of the orphanage, where we'd lie back and fall asleep watching the stars. We both dreamed of a life away from the orphanage, and the stars were proof that there was a big universe out there. I always dreamed of the people who would adopt me, what they'd be like, and all that. But Nadia...she always dreamed of her mother and father rescuing her."
A downtrodden Irina looks down at her shoes. "She only wishes that I would have come and rescued her. Her quality of life wouldn't have been any better if she were with me."
"Why do you say that?"
"I was a vagabond, Julieta. I was always on the run. When I split from the KGB and decided to go my own way in life, I had to stay on the run. It wouldn't have been fair to her. Plus, I had no idea that Bill took her down to Argentina of all places. Mary told me in our dealings later in my life that he wanted to get her as far away from the Soviet radar as possible, while also making sure that she had at least something of an upbringing. I've only been to Argentina a couple of times, but that's about one of the last places I'd expect my daughter to end up in."
"I see."
"Were you still at the orphanage when she fled?"
"Yes, I was. By the time we were teens, Nadia had become something of a leader at the orphanage. She always helped out Elena with the younger kids and she watched our backs. I think she was starting to see all of us as family. Well, one night, this big man snuck in to rape one of us. This had been happening a lot lately. He picked me out and started grabbing me. Nadia saw and tried to get him off of me. Instead of attacking me, the man grabbed Nadia and started slapping her and beating her. She fought him off and ran away...never to be seen again. She had had enough."
"Where did she go?"
"I don't know! I stayed at the orphanage for much of the rest of the year, but I decided to leave and go try to find her! I missed my friend! But by then, I was starting to become a woman and started having womanly features and a pimp noticed me one afternoon. He put a gun to my head and forced me to become one of his whores."
Julieta wipes a tear away. Irina offers a conciliatory "I'm sorry to hear that. I hear life for prostitutes in South America can be rough."
Julieta sniffs and says "Those last years of my life were the worst. One day rolled into the next and I just took every kind of abuse you could imagine. I couldn't refuse, otherwise I'd be beaten and I'd get all bruised up and if I was all bruised up, I couldn't make money for my pimp, which would make him very angry and he'd abuse me more. He'd stick me in a room and lock the door until I got better. By the time I turned 20, my pimp wanted me to become 'his' woman. I decided by then that I'd rather die than become his woman. By that point, death would have been a relief to me. So I protested...and I paid with my life. I never found Nadia until Sloane killed her and she reappeared at the orphanage."
Irina says nothing, but appears to feel bad for Julieta now.
Julieta continues. "Our roles had been reversed in the afterlife. I was a mess for years until Nadia arrived in Elysium, and it was her that helped me, like I helped her when she arrived at the orphanage. She gave me the job of being an orphan mother in San Felipe, and I've been so grateful for that ever since. She's awesome."
Julieta looks up at Irina and says "I'm sorry. This wasn't supposed to be about me. I can tell you some stories about Nadia if you'd like..."
Irina stands up and says "When I come back, you can. I'm going to go put the kids to bed and clean up after them. After I relieve Mitch, I'll come back and we'll talk more. I'm very interested in hearing more about Nadia."
Julieta nods and says "Alright. Thanks for taking care of the kids." Irina smiles and replies "Thanks for telling me about my daughter."
Irina closes her eyes to teleport, then opens them again. "Julieta, you probably want to know why I'm so interested in Nadia." Julieta shrugs and says "She's your daughter, I get it." Irina shakes her head. "It's not just that. I wanted so much to raise her, to watch her grow up, say her first words, and everything that came with her childhood. I loved her the moment she came out of my womb. But I never came and got her because I didn't want her to be a part of what my life had become. I loved her, and because of that, I never claimed her."
Julieta shakes her head and says "That doesn't make any sense. You're her mother! Girls need their mother!" Irina solemnly replies "If you had my life, it would have made all the sense in the world to leave your daughter behind."
Irina then teleports to take care of Maria and Emilio.
Julieta lets out a loud sigh. Why was she so open with Irina? She's still a hostage, and Irina isn't her friend. But she seemed friendly, almost downright kind. She didn't seem like a hostage that treats her captors in the usual crappy method. In fact, Julieta started feeling really bad for Irina at the end, when she talked about how she and Nadia were better off without each other.
It almost seemed like Irina wanted to be her...friend.
Suddenly, something else becomes clear for Julieta. Irina still loves Nadia. And whatever her ultimate goal is here, it doesn't include breaking Nadia's heart.
The only question is...what is that goal?
San Felipe, Mexico (Elysium)
Nadia Falk is back home. The house is dark except for a lone kitchen light. Instead of being the nice, open and welcoming home she, her husband, and her daughter have enjoyed, it feels empty. It feels a little eerie, too, like something out of a haunted movie.
Instead of the sound of Maria giggling and running around, there's nothing.
Instead of the sound of Tom and her giving chase to Maria, there's nothing.
Instead of the sound of music and Tom and Nadia practicing ballroom dancing in the living room like they've been doing of late, there's nothing.
The nothingness that has been left behind weighs on Nadia's shoulders like a morbidly obese elephant. Maria is missing and Tom is practically hiding from her and her temper.
Nadia slowly walks over to the kitchen and turns out the light. The full moon light is the only light shining in the house now.
Outside the windows that face the beach, she can see a couple Il Credo Divino assassins staring out into the distance and looking for intruders. Nadia feels safer with them here, but they do little to fill the void that now exists in the house.
She turns on a hall light and starts down the hallway.
However, before she can get far, she catches something out of the corner of her left eye. She looks left to the living room and spots Julieta's purse. She lets out a loud sigh at the reminder that Julieta's world was just fine earlier in the day. She was sitting right there on the couch without much of a care in the world.
Just a day at the beach with the kids and her new boyfriend. Nope. Sloane, Irina, and Mitch had other ideas.
Nadia just leaves the purse be and heads down the hallway. Once she passes the boundaries of the living room, she looks at the left wall, where various family pictures are hung.
She stops and focuses on one of an infant Maria. It's one of those professional pictures with Maria wearing a nice dress and placed in a cute setting. In this instance, Maria's sitting in a wooden bucket with bunnies on her lap. She's looking at the cameraman with a grin like she's having the time of her life.
Maria looks so happy there. She always was a generally happy kid. But tonight, she's probably anything but. And this hurts Nadia so bad. She wants so bad to hug her daughter and tell her everything's going to be ok. But she can't.
Nadia turns away from the picture and walks into Maria's room behind her. She flicks on a light and sees it's been untouched since Mitch forced them out at gunpoint earlier in the day. Emilio's sand castle buckets remain on the ground. Another sign of a potentially wonderful day aborted.
Nadia walks over to Maria's pink bed and sits on it. She focuses on the front of the bed, where Maria's head would by lying right about now as she dozed off to sleep.
Nadia then grabs a teddy bear off to the right. It's a nice looking large brown teddy bear. When Maria holds it, it stretches from Maria's head down to her waist. Maria calls it "Mister Fred". When Nadia asked Maria why she picked that name, Maria replied "Because he looks like a Mister Fred!" Simple enough.
This is the teddy bear that Nadia always hands Maria before tucking her into bed. Maria likes to hold this bear while she sleeps because it makes her feel safe.
And tonight, she's not going to be able to hold the bear to make her feel safe. This causes Nadia to tear up a little bit.
After Maria gets her teddy bear, Maria either gets a story read to her by Tom or Nadia or Nadia sings her a lullaby. Maria's a bit old for those, but she likes to hear her mother sing. Maria thinks Nadia has "the most beautiful voice in the whole wide world" when she sings. Maria loves both her parents equally, but she often says that she wants to be "exactly like Mommy" when she grows up, and that includes her singing voice.
It's about the biggest compliment you can give Nadia.
But there would be no stories told or songs sung tonight. For the first time in over five years, Nadia wouldn't tuck Maria into bed. She wouldn't hand her Mister Fred to protect her at night. She wouldn't sing her a song or tell her a story.
Nadia clutches Mister Fred close to her and lies down on the bed, her head resting where Maria's head should be right now.
Now, Nadia's crying her eyes out. She feels so alone now. Not just because Maria's gone, but also because Tom is gone as well. In all honesty, she forgot how the feeling of loneliness felt to her. She hated it then, she hated it now.
Despite her rancor with Tom, it hurt her when Tom asked Eddie if he could crash at his place tonight. One of her sure things in life is Tom sticking by her, and that theory has been blown out of the water because Tom is legitimately afraid of her.
Nadia wonders if she's been too hard on him. The weight of everything that has gone on recently was too much for her, and her sure thing has left her alone tonight. That also is contributing to the tears that are falling down her face right now.
For the first time since arriving in Elysium, Nadia would cry herself to sleep on that very bed, with Mister Fred protecting her tonight instead of Maria.
As she dozed off, she just hoped this would be over soon.
She would be right.
END OF CHAPTER