BIRDS OF A FEATHER
"Memory is deceptive because it is colored by today's events." -Albert Einstein
Somewhere in U.S.S.R., circa September, 1979 (Earth)
Mary Falk, looking just a bit older than she does in Elysium nowadays, stares at the white Soviet hospital building off in the distance. She's got a very disappointed look in her face. She's disappointed for a lot of reasons, but there's one reason in particular:
The baby Nadia Derevko is still inside.
For the past 7 years and 1 month, Mary has lived a life considerably different from the first 37 years. For 37 years, she was a small town girl who married her high school sweetheart, Thomas Falk. They lived a basic life in their small town home. They soon decided to have kids. The first child was Karen Falk. A few years later, Eddie Falk was born.
Then Thomas was drafted to Vietnam. He wasn't anything special in life, just a supervisor at the local factory, and the U.S. Army thought he wasn't anything special either and plucked him in the draft.
When he returned, he was changed. He was discharged for allegedly shooting two members of his own platoon in a psychotic fit. He says he thought they were "Charlie", the common term for opposing Vietnamese forces. Nothing could really be proven, but the Army gave him the boot anyway, basing their decision on a strong case of post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
Mary did her best to deal with Thomas' troubled mind. Thomas decided he wanted another son, and Mary didn't argue, hoping a new child would mend the internal wounds he suffered in Vietnam.
Thomas Loren Falk was born in 1972, and immediately Mary knew he was special. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she just knew.
For a couple years, since her husband took his first trip to 'Nam, she had been working with a man named Bill Vaughn, who represented himself as part of a "historical group" called Prophet Five. He came to the remote Bunker, Missouri residence after Mary submitted an inquiry into this document she found among her father's belongings. It displayed a drawing of a fair-haired young man and had mysterious text on it that she, nor any area museum curators, could decipher.
That document would go on to be the Caretaker Document, as APO would later deem it. It would detail her newborn son Tom's role in Rambaldi's prophecy.
Mary had a hunch that the man that was drawn in the document was Tom and that this document meant great things for her son. Bill also had a hunch that this document detailed the role of one of three "role players" in Rambaldi's prophecy. He knew of the Chosen One and Passenger, but the Caretaker was a surprising and very intriguing revelation for him.
Mary was desperate to protect her son, and Bill also had a vested interest in his well-being. So one day, with a sleeping Tom in Mary's arms, she agreed to do the unthinkable for his best interests.
She faked her own death and went out with Bill. She did so to eliminate any connection this document had with her son, her family, and the town she lived in. She went fighting for answers, fighting to protect her son, and later on, fighting to save the life of the girl Rambaldi called "The Passenger"...a girl that is in the custody of the Soviet Union.
She and Bill have been successful in protecting Tom up until this point, even more so after Mary switched from hopeful to worried after Tom revealed his "ultimate" role. She went from trying to assure Tom accomplished great things to trying to make sure Tom isn't involved in this prophecy at all.
And once Mary started protecting Tom from this prophecy, she felt the need to go further once his "soulmate" Nadia was revealed. Protecting Nadia became not only a new focus in life, but it also gave her life new purpose.
Bill's purpose in life also changed when he became a double for the CIA, on the condition that Mary Falk be given employment, and spied on Prophet Five, eventually leading to (what was thought to be) its demise. Now, he and Mary were agents for the CIA, working on Rambaldi matters.
Which leads us to this moment in history, when Mary and Bill failed to rescue and protect Nadia.
Through a contact within the Soviet Union government, Bill learned about Nadia's birth and location. He set out to try and rescue Nadia, with Mary providing reconnaissance and support. It was meant to be a stealthy operation.
It would be stealthy up until Bill touched Nadia's leg in an examination room. That's when he was caught by a Soviet doctor casually walking into the room. After the doctor shouted, guards came rushing in one door as Bill hightailed it out another. He could hear Nadia screaming and crying over the ruckus that was taking place.
And he could do nothing about it. All he could do...was run.
And run he did. By some miracle, he was able to escape the building unharmed, despite the flood of bullets coming from the flood of Soviet troops that were trying to run him down.
Mary's heart sank when she saw Bill running down the field towards her without the baby Nadia. She knew immediately he had failed. Sure, Bill was radioing his progress to her the whole time, but she needed visual proof.
Bill ran by her without saying a word after weaving a strange path through the field. She stayed at her spot along the tree line, which is what Bill instructed her to do. With or without Nadia, Mary had to stay back and verify to Bill just who is still chasing them.
As Bill disappeared in the woods, Mary gave the building the one last look, then decided it was time to leave herself.
She sprints a few hundred yards behind Bill into the woods. She sprints with every ounce of energy her body can provide her. But she didn't sprint for long.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
She stops when the explosions happen behind her in the field. She grins...those explosions were from the landmines that she and Bill installed in that field. Bill ran down the field in a certain pattern that ensured he would not step on one of the mines. That was the plan all along to cover his and Nadia's escape. He escaped unharmed, but the Soviet troops that blew up were not so lucky.
"Прекратить! Вернуться на объекте!" ("Abort! Return to the facility!")
It worked. The explosions scared the surviving Soviet troops back to the base. The shouts came from the commander, and from a distance and through the smoke, Mary can see the half-dozen surviving troops heading back to the building that Nadia's being held in.
"Я скажу мое имя, если вы говорите, ваш." ("I'll say my name if you say yours.")
Mary presses her finger into her earpiece, which is a little bulkier than the ones her son and future daughter-in-law would use in the 2000's. That came from Bill Vaughn, and it obviously wasn't directed at her.
"Bill, what is going on?"
"Я здесь не причинить тебе боль." ("I'm not here to hurt you.")
Something's wrong. Mary starts to wonder just who Bill has come across. It obviously isn't a Soviet trooper...he wouldn't speak like that to one of them. He almost seemed...nice in her earpiece.
"Да, есть девушки на объекте таким образом." ("Yes, there is a girl in the facility that way.")
At this point, Mary starts slowly jogging Bill's direction. She can't see him...he obviously went deeper into the woods while the explosions were taking place. But she's curious about this person Bill has run into.
"Да, это Надя. Мы пытались спасти ее! ... Нет! Мы не пакт! Мы не пророк Пять! Уверяю ..." ("Yes, it is Nadia. We were trying to save her!...no! We're not Covenant! We're not Prophet Five! I assure...")
POW!
Mary hears the gunshot go off, and Bill's scream of agony through her headset. She pulls out her own gun and sprints towards Bill's direction.
She's sprinting as fast as she can. Even at 44 years old, Mary stays in top physical shape for a woman her age. Her new life has given her a lot of free time, and she uses that free time to work out. Working out is a good way to relieve the stress that comes with not being with your children. That personal pain has helped her become a skilled kickboxer since she often feels the need to punch or kick something out of frustration over not being with her kids.
Before she can get to Bill, she spots someone running away off into the distance to her right. This person, Mary can tell, has long brown hair. She immediately gets into her earpiece. "Bill! Did the shooter have long brown hair?"
"Yes...but Mary..."
"I've got him!"
"It's not...a...it's...a woman."
This surprises Mary a bit at first. But as Mary continues to sprint after this mystery person, she realizes she's running faster than this woman, and can start making out some features.
If this is a woman Mary is following, she looks like she's carrying a few extra pounds around her midsection. She can tell by how wide her hips are. Mary can also tell that this person may have been athletic at some point, but this extra weight is holding her back.
Mary's getting closer and closer. As she gets closer, she realizes that this is indeed a woman that she is giving chase after. She's still about 100 yards behind her, though, and there's a lot of trees and foliage to navigate. Mary only wonders where this woman is running to and how long can she last.
Mary yells out "STOP!" at this woman in English. The woman does not stop and instead keeps running. Maybe this woman can't understand English or she simply didn't obey.
Mary growls...her legs are starting to feel like lead. But she's still gaining on this woman...now only about 70 yards behind her as they continue to run through the Russian woods.
Mary squints as the woman appears to look behind her briefly. She doesn't make out her facial features fully, but she can tell this woman is probably in her late 20's. Again, probably athletic at some point, but carrying extra weight for some reason. Mary guesses she's either goes through severe weight swings or she was pregnant recently.
Mary decides to speak what little Russian she knows at the woman, hoping it will be enough. "Стоп! Я буду стрелять!" ("Stop! I will shoot!")
"Нет! Отпусти меня! Смотри!" ("No! Let me go! Look!")
The woman pulls out her gun, waves it in the air for Mary to see, and tosses it away to the side. Perhaps the woman is trying to say that she doesn't mean any harm to Mary. But Mary decides that this woman is just trying to get off easy. That's not going to happen, now that Mary's about 40 yards behind her.
Mary points her gun at the woman. She's not the best at aiming when she is running, especially at this speed and especially with her energy draining from running.
POW! POW!
Mary fires two shots that do not hit their mark. She hears one hit a tree to the right of the woman, but the other was so wayward, Mary doesn't hear it hit anything at all.
As Mary continues to close on the woman, she spots an All-Terrain Vehicle up ahead, and the woman is running towards it. She's still too far away to get an accurate shot off, but also too far away to do anything if this woman gets on the ATV and drives off quickly.
The woman hops on to the ATV and starts it right away. Mary finally stops about 15 yards away and aims her shot carefully.
POW!
The shot hits the woman in the right shoulder. She screams immediately and favors her right side, but is still able to drive off. Mary goes to fire more shots, but her gun jams on her. "Stupid Soviet crap!" Mary yells as she tosses the Soviet-era gun away.
The woman turns around and Mary gets a real good look at her face finally. She recognizes her immediately and suddenly understands why this woman was carrying extra weight.
The woman was Irina Derevko, the mother of Nadia, the child that Mary and Bill failed to save on this day. Nadia is still a newborn, and Mary immediately determines the extra weight on Irina is pregnancy weight.
Why was she here as well? Was Irina trying to rescue Nadia herself?
But Mary's too tired to give too much time to those thoughts at the moment. She finds a tree nearby and props her hand up on it, leans over, and starts to catch her breath when she hunches over. That was a long, long sprint she just took.
"Mary? What...happened?"
Bill. Mary forgot all about him. She touches her finger to her earpiece and, still out of breath, says "She...got away. Had a vehicle...nearby. I hit her in...the shoulder. Are you alright?"
"No. That woman...was Irina Derevko. She...was trying to...get to her daughter...like we were. You should...have just...let her go."
Mary starts to panic as she starts to jog back the way she came, still exhausted. "I figured...that was Irina. I saw her face as...she drove off."
"Get back to our vehicle and...grab the first aid kit. I need you to...get this bullet out of me. I should be ok...I don't think it hit anything vital. Just hurts."
Mary jogs a little faster and says "Got it. I'll be there as soon as I can."
Mary would write about this event later on in her diary...the diary that Arvin Sloane somehow got his hands on after her son Tom was released from prison. Mary got the bullet out of Bill, but from this point on, Mary and Bill would go rogue, having not been authorized by the CIA to be in the Soviet Union at all. The CIA didn't agree with their desire to protect Nadia and Tom.
From this day until her death, Mary would be known as Nancy Taylor, and Bill would be known as Phil Conners.
And even though Mary didn't make too big of a deal about it in her diary, this would be a landmark event in Rambaldi history.
This would go down as the first ever meeting of the two members that comprised the Rambaldi Mother's Club.
Los Angeles, CA (Elysium, modern day)
"Mary?"
Mary snaps out of her daydream and looks over at Bill Vaughn, who's lying next to her in his bed underneath the covers. Mary's hair is messy and both her and Bill are rather sweaty. It's clear that this friendship has grown to at least friends with benefits since Mary had a falling out with her husband Thomas. And now, Bill wants a post-coital chat.
Mary smiles at Bill and seductively says "Yes?"
Bill gives Mary a relieved smile and says "You had a look on your face I've seen so many times before."
"And what look is that?"
"The look like you were deep in thought."
Mary rolls back onto her back and suddenly doesn't feel seductive anymore. She frowns and says "Yeah, I guess I was."
"What were you thinking about?"
"Nothing."
"Come on, Blackbird. Tell me."
Mary lets out a frustrated sigh and looks back at Bill. "Would you please stop calling me that?"
"Why? That was your codename! What's wrong with it?"
"Too many bad memories..."
"They weren't all bad..."
Mary rolls over and faces Bill again. "Well, let's not forget why you started calling me Blackbird."
Bill laughs and says "Of course. It was that bird that kept you up that one night after your first kill...it had this distinctive pattern you couldn't get out of your head."
Low-mid-low-high-low. Mary remembers the bird whistle like she just heard it 5 seconds ago. But that pattern doesn't bother her because of that sleepless night in the 70's. It bothers her because it's the whistle that she and Irina have exchanged in the past to signal the beginning of a conversation.
The subject of Irina Derevko has been bothering her ever since she learned Maria and Emilio returned safe, but Julieta was murdered. She was supposed to hear from Irina when it was time to recover the kids and Julieta and take Mitch Hayes from her.
But that didn't happen. None of that happened. Mitch is not in their custody, she heard exactly nothing from Irina, and now an innocent orphan mother is dead and two kids are safe, but probably still traumatized.
Mary doesn't want to talk about that right now. "I was just thinking about those kids at the orphanage."
Bill leans on his propped-up hand and asks "You're upset that Nadia made you leave the orphanage?"
"Yeah. Those kids know me, they don't know this woman from Ensenada that she brought in for them in Julieta's absence. I told her I could watch after them, but she...grrr!"
Bill lets out a small laugh and says "Well, you know how Nadia is when it comes to the orphans. She only wants the best for them."
"She can be so stubborn, too. She told me she didn't want my life tied up, that I didn't fit the profile of an orphan mother that can tie their lives up to those kids."
Mary lets out a deep breath and appears to be done with her rant. This gives Bill a little pause. Mary doesn't give up this easily if something's really gnawing at her.
"That's not what's bothering you, is it?"
Mary gives him a funny look. "What are you talking about?"
"I know you, Mary. I know the look on your face that you had. There's something else that's bothering you and it doesn't involve orphans."
Mary just keeps looking up at the ceiling and doesn't say anything. She doesn't want to talk to Bill about what's really bothering her: Irina.
Bill reaches a hand over and caresses her shoulder. "Mary, you can tell me anything. It doesn't have to leave this room. You know that."
Mary turns to look at Bill with unsure eyes. "You promise...that this will not leave this bedroom?"
"If I'm lying, I'm dying." Bill finishes the comment with a cocky smile.
Mary's not into smiling at the moment. What she's about to say is serious. "Bill, I was thinking about the circumstances that led to Maria and Emilio being returned."
"Yeah, you said they teleported to the Scotland cavern and Paris brought them back."
"And apparently, Paris is now under suspicion of somehow being involved with The Nine."
"You think this was part of the plan?"
Mary shakes her head. "No way."
"Why not? Say Paris is working with them. He conveniently finds the kids and returns them to look like the hero..."
"That's the point, Bill! He wasn't being heroic! Irina would know the kids weren't trained to teleport...Maria escaping was a fluke! She wouldn't lie about what happened, she wasn't under any threat! And Paris...Tom compared Paris's look on his face to a man who just got caught committing murder! No, Irina had a different plan and it didn't involve him. I know she did."
Bill raises a curious eyebrow. "How do you know? You seem so certain."
Mary looks down at the bed a little nervous over what she's about to say. "This is the part that doesn't leave this bedroom."
Bill just nods, waiting intently.
Mary looks back up at Bill. "Irina contacted me on my cell phone about a week ago, and again after the abduction."
Bill immediately looks shocked. "What? Why didn't you say anything?"
"Because I hoped that by staying silent, she'd aid me and my family. Last week, she said I'd need her help just like she needed mine in the year that lead up to what happened with The Horizon in Brussels. She also asked for Nadia's condition. And she asked I stay quiet about the conversation we had. This was the day Nadia was attacked by Cesar."
"It was her man that attacked her..."
"He went rogue, Bill."
"You believe that just because she says you should?"
"No. You asked me what I was thinking about. I was thinking back to our first encounter with Irina when we first tried to rescue Nadia from the Soviets. Do you remember, Bill?"
"Do I remember her shooting me in my upper left chest? How could I forget?"
"She was there for Nadia, Bill. She told me in our dealings later on that she was trying to figure out a way to infiltrate the hospital herself. She came across one of our landmines and backed off. When she saw you she freaked out. She was still in her late 20's, so she hadn't really refined that cold exterior of hers yet."
"What's your point, Mary? You think she's looking out for Nadia's best interests all of the sudden?"
Mary goes to say something, but bites her tongue. Irina did like to discuss Nadia a lot during their talks, like she still cared about her. Mary's not necessarily defending Irina, but she realizes if she keeps talking like this, she'll start to sound really fishy to Bill. So instead, she steers the conversation back on topic. "After the abduction, I tried to contact Irina again. She contacted me via text before and I have her number saved on my phone. When I did, she said that she'd be contacting me today to discuss how not only we would get the hostages back, but that she was also going to give up Mitch Hayes."
Bill snickers. "She's trying to buy favor from you."
"But why? Elysium doesn't work like Earth does. She can't profit from any criminal scheme here."
Bill lies on his back and sighs. "I honestly don't have any ideas. You know Irina better than I do. But let's lay it all out: she tags along with Sloane's crew, invades the Elysian Council, one of her underlings allegedly goes rogue and attacks Nadia, she contacts you out of the blue, abducts your grandkid, her friend, and an orphan boy, and then contacts you yet again to let you know that you'll get the hostages back AND her other underling...and yet, Julieta dies, the kids return safe, and you don't hear a peep from her. I'm not seeing a lot of good deeds from Irina here, Mary. I just don't. You think by contacting you that maybe she was just trying to keep Tom and Nadia at bay from searching for them?"
Mary shakes her head. "No. You don't come out of hiding for that just for something minute like that. Besides, she could have gone anywhere. Maria didn't even know where she was being kept. So Irina wasn't worried about me or my family finding her. But I do think that something happened outside of Irina's control. Knowing her, knowing our history...she would have contacted me."
"Bullshit. This is Irina we're talking about here. Who knows what she would have done..."
"I know what she would have done, Bill. I know Irina. And like you said, I know her better than most anyone." Mary closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She doesn't want to talk about this anymore. "Well, Maria's safe at least. And with Il Credo Divino still guarding the house, there's no threat there anymore. Irina would know better than to try an assault against those trained killers." Mary then looks back at Bill and gives him a small smile. "I'm going to clean up."
Bill leans over and gives Mary a kiss on the lips, and then another, and then one more for good measure. Mary giggles a bit before leaving the bed, throwing on a shirt, and going into the master bathroom, grabbing her jeans along the way. As she does, Bill's cell phone goes off.
She closes the door behind her and starts to mess with her messy hair, trying to straighten it out. As she does, she thinks back to Irina.
Mary has a hunch about Irina that she didn't let Bill in on. It's a hunch that, if she told anyone, they'd think that she was crazy. To the world, Irina Derevko is a top-tier criminal. But to Mary...she's something else. Not necessarily a friend, but not an enemy. She's...well, something else.
Mary feels she understands Irina. She might be the only person that knows her like she does. And she wants to believe this hunch she has about Irina. But she also realizes the deceit that Irina is capable of.
"Mary, could you come out here, please?"
That came from Bill, and he sounded sad just now. Mary quickly throws on her jeans and walks out of the bathroom, her hair not completely straight, but straight enough.
Mary notices Bill is now sitting on his side of the bed, with his head buried in his hands. Mary concernedly asks "Bill, what's wrong?"
"I need you to leave."
Mary walks over and stands in front of Bill. "Bill, what happened? Who was that on the phone?"
Bill looks up at Mary. "I made a vow, Mary. Just like you did to be faithful to Thomas until he arrived in Elysium. I made that vow to my Sandra, my wife. And now...I'm told the leukemia is going to take her life and she's coming to Elysium within the next 24 hours. And I'm here with you, breaking that vow."
Mary forms a disgraced look on her face. She remembers that vow completely. She remembers how hard it was to honor her end of the vow she made to Thomas as it was hard for Bill to honor his vow to Sandra, the mother of Michael Vaughn and a woman that Bill had to leave behind. "Bill...I'm so sorry..."
"It's ok, Mary. We both needed each other in the past week and it was good what we had and all...I think we both just got caught up in ourselves. No one's at fault here, we weren't getting serious yet I don't think, but I need you to leave."
"Bill, I understand completely. I just don't want this to come between our friendship..."
"It won't. I'll still be there to teach the kids and I'll still be here if you need a friend. But I just need you to leave so I can...so I can start to move on and prepare for my wife. Please...don't say any more. Nothing needs to be said about what we've been doing these past few days ever again. It'll stay in this bedroom. Just...go."
Mary sullenly nods her head and turns around. She does say "Goodbye, Bill. Let me know how it goes with Sandy."
"I will, Mary. Goodbye."
Mary walks out of the bedroom, and eventually out of the house. Suddenly, it's not Irina that's bothering her. It's her own promiscuity.
And suddenly, Mary realizes that she has no other man to turn to except one. Thomas. She's been ducking him since she walked away from him. But now, he's not looking like such a bad option anymore.
She realizes she has to make peace with Thomas. And she's going to do it tonight.
Bunker, Missouri (Elysium)
Thomas Falk was surprised to hear his doorbell ringing this time of night. It's past 8 PM, the sun is fully down, and Thomas was just getting ready to go to the bar.
He walks his 5'11 sturdy frame over to the door and looks through the eyehole. He's surprised to see what's on the other side.
He opens the door and sees Mary Falk standing on the doormat, with two suitcases to either side of her.
She gives Thomas a look like she's not all that happy to be back. "Hello, Tom."
Thomas gives Mary a faint smile and says "Hey Mary."
Mary looks at the ground. This situation is awkward for the both of them. Thomas scratches his brown hair awkwardly, but says nothing himself.
Mary breaks the ice first. "How have you been?"
"Ok. I've missed you."
Mary doesn't respond to that, electing to stand there awkwardly.
Thomas steps to the side and says "Please, come in. It's chilly out here." Mary goes to grab the suitcases, but Thomas steps in. "I'll get those..."
Mary isn't having it, though. "Tom, I've got them."
Thomas doesn't push the issue, and lets Mary walk into the house with the suitcases. He watches her as she takes the suitcases into the master bedroom and sets them on the bed. He then walks into the bedroom and says "Do you need help putting your things away?"
Mary shakes her head. "No. In fact, I'll get to them later. I've had a long day."
Thomas asks "Want me to make some coffee or green tea?"
Mary perks up a bit. "No, but green tea sounds good. I'll make it."
Mary then walks out of the bedroom and walks into the kitchen, all the while not saying anything to Thomas, which has him a little miffed as he continues to follow Mary around.
Mary stops at the coffee pot and opens the cabinet above her head. She grabs a box of green tea and sets it on the counter.
Thomas stops her progress by asking "Mary, can we talk?"
"What do you want to talk about?"
"Us! Our relationship, the stupid shit that I said that made you walk out on me in the first place...Mary, you've been avoiding me these past few days and all of the sudden, here you are! So please, talk to me!"
Mary turns around and stares at Thomas with a bit of a scowl. "You want to talk? Ok, let's first start with those stupid things you said to me. I don't want to run down the play-by-play of our argument, but I do want to address one part. 'Why don't you go back to Bill Vaughn?' Well guess what? I took your advice."
Thomas forms a disappointed look on his face. "There must be a reason why you're back here with your suitcases. Did something happen?"
Mary lets out a sarcastic snicker. "Tom, I slept with Bill. Twice. In fact, I slept with him a couple hours ago, before I returned to my parent's to grab my things."
Thomas hangs his head, but says nothing. He looks a little upset over this news, however.
Mary continues. "And because I followed your advice, I broke Bill's heart! His wife back on Earth is dying and is due to arrive no later than this time tomorrow! He made a vow to be loyal to her just like I made a vow to be loyal to you! Remember? And I made him break that vow because you disrespected me! Once again, your goddamn mouth has forced us to break up and do things we're not proud of! I can't count how many splits we've had since we started dating each other in high school, Tom, but each time, it was over stupid shit like this! And I'm sick of it!"
Thomas looks up at Mary. "But every time, no matter what happens, we keep mending the bridges we burn with each other. Why do you think that is?"
Mary turns away from Thomas. She can answer that right now. She always thought that Thomas was handsome, and she liked the man he was before he went to Vietnam. He was a hard worker, passionate about life, and fairly intelligent despite being a road worker. But Mary was passionate as well, and spats that result in temporary separations in their relationship weren't all that uncommon for much of their relationship. The stopped happening over time once they started having children. Mary felt almost obligated to stay together with Thomas for the kids, no matter what difficulty he was going through in life. And since Thomas arrived in Elysium, they didn't split up at all until last week.
Mary, now with some of the wind taken out of her sails, meekly replies "Because I love you, Tom. You're the father to my children. And no matter what happens, no matter what we say to each other when we get on each others case, we've always been able to overcome what gets in between us."
Thomas brightens up a little bit, now that Mary has stopped being snappy at him. "And I love you too, Mary. I always have. Mary, I know that I must seem like a trivial person to you compared to the people that you've encountered since faking your death..."
"That's not true, Tom."
"It is, Mary. I'm pretty simple. I have a lot of limitations. I don't have all the answers. I'm not a perfect parent. I had an addictive personality. Whatever...I had a lot of problems. Still do. But when you start to tell me that I don't have the ability to be a father to my children...that hurts, Mary. It hurts because it makes me feel like the worthless piece of shit I was after you left me on Earth. That's why I snapped at you. And I'm sorry for it."
Mary lets out a sigh. "Tom, it's not that you don't have the ability to be a father. Karen loved you. She was daddy's little girl until what happened to you after I left. And even after she went to my grandparent's, she still defended you. You're not a bad guy. If you were, Karen wouldn't have believed in you. Tom, I wouldn't have kept coming back before...and I wouldn't have come back now if I thought you were a bad person."
"I'm glad to hear that, Mary."
"Tom, are you upset that I slept with Bill?"
"No. If you can forgive me for being a total clown, I'll forgive you for sleeping with Bill. I actually don't blame you at all, honestly. I understand you two had a thing before you died."
"Tom, I swear it's over between us. We'll still be friends and all, but his wife's coming back and I can never cross that bridge again. I feel so dirty for what I've done..."
Thomas walks over and gives Mary a hug, which she returns in kind. "Marydoll, it's ok. Thank you for taking me back. I love you so much, I was so scared of facing eternity without you."
Mary chuckles a bit and says "I can say the same about you. You've come such a long way since you died...I'd hate for everything to fall apart over stupid words."
Thomas gives Mary a kiss on her forehead and says "I wouldn't be at this point without you, Mary. I wouldn't be here without our family, either. And that's another thing...if I had lost you, I probably would have lost Tom and Eddie. They're not talking to me since I got angry at you."
Mary releases the hug and says "I know. Tom's particularly angry with you, which I guess isn't that surprising. I'll talk to him and let him know we've forgiven each other. Hopefully he'll forgive you, too."
"Speaking of Tom, your father's been keeping me up to date with what all's going on down there. I can't believe Irina and Mitch took Julieta and the kids..."
"Oh, they're back. Well, not Julieta, she was murdered by Mitch. But Maria and Emilio are safe again and back with Tom and Nadia."
"I'm so sorry to hear that about Julieta. Eddie's probably not taking it well." Mary just nods as Thomas continues. "I guess this means you'll be down at the orphanage more..."
"No. Nadia's bringing someone in from Ensenada to take over the orphanage. I offered to help as long as she needed, but she felt she needed to move on from Julieta immediately. You know how she is about the orphanage program..."
Thomas laughs and says "Yeah, she loves those kids. Hey listen, I hate to do this to you, but there's a dart tournament going on at the bar tonight that I promised the boys I'd take part in. But since you're back, I can stay..."
Mary laughs and says "Oh don't let me stop you! Go on, have a good time. Just...don't be out too late, ok? I know how you get at these things..."
Thomas smiles and says "With you back, I may not be gone long at all. I'm so happy you're back, I want to catch up."
Mary leans up and gives Thomas a kiss on the lips and gives him a confident smile. "Knock 'em dead, tiger!"
Thomas grins as he heads out the kitchen and towards the front door.
Mary turns back to the coffee pot and her box of green tea. Well, that went rather well for her. It was a bit awkward at first, but she's glad that Thomas has accepted her once again. Mary knew it was the right move once Bill announced his wife was coming back. She doesn't like her kids hating their father, especially since he's really improved his mental state since coming to Elysium. He's basically back to being the man he was before Vietnam. Mary knows she probably has something to do with it, and she likes knowing that. And actually, what happened just now between them two is pretty typical when they have their splits: their issues are mended just as quickly as they were created.
Mary looks left and sees the sliding patio door is open. She rolls her eyes, thinking Thomas forgot to close it. "Dammit Tom, there's going to be all sorts of bugs in here!" She storms over to the door and starts to slide it closed.
But she can go no further when she's greeted with a gun barrel pointing at her face and the shape of a person spinning around the corner quickly and suddenly.
Mary gasps and steps back a step. She looks at the gun barrel, and then at the person holding the gun as she steps through the patio door.
Irina Derevko is the person holding the gun and stepping into the house. And she's looking Mary dead in the eyes with a very, very intent look on her face.
Mary keeps backing up and eventually comes to a stop when Irina does, standing frozen in the kitchen, a few steps in front of the center island. She's frightened at the sight of Irina pointing a gun at her, and she isn't doing a good job if hiding that fear. Irina completely caught her off guard. Otherwise, she'd match Irina's cold look.
Irina, still pointing the gun at Mary, intently says "No more whistles. No more texts. We need to talk. Now."
END OF CHAPTER