THE MESSENGER
"It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a real father." -Pope John XXIII
Tenay, France – circa 1487 (Earth)
It's been a long year for Laurent L'Andre. Luckily for him, he has had a lot of time to reflect on his life during this journey he's been set out on.
He's on a spectacular white horse, leading an empty horse-drawn prisoner cart being controlled by one of Milo Rambaldi's followers. Another man on a horse trails the cart from behind. They're on a dirt path near his hometown of Tenay, France.
There is a purpose for that prisoner cart and there's a purpose for him returning home.
Rambaldi has given Laurent and Alec Derevko two vital roles. Alec is back at the Rambaldi compound in Vecchiano, Italy. He has actually been given two tasks: the task of training Rambaldi's followers in the art of combat and stealth, and other is the task of being a "research assistant" for Rambaldi.
Being a "research assistant" partially means taking prisoners housed in the cellar of Rambaldi's compound upstairs to Rambaldi's workshop for genetic experiments, making sure they're not starving to death, and to keep them from trying to murder Rambaldi, a follower, or themselves. That last task tends to be the most difficult.
It's not glamorous work. Heck, it's not even ethical or moral work, either. But these prisoners are the ones sentenced to die in their respective prisons, or just prisoners that cause more trouble for guards than they are worth. In short, these are the worst of the worst, and if Rambaldi can get some good use out of them before they die, great. If they have to suffer a little before they do, they probably deserve it, anyway.
This is something that would absolutely not work in modern times, but in the late 1400s, it made sense. There was some opposition, but the current philosophy of the Vatican of this tactic is to simply turn a blind eye to it and claim ignorance. However, there is growing discontent about Rambaldi's treatment of inmates (along with other issues of Rambaldi's research) within Vatican despite the current Pope's support.
And even though Il Credo Divino authorities weren't the most receptive to Alec and Laurent's roles in these experiments, they didn't oppose it, either. In some cruel way, conducting genetic experiments with the worst people on Earth both "suppress oppression" and "promote progress". So there was no objection, but some wary looks were shared among the leadership of Il Credo Divino when it was brought up.
But in order to get those very prisoners, someone has to find them and bring them back. That's Laurent's job.
He's done these rounds before, but this is the first time that Laurent is coming back to Tenay since he exploded out of a haystack to kill Leroi-Baptiste, the local gangster that murdered his family when he was young and forced Laurent to become an Il Credo Divino assassin in the first place.
In the year that has passed, he has missed his home of Tenay. He brought this up to Rambaldi and asked that he take the prisoner cart up in that direction on his next go-around. Rambaldi did not object. In fact, he encouraged it and was surprised he didn't ask earlier. He actually couldn't go back to Tenay earlier because Il Credo Divino didn't want him going around Tenay until things blew over a bit.
When he brought it up that it had been a year and asked if he could go back to Tenay during his prisoner rounds, Il Credo Divino didn't object, either. A year later, they can safely say things have blown over, and gave him clearance to return to Tenay. They also asked him to pay a visit to someone as well. So Laurent has that on his mind, too.
As Laurent approaches the village limits of Tenay, he feels happy to be back in his childhood home. When he showed up to kill Leroi, he didn't have a chance to really soak in his surroundings favorably. To him, Tenay was just another battleground for him. But now, he can let his childhood memories flow back to him because he's not here to kill anyone.
Just outside of the village walls, Laurent brings his horse to a stop. The prisoner cart, being manned by two men, wheels ahead of Laurent and stops in front of him on the outside of the walls.
Laurent hops off his horse and ties him to a post. The two men in the cart hop off and tie the horses and cart to a tree.
Laurent walks up to the men and says in Italian "Silvestro, Tore, vedi di trovare una stalla da affittare per la notte. Possiamo essere qui durante la notte." ("Silvestro, Tore, see about finding a stable to rent for the night. We may be here overnight.")
The man on the right, Tore, cordially nods and says "Certo. Avete intenzione di posto del calzolaio?" ("Of course. Are you going to the shoemaker's place?")
Laurent nods and says "Sì. E 'a metà strada lungo la strada principale a sinistra. C'è un cartello. E 'stato il calzolaio solo in città scorso sono stato qui." ("Yes. It is halfway down the main street to the left. There is a sign. It was the only shoemaker in town last I was here.")
Tore and Silvestro both nod and walk into town to search for a stable. Laurent walks down the street, looking for Garlan's shoe store. That is the Il Credo Divino portion of his purpose here.
As he did a year ago, he keeps his hood up on his off-white robe and blends in the the crowd as he walks down the main drag. Hiding in plain sight is preferred among assassins, although Laurent doesn't need to hide this time around.
But as Laurent keeps walking, he's noticing something different about the people of Tenay. They seem...happy. A year ago, the general feeling among the citizens of Tenay was glum and oppressed. Now, there's a vibrant feel to the town now and a strong sense of optimism among its people. Laurent had heard reports that the situation in Tenay was improving since Leroi-Baptiste was assassinated, but this is almost a total 180 degree turn from the reports he was getting.
Laurent makes the turn to cross the main drag and go into the shoe store. Immediately, he notices a brand new hand-crafted sign that wasn't there this time a year ago. "Magasin de Chaussures de Garlan" ("Garlan's Shoe Shop") is what the sign says. The old man finally gave his shoe shop a name. But more importantly, the sign is much, much nicer than the ragged one that was in its place before.
Laurent opens the front door and steps in to another surprise: customers. There's six of them in the shoe shop, ranging in age and status. And there's a lot of shoes on the shelves! New sign, new customers, product on the shelves...what other surprises is Laurent in store for today?
A man in the store says in French "Bienvenue au Magasin de Chaussures Garlan, mon client le plus admiré!" ("Welcome to Garlan's Shoe Shop, my most admired customer!")
Laurent looks behind the counter and sees a happy and beaming Garlan emerging with his arms outstretched. As he walks towards him, Laurent can't help but smile at the happy old man. He also can't help but be a little worried about Garlan accidentally spilling the beans on his involvement with Il Credo Divino. Still, he embraces Garlan in a hug and says "Il est bon de vous voir en bonne fortune." ("It is good to see you in such good fortune.")
Garlan lets go of the hug and happily exclaims "Depuis nous nous sommes vus l'autre, l'activité n'a jamais été mieux dans ma vie! Les traders sont autorisés à s'occuper à nouveau librement! J'ai reçu tellement nouveau tissu que j'ai été à venir avec des styles que je n'ai jamais rêvé de l'offre!" ("Since we last saw each other, business has never been better in my life! Traders are allowed to deal freely again! I've gotten so much new fabric that I've been coming up with styles I never dreamed of offering!")
"Votre succès m'apporter la joie aussi bien. Et je suis ici pour y contribuer. Peut-on aller à l'arrière et parler? Est-ce que votre apprenti être autorisé par lui-même?" ("Your success bring me joy as well. And I am here to contribute to it. Can we go to the back and talk? Will your apprentice be ok on his own?")
Garlan looks back at the counter, where a young man is completing a transaction with a customer. He chuckles and says "Louis est un travailleur acharné. Et fiable. Il ira bien. Mon autre apprenti doit revenir sous peu de toute façon." ("Louis is a hard worker. And dependable. He'll be fine. My other apprentice is due back shortly anyway.") He has to hide a smirk in that last sentence.
Laurent raises his eyebrows in surprise. "Je ne savais pas que vous aviez plus d'un apprenti." ("I didn't know you had more than one apprentice.")
"Ah oui, eh bien, j'ai besoin d'un pendant des années! Je lui ai juste embauché il ya quelques mois quand j'ai commencé à faire et plus d'argent! Venez, nous allons discuter de nos affaires!" ("Ah yes, well, I've needed one for years! I just hired her a couple months ago when I started making money hand over fist! Come, let's discuss our business!")
Laurent follows Garlan behind the counter and through a door on the right, leading into a workshop/office area. Laurent sees shoes that are already in the process of being made on more than one work bench. Garlan's hands have been busy, and he's guessing he hasn't become an expert multi-tasker all of the sudden, so his apprentices must be helping.
They walk over to a table with two chairs and take their seats. Garlan rests his arms on the table and folds his hands. "Je suppose que c'est ma première chance à vous remercier pour avoir tué Leroi-Baptiste." ("I suppose this is my first chance to thank you for killing Leroi-Baptiste.")
Laurent lowers his head cordially. "Je suis heureux d'être au service de ma ville natale. Je suis d'autant plus heureux que Tenay a la vie à nouveau." ("I am pleased to be of service to my hometown. I am even more pleased that Tenay has life again.")
"Tout le monde a été heureux depuis Leroi et ses hommes ont disparu. Nous avons maintenant un gouvernement solide et de l'organisation ... et d'affaires n'a jamais été meilleure. C'est un endroit que les gens veulent être à nouveau!" ("Everyone has been happier since Leroi and his men disappeared. We now have a solid government and organization...and business has never been better. This is a place people want to be in again!")
"Tout cela est bon à entendre. Mais je dois me rendre à mon entreprise ici." ("This is all good to hear. But I must get to my business here.")
"Comment puis-je vous aider?" ("How can I help you?")
At this point, Laurent reaches inside his robe and pulls out a folded up piece of paper. As he hands it to Garlan, he says "J'ai besoin de vous pour remplir cet ordre pour moi." ("I need you to fill that order for me.")
Garlan looks over the paper and gasps in shock. "Soixante-cinq paires de chaussures silencieuses? Tu as tes patrons de signer à ce sujet?" ("Seventy-five pairs of the silent shoes? You got your bosses to sign off on this?")
"Mon bon ami Alec réellement emprunté mes chaussures pour une mission récemment. Quand il revint en vie, il a déliré à leur sujet. Nous avons convaincu la direction que les autres assassins silencieux besoin de vos chaussures à semelles pour nous de faire notre travail." ("My good friend Alec actually borrowed my shoes for a mission recently. When he came back alive, he raved about them. We convinced leadership that the other assassins need your silent-soled shoes for us to do our jobs.")
Garlan disappointingly shakes his head and sets the paper down. "Même si je vais bien, je ne peux pas payer les heures supplémentaires pour mes apprentis pour accueillir cette tâche." ("Even though I am doing well, I cannot afford the extra hours for my apprentices to accommodate this task.")
"Ajoutez les heures supplémentaires pour le coût de ces chaussures. L'argent n'est pas le souci de mon peuple. La sécurité est. Nous paierons n'importe quel prix est nécessaire. Je viendrai par ici plus souvent, je vais donc prendre toutes les chaussures que vous ayez sous la main à l'époque." ("Add the extra hours to the cost of those shoes. Money is no concern for my people. Safety is. We will pay whatever price is necessary. I will be coming through here more often, so I will take whatever shoes you have ready at the time.")
Garlan leans back in his chair and looks over at the work benches. "Ce sera un lot de chaussures étant faites sur ces bancs. Mais c'est le genre de travail qui aurait pour moi et mes apprentis vivre confortablement si nous n'avions pas d'affaires pour le reste de l'année! Il faudra à la fois beaucoup de travail et beaucoup de temps, mais je vais vous donner un devis sous peu." ("That will be a lot of shoes being made on those benches. But this is the kind of job that would have me and my apprentices living comfortably if we had no business for the rest of the year! It will take both a lot of work and a lot of time, but I will get you a quote shortly.")
Laurent chuckles happily over Garlan accepting his offer. He reaches over and shakes Garlan's hand "Heureux d'aider votre entreprise à prospérer comme toujours." ("Glad to help your business thrive as always.")
Garlan lets go of the hand and asks "Avez-vous passer la nuit?" ("Are you staying overnight?")
"Je n'ai pas encore trouver une place. Mes hommes sont à la recherche d'un endroit pour nos chevaux et stables panier." ("I have yet to find a place. My men are looking for a place to stable our horses and cart.")
Garlan starts chuckling himself and a wry smile creases his old face. "Je pense que mon apprenti sera capable de vous aider. Elle devrait être de retour..." ("I think my apprentice will be able to help you. She should be back...")
"Garlan! Ils n'ont pas eu les tissus! Pouvez-vous croire qu'ils les a oubliés?" ("Garlan! They did not have the fabrics! Can you believe they forgot them?")
The young woman in her late teens who said that walks through the door to the back, looking very much as frustrated as she just sounded. She's petite with shoulder-length curly black hair, big brown eyes, and a pair of rather pouty lips.
At first, Laurent gets the feeling she knows this girl from somewhere, but can't immediately place her. She gives him a funny look as he stares at her with his wondering eyes.
Garlan stands up, lets out a light-hearted chuckle and says "Détendez-vous, Michelle. Ils vont être bon pour lui dans le temps." ("Relax, Michelle. They'll be good for it in time.")
Michelle puts her hands on her hips and lets out a sigh. Then, she turns her attention back to Laurent, who's still staring at her. "Porquoi gardez-vous à me regarder? Qui êtes-vous?" ("Why do you keep staring at me? Who are you?")
At this point, Garlan hurriedly walks out of the back room, saying "Je vais vous laisser seuls tous les deux. Vous avez un peu de rattrapage à faire!" ("I'll leave you two alone. You have some catching up to do!") as he leaves.
Michelle looks behind her as the door closes, then turns back to Laurent. The moment her eyes connect with Laurent's face, she finally makes a connection herself. "Je vous connais ..." ("I do know you...")
Laurent lowers his hood and lowers his head, a sign of humility and reverence. "Michelle Moreau ... Je suis Laurent L'Andre. Je suis de retour." ("Michelle Moreau...I am Laurent L'Andre. I have returned.")
Michelle gasps and cups her hands around her mouth. Her eyes start to water. "Dites-moi ce n'est pas un rêve!" ("Tell me this is not a dream!")
"Il ne s'agit pas, ma dame. Je sauvegarder cette affirmation de ma vie." ("It is not, my lady. I back that claim with my life.")
At this moment, Michelle runs over to Laurent and leaps into his arms, crying as she embraces him for the first time in over a decade. After crying for a bit, the words come out of her mouth like machine gun fire. "Vous ne savez pas combien j'ai pleuré quand j'ai entendu ce que Leroi-Baptiste a fait à votre famille! Ils ont dit que tu étais mort, aussi, mais ils n'ont jamais trouvé le corps et parce qu'ils n'ont jamais trouvé le corps, j'ai eu l'espoir que mon ami était toujours là, toujours en vie quelque part et maintenant vous êtes ici et je ne peux pas y croire et ..." ("You don't know how much I cried when I heard what Leroi-Baptiste did to your family! They said you were dead, too, but they never found your body and because they never found your body, I had to hope that my friend was still out there, still alive somewhere and now here you are and I can't believe it and...") Suddenly, Michelle leans back and gives Laurent a strong kiss on the left cheek and another strong kiss on his right cheek. The customary French kisses that say hello, but with a bit more oomph than normal.
Laurent, a bit astonished by the kisses, pats Michelle's head and says "Il est bien, Michelle. Nous aurons beaucoup de temps à rattraper. Je vais rester dans la ville pendant la nuit." ("It is alright, Michelle. We will have plenty of time to catch up. I am staying in town overnight.")
As Laurent sets her down, Michelle looks up at Laurent with teary eyes and says "Avez-vous un endroit pour rester?" ("Do you have a place to stay?")
"Je ne sais pas. Mes hommes sont trouver un endroit pour nos chevaux stables et après cela, nous allons chercher un logement ..." ("I do not. My men are finding a place to stable our horses and after that, we will seek accommodation...")
Michelle puts a finger up to Laurent's mouth and says "Chut! Les maîtres stables vous voler et il en sera de l'hôtel. Non, vous et vos hommes rentrent à la maison avec moi. Nous allons dîner et nous pouvons rattraper ..." ("Shh! The stable masters will rob you and so will the hotels. No, you and your men are coming home with me. We'll eat dinner and we can catch up...")
Laurent shakes his head and says "Je ne veux pas te charge." ("I do not want to burden you.")
"Oh non-sens! Mon bon ami est de retour d'entre les morts et je vais prendre soin de lui, ses hommes et ses chevaux ce soir. Et si vous ne l'aimez pas, eh bien ... Je me souviens encore de ces vilains tours vous et votre frère jouerait sur moi. Je suis une grande fille maintenant et je peux jouer ces trucs tout de suite à vous, monsieur!" ("Oh nonsense! My good friend is back from the dead and I'm going to take care of him, his men, and his horses tonight. And if you don't like it, well...I still remember those nasty tricks you and your brother would play on me. I'm a big girl now and I can play those tricks right back at you, mister!")
Laurent examines her from head to toe and cockily says "Je ne dirais pas que vous grand..." ("I wouldn't exactly call you big...")
Michelle gives Laurent a playful slap on the face and gives him a cocky smirk in return. "Ouais? Eh bien, je suis encore assez grand pour me défendre, maintenant n'est-ce pas?" ("Yeah? Well, I'm still big enough to defend myself, now aren't I?")
Now, any person with common sense probably knows it's not wise to slap a trained assassin. Not that Michelle knew that at the time. But Laurent knows it was playful and that the slap wasn't all that powerful. He actually likes Michelle showing off her personality like that. She's the same precocious and spunky woman she was when she was a child...the last time Laurent saw her. Laurent rubs his cheek a bit and laughs at Michelle, who laughs back in return and suddenly gives him another hug around his waist.
After the laughing stops, Michelle sincerely says "J'ai m'as tellement manqué. Je ne peux pas attendre pour entendre ce que vous avez été à la hauteur!" ("I have missed you so much. I can't wait to hear what you've been up to!")
"Je ne peux pas attendre pour vous le dire." ("I can't wait to tell you.)
Garlan returns to the back and sees Laurent and Michelle hugging. He laughs and says "Eh bien, cela n'a pas pris longtemps!" ("Well, that didn't take long!")
Michelle lets go of Laurent and anxiously asks "Avez-vous besoin de moi à l'avant?" ("Do you need me up front?")
Garlan looks up at Laurent, smiles, then looks back at Michelle. "Prenez le reste de la journée de repos, Michelle." ("Take the rest of the day off, Michelle.")
Michelle shakes her head quickly. "Non, j'ai besoin d'argent!" ("No, I need the money!")
Garlan chuckles and says "Votre vieil ami vient de placer une commande pour 75 de mes chaussures spéciales. Vous serez très bien pour de l'argent dans les prochaines semaines." ("Your old friend here just placed an order for 75 of my special shoes. You will be fine for money in the coming weeks.")
Michelle looks up at Laurent in disbelief. "Êtes-vous sérieux?" ("Are you serious?")
Laurent replies "Je suis." ("I am.")
"Qu'est-ce que vous avez besoin de chaussures pour 75?" ("What do you need 75 shoes for?")
Laurent chuckles at Michelle, then looks back at Laurent. "Voir qui elle obtient une avance de cet ordre. En fait, incluez-les comme un bonus en échange de son soulagement de ses fonctions pour le reste de la journée." ("See that she gets an advance for that order. In fact, include it as a bonus in exchange for relieving her of her duties for the rest of the day.")
Garlan nods, then says "Je crois que vos hommes sont à l'avant, soit dit en passant. C'est pourquoi je suis venu ici en premier lieu." ("I believe your men are out front, by the way. That's why I came back here in the first place.")
Laurent gives Garlan a cordial nod. "J'ai aidé vous et votre entreprise, mais vous me rembourser avec un cadeau qui dépasse tout ce que j'ai fait." ("I have helped you and your business, but you repay me with a gift that exceeds everything I have done.")
Michelle looks up at Laurent and lets out an "Aww..."
Garlan just steps to the side and, being the humble man he is, just says "Passez une bonne soirée, vous deux." ("Have a good evening, you two.")
Laurent and Michelle step out, each with an arm around the other.
One thing is for certain: this has been a very good trip for Laurent so far.
San Felipe, Mexico (Elysium)
The first thing she thinks: "Of course he, of all people, would be here."
It's the morning after the madness that happened yesterday: Maria Falk and Emilio Ortega returning alive, Julieta Romero shot to death, Mary losing one man in her life and regaining the one she actually married, Irina dropping by, and the whole business at the portal. What a day for Mary Falk.
After last night's dramatic events, Mary did get a good night's sleep. It was probably by some miracle that happened, given all that was swirling through her mind.
It was easily the most eventful 12 hours or so she's experienced since she died. It all started with Nadia telling her to go from the orphanage because she found a replacement from Ensenada. Then, she went in search of comfort with Bill Vaughn and ended up in his bed. Not long after they finished having sex, Bill gets the call that his wife is due to arrive in Elysium soon, and because of that, feels like he betrayed Bill's trust because of the vow they both made to wait for their real life spouses.
And seeing little choice left for her, Mary went back to that very spouse and cleared the air for approximately the 1,853rd time in their lives. Both Tom and Mary are headstrong and argue so frequently, sometimes they feel out of place if they aren't arguing about something frivolous.
All of that was a lot to handle by itself. And then Irina Derevko showed up with a gun pointed at her head.
The bond that Irina and Mary had from Sovogda to Brussels was rekindled, at least on the surface, and together they successfully sold Milo Rambaldi to trade in the rest of The Nine and Francisco Alvarado's Army in exchange for Irina's amnesty and permanent relocation to Elysium.
And the man that felt most betrayed over that very deal is standing in front of the door of Mary's son and daughter-in-law's home, looking at her with that ice cold stare of his that would seem intimidating if it weren't so normal for those that know Alec Derevko.
But as Mary examines him more, she realizes that, somehow, Alec has formed an even more hateful look on his face than he normally has. The wrinkles around his eyes are somehow even more creased, his sneer even more menacing. It's subtle, but Mary can just tell Alec is not happy to see her at all. He has his hand on the hilt of his short sword, customary when people suddenly appear in front of him. But usually, he lets go of the handle by now...
Still, Mary manages to give him a small smile and she somewhat cheerfully says "Hello, Alec. Anything going on here?"
Alec stares a hole in Mary's head and sternly replies "No."
An awkward silence takes over. Alec just keeps staring at her in anger, although he finally lets go of the sword handle. Mary looks down at the walkway leading up to the house and kicks at it a bit. Finally, after the longest 7 seconds she can remember, she breaks the silence. "Alec, I know you're upset with me over Irina..."
"No, I'm not upset. I'm not even disappointed. I'm just wondering what your next act of betrayal will be and whether I should behead you right now."
"Oh don't be ridiculous, Alec! Just because I'm willing to accept Irina's help doesn't mean I'm turning back on my own family! Do you think I've gone insane?"
Alec raises his eyebrows in intrigue over Mary's defensiveness. "You wouldn't be the first person to lose his or her mind after spending a long time here..."
"That only happens after hundreds of years. Geez, it took Paris over two-thousand years for him to snap. And only a select few experience that kind of breakdown anyway, you know that."
"I do. I deal with the loonies as part of my job here. Do you believe I cannot spot a woman who has lost her mind by now?"
Mary puts her hands on her hips and says "When it comes to Irina Derevko, you can't spot anything but the hate and malice in your heart! If she told you the sun was yellow and the grass was green, you wouldn't believe it! So to be quite honest, Alec, not only do I highly doubt your opinion on Irina Derevko, it's because of your jaded opinion on her that I question your ability to judge any human being at all!"
That last part causes Alec to do something he rarely does. Smile. Even more rare, he lets out a couple laughs as he looks up at the sky in mocking disbelief. "My goodness, just what did Irina say to you? I thought you had better sense..."
"This arguing is pointless, Alec. I'm here to see my family, not argue with a cranky curmudgeon. Do I need to remind you that maybe, just maybe, I wouldn't have accepted Irina's help if you and your...Creed were making more progress?"
And that's when the smile goes away on Alec's face. She might as well just kicked Alec in the groin with that last comment, and he's not happy at all about it. He walks up and stands nose to nose with Mary. He growls "You listen to me, woman. Don't get too close with Irina. And I'm not just talking about believing the poison that drips from her lips. You don't want to feel bad for her when she suddenly disappears."
A death threat, delivered as coldly as Alec can deliver it. With pursed lips, Mary replies "Rambaldi doesn't break his deals."
"This is true. He agreed to use her information. He even agreed to give her amnesty." Alec then takes a deep breath, then even more coldly says "But after we give her amnesty, all deals are off. There's no precedent in the Elysian code for forgiving those who cross over from Hell. She may only get a taste of freedom before it all goes away." Alec lets out a few evil chuckles after that last part.
Mary takes a step back and forms a look of disgust on her face. "Even if she's true to her word, you're going to kill her anyway?"
Alec lets out another chuckle and relaxes as he holds his hands at his waist, almost showing an eerie calmness. "I've said too much already. Go see your family."
Mary stares at him for a bit, then starts walking to the door. However, as soon as she gets to Alec's side, she stops, leans in, and whispers in his ear. "A Derevko will bleed if you try to kill Irina. But I'd bet that it's your blood, not hers."
Alec scowls, but keeps facing forward, trying to act like he's ignoring Mary. Mary looks down and sees that Alec's clenched hands, once relaxed, now bear white knuckles from clenching the hands tight.
She smirks. She got her point across. Now, whether that's actually true or not, is a question that can only be answered by those two. Alec is definitely the more skilled killer, but he's a blunt force object compared to the more elegant and evasive Irina. Alec would kill Irina and smile as he looks into her dying eyes. But Irina would kill Alec before he knew what hit him.
Mary closes her eyes and teleports inside so she can wake Nadia up...
...and sees both Nadia AND her son Tom Falk in bed, along with a nice view of Nadia's naked back.
She wants to gasp in shock, but doesn't want to wake up Tom and Nadia. But she had no idea Tom and Nadia reconciled during the night.
Nadia is lying on her stomach, her right arm draped over Tom's chest as he lies on his back. He's snoring a bit, as he's prone to do. But more importantly to Mary, they look like they're in peace. Together. In peace. No one in Elysium, besides Tom and Nadia themselves, is happier to see the two most important people in her life back together than Mary.
Nadia starts to stir a bit. Seeing as she doesn't want to be spotted standing quietly in their bedroom, Mary closes her eyes and teleports herself just outside of the bedroom door.
She goes to knock, but instead hears a door behind her open up. She turns around and sees a groggy Maria walking out of her bedroom, rubbing her eyes. Mary lets out a happy gasp and says "Sweetheart!"
Maria stops rubbing her eyes and looks at Mary. She happily exclaims "Gramma!" before running into Mary's legs and hugging them.
Mary reaches down and squeezes her granddaughter in tighter. "I'm so happy you're ok and safe!"
A now less-happy Maria says "That man was going to kill me! I was so scared!"
"So was I! You're such a good little girl, you didn't deserve what happened to you. But don't worry...your Gramma has a plan for that man. He's going to be punished. I promise."
Maria lets go of Mary and steps back. "Guess who stayed the night with me!"
Mary, thinking it's her father Tom, asks "Who, Maria?"
Maria didn't need to answer it, because a groggy Emilio steps out of the bedroom. "I'm trying to sleep, Maria!"
Mary smiles at Emilio and says "Hey Emilio, I heard you were very brav..."
SLAM! That's the sound of Emilio slamming the bedroom door shut, leaving Mary and Maria with blank faces.
Maria looks up at Mary and wonders "Why did he do that?"
With a smirk, Mary replies "Some people are just hard to wake up in the morning, dear."
From behind them, they can hear a very groggy Nadia asking "What's going on?"
Maria answers for Mary. "Gramma's here!"
After a pause, Nadia shouts "Oh...ok...tell her we'll be out in a bit."
"I'm hungry!"
Mary laughs and, talking to both Maria and Nadia, says "If it's ok with your mother, I'll make your breakfast!"
Nadia shouts "That's fine!"
Suddenly, Maria's bedroom door opens back up. A very curious Emilio asks "What's for breakfast?" Sleep just doesn't seem important to Emilio anymore when the topic of food is brought up.
Mary suggests "How about some of Gramma's homemade waffles?"
Emilio and Maria both say "Yeah!" at the same time.
"Well, follow me then!"
Mary leads the kids down the hallway. When she gets to the living room, she immediately sees the crumpled blankets on the couch.
Maria notices that her dad's not there. "Where's Daddy, Gramma?"
Mary looks down at Maria and says "In the bedroom..."
"But he was sleeping here last night...he was being a bad daddy!"
"What did he do?"
"I dunno...but when he sleeps on the couch, that means he's been bad!"
Now Mary is curious. Tom was sleeping on the couch to start the night, but ended up in bed with Nadia at some point. That's something to ask about when Tom and Nadia wake up. In the meantime, the blankets are leaving a mess and leaving the kids without a place to watch TV. So she grabs the blankets and then tells the kids "Go watch some TV. I'll fold these up and make your breakfast."
With the kids eating their breakfast in the kitchen nearby, a dressed and mostly-awake Tom and Nadia have joined Mary in the living room. Mary is in the big chair while Tom and Nadia sit next to her on the couch.
Nadia sets her coffee on the coffee table in front of her and asks "Mary, what's going on?"
Mary first says "Well first of all, I'm glad to see you two are on good terms again."
Tom reaches over and holds Nadia's hand. "We decided we were better together than apart."
Nadia squeezes Tom's hand a bit and says "Yeah. Plus I wasn't exactly fair to Tom..."
"...and I do accept a lot of the blame the abduction..."
"...it's in the past now. What matters is we're a family again." Nadia turns back to Mary. "So, what did you come over here to discuss?"
There's a knock at the front door. Tom gets up and looks out the window. He only sees Alec, but it looks like he's standing next to someone. "Who is it?"
He hears Alec on the other side of the door. "Jack Bristow is here. Shall he be allowed to enter?"
"Of course! You knew he was an accepted visitor!"
"I was just making sure. Go ahead, Jack."
In the kitchen, Emilio pauses eating for a moment to ask Maria "Who is Jack Bristow?"
Maria finishes drinking her milk and replies "Oh, she's just my mommy's friend. He's tall." That's all Jack is to Maria: a tall friend of her mother's. And not her grandfather. That's one conversation that Tom and Nadia are avoiding having with Maria. And believe it or not, they're more worried about the other conversation.
Jack opens the door and steps inside. Ahead of him, he spots Emilio and Maria at the kitchen table. Emilio has gone back to eating (the kid loves to eat). Maria, however, gives Jack a big toothy grin and waves. Jack gives one of his patented closed-mouth smiles and kind of awkwardly waves back. Jack knows that's his granddaughter at the table. But as Maria goes back to eating breakfast, it's clear to him she still doesn't know that she just waved at Grandpa Jack. Otherwise, knowing how affectionate Maria is towards her loved ones, she would have ran up to him and hugged him. But, because she isn't, waving awkwardly is all he feels comfortable doing right now.
From Jack's left in the living room, Tom says "Hey Jack. Didn't know you were coming over."
Jack looks over at Tom and says "I just wanted to see how everyone was doing." But the light-heartedness ends right there as Jack turns to Mary and forms a scowl on his face. "Alec was telling me an interesting story just now, Mary."
Mary's smile disappears quickly. He knows about Irina already. "Jack, I..."
"Do you really want to have this conversation in front of the children?"
"As long as we can be civil..."
With anger present in his voice, Jack grumbles "I'm not sure I can, Mary."
A concerned Nadia asks "What did Alec say?"
Jack gazes over at Nadia. "It's about your mother, Nadia. Mary has an interesting story to tell us about her..." Jack then turns back to Mary. "...don't you?"
An even more concerned Nadia turns to Mary and patiently awaits for her to respond. Tom also has a curious look on his face.
Mary, meanwhile, turns back to Nadia, not sure what to say now. She wanted to be the one to break the news about the agreement that Irina brokered last night. Now, this will be even harder than before.
"Mom, what the hell is going on here?"
Mary looks over at Tom, who just asked her that question with a very serious tone. "Let's go outside and talk..."
"All done!"
The four of them look back into the kitchen, where the children have finished eating. Maria points at her cleaned plate. Emilio's plate is also clean.
Mary then says "Ok, we'll talk on the patio. I'll clean up after the kids, seeing as I made breakfast for them..."
Jack then finishes the sentence for her in a perturbed, yet hushed voice. "...and since you have to think about how you're going to explain the deal that you helped barter with Irina Derevko."
Tom's eyes almost bug out of his head and his jaw goes slack as he turns back to his mother. She knew there was a river of history between her and Irina, but what is this about a deal?
Nadia, meanwhile, has the opposite reaction on her face. Her eyes are squinted in anger. Nadia has not forgiven Irina for what she did in Brussels as Sloane was getting the tar beaten out of him by Tom. Irina had Sydney dead to rights until Jack shot her. Nadia had a lot of faith in her mother up until then. But her and Sydney have been close since that fateful day in the prison in Chechnya when Sydney found her, and the fact that Irina apparently almost killed Sydney has soured Nadia something fierce. All Nadia can manage at this point is a "Mary, what have you done?"
A nervous Mary replies "I'll explain when we get outside. Go on. I'll be there in a bit." Then she does what she was trained by Bill to do: remove herself from the situation. She steps away and goes to the kitchen to clean up after the kids. Of course, she's her usual smiley self around them, but a tough conversation that's about to take place just got made a whole lot tougher because one of the toughest nuts to crack that she's ever seen will be there, too.
And a lot of what she's about to say concerns that tough nut they call Jack Bristow.
Tom, Nadia, and Jack are outside when Mary steps out onto the back patio. She slides the patio door closed, then stops suddenly and turns to the table, where the three are gathered. "Oh, do you want me to get your coffees? Jack, do you want..."
Tom cuts her off. "Mom, stop it."
Mary dumbfoundedly replies "Stop what?"
"You're stalling. It's obvious. You're doing what guilty people do."
"Tom, don't tease me like that..."
"I'm not teasing. Sit down."
Mary starts walking over to the other side of the table, but as she does, she says "Don't get upset with me. I'm only trying to help."
"By cutting a deal with a woman that helped kidnap my daughter the other day?"
Mary takes a seat and says "She was just going through the paces. She wanted nothing to do with all that."
"And you just believed her?"
Nadia leans forward. "Hold on a second. How did my mother contact you?"
Mary timidly looks out to the sea. "She contacted me before the kidnapping. She found me and contacted me via cell phone."
Tom slams his hand hard on the table. "AND YOU DIDN'T TELL US?"
Nadia puts a hand on Tom's shoulder. "Tom, relax! The kids can hear!"
Tom folds his arms and looks up in the sky in disbelief over what he's hearing. There are times when Tom's emotions can cause him to act a bit like a petulant child. This is one of those times.
Mary continues. "I didn't tell you because I was sworn to secrecy. I didn't know what she was planning. She told me that I would need her help, just like she needed my help when I was stringing her along in her search for the Horizon."
Tom looks back at Mary with a disgusted look. "You mean when you had Irina set me up to spend a year in prison while my wife was in a goddamn coma."
"Tom, we've been over that. You know why I did it. Please Tom, this is hard enough."
Jack, who's been uncomfortably silent during this, says "What do you think the harm would have been if you had been up front about this before?"
A very defensive Mary replies "I don't know, Jack! How was I supposed to know Sloane wanted Maria and Nadia kidnapped? She gave me no idea what she was going to do. I didn't even know what had happened to Nadia at the grocery store with Cesar. I had no idea who Irina was involved with. But I did know that Irina was capable of teleporting quickly."
Nadia asks "Hyper-teleporting?"
Mary nods. "Yes. Apparently she figured it out on her own. Paris taught her, Sloane, and Elena the basics of teleporting. Elena later taught Kelly Peyton. The only one that doesn't know how to teleport is Mitch Hayes."
Tom taps his index on the table quickly, a sign that the mere mention of Mitch struck a nerve with him. "Where is that piece of shit Mitch?"
"Irina has him incapacitated at the Charleston Restaurant, where Maria, Emilio, and Julieta were being held."
"Incapacitated?"
"I saw him last night at the restaurant. Irina took me there."
Jack looks surprised at that. "You saw Irina?"
Mary lets out a deep breath and says "Yes. After patching things up with my husband..." Tom lets out an incredulous chuckle and buries his face in his palm at the mention of his father, causing Mary to asks "Something funny?"
"You know what, Mom? That part right there isn't even close to the most ridiculous thing you've said since you got here, and that's saying a lot. We'll talk about that later."
Mary rolls her eyes and continues. "Irina surprised me and demanded that we talk face-to-face. It was the first time I saw her since the whole thing started. I know she had seen me, but I never saw her. Outside of some frostbite scars on her face, she looked just like she did when she died."
Jack's not interested in that last part. "I don't care what she looks like. What was this deal you made with her?"
"Her plan all along was to betray The Nine and Francisco's Army. She was forced by Sloane to move ahead with the kidnappings. Her plan was to treat the hostages well and then release them when you came for them. When you showed up, she'd give up Mitch to Tom and Nadia to...handle I guess. Then, she'd surrender and help feed us information on the operation. And in exchange for that..." Mary turns to Nadia, who's very intently listening. "...she asked for forgiveness for her crimes in life, and asked that she be granted permanent relocation to Elysium."
And with that, it suddenly gets awkwardly silent at the table. Tom has a generally incredulous look on his face while Jack and Nadia are looking at each other, both wondering why Irina would do such a thing. Neither is anywhere near ready to believe her.
Tom's not ready to believe her, either. "Besides escaping the vile clutches of Hell, there must be something that Irina wants here. There'd be nothing for her to gain otherwise."
Mary nods and says "There is something she wants. Two things, actually." She then looks up at Jack, remembering Irina's comments that she wants to be a wife to Jack. Instead of just coming out and saying that off the bat, she says "Irina wants to talk to you, Jack."
Jack curtly replies "I have nothing to say to her."
"But she has a lot to say to you. She wants to reconcile."
Jack forms a look of total repulsion on his face. "The woman has obviously gone mad if she thinks that is possible."
At this point, Tom scoots back and starts to walk away. "I can't take any more of this. This is absolute insanity."
Mary insistently says "Tom, stop! Do you want to get your hands on Mitch?" Tom stops and turns back around. The look on his face says he wants to rip Mitch apart limb from limb if possible. Mary points to the chair Tom just got out of. "Then sit down and I'll tell you." Tom does make it back to his chair eventually.
Nadia, perhaps sensing the other thing Irina wants, disbelievingly asks "Do I want to know the other thing she wants?"
Mary gives Nadia a solemn look, knowing how Irina still feels about Nadia. Nadia, however, appears completely unwilling to reciprocate those feelings. Still, Mary says "Nadia, Irina has always regretted not being able to raise you. She never could talk about you without getting emotional...that's why you were a secret for so long..."
Jack cuts in. "That's why she was so evasive when I asked her about The Passenger in the first place."
Mary nods. "Right. She was convinced Nadia was Arvin's child, not yours. She knows the truth now and was very surprised." Mary then turns back to Nadia, who looks like she may be getting a bit emotional. "But also, she always had a lot of feelings for you."
Nadia allows a tear to escape from her eye. She looks up and shakes her head in disbelief. "Then she could have come got me if she cared that much."
"No she couldn't. She didn't want you to live the life she did."
"Because she knows..." Nadia suddenly stops, takes a few deep breaths, and says "I don't want to talk about it. But any sort of compassion I had for her died when she tried to kill my sister. So she can take those feelings and take them back to Hell where she came from!"
Even though Nadia showed a lot of piss and vinegar just now, Mary's not totally convinced Nadia is so anti-Irina. The giveaway? The tear that rolled down her face. But, rather than dwell on that, Mary continues the conversation. "Nadia, perhaps Irina herself would be best to talk about that with you. But she's convinced that she would not have gone through with killing Sydney. And quite frankly, I believe her."
Nadia turns back to Mary and gives her somewhat of a sneer. "How could you say that? You were there!"
"I was. And I forgot something about Irina all these years, but it makes sense. See, one of Irina's best talents was killing people. If she wanted you dead, she didn't hesitate. Irina can be mysterious, but killing you when she wants to is one trait about her that is never in doubt. And with Sydney, she wasted a good 5 seconds holding a gun to her head when she could have fired. But she didn't."
Jack then points out rather tersely "But she considered it!"
"She may have, but she was also formulating a way to escape, too. She told me."
Tom then interjects. "Listen, we can talk until we're blue in the face about the reasons Irina did or didn't do the things she did in life. But it'll get us nowhere. But what will get us somewhere...is ripping Mitch's goddamn head off for taking my child. I will say this for Irina...I did have a feeling when I read Mitch's letter that she wasn't the ringleader in this. Mitch enjoyed it, Sloane wanted it. All I care about right now is taking care of Mitch Hayes. We'll deal with Irina later."
Mary lets out a chuckle and says "Well, if you talk to Nadia's charming ancestor out front, Irina's walking on extremely thin ice already."
Jack points out "He told me that there is a kill order for Irina, should she prove to be anything but truthful. But somehow, I get the impression her life may be in risk as it is."
Nadia lets out a gasp. "They're going to kill her no matter what she does!"
Jack looks taken aback at that. "Just a minute ago, you were saying how you could never forgive your mother for trying to kill your sister...now, you have a problem with her going back to Hell?"
Nadia buries her head in her hands. "I...don't know."
Yep, Mary can tell Nadia is very conflicted about her mother. Still, she changes the subject. "After her deal was accepted by Rambaldi and the rest of the Elysian Council last night, I went back to the restaurant with Irina. I saw Mitch chained to a cot that was propped up on a wall. His forehead was busted open from multiple shots to the head and he was unconscious. Irina had been repeatedly knocking him out since he shot Julieta and tried to shoot Maria and Emilio."
Tom cracks a somewhat demented smirk on his face. "Good."
"I thought you didn't like Irina, either."
"No, and I still don't know what to make of her. But if she's been beating up a defenseless Mitch after what happened, then I can't help but be a little happy over that."
"Well, this next part's important. I need you and Nadia to listen up." Nadia pulls her head out of her hands and looks over at Mary with an exacerbated look. Mary continues. "Tomorrow, at noon Eastern time, Irina has organized a 'meeting' with you two and Eddie with Mitch."
Tom raises an eyebrow at that last name. "Eddie? Why him?"
"Because she knows that Julieta was his girlfriend, and I know he took her death hard. She's offering him the chance to deal with Mitch face-to-face. But no matter what happens, Irina wants Mitch dead tomorrow. She left the means of that up to you three."
Jack, not ready to trust Irina at all, points out "She could be leading you three into a trap."
Mary says "She won't, but that's the impression she's going to give Mitch, too. Sloane's idea was to set up an ambush to take out Tom and Nadia when they claimed the hostages. She's going to tell Mitch that Sloane has authorized another ambush with Mitch as the bait this time. She's promising that Francisco Alvarado's army of cartel members will be nearby to ambush the restaurant."
Tom then sarcastically says "But Irina's been using him as her personal pinata since yesterday. He's in la-la land now..."
"No he's not. She's going to let Mitch stay awake between now and the meet and give him the impression that she's been overruled in her harsh treatment of him. That way, he'll be fresh for tomorrow."
Tom stands up and says "I have to go tell Eddie."
"Good luck finding him. I tried this morning."
Tom smirks and says "I know where he is. He's got a hiding spot he's always gone to when he wants to reflect."
Tom closes his eyes to teleport, but hears Mary say "Tom, wait!" Tom opens his eyes and looks back at Mary, who says "When you're done with Mitch tomorrow, I need you to report to Rambaldi. He'll take you to the portal to Hell in Siberia and we need to confirm the kill with the people in Hell. It's part of some agreement that the council made after me and Irina left."
"What kind of agreement? We're making deals with Hell now?"
"I don't know all the details, Rambaldi wouldn't say when I saw him earlier. By the way, when you go talk to Eddie, he may be difficult..."
"You're preaching to the choir there..."
"But I have something that may help you out. Some information."
"What?"
"Rambaldi tells me there may be a way to get Julieta back from Hell."
Nadia gasps loudly. Her best friend...coming back? "Oh, poor Julieta! She must be in Hell...she must be suffering..."
"Again, Rambaldi was coy about that. But I have a feeling this may be part of this agreement they made with Hell."
Tom then lets out a chuckle as a sudden thought comes to mind. "I just realized something, Mom. I'm The Caretaker, Nadia is The Passenger, Sydney is The Chosen One. I guess that makes that makes you The Messenger in Rambaldi's gameplan."
Mary gives Tom a playfully incredulous sneer and says "Oh just go, you smartass."
Tom smirks and says "I'll relay your message...Messenger." Tom then closes his eyes and teleports away.
Mary stands up and says "That's all I have to say about Irina. I guess I'll go say goodbye to Maria..."
Jack holds up his hand and says "Wait." Mary slides back down into her chair, perhaps worried that Jack is going to chastise her over Irina. "Mary, I have to talk to Nadia alone now, but I want you to hang around because we'll need your help later with Maria."
Mary asks "What do you need my help for?"
"I want you there to help console Maria when we tell her that I'm her grandfather."
Nadia looks a bit worried as she says "I'm a little worried how she'll react..."
"Yes, so am I. But Nadia, I don't just want to be a father to you and a grandfather to her in name only. I want to be involved in your lives. I don't have a whole lot of family here...and that's part of what I want to talk in private with Nadia about, but I want to help however I can."
Nadia smiles and says "Of course. And thank you for saying that. I was hoping you'd want to be a part of the family."
Mary then says "As long as we're going to tell her about that, we should tell Maria about death, too. She's probably confused with what Mitch said yesterday."
Nadia says "She's not really showing it, although I don't think she understands what all Mitch told her. But yeah, I think we should tell her all at once."
"Ok. I'll go hang out with the kids for a bit and let you two talk." Mary then stands up and teleports inside.
Nadia then turns to Jack. "What is it you want to talk about?"
Jack looks down at the table and asks "How's the new adoption program coming along?"
Nadia sighs and says "With all that's going on, I haven't had a time to mess with it in recent days."
"I want to help, Nadia."
Nadia shakes her head and says "No, that's ok."
"I really think I can help you out. I have some ideas that I think can help you."
"Jack, I'm not sure you know what it is to be an orphan."
"Yes, I do. I was an orphan myself."
Nadia shifts in her seat, very surprised over this. "I had no idea! You never talked about your childhood to Sydney..."
"That's because I don't like to dwell on it."
"I'm sorry, I won't ask..."
"I was born in London, Ontario. I have no idea who my father is. All I know about my mother is that she was a prostitute who didn't want me, but couldn't bring herself to abort me. Even if she did want me, she had an addiction to heroin that nearly killed me as well as herself. I was born premature and, so I'm told, miraculously survived."
"That is so sad. What became of your mother?"
"No idea. Probably dead, but I have no desire to seek her out. I did have foster parents growing up, but I resented them when I learned that the foster home was nothing more than a breeding ground for Canadian Intelligence agents."
"Whoa...how is it possible to know someone so young would be a good agent?"
"Because they can raise you to meet their standards. Babies without willing and able parents were perfect for their program. But as I was growing up, I learned how orphans can and should be treated. And with all that you're going through Nadia, the added burden of creating a continent-wide adoption program must be daunting to you."
Nadia thinks for a bit, then stands up and walks over to the other side of the table where Jack is standing. She stands next to Jack and says "I really would appreciate your help. And I had no idea that your childhood was like that..."
Jack stands up and says "You moved on from your childhood. So did I. But I'm happy that my experiences will be able to help you. Thank you, Nadia."
Nadia gives Jack a hug around his waist. "No. Thank you, Dad."
Jack hugs her back, but the last part leaves him in shock. "Nadia?"
"What?"
"You just called me...Dad."
Nadia squeezes Jack tighter and smiles. "I guess I did, didn't I?"
Jack realizes Nadia has fully accepted Jack as her father. And because of that, and despite hearing what he just heard about Irina, Jack hugs Nadia back and can't help but crack the biggest smile he can ever remember showing to the world.
It was a word both of them have been waiting a while to hear said, especially Jack.
END OF CHAPTER