LITTLE JUSTINE

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -George Orwell

San Felipe, Mexico (Elysium)

Nadia Falk and Julieta Romero have been busy for the past hour, getting ready for Ladies Night at the Beachcomber Nightclub in San Felipe. The ladies-only event is the one day of the week set aside just for the ladies. Unless you're a bartender or a bouncer, you'll have to find your own fun tonight if you're a guy. It's also the one day of the week that ladies can mark down as an excuse to look their absolute best, and looking their best has been what has kept these lifelong friends busy.

But they're not the only ones in the Falk household right now who hope to be partying.

In the living room, Tom and Eddie Falk are sitting on the couch, watching a hockey game. They're using their favorite pastime to kill some time before the babysitter for Emilio and Maria Falk begins when Tom and Nadia leave.

It's not Mary, as would usually be the case. She's already filling in for Julieta at the orphanage tonight.

As Eddie remains engrossed in the hockey game, Tom turns around to look towards the kitchen. "Hey Jack, you sure you don't need anything for tonight?"

A casual Jack Bristow replies from the kitchen table. "Absolutely not. Although, I do wonder if I'll even see the kids tonight at all."

Tom chuckles as he turns back to the game. "You should know how kids are about their video games." In Emilio's new bedroom, Emilio and Maria have been playing an active game of Wii Sports. They haven't been completely left on their own...Tom's been checking in on them. And every time he goes to check on them, Emilio greets him with a big smile. This is going to be the first night he gets to stay at the Falk house as a member of the Falk family. For all intents and purposes, this has been the best day in Emilio's young life.

As far as Jack goes, Jack had stopped by after Emilio came home. He meant to be at Emilio's homecoming, but he wanted to spend some time watching Sydney and her kids. Today was a trip to the beach for Sydney's little ones. Jack always enjoyed spending time on the beach with Isabelle and little Jack. He tries to spend as much time with them still as he can. Jack just lost track of time.

Tom came up to Jack and mentioned the "True Irish" to him and how he wanted to talk to his Storm Crew comrade Charlie O'Doyle at some point, but couldn't get away from the house. That's when Jack offered to babysit the kids, much to Tom's surprise. Tom didn't think Jack was the babysitting type. But then again, Tom knows that Jack still clings to Sydney and her kids back on Earth, and understood that Jack would probably would like to spend some time with Maria, the one granddaughter he has that he can still interact with. In fact, Tom actually wants Jack and Maria to spend more time together for both their sakes.

So, while Mary fills in for Julieta at the orphanage and Jack fills in for Tom watching Emilio and Maria, Tom will be going with Eddie to a work session for the new computer program for New Arrivals.

Since they sat at the patio table and agreed to start working on the problem, Tom's put it completely out of his mind. After all, not a minute or two after he and the rest of Storm Crew agreed to starting work on the program, Nadia came home roughed up from her attack from Cesar Martinez. Even though he's still not sure if he wants to continue with the New Arrival program, he's going to go check on it anyway...while hopefully getting some answers from Charlie about the "True Irish" and just who or what they are.

Jack remains in the kitchen, looking over some documents related to the new adoption program.

A puck goes into the stands, stopping play. The score is posted and the announcers segue into a commercial. This enables Tom and Eddie to stop their absorption into the game and actually talk to one another.

Tom looks over at Eddie and asks "So, how are you and Julieta doing?"

Eddie smirks and looks back at Tom. "Better than before she left us."

"How so?"

Eddie smirks and looks down at the ground. "She had no idea what she had until she lost it. Those are her words, not mine. But since she came back, it's like she's experiencing everything about life for the first time again."

"She does seem to have a glow about her of late."

Eddie laughs a bit. "She's great. She's so...warm. You know what I mean? Ah, I'm getting all gooey, again..."

"Ah, don't worry about it. Julieta's warmth is why Nadia thought she'd be good with the orphans, after all."

"And she's been downright HOT since coming back...if you catch my drift." Eddie smirks at the end and relaxes back into his couch.

Tom doesn't say anything, but just rolls his eyes as he smirks at the ceiling. From all accounts, Julieta's got this new vigor about life again. And that includes a new vigor about romance.

Julieta's voice comes calling from the master bedroom suddenly. "Hey boys, we're ready!"

Eddie smirks as he pauses the DVR and leans back in his seat next to Tom. "Oh, this is the good part!"

Tom gives him a funny look. "Would you relax? You're acting like you just stumbled on a sorority party and you just hit puberty!"

Eddie flashes Tom a look himself. "Hey, I'm just excited to see what Julieta's pulled out of her sleeve this time. You don't look forward to Nadia getting all dolled up?"

"Not as much as you do, apparently."

"Oh come on, I'll never forget Mom telling me the look on your face when you first saw Nadia in that red cocktail dress! You know, the week you and her got married?"

"Yeah, you got a point there. Wish she'd wear that dress more..."

Nadia, from just down the hall, shouts "That dress doesn't leave the house!"

Tom sinks in his seat. Like a whiny child, he asks "Why, babe?"

"Are you kidding me? That dress is too trampy to be worn in public! I'd be the only girl there with such a dress...I'd stand out like a sore thumb!"

Tom, sensing an opening for a compliment as well as to steer the conversation on a better path, quickly replies "You'll stand out anyway because you'll be the most beautiful woman at the nightclub..."

With a scowl on his face, Eddie punches him on the shoulder and yells "Bullshit!" Tom gives him a defensive look at first, then scowls in return. The Falk brothers don't need much to start bickering with one another, and lately, the subject of who has the more beautiful significant other always works to trigger tension between the two.

Nadia shouts "Hey, you two can fight after you've seen us. Ready or not, here we come!"

And with that, Nadia emerges from the hallway, looking just absolutely dazzling in a red knee-length dress, styled like a typical casual Mexican dress. Her long black hair is styled in waves as it drapes down the front of her right shoulder. Her face is also made up, complete with ruby red lipstick that matches a hand purse she's holding in her hands.

The face that Tom made when he first saw Nadia in that dress in the summer of 2006 has returned in January 2012. Once again, Nadia has left Tom breathless.

Normally, Eddie would look over and make a sarcastic quip about Tom's silly jaw-dropped look, but he's got a similar enchanted look on his face over what Julieta, who has walked in behind Nadia, is wearing.

The taller Julieta, who is maybe an inch shorter than Eddie at the most, is in a light blue tight-fitting dress. The only thing not making it a cocktail dress is that it does extend down and out over her legs, stopping halfway just above the knee with enough slack to move her legs around a bit. Her long black hair is done up in a bun. She's also made up nicely with light pink lipstick.

By now, Jack has emerged from the kitchen and also looks impressed at the ladies.

Julieta spins around, which causes the more demure Nadia to do the same. Julieta then locks eyes with a stunned Eddie and asks "You like what you see?"

Eddie just nods repeatedly, like a guy in a trance.

Nadia notices Tom is also in a trance and giggles a bit. "Tom, are you going to be ok?"

A hypnotized Tom replies "I've never been better..."

Eddie snaps his enchanted trance to look over at Tom. "If there were guys allowed at the club tonight, our ladies would be like wounded gazelle surrounded by a pack of lions."

Tom starts studying Nadia up and down. "You ain't kidding, Eddie. I guess we just better hope there aren't any lesbians!"

Nadia forms a disgusted look on her face. "Ew, that's just gross..."

Julieta shrugs and playfully asks "Oh Nadia, was I that bad?"

In unison, a shocked Tom and Eddie immediately shout out "WHAT?!" Their minds have just been blown at the possibility of Nadia and Julieta having some sort of romantic relationship.

Nadia flashes Julieta an angry look. "Hey, my dad's here!"

Julieta lets out a couple laughs and, looking at a suspicious Jack, says "Oh it was nothing like that! I was Nadia's first kiss!"

Tom dumbfoundedly gazes over to Nadia, who's blushing over this. "Nadia! Really?"

A defensive Nadia replies "I was eleven years old! She was teaching me how to kiss! I told you about Paolo, my first crush!"

"Yeah..."

"Well, I wanted to make a move on him, but I was so afraid I wouldn't know how to kiss him and I'd look terrible. So, Julieta decided to help me out!" Nadia suddenly looks down at the ground. "I never did get to kiss Paolo..." Nadia then looks up at Jack a little timidly, almost forgetting he's there. "I'm sorry you had to hear this! I'm so embarrassed!"

Jack just stoically shrugs at all this. "Sydney did the same thing at your age. I only knew because she and her friend caused a stir at school and she was sent to detention for it."

Julieta and Nadia both laugh. Then, Julieta says to the Falk brothers "Nadia was a natural!"

Nadia snaps her head to glare at Julieta. "No I wasn't! I was terrible!"

"Oh, you were just nervous. Once you settled down..."

From behind them, Maria runs out of the bedroom, which immediately puts an end to this conversation before it takes a turn for the risque. She runs right up to Nadia, not even noticing she's dressed up, and asks "Mommy! Our game is frozen!"

Nadia goes to say something, but instead, Jack steps forward. "I'll help you, Maria."

Maria flashes a big toothy grin at Jack. "Ok, Grandpa Jack!"

Tom then asks Maria "Hey, doesn't your mommy and auntie look nice?"

Maria examines Julieta and then Nadia. She lets out a small smile as she looks up at Nadia and just says "Pretty!" She then runs back into the bedroom, more concerned about her game. Nadia and Julieta both roll their eyes at each other. Five year old kids have different priorities that age.

Jack then smiles at Nadia. "By the way, I've neglected to state the obvious. You look very beautiful, Nadia."

Nadia gives Jack a kind, flattered smile in return. "Thanks, Dad."

Jack then looks over at Julieta. "And you look nice as well. Eddie's a very lucky man."

Julieta just bashfully giggles and looks down at the ground.

Meanwhile, Eddie grins and says "You ain't kidding, Jack."

Jack walks up to Nadia and says "Well, I guess you two need to be going."

Nadia grabs Jack's hand gently. "Thanks for looking after the kids tonight. I like that you're spending time with them."

Jack smiles his usual tight, closed smile. "Anytime. Have fun tonight." Jack then leans and gives Nadia a hug. As they embrace, Jack leans down further and very lightly whispers in Nadia's ear "Good luck with Irina tonight."

They let go of the hug. Nadia looks up at Jack and, even though she doesn't break her smile, Jack can tell that there's a bit of trepidation behind the happy face. Nadia's very nervous over seeing her mother one on one.

Julieta then turns to Tom and Eddie points out "Hey, aren't the rest of the boys waiting on you two?"

Tom looks down at his watch. "Yeah, I guess they are. Although they'll understand if we hung around to see the beauty pageant."

Julieta quickly asks "Who won?"

Tom blurts out "Nadia" while, at the same time, Eddie blurts out "You" to Julieta. This causes Tom and Eddie to scowl at one another again.

Sensing a brother on brother scuffle may erupt, Nadia snaps "Boys! Can't we both win?"

Eddie and Tom look over at Nadia. Both of them shrug and then look back at each other. Eddie says "Makes sense." Tom nods and says "Yeah, it does, actually." The two of them share a chuckle, any tension already gone. But the battle over the more beautiful babe is sure to continue in the future.

Jack pats Nadia on the back. "Very well played, Nadia. Good to see you still know how to defuse a situation."

Nadia laughs a bit. "I learned from the best...right, Dad?"

Jack smirks at that.

"GRANDPA JACK! OUR GAME!"

Jack and Nadia both look down the hallway, where an impatient Maria is waiting for Jack to reboot their Wii system.

Nadia gives Jack a bit of a nudge. "You better go, babysitter!"

Jack gives Nadia a somewhat sarcastic smirk and then heads to the bedroom.

From there, both couples give each other kisses good-bye and go off to their respective venues. But while Eddie and Julieta just take the time to give out a couple extra kisses to each other, Tom and Nadia wish each other good luck on their respective challenges tonight.

For one night, both Tom and Nadia feel like they're back at APO, working undercover from their friends. It would only be fitting that Jack was present tonight.

Los Angeles, CA (Elysium)

Tom and Charlie both walk out the back patio of Eddie's house into the cool California night. It's where the rest of Storm Crew is gathered to work on the computer program. But, after five minutes of playing along, Tom couldn't wait any longer.

Charlie slides the door closes and, with his usual thick Irish accent, asks "What's up?" He then takes a casual drink of his Guinness bottle, unassuming about the manner of the discussion.

Tom,, in a kind tone, asks "How are you feeling?" Of course, this is in reference to Charlie's demise and return in the deal with Mammon.

Charlie shrugs. "I guess I'm fine. Sure am enjoying life again. Guess like the hair band song says: 'don't know what you got til it's gone.'"

Tom nods. "Eddie can tell you Julieta feels the same way."

Charlie lets out a chuckle. "So I hear. Anyway, I'm fine. Never better, actually."

Trying to not come across like a total blunt force object, Tom asks "Something's different about you since I last saw you at the portal."

Charlie cracks a smirk and points to his head. "Oh, you noticed the full head of red hair? Saw Rambaldi the other day. Had him take a couple years off when he took care of that scar for me. Now we don't have matching widows peaks, I'm afraid to say."

Tom feels the front of his hairline, which does end in a widows peak. "I've thought about taking a few years off myself, but it might startle Maria too much."

Charlie takes another drink and starts looking bored. "Is this what you pulled me out here for? To discuss hairlines and aging?"

With that, Tom goes from casual to serious. Time to get to the business at hand. "No. You need to explain yourself. Right now."

Charlie stops in mid-drink and raises a curious eyebrow. He's not offended, just a bit confused. He lowers the bottle and asks "What are you talking about?"

Tom takes a couple steps forward. His next four words are delivered about as sternly as he can deliver them. "True Irish. Explain. Now."

Charlie quickly drops his beer-holding hand to his waist. He looks down at the bottle, pondering it for a bit. He then sets it on the table next to him. "Who told you?"

"Laurent. I asked for manpower to take on Francisco's cartel army. He said Il Credo Divino doesn't participate in offensives. Then, he suggested I talk to you about the True Irish."

Charlie twists the half-drank bottle on the table while a thousand thoughts race through his head. The happy-go-lucky goofy Charlie is gone. Serious Charlie has taken his place. He sternly asks "What would you like to know?"

"For starters, if they are what I think they are, I'd like to know why you've been keeping an Irish terrorist organization a secret from me."

Charlie quickly snaps "They're not terrorists. However, most of them do have ties to the IRA."

"Like I said...why have you been keeping terrorists a secret from me?"

"Because I told you they're not a terrorist organization!"

"Then what are they? Who are they? And why in the frack are they in Elysium?"

Charlie leans on the chair next to him, settling in for a potentially long conversation. "The True Irish are opposed to all forms of terrorism perpetrated by the Irish Republican Army and all of its subsidiaries and incarnates since the original IRA ceased to exist. The True Irish are all ex-IRA members who opposed to the violence the IRA uses to solve its problems. Most of them died for that belief. The only man that doesn't have IRA ties is the leader of the True Irish: Owen Schroeder."

Tom folds his arms, intrigued by this story so far. "What's so special about Owen?"

"Owen is Elysian-born."

Now it's Tom's turn to raise an eyebrow. His daughter Maria is also considered 'Elysian-born.' "You mean he was a fetus?"

Charlie nods. "He was. His mother was the the wife of an IRA leader. She was blown up while 7 months pregnant with him. When Owen found out what happened to his mother, he went to Earth and was almost unseen for years while he studied the IRA. He learned their ways and swore to be different than them in just about every way possible. So he started rallying a club of like-minded former IRA members, including my father."

Tom knows the story of Charlie's father well. Charlie's father, Chuckie O'Doyle they called him, was a snitch for Interpol. He was deeply rooted in the IRA, and eventually trained Charlie to be a snitch as well. When Chuckie started fearing for his life, he sent Charlie to America, and with an assist from Interpol, Charlie became a CIA informant, starting with the Boston Irish mob. His main objective was to monitor connections from the Irish Mob to the IRA. Eventually, his cover got blown and the CIA put him in deep witness protection for a while. For a year, Charlie was in limbo until Tom just so happened to stumble across his file when he was looking to fill Storm Crew members. Seeing his vast experience with explosives and also appreciating Charlie's experience working with a terrorist organization, Tom took a shine to him. Tom dealt with cartel members, who basically are terrorists in their own turf, and, before he knew any better, he saw the Covenant as something like a terrorist group. So, that's how Charlie came to be a member of Storm Crew.

Charlie continues his story. "After my Pa died, he became one of the original members of the True Irish. He attended a speech in Belfast that Owen conducted and they saw eye to eye. The True Irish's goal is to preserve a peaceful and free Ireland in Elysium. There is no malice in this group unless it's toward the IRA or to anyone that would wish to do this realm harm. I am proud to call myself a True Irishman."

"If you're so proud, then why the big secret?"

"Because the True Irish doesn't like to broadcast their existence here. Their IRA counterparts make no qualms about their existence and their explosive tendencies. True Irishmen aim to be the opposite of the IRA, and thus remain quiet. Their anonymity is preserved through an agreement with the Elysian Council. That includes a gag order among its members, including myself. I've been a member since my father introduced me to Owen Schroeder a month after I died."

Tom starts pacing slowly. It's actually a very good and a very plausible story. But still, he's a bit upset that Charlie kept it from him. "Charlie, me and you are like brothers. Is this the kind of thing you would keep from a brother?"

With a perfect poker face, Charlie replies "If my brother wasn't Irish, yes. We protect our True Irish roots with our lives."

Tom appears to understand as he nods his head in agreement. He understands how close-knit Irishmen are, and it actually doesn't surprise him that Charlie would keep such a code under wraps. Tom looks up at Charlie and says "Thanks for telling me. I'd like to set up a meet with Owen. Can you do that?"

Charlie apprehensively looks down at the ground. "Owen doesn't take kindly to non-Irish...especially ones that know about his organization."

"Then you and your father can accompany me to the meet. I figure you two might have enough clout to get me a face-to-face with him."

"Perhaps...but it'll have to be on his terms."

"That's fine, as long as I have assurances of my safety."

"I'm going to need to give him a reason why you're looking to talk to him."

Tom smacks his lips a bit, thinking about how to word this. He decides the whole truth is the best way. "I need the True Irish's help with our cartel problem."

"I doubt he'll supply manpower."

"I kind of figured that given your leader's mission statement..."

"I mean they won't send ground troops. But the True Irish has all the resources of the IRA over the years, save for guns. What exists on Earth exists in Elysium, with exceptions, and the True Irish has claimed the IRA's stockpiles for their own. It's a big reason why the Elysian Council accepted our charter. We also have agreed to work under the council's jurisdiction. I will use that to get a meeting with you and Owen. Might be a day or two, though."

"That's fine. Whatever you can do." Tom then extends his hand out for a handshake.

Charlie smirks and shake's Tom's hand back. "Even though I'm a True Irishman, I've been a part of Storm Crew for longer. You're still my brother, and Storm Crew and the True Irish both see eye-to-eye on how Elysium should be. I think our two groups can work well together."

"I hope so." Tom then lets go of the handshake. "So, what's Owen like?"

Charlie chuckles a bit. "You two will get along fine. He's got your charm."

San Felipe, Mexico (Elysium)

The loud beats of a popular song by Pitbull blare over the speakers in the crowded nightclub. The main lights are turned low, leaving just the colored lights that flash in a pattern over the dance floor. Some ladies in attendance are at the bar, some chat at the edge of the nightclub, and others all crowd the hot and sweaty dance floor, dancing the night away.

Nadia and Julieta are smack dab in the middle of the cluster on the dance floor, each one of them having a good time dancing away and laughing at each others' attempts when one of them tries to do a special dance move. Nadia's actually a very talented dancer despite a lack of formal training. Julieta holds her own, but is a little awkward. Still, that doesn't matter to her, as her smile might as well be permanently grafted to her face.

Julieta leans in to Nadia's ear. "I've never had so much fun dancing before!"

Nadia leans into Julieta's ear. "I'm glad! I thought this would be a good idea!"

"It's a great idea! You have no idea how bad purgatory is! I missed this!"

The song ends after a few seconds and rolls right into another one. Nadia looks down at her watch...it's 8:57. She looks back up at Julieta and starts fanning herself with her hand. "I need to go get some air!"

Julieta leans in. It's so loud, she couldn't hear her. "WHAT?"

"I SAID I NEED TO GO GET SOME AIR!"

Julieta nods and shouts "OK! I'M GOING TO GO GET A DRINK!"

Julieta follows Nadia out of the dance floor, squeezing in between other girls that are there dancing and having a good time

Julieta goes to the bar, as she said she would. Nadia, meanwhile, goes down a back hallway and goes out the back door.

It's actually a cool night in San Felipe. It is still January, which means that, every once in a while, there's a chill in the air. Nadia guesses the temperature's dropped to the low 50s and probably will drop further. Of course, it doesn't help that the sweat she's generated from dancing is coming into contact with the cool air, causing her to feel even chillier.

She walks out to the edge of the parking lot at the rear of the nightclub, where the pavement meets the sand. She stops and takes off her heels...walking in heels in the sand is generally not a wise idea. Now barefoot, she holds the heels in her left hand, adjusting her purse that's hanging off her left shoulder with her right hand. Then, she starts walking along the beach.

She heads towards the water, then turns left and starts heading up the shoreline. About a hundred yards ahead, she spots the first lifeguard shack north of the Beachcomber Nightclub. The shack stands up on 6 foot stilts, which is plenty of room for Nadia and her mother to stand under without crouching.

This is where her mother, Irina Derevko, is supposed to be. Only there's just one problem...Nadia can't see her.

Nadia starts looking around, but can't see her at all. She starts to panic...has Irina skipped out on the meeting? Or worse, has she been compromised somehow?

Nadia catches herself, mulling over her use of words there as she was thinking. "Or worse". She's not sold on Irina yet, but still feels dread over the possibility of Irina dying before she can live up to her end of the bargain. At first, Nadia just shrugs it off as worry that, without Irina's information, her and her family will continue to be in peril. But just as soon as she brushes it away, it hits her again. That sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that comes with dread. She realizes that she's concerned about more than Irina living up to her word. Nadia's concerned about...Irina.

She's beaten back so many emotions about her mother. But as the moment of truth approaches, she's finding it's harder to keep those emotions at bay.

Nadia finally makes it underneath the lifeguard shack, having slowed down as she got lost in thought just know. She should know better than to get sloppy like that, losing her focus like that. Even though Irina is her mother, Irina is also a trained killer. Nadia looks around again. No witnesses. Darkness. A perfect spot for a quick and silent kill.

"Hello, Nadia."

Nadia lets out a little shriek as she turns around behind her, where Irina Derevko is standing, just under the walkway that leads above her to the shack.

Once her shock wears off, Nadia realizes Irina must have just teleported right behind her. Nadia studies Irina for a bit. Irina's facial frostbite scars reflect in the moonlight, but otherwise, Irina looks calm and actually happy to see Nadia. Besides that, Irina's dressed in all-black, which would make her tough to spot, especially if she was wearing the black mask that she's holding in her right hand.

Irina also takes the time to study Nadia's elegance tonight. She lets out a little chuckle. "My, my...you truly are my daughter. You remind me so much of myself at your age."

Nadia looks down at her dress. "I'm actually 33 now...but I still look like I did when I died at the age of 27."

Irina nods. "I see. I remember Mary telling me years ago that she doesn't age anymore in Elysium. Anyway, that's besides the point. You look beautiful."

Nadia reluctantly allows a small smile to form on her face. "Thank you."

Irina smiles wider. "You're welcome. What's your cover?"

"Ladies night at the nightclub. Julieta's still there."

Irina keeps smiling. "Ah, Julieta. Good to hear she made it back from purgatory."

With a sneer, Nadia asks "Why do you care?"

"I got to know her a little. Nice lady. Sad story."

"I can't help be be a little responsible for that story. She was still lost until I arrived in Elysium."

"She told me you took her under your wing...as she did you growing up..."

A hasty Nadia cuts Irina off. "Yeah, well, it's in the past now."

"I'm pleased you've agreed to meet with me."

Nadia looks back towards the nightclub, making sure she wasn't followed. "Mom, just because I'm here doesn't mean I trust you. I had to be convinced to come here."

Irina's smile disappears and a look of wonder forms on her face as she leans on a wood stilt. "Was it Mary that convinced you?"

Nadia shakes her head. "No." Nadia then looks Irina dead in the eyes. "It was Sydney."

Irina immediately grows concerned. "Sydney is here?"

"No, no. I talked to her on Earth."

"You didn't tell her everything, did you? Mary was always coy about what happened in Elysium, and I figured there was a reason for that."

"I didn't tell her everything, only that you recently appeared and you're helping us." Nadia then takes a deep breath. "She doesn't hold a grudge against you, Mom."

Irina lets a small smile crease her face. "I was afraid she would. She has a lot of her father in her. Jack died with so many grudges, I think he lost track of them all."

"Mom, I need to know something...about the last few months of your life."

Irina's smile disappears. "You want to know why I wanted to become immortal and destroy two cities with nuclear missiles."

"Yes!"

Irina stops leaning on the stilt. "Nadia, when you were born, you were placed on my lap. You were crying and crying and kicking and I..."

A now trembling Nadia stops her. "Mom, please don't do this..."

"...I looked down at you. I was so scared of getting bonded with you because I knew they were just going to take you away. So I slowly moved my hand towards you. Do you know what you did?"

Nadia shakes her head and starts pacing. "Mom, please!"

"You grabbed my finger. And you put it into your mouth and started sucking on it like a pacifier." Irina pauses, composing herself.

Nadia's also fighting the tears back herself. "Stop this, please! Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I knew then that I loved you. And I know you loved me...I saw it in your eyes before you were snatched away from me. I never saw you again until I saw you on the plane, a grown woman."

"You loved me...and yet, you left me in Soviet Union custody! You abandoned me!"

A suddenly defiant Irina snaps "I did NOT abandon you! I did what was right."

"By letting me grow up in an Argentine orphanage?"

Irina manages to keep her usual cool when a normal woman would have been more jumpy. "Yes. I didn't want you to have my life. You would have been on the run with me, in constant danger. You would have learned to be like me, and I didn't want that for you."

Nadia lets a tear fall down her eye. "You're my mom! You're right, I did love you! I would have followed you anywhere and done whatever you wanted of me because daughters do what their mothers say! When I got to APO and I heard that you had died, I was angry. I was angry because someone killed my mother, the woman that gave me life! I defended you, I stood up for you, and when you were found, I BELIEVED in you! I believed in you because you're my mom! And you betrayed me when you were doing what you were doing in the end! You betrayed Sydney..."

"But Sydney appears to have has forgiven me."

Nadia takes a quick, deep breath. "Sydney thinks you were possessed in the end...that you weren't yourself."

Irina takes a deep breath. "Mary would give me updates on how you were doing. That was part of our agreement. I left you in Argentina because I wanted you to have a chance at a happy life. And when Mary told me about your wedding, I knew that goal was fulfilled. You were happy. I had nothing to worry about. But at the same time, I could never be in your life or Sydney's. I accepted that, and started to focus on the only thing that was left for me. When I left you in Russia, I set out on a mission for Rambaldi's endgame. After you were born, when I wasn't thinking about my daughters, the endgame consumed my life. And I did not plan on destroying cities. But I had invested everything I could into the pursuit, and I was broke. By acquiring Sloane's nuclear missiles for free, I'd have two very valuable assets to put on the market."

Nadia shakes her head disappointingly. "So, you still would have let those missiles end up in the wrong hands."

"It was a flawed theory, yes. But Sydney was right. I wasn't myself, especially after I got the Horizon. I've had nothing but time to reflect on my life while buried in ice in Hell, and I realize that I was wrong in the end. I also realized that the Horizon poisoned my mind. It made me arrogant and delusional. Even Jack can say that I'm a lot of things, but arrogant and delusional aren't one of them. Nadia, I was completely out of control."

Nadia lets out a sigh, not relieved, but not discouraged either. A breath just to release some tension. "Sydney suspected that. She even said you thanked Dad for killing you."

Irina lets out a laugh. "Jack as your father...I'll admit that, when Mary told me, I couldn't believe it."

"How do you think I felt? I died believing in a father that wasn't my father!"

"I know. We'll get to him in a bit. But getting back to Jack, I was relieved he killed me. If I were to go through with what I thought was immortality, I'd have to kill Sydney. And Nadia...I couldn't do it. When I was looking down at Sydney, pointing a gun at her head, for a moment, I regained control of my senses. And when Jack made the decision on my future for me, I was relieved. I wasn't happy with what I had become, and I hoped that I could bury the grief I had over leaving you and Sydney behind and time would just end. Turns out all you have nothing but time in Hell. The worst feeling was creating two beautiful, wonderful daughters and knowing you had nothing to do with how they turned..."

Nadia buries her head in her right hand. She can't take it anymore. She sniffles and lets the tears she's been holding in her eyes go. She doesn't sob, but the repeated sniffles don't hide her grief. Nadia knows Irina was a criminal in life. But even though all the defiance she had tried to fight her emotions for Irina off, in the end she failed. She wanted her mother more than anything when she was growing up. She wanted to be with her when she joined APO. And everything Irina said, and the way she said it, screams to Nadia that it's not worth it to hate her mother anymore. Part of her wonders if Irina is truly that devious to weaken Nadia like this. But she doesn't need to look any farther than Sydney, the best judge of character she knows. Sydney believed her mother still loved her, deep down inside. When in doubt, trust your big sister. And if Sydney still believes in Irina...

Meanwhile, Irina has a somber look on her face, like Nadia's grief is actually having an effect on her. That's because it is. She pulls out a tissue, having prepared for this already. "Hey, we're not going to that. You spent a lot of time looking nice tonight, you're going to ruin your makeup. Come on." She then holds out the tissue for a crying Nadia to take.

Nadia looks up and takes the tissue. She immediately wipes off her eyes and starts to compose herself again.

Irina smirks and says "Don't say I never did anything for you."

Nadia actually laughs at that. But, as she continues cleaning herself up, she realizes it's time for Irina to start doing what she promised she'd do. "Ok. But you are going to have to start doing something for me. Mom, we need to talk about the rest of your group. You said you'd tell us the locations of them all and help us track them down."

Irina nods, but a look of reluctance forms on her face. "Well, that's become a little harder since I agreed to our deal."

That doesn't go over well with Nadia at all. "Mom, what are you saying? Don't start backing off on us!"

"I'm not. But since my deal started, I've lost track of Sloane and Kelly."

"Lost track?"

"Arvin hasn't shown up to our meets the past couple days. I've been searching for him, using his known whereabouts and places I know he'd go. But there's not a trace of him, and I have to be careful when I'm out and about because of my scars."

"Mom, we can help you with those scars..."

"No. Elena will get suspicious. That's a trick we weren't taught by Paris."

"What about Kelly? Mary told me that she was overseeing the cartel army."

"Yes...she was. But I went to check in on the cartel members yesterday and they told me she just up and vanished in the middle of the night. There's been no trace of her, and I don't know her all that well, otherwise I'd be looking for her, too."

"Mom! Do you realize what Rambadli and Il Credo Divino are going to say when I tell them..."

"That's why you're not going to tell them. At least, not right away. Give me some time on that."

"How long?"

"I don't know. Couple of days maybe. Mary knows, and she's agreed to stay quiet about it."

"You say you know where the cartel army is, then?"

"Yes. They're at Francisco Alvarado's former compound in Campeche. They haven't moved, and I doubt they'll relocate. They're secluded and even those idiots believe that's a good thing in their situation. They can't teleport...they're all too dense to even begin to figure out how. But they're getting restless. They've been on me to get them weapons. I'd take care of that problem before anything else if I were you."

"Tom's talking with an organization called the 'True Irish' about getting their assistance."

"Il Credo Divino won't help?"

Nadia stops short of telling Irina that they won't participate in offensives, just in the outside chance Irina would relay that to Sloane and Elena. "Apparently not."

Irina appears to buy it. "Well, IRA members have no love for Mexican cartels. Every IRA member I've talked to thinks Mexican cartels give them a bad name. I know, it's a stretch."

"We don't know what they are." Nadia looks away and takes a deep, worried breath. "I'm actually kind of afraid to tell Tom what you've told me."

"Why? Sounds like he's working on the problem."

Nadia turns back to Irina, still worried. "When Maria was taken, I think something inside Tom was...awoken. Tom has this side of him that scares me, and since all of this has been happening, he's felt like that he can't protect his family. He's getting restless, snappy, moody...although he's been happy today because we adopted Emilio..."

"Oh, congratulations. He's a good kid..."

"I know. We'll talk about that another time. But I'm worried that Tom's going to do something awful and get himself hurt."

Irina nods understandingly. "Nadia, why do men fight wars?"

"What? Why would you ask me that?"

"Because Tom is no different than any other man that has fought a war before. Men don't fight wars because they enjoy killing people. That's for sociopaths, and Tom's not a sociopath. When Tom was in the Anti-Cartel, he was just a villain to those who would be villains to the rest of the world. Men fight wars to serve a purpose that is greater than themselves. For most, it's for country. Others, it's pride. But in this case right here, Tom is fighting for something much more dear to him than a country. He's fighting for his family. And he's going to have to use the tools that he knows, the tools that made him a villain to villains, to succeed. You know what you need to do."

Nadia reluctantly says "You want me to tell him."

"I want you to tell him...then I want you to get out of his way and let him do what he needs to do. If you don't, he'll resent you. He's a fighter. Let him fight."

That answer doesn't soothe Nadia much. She doesn't like when Tom channels the darkness that lies within him. But Irina is right: he's going to need to channel that darkness to succeed, because that's the only way he knows how to defeat the cartel army. Plus, she's just worried in general something bad's going to happen to Tom if he proceeds with going after the cartel army.

But there's one more person Nadia needs to know about, and this is the one person she really came here for. "Ok...what about Elena?"

"I have a hunch on where she could be, but I can't confirm it yet."

"Where do you think she is?"

Irina pauses, noting how insistent Nadia is and knowing Nadia's past with Elena. She doesn't want Nadia going after Elena half-cocked. "I have to find out for myself. She's still been showing up to the meets and, based on what I can tell, she's just as mystified about Sloane and Kelly as I am. I know when she's hiding something, and she's not hiding anything when it comes to those two."

"Maybe this can give you a chance to get closer to Elena..."

"Yeah right. The day me and Elena are even remotely close is the day Russia becomes tropical. I can't even fake it with her, she'll see right through it."

Nadia feels a little disappointed about that, but still determined to get information on Elena. "Mom, you said you love me. And you joked that I couldn't say you didn't do anything for me. But if you want to do something good for me, you need find out where Elena is hiding."

"Nadia, I'll try...but I can't force it with Elena. She'll know what I'm doing right away. I have to be careful."

Nadia forms a sneer on her face. "You do what you have to do. But above all else, I want Elena."

"Why's that?"

"Because I'm going to kill her."

San Felipe, Mexico (Elysium...a few hours later)

Tom and Nadia are back home from their respective fact-finding missions, and each one of them is tucking a child into bed. Nadia's tucking Maria to bed while Tom's helping Emilio into his bed for his first night as an official member of the Falk household.

Tom and Nadia spent some time debriefing each other over what they learned. Neither went into major detail for various reasons. Tom because he has yet to meet Owen Schroeder, Nadia because she just doesn't want to open up about her feelings for her mother. Even though they're husband and wife, they both know not to reveal pieces of the puzzle...you reveal the whole puzzle. Neither felt they needed the other's advice in this matter. And both of them realized there's more to each other's story.

But right now, both are just worried about getting the kids to bed.

From the other room, Tom hears Nadia singing something to Maria. Maria always enjoys hearing her mother sing about some fairy tale or just singing about something beautiful. Nadia's singing voice has a calming effect on Maria and helps her go to sleep almost every time.

On the other hand, Emilio likes a story read to him. He usually goes to sleep just fine, but he can be a total bear in the morning to wake up.

Emilio hops into bed and lets Tom drape his covers over him. Emilio adjusts a bit to get comfortable, especially since this is the first time in this bed. He notes "This bed feels funny."

Tom curiously asks "How so?"

"It's soft! I feel like I'm sinking!"

Tom laughs. He forgot that Emilio's used to the rather firm beds at the orphanage or the airbed he's been sleeping on the past few nights. "You'll get used to it. I guarantee you that this bed will me much more comfortable than what you're used to."

Emilio looks at the book in Tom's hand. "What are you going to read to me?"

Tom holds up the book and shows Emilio the cover. It's "The Pied Piper", the book that Rambaldi mysteriously gave to Tom via Laurent. It's no accident Tom chose this book. He wants to know just why Rambaldi felt the need to give it to him. With Rambaldi, there's always a hidden meaning in just about anything he says and does.

Tom takes the time to read the story slowly, helping Emilio along when there's a word or phrase he doesn't understand. The book itself is old and filled with old lingo. He also takes the time to show Emilio all the pictures and explain what they're doing in the pictures. Tom's a good storyteller, as evidenced by Emilio enjoying the story so far.

Tom reads about the town's plight with the rats, the pied piper's offer, and gets to the good part.

And it's at that good part when Tom suddenly realizes why Rambaldi gave him the book:

"And out of the houses the rats came tumbling.

Great rats, small rats, lean rats, brawny rats,

Brown rats, black rats, grey rats, tawny rats,

Grave old plodders, gay young friskers,

Fathers, mothers, uncles, cousins,

Cocking tails and pricking whiskers,

Families by tens and dozens,

Brothers, sisters, husbands, wives—

Followed the Piper for their lives.

From street to street he piped advancing,

And step for step they followed dancing,

Until they came to the river Weser

Wherein all plunged and perished!"

Tom stops reading there. The gears in his head are turning. Suddenly, it becomes clear for Tom why Rambaldi gave him the book:

The cartel army are the rats, and Tom needs to be the Pied Piper. With the True Irish likely not participating in an offensive, Tom, and Tom alone, needs to lure the cartel army out of their home base in Campeche and take them out somewhere else. Somewhere the rats would be familiar with. Somewhere where the True Irish will be waiting. And Tom knows the perfect place to lead those cartel rats to, and he knows the True Irish will be of good use for their demise.

"Hey, you're not done with the story!"

Tom's concentration is broken as he turns back to Emilio, who's anxious to read the rest of the story.

Tom reads the rest of the story, which goes on to tell how the town welched on their agreement to pay the piper what they had promised him for taking the rats out of town and how the piper got revenge by luring the children out of town. The moral of the story, as Tom accentuated for Emilio, was that if you make a promise to someone, you have to honor that promise.

Emilio, satisfied by the story, turns to his side and gets ready for sleep.

Tom asks "Do you need a nightlight?"

Emilio shakes his head. "No, it's too bright!"

"Well, if you need anything, you know where me and Nadia are."

"Ok. Good night, Daddy."

Tom cracks a touched smile at that. Emilio just called him "daddy". His first night as a member of the family and already completely accepted Tom as his father.

Tom stands up from the side of the bed, pulls the covers up a little more, pats Emilio on the back a bit, and humbly says "Good night, son."

Emilio cracks the slightest of smiles after Tom says those words. Tom notices, and can't help but smile himself.

Tom quietly exits the room, leaving Emilio's door cracked slightly so he can see his way out if he needs to get up for anything.

As he steps out of Emilio's room, almost right on cue, Nadia steps out of Maria's room. They exchange glances before Nadia, already in a nightgown, asks "Are you coming to bed?"

Tom shakes his head. "Nah, I'm going to go watch some TV for a bit. I'll be in in a while."

"Ok. I love you."

"Love you too, babe."

Nadia goes into the bedroom and Tom sees the light go out after Nadia closes the door.

Meanwhile, Tom doesn't go to the living room. Instead, he heads for the garage.

The Pied Piper of Mexico had to go into the garage to get his fiddle.

Two hours after going to bed, Nadia wakes up for the first time. She notices that Tom's arm is not around her. Usually, when they do go to bed, Tom has his arm around her for at least a little while. So it's odd to her that his arm is missing.

She rolls over to face Tom and goes to put her arm around him. Only there's just one problem.

Tom's not there.

She sits up and asks in the darkness "Tom?" There's no answer.

Nadia gets up out of bed and walks to the door. She turns on the bedroom light and sees she's the only one in the room. She starts to get concerned...Tom usually is in bed by now.

So she turns off the lights and heads down the hallway, lit only by a lone night light on her right side. She checks Maria's bedroom and sees she's fast asleep with no one else with her. She then check's Emilio's room and sees the same thing. Just Emilio sleeping soundly.

Nadia walks through the end of the hallway and into the living room and sees the TV is off, the lights off, and no one on the couch. She pauses and looks around, wondering where the hell he could have gone off to.

Suddenly, she faintly hears the sound of metal being scraped on something. Nadia looks forward and realizes it's coming from the garage.

She walks forward through the living room, past the kitchen and front door, and opens the door to the garage.

Nadia immediately spots Tom off to the left, sharpening an axe with a flat sharpening stone on a work bench. He pays her no mind as he continues scraping the edge of the axe, trying to sharpen it.

Nadia walks up to Tom, but before she asks what he's doing, she recognizes the axe.

This is not any axe. This is THE axe. The light wooden handle is bloodstained, the chrome axe featuring various nicks and scratches on it. This is the axe Tom used on the Lobos Rabiosos after Matt Aguero died. She only has seen this axe once before, when Tom threatened Edmond Keyes with it at the beginning of his Project Nadia conquest.

A very worried Nadia asks "Tom, what are you doing?"

Tom scrapes the flat side of his rock on the edge of the axe, and then does it again, acting as if she's not even there. He's deeply lost in thought.

"Tom! Talk to me!"

Tom pauses for a bit, but doesn't take his attention off of the axe. "Go back to bed, I'll be in in a bit."

Nadia shakes her head, looking back at the axe. "Tom, what are you doing with that axe?"

Tom non-nonchalantly replies "I'm sharpening it. What does it look like?"

"It looks like you're getting ready to use that axe on someone."

Tom lets out a couple of deep, almost sinister chuckles. "I just realized something. I never formally introduced you to my axe."

Nadia gives Tom a disturbed look. "Introduced? I saw it in Zurich!"

Tom turns to look at Nadia for the first time since she stepped in the garage. "Nadia, this is more than your average axe. This is Little Justine."

Nadia doesn't change her disturbed look. "What are you talking about?"

Tom looks back at he axe and goes back to sharpening it. "I named this axe 'Little Justine' after my first girlfriend. Little Justine Kelley. I never told you about Justine, did I?"

Nadia shakes her head. "No, you haven't."

Tom nods, keeping his focus on the axe. "Well, you told me about Paolo, so I guess I should tell you about my first crush. Little Justine...that's what they used to call her in school. They called her that because she never grew any taller than 5'0. She was cute, in her own little way. Short, dark brown hair that she always had tied up in a little ponytail that never made it to her neck. Bright blue eyes, and always wore this devilish smirk on her face. Feisty, too. Oh, she was a firecracker. And in 7th grade, when I started looking at girls the way boys do at that age, I wanted her. I wanted her so bad. I was attracted to her looks and her attitude. I thought we could have a lot of fun together, being the hellraiser that I was at that age." Tom then turns to Nadia with a smirk. "Guess I have a thing for short, dark-haired hellraisers, huh?"

Nadia rolls her eyes, trying to play along with Tom, but still worried about his state of mind. "Yeah, yeah. I was a lot like Justine at her age. But, wasn't your first wife a blonde?"

Tom lets out a chuckle, then resumes scraping away on his axe. "Not a natural blonde, but yeah. She was also a short and a little spunky. Anyway, now that we've established that I have a 'type', let's get back to the story. So, I started hanging out with Justine and doing all sorts of stupid shit with her. We had a favorite pastime. We'd break into sheds, steal tools, and then go around to the junkyard and start smashing windows. Why? Because, at that age, it was fun! My grandparents, Edward and Violet, hated her. Even Eddie told me that she was no good. But I was so blinded by the fun I was having with her. And those eyes...man, she had eyes that you could just get lost in for days. So, one day, we're just sitting by the creek, eating apples that we had stolen from an orchard earlier, when suddenly she kisses me. Out of nowhere, she kisses me and literally rams her tongue down my throat. We were each other's first kiss. And when you're a boy that age and you're passionately making love to a woman like that, you start imagining things in the future. I thought she was the one. But, that didn't last long at all."

Nadia, who's actually intrigued by this story, asks "What happened?"

"Two weeks later, I find her kissing Joey Malone behind school. Turns out that I wasn't her first kiss at all, and she had the reputation for being a bit of a slut. While Joey's laughing his ass off at me, I'm verbally tearing her a new asshole until the principal dragged me away from there. I held a grudge against her for a long time until she just didn't matter anymore. But, that's not why I named my axe 'Little Justine'. Do you want to know why?"

Nadia stirs a bit. "I'm not sure I do, but you're probably going to tell me anyway."

"Well, eventually, she stopped whoring around and settled down with this real dooshbag named Cory Doria. Tall, lanky bastard who had a swagger that Justine just loved. They dated through senior year of high school and even got married two years later. Of course, not long after that, my sister Karen, who stayed back in Bunker when I left for Los Angeles, started hearing the stories of how Cory was beating Justine like a punching bag. Fitting, since Cory was actually training to be a boxer. Then, one night..." Tom starts laughing and stops scraping on the axe for a bit.

Nadia gives him another scared look. She knows this next part is going to be messy.

Tom finally settles down and continues. "Now, this is just the story that I heard, but knowing Justine, it's very plausible. One night, Cory goes to bed drunk on his ass as usual. Justine's crying in the living room, her eyes blackened, her lip swollen and cut from Cory beating on her again. She finally decides enough is enough. So, she goes out back, grabs an axe from the shed, walks back into the house and into the bedroom, and, without him knowing anything, buries an axe into his skull. And she doesn't stop there, oh no. She starts chopping him up into bits and pieces."

Nadia covers her gaping mouth. "Oh my god!"

"Yeah, I knew she had a temper, but I didn't know she had murder in that degree in her. The story goes that, after she's exhausted of chopping him up, she walks to the kitchen, drinks the rest of the beer in the fridge, waits til sunrise, and then gives herself up to police. The whole town knew he was beating her and the whole town knew she hated his guts, so she realized she had no chance fighting this or running away. She was the only logical person with a motive, he was actually liked in town, believe it or not. Plus, she had no one else to run to. And so, she decided prison was the safest place she could be. After she spent some time in the psych ward, she's transferred to general population at the Bonne Terre prison, where she's spending the rest of a life sentence. Last I heard, she became a lesbian."

Nadia sarcastically remarks "Oh wonderful." Nadia then looks back down at the axe apprehensively. "So, you named your axe after your axe-murdering first girlfriend."

Tom goes back to scraping the axe. "I thought it was appropriate, since I was out for vengeance myself when I bought it."

Nadia sighs and turns away. "Tom, why are you sharpening your axe? You can't take on the cartel army by yourself!"

"I know. Call it security, I guess. After I talk to the True Irish, I plan on having it with me when I encounter the army. Those men know this axe very well. And I've got a perfect plan in mind for dealing with them."

A frightened Nadia asks "What are you going to do?"

Tom turns to Nadia slowly with an evil smirk on his face. "I'm going to re-introduce the world to Halcon Diablo."

END OF CHAPTER