VENDETTA

"Peace does not include a vendetta; there will be neither winners nor losers." -Ahmed Ben Bella

Tuscany, Italy (Elysium)

The last image Jack had of Emily Sloane before today was her lying face-up in a mortuary, her skin was white and lifeless as the expression on her face.

It was one day after Marcus Dixon accidentally sniped Emily in the field outside her Tuscany home. Dixon wanted to kill Sloane, and when conditions are right, Dixon doesn't miss. But a helicopter flew over his head at the moment he shot, causing his shot to veer ever so slightly.

It was enough to kill Emily, who was just trying to flee for her life.

In her final hours, Emily was conflicted on the subject of Arvin Sloane, her husband of many years. She loved him so much, she even took part in his elaborate ruse when SD-6 fell. However, she grew suspicious of Sloane when Irina Derevko suddenly re-entered their lives. She turned herself in to the American consulate in Florence. She agreed with Sydney to cooperate against Sloane, but when the moment of truth arose, she decided to try to flee with Sloane.

And then what happened...happened.

Now, here they stand. Emily is still in Owen Schroeder's clutches and afraid for her life...much like she was before she died.

As for Jack, news of her death was one of the toughest things he had to deal with. He liked Emily and didn't have a bad thought in his mind about her. She was one of many innocent deaths that Arvin Sloane played a part in. Unlike Arvin, she wasn't evil in heart. She wasn't always scheming and conspiring like Arvin did. She was an intelligent woman who just couldn't see past her love for the man she thought Arvin was and stuck around the man Arvin actually is to her unfortunate demise.

Tom, who had no dealings with Emily before, asks Jack "This is Arvin's WIFE?"

Jack nods, his thoughts broken up. "Yes. The girl is his daughter."

Tom gives Jack a very confused look. "Arvin doesn't have a freaking daughter! Well...not anymore."

Jacqueline yells at Tom "The name's Jacqueline, thank you very much! And yeah, I'm Arvin's daughter. Sorry to disappoint."

Jack corrects Tom. "She died during childbirth. That's why you didn't know about her."

Tom studies Jacqueline for a little. As much as he hates to think about it, Jacqueline takes a lot after her father visually, although she's got Emily's jawline. Her attitude is very independent, but not slimy like her father's. Jacqueline wears her emotions on her sleeve and wears her long and wavy brunette hair halfway down her back. Like Arvin, she's not very tall. Unlike Arvin, she's actually pretty good looking. She's also maybe an inch taller than Nadia at the most.

Now it's Emily's turn to yell at Jacqueline. "Calm down! Do you realize who you're talking to?"

Jacqueline flashes her mother a defiant look. "He's another goon like the rest of them...like that guy that's holding you!"

As Owen gives Jacqueline an offended glance, Emily relaxes. "No. He's Tom Falk."

Jacqueline gazes back at Tom, who's still absorbing all of this. Jacqueline squints as she studies him, as if disapproving of him. "You're not what I expected."

Tom raises a curious eyebrow. "What, were you expecting Sasquatch?"

Jacqueline shakes her head. "I...don't know what I was expecting, but it sure wasn't a stumpy and obnoxious guy like you!"

The rest of the True Irish, including Owen, have a laugh over that. Tom, meanwhile, just glares at her incredulously. "Who do you think you're talking to, lady?"

Jacqueline sneers "The brute who killed my father."

Tom walks up to Jacqueline and waves a finger in her face. "Ok, wait a second here. One: me, Jack, Nadia, and Sydney killed your father. I just turned him into a human ragdoll before he died. And he freaking earned it, don't you forget it! Two: I wish I could take credit for killing that waste of carbon, but I'm a little more democratic than that. And three: I enjoyed every second of what I did to him. But I was sad in the end...sad that I could only kill him once. I killed him to avenge my dead wife. Now that he's on the loose, maybe I can kill him for my unborn daughter that he killed."

Jacqueline hangs her head, appearing sad over Tom's recounting of what Sloane did to Nadia and Maria. "I'm sorry all that happened, I am. But..."

"Are you really? How the hell can I trust a spawn of Arvin Sloane?"

Before Jacqueline can answer, Jack gives Tom a very snappy "Enough!" Jack realizes that Tom's badgering isn't helping.

Tom gives Jack a petulant glare. "Jack, don't ask me to be rational on the subject of Arvin Sloane."

"I know you can't be rational, so I'm asking you to shut the hell up!"

Tom lets out a sigh, but still keeps a sneer on his face as he walks back next to Jack.

Jack ignores Tom's downright childish attitude and looks back at Emily. "You'll have to excuse Tom. He still gets tense when it comes to Arvin..."

Emily shakes her head. "It's alright. I understand."

Jack gives Emily a humbled smile. "I'm sorry to be seeing you again under these circumstances."

Emily looks at Tom warily, then at the rest of the True Irish, then back at Jack. "So you're not here to hurt us?"

Tom snaps "We're not monsters like your..."

Jack gets in Tom's face. "Another word out of you and..."

"You'll...what? Don't forget who you're talking to! I'm the immortal one here..."

Owen, from behind Emily, decides to be the voice of reason, and the voice of reason sounds very Irish. "Hey Tom, let the man speak, alright? I think you've just about wore out that soapbox of yours!"

Tom flashes Owen an angry look. He's obviously amped up in the presence of fellow Sloanes. Tom never could seem to control himself when around Arvin Sloane or even talking about him. Time clearly hasn't fixed that glitch and apparently it's still in effect around Emily and Jacqueline.

Jack says "Thank you, Owen." Then, once Tom visibly calms down, Jack looks back at Emily. "Could we talk inside, please?"

Emily quickly fires back "What are you doing here? We're just living a peaceful life here and want to be left alone. But you bring a raiding party..."

Owen speaks up. "We're not a raiding party. My men are armed for their protection because we think Arvin might be using this place as a hideout."

Emily lowers her head and suddenly looks afraid to say something.

Jack definitely notices. "Emily? You've seen Arvin?"

Jacqueline tries to whisper through her teeth "Mom!"

Emily looks over at Jacqueline worried, then back at Jack. "I think we should have that talk." Emily looks back at Owen. "Could you let me go, please?"

Jack walks up to her and looks up at Owen as he does. "It's alright Owen, I've got her." Jack grabs Emily's arm and Owen lets go. The two walk inside.

As the door closes behind them, Tom starts looking around. "I'm going on another sweep."

Jacqueline snickers. "The Big Bad Wolf...going hunting for my dad, huh?"

Tom gives Jacqueline an incredulous look. "Well, look at the big brain on Jackie! What else could I be doing? Picking turnips from your garden?"

"You won't find him, he's not here."

"I'll take my chances. I trust you about as much as I'd trust a Ford Pinto in a demolition derby."

"Fine, have it your way. But you'll find out a lot more from me than on your little 'sweep'."

Tom cracks a devilish smirk at her. She does have a trait that's very reminiscent of her father's: defiance. She may be more blunt than her father, but the traits are there. But it's that bluntness that makes Tom curious about whether 'Jackie' would actually tell the truth about her father.

Tom gazes at Owen. "Walk the princess back to the garden with me." Tom then looks back at Jacqueline with that devilish smirk. "A casual conversation with a Sloane. This should be fun."

Tom starts heading back to the back of the house, with Owen escorting Jacqueline. She goes downright obediently and not kicking and screaming. This surprises Tom a bit.

About halfway back, Jacqueline loudly whispers "If you want me to say anything, get me a notepad."

Tom turns back to Jacqueline and doesn't completely stop, but slows down. "What did you say?"

She whispers again "Get...me...a...notepad."

Tom gives her an incredulous look. "Why would I..."

That's when Jacqueline screams "I'M NOT GOING TO SAY ANYTHING TO YOU!" She then points to herself, then makes a hand motion like she's writing something and insistently leans her head towards her hand. Jacqueline then looks up at a window on the second floor, where there's no one. She looks back at Tom and cups her hand around her right ear. She mouths "He could be listening."

Tom can't help but actually be impressed with Jacqueline's craftiness right now...another trait that she shares with her father. But she also just gave up the fact that Arvin Sloane is either there or is nearby. Perhaps Jacqueline will cooperate. So, he decides to play along. He looks up at Owen and sarcastically says "Take the Royal Highness near the tomatoes. I'm going to go get something that's going to make this spawn of Satan talk."

Jacqueline sneers at Tom, and then winks, acknowledging that she's playing along. Tom winks back, then disappears to go fetch a notepad.

Inside the home, Emily leads Jack towards the dining area, with Jack still holding on to her to make sure she doesn't skip away. All the while, Jack is quickly scanning the villa to get any glimpse of Arvin he can. But there are no signs of Arvin anywhere.

The villa is set up to be very rustic looking. All of the furniture and paintings are very indicative of that region of Italy. Except for a couple pictures of Emily and Jacqueline, Jack wouldn't have even thought that Arvin Sloane owned this place before. Oh, and there's no pictures of Arvin anywhere, either.

As they get into the kitchen, Emily asks "Would you like something to drink?"

Jack replies "No, thank you. I don't believe I'll be here very long."

Emily stops and looks down at Jack's hand clutching her right arm. She remains very calm. "Could you please let go of me?"

"If I let you go, you could flee."

Emily looks up at Jack's eyes. "I'd give you more credit than that, Jack. Besides, I have nothing to hide and I won't abandon Jackie."

Jack looks down at Emily's arm and lets go as he sighs. It's against his best wishes, but Emily has earned some slack, being who she was in life.

Emily rubs her arm a bit and says with a laugh "That iron grip of yours sure hasn't lost any of its potency over the years."

Jack looks at her with a guilty look on his face after hearing her laugh. "Emily, about what happened to you years ago..."

Emily shakes her head and turns humble. "You don't have to say anything. I know Marcus didn't target me. He was too good of a man."

"He was targeting Arvin, but a helicopter..."

"Like I said, Jack, you don't have to say anything. It was just a terrible situation for everyone involved and it was a situation I should have removed myself from a long time before. But sometimes, our loyalty is what kills us, right? Look at Tom out there after all."

"Sydney was devastated after what happened to you. Quite frankly, so was I. You know I had nothing but respect for you."

Emily smiles at Jack. "I know. I always enjoyed having you and Laura...well, before she did what she did...over for our afternoon teas. And Sydney turned out to be a wonderful friend. If anything, I was the most sad over the fact that I broke her heart by not doing what she wanted to me to do."

"I'll forward her your sentiments. She'll be glad to know you're doing alright."

Emily this time smiles a toothy smile. "Alright? Jack, I have my daughter back. Sure, she's a little rebellious, but I'm happier with her in my life than I was with Arvin. Really, I'm fine."

"I'm glad to hear that." Jack then pauses and takes a deep breath in through his nose. "Emily, you know why I'm here."

Emily nods as her smile disappears. "You're looking for Arvin. He's not here."

"Has he been here before today?"

As if she was expecting that question, she shakes her head. "I haven't seen him. If I had, I certainly would have told you outside." Suddenly, Emily turns away and Jack can't see that she's a ball of nerves right now. "Are you sure you don't want anything to drink?"

Jack suspects that Emily is hiding something. Her voice started to shake when she asked Jack if he wanted something to drink again. "Emily, you don't have to protect him anymore. He holds no power over you..."

Emily quickly turns on her feet. "I said he's not here! I hate that man more than you do and if he was here or had been here, I would have told you already!" Emily then holds her forehead like she's got a headache. Maybe she does have one.

Jack goes to speak, but then bites his tongue and relents. Instead, he tries to say "Emily..."

...but get cuts off by Emily herself. "Jack, please don't make this into an interrogation. I don't want to even think about Arvin, much less be grilled by you over him. Just leave me and my daughter alone...tell those men outside to leave us alone. Please."

"I was just going to say that I'll leave you alone. But if you do have anything you want to say..." Jack grabs a napkin from the kitchen counter and pulls out a pen. He writes a phone number on the napkin. "...please give me a call. Even if you just want to talk and catch up. I'd like that very much. You're not an enemy to me and I won't treat you like one."

Emily nods as she starts fighting back tears. "I know. Please, just go."

They both look outside suddenly when they hear Jacqueline yelling at Tom again.

While Jack and Emily were talking, Owen and Jacqueline both waited patiently for Tom to return with a notepad. They're in the garden, where they are partially obscured behind them by tall tomato vines, which is why Tom suggested they go to the tomatoes in the first place. From the house, you can tell there are people behind the vines, but you can't make out exactly what they're doing.

Jacqueline looks down at her arms and sees Owen's hands still gripping them. But unlike Jack's "iron grip", Owen's being downright delicate with her. In a calm voice, she says "Owen, right?"'

Owen innocently asks "Excuse me?"

"Your name is Owen, right?"

"That's right. What of it?"

Jacqueline's face turns humble as she brushes some of her brown hair out of her face. "I wanted to apologize if I offended you before."

Owen doesn't register her comment. "What do you mean?"

"When I called you a goon with the rest of your crew. You're not like the others."

Owen lets out a couple deep chuckles. "What makes you say that?"

"The way you carry yourself. The way you talked Tom down earlier. The way you're holding me now. There's a lot more to you, I can tell."

"Well, I'm flattered, ma'am." Owen looks behind him, then back at the top of Jacqueline's head. "Are you sure this is the right place and time to be talking like this?"

"If my dad's still in there, he's more worried about what Jack and my mom are talking about." Jacqueline then cranes her neck to try and look up at Owen. "Tell me about yourself."

"I'm really no good at talking about myself."

"Ok...tell me how a guy like you gets involved with the grunts that you, Tom and Jack brought with you."

"They're more than grunts, I'm afraid. I am the leader of the True Irish: a coalition of former Irish Republican Army soldiers who oppose the violent tactics that are being used in Northern Ireland to achieve peace...peace that will never come as long as our brothers and sisters are blowing each other up into mush."

"I thought the IRA was done."

"In name, yes. But the ideals and violence remain. My men were on the wrong side of that violence, as I was before I had a chance to even be born."

"So, you're a gang linked by a common bond."

"I wouldn't say we're a gang, really. We're not like the Mafia or the Blood and Crips or Latin Kings. I guess you could say we're more of a club. I give those guys support and a place to hang out and enjoy a life not shrouded in violence."

Jacqueline forms a wry smirk on her face. "I see. So, you've got brains to go with your beauty."

Owen lets out some flattered chuckles. Is this really happening? A woman who was spitting hellfire at Tom earlier is suddenly flirting with him? But as all that was taking place, Owen couldn't help but be kind of attracted to Jacqueline himself. She's a good looking gal who's got a lot of passion. Owen likes both in a woman. Against what he feels is his better judgment, he decides to play along. "You know, Jacqueline...Sloane is a Northern Irish last name."

"Is not! I always thought it was Scottish..."

"Maybe, maybe not. I know a couple other Sloanes, too. In fact, one of my True Irish compatriots back in Belfast is a Sloane. Good people, you ask me. I see you're no different."

Jacqueline cracks another smirk. "See, I knew you were special. Maybe when all of this blows over, we can..."

Tom reappears, and Jacqueline shuts up before she could proposition Owen further. Tom gives Jacqueline a smirk. "Well, I don't see any bite marks on Owen's arm, at least."

Jacqueline gives Tom a snicker. "Oh come on. I'm a trained kickboxer. I'd just kick Owen in the nards if I wanted to escape." This causes Owen to cringe a little.

Tom tosses Jacqueline the notepad, which has a pen attached in the spiral. As he does, he says "I'm sure Owen appreciates your consideration for his manhood. But now it's time you start helping me, toots."

Jacqueline opens the notepad and sees Tom's already written her a note: "I can tell you're not your dad. Play along with me, I won't mean what I say. When we're done, just drop the notepad on the ground and walk back with us. Thanks for your help. -Tom" Jacqueline looks back up at Tom and gives him a wink. For being so adversarial a few minutes ago, it seems the two have formed an understanding: they both hate Arvin Sloane and they'll help each other to stop him.

Tom folds his arms like he's ready to get to business. "Ok, let's get to it. Where the hell is your father?"

Jacqueline shakes her head, but starts writing on her notepad, which is propped up against her right leg. "I haven't seen him!"

"Bullshit! I saw you make that motion towards your mom. You're hiding something!"

"I made that motion because I don't want her saying something stupid! You know how my mom was about Arvin...it killed her!"

As Jacqueline makes her point, Jack steps around the corner of the front of the house and starts walking towards them concerned. Tom starts waving him back, causing Jack to stop, perhaps wondering if there's a trap more than believing Tom has the situation handled. He starts heading back to the front.

Tom continues when Jacqueline is done. "I've heard the stories. But even though she knew he was a lying, conniving prick, she still stuck by him to the bitter freaking end! So I don't exactly trust your mother, just like I don't trust the woman who has Arvin's blood flowing through her veins!"

"At least my father didn't get his entire team killed by tripping over a wire!"

Tom's face looks like he just got punched in the sternum. Jacqueline just gave him a low blow, even though he thought they had some sort of understanding. Tom's still horrified by what happened to Storm Crew in Torino: when he tripped over a wire he couldn't see while trying to rescue the doctor who would later be responsible for Project Alloy, which replaced much of Tom's upper body skeleton with titanium alloy.

Jacqueline takes a break from jotting down notes in her notepad, having noticed Tom went silent. She sees that last comment did some damage. She feels remorseful and mouths "Sorry..." at him. Tom decides that she just got caught up in the moment and was doing too good at her acting job. He gives her a wink back to let her know that he'll manage.

Jacqueline then laughs. "What's the matter? Hit a little below the belt there? Did I hurt the big bad Halcon Diablo's feelings?"

Tom goes back on the supposed attack. "Bitch, all that proved was that you have talked to your father at some point. So now that you've unzipped your fly, tell me, where's he hiding? Or am I going to have to become the Big Bad Wolf and start blowing the house down?"

"You don't think I know how to go on Earth and observe things? You don't think that maybe my mother can, too? You think that I'm just some oblivious little devil spawn who has no idea who you are and what you did? Wow, you really are a thick lump."

"Ok, this is freaking pointless. What am I going to have to do to you to get you to tell the truth about your piece of shit father?"

Jacqueline smirks as she completes her sentence and closes the notepad. "Nothing, because I know you don't hurt women."

Tom rolls his eyes and throws up his arms. "Oh the hell with this. Come on Owen, we'll be back another day."

Tom starts walking off. Owen lets go and starts walking away himself. Jacqueline goes to drop the notepad, but suddenly remembers something and opens the notepad back up. She quickly jots something down and rips the page off. Then, she drops the notepad again.

She jogs up to catch up with Owen and stuffs the ripped off page down his jeans pocket. As Owen gives her an astonished look, she whispers "That's for your eyes only." She then pushes Owen out of the way, yelling "get out of my way!" as storms past Owen and gets to the front, where Jack's waiting outside without Emily.

Tom shakes his head at Jack. "This one's about as stubborn as a decade-old donkey. Which is fitting since she's also an ass, too."

Jacqueline snaps "Look who's talking, ASS!"

Jack gives Tom a disappointed look, then looks back at Jacqueline. "We're sorry to bother you. I gave your mother my phone number. If you ever feel like talking, don't hesitate to call me."

Jacqueline just storms by Jack and slams the door behind her, not saying anything.

Jack then glares at Tom. "I guess that didn't go very well."

Tom smirks widely. "Quite the contrary. Meet me at your place in 5 minutes so we can debrief."

Jack just nods, suddenly encouraged a little, and teleports away.

Owen addresses the rest of the True Irish still around. "Guys, we're going to leave this house alone. We'll figure out our next stage later. Go home and get some rest, boys."

One of the men, a tall, well-built redhead, laughs. "You kidding me? I'll be at the tavern...right boys?" The rest of the men all voice their approval at that idea and start teleporting away.

Tom looks at Owen. "We'll go to Jack's place together. Stay here, I'm grabbing that notepad."

Los Angeles, California (Elysium)

Tom and Owen show up at Jack's kitchen right on cue. Jack is seated at the kitchen table, and conspicuous by their presence are Irina and Alec Derevko, who are standing behind Jack.

Tom's eyes lock with Irina's. He still doesn't trust her at all. "I forgot that you were still here."

Irina chuckles. "Hello to you, too."

Jack then says "Sit down. Irina's going to join us for our debrief."

Tom gives Jack a really incredulous look. "Um, Jack? You think that's a good idea?"

"I think she can be of some use to us. Besides, it's going to be awfully difficult for her to get a message to them if she doesn't have a cell phone and she can't leave without authorization."

Tom looks back at Irina. "I guess that doesn't apply to Nadia, now does it?"

Jack answers for Irina. "That situation...is being dealt with."

Irina tells Jack "There is no 'situation' there, Jack. I'm just getting to know my daughter better."

Tom tells Irina "If it were that simple, why does Nadia get hostile when I ask about what you two are talking about?"

"Beats me."

As Tom rolls his eyes in stonewalled dismay, Jack says "Sit down. We have more important things to talk about."

Tom sits across from Jack, with Owen sitting between the two.

Before they begin, Irina says to Owen "I don't believe we've been introduced."

Owen looks up at Irina a little suspiciously, well aware of the uncertainty that surrounds her. "Owen Schroeder, ma'am."

Irina smiles at Owen. "The fabled leader of the True Irish. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Irina Derevko."

Owen gives her a curt nod, then turns to Alec. Owen's not Alec's biggest fan from their dealings before, and from Alec's look on his face, the feeling's mutual. "It's been a while, Alec."

Alec shrugs. "I've been busy."

Jack is tired of the chit-chat and wants to get down to business. "Ok, Tom. You said you got something out of Jacqueline?"

Tom pulls out the notepad from his pocket and tosses it to him. "She's a clever girl. She acted like she hated my guts while, all the while, she saw eye-to-eye with me on Arvin Sloane. While we yelled at each other, she wrote all that down so Arvin wouldn't see her spilling the beans on him. She tells quite an interesting tale."

Jack flips open the notepad and reads Jacqueline's notes out loud. "My father is here. He's been here for a couple weeks now. He first showed up and my mother tried to take his head off. When he showed his gun, we became his hostages. If he's not in the house now, he's nearby. He is acting VERY bizarre, like he wants us to be a big happy family with a gun pointed at our heads! I hope you come back and get rid of him. I'm giving Owen my phone number so you can get a hold of me and we can plan on how you're going to kill my father. I hope to hear from you soon. Like, really soon."

Jack closes the notepad and looks over at Owen. "Do you have her number?"

Owen pulls out the piece of paper that Jacqueline stuffed down his jeans pocket. He opens it up and sees "Let's have coffee sometime.+39 06 55532329. Oh, and my friends call me Jackie. :)" He quickly folds the paper back up and tries not to blush. "Yeah, I've got it."

Jack looks back up at Irina. "What do you think?"

Irina slowly nods. "I think she's telling the truth. A couple weeks ago, before Arvin ordered the abduction, I noticed that Arvin had a cut above his eyebrow. Me and Elena tried to get him to tell us what happened and he said he fell while looking for the Elysian Council. I don't think either one of us bought that, and for a while afterward, he's snap at me if I asked him what he was doing in his free time. That must have been what he was up to, trying to make inroads with Emily again."

Tom asks Jack "Did Emily seem to have that loving feeling for Arvin?"

Jack shakes his head quickly. "Not at all. Something didn't feel right while I was there. Now, Jacqueline tells us they're hostages while Arvin hides out there and Irina says he's been working on this for a while."

Tom shakes his head in disapproval. "Nice to see Arvin still hasn't lost his twisted view on reality."

Jack nods, then looks back at Tom. "Good work getting Jacqueline's story. But I thought you were completely out of control with me and with the women. You let your malice for Arvin nearly ruin our mission..."

Irina decides to be Devil's Advocate. "Can you really blame him?" Irina looks back at Tom. "Emily's a good person. She's not like Arvin. Just a little misguided is all."

Tom then says "I figured. He had that same polarizing effect on Nadia..." Tom lets out a deep angry breath, reminiscing about that chapter in his wife's life. "Well, regardless, my anger did work as a ruse to cover us in case Arvin was watching. Like I said, Jacqueline pleasantly surprised me. How'd you do with Emily?"

Jack sighs. "She shut me out, but I could tell she was hiding something. I guess I owe you a thank you for getting through with Jacqueline. Now it's a matter of how we get through to Arvin."

Owen smirks. "I can handle that."

"You seem pretty confident."

"I think Jackie's got something of a crush for me. She made sure that I got her number, after all."

Jack nods. "Ok, we can work that to our advantage. Make contact with her..."

"In a day or two...I don't want to seem too forward."

Irina snickers. "Men and your games."

Owen fires back "Women and your sensibilities."

Jack stands up. "I think that's a good plan, Owen. Play it up as much as possible...no matter if your interest in her is legitimate or not. Just don't try to make it too personal."

"Thanks for the advice on the fairer sex, Jack. I think I can handle myself rather well there."

"Alright. Now, if you two will excuse us, I have to talk to Irina about Nadia."

Tom quickly asks "What about Nadia?"

Jack replies "I'm going to get to the bottom of this once and for all. The three of us are going to have dinner tomorrow night. After all..." Jack turns to Irina. "...I'm sure you wouldn't mind another chance to cook."

Irina smiles, appearing not the least bit threatened by Jack's offer. "Just let me know what you'd like."

San Felipe, Mexico (Elysium, the next day)

It's a few hours before the big Bristow dinner and it's definitely weighing on the mind of Nadia, but not as much as something else she's about to do right now.

She's seated on the left side of the couch, with Tom on the far right and Mary sitting on the recliner.

Nadia looks worried, and for good reason. This conversation won't be easy.

Mary decides to try to lighten the mood a little. "Nadia, with all that's going on, we can do this another day. I know you don't want to talk about this."

Nadia says nothing, but keeps staring at the ground. She knows she has to do this and she has to do this now. Nadia felt it was her role to be the one to break the news. Soon, she may not get another chance...for reasons only she knows.

Tom puts his hand on top of Nadia's, which are both draped over the back of the couch. "Babe, my mom's right. This can wait."

Nadia shakes her head. "No, it can't. It has to be done now."

"Why now? I don't see the urgency here..."

"It can't wait." Nadia looks back up at Tom. "She's still talking about it. Emilio even talks about it, and he knows the truth. We can't keep this from her forever. I know we agreed to wait until a few years from now, but she's now got an idea of what happened and we need to be the ones to tell her the truth, not someone else." Nadia then looks over at Mary. "That's why I wanted you here. You and her have a close relationship and it having you for support may help her."

Mary just nods in reluctant agreement.

Tom just starts rubbing his hands together as he sits forward and leans over, a sign of nerves.

At this point, Nadia leans forward herself and shouts toward the hallway "Maria, we want to talk to you! Come here!"

Maria yells back "But I'm playing with Emilio!"

Nadia goes to retort, but Mary decides to jump in. "Don't you want to say hi to your grandma?"

Apparently not knowing she was there, Maria exclaims "Gramma!" She then comes running out of her bedroom, runs past Tom and Nadia, and leaps up onto Mary's lap. Mary laughs as she embraces her granddaughter. Maria sure loves her grandma, and her grandma sure loves her back.

Nadia lets Maria and Mary share a few happy moments. She knows Maria is going to be in a much different mood here in a bit.

Mary glances over at Nadia and sees she's ready to go. She looks back at Maria and brushes some of her long black hair out of her face. "Hey, I think your mother wants you to sit by her."

Maria innocently asks "Why?"

Mary's smile slowly disappears. "Because she's got something very important she wants to talk to you about."

Maria hops off of Mary's lap and slowly walks over to the open spot in between Nadia and Tom. "What's wrong, Mommy? Did I do something bad?"

Nadia shakes her head as she shifts her weight to face Maria, who has climbed up to the couch and is seated. "Not at all. I need to talk to you about what Mitch said to you when he took you."

Maria looks up at Tom suspiciously. "Was it about what he said about Daddy?"

Tom shakes his head quickly. "No. You told me that he said that you were dead, and that we all were dead. We need to talk about that."

Maria's face turns blank. "I don't know what he was talking about."

Nadia rubs Maria's back. "Maria, there's a lot you don't know. There was truth in what Mitch said."

Maria gives Nadia a quizzical look. "I don't understand. I don't feel dead!"

Nadia lets out a sigh. This is not going to be easy. "Maria...there's something that everyone you know has in common. We all died in some way to get here. We all had lives that we lived until they were ended. Then, we were sent here, to Elysium, to live the rest of eternity in peace and live our lives as if we were still alive, just better. That includes you."

Maria tries to compute all of this for a few seconds. "But how come I didn't get to live before?"

Nadia's face turns grave. "Because you died before you could be born."

Maria gasps and her face turns horrified. Her bottom lip starts to quiver. "Mommy, what happened to me?"

Nadia hangs her head, then she turns to Mary, looking for support. Mary cracks a comforting smile at her to reassure her. "It's ok, you can tell the truth."

Nadia turns back to Maria. "A very bad man murdered me while I was pregnant with you."

Maria shrieks as tears start to roll down her face. "Mommy, no!" Maria lunges and hugs Nadia around the waist. She's not broken out into a full sob, but she's groaning in sadness for her mother, not herself. Maria has a big heart for others and she's sad over the thought of her mom lying dead somewhere.

Nadia hugs her back, her face starting to become more sullen. "I tried to stop that man from doing something very bad. Your father was very sad, too."

Maria looks up at Tom, who's face is very glum. Tom softly tells her "I've never been more sad in my life than when I saw your mother after he killed her, because he killed you in the process. But you know something, Maria?"

Through the tears, Maria mutters "What?"

"I loved your Mommy so much, and I loved you even more. So I went and stopped that bad man. But I had to make a trade in order for that to happen. If I stopped him, I had to die, too."

Maria lets out a few cries, then asks "Why would you do that, Daddy?"

Tom strokes the top of Maria's head. "Because getting to be with you and Nadia was more than worth it. If I had lived, I would have lived 20, 30, maybe even 40 years without you and your Mommy in my life. And that would have made me very sad. And that bad man may have gone on and done terrible things to me and Mommy's friends, and that would have made me even sadder. But I stopped him, and because I did, I get to see my beautiful little angel, the very best part of me, grow up."

"But it's not fair! Mommy had to die and so did you and it's not fair!"

"Life on Earth isn't fair, sweetheart. But sometimes, you get the chance to balance the tables like I had a chance to. Because I helped my friends and because I got to be with you, Maria, it was worth it. Maria, you get the chance to grow up in a world with little violence. You get all the opportunity to be a wonderful woman when you grow up. And you get to do it with a family that loves you so much." Tom looks over at Mary and smiles. "And I know your Grandma is happy to be in your life, too."

Mary smiles wide as she looks back at Maria. "That's right, dear. I wish I had the chance to grow up like you are, too."

Maria studies Mary for a moment. "How did you die, Gramma?"

Nadia interjects. "That's not impor..."

Mary stops her. "No, it's ok. She should know." Mary stands up, walks over to Maria and kneels in front of her. "Sweetheart, I loved your Mommy long before your father did. When your Mommy was your age, she was in a very bad place with some very bad people. And your Mommy was hurting...she was hurting so bad. I knew exactly what Mommy was going through and it made me so sad. And it also made me angry."

"Why?"

"Because I knew she didn't deserve it. She looked so much like you, sweetie." Mary holds Maria's hand. "I saved your mother's life from those bad people. Me and my friend took her away, but those bad people were going to catch us. So I stopped them."

"How?"

Mary shakes her head. Letting her 5 year old granddaughter know that her grandma was blown to bits by a grenade isn't a good idea. "I just made sure they didn't kill Nadia. So, they killed me instead."

At this point, Maria starts wailing. She lunges to Mary and hugs her tight around her neck. Her gramma, her bastion of everything that is fun in this world, sacrificed herself so her mother could live. Like Tom years ago when he learned the truth, it's hitting Maria harder than a Mike Tyson punch. "IT'S NOT FAIR! WHY DID YOU DO THAT?"

This causes an alarmed Emilio to run from his room. He sees Maria wailing in Mary's arms and Tom and Nadia saddened. Before he can ask what's going on, Tom looks his way and spots him there. Tom motions with his arms to have Emilio go back in his room. Emilio just nods and slowly saunters back into his room.

Mary closes her eyes and fights back the tears. She has to be strong. She then locks eyes with a saddened Nadia while she embraces Maria. "Because Mommy was worth it."

Maria stops hugging Mary and goes back to hugging Nadia, whose eyes are a little watery as she watches this unfold. She's heartbroken for Maria, having to hear her tale of woe as well as Mary's sacrifice. "It's ok, sweetie. We're all better for what happened. Even your grandmother."

Nadia locks eyes again with Mary, who does nod in agreement. Mary would be the first to tell you how much of a mess she was around the time she and Bill Vaughn helped rescue Nadia. The years of being away from her family destroyed her on the inside and, by the time Nadia was rescued, she felt in her heart she had nothing else to live for than to try to give Nadia something that resembled a normal childhood.

As for Tom, he's also a little misty as well. He's feeling the pain that Maria's feeling right now. When he read Mary's diary (Author note: in Project Nadia's "Diary of a Mother", which was my favorite and possibly most emotional chapter out of everything I've written so far, you really should check it out), he too became a basketcase. The love he had for Nadia had so much more meaning to it when he learned it was his own mother that saved Nadia from the Soviets.

Tom scoots over and wraps his arms around both Maria and Nadia. Nadia creates the group hug by hugging Tom back. Tom leans his head down near Maria's ear and, with his voice wavering, says "It's ok, sweetheart. Cry all that you want to. Your daddy did when he heard what your Grandma did too."

Maria's face remains buried in Nadia's chest as she continues to cry her little eyes out, her face so anguished with grief. She lets out a muffled "I can't believe Gramma did that. Mommy, I love you!"

Nadia lets out a "I love you too, sweetheart." Then, she feels her strength return to her. "Everything that's happened to me has been worth it because it's taken me on a path that has led me to you. I'll always love you, Maria."

Maria lets out a few sobs. "I don't want anything bad to happen to you anymore, Mommy! You're a good Mommy and I love you!" Maria looks back out at Tom. "And Daddy, I love you, too! And you died because you loved Mommy!" Before Tom can react, Maria turns to Mary, furthering the disbelief as she connects the dots. "And you died because you loved Mommy, too!"

Nadia lets out a remorseful "You're right, sweetheart. It wasn't fair. But we're all in a much happier place now, just like you are. And nothing's ever going to happen to me, to your Daddy, or to your Gramma again."

Maria turns back to Nadia and looks her dead in the eyes. "You promise, Mommy?"

Nadia crack a small smile and nods. "I promise, sweetheart. I'll always be there for you. We all will be."

But in Nadia's heart, she's not so sure she can live up to that promise because of what she's been talking to Irina about...

For the rest of the day, Maria would be very quiet. She stayed in her room for the rest of the day, and when she came out for dinner, she didn't say anything, even though Emilio kept asking her what was wrong.

She was still making sense out of what happened. And for a 5 year old, it's hard to sort through all of that. Heck, it would be even for someone from Nadia's age all the way up to Mary's age.

But after Nadia left to go have dinner with Jack and Irina, Maria stayed quiet and reserved as her emotions continued to stew. It concerned Tom how distant she was.

Tom did not pick up on the fact that, for the first time in Maria's young life, she was feeling anger. She was angry over the horrors Nadia went through. She was also angry that her father and grandmother both died for Nadia.

She didn't speak a word of it to anyone. And when she slept it off, she felt better enough the next day to put it in the back of her mind.

But she did not forget one second of the story that she just heard. Nor did she forget how hard she squeezed Nadia after she promised her she'd be there for her, like she never wanted to let her go and get herself into trouble again.

All she wanted was for Nadia to be left alone and everyone she loves to be happy. And in a past life, the ones she loved, especially Nadia, weren't afforded that luxury.

And that right there is what makes her angry.

Los Angeles, California (Elysium)

Nadia, Irina, Jack, and Alec step out onto the back porch of Jack's house, having just completed dinner. It's a very beautiful night, without a cloud to be found in the sky. The women look like they're satisfied with how the night has gone so far. The men...not so much. They both look antsy to dispense with the formalities.

As Nadia and Irina make their way to two patio chairs on the right side of the deck, which sits low and only requires a step to get to the ground, Nadia smiles at her mother. "Thanks for dinner, Mom."

Irina curiously asks as she sits down "Was the roast alright?"

Nadia takes her seat as well. "Yeah, I can never get mine that tender!"

Irina laughs. "I had the same problem for a while. The key to a good roast is making sure you have just the right amount of liquid...and patience. I'll show you someday."

"I'd like that. It really was good."

"Thank you."

Jack announces "I'm going to get us some drinks. And then, we're going to talk about what is going on."

Nadia gives Jack a worried look. Irina, meanwhile, just coolly nods her head once, like she's not worried at all.

As Jack turns away, Alec tells the women "I'm going to go keep watch."

Nadia asks "Why? Do you think someone's going to come for us?"

Alec flatly replies "No. To be honest, I feel I'd be intruding with just you two here. I'll be around." Alec then quickly teleports away.

But she shakes it off and focuses back on Nadia. She studies Nadia, who has part of her long black hair done up in a barrette. Like herself, Nadia also dressed up nice tonight. She's wearing a nice light blue blouse as well along with a darker blue skirt. "I haven't had a chance to tell you how nice you look."

Nadia gives Irina a flattered smile. "Thank you. I wanted to look nice for dinner with my parents!" Nadia laughs happily at the end of that. "Dinner with my parents! I can't believe I just had dinner with my parents!"

Irina chuckles herself. "I can't either. All we're missing is Sydney."

Nadia's smile disappears. "She's where she needs to be."

"I know she is. We still have to figure out when I'm going to be able to talk to her."

Nadia shakes her head. "With all that's going on, this isn't the best time."

"I know it isn't. But that was part of our deal."

"I know it is. I get you a meeting with Sydney, and you help me with Elena." Nadia lets out a sigh. "Speaking of which, I had a very tough talk with Maria earlier today. About death."

Irina gasps. "Nadia! You subjected your five-year old to her family's history? That's way too much for her to handle!"

"I had to, Mom! Because if this thing with me and Elena doesn't go well, she may not have a chance to hear the truth from me!"

"No! She'd hear it from Tom or even Mary! It's not like you're the only person she looks up to!"

"But I am her mother, and she looks up to me most of all. She's always talking about how she wants to be just like me...it's adorable, but it's also disturbing because there's parts of me that aren't worth liking."

"Such as?"

Nadia sighs and hangs her head. "I don't want her to have the anger that I still have in my heart. I don't want her wishing the most horrifying death you can on someone else...like I do with Elena. She doesn't need to have my vendetta against anyone."

"She won't have anyone like that to be mad towards..."

"She's already mad over what happened to me, and because I was the main reason Tom and Mary died."

"She doesn't know what she's mad at. You didn't mention Sloane or the Soviet Union by name, did you?"

"No, they were never mentioned."

"See? She's angry that the fact that such terrible things could happen to the people she loves. She's no different than any child that loves her parents. But I do think she was too young to hear all that. And I think you're going about this Elena business all wrong if you think you could die."

"Mom, I'm a realist. Elena's got much more training than I do, she's much more cunning than I am..."

"She's a wretched bitch, don't get me wrong. But she's just one person. We're two who have the skills we have. As long as we go about this right and as long as we believe that we're going to succeed, there won't be anything stopping us." At this point, Irina reaches over and squeeze's Nadia's right hand with her left.

Nadia squeezes back. "Thanks Mom."

One thing seems certain: the two appear to have full faith in one another. Nadia was so angry at Irina a few weeks ago when she heard she crossed the portal. But since they have started meeting with each other, it would seem tensions have been smoothed over. The question of whether you can truly trust Irina is still out there, but it would seem Nadia's answered that question.

Irina lets go and looks back inside. "I wonder where Jack is with those drinks..."

Nadia, meanwhile, is focused on Elena. "I think we can be ready to strike Elena the day after tomorrow."

Irina turns back to Nadia a little surprised. "Really? You think you have her pattern locked down?"

"Yeah, it'll be perfect because..."

"DUCK!"

Time appears to freeze for Irina. Her eyes shoot forward and sees Alec Derevko standing a few feet in front of her ready to throw a knife in her general direction.

With a yell, Nadia lunges over to her stunned mother and pulls her down as Alec launches the knife. Everything feels like it's going in slow motion, including the knife sailing about an inch over Irina's head.

As Nadia and Irina hit the ground, they hear a woman yell out in pain behind them.

Nadia and Irina both breathe quickly as the adrenaline courses through their veins. What just happened?

As Alec sprints by them, he tells them "Get up! It's over!"

Nadia and Irina get to their feet. They see Alec crouch over a dark-haired woman who has a knife sticking out of her right eyeball. When they get closer, they see who it is. They also see another knife lying next to her outstretched right hand.

Kelly Peyton.

The question of where the hell Kelly Peyton went off to has been answered. She was last seen babysitting the cartel before just disappearing out of thin air. Her whereabouts were a complete mystery to Irina. But now, Kelly finally re-emerged, and guessing by the knife being near the right hand, she targeted Irina, who was sitting to Kelly's right.

As Kelly's breathing starts to slow down, Alec grabs the knife in her eye socket and twists, causing Kelly to scream out in pain. Nadia and Irina both realize why Alec did that...to keep her from dying and disappearing.

Jack runs out of the patio door, having heard the commotion. He sees Irina and Nadia alive, but a woman dead on the ground with Alec crouching over her. His first question is one anyone else would ask: "What happened?"

Alec doesn't answer him. Instead, he asks Kelly "Who sent you?"

Kelly doesn't answer, but instead growls at Alec.

This causes Alec gives the knife another twist, causing Kelly to scream louder. "You are a dead woman regardless of how much much I twist this knife in your eye socket. You have no reason to protect them anymore. So who sent you? Was it Sloane or Elena?"

Jack tries to answer for her. "It had to have been Sloane. We got too close to him yesterday..."

A very pained Kelly mutters "It was Elena."

Nadia looks over at Irina surprised. Did Elena catch her? Irina turns back to Nadia and also appears to be wondering the same thing.

Alec grabs the hilt of the knife again. "Why? Why did she want Irina dead?"

Kelly starts laughing, so Alec twists the knife again and gives it an extra rotation, causing Kelly to scream louder and thrash harder.

"You're going to answer me or I will stick another knife in your other eye and we'll keep playing this game all night long.

Kelly lets out a few pained breaths and says through gnashed teeth "I wasn't targeting Irina. I was going for Nadia."

Nadia gasps as she covers her mouth. Elena wanted HER dead! With Nadia currently scouting her, she really starts to wonder if Elena did find her snooping around one day. But even still...Elena wanted her dead! Why? Is she that maniacal? Did she still believe in the mission that Tom, Nadia, and the Elysian Council were the targets? Or did she try to make a preemptive strike in case Nadia did go after her?

Alec stares up at Nadia trying to figure out why Elena wanted her dead. He then turns back to Kelly. "Why did Elena want Nadia killed?"

Kelly, feeling life slipping from her, lifelessly replies "I don't know."

Alec twists the knife. Kelly screams and thrashes.

"I don't know! She just gave me an assignment...that's all!"

Alec goes to twist the knife, but Irina stops him by grabbing the outside of Alec's hand. "Alec, I think she's telling the truth. Elena didn't always need to give someone a reason for doing what she ordered them to do. Look at Mitch Hayes, she knew he was going to die when he was sent to meet Tom at the Santa Monica Pier years ago. He was under the impression that he'd be protected from afar."

Alec looks down at Kelly, who is fighting the worst pain she's felt in her life as the knife has made almost two entire revolutions around her eye socket. She wants this to be over.

So Alec decides Irina is right and ends her agony. He pulls the knife out of Kelly's eye socket. This allows her to bleed out a little and expire. A few seconds later, her body would disappear.

Silence would dominate for the next few seconds after that, as all four tried to figure out what just happened here.

It's Jack that breaks the silence as he asks Irina "Is this related to what you and Nadia have been conspiring?"

Irina asks "Who says we've been conspiring to do anything?"

"When a man's wife turns hostile when he asks what she and her mother have been talking about, it raises certain flags."

Nadia flashes Jack a look. "This is all Tom?"

"Tom's good at smelling a rat. What are you doing, Nadia?"

Nadia turns away and looks at Irina for a moment, then back at Jack with a very determined look on her face. "What I have to."

END OF CHAPTER