JUST A LITTLE BIT CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE
"A man who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act." -Mahatma Gandhi
San Felipe, Mexico (Elysium)
The time has come. She is ready to go.
It's 4:30 in the morning and her bedroom is darkened. Nadia sits on her side of the bed and watches as her husband, the man who loved her, the father of her child, her rock, her biggest advocate, the one consistent thing in her life, her one true love...and the best friend she ever had sleep the night away as if nothing is wrong.
There are so many descriptors that can be used to describe Tom Falk, depending on who you are. But the best descriptors are saved for Nadia's use only.
Just a few hours ago, she was the target of an assassination attempt by the elusive Kelly Peyton, who, after getting a knife thrown through her eyeball by Alec Derevko, was revealed to have been sent on orders by Elena Derevko.
Elena. Just the thought of that name stirs up something dark and nasty inside Nadia. There are so many reasons she hates Elena. She could run down the laundry list of events and personal qualities, but there are three big things that makes Nadia hate the ground Elena walks on: Elena made a mockery of Nadia's childhood, she was responsible for Tom losing Storm Crew and getting the Project Alloy surgery done on him, and, in the cruelest cut of them all, she turned Nadia into an infected zombie in Sovogda and took a year away from her life.
It was a year that passed through like nothing for Nadia, who went from being injected with tainted water to waking up in a hospital bed with Arvin Sloane and Jack Bristow hovering over her bed. But it was the longest year in Tom's life, as he spent it rotting away in prison, and not just that, but he spent most of his time in solitary confinement because of threats on his life. And it was all because of her. She hates knowing that.
But not even an hour before being infected, she watched the love of her life get down on one knee in front of the people closest to her and ask her hand in marriage. Just before going through the darkest hour of her life, she had her brightest minute.
And Elena completely freaking ruined it.
Elena's actions in Sovogda caused Tom to unleash the inner demons in him and literally turn into Halcon Diablo, the mythical name bestowed on the bane of Mexican cartels due to his rage and dismissal of ethics and morals. Michael Vaughn, who was just trying to stop Tom's fury from jeopardizing both the mission and Tom himself, became his mortal enemy for a while.
But enough of that. Back to the present.
Yes, for the last week or so, she and her mother Irina Derevko have been working together on a gameplan for taking out Elena. It was what Nadia demanded when her and Irina had their first face to face talk on the beach in San Felipe. Even though Tom, Mary, and Jack would try to prod her, she still did not let on that she was targeting Elena.
Could she have gotten Tom involved? Sure. Could she have gotten Jack, Mary, and Il Credo Divino involved? Of course. And it probably would have been the prudent move, too.
But some wounds just don't heal. And the wounds that don't heal tend to fester over the years.
Nadia's kept her festering wound under wraps ever since she was nearly raped by Cesar Martinez a month ago...
One month ago in San Felipe...
Cesar's smirk widens a bit. "Oh, you'd love it. If I were to let you live after this, you'd have to hide from Arvin Sloane...Elena Derevko..."
Cesar continues with the names of Julian Sark and Kelly Peyton. He even mentions the previous existence of Gordon Dean and Francisco Alvarado before they were killed. He even mentions Alvarado's army of men that, just like him, want revenge on Tom Falk, who he refers to by his Mexican cartel nickname "Halcon Diablo". He doesn't mention that the army may be lost because of Alvarado's death, however. Last he heard, Kelly Peyton was looking for it.
But Nadia's not interested in any of that at the moment. Her mind freezes on the mention of Elena Derevko...the woman that raised her under false pretenses...the woman who turned her into an infected zombie in Sovogda...the woman who forced her own father to shoot her and helped take away nearly a year of her life...the woman whose actions on Nadia forced Tom into prison because of the madness that overcame him over what Sark said about the supposed sexuality she was exuding in her Rambaldi Fluid treatments in Japan.
She has always hoped that she'd have a chance to meet Elena face to face one more time. She regretted hearing that Irina shot Elena in Sovogda, although she knew there was no way she would have gotten her hands on Elena almost a year after the fact. But there is unfinished business between Nadia and Elena, and for a brief moment, she almost feels happy that Elena has resurfaced, because she might be able to settle that business now...
It's been a long month, and keeping her blood hate of Elena under wraps made it just that much longer.
Nadia, fully clothed in a white shirt and white khakis, leans over and gives Tom a peck on the cheek. She then whispers in his ear "I love you, handsome."
Tom stirs a little and mumbles something that Nadia can't make out. She hopes he was trying to say "I love you, beautiful" to complete their trademark greeting they've told each other so many times before. It still works to put a smile on each of their faces and it even works to put a smile on Nadia's face right here and now.
Nadia stares at him for a couple more seconds, trying to capture what she hopes isn't her last memory of Tom. But she knows that's possible, especially since she's going after Elena one day early and without Irina's help.
The plan was for Irina to create a diversion and for Nadia to swoop in and take out Elena. But two days is too long after what Elena tried to do to Nadia last night.
Nadia slides out of bed and opens her end table. She pulls out a hunting knife and fastens it to a belt loop. She doesn't give Tom another look before she walks out of the bedroom. She's got her lasting image of him in case she ends up in Hell, thanks to the deal Rambaldi made with Mammon.
And yet, Rambaldi claimed he knew what would happen. Nadia doesn't think he'd put her life in danger willingly. And yet, he made her go through the Rambaldi Fluid treatment, made her go through Sovogda, made her go through the glass table...
But still, the fact remains that she still has a score to settle. And while there is considerable risk and so much to lose, she can finally get the peace of mind that has eluded her ever since Bill Vaughn dropped her off on Elena's doorstep.
Nadia slowly walks into Emilio's room. Emilio's sleeping like a log, his head turned away from Nadia.
She slowly makes her way to Emilio's bedside. The shy lug of a kid has become a much welcomed member of the Falk household. He's one of those kids that just never seems to cause trouble, and he's helped Maria stay positive in spite of what's going on. Tom and Nadia didn't know that Emilio came with a lifetime supply of hugs, especially for Maria.
Like she just did with Tom, she leans over and gives Emilio a kiss on the cheek. "My sweet, brave prince..."
Emilio's so deep into sleep, he doesn't even stir.
She pulls the covers up for Emilio and makes sure he's tucked in. She then quietly leaves the room.
Nadia goes to enter Maria's room and suddenly pauses, feeling a knot start to tie up her stomach.
This could be the last time she sees her daughter.
In between Tom getting out of jail and her getting pregnant, Nadia thought she couldn't love anything more than she loved Tom. But how wrong she was when Laurent L'Andre showed up with the baby Maria after Tom completed his Project Nadia campaign.
This couldn't be a worse time to run off on Maria. The wind completely went out of Maria's sails when she heard the story of Nadia's death, Tom's death, Mary's death, and the realities of Elysium and death itself. Emilio already went through the reality of death when he was younger, but Tom and Nadia were shielding Maria as long as they could. Mitch cracked open that Pandora's Box during the hostage situation and she's been confused ever since.
Nadia feels the knot tighten up as she slowly makes her way into the bedroom. She stops when Maria flips over from her side to her back. Her eyes don't open, but Nadia can tell she's having a fitful sleep.
She almost wants to walk away to make sure she doesn't wake Maria up. But if this goes bad, how terrible she'd feel if she didn't get one final moment with her daughter.
So sits on Maria's bedside. She slowly sinks down into the bed, trying not to wake Maria.
It doesn't work. Maria's eyes open and her eyes dart to her mother. "Mommy?"
Nadia pulls up Maria's covers a little. "Shh, go back to sleep."
But Maria forces them back down. "I can't sleep." Maria then notices that Nadia is fully clothed. "Why are you dressed?"
Nadia cracks a small smile to put Maria's fears to rest. "I can't sleep, either. I was going to take a walk."
"Can I go with you?"
"No, because my little princess needs her beauty sleep!"
"But I can't! I can't stop thinking about what happened to you, Mommy!"
"Shh! Don't wake Emilio and your daddy up!"
Maria whispers loudly "Ok!"
Nadia pulls Maria's covers back up, and this time she gets no protest. "Listen, we all die at some point. Sometimes, life isn't fair and you die horribly, others die peacefully. You...you got lucky. You didn't have to feel what it's like to have the life in your body leave you, to know that you're going to make the people that love you sad when you leave them. So don't feel bad, munchkin."
Maria looks down at her covers. "But I love you, Mommy. When I grow up, I want to be just like you! I don't want them to hurt you no more."
Nadia rubs Maria's arm, her own arm visibly shaking. Maria takes note. "I know, Maria. But everything's ok, and everything's going to be ok from now on."
Maria looks back at Nadia. "You promise?"
Nadia hesitates. She knows there's considerable risk in doing what she's about to do. But if she doesn't keep her promise, well, she'll be where she deserves to be. So she gulps and smiles. "I promise."
"Ok. Mommy, can you sing me a song? I like when you sing me to sleep."
"I'll do you one better. Scoot over a little."
Maria slides over a little so Nadia can lie down beside her on top of the covers. Nadia drapes an arm over Maria and lies her head down next to Maria's ear. "Now, when I start singing, you need to try to sleep. Can you promise for your mommy?"
Maria gives Nadia a toothy grin. "I promise."
Nadia strokes some of Maria's hair back and starts singing lightly in Maria's ear:
"I'm just a little bit caught in the middle
Life is a maze and love is a riddle
I don't know where to go I can't do it alone I've tried
And I don't know why."
Nadia then pauses to see if Maria's closed her eyes. She has, but then hears her say "Keep going!"
"Slow it down
Make it stop
Or else my heart is going to pop!"
Nadia taps Maria's chest at the end of the lyric, which causes Maria to giggle a little.
"Cause it's too much
Yeah, it's a lot
To be something I'm not
I'm a fool
Out of love
'Cause I just can't get enough!"
Nadia grins big with those last couple of lines, conveying the love she has for Maria in those last lyrics. Meanwhile, Maria smiles, but starts to sink into her pillow a little.
"I'm just a little bit caught in the middle
Life is a maze and love is a riddle
I don't know where to go I can't do it alone I've tried
And I don't know why."
Maria's breathing is starting to get a little deeper, a sign that she's starting to drift into sleep.
"I'm just a little girl lost in the moment
I'm so scared but I don't show it"
Nadia pauses as she starts feeling a little emotional. This could be the last heartfelt moment she has with her daughter, her flesh and blood. That caused the hesitation to walk in the room before and it's scaring her that she may never see Maria again. Above all else, this is the biggest thing she risks losing.
But Irina was right last night. She can't go into this thinking she's going to fail. So, she continues the song.
"I can't figure it out
It's bringing me down I know
I've got to let it go
And just enjoy the show."
At the end of the last lyric, Nadia sees that Maria has drifted off into sleep. She leans over and gives Maria a kiss on the forehead. "I'll always love you, my little princess. No matter what happens, no matter where I am, I will always love you."
Before she can start getting weepy, she slowly crawls out of bed and quietly makes her way out of the bedroom. She disappears before she gets the desire to turn her head around.
She didn't see her daughter's eyes open, looking at her like she knew something was wrong.
West of Frolovo, Russia (Elysium)
While the sun has yet to rise in San Felipe, it's mid-afternoon in this part of southwest Russia. Frolovo is a decent sized town north of Volgograd.
But Nadia's actually quite a ways west of it in the middle of the snow-covered Russian woods. She's slowly making her way across the woods, taking time to make sure she covers her tracks in the ankle-high snow behind her.
Since leaving, Nadia went to her secret stash in the forest and got her white coat on. She tied her hair up in a bun and put on a white sock cap that covers her face, save for the eyes and mouth hole. She also switched shoes and is now wearing white boots. She blends into the snow almost perfectly.
She crosses over a ridge and sees the house. It's a single level wood frame house with smoke rising out of a chimney on top. Nadia drops down and pokes her head over the hill. She studies the surrounding area carefully, looking for any sign of Elena Derevko.
Satisfied that she's not milling around, Nadia teleports right into a pile of snow. This is actually a trick that she's been working on the past few days, being able to teleport INTO something instead of onto something. She's tried snow piles, piles of leaves, haystacks, and even a plastic ball pit at a playground. This prevents Nadia from wasting time trying to dig herself into a snow pile and getting herself caught by Elena.
The reason she chose this snow pile is, for one, it's already there. It's a snow pile that Elena apparently created clearing out her driveway. From Nadia's vantage point, she can see the front door, the pile of firewood on the south side of the house, and the chimney above.
And from anyone looking in her direction, all they'd see is a snow pile. If they looked really closely, they may see the pair of brown eyes peeking out, but it'd take a small miracle since the white snow cap blends in perfect with the snow. For all they know, those brown eyes are dirt.
It's cold in the pile of snow, but for Nadia, there's no place she'd rather be right now.
She's so quiet she can hear her heart beat. It's beating pretty rapidly from adrenaline caused by the anticipation of the showdown that's sure to happen. That's something Nadia will work on slowing while she waits on Elena to go grab some firewood.
Nadia's right at home in this snow pile. She loves long term recon like this. The last chance she had to do something like this feels like a lifetime ago, when she had to be catatonic for long periods of time at the Chechnya prison. Of course, Sydney showed up and changed her life completely, including the kinds of missions she'd be on.
The reason she liked these missions is because she's had a lifetime of training. When she was a child in Soviet custody or at the orphanage in Argentina, she'd often let her mind drift and literally be somewhere she wasn't. She'd also try to literally become someone else in her drifting moments. So when Argentine Intelligence tested her out on long term recon, she passed with flying colors.
So it's time to go back to her training. She has to shut everything out of her life and stay in this very moment. There is no Irina. There is no Tom. There is no Emilio. There is no Maria...ok, there's no Maria, that wasn't easy. There is no family. There are no friends.
She's all alone in this world. Just her...and Elena.
And the wait has begun.
San Felipe, Mexico (Elysium)
"Daddy, wake up."
Tom brushes Maria's arms away and rolls over. "It's too early."
"Something's wrong with Mommy."
That causes Tom's eyes to open wide. Nadia's not beside him in bed. Tom rolls back over and looks at the clock. It's 6 AM. He then looks over at Maria, who's looking scared. "Where is she?"
"I don't know."
"Ok, have you seen her this morning?"
Maria hangs her head. "Mommy came to bed with me."
"When?"
"I dunno...it was a few hours ago I think."
"Why did she go to bed with you?"
Maria pauses, then says "I couldn't sleep. She came in and sat down next to me. Her hand was shaking and she sounded scared when she sang me a song!"
At this point, Tom sits up. Nadia didn't say a word about dinner last night with Jack and Irina. Not that Tom wasn't suspicious of Nadia enough, now this. "Ok, did she say anything that sounded weird?"
Another pause as Maria thinks. Then she says "She told me that she'd love me no matter what happens. Is something going to happen to her?"
Tom shakes his head in disbelief. "I don't know..." Tom then notices the closet door is cracked open. "Was Mommy in her nightgown?"
Maria shakes her head. "No, she was in a shirt and pants. She said she couldn't sleep and was going to go for a walk."
All dressed and going for a walk? Shaking and nervous around Maria? More stonewalling about Irina? Yeah, something's not right. This much Tom knows.
Tom pops up out of bed and, as he does, remembers a certain knife that he caught Nadia bringing in the other day. Turns out he can keep a secret, too. He walks over to Nadia's bed table and opens up the drawer.
No knife.
Tom then looks back at Maria with a very serious look on his face. "We're going to your Grandma's. Then your Daddy is going to find out where your Mommy went."
Los Angeles, California (Elysium)
KNOCK!KNOCK!KNOCK!KNOCK!KNOCK!KNOCK!KNOCK!
DINGDONG!DINGDONG!DINGDONG!DINGDONG!DINGDONG!DINGD ONG!
"JACK! IRINA!"
If Tom was calm and composed with Maria earlier this morning, he's the complete opposite now that he's dropped her and Emilio off at his mother's house.
The door flings open in front of him and before he can recognize it's Alec Derevko, he's got a hand on his throat and the tip of a hidden blade on his right temple.
Once Tom finally realizes it's Alec, Alec growls at Tom "Are you trying to draw the entire neighborhood's attention on us?"
Tom begins to breathe panicked. Alec's damn good and damn fast. "Alec, I'm sorry..."
"There is a way to do things and there's a way not to do things. This was clearly the latter..." Alec then lets go of Tom's throat and brandishes his blade.
Tom rubs his throat a bit and tries to resume normal breathing.
Alec gruffly asks "What do you want?"
Meanwhile, a startled Jack and Irina have appeared behind him in the living room.
Tom notices them. "Nadia's gone missing."
Jack storms forward. "What? When?"
Irina, meanwhile, hangs back and tries to hide her look of dismay. Alec turns around and notices it right away. "Irina? Do you know something?"
Irina takes a deep, somewhat nervous breath. "I think it's best that Tom come inside."
Alec steps aside, and Tom does just that. Alec closes the door behind Tom.
Tom blows by Jack and addresses Irina. "Ok, I'm going to ask this nice and simple...WHERE IS MY WIFE?"
Irina, as usual, stays calm in the face of anger. "I take it Nadia didn't tell you what happened here last night."
Tom throws up his arms. "Yeah, what else is new?"
"A lot, actually. Nadia was nearly killed last night."
Tom flashes Jack a look. "Really?"
Jack replies "Elena Derevko sent Kelly Peyton to have Nadia killed. Alec was able to stop her before it happened."
Tom then turns to Alec with a look of pure astonishment. Alec's a bad man, and Tom's actually in awe...and downright thankful he stepped in.
Alec, however, is offended at the attention. "I threw a knife through her eyeball. It is nothing I haven't done before."
Tom's jaw goes a little slack. "Between you and Laurent..." Tom then shakes his head quickly and turns back to Jack. "How did you know it was Elena that sent her?"
Jack replies "Because Alec was able to keep her alive to get that information. But, Elena never told her why. Nadia was furious before she left suddenly."
Tom hangs his head. "I kind of got that impression last night. She was on edge right up until we went to bed. She kept stirring when I was trying to go to sleep...I doubt she even fell asleep at all."
Irina then tells Tom "We were talking about making our move on Elena tomorrow night."
Tom raises a disbelieving eyebrow at her. "OUR move? You two were going to take out Elena? When did you plan on telling us?"
"At the right time. Nadia knew you wouldn't have any of it." Irina turns to Jack, who gives her a disconcerting look. "You too. It's a risk, and I know neither of you two trust me yet..."
Tom shakes his head in disbelief. "But why does Nadia want this so bad? I mean, before Kelly tried to whack her. It's obvious to me now that you two have had this brewing for a while."
"Brewing? Nadia's been doing scouting of Elena's home in Russia. She's laid out all the groundwork for this, I've just been along for support."
"So what? Nadia's trying to get the jump on you and Elena both?"
"How long as she been missing?"
"She woke up Maria fully-dressed a few hours ago in the middle of the night. She told her that she'd love her no matter what happens."
Jack insistently says "We need to stop her."
Irina shakes her head. "No, she may be in too deep by now. Besides, you stop her now and she'll resent you until she does kill Elena, and that could be a long time unless we get her while we have her pinned down."
"Why does Nadia feel this is her responsibility?"
Irina gives Jack a surprised look. "All that she's gone through because of Elena and you have to ask that?"
Alec steps forward, showing genuine concern for Nadia. "Take me to her, Irina. I'll make sure she is safe and Elena is handled."
Irina shakes her head again. "No. This is our task. Besides, you get too much of a crowd there and Elena will disappear, perhaps for good. She'll definitely run if she sees you, Alec. I know how to handle her."
Jack snaps "You're not going there by yourself."
Tom pleads "Jack! Nadia's a sitting duck out there! My wife has all the tenacity in the world, but Elena's too much for her!"
Alec says "Tom's right. Nadia will be outmatched. She needs support. That's why I should go..."
Irina strongly says "No! She sees you and she'll run faster than you drew your blade on Tom just now! She sees me...and she'll hang around. I assure you. She's got no love lost for me, either."
Tom listens to Irina and believes her. He pleads with Jack "Please, Jack. Let Irina go help Nadia!"
Jack gives Tom an incredulous look at first, but as he mulls over the situation, he can't help but agree with what has been said so far. After what happened last night, Elena may easily be spooked. And he doesn't doubt Irina's ability to keep Elena interested on her.
Jack turns to Irina with a very serious stare. "If you try to double-cross Nadia..."
Irina cuts him off. "I won't."
"If you do...don't forget what's implanted into the back of your neck."
Irina rubs the back of her neck, where Jack injected an explosive tracking device on her, similar to the one that was given to Julian Sark when APO was trying to track him. "I haven't forgotten." Irina then turns to Tom. "I need to see your mother. She's got something of mine."
Bunker, Missouri (Elysium)
Maria's watching TV, Emilio's asleep on the couch because it's too early for him, and her husband Thomas is drinking coffee in the kitchen. To Mary, this should be a normal morning. It's not the first time Maria's been dropped off while Tom and Nadia attended to other affairs. It is for Emilio, but with him a part of the family, Mary expects to see him a lot more, which is just perfectly fine to her. She adores her grandkids.
But with Nadia gone AWOL, she doesn't like seeing her kids under these circumstances.
And those circumstances are about to get hairier.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
The knocks come from the patio door in the kitchen. Maria perks up. "Is that Mommy?"
A frantic Thomas answers for Mary. "Mary, get in here!"
Mary looks down the hallway to the kitchen, then back at Maria. "I don't think so. Stay here, dear."
Mary scoots down the hallway and sees just what Thomas is frantic about...
Irina Derevko is standing outside her patio door. The last time she did that, Irina was pointing a gun at Mary's face. This time, however, she's flanked by her son Tom, Jack, and Alec.
Mary goes to answer the door, but Thomas blocks her. "Mary, I don't trust her..."
Mary just shoves Thomas out of the way. "But I do trust our son!" Mary then slides the patio door open and immediately addresses Irina. "What's going on?"
Irina stops in mid-breath, with worry all over her face. "My daughter has gone and done something rash. She's trying to take Elena on by herself."
"WHAT? Why in the hell..."
"Because Nadia hates Elena with every fiber of her being...and because Elena tried to have Nadia killed last night." As Mary's eyes literally bug out of her head, Irina continues. "Alec stopped Kelly Peyton before she could kill Nadia."
Mary grabs her heart, which has gone aflutter. Mary knows as well as they do that Nadia doesn't have the experience nor the ability that Elena has. Although Nadia is a fine fighter of her own, Elena is a different beast. Even Irina would consider Elena her superior in ability...and madness.
Irina then steps in. "I'm going to need my gun back, Mary. I have to stop Elena. Elena's still got her gun, Nadia doesn't. If Elena gets the advantage, she'll use her gun. It's 50/50 on if Nadia can escape...Elena's got a very quick draw."
Thomas steps between Irina and Mary and turns his back to Irina. He whispers through his teeth. "Don't do it. This is how she fucks us."
Mary stares at Thomas for a moment, then wheels around and heads to the master bedroom. Thomas storms after her, leaving Irina, Tom, Jack, and Alec waiting in wonder.
Mary quickly makes her way to the dresser and opens the middle of three drawers. She grabs a pile of shorts and sets them aside, revealing a gun and two ammo clips.
Irina only gave Mary one ammo clip. But there are two ammo clips here.
Thomas comes into the bedroom and urges Mary "Mary, what are you doing?"
Mary nervously stares at the ammo clips. She's not sure which one she should take. She doesn't know if she can trust Irina or not. What Thomas is saying makes sense, but if she gives Irina the wrong clip and she's legitimately worried about protecting Nadia, she may be the one to doom Nadia.
Thomas walks over and puts a hand on Mary's shoulder. He speaks much more calmly this time. "Marydoll, if you're going to give her the gun, give her the ammo clip that Laurent gave you. At least give Nadia some chance."
Mary looks up at Thomas and sees the seriousness in his face. Thomas is dead set against Irina, and when Thomas gets a hunch on something, he's more often correct than not.
Mary turns back and grabs the gun. She reaches in the dresser to grab the ammo clip on the left...then changes her mind and grabs the clip on the right. She clicks the clip into place and chambers a round. She then storms back out of the bedroom.
Thomas isn't sure which ammo clip she's going to give Irina. The clips look alike and he didn't see Mary put the gun and clips in the dresser.
Irina sees Mary walk back with a gun in her right hand. This causes Irina to breathe a sigh of relief and the three men to raise their eyes in surprise.
Mary reaches out and hands Irina the gun handle-first. "Everything's set. All you have to do is click off the safety." Irina grabs the gun, but Mary doesn't let go. Irina looks back up and sees Mary staring a determined hole in Irina's eyes. "Time to put your money where your mouth is. You want us to trust you, bringing Nadia back alive will go a long way."
Irina finally takes the gun when Mary lets go and tucks it in her front pants. She then pulls the shirt back over the gun. "It's not just my honor that I'm trying to restore."
At this point, Irina turns and stares at Alec, who keeps his icy glare, but knows she's talking about him. The fact that he raped Alisa Mishkyn when he was dying to keep his seedbearer promise to Rambaldi is a fact just a handful of people know.
Tom turns and notices Irina's looking at Alec. He asks Alec "What's going on?"
Alec keeps his gaze at Irina. "Just a pact amongst criminals."
Jack looks at Irina, then Alec, then back at Irina. He knows what he's talking about, having heard enough of their conversation a few nights ago to know what Alec did and what Irina has vowed to do.
Irina then turns to worried Tom. "I will bring your wife back. Meet me at your house."
At this point, Irina closes her eyes and teleports away.
Tom also closes his eyes and starts to meander in a circle. He's a ball of nerves right now. What if he's wrong? What if Irina will turn on everyone? He has the same suspicions his father does.
Those suspicions would also be shared by Jack. "I have to go back and track Irina. Keep me in touch if something happens." After Mary nodded that she would, Jack closed his eyes and teleported away.
Alec, once Irina's worst enemies, wants to believe Irina is fighting for his honor as well. She seemed sincere when she said she would.
But right now, Alec's seeing Tom pacing around like a man whose knows his world could blow up at any second. The rage that exists like magma hasn't shown itself yet in Tom, but Alec knows that Tom could start bubbling at the surface at any moment.
Mary walks over to Tom and, trying to be calm, tells him "Tom, everything's going to work out."
Tom lets out a nervous laugh. "Oh yeah? Irina Derevko is the best hope my wife has of surviving this and not being given a one way ticket to Hell! Rambaldi made that damn deal with Mammon to put our lives up as collateral! If Nadia dies..."
"Everything's going to be alright, Tom..."
"How do you know?"
Mary freezes, and then looks down at the frozen ground timidly. "Trust me, if things turn south, Nadia will have time to get out of there."
Tom steps back as he studies his mother. He has no idea about the ammo clip that Laurent gave to her. He's not even suspecting that's the case here at all. But his mother just meddled into things again and is being coy again. This just doesn't feel right to him at all.
And yet, at this point, he can't help but think about Maria. Maria adores her mother like nothing else on this world. The reason Maria has her hear long is because she wants it to be like her mother's hair. Tom always thought Maria loved her parents equally, and while that still may be the case, Maria's expressed much more adoration for Nadia ever since Cesar nearly raped her. Nadia is the woman that Maria wants to be. And if Nadia's in Hell instead of raising Maria...
No. That can't happen.
Tom stops pacing and looks his mother dead in the eyes. "I'm not taking any chances."
Before Mary or Alec can protest, Tom teleports away.
Mary gasps as he vanishes. She puts her right hand up to her forehead, which has broken out into a cold sweat. She looks back over at Alec. "He doesn't know where Elena is, does he?"
Alec shakes his head, but stops in mid-shake when he realizes just what Tom is doing.
Mary asks "Alec?"
Alec closes his eyes and hangs his head.
At this point, Maria runs to the patio window. "Where's Daddy?"
Alec turns and stares at Maria. He's thinking that Maria may have just seen the last of her father. That's unacceptable, just like it would be for Nadia to be without her kids as well.
Mary cuts off Alec's train of thought. "Sweetheart, he's..."
Alec cuts her off. "...gone and done something he doesn't have to do."
Mary walks towards Alec. "What are you saying?"
Alec takes a deep breath and speaks low to Mary. "I have to stop him from destroying his family."
West of Frolovo, Russia (Elysium)
Well, this didn't take nearly as long as Nadia thought it would.
Her brown eyes blink in the snow as she sees Elena walk out of the front door, wearing a heavy winter coat. She takes a moment to look to her left. She appears to study something for a bit, but Nadia can't make out what since she can't get a good vantage point. Elena then focuses her attention forward a brief moment, then makes her way to her right and down a couple porch steps.
Now Elena is walking almost 10 feet directly in front of Nadia. She turns and heads to the stack of firewood next to the house.
Nadia pushes down the anticipation and adrenaline building in her. She focuses on her breathing, which started to quicken a little when Elena came out. When she makes her move, she has to be breathing slowly and surely.
Breathe in...one Mississippi.
Breathe out...two Mississippi
That trick was actually taught to her by Tom, who used that trick to calm his own breathing in tense situations in the field. The goal is to not think about the Mississippis and let the controlled breathing take over without thinking about it.
Elena starts to gather logs. Nadia stops thinking of the breathing, which is starting to control itself again, and counts the logs she has in her arms. She's up to three...now four. When she gets to 5, it's go time.
Elena grabs a fifth log. Nadia closes her eyes, but not before putting her hand on her hunting knife, making sure no snow shifts around.
She whispers some final advice to herself: "Be fast. If caught, get out of there."
Nadia teleports behind Elena. She grips her knife and pulls it above her head, ready to drive it down on top of Elena's skull.
Too bad Elena knew she was coming. Because as soon as Nadia popped up behind her, Elena dropped all but one log. She whips around and, with the knife about two inches from her head, clocks Nadia with the log on the side of the head.
Nadia crashes to the ground in a heap, the knife flying from her hand. Elena hit her so hard, her consciousness is wobbling in and out, keeping her from teleporting away. Her brain literally feels like a church bell ringing for the noon service.
Elena laughs like she just watched a child do something adorable. She's content to let the bells ring for a moment. "How cute, Nadia. You had this all planned out...judging by the snow all over your coat, you were hiding in that snow pile over there." Elena points her head to exactly where Nadia was hiding. Nadia tries to get up, but Elena kicks her in the side of the head, causing Nadia to crash back down. "But what you forgot to figure was that I could see your reflection in the window above the firewood. I knew you were coming...just like I knew where you'd go those nights when you thought you were hiding from the world. You were just on the roof with that lanky friend of yours. You and Julieta didn't fool anyone."
Nadia looks up at Elena while holding her head. She thinks the cobwebs have cleared enough now to where she can leave and fight another day...
But the moment she closes her yes, Elena yanks off her sock cap and grabs Nadia's hair. She then bashes her head off her knee a couple times, keeping the bell ringing going on in Nadia's head.
Elena bends over and drags Nadia to her feet. She smiles when she sees Nadia's face. "Look at you, all grown up and full of fire. I see the color in your eyes has returned. The last time they looked a little...infected."
Unfortunately for Elena, the bells stopped ringing in Nadia's head.
Nadia knocks Elena's hand off her and punches her in the nose. Elena covers her now bleeding nose and, as she pulls her hand away to see the blood, is tripped by Nadia's leg sweep.
When Elena crashes to the ground, Nadia mounts her. She clutches Elena's throat with her left hand and starts whaling on Elena's face with her right. Nadia pours her hate and malice for Elena in every punch.
This lasts about five punches before Elena's able to break the choke, pull her legs up from behind Nadia's head and wrap them around her neck. At the same time, Elena keeps a hold of Nadia's left arm and, as she starts pulling back on Nadia's head, starts pulling down on Nadia's left arm.
Nadia can literally feel her arm being pulled out of her shoulder. This causes her to scream as loud as she can, which isn't too loud considering Elena's legs are strangling her.
Elena, being as sadistic as she is, appears to enjoy this torture, and she could probably do it all day. But she's too anxious to hear Nadia REALLY scream.
That's when she gives Nadia's arm a violent tug. The sickly pop of Nadia's arm being pulled out of her shoulder socket is heard, followed by Nadia's loud scream of agony after Elena's legs unwrap themselves from her neck.
Nadia falls off of Elena, but lets out a high-pitched yelp as she hits the ground. She immediately clutches her shoulder and realizes that the pain is so bad, that teleporting away is now just about impossible. The mind has to focus on the destination in order to teleport and if she's in major pain, the mind can't focus.
But the real issue is that if you teleport with a broken limb or, in this case, a separated shoulder, you run the risk of complications happening in the healing.
Elena gets up to her feet and, for good measure, gives the shoulder a good kick. This causes Nadia to scream again and Elena to smile wider.
And yet, Nadia somehow tries to get to her feet. She won't give up, even though the pain in her shoulder goes up to 11.
Elena rolls her eyes, teleports over to the firewood stack, grabs a log, teleports back, and clocks Nadia in the back of her head just as she makes it to her feet.
Nadia lands face first in the snow. The bells are ringing in her head again, her shoulder feels like a million knives stabbing inside, and quite frankly, the snow feels like the best thing on her right now.
As Nadia manages to roll over, and grab her shoulder in pain in the process, Elena drops the log and stands over her legs. "Do you know, Nadia, how it feels to watch the thing you've worked so long for fail on you? Do you?"
Through her gritted teeth, Nadia growls "I don't give a shit!"
"I raised you to be a lady, Nadia. You continue to disappoint me." Elena walks over to Nadia's side and gives her a swift kick, causing another part of Nadia's body to hurt like heck. "That's for back talking your orphan mother. Now, as I was saying, I had high hopes for you in Sovogda. You were trained to snap a person's neck in a second. So why, oh why, did you try to slowly strangle Sydney?"
Nadia sarcastically replies through pained breaths "Oh I don't know...I was infected? Maybe I couldn't think clearly? Or maybe I had a shred of humanity in me that didn't want to kill my sister?"
Elena chuckles. "Perhaps. And now, you disappoint me even more with that silly assassination attempt."
Nadia sneers at Elena. "I got closer to you than Kelly did on me last night!"
Now Elena lets out a laugh. "You probably did! I had my doubts on if Kelly could pull that off. Like you, she's also too hasty."
At this point, Elena reaches into her coat pocket and pulls out her gun.
As she sees the Glock in her hand, a thousand fears race through Nadia's mind. She starts to wonder what she's going to endure in Hell. A few hundred ideas float through her head on that. But the most painful thoughts dwell around the thought of losing her family, her husband, her adopted son, her daughter...poor Maria's not going to understand this. It'll crush her. And it's crushing Nadia right now.
Elena notices Nadia's pain on her face. "You know what I have to do now."
Nadia desperately shakes her head, tears falling down her face. "Please...I have a daughter. She needs me!"
"Aww, how touching."
"Just let me go! I'll leave you alone!"
"And if I let you go, we'll just happily go on her merry way?"
"Yes! You won't see me ever again!"
Elena smirks. "You're right...I won't." She then draws her gun and points it right at Nadia's head.
"ELENA!"
Elena looks behind her quickly. A couple feet behind her, Irina Derevko has arrived, holding her Glock in her left hand. Elena scowls at her sister. "You make one move towards me, I will pull this trigger."
Irina smirks as she steps forward. "Go ahead."
Siberian Forest (Elysium)
With a half-ring of Il Credo Divino assassins surrounding him and the portal to Hell, Tom feels alone in this world as he paces nervously back and forth, back and forth.
His sudden appearance followed by his repeated shouts of "MAMMON! MAMMON!" caused quite a stir among not only the assassins, but the two guards on the other side of the portal. One of them went running for Mammon a couple minutes ago and hasn't been back...
...until now. He steps through the portal and, in typical fashion, announces "Gentlemen, it is my great pleasure to introduce the Elysian Ambassador of Hell: Mammon!" The man scurries back to the portal.
The imposing Mammon steps from around the corner and through the portal. The 7 footer, as usual, is loaded in enough gold jewelry to make Mr. T blush and glorious silk robe. In fact, this robe almost looks like the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Tom doesn't let Mammon stop before addressing him. "Now that you've made your big entrance, let's get to..."
Mammon holds up his hand as he comes up to a stop. His voice is as deep and gravely as ever. "Hold on. Who are you to accuse me of making a big entrance when you just made one yourself?"
"Judge not lest ye be judged. We're both guilty of the same crime. And it's my crimes that make you want me so much for your collection, is it not?"
Mammon nods his head. "Indeed. Now, what do you want?"
Tom shakes his head quickly. "No, no. It's not what I want here. It's what you want. You want me. You don't want my wife."
Mammon raises a curious eyebrow. "How would you know what I want?"
"Because you want the most wicked of the wicked! You want a man that brutalized cartel members, slashed throats, and just returned to you over four dozen cartel members by deceiving them and leading them to their explosive freaking graves! You don't want a burglar who killed her corrupt boss and killed Martin Bishop because her father mislead her about her mother's death."
Mammon folds his arms. "That's right. Are you saying Nadia's inbound soon?"
"She's off trying to take on Elena freaking Derevko by herself! And my mother just sent Irina Derevko, a woman who's stabbed more backs than the people who killed Caesar combined, as support! So yes, she could be headed your way soon and I don't want that!"
Mammon chuckles. "I'll be just as content if I can add Nadia to my so-called collection."
"But you'd still ache that you could never get your hands on me. I want to fix that."
Mammon raises both his eyebrows in surprise. "What are you saying?"
Tom steps forward. "If Nadia arrives in Purgatory, you're to return her to Elysium so she can continue being a mother to her children. In exchange...you get me."
Mammon's face goes into shock. "Have you gone mad?"
"No, but I will be when my daughter asks for the thousandth time why her mother, the one person she looks up to the most, is gone. My kids need their mother FAR more than they need me!"
From behind Tom, Alec Derevko's voice is heard. "They need both their parents."
Tom's and Mammon's attention turns to Alec, who is the only assassin who doesn't have his hood up. His bald head almost glistens in the brownish/orange glow that the portal is giving out.
Mammon asks "Who is this?"
Alec starts walking towards Tom. As he does, he tells Mammon "I'm the guy you actually want."
Tom starts shaking his head quickly. "Alec! What are you doing?"
Alec sets a hand on his shoulder and says "We need to talk."
Before Mammon can protest, Alec and Tom disappear. Mammon confoundedly asks "What just happened?"
Tom and Alec reappear in a nearby clearing. Tom doesn't appear to have triggered the teleportation, judging by his consternation for being here. "Alec, what are you doing?"
Alec lets go of Tom's shoulder. "Take a look around you. One of the biggest moments of my life took place here a few weeks ago."
Tom looks around, then throws up his arms. "Where are we?"
"A place where your mother led me, Laurent, and Rambaldi to try to get us to trust Irina Derevko again."
"A very tough sell that I'm not sold on."
"Obviously. That's why you're here."
"Exactly. Alec, I didn't have a choice when Nadia and Maria were killed by Sloane. I wanted to be in their position so bad and now I have that choice! If I give up my life, Maria has her mommy! That's the way it should have been 5 years ago and that's the way it should be now!"
"I knew you'd come to barter your life for Nadia's because you don't trust Irina to do the right thing. But I do."
"Why the sudden change?"
Alec lets out a sigh. "I don't belong here, Tom. I'm only here because my entry was granted by Rambaldi. I deserve to be in Hell."
"Why are you saying this? You killed people for your creed..."
"...and I raped an innocent woman to hold up my promise to Rambaldi to be Sydney's and Nadia's seedbearer."
Tom gives him a shocked and disgusted look. "What?"
Alec shakes his head. "I was desperate and she was the only friend I had left in my latter years. But what was done is done and I'm here when I shouldn't be."
"Some would make an easy argument that I shouldn't be here either..."
"Raping an innocent friend is, to me, far more heinous than anything you did. That's why I'm going to fall on the sword for Nadia, not you."
"Alec! You don't have to do this!"
Alec continues to look at Tom sternly. "Yes I do. I have no family. Alisa doesn't speak to me, and when my son Pavel learned what I had done, he disowned me. I'm the equivalent of a homeless man who hangs around paradise. I have nothing and I don't deserve to be here..."
"Alec..."
"A family will be broken up if you do this and I sit and do nothing! I know there is nothing I can say that can get you to change your mind on offering up yourself. So that's why I'm stepping in to take your place. But in the end, I still don't think it will be necessary."
"Because you believe in Irina?"
"Yes. I believe in Irina Derevko." As Tom hangs his head and goes to say something, Alec continues. "Go home. Have Mary take the kids to your house. Nadia will need her family when she returns alive."
"But what if she doesn't?"
Alec sighs. "Then this is the last time you see me. My life is in Irina's hands. This is how she earns my trust again. Now go. I will speak no more."
Alec teleports back to the portal to make his pitch to exchange his life for Nadia's if she were to perish.
Tom just stands in the field alone for a moment. It always bugged Tom how cantankerous and cranky Alec always was, but now Tom understands that Alec was filled with so much self-pity for what he did to Alisa, it turned into anger. And he also makes the connection that he was angry at Irina for turning out the way she did, when the only reason she exists was because Alec made a decision to sacrifice his honor to keep a promise.
And now that man, as he said, is falling on the sword to keep Tom's family intact. Tears form in Tom's eyes over the grief that he feels that someone sacrificed his life for him. No one has ever done that for him in this manner.
But Tom did for Nadia. Was this how she felt, knowing someone was willing to die for her? Was this how she felt when Mary blew herself up to save Nadia from the Soviets? How would she have felt if Tom bartered himself to Nadia could live? How would his kids have felt?
Right now, Tom feels glad that he didn't have to leave Nadia and his kids asking those questions.
But he also feels really hopeful in Irina so that he doesn't have to live for the rest of eternity with Alec weighing on his conscience.
West of Frolovo, Russia (Elysium)
"Mom?"
Irina smirks at her daughter as she steps forward, like she was the keeper of the biggest secret that's ever been revealed. "Are you really surprised?"
Elena gives Irina one disbelieving look. "You really are a snake."
Irina gives Elena a cocky look. "Oh, there was a method to my madness all along. It was never about the rest of us three. We were the ones that launched all of this. Now, all the supporting cast members are gone and freedom and vengeance are in our hands."
Elena keeps the gun pointed at Nadia, but still isn't buying this. "I don't believe you."
"Tell me, when was the last time you talked to Sloane?"
Elena doesn't answer, but Irina knows how to look for a disappointed look, and Elena's giving the tell. Sloane and Elena haven't been talking.
Irina smirks. "Exactly. I knew where Sloane was all along. Me and him have been working together."
Elena looks even more displeased. "And why was I not let on to all of this?"
"Because you've been playing coy with us. We weren't sure if we can trust you anymore. We thought you were only interested in living in isolation and nothing more."
"That NEVER was the case! I thought I was being shut out!"
"It's ok, Elena. I've been getting close to Nadia as well..."
Nadia screams "DAMN YOU!"
Irina laughs as she ignores Nadia. "...and I knew she'd be coming here. Clearly, you've gotten the advantage, Elena, and are ready to continue on what we started."
"I was before you got here."
Irina stands a couple feet next to Elena, above Nadia's feet. Irina looks down at Nadia, who's started to cry a little over her mother's apparent betrayal. Irina calmly tells Nadia, like a mother talking to her child "Your biggest weakness was always trust. I knew you'd fall for this."
In between tears, Nadia cries out "You're a goddamn liar! This doesn't even compare to what Elena has done to me!"
Irina chuckles, then points her gun at Nadia with her left hand. "Elena, let me do the honors here. I created this situation, and now I have to clean it up."
Elena lowers her gun cautiously, but keeps holding it at her hip. She still doesn't look entirely sold on Irina, but if she shoots her own daughter, she's ready to believe.
Irina turns back to Elena. "Oh, and when we're done, you'll need to find a scalpel and some tweezers. I have a tracking device in my neck that you'll need to take out. It's explosive, so you'll need to be careful."
Elena gives Irina a disconcerting look. She didn't plan on doing risky surgery today.
Irina pulls back the hammer on the gun, getting it ready to fire. She clicks off the safety. She takes a few deep breaths.
She's ready.
Nadia whimpers "Mother, please!" But she feels it's a futile gesture. It makes sense that Irina would do this now that she thinks of it. Irina turned on Sydney, and now she's turning on Nadia. Irina can hide her hand better than just about anyone else on the planet.
Elena watches in wonder. Her hand starts to fiddle with her gun a bit, a sign of growing impatience.
But what Elena doesn't know is the significance of Irina having the gun in her left hand, which is her off hand. This way, Elena can't see Irina's right eye because Irina's back is turned to her.
This is significant because Irina suddenly gives Nadia a wink with that right eye. It's a wink that is similar in nature to the nod that she gave Nadia during the assault on Mitch Hayes.
It's a wink that says one thing: "I'm still on your side."
The moment Nadia processes it is the moment that Irina suddenly spins to her left and fires at Elena.
POW! POW! POW! POW! POW!
But nothing happens except the loud sounds coming from Irina's gun and the flinch that Elena makes. Elena is still alive. But Irina did not miss.
Irina looks at her gun in disbelief. She releases the ammo clip and takes a look at the bullet that's on top. She immediately notices it doesn't look right, so she pulls it out and looks at the tip.
It's a blank.
Irina can't believe it. Mary gave her a clip of blank ammo rounds. Mary was her biggest ally in her quest for redemption and now...this.
The stunned moment allows Elena to point her gun back at Irina. "I knew you couldn't be trusted."
Elena gets off a shot, but not before Irina recovers enough to swat the gun out of Elena's hand. The shot goes whizzing by Irina's head and the gun goes flying past Nadia's head, the same Nadia who's still registering what's going on while her head and left shoulder throbs in pain.
Irina blocks a punch from Elena, but gets a kick in the shin for her efforts. She goes down to a knee.
Elena gives a mean right hook to Irina's face that sends her crashing to the snow.
Irina tries to pick herself up, but is grabbed from behind by Elena, who wraps her arm around Irina's head for a chokehold. She grapevines her legs around Irina's hips and lies down on her side. Irina tries to fight out of it, but finds it futile. Getting out of a rear naked choke that is properly applied like Elena is applying is hard to get out.
In a matter of about 20 seconds, the lights go out for Irina. She stops fighting. Her body goes limp.
Satisfied, Elena lets go. She gets up to her feet and smiles over her defeated sister. "Just like your daughter, you were always the naïve one of us sisters. And now, if you'll excuse me, I have to clean up the mess that you created in your womb."
Elena turns around to face Nadia...
POW! POW! POW! POW! POW! CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!
While Elena was choking out Irina, her hate and malice was focused entirely on Irina. She didn't give Nadia a second thought.
She didn't see Nadia inching towards the gun that Irina knocked out of her hands.
She didn't see Nadia pointing the gun at her head.
She didn't see Nadia firing the gun at her head.
And while the five bullets from the ammo clip were going through her skull, she didn't hear Nadia screaming at the top of her lungs as each shot went off.
It was the most relieving scream that Nadia has ever screamed. The frustration that built over the year she was in a coma and the frustration that was built through her lied childhood poured out of her as each bullet exited out of the back of Elena's head.
What remains of Elena's face remains frozen as she drops down to her knees, and then falls face first into the snow.
Nadia's sitting up as she watches the bane of her existence disappear.
It is done. Nadia has gotten revenge for all of the things Elena did to her. She forgets her throbbing left shoulder and head that's still ringing a little. Those wounds will heal.
But some wounds just don't heal. And the wounds that don't heal tend to fester over the years.
And then there's some wounds that you just have to heal yourself.
Nadia's festering wound has healed.
END OF CHAPTER