Airborne

She was a double agent working for both sides

Anna's heart sank as she saw Robin flinch. Robert had laid out the truth she could not say. Now, she waited for her daughter's reaction.

"That's a new one," said Robin in a small thoughtful voice. She sighed and began to pace to and fro across the room.

Anna, Andrew and Robert watched her for a few minutes growing more and more puzzled with each of her perambulations.

"Um, Robin, sweetheart, are you okay?" asked Robert.

"Just thinking, Dad," said Robin. "I didn't believe anything could top the 'my mom has an identical twin she never knew about' secret but this one does. This one goes right after the 'by the way you have a teen age brother you never knew about' secret."

"Put that way, it does sound a bit much," commented Andrew.

"You're taking this so calmly," added Robert.

"Nothing will ever beat the Casey secret, Dad. Were you expecting me to … to be pulling my hair out and having hysterics because of what Mom was or did?" asked Robin.

"We … I would understand if … if you felt differently and-" Anna began to say.

"Mom, I knew you were a fence and as much as you tried to shield me from the Jerome business, I did find out all about it later on. I never thought you were perfect. Who is?" Robin sat down on the bed. "Why … why didn't either of you ever tell me?"

"I was going to tell you when Faison first came into our lives," replied Anna. "Maybe I should have."

Robin turned around. "Faison again. He seems to be everywhere."

"Like it or not, our lives are intertwined," said Robert. "We'll get thing untangled, eventually."

"Eventually?" asked Andrew.

"Every secret told is one less hold he has on … on any of us, right?"

"Right," said Andrew.

Robin looked at her parents. "How many more secrets are you going to tell me? Should I start taking notes?"

"We only have an hour to landing," reminded Andrew. "Perhaps, just hit the highlights."

"Of which there are still many," said Robert.

"I only have two questions. How did Mom not know she had a son? And, Dad, what happened to you? Answer those and the rest we can take care of later," said Robin. "My head feels like it's going to explode any second."

"It turned out that there was more than the WSB pursuing us in Venezuela. People who wanted us for their own agendas. I was in no position to withstand an interrogation and Andrew was our first priority. He had to get away even if we did not," explained Anna. "Part of our escape plan was to have Faison hide the memory of your brother then when the time was right your father would unlock them."

"But nothing is ever that simple," said Robert. "Your mum's amnesia lasted a long time. Faison took Andrew away from Andre and disappeared to parts unknown. And I made a deal with the Bureau in exchange for all our lives, yours included."

Robin looked earnestly at her father. "Go ahead tell me. I can tell from your face that it's not good."

"Robert and Anna Scorpio were declared dead. I assumed a new identity as a criminal incarcerated in an African prison. After a few years, I was released and did every assignment given to me."

"Bad assignments?"

Robert nodded. "The things that no one likes to do or talk about. I refuse to elaborate further. Use your imagination if you want to."

"I'm so sorry for you, Dad."

"It made the black box orders go away. That's all that counts. After my deal was done, I left the Bureau. I'd been given reports about you and Anna from time to time but I stayed away. You were better off without me. You'd both moved on. If I'd known that things weren't what they seemed … " Robert's voice trailed off. "When I came back in 2006, you, I mean Eve, really let me have it for leaving the family the way I did."

"Why? It wasn't your fault," said Robin. "Things happen. You deal with it. She should have been happy to have her father back." She turned to Anna. "Mom, when did you find out about Dad? My god, you have Leora, Andrew and a grandchild now. I've missed so much."

"I found out your father was alive out of the blue," said Anna. "It wasn't champagne and roses I can tell you."

"But you divorced Dr. Hayward then-"

"Robin, how do you know these things happened?" asked Anna.

"After my escape attempts, Peter or my minders would show me clippings and sometimes videos of you and Uncle Mac and the girls. It was his way of controlling me by threatening you all."

"Attempts?" asked Robert.

"I was a terrible captive," answered Robin.

"There are some things he didn't tell you," said Anna softly.

"Like what, Mom?"

Anna opened her arms. "Can you come here first? I need a hug."

Robin did as Anna requested. She lay next to Anna with a worried expression on her face.

"I did divorce David that's true enough and … and I lost Leora," said Anna. "She died. Her little heart just wasn't strong enough."

"Oh, Mom, I-"

"There's more, sweetheart," said Anna. "We lost Leora and Georgie's not with us anymore."

"What? No!" exclaimed Robin.

"She was murdered and-"

"The killer better be in jail for life or dead himself!"

"He's quite dead," said Robert.

Anna continued, "Alan and Lila Quartermaine and Tony Jones have also passed on."

Robin gasped. "Oh, god."

"And your friends Sonny and Jason-"

"Are deeper into the mob than ever," finished Robin.

"Why do you think that?"

"It's inevitable. They chose that lifestyle and nothing I could say or do could convince them to choose other options. They could have left like Uncle Duke but they didn't even try," said Robin. "Nowadays, Sonny's running the organization and Jason is his right hand man. Am I close?"

"Bullseye," said Robert.

Robin sighed. "I hope they've found some personal happiness. Were they around Eve much?"

"There's contact but nothing close. Emma's not around them," said Anna. "Emma's father, Patrick Drake, keeps his distance from organized crime."

"She and this Patrick had sense then. Good," said Robin. "This is another reason why I can't go back as me. My old life is gone."

"What do you mean not come back?" asked Robert visibly alarmed.

"I don't know what I'll do about my identity, Dad. A new one or resume the old?"

"We can explain it any way we want."

"But what's the right way for Robin?" asked Anna. "She's not going away, Robert. I'm putting a dermal tracer on her as soon as I can."

"I need time to think. Get to know my brother. Maybe I can go around town incognito for a while," said Robin.

"A few people know the truth about you and Eve," said her mother.

"Who?"

"Bobbie, Monica and Tom Hardy. And Patrick, his brother and father. You're not completely cut off from everyone," said Anna. "We have all the time in the world to explain your situation. Don't worry about it."

"I have decisions to make."

"Yes, but-"

"I've waited YEARS, Mom. I don't want to wait much longer."

There came a knock on the door. Mac popped his head in, "We're landing in twenty minutes."

They left the bedroom and returned to their seats. Robin took Andrew by the hand and made him sit beside her.

She buckled herself in and said to Andrew. "Okay, in twenty minutes or less time, tell me who Andrew Scorpio is."

"I ought to be surprised by this behavior but I'm not," said Andrew.

"Come on. What do you like to do? Favorite book? Movies? Shows? Sports?"

"Don't you want to know about Faison and me? My childhood? How Father found me? All that stuff?"

"I'm sure that those details are important and they made you who you are. But I want to know who you are now not who you were," said Robin. "Frankly, I'm on secrets and details overload. Let's talk about the easy stuff."

"Like what?"

"What's your favorite color? Do you have a girlfriend?"

"How do you do that?" asked Andrew.

"Do what?"

"Start a conversation. You make it look so effortless."

"You open your mouth and let the words out," said Robin. "Let me guess, you don't like talking about yourself."

"And you like to figure out what makes people tick," replied Andrew.

Robin grinned. "You see how well we're going to get along."

"A little quid pro quo is in order," said her brother.

"Agreed. We each ask a question. Deal?"

"Fine with me. Lady's first."

There followed an exchange of casual information between the new siblings. In the seats behind them, Anna and Robert listened but did not interrupt. They were learning, too.

Milton Keynes, United Kingdom

Chase Masters spoke towards the speakerphone on his desk. Opposite him, Arn's Operations deputy, Warren Zebac, a slight man in his early fifties, listened intently to the exchange with the Gem follow up team in Vladivostok.

"I'm tempted to send them a gift basket," said Chase. "Almost."

"I wasn't expecting anything when the clerk started with the rapid-fire Russian but, damn, Chase, they were up there trussed up like skinned turkeys on Thanksgiving," said the agent.

"You're sure they were the same squad that hit Hunter's team?"

"Absolutely. They had, um, trophies, if you know what I mean. One of them had Hunter's dog tags in fact."

"Where are they now?"

"After a sizable bribe to the hotel management, we have them. What's your pleasure, boss?" asked the agent. "Land or sea?"

"Get everything they know. How you do that is your call. Then take them on a permanent sea cruise," instructed Chase. "About the Scorpios, no trace at all?"

"No one is talking at the hotel. They're not lying either. They don't know. The cameras had this film on them. We couldn't get anything useful off them," said the agent.

"A group that big can't just disappear," said Warren.

"The Marick plane is gone. Flight plan was made for Budapest."

"And what else? There has to be more."

"There isn't, Chase," said the agent. "Our normal channels don't have anything on them. Maybe they are on their way to Budapest or maybe not. I'll report back after my chat with our guests." The agent closed the connection.

"Covering their tracks in a foreign country isn't easy unless they know someone," said Warren.

"Our contacts are in the DVX. Do they know someone on that side of the fence?" asked Chase. "If they do, then they are very well connected and we must approach with care."

"But they're not responsible for the massacre, why bother with them any more?" asked Warren.

"Because Arn thinks there's something about them worth investigating."

"Arn's stomach's been right more times than wrong."

"Exactly." Chase stretched and yawned. "Jet lag. Not as young as I once was."

"Compared to me you're a spring chicken," said Warren. "Is this what you want me to do - track the Scorpios?"

"Arn is obsessed about them. He's not letting it go. I want you to tackle something else."

"Sure. What?"

"I need a specific type of Minerva operative for a very important assignment," said Chase. "She should be fluent in Russian, a native if possible. Able to be charming but quick on her feet. High intelligence is a necessity. Age should be older, more mature but physically fit. An older woman will arouse less suspicion. Someone that would require only minimal cosmetic surgery. Do we have anyone in the field training program now that would fit that description?"

"Off the top of my head, no, but I'll check again," said Warren. "If not, I'll start a recruitment operation. When do you need her?"

"She needs to be in place by summer."

"That is tight, Chase."

"I know but this is vital to our organization's future, Warren. Accelerate what you can."

"I'm more concerned about finding the right candidate," said Warren. "How long will the mission be? If it's a short course then I can think of shortcuts."

"Start summer and out of the field before Christmas."

"A temporary personality imprint should be enough. You had me worried there."

"It has to be permanent. Where she's going to be deployed, there's no room for mistakes. She has to be perfect," said Chase. "And, Warren, she won't be coming back to us or to anyone else. She can't leave Moscow. You understand?"

Warren gaped. "You're not going after the holy grail of the Minerva Project? Even Donely couldn't do it."

"Just because he couldn't infiltrate the DVX's higher ranks with his own agent doesn't mean it's undoable," argued Chase. "He didn't have the resources we have now. He didn't have Compound X, did he?"

"Chase, in order to do this, to have the perfect Agent X, we need to find someone that fits the Minerva profile to a tee without modification," protested Warren. "We've spent years searching and recruiting. No one fits the qualifications."

"But we've come close and that's good enough. Compound X at near full strength and our imprint methods and training will do the rest," said Chase. "Find me a Minerva, Warren."

"The best fit would be an agent on our side or theirs," mulled Warren.

"Give me a list of potential Minervas and I'll handle the recruiting personally," said Chase.

"This … this kind of candidate is usually very strong-willed. In order to overcome that will, our training will have to be aggressive. If we had some Compound A we could be more certain of imprinting our needed profile over her own. But A has tradeoffs."

"It won't matter if she's a mental vegetable afterwards. She has one job to do. If she does that well, that's enough," said Chase. "We have no quantities of Compound A at all?"

"No. We switched to X a while back. More stable and less fatalities."

Chase rubbed at his eyes. "Yeah, Arn told me that. I forgot. God, I'm tired. I can't think straight."

"Delegate, Chase."

"I'm trying," replied Chase with a smile. ""One more thing you need to know. Sean Donely will be coming over for a visit in a week or so. Let's roll out the red carpet shall we?"

"He's onboard?"

"Yes, yes, he is," said Chase. "Arn and I have been waiting to tell everyone. Sean founded the Gems and it's only fitting he's one of us again."

On board the mega-yacht Callisto Star

The cultured and kind voice intruded upon his consciousness. "Wake up, Peter."

"What … what is it?" asked Peter blinking furiously at the lamp light illuminating the dim cabin. "Are … are they here?"

"You're perfectly safe. We need to talk then you can go back to sleep." This voice was firmer and its cadence was crisp.

"Tired. Talk tomorrow," mumbled Peter.

A rustle of fabric then the cold slap of water on his face and body as a pail of water showered on to him. He sat upright. His arms flailed about.

"What … the … crazy …" he spluttered.

"Russian water has it's own brand of chill doesn't it, Doctor? You should try the sea water. Invigorates one's survival instincts like nothing else," said Charlotte. She tapped her cane on the deck. "It leaves an indelible impression."

"We've let you eat and rest and kept you safe," put in Helena. "Now, it's time you started paying your bill."

"What d-d-do you want to know? C-c-can I change clothes first?" said Peter through chattering teeth.

"Of course but first tell us where your alternate location is? The sooner we can get there, the better for all of us," said Helena.

"M-M-Mersin, Turkey. The lab and the r-r-residence are mostly ready," said Peter.

"So close to my island home," said Helena. "How wonderful."

"Meet us in fifteen minutes in the main salon," said Charlotte.

An alarm began to sound. Sinclair looked at his watch.

"Oh, god, oh god, I … I forgot. I have to go," he babbled.

"Go where?" asked Helena.

"I can't be late!" Peter jumped out of bed and began to change clothes. "Get a ticket. Wait, I can't see him. He'll kill me! I would kill me!" He looked at the two women. "You have to hide me. Anything you want if … if you hide me."

"HIde you from whom?"

"From my cousin Cesar. I have an appointment to meet him and-"

"The date, time and location? Tell me!" snapped Charlotte.

Peter grinned. "I don't have to show up. I didn't tell HER anything. I can make something up! Yes! Something about … about Anna, Tessa, whoever." His expression changed. "But, but he went THERE. He must know she's dead. They went after Elena so THEY know that … that she's …"

He found himself pressed against the wall with Charlotte's hand keeping him where he was. "Are you talking about Robin Scorpio and Cesar Faison?"

"Yes. How do you know? Who ARE you?" asked Peter.

"I'm someone who could be your best friend or your worst enemy. You'll have to decide which and soon," said Charlotte. "Allow me to put your mind to rest. Faison, by now or very soon, must know that Robin is alive and that the one who died was an imposter."

"How could he know?"

"He has impeccable sources," said Helena.

"He's not going to be happy with you, is he?" asked Charlotte. She let go of Peter's shirt.

"He doesn't know I did ANYTHING!" exclaimed Peter. "Besides, it … it was an accident. She reacted to the drug the wrong way.

"That really won't matter to him. You caused his beloved Anna to have prolonged amnesia. You took her daughter away," said Charlotte. "I'm certain he's looking forward to seeing you."

"How do you KNOW all this?" Peter began to move away from Charlotte.

"You left evidence. Sloppy work there."

"Peter, please, calm down. You're safe. You can continue to stay safe if you work with us," said Helena. "Now, tell Charlotte about your meeting."

"Why?" asked Peter. "It's a family matter. Confidential."

"The things we do for family," said Charlotte.

"Elena is dead. The Foundation's carcass will be picked on for decades to come," said Helena. "Faison WILL kill you. You have no more family, Peter. No where else to go to. But we can be your new family, Peter."

"He'll find me wherever I am."

Helena exchanged a look with Charlotte. "He's not as all-knowing as you believe. We have ways to neutralize him. Do you want to live?"

"Yes."

"Get dressed," said Helena. "Then we'll talk about your … role in our new family."

"All right."

"We promised Elena that we would help you and we will but you do have to do your part. Will you do that?"

"Yes, Helena."

Helena smiled. "Then I predict the beginning of a very successful partnership."