Hi, this is a story I started over at SD1. I enjoy reading the fics over here, so I thought I'd post mine here as well. If anyone likes it, I'll continue to post.

It's a parallel universe theory, with Victor and Lena ending up in the world of ALIAS and Jack/Irina dropping into our world.

Everything ALIAS belongs to J.J., ABC and Bad Robot. Lena, Victor and every other real person depicted belong to themselves and the story is purely the imagination of the writer, with no basis in reality.

Since it is ALIAS and people will get hurt, I'll give it a PG 13 rating

Spoilers - not sure, through S2 and beginning of S3

Chapter 1

April 2003 – Los Angeles, 8pm

It was late at night, as usual. The second unit crew was shooting some extra footage on the Disney lot. Victor Garber, as CIA agent Jack Bristow, was strapped to a chair having been ‘tortured’ by Arvin Sloane. The director yelled “action” and “Il Dire” came to “life” behind the false wall, crewmembers flicking the lights on and off, making rattling noises. And then everything went black. When the lights came back on, Victor blinked, and found himself fighting off a queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. He blinked again. The production crew was gone. The people, the cameras, the stage lights. Everything. He was alone, still strapped to the chair. He called out tentatively “Hello?”

Across town, the first unit was finishing up at the warehouse, filming the gun battle between Sloane, his men, Sydney and Vaughn. Everyone was tired, they’d already done a number of takes. The sounds of the guns in the confined space did nothing to ease the migraine building inside Lena Olin’s head. She shook it off and waited patiently for her cue. At the appropriate moment, her alter ego, Irina Derevko, stepped into the hallway and began firing at the bad guys. “Go after Sloane”, Irina yelled, then exited through a door, stage left.

Just then, the lights flickered for a few seconds, went out completely and just as suddenly came back on. Lena, feeling dizzy exited through the door and found herself on the roof of the building. Questioning her sanity, she thought to herself, ‘This looks like the setting for the rooftop/bungee jump sequence. How did I get here and where’s the crew’?

As Lena examined her new and yet familiar surroundings, Agent Sydney Bristow burst through the door, aiming her gun at the figure in front of her. “Don’t move”, Sydney yelled out.

Lena spun around and started to say, “Jennifer, what’s…”, but she’s cut off as Sydney fires a warning shot that whizzes by her ear.

“I’ve shot you before, I’ll do it again”, Sydney says with venom in her voice.

Lena’s mind started spinning, ‘what’s going on, that shot felt real’. It only took a second for Lena to realize that although she had NO idea what was going on, she was certain that she did NOT want to get shot. ‘And bungee jumping off the building is definitely out’, she thought to herself ruefully. “Okay, sweetheart, take it easy, I give up” she said, slowly raising her hands.

Shocked by her mother’s sudden compliance, Sydney stood still for a moment, not comprehending the chatter coming through her earpiece---

“Sydney, this is Dixon, do you copy? We have your father, he’s okay. And Vaughn reported in, he got Sloane, what’s your status”?

Spurred by the news about her father, Syd responded “I’m on the roof, I’ve got Derevko”.

“Copy that Sydney, we’ll send you back-up”, Dixon advised.

Sydney’s gaze never left her mother and she was surprised to see that Irina Derevko, an international terrorist who had stayed under the radar of every law enforcement agency on the planet, had not moved an inch or made any attempt to escape. Sydney wasn’t about to be fooled into complacency as she commanded “Ok, with your left hand only, slowly remove your gun belt and set it on the ground”. Lena complied, making sure not to make any sudden motions.

“Take three steps towards me and get on the ground, face down”, Sydney ordered her mother. Lena hesitated for a second, but moved when she saw ‘her daughter’s’ finger twitch on the trigger.

As Lena proned out on the roof, Weiss and another agent came through the door, guns drawn. “Wow, you really got her. Guess we hit the trifecta tonight! Sloane, Il Dire and your mother.” Sydney smiled at Weiss’ comment, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t quite right.

“Eric, can you take over, I’ve got to see my dad”, Sydney asked. ----

Sydney sprang out of the lobby elevator and rushed over to where her dad was being tended to by some medics. “Dad, I was so worried about you. Are you okay, did Sloane hurt you? What happened?”

“Easy Sydney, one question at a time.” Jack Bristow answered his daughter, trying to calm her down. “Yes, I’m okay, no, he didn’t really hurt me and to tell you the truth, I’m not sure what happened”.

Marcus Dixon walked over to the embracing Bristows, “Sorry to break this up, Syd, where’s Derevko?”

“Weiss took over for me on the roof, he should be here any…” before Sydney could finish, Weiss and his partner stepped out of the elevator, a dazed looking Irina Derevko, her hands cuffed behind her, in tow.

“Sydney, you caught your mother? How?”, a stunned Jack Bristow asked.

“That’s not all, Jack, we got Sloane and his machine too,” Dixon interrupted, “and I’m not sorry to say that he was shot trying to get away. He’ll be all right, though. Vaughn’s waiting at the airfield for us. Kendall wants Sloane and Derevko transported directly to Camp Harris”.

Sydney filled her father in on her mother’s capture, “She gave up Dad, just surrendered. I really don’t understand. And she acted a little confused when I first caught her, calling out ‘Jennifer’, I think.

Jack jumped up and pushed his way past the medics ministering to him. “I’ve got to talk to your mother, Sydney, it’s important, just wait here. All of you, just wait here. That’s an order”. He purposefully strode over to where two agents stood guarding a very confused looking Irina Derevko. “I need to talk to the prisoner, alone”. The two agents shrugged and moved out of earshot, not taking their eyes off Derevko.

“Irina”, Jack began, turning his back to the group of agents in the lobby so no one could see his facial expressions as he talked to his ‘wife’. “If I were to tell you that you looked an awful lot like a beautiful Swedish actress I happen to know, what would you say?”

Lena’s eyes focused on the man standing in front of her, slowly comprehending what he had said, “I’d say you look just like a kind and talented actor of stage and screen I’ve had the pleasure of working with for the past seven months”.

“Lena…”

“Victor…”

It looks like some people are reading, so I'll post a few more chapters.

Chapter 2

“Victor, what’s going on? Where are we? What’s happened to J.J. and the crew? My God, they’re treating me like I’m really a terrorist.” Lena said in a panicked voice. “Jennifer took a shot at me and these handcuffs, they are not props.”

“I’m not sure what’s going on, Lena, I actually have a theory, but it’s just too unbelievable”, Victor replied. “Can you tell me what happened to you, how you got here?”

Lena quickly relayed her story, about filming a scene at a set in Los Angeles, the lights flickered and dimmed, then ending up on the roof of a building with an apparently real Sydney Bristow pointing a gun at her. “I may look like a terrorist, but I only play one on TV. I gave up, so I wouldn’t get shot!”

“Wait a second, you said the lights flickered and dimmed, just before you ended up on the roof? Everything had been normal up to that point?” Victor asked.

“That’s right, everything was fine prior to the lights going out. When they came back on, that’s when I found myself in a completely different place”, Lena repeated.

Victor filled Lena in on what had happened to him, mirroring her story about things being normal until the lights flickered and went out. “And that happened when they ‘threw the switch’ for Il Dire. Only the machine isn’t real, it was just a bunch of guys playing with the lights and sound effects. But when the lights came back on, the crew was gone. The next thing I knew, Carl, I mean Dixon, came into the room to ‘rescue’ me. He was reciting the lines straight from the script, but it was Dixon, not an actor playing Dixon. At first I thought it was an elaborate joke, you know, a big send-off for the last episode of the season. I quickly realized that J.J. didn’t have the time or money to spend on such a ruse. So, I just played along, following the script as best I could. Until Sydney said she had taken you into custody. I knew that was wrong and when she said you seemed confused and called out ‘Jennifer’, well, don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m glad you’re here”, he said with a smile.

“Forgive me if I don’t share your enthusiasm, Victor, but things are just fine for you. You’re a respected, loved and trusted CIA agent. But I’m going to be hard pressed to find anyone that doesn’t want to see me tortured or executed”.

“I know. Kendall’s already given orders that you’re to be taken directly to Camp Harris, along with Sloane”, Victor said as he watched the fear grow in Lena’s eyes. “But I won’t let that happen, don’t’ worry”, he reassured her. “Remember, Kendall’s not my boss. I’ll just countermand his order and make sure you go back to Los Angeles with us. Trust me. Damn…”

“What is it?” Lena asked.

“I just realized that we’re going to have to give the best performances of our lives and nobody’s going to be around to see it”, he mused.

Just then Sydney and the others walked up. “Dad, we have to go. Vaughn’s holding the plane, Sloane needs medical attention and they’re waiting for mo--, Derevko”.

“Tell him to take off, Sydney. Irina is returning to Los Angeles with us. I’m sure there’s still room for her at the Ops center. She’s got information that we need now, I’ll debrief her on the plane”, Jack/Victor said with authority.

Sydney, Weiss and Dixon all blurted out “Kendall’s gonna be pissed”.

“And since when has that bothered me”, Jack/Victor said with a wry grin.

Jack gave explicit instructions for the ‘clean up’ crew to be meticulous in dismantling Il Dire. He emphasized the need to document and video tape everything. He wasn’t sure how, but he knew that damned Rambaldi device was responsible for the situation two confused, middle-aged actors found themselves in. He then commandeered two vehicles to drive Dixon, Weiss, Sydney, and himself, escorting Lena/Irina, to the private airfield just outside town.




Chapter 3

As the group made their way to the CIA jet, four heavily armed U.S. Marshals approached Lena. No one saw the pleading look she gave her ‘husband’ as they removed the handcuffs and secured her with a waist chain and leg irons. She was quickly taken on board the plane and shackled to a seat, an armed guard sitting on either side of her. Everyone took their seats and the plane quickly took off.

Once the plane reached cruising altitude, Jack got up and said he was going back to debrief Irina. Sydney watched in confusion as her father told the marshals to leave and took a seat next to her mother and, did she see that? Did her father just gently, almost reassuringly clasp her mother’s hand? Weiss must have seen it too as he said “Syd, what’s with Jack? Did Sloane’s machine turn back the clock on him? He’s acting all protective of your mother, like he’s worried about her or something.”

“I don’t know, Eric, I just don’t know…”, Syd said shaking her head.

“Lena, are you all right?” I’m sorry about the restraints, I really didn’t think there was anything I could do about that. Can I do anything for you?” Victor asked, as he gently rubbed his thumb along the back of Lena’s shackled hands.

She looked up at him with tears in her eyes, “Victor,… Lasse, my children, what if I never see them again?”

“Lena, don’t even think that way, you’re going to see your family again soon, we both will. I won’t lie to you, I don’t know how, but we will find our way back. You have to believe that.”

“Do you believe that, Victor?”

“Yes I do, with all my heart.”

“All right then”, Lena said with determination, willing the tears back, “what do we do now, Jack?”

‘Jack Bristow’ smiled at his ‘wife’ and her new found confidence. “First we have to make sure you don’t end up at Camp Harris and the only way to do that is for you to cooperate with the CIA. We have to think of something to mitigate your culpability. Damn, why did this have to happen at the end of the season? I have no idea what J.J. has planned for next year,” Jack said, his frustration showing.

“We might not know about next year, but we still have the end of this ‘episode’ to work with, Victor. What about ‘evil’ Francie? If everything up until Il Dire was activated went the same in this world as it did in ours, Will Tippen is going to discover Allison Doren. She in turn will attempt to kill him…and the fight between Sydney and Allison, can we prevent that?”…the transition from Lena to Irina was rapidly taking place.

“You’re right, that just might work. We might not know who, or how, but somebody is after Sydney, responsible for a two year disappearance. If we can stop that, it might give us enough time to figure out what happened to us, and also get Sydney to trust us enough to tell her the truth. Something else that might help. I can tell them that you and I have been working together since Panama. No, really”, Victor continued when Lena gave him a curious look. “It’s not that far-fetched. J.J. told me that right after the Panama episode, the internet was buzzing with chatter about your ‘betrayal’, the fans were actually hoping it was an elaborate scheme we devised the night we slept … anyway, do you really think I could have planted the tracker without your knowledge?” he said with a chuckle.

“Well, that would definitely buy me some time, but it might get you into trouble. Why don’t we take this one step at a time. Let’s work on tonight’s events first. Can you have CIA send a team to Sydney’s house? And we need to make sure that she’s never left alone tonight.”

Jack got up to leave, “I’ll take care of it. I’ve got to go set this in motion. Will you be all right?”

“Of course,” she said, looking down at the handcuffs, “did you ever see ‘Romeo is Bleeding’? This is nothing.”

Chapter 4

Jack walked forward knowing he had to contact the CIA and realized he had absolutely no idea how to do that. So he improvised, “Dixon, get Kendall on the phone, NOW. Sydney, your mother just gave me some information, it’s going to be difficult for you to hear.”

Dixon handed the phone to Jack, “Kendall’s on the line.”

“Sit down Marcus, this affects you as well.” Taking the phone, Jack thought to himself ‘damn, what the hell is this guy’s first name?, oh well’, “Kendall, Bristow. I need you to get a team over to Sydney’s house immediately. Will Tippen’s life is in danger. Derevko told me she just found out that Allison Doren, the second double, is posing as Sydney’s roommate, Francie Calfo. Sloane put her in place around the time we took down SD-6. She’s been spying on us since then, probably using Tippen without his knowledge. She also killed Dixon’s wife, on Sloane’s orders.” Jack paused while Kendall spoke. He glanced at Dixon and his daughter and saw the torment in each one’s eyes. “No”, Jack continued, “I believe Irina’s telling the truth, I have my reasons, which I’m not going to go into now. Just get a team over there now. Save Tippen and take Doren alive, if possible.” As Jack hung up the phone, he finally noticed Dixon had gotten up. He turned toward the back of the plane and saw Dixon advancing on Irina. “Dixon, stand down!”

Irina looked up just as Dixon reached for her throat. “You knew about the double, you knew and didn’t say anything! My wife, the mother of my children! I should kill you here and now”.

One of the marshals grabbed Dixon and pulled him away from Irina. Jack rushed up, “Marcus, she didn’t know then. She was in custody. Sloane was working his own agenda. Irina didn’t know, I swear to you. Sloane and Doren are responsible for Diane’s death. We have Sloane, we’ll get Doren. Irina’s helped us to do that. Believe what I’m saying.”

Dixon turned from Jack, slipping out of the marshal’s grip, a blank expression on his face, once again reliving the agony of seeing his wife die. Thoughts raced through his mind, ‘Jack’s right, Derevko isn’t responsible. Not this time. Sloane gave the order, maybe Doren carried it out, but I’m responsible’. That realization hit Dixon like a sledge hammer. He was responsible. He failed to take down Sloane in Tuscany and that cost Diane her life. It was a harsh truth, but now that he was finally forced to admit it, maybe, just maybe he could move on.

Everyone returned to their seats, the remainder of the flight passing in silent tension. As soon as they landed, Sydney turned to her father, “why haven’t we heard anything?”

Jack shook his head and took the cell phone that Dixon had used to call Kendall, ‘God, I hope this thing has redial’ he thought to himself.

He was rewarded when Kendall answered, “Jack, I was just going to call you. The team just reported in. You were right, Doren was posing as Sydney’s roommate. She and Tippen got into a helluva fight. Tippen was injured. Doren was shot resisting arrest. She’s been taken to Camp Harris for treatment and interrogation. Are you coming here with Derevko?”

“Yes, Dixon and I will bring Irina directly there. I’m sure Sydney wants to check on Tippen”. Kendall gave Jack the name and location of the hospital and hung up.

“Sydney, I know you have to see Will, but there are a few things we really need to talk about. Weiss, go with Sydney, and stay with her, and as soon as you can, report back to Ops.” Jack noticed the marshals putting Irina in the back of an unmarked SUV. “Dixon, let’s go”, Jack ordered, getting into the lead vehicle.

Upon arrival at the Ops center, Jack sent Dixon to stall Kendall while he accompanied the marshals as they escorted Irina to the cell block. Finished with prisoner processing, where she was searched and given standard prison clothing, she was taken to her cell. Once there, the shackles were removed and the door slammed shut. Irina was once again in the confines of the glass cage, with Jack on the outside, looking in. “Will you be all right?” he asked softly.

Lena looked around, “It’s going to be an even longer night, they took my pillow and blanket” she said chuckling. “Jack”, she had almost slipped and called him Victor, but then she remembered the cameras and recording devices, “how long do we have to keep this up?”

“A few more hours. I need to feel Kendall out, see how receptive he is to working with you. I actually thought I’d talk to Sydney first. I’m pretty sure she already suspects something anyway. I’m being way too compassionate and you’re being way too cooperative. But, she’s always been the level headed member of the family, and if I can convince her…”

“Ok, go then, I’ll just wait here”, Lena said with a sly smile, “but Jack, don’t take too long”, she added, placing her palm against the glass.

Victor returned the gesture and turned to leave, desperately hoping he could find his way to the Rotunda without asking for directions.

Chapter 5

3am

Shortly after Victor left her, Lena heard the security gates rise and fall again. ‘God,’ she thought, ‘ that’s an annoying noise, thank goodness I didn’t have to listen to that all season…’ She looked up to see Sydney. Her features were drawn, she looked like she had been crying and she also looked completely vulnerable.

“I’ve just come from the hospital, Will’s going to be fine, they got to him in time. Thank you.” Sydney stared at her mother, daring to look into the soul of the devil, “did you know? Could you have prevented this?”

Irina answered simply, “no, sweetheart”, and with that, Sydney left and began crying again. For Francie, for Will, and for herself. Because she believed her mother.

Lena watched Sydney’s retreating figure. The lights dimmed in her cell and she made her way over to the bed. She lay down on the thin mattress and covered her eyes with her arm. Thoughts of her family, ‘no’, she corrected herself, ‘families’, came into her mind unbidden. A single tear rolled down her cheek as exhaustion finally claimed her.

Sydney found her father arguing with Kendall – “go home, Jack. You’ve made your point. Without Derevko’s help we wouldn’t have captured Sloane or found Doren in time to save Tippen. We also have Il Dire and got back all the Rambaldi pieces she and Sloane had. I agree with you. For now, she stays here. But you need to go, get some rest. You look like hell.”

Jack stood there speechless when he finally felt Sydney gently tugging at his elbow, “come on, Dad. I’ll take you home. We can finish sorting things out later.”

Jack faced Kendall again, “nobody goes near Irina without me being there, agreed”?

“Fine, Jack, you can see for yourself. The lights are down, she’s sleeping. No one will bother her. I give you my word”.

Jack put his arm around his daughter and allowed her to lead him to the garage. He suddenly realized he had no idea what his car looked like or where his keys were. Jack felt relief wash over him as Sydney led him to a non-descript tan Buick.

“I got a pool car”, she explained, “mine’s in the shop”. And with that, the remaining two-thirds of the Bristow clan began their quest for much needed and deserved rest.


Chapter 6

What seemed liked minutes, but was in reality 8 hours later, found Jack and Sydney returning to the Ops center. Each had gotten only a few hours of sleep, but a shower and change of clothes refreshed them and got them ready to face the repercussions of the previous day’s events.

Sydney practically ran over Marshall as she called over her shoulder to Jack, “Dad, I’m going to see Mom, meet you in Kendall’s office”?

Before Jack could answer, Marshall interjected, “Uh, hey Syd, you can’t do that, I mean I’m not trying to stop you from seeing your mom, you have every right to do that. Say, is she a good guy now? Anyway, what I meant is that you can’t see her now ‘cause she’s not here. Langley sent word to transfer her to Camp Harris…oh, I guess if they took her there they must think she’s still a bad…”

Jack’s face went white with fear at Marshall’s words, then red with anger as he spotted Kendall.

“Now listen, Jack”, was all that Kendall managed before Jack hauled off and punched him in the nose. Kendall staggered backward from the blow.

“You son of a b*tch, you gave me your word”.

“Dad”, Sydney moved to restrain her father.

“It wasn’t me, Jack”, Kendall speaking through a bloody nose and tearing eyes. “Langley countermanded both of us. They ordered Sark and Derevko transferred at seven this morning. I wasn’t even here. The message said that ‘unrestricted interrogation’ was needed to expedite intel gathering.

Now it was Jack’s turn to stagger backwards, ‘My God, Lena…’

Chapter 7

“Get her back, now!”, Victor said with all the authority he could muster. He felt the Jack Bristow persona slip away as the anger and adrenaline left him, to be replaced by fear (and pain forming in his suddenly sore hand).

“Wait a minute”, Sydney said, “a message from Langley, like an email? No one spoke to anyone? Doesn’t that seem strange?”

Kendall’s eyes narrowed and he picked up the phone and dialed prisoner intake at Camp Harris. “This is Assistant Director Kendall, JTTF. Have Sark and Derevko arrived yet? He paused, then “what, are you sure? Right, right.” Slamming the phone down, he yelled out ‘Marshall, get over here. That message from Langley, find out where it came from, who sent it, everything. And get me in touch with the agent handling the prisoner transfer.”

“Okay, but if you already know the message came from Langley, what do you mean find out where it came from, I mean there’s only one Langley, right, in Virginia or …”

“MARSHALL! Do a back trace,” Kendall screamed. Turning to face Jack and Sydney he said “We now have reason to believe that transfer order was a fake. Intake at the camp was never notified of a transfer and Sark and Derevko never made it there.”

---
4 hours earlier - Ops center

The noise of the security gates being raised woke Lena from a fitful sleep. ‘Well, a few hours rest is better than none at all. I hope Victor brought breakfast, I’m starving’…her thoughts were cut off and a lump formed in her throat when she saw 4 armed guards (with the much hated chains) entering her cell. Two of the guards grabbed her arms, yanking her off the bed. Before she realized what she was doing, she pulled back, resisting them. She was immediately slammed into the wall, an arm against her throat.

“Don’t move”, one of the guards said menacingly.

She tried to force herself to go limp, becoming passive and almost imperceptively nodded her head in acknowledgement. When she was secured hand and foot, the guards escorted her out of the cell and Lena was surprised to see Sark similarly ‘attired’ , being marched out in front of her. When the contingent exited the building, the prisoners were put into the back of a van and shackled in place. The doors were closed and Lena found herself both literally and figuratively in the dark.

During the ride, Sark tried to engage her in conversation, but she remained stoically silent, afraid the fear in her voice would give her away. The van suddenly swerved to the right and came to an abrupt halt. Had they not been secured to the walls and floor, Sark and Lena would have found themselves plastered against the front compartment. Gunfire erupted outside the van, but it ended as quickly as it began. The doors were thrown open and Sark and Lena blinked several times, trying to adjust to the sudden light.

Several armed, masked men stood outside. One of them took off his mask and sneered at the prisoners as he raised his gun and fired. “Remember me, Irina?”

Chapter 7a

The tranquilizer dart struck Lena in the arm and before she lost consciousness she berated herself, ‘should have watched season one’s DVDs. Now who did Quentin Tarantino play?’

Chapter 8

1pm

Dixon, Vaughn, Sydney, Weiss and Kendall sat around the conference table staring at Jack Bristow as if he had lost his mind.

“Look, I’m telling you the truth. My name is Victor Garber. I’m not a CIA agent, I only play one on TV. Jack Bristow is a character on a television series set in Los Angeles, but, God help me, not THIS Los Angeles. The woman you took into custody last night is NOT Irina Derevko, but an actress named Lena Olin. Why would I make any of this up???”
Victor leaned back in his chair, exasperated. --How many different times and different ways did he have to tell these people what had happened: Il Dire, the power fluctuation, his alternate universe theory-- He’d tell them as many times as necessary. He had to convince them. Lena was out there somewhere, someone had taken her thinking she was Irina Derevko. He had promised to take care of her and so far, he had failed miserably.

He thought back to Marshall’s report to Kendall: “Sir, you were right, the order to transfer Sark and Derevko didn’t come from Langley. It came in on an obsolete server, one we don’t use anymore. It actually belongs to the NSC. And there’s no word from Agent Tomkins or his team. I located his vehicle through the GPS, it’s stationary.” And then the call had come in. Four agents dead, two wounded, both prisoners missing.

Marshall came into the room just then and addressed Kendall. “He’s telling the truth, sir. As far as he knows and I can tell. I mean, the readings all come up right. He definitely believes what he’s telling us and the preliminary medical readings say he’s not Jack Bristow. According to our files, Agent Bristow, Jack, not Sydney, has had several broken bones.” Looking at Victor, Marshall said “this man doesn’t have any such injuries.”

“Wait a minute, what do you mean you suddenly believe I’m telling the truth. And how do you know I’ve never had a broken bone?” Victor asked, his head spinning.

“Well, Kendall, if I wasn’t convinced before, I am now,” Dixon said, “At Jack Bristow’s insistence, several conference room chairs were specially modified to act as lie detectors, surreptitiously reading people with biometric sensors. No way would Jack not know he was sitting in one of those chairs”.

“I agree, Dixon, but knowing he’s not Jack doesn’t solve anything. What the hell do we do now?” Kendall asked rhetorically.

Sydney sat in silence, staring at the man she believed to be her father, as the illusion faded. This man, ‘what was his name?’, had shown more compassion in the past 16 hours than Jack Bristow had in the last 16 years.

Sydney swiftly stopped her thoughts. Her personal issues would have to wait. There was an innocent woman in danger out there. By whatever means or motivation, she had helped to save Will’s life and Sydney vowed to return the favor. “Look”, she said with determination, “we’re all agreed that things ‘changed’ when Il Dire was activated. That’s the key. I think we should go back there, find a way to activate it again and use it to help us.”

“Syd, we have no idea how it works, your mother and Sloane, they’re the Rambaldi experts”, Vaughn began.

“Then talk to Sloane, bleed him for information, and Doren too. I’m tired of playing by the rules and watching innocent people get hurt.”

“Okay, this is what we’re going to do. Agent Bristow, you’ll return to Mexico City with Marshall and Victor. DSR is on site now, examining Il Dire. I’ll arrange for you to get priority access. Find a way to make it work. Agents Vaughn and Dixon, you’ll both go to Camp Harris and interrogate Sloane and Doren. Use everything Camp Harris has available. Get answers. Okay people, let’s make this work.” Kendall stood, signifying the end of the meeting.

Chapter 9

3pm
Enroute to Mexico City

Victor wondered how to talk to Sydney. She barely said anything since leaving the Ops center. She seemed so distant and sad. ‘Oh well’, he thought, taking a deep breath Victor walked over to his ‘daughter’. “Sydney”…

“Please don’t. I’m too confused right now. I don’t know what’s real and what’s not. I can’t talk about it.”

“Fine, then just listen”, he said sternly, then gently lowered his voice. “Don’t judge your father, or mother for that matter, by my actions or what’s happened in the last few hours. I didn’t live Jack’s life, but outside of your father, I probably know him better than anyone. And one thing I can say unequivocally is that he loves you with all his heart, and with all his faults. Didn’t you once tell your father that he ‘loved Irina so much that when she left him, he lost his soul?”

“How did you know that?” she asked through pleading eyes.

“It wasn’t just a line in a script. I think it’s the truth. But little by little, Jack is regaining his soul, through you. Don’t give up on him Sydney. You have a great capacity to love and to forgive. I think that your parents deserve that second chance, or as many chances as it takes to get it right”. Victor stood up and moved to the front of the plane, leaving Sydney to ponder his words.

4pm
Seattle

In a stark warehouse outside Seattle, McKenas Cole paced back and forth staring at the figure strapped to the table before him. “How much longer?” he asked impatiently.

“An hour, maybe two. The drugs are very dangerous if administered too quickly. Guaranteed to work if done properly, guaranteed to kill, otherwise”. The technician adjusted the IV drip as Cole practically drooled in anticipation. Leaning over the unconscious woman, “soon Irina, soon you’ll tell me everything I want to know.”

Chapter 10

6pm
--Mexico City--

Victor, Sydney and Marshall strode into the building housing Il Dire. Sydney flashed the orders from Kendall and then told the DSR (Department of Special Research) people to leave. They hesitated for a moment, saw the look in her eyes and decided not to argue.

The trio approached Il Dire slowly, Victor with apprehension, Sydney with doubt and Marshall with unadulterated joy.

“Wow, Syd, this is so awesome. Hey, isn’t that the clock…”

“Okay, Marshall, work your magic,” Sydney said, prodding Marshall to get over his admiration and down to business. She had a feeling time was running short.


--Seattle--

“She’s ready”, the tech announced. “We’ll start with simple questions to establish a baseline. “What is your name?”

The semi-conscious figure stirred.

“What is your name?”

“Lena, Lena Olin.”

“What, what the f*ck did she say?” Cole asked disbelievingly. He knew Irina Derevko as ‘The Man’, but this name meant nothing to him.

The tech looked at Cole in complete confusion. “I’ll try again. What is your true name, where were you born?”

The woman responded again, “Lena Olin…Hallstrom, Sverige”, then she continued in a language neither man understood.

“This is bullsh*t, I thought you said it couldn’t fail. She’s not even talking Russian.” Cole said, getting more and more agitated.

“I don’t know, I can’t explain it. It’s not possible for her to answer falsely. Maybe she’s been programmed, you said she was in CIA custody for 7 months. Could they have done something to her?”

“How the hell should I know?” He leaned over the woman, “Well Irina, I tried the kinder, gentler method and you wouldn’t play nice. I guess I’ll have to do things the old fashioned way.” To the tech he said, “Bring her out of it.”

“That’s going to take some time as well. If I do it too fast…”, the tech choked on his sentence as Cole grabbed him by the throat. “Just do it.”

A minute later, Cole stormed into the make-shift cell where Sark sat, still shackled hand and foot. “What the hell kind of game is Derevko playing?”

Sark stared at him with a blank look on his face.

“I just gave her a supposedly fool proof truth serum. She started spouting sh*t in Swedish or something, gave me a fake name, one I’ve never heard her use.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I hadn’t seen Irina for over a week before CIA brought her into custody this morning. We had a sort of falling out. She thought I betrayed her by allying with Sloane and I believe she turned me in to the CIA. Whatever game Irina is playing, I’m not privy to it.”

“We’ll see”, Cole pulled out his .40 caliber Smith and Wesson and shot Sark in the right leg, causing him to howl in pain. “God, I feel better already. Old fashioned it is.” He smiled inwardly and turned back to Sark. “If I decide I believe you, maybe I’ll send someone to stop the bleeding, but don’t count on it.” He left the room with Sark desperately clutching at his wound.

Chapter 11

8pm
--Mexico City--

“Are you sure, Victor?”

“The only ones affected by this before were your father and mother, Lena and myself. We can’t guarantee it’ll work that way again, if at all. But, I don’t want to take any chances. You and Marshall wait in the lobby with the DSR people. I’ll activate Il Dire and we’ll see what happens.”

“I know you’re right, but I still don’t like you taking all the chances.”

“Trust me, I don’t like it either. If the film crew were here, they’d be laughing their asses off, or running for cover. I’m no good with props. Hate ‘em. You should’ve seen me with the machinegun, shooting the India/Pakistan scenes.” Victor smiled at the memory.

Sydney grabbed Victor in a bear hug, “Good luck, and I’ll consider what you said…Dad.” She turned and left with Marshall.

Victor turned to Il Dire and following Marshall’s instructions, began to activate the Rambaldi device. After 15 minutes, nothing had happened. Totally despondent, he sank to the floor and covered his eyes. He never saw the lights flicker and finally go out.

(A/N - will be switching between 'real' world and 'alias' world for a while. Real world scenes will be in italics. Hope it's not too confusing.)


Chapter 12

It had been 30 minutes since Sydney lost contact with Victor. She turned to Marshall, “Wait here, I’m going to check on things.”

Exiting the elevator, she went towards the room housing Il Dire. The door opened suddenly and a figure stepped out.

“Sydney…”

“Victor, it didn’t …” she stopped in mid-sentence when she noticed the different clothes, her eyes widened, “Dad?”

“Hi, honey. It’s good to see you.”

“Daddy,” she said, running into his arms.

Jack Bristow held onto his daughter like he never wanted to let her go. After several moments, Jack finally released his grip. “Sydney, you called me Victor, I assume that means you know what happened.” Looking around, he asked “where’s Lena?”

Sydney’s eyes turned dark. “She’s gone.” Sydney brought her father up to speed on what had happened in the past, ‘God, she thought, was it only 24 hours?’ “During transport, 4 agents were killed and Sark and Lena disappeared. That was over 12 hours ago. We don’t know where she is.”

“I’ve got some ideas, but I need to talk to Kendall. Does he know what’s happened?” Sydney nodded affirmatively and Jack continued. “Okay, I take it we’re not in L.A. Where are we and who else is with you here?”

“We’re in Mexico City. After last night, the DSR moved in and has been going over Il Dire. I’m here with Marshall, he actually figured out how to activate the machine. I guess that’s what brought you back and sent Victor…”

“I’m sure he’s safe, Sydney, back where he belongs. Now we just need to work on the second half of this switch. “We’ll leave Marshall here. He’ll probably enjoy himself and I’ll feel better knowing he’s got control of the machine.”
Sydney gave her father a questioning look, surprised that he would openly admit his confidence in Marshall. They found him quickly and left him in charge of Il Dire. The DSR agents were not happy, but some of them had previous experience dealing with the Bristows and knew better than to challenge them. Father and daughter, determination on their faces, left to make their way back to L.A. Jack called Kendall when they were in the air.

“Jack, welcome back.”

“I know you don’t mean that, but thanks anyway. You have no leads…?”

Kendall remained silent.

“Okay, check with the NSC. There’s a leak there, or there will be and look for information into an organization called the Covenant. They’re after something of Rambaldi’s but I don’t know what. They could be interested in Irina and Sydney because of that. Oh, and one more thing. Find out if McKenas Cole is still in custody.” Jack hung up, not giving Kendall a chance to argue or ask questions.

“Cole? Why him and where did you get the information on a possible leak and, what did you call it, a Covenant?” the questions poured out of Sydney.

Jack thought back to the events of the past 24 hours.

Sloane had been gloating about his success at making Il Dire work. But apparently, the CIA had shown up and he made a hasty retreat, leaving Jack behind. The overhead lights went out, and when they came back on, Jack found himself in a room with at least a dozen people, bright lights and several cameras. Someone yelled “cut, print it. That’s great, let’s call it a night.” Someone else came over to him and released his restraints. Jack sat up, still groggy from the drugs Sloane had used and looked around, ‘what the hell is this’, he thought. He reached out and grabbed the person closest to him. “Where the hell am I and who are you people?”

“Jeezus, Victor, take it easy, you’re gonna break my arm.”

“If you don’t answer my questions, I’ll break more than your arm. Now, where am I, where’s Sloane?”

“Victor, what are you talking about, Ron’s not here. J.J. just needed some extra footage to fill in the sequence with the machine. You don’t look so good. Are you feeling all right?

Jack could see his confusion mirrored in the man’s eyes, but he didn’t see deception. He relaxed his grip. By now, several people had formed a circle around him, but no one moved against him. And that’s when things really got strange. Jack finally took in his surroundings and noticed a poster on the wall for something called ALIAS, The Mother of All Seasons. Sydney was on it. And so was he. And Irina. And they were all smiling. Jack got up and went to the wall. It was covered in photographs. Various shots of the three of them. From Pakistan, the Ops Center, other places he couldn’t remember ever having been to… like The Emmy’s??? He turned back to the group of strangers. “You keep calling me Victor. My name is Jack, Jack Bristow. I work for the CIA”.

They didn’t believe him, thought he was joking. ‘If they thought that, they can’t believe I’m me. Don’t they know Jack Bristow hasn’t told a joke in 20 years?’ One of the men approached him with a phone, “It’s J.J. He wants to talk to you.”

“Hello” was all Jack managed.

“Victor, it’s J.J. Dave said that something happened during the shoot…”

“Look, I don’t know who you, or any of these people are, but my name is Jack Bristow and if I don’t get some answers soon, someone WILL get hurt.”

“Uh, hang on a second, Jack. I’ve got someone who wants to talk to you. Go ahead…”

“Jack, it’s me. Are you all right?”

“Irina? Where the hell are you? Is this another one of your games? Another scheme with Sloane?”

“No, Jack, I can assure you I had nothing to do with what’s happened. I don’t understand it myself. Jack, I need to see you.”

“Well, I don’t need to see you, unless it’s back in your glass cage.”

“Jack, stop being such an ass,” Irina said, slightly irritated. “Fine, I tell you what. Go with,” she paused and Jack heard her ask someone else, “J.J., who did you say could take him? Okay. Jack, you still there?” She continued without waiting for an answer. “Go with Dave. Have him take you to the Ops center. I’ll meet you there in half an hour.”

“You’re turning yourself in again? Why should I believe anything you say?”

“Jack, 30 minutes. You can kill me then if you want. Just be there. And Jack? Be nice to the people you’re with. They’re innocent players. They don’t work for me or Sloane.”

And with that, Irina had hung up. Leaving Jack more perplexed than ever. But determined not to give up the opportunity to take Irina Derevko into custody. He found the man called Dave and said “take me to Ops”.

Dave laughed and said “sure thing, Victor, I mean Jack,” and turned to leave. When Jack gave him the famous Bristow stare, the man laughed harder. ‘What the hell is going on here,’ Jack thought to himself. ‘Did I fall down a rabbit hole or something?’


“Sydney, the other ‘universe’, for lack of a better term, where all this is just a show, I met the man who created it. He was already working on some ideas about the ‘next season’, potentially our future.” Jack paused as he saw the disbelieving look he was getting from his daughter. “Don’t look at me like that, I know it sounds crazy, but I was there. Everyone we know here, exists there. I spent many hours with, with the other Sydney and… Listen, last night, your mother and Sloane were supposed to escape. You were going to find Will, fight with the double, then disappear. For 2 years. But somehow, Il Dire changed all that. J.J., the creator, didn’t have specifics, but before I came back, he gave me as much information as he could to help us out.”

“If Victor was here with Lena, was Mom with you?”

Jack’s eyes turned away, “yes, we talked a little. It’s complicated, Sydney, but I did get some answers. We didn’t resolve everything, but it was a start...”

The short drive with Dave ended after they pulled through the security gates for some company called Disney. ‘Hmm,’ Jack mused to himself, ‘change one letter and the company name is an anagram for my daughter.’ Dave led him over to a large hangar and said, “welcome to Ops,” as he opened the door. Jack entered what he recognized as a movie set that replicated the Ops Center perfectly. Well, almost perfectly. Irina Derevko sat in the middle of the Rotunda, without shackles, apparently entertaining everyone with some story. Weiss, Vaughn and Dixon were smiling from ear to ear and Sydney was doubled over with laughter. And Sloane was there too. He was talking earnestly to a man Jack didn’t recognize. Jack instinctively reached for his gun, but cursed himself as he remembered he was unarmed.

Irina had seen the movement and came towards him with her Cheshire cat grin. “Jack, I’m so glad you’re here. Let me introduce you to my new friends.” After the introductions, Irina had proceeded to tell him her theory about what had happened, where they were and why everyone looked like people he knew. It was preposterous and he said so.

“Fine, Jack. What’s your theory? Or maybe you’d just like to shoot someone? Here, take my gun, go ahead, shoot anyone, everyone.”

Jack started to raise the gun Irina had placed in his hands. But he stopped when he saw something he hadn’t seen in 20 years. His wife was telling him the truth. He wasn’t sure he knew how to handle that.

“Dad”, Sydney tried to bring her father back from where ever he was.

Irina kissed J.J. goodbye as he dropped them off at the hotel. He kept apologizing for the accommodations. “I’m really sorry, there are like 25 conventions in town and this was the only thing we could come up with on short notice. Can’t have you guys get recognized in public…I’ll pick you up first thing in the morning, I swear. I’ll get you all the ideas I have so far for next season. Promise you won’t kill each other?”

Irina gave J.J. a sly smile as she wrapped her arms around Jack’s waist. “I promise. I’m pretty sure I can think of something better to do.” J.J. and Jack both turned red. Jack extricated himself from his wife’s grasp and walked down the hall to their room. J.J. left trying to figure out a way to work this in for next season.

Irina entered the room to find Jack unpacking the few clothes they had gotten from the wardrobe people. He handed her a bag, ‘this is yours,’ he said gruffly.

Taking it from him, she said “ we should get to bed.”

Without looking up, Jack replied “yeah, we shou…” He caught himself and turned to glare at her. Irina shook her head knowingly and went to the bathroom to change. Jack relaxed a little bit when he thought about the expression on her face as she opened the bag he had packed for her. ‘Hope she appreciates my choice of standard prison wear.’

Jack couldn’t imagine the expression on his face when Irina exited the bathroom wearing a skimpy red negligee.

“Well, I’ve waited 20 years to see that look on your face. Do you like it? Jennifer picked it out for me. Came from an episode they called ‘Phase One’, I just wish we had the soundtrack for the full effect. Although,” she continued after glancing down from Jack’s face, “maybe we don’t need music after all.”

When Jack had turned as red as the negligee, Irina stopped laughing and put on a robe she had hidden behind the door. “Okay, Jack. I’ve had my fun. We do need to talk. Sydney needs us. Both of us. We need to work together. Please…”

J.J. knocked on the door of their room at 8 the next morning. Jack finally answered, “Good morning, we’ll be right down.” Before Jack closed the door, J.J. did a double take. ‘Was one of the beds still made and was that red lingerie on the floor?’

Neither Jack nor Irina said much during the drive. Once at the studio, the spymasters kicked into high gear. J.J. Abrams gave them the tapes for the first two seasons and what he was developing for season three. Then he sat back and watched. ‘Wow, two master strategists AND they spent the night at a Holiday Inn Express. We’ll get Lena and Victor back in no time,’ he said to himself.

“We spent most of the time trying to figure out a way to come back. But it was hard because Il Dire doesn’t really exist, not there. It really IS a collection of old kitchen appliances…we knew we had to wait for someone here to figure out the real machine.”

“Why didn’t Mom come back with you?”

Jack knew J.J. was studying them closely as he and Irina poured over the ‘future’ information he had given them. He gave them the privacy they asked for when viewing the episodes from the first two seasons. He also saw their faces as they emerged from the screening room hours later. Jack bet J.J. would have given anything to have witnessed the Bristows watching their lives unfold before their eyes…Irina had been crying and he had…

“Well, was it accurate? I mean, did it help?” J.J. asked impatiently.

“It was very enlightening,” Irina began.

“And disturbing,” Jack finished. “The episode you were filming when the change occurred…”

“The finale, we were almost finished with it, but there are some missing sequences. You don’t shoot things in order…Oh sh*t, we’re supposed to air in three weeks. What the hell am I going to tell ABC?” J.J.’s thoughts were going into overdrive.

“J.J., we’ll help you with that later, if we can. For now, we need to focus on how we got here,” Jack started.

“And how we get back.” Irina concluded, looking over at Jack. The two stared at each other. Their ability to finish each other’s thoughts and sentences seemed to transcend not only time, but universes as well.

J.J. knew they were right. He filled in the blanks on the missing scenes. They had been at it for several hours and were about to take a break when the door opened.

“Sydney,” Jack and Irina said in unison. “Sorry, Jennifer.” Jack corrected.

“It’s okay, you can call me Sydney if it’s easier,” Jen said with a smile as easy and charming as their daughter. “I thought you could use a break and some food. I brought Chinese.”

“That’d be great, honey.”

“Smells wonderful,” Irina said as she grabbed some containers.

“Any luck?” Jennifer asked hopefully.

“We’re a little limited, not knowing what happened in our world after Irina and I got here. We’re agreed that Il Dire, the real one, somehow caused the switch between your friends and ourselves. That’s the key. We need to activate the machine again,” Jack explained.

Irina went on “but your Il Dire is not real. There is nothing we can do here, except be prepared to go back, armed with knowledge of the future…”

“And of the past,” Jack finished, staring intently at Irina.

After lunch they gathered up all the Rambaldi pieces J.J. had actually constructed and placed them in the room Il Dire should have been in. “So, this is your master plan,” Irina said, her voiced laced with sarcasm. “We wait here for something to happen, for the switch to occur?”

“No, ‘we’ don’t. I wait here. You go as far away as possible.”

“We’re not separating, Jack. I’m not going to leave you,” Irina said defiantly and then softly as she cast her eyes down, “again.”

J.J. and Jennifer watched the exchange with fascination. “Boy, did April do a great job with casting or what? It’s like watching them play Victor and Lena playing Jack and Irina…” J.J. said with glee.

Jack moved to Irina and gently took her hand in his. He lifted her chin so she could see into his eyes, his soul which he truly felt returning. “We don’t know what’s happened back there. The switch took place before you made your escape. Your ‘alter ego’ could be in custody. Let me go back first. Assess the situation. I know we still have things to work out, But one thing we have always agreed on is our daughter. Sydney needs our protection. I need your help and you must be free to do that.” He continued, whispering “I need you. Will you trust me?”

Irina felt the anguish of 20 lost years begin to overwhelm her. Jack Bristow, the husband she loved and desperately needed, the man she had betrayed so long ago, was asking HER to trust him. She nodded once, then moved in tentatively towards his lips and whispered, “Always and forever.”

“She wanted to, but we didn’t know if it would work or how dangerous it would be. We had no idea what had happened here, if your ‘mother’ was in custody. I decided to come first, Irina reluctantly agreed.”

Chapter 13

Midnight
Ops Center

“Jack, you were right. There might be a mole at NSC. I had Marshall do a back trace after we got that fake transfer order, compiled with your suspicions, I narrowed down the possibilities”. Kendall handed a list of three names to Jack.
“Anyone look familiar?”

Jack’s eyes burned with anger as he read the last name. “Son of a …”

“Oh, and one more thing. McKenas Cole disappeared 4 months ago. Nobody bothered to tell us.”

Jack turned to leave. “Sydney, get an extraction team together. Be ready to leave within the hour.”

“Where are you going?” Sydney and Kendall asked in unison.

Jack never looked back.

-----


A half hour later Jack Bristow held a gun to the head of Robert Lindsay, director, NSC, who was securely tied to a chair.

“Don’t blink, don’t even breathe, just tell me about McKenas Cole, the Covenant, their interest in my wife and daughter, and where Irina is right now. Or you’re going to die very slowly and,” Jack paused long enough to shoot Lindsay in the foot, “very painfully.”

”I don’t know where she is, Cole didn’t tell me,” Lindsay screamed out. “He had me facilitate the extraction, the Covenant wants Derevko and Sark. Sydney too. I don’t know why.”

“Not good enough, Bob” and Jack fired into the man’s shoulder.

Lindsay screamed again, “you b*st*rd, I don’t know anything else, and if I did, I wouldn’t tell you.”

Just then, Jack’s cell phone rang. He answered it.

“Dad, Dixon called from Camp Harris. Sloane didn’t give them anything, but Doren broke. Even though she was initially placed by Sloane, she was Covenant. She knows about Cole and gave the locations of 2 bases of operation.
One in Seattle, one in Paris.

Jack thought quietly for a moment. ‘Typical Cole, choosing cities that have symbols to ‘stroke’ his enormous ego. The Eiffel Tower and The Space Needle.’ “I’ll meet you at the airport as soon as I can, Sydney.”

Jack hung up and looked at Lindsay, a smile forming on his face. “It’s your lucky day, Bob. I don’t need your information anymore. I won’t have to kill you slowly.”

Lindsay sagged against the restraints in relief. “Thank God, now call an ambulance.”

“Ambulance? You misunderstood me, Bob. I said I wouldn’t kill you slowly.” The sound of Jack’s Beretta firing a single round into Robert Lindsay’s right eye reverberated around the room, along with the former director’s brain matter. “That was for my daughter, and my wife.”

Chapter 14

6am
Seattle

The CIA team paused for last minute preparations outside the location Doren had given them. Jack had gambled on Seattle on a hunch, and the fact that he felt time was running out. He prayed he was right.

“Base camp, this is Mountaineer, we’re ready to move in. Any additional information?”

Vaughn reported back, “Twelve targets, three basement level, three each by the two ground floor entrances and three on the second floor.”

“Copy that, we’re going in.”

“Sydney and I will take the basement. Weiss, take your team to the second floor. The rest of you are responsible for all hostiles on the main level. We are looking for Derevko and Sark. I remind you that Derevko MUST be taken unharmed.” Jack ignored the raised eyebrows. “Do what you need to against any other target. Do not hesitate with Cole. Okay, let’s move out.”

------

Basement level of the warehouse

“Wakey, wakey, Irina. Time for that heart to heart we never had. It’s really time you opened up to me…” McKenas Cole stalked around his captured prey. Suspended from a chain looped over a steel girder, ‘Irina Derevko’, hands cuffed above her head, slowly regained consciousness. Cole walked back and forth, each time coming tantalizingly closer with the knife in his hand.

The CIA team moved in, just as Cole did the same.

Frozen with fear, Lena didn’t flinch as Cole dragged the knife along her delicate throat. Cole mistook her steady gaze as defiance. “Well, if you won’t tell me what I need to know, I’ll just bleed it out of you, or maybe that spunky little daughter of yours. Would you like that, Irina? Should I go after Sydney?”

There were only two rooms on the basement level. Sydney entered the room on the right and found Sark. He was slumped against the wall, a makeshift tourniquet fashioned around his thigh. She checked for a pulse, found one and decided he could wait.

Further down the hall, the door to the room on the left flew open and Jack Bristow came face to face with McKenas Cole once again.

“Jackie boy, to what do I owe this pleasure? Surely you’re not here to save the fair damsel in distress? Weren’t you looking to have her executed a little while ago? Perhaps we can come to a mutual arrangement?” As he kept his knife hand close to Irina’s throat, Cole began to reach for the gun hidden from Jack’s view.

“You know Cole, any man who’d torture Arvin Sloane is someone I’d normally like to thank and get to know better.” Jack fired and Cole’s gun dropped to the floor, soon followed by his lifeless body. “But there’s only one arrangement for any man that threatens my family. And that’s a funeral.”

Jack moved quickly to release Lena as she collapsed against him. He couldn’t get over the woman in his arms, he gently brushed the hair back from her face…

Sydney came into the room and saw the blood covering Lena’s clothes. “Dad, is she…?”

-------

“Mountaineer to Base Camp. We’re secure here. We have Sark in custody. Cole and Derevko,” Sydney faltered, “they’re both dead. We’re coming home.”

Weiss and the others soon gathered on the basement level. They couldn’t take their eyes off the still figures on the floor. Weiss tried to comfort his friend, “Syd, I’m sorry, I don’t know what to say.” Even though Weiss knew the woman on the ground was not Irina Derevko, he also realized that if she were dead, it meant Sydney would probably never see her mother again.

Jack instructed Weiss to return to L.A. with the others. “Tell Kendall we’ll be back as soon as we can. Sydney and I, we need some time to…”

“Sure thing, Jack. For what’s it’s worth, I’m sorry.”

Chapter 15

After Weiss and the rest of the CIA team left with Sark, the other prisoners and Cole’s body, Jack turned to the fallen figure of his ‘wife’. “Okay, they’re gone. You can get up now, Lena.”

Lena got up slowly. Her body was sore from lying still for so long, not to mention everything else she had been through. “Now I know why they pay people to play dead. It takes a lot out of you.” She tried to brush herself off, but had a hard time with her hands still cuffed together. “Jack,” she held her hands out to him.

Jack smiled as he thought back to a time when…’stop it Jack, this woman is NOT your wife. She’s happily married to someone else. Yeah, but she looks and sounds just like Irina, maybe…’

“Am I that much like her?” Lena asked, interrupting the voices vying for control in Jack’s mind.

‘Damn, how did she do that? How can she know what I’m thinking, just as Irina would?’ Jack thought, then finally spoke aloud, “You have her down perfectly. I’ll need to…” Jack found himself staring into her eyes again.

“Dad, we’re clear, Weiss and the others are gone,” Sydney said as she returned to the basement, pulling Jack back from his reverie.

“What? Oh, good Sydney. Do you happen to have a handcuff key?” Jack finally managed to get out.

“Oh, sure, sorry about that. I’m so used to Mom being in custody…” Sydney gave a short laugh as she released Lena’s bonds.

Lena breathed a heavy sigh of relief as she began massaging her wrists. “Thank you, thank you very much. Now Jack, can you please tell me what’s going on? Why did I have to play dead? Although that wasn’t too hard, considering the fact that when I first saw you, I thought you were Victor, pointing a gun in my general direction and knowing Victor and guns,” she shook her head at the memory of the gun battle scenes from ‘Passage’. “You obviously figured out what happened. You’re here, is Victor…?”

“Back in your world? We have to hope so. When you and Sark were kidnapped, Victor told Sydney and Kendall who he was and what he thought had happened.”

“And they didn’t have him committed?” Lena asked disbelievingly.

Sydney chimed in, “We wanted to, we did think he was crazy, but he was very convincing and we had other methods to determine that he was telling the truth. From there, it was a matter of figuring out a way to get Mom and Dad back and locating you. Marshall discovered how to activate Il Dire and we got Dad back first”.

“Why didn’t Irina come back with you?” Lena wondered.

Jack spoke up, “I’m sorry, Lena. That was my doing. I had no way of knowing what had happened to you here. And in the short time Irina and I were together in your world, well, we made a connection. I wasn’t willing to let her come back into CIA custody. If we had known the predicament you were in, we would never have waited.”

Lena could see the genuine sadness and conflict in Jack’s eyes and although she was still very scared and unsure about her situation, she reached out to him. “It’s all right, Jack. I know what it’s like to love someone so deeply.”

Jack Bristow allowed himself to melt into the arms of the woman who his mind told him was not his wife, yet his heart
knew she was the embodiment of the woman he loved. Jack pulled back from Lena, “thank you.”

“Dad, we should go.”

“Where?” Lena asked.

“Mexico City, we left Marshall with Il Dire, we need to get you back home. And I need my wife back.” Jack said with a smile.

Once aboard the small private jet, Sydney gave Lena a clean change of clothes. “Ugh, CIA prison garb?” Lena said frowning.

“Sorry, all I could get on short notice,” Sydney said apologetically.

“It’s okay, I just need to get out of these…what I wouldn’t give for a nice hot bath…” Lena wished as she went to change.

When she returned, Jack and Sydney were going through their supplies, looking for something to eat. “Oh God, I’m starving,” Lena rushed at them. “What do you have?”

After Lena had polished off three MREs, she curled up on the small couch and fell into a deep sleep. When she began to toss and turn, as if having a nightmare, Jack went to her, placing her head in his lap, gently caressing her cheek. She calmed at his touch. Jack smiled and soon afterward he fell asleep as well.

It was late in the afternoon when they reached the building in Mexico City housing Il Dire. Jack turned to Lena, “Wait here. We need to get rid of the DSR people. Marshall won’t betray us, but no one else can suspect that ‘Irina’ is alive.”

Lena nodded her ascent, but asked “what?” when she saw Jack chuckle.

“Well, that’s one way you’re different from Irina. She’d never agree with me without some type of argument.”

Ten minutes later, Jack moved to strangle Marshall, “You what??!!! What do you mean you broke it?”

Okay, people are definetly lurking out there. I'll finish posting the story in the next few days.

Chapter 16

Jack was seething, pacing back and forth. Sydney swore she could see steam coming off her father’s ears. She kept her place in front of Marshall, running interference for him as he explained.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I just got so interested in the whole parallel universe thing. I was imagining all these scenarios where I could…I forgot I had the window open. It was so hot in here. Don’t you think it’s hot in here?” he asked as he placed a finger inside his shirt collar, trying to give himself some more air. “I never saw it come in,” Marshall fell silent, sure that at any moment his life would end.

“A pigeon, a god d*mn pigeon! You’re telling me that a f*cking bird flew off with a piece of the machine?” Jack exploded advancing on Marshall.

“Well, see, it wasn’t a pigeon, it was more like a crow. They are notorious scavengers, they’ll use anything for their nests. Or maybe a raven, you know about ravens? They’re quite aggressive, you know, Edgar Allen Poe, ‘Quote the Raven, Nevermore.”

“I know someone who’s soon to be ‘nevermore’,” Jack said as he pushed Sydney out of the way and shoved Marshall up against the wall. “What the hell am I going to tell Lena? And God help me, Irina. She’s expecting to come back in,” Jack checked his watch, “in less than 4 hours.”

Jack thought back to his last conversation with Irina. “The initial switch took place around 8pm. If it works tonight and you get Victor back, note the time. Then I suggest you be here, ready to go for a three hour time frame, every day, for as long as it takes.”

She answered him, “Get it right the first time, Jack. They may be used to shooting things more than once,” she said, glancing at Jennifer and J.J., “but I expect you to do this on the first take.”

“Irina…” Jack said in quiet desperation. He wondered what kind of havoc a pissed off Irina Derevko could wreak in a world with no boundaries.
-----
24 hours earlier

Irina was pacing back and forth in the lobby of a Disney studio.. “This is ridiculous. I’m going back.”

“It’s only been 30 minutes. Jack said to…”

“Jack’s not here. I should be with him. I’m going.” Irina stormed off with Jennifer and J.J. struggling to keep up. As she opened the door to the building where she had left Jack, she heard a familiar voice cursing and the sound of something metal being knocked around.

“Son of a b*tch. Damn waffle iron.”

She entered the room. “Jack?”

“Lena?”

“Victor,” Irina said, both glad and disappointed at the same time.

“Irina?” Victor asked, unsure of himself.

“Victor!” from Jennifer and J.J.

“Oh god, I’ve got to sit down. My head is still spinning,” Victor said, the exhaustion evident in his voice.

“Victor, you’re back, you’re okay. How’s Lena, did you meet Jack?” Jennifer and J.J. started spouting out.

“Hey, you two. Give me a minute. I’ve had a helluva day.” With that, Victor sank into the nearest chair and began rubbing his eyes.

Irina moved to him and without thinking, began gently massaging his temples. She suddenly realized what she was doing and stopped, when Victor reached out to grab her hand.

“You look just like him,” Irina said with an intense gaze.

Victor looked away, suddenly feeling uncomfortable being this close to the real Irina Derevko. “It’s okay, I’m okay, thank you,” he said. “Jack went back?”

“We left him 30 minutes ago, in here, with your Il Dire.”

“Wow, I guess it really worked.” Victor said in amazement.

“Good, now I can go back. The rest of you should leave…” Irina began.

“No, you can’t go yet.” He looked over at J.J. and Jennifer with sadness in his eyes. “Lena’s missing. She was taken into custody last night, I was with her, everything was fine. But someone engineered a breakout while she and Sark were being transferred to Camp Harris. They disappeared. We have no idea what happened.”

Everyone was very glad that there were no real weapons in the room. They were watching Irina Derevko, spy, terrorist and assassin, destroy everything in a ten foot radius with her bare hands. Jennifer finally moved to stop her, “Mom…”

Irina turned and stared at the young woman who was so much like her daughter. She smiled and almost immediately felt the anger leave her. “You’re right. This won’t solve anything. Jack said to try every night at the same time and that’s what we’re going to do. But I can’t just sit around and do nothing.”

“I know exactly what you can do,” J.J. said with a gleam in his eyes.

At 8 o’clock the next morning, the ALIAS crew was back in the studio filming the ‘green’ screen scenes for the bungee jump sequence. Irina had offered to actually jump off a real building and J.J. had considered it for a second, but... Irina found herself thoroughly enjoying the stunt work. “It’s so relaxing, but I do wish the guns were real,” she remarked wistfully. Irina lamented the fact that there were no scenes to shoot with Victor. She spent as much time with him as possible, longing for her husband, and also knowing that her subtle, ‘or not so subtle’, she thought wickedly, gestures and glances were at times, driving Victor crazy.

At 8pm, Irina returned to the studio with the Il Dire pieces and waited. Waited for Jack, her husband, to ‘rescue’ her. ‘This time he’ll come for me, I know he will…’ Irina thought with emotions as strong now as they were 20 years ago. By midnight, she finally admitted that it wasn’t going to happen. She got up dejectedly and made her way back to where the others were waiting.

Seeing the look on her face, Victor was the first to speak, “Irina, I’m sorry. I’m sure Jack and Sydney are doing everything they can. You can’t give up hope.”

“I’ve never given up hope where my family is concerned. I know Jack will make this work. The fact that he failed is, is disturbing because it can only mean he hasn’t located Lena yet,” Lena said despondently.

“Or worse, maybe something happened to the machine…” J.J. stopped himself as he realized the implications of his words.

“No, I won’t allow that kind of thinking. I will get my family back this time. I’m too close to fail.”

“Of course, of course it’s going to work. We want to get Lena back as much as you want to go home,” J.J. said, trying to sound encouraging.

“No, you NEED to get Lena back and I need to go home. There’s a difference,” Irina said with a weary grin. “I suppose I should go back to the hotel until tomorrow. Are there any other scenes I can help you with, J.J.?”

“No, we pretty much finished everything today. I’ve got to get to editing tomorrow. We’re really cutting it close.”

“Fine. Jennifer, could you take me to wardrobe? I’d like to find a few different outfits to wear. I’ve had enough of the commando and prison gear for a while. I think I’d like something a little more comfortable,” she said with a sideways glance at Victor. She pulled him into hug with her left hand, while her right dropped down to grab his ass. “See you tomorrow, darling?”

Victor gulped, promised to be back first thing in the morning, then made a hasty retreat. ‘God,’ he thought to himself, ‘it was tough enough being around Lena all season, but it was all good, clean fun. I’m sure Irina’s idea of fun involves knives or the slow torture of the person she’s with.’

Jennifer dropped Irina off at her hotel with a promise to pick her up at 9am. Irina waved goodbye telling her not to rush as she hoped to sleep late for a change. Irina turned to make her way to her room and she smiled inwardly. ‘Well, maybe not sleep, I’m sure I’m only going to have time for meditation after the night I have planned.’ She pulled out the wallet she had picked from Victor’s pocket during their most recent embrace and grinned widely at the contents. ‘This should do nicely,’ she thought to herself. An hour later, Irina Derevko headed out into the Los Angeles night life wearing a very short and very tight leopard print dress. “I don’t have time for Bangkok,” she told the cab driver, “let’s start with Chinatown.”

Chapter 17

“Uff da,” Lena said disbelievingly, as she sank back into a chair. “Broken?”

“It’s just a temporary set back, I’m sure,” Sydney said with sympathy and uncertainty. “Marshall says he can fix it, he just needs to scrounge up some replacement parts.”

“And how is he going to do that? Get replacement parts for a centuries old machine in present day Mexico City?”

“It’ll work out, Lena, we just have to …”

“I can’t wait, Sydney. I want to go home now, I need to go home,” Lena said on the verge of tears.

Jack walked in dragging Marshall with him. “Sydney, there’s nothing more we can do tonight. I’ve made arrangements for the two of you at a local hotel. First thing in the morning, you’ll go with Marshall and acquire the parts he needs. I’ll stay here with Il Dire and make sure nothing else happens to it,” Jack finished with a menacing glance towards Marshall. “I’ve made sure the DSR team won’t bother us. We can’t take the chance of anyone seeing Lena, so she’ll stay here with me.”

“I’m sure I can get what I need quickly, as soon as the local stores or markets open up, just a few strands of wire, some tools…”

“Fine, Marshall. Leave now.”

Jack cut him off and Sydney knew they were being dismissed. She wanted to stay with Lena, but she was more afraid to leave Marshall alone with her father. She gave Lena a hug, “we’ll be back first thing. It’ll be okay.”

Lena said nothing as they left. She got up and crossed to the window, hugging herself in an effort to hang on to her rapidly vanishing strength. She didn’t notice Jack come up behind her until he wrapped his arms around her.

“Lena,” he said gently, “we will get you home. I promise.”

She stood silently for a moment, grateful for his touch, before turning to face him. “We should get to bed.”

He automatically responded “Yeah, we should.” They both laughed. Jack took Lena’s hand and led her to a couch in the outer room. “Get some rest. You’ve had a busy two days.” He stopped when he saw something in her eyes. “Lena, what’s wrong?”

“I’m not sure I can sleep. When I close my eyes, there are images…”

Jack remembered her nightmare on the plane. “Is it Cole? Did he hurt you?” He prodded her again when she remained silent. “Lena, I know what happened to you must have been very frightening, this whole ordeal is a lot for a me to comprehend and I’ve been in the business for over 30 years. Let me help you.”

“I was unconscious most of the time. I don’t remember details. He did try questioning me once…”

Jack pressed her for more. “Do you remember what he asked, what information he was after? I’m sorry, I don’t mean to pressure you, but Cole was part of a larger organization. Irina and Sydney could still be in danger. Anything you could tell me know could help us later.”

She shook her head no. “I’m sorry, Jack. I was drugged. I don’t think I told him anything but my name. I remember answering him in Swedish and I think that made him very angry.”

Jack smiled, ‘Just like Irina, making people angry,’ he thought.

“He didn’t hurt me, physically. I’ve played roles where much worse has happened to my characters, but this, this was real. It’s difficult to…”

“Lena, Irina Derevko may only be a role to you, but spending time with you, being with you… I can assure you, you possess many of Irina’s qualities, not the least of which is a powerful, inner strength.”

“Well, at least you didn’t say I have her latent tendency to kill people,” she said with a small laugh. She added a quiet “thank you,” as she lay down on the couch.

“Get some rest. I’ll be here if you need me.”

“The question is Jack, will you be there when SHE needs you?” Lena closed her eyes, not waiting for an answer.

Chapter 18

Jennifer waited impatiently in the back parking lot of the hotel. It was almost 4 o’clock. She wondered why Irina had left a message asking to push back the pick-up time. ‘I figured she’d be anxious to get back to the studio for tonight’s hoped for switch…or at least not miss any opportunities to annoy Victor.’ Jennifer glanced at her watch again. She was about to go into the hotel when she spotted Irina, dark clothes, dark glasses and a hat pulled down to cover her face. “Hi.”

Irina didn’t answer.

“Are you okay?” Jen inquired.

“Fine, just didn’t sleep well,” Irina mumbled.

“J.J.’s gonna be in editing most of the day. He’s finished the episode. We’re just going to wait at the studio, okay?”

“Fine.”

Two hours later, a pouting and hung over Irina Derevko sat crossed legged on top of a table as Victor Garber read her the riot act.

“What the hell were you thinking!!?” Victor ranted.

“What’s the problem? I was bored. I spent 7 months in custody. I needed to get out, have some fun, a few drinks.”

“You stole my wallet!”

“I’ll pay you back.”

“How, by robbing a bank? Don’t answer that. And besides, the money’s not the issue. You are not Irina Derevko here. You are Lena Olin. And Lena Olin does not hustle pool in Chinatown!”

“I bet she’d be good at it.”

“And did you have to play that damned knife game?”

“I like knives. At least I didn’t stab anyone.”

“IRINA!”

------

At that moment, a panic stricken Jennifer Garner banged furiously on the editing room door. “J.J., J.J.!”

The door opened and J.J. Abrams poked his head out. “Hey, Jen, what is it? It’s not time for the switch, is it? I’m almost finished here and…”

“We’ve got a problem. Ron just called. He spotted him coming in through security as he was leaving.”

“Ron spotted who?”

“Lasse.”

-------

The minute Victor got the call from Jennifer, he grabbed Irina and roughly dragged her into the room with ‘Il Dire’.
‘Where’s a grain bin when you need one,’ he thought ruefully.

“Victor, what the hell are you…”

Victor shoved Irina against the wall and clamped a hand over her mouth, trying hard to ignore the anger blazing from her bloodshot eyes. “Just shut up and listen. This isn’t only about you, remember? An innocent woman is missing, YOUR husband is doing everything he can to find her. When she does come back, I’m sure she’d prefer not to be facing assault charges or having to explain her new found tendency to play with knives. This is Hollywood. Everything, anything a celebrity does is fair game. Are you so self-centered you can’t see that?” Victor stepped back, releasing her. As the adrenaline left him, he belatedly wondered if he should have checked her for weapons before confronting her. ‘Hell, who am I kidding, she could kill me with her bare hands if she wanted to.’

Irina sobered up as if he had hit her. “I’m sorry.”

“What?” Victor stared at her, not believing what he heard.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I didn’t think about what I was doing, the consequences of my actions. Short term fault of mine,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “I’m used to taking care of my own problems, Victor. I don’t like not being in control.”

“You have to learn to let other people help you. They are out there you know,” Victor said, softening his voice and his stance.

She smiled and nodded her head. “Truth takes time. I guess 20 years is long enough. Speaking of time, it’s not yet 8, why did you drag me in here?”

“Oh sh*t. I forgot. Lena’s husband is here. Looking for her. And we are NOT going to introduce you.”

“Why not, maybe I could…” she stopped when Victor gave her the famous Bristow glare. “You’re right. I’ll just wait here… quietly.”

“We’ve only got about an hour to go.” Victor walked over to a desk, hoping to find something to occupy his time while they waited. “Ah, a deck of cards. Think I’ll play solitaire.”

“Why don’t you play with me instead?” Irina said solicitously. ‘God, I love this. He’s as easy to irritate as Jack.’

At 8pm, Victor left Irina. “Good-bye and good luck,” he said, extending his hand.

She drew him into a kiss. “Thank you, for everything.”

As Victor entered the outer room, he heard an angry voice saying “J.J., I’m losing my patience. In case you’re unaware, I am descendant from Vikings. I’m prepared to do whatever is necessary to find my wife…”

Chapter 19

It was almost 8 pm. Lena waited anxiously as Marshall finished making the repairs. It had been a long day. At least Sydney had been kind enough to bring her new clothes to change into. She was sure it would be quite some time before she wore denim and black tank tops again.

“I got it, I think I got it.” The machine hummed and went silent. “No, no, no,” Marshall banged on the pieces in frustration. Il Dire came to life. “Hey, that did it. It’s on!”

“Marshall, are you sure?” Sydney asked.

“As sure as I can be. These are the same readings I got just before Victor went back. All she needs to do is turn this switch…”

Sydney hugged Lena. They had said their long good-byes earlier. “Good luck. I’ll miss you.”

“Take care of yourself, sweetheart.”

“Lena,” Jack said as he moved towards her.

“Don’t say anything, Jack. Save it for her.” Lena paused before adding, “Thank you for saving my life.”

“Thank you for giving us back ours.” He lifted her chin as he tenderly kissed her good-bye. “Good luck.”

Lena waited 5 minutes before throwing the switch. ‘Please let this work…’

------

Lena wasn’t sure how much time had passed. She was frustrated and about to give up hope when she heard a familiar voice.

“J.J., I’m losing my patience. In case you’re unaware, I am descendant from Vikings…”

Lena cautiously opened the door, afraid she was hallucinating.

“I’m prepared to do whatever is necessary to find my wife.”

“Lasse!” Lena rushed to her husband and fell into his outstretched arms.

“Lena, my love.” He brushed the hair back from her face, as well as a single tear. “Where have you been? I’ve been trying to reach you for two days.”

Lena thought for a moment, “Through the looking glass, dear. It’s a long story. Let’s go home.”

As they turned to go, J.J. tapped Lena on the shoulder. She saw Jennifer and Victor behind him, silently saying ‘Welcome back’, while J.J. asked “Lena, about next season...”

Without saying a word, Lena and Lasse exited, stage right.


Epilogue
April 2004

Lena Olin sat in a private room of a small club in upstate New York. She was surprised when the door opened and Victor Garber walked in.

“Lena, what are you doing here?”

“I’m supposed to be meeting my agent. What about you?”

“Same here.”

“Oh, Victor, this isn’t some ploy of J.J.’s to get me to come back? If it is, please tell him…”

The door opened again. “It’s wasn’t J.J.”

Victor and Lena were stunned as they found themselves face to face with “Jack, Irina?” they stammered.

“Sorry for the ruse,” Jack explained. “We wanted to see you, but knew we had to keep it secret.”

“How, how is it possible that you’re here?” Victor asked.

“Well, we don’t understand the mechanics, Marshall’s been playing with Il Dire, refining it. We wanted to come back, to see how you were doing,” Jack began.

“And to thank you in person, for everything you did for us.” Irina said as she took Jack’s hand in hers.

“So, I take it you’re not in CIA custody?” Lena inquired.

“No, it’s more like protective custody,” Irina said with a laugh as Jack squeezed her hand.

“How’s Sydney?” Lena and Victor asked simultaneously.

“She’s fine, she said to say hi.”

“We can’t stay, this visit does have a time limit. We just wanted to say thanks, and give you these.”

Irina handed them three neatly wrapped packages and asked Lena “No repercussions from ‘your’ night out on the town?”

“Well, the tabloids had fun for a while and I understand there are a couple of bars I’m not welcome at…”

They all laughed.

“Take care. And thanks again.”

Victor and Lena once again found themselves alone and wondered if it had all been a dream.

“God, I hope we’re still in New York,” Lena said with trepidation.

“Yeah, OUR New York,” Victor added.

Lena handed the larger package to Victor, “here’s this one’s for you.”

Unwrapping it, he found a bottle of what looked like Indian rum and “my wallet. I don’t even want to know where she got the money from. What’s yours?”

Lena opened the smaller box and found a jeweled dagger and arm bracelet. The card said ‘not just for Bangkok.’

The last package was addressed to both of them. It was wrapped in what appeared to be parchment paper, "From Il Dire, of course," Victor said, shaking his head in amusement.

“Victor, is that what I think it is?” Lena asked as she gazed at the unique gift.

“Yeah, I think so. It looks like the flower ‘we’ brought back from Kashmir. There’s an inscription on the parchment.”



Thank you is inadequate,
but it is all we can offer.
J <0> I
Love
Always and Forever