AN: This is a what-if story based on the knowledge Jack Bristow did not kill Irina Derevko. I wrote one story about Irina’s disappearance: Time to Say Goodbye and its follow-up Summer of No Regret. Following that story, because everyone was sure Jack shot Irina, another one called: Death of a Spy. Personally, I liked them all, but then I wrote them.
Now that we know Irina is going to be back at the end of the Fourth Season of Alias, I’ve written another.
SUMMARY: Where has Jack hidden Irina? We know he must have done so, since he has taken the responsibility of killing her. She had to agree to his plan or perhaps she put the plan in motion to bring him to her? The last communication he had was the day/night he asked about the Passenger. Since then, nothing was heard from her.
DARKNESS BEFORE LIFE
BY LENAFAN
Part 1- Moscow
It was bright, cloudless sky day in Moscow when Jack Bristow suddenly appeared at Irina’s door. She returned to the city of her birth without anyone knowing she was back. Therefore, when she looked through the peephole and saw him, she was shocked he had found her so soon after her return.
“Jack,” she cried, opening the door.
She pulled him inside, shutting the door quietly. She stared at him for a moment and then putting one hand behind his head, the other on his chest, kissed him. He kissed her back and hard, passionately. They stood together for a full minute exploring inside each other’s mouth and lips.
Irina stepped back to look at him. He was still a handsome man although his hair was grayer than the last time she’d seen him in Panama. Then she saw the gun. It was pointed at her heart.
“What is that for,” she asked calmly.
“You, sweetheart. You will not have Sydney killed.” His face was grim and eyes cold.
“You believe I would do such a thing?” Stunned, she stepped back, looking at him quizzically.
He put the gun in his holster. “No. You are an assassin, a liar, manipulative opportunistic sociopath…” He saw her wince. “…but you do love your daughter. I know you saved her several times and I thank you for that.”
Irina turned and moved further into the small living room. She owned the apartment building. She purchased it years ago when as The Man she made millions. She liked its coziness. Of course, she was raised in a small apartment, which became overcrowded with her parents and two other siblings, Katya and Yelena. There was warmth in the small apartment: a bedroom, bath, living room, and kitchen large enough for a table and chairs.
She whirled on him. “Who told you I was setting Sydney up to be killed?”
“You know about it, don’t you,” he answered staring at her. “How?”
“I have contacts.” She motioned him to sit down at the table in the kitchen. “Tea or coffee?”
“Coffee.” He glanced around and saw she had many appliances including a microwave. “You have a nice apartment.”
“Yes. It’s mine. I own it.” She put some ground coffee into the coffee maker and turned it on. She put out a plate and added a few cookies. Irina knew Jack’s tastes. She never forgot them. Cream and sugar was not the way he liked coffee.
“And these contacts, what did they tell you.”
She sat down across from him. “They heard rumors that Sydney Bristow had a contract on her head.”
“Who is being paid?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“And why?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know that either. However, I’ve been hunting for anyone who has reason to kill our daughter. I’ve checked bank accounts and may have an answer soon. Katya and Elena are also looking.”
“Where is Katya,” asked Jack, remembering the night he spent with her. She returned to Russia soon after that and he didn’t know where she was. Yelena Derevko he’d never met.
“On assignment.” Irina raised an eyebrow, looking askance at him.
He knew better than to press the matter. At one time, he’d thought she might be Covenant, but his second assessment that she worked as a SVR agent was more likely.
“Irina, if you are being set up, you have to ‘die’. You have to hide.”
She reached over for the coffee pot and poured him a cup. She looked at him thoughtfully. “I need to find out who and why!”
“I’ll do that.” He took a sip of the coffee. It was surprisingly good. “We live in a dark world of espionage and intrigue. Although it isn’t said, the US and Russia are locked in a cold war again. You know that. I want to protect both of you.”
Irina’s mouth dropped open. She blinked. “You want to protect…what was it you called me…an opportunistic sociopath?”
“Sorry!” He reached for her hand. “I’ll not say it again. It was wrong of me and I’m sorry.”
She gaped at him some more. She shook her head as if to clear it. “Jack…I am not sure I can believe it. You have hated me for a long time and I can’t blame you. However, leaving you and Sydney was as terrible for me as it was for you.” Irina leaned back in her chair staring at him. “However duplicitous you think I am you can believe me when I tell you I would never do such a thing to my own daughter.”
“I knew that when I heard the rumors. However, Arvin seemed to think…”
“Arvin?” Her voice turned brittle.
“You don’t know?”
“Know what?”
“He’s been put in charge of—well, let’s say it’s a black ops division.”
Her dark eyes stared at him almost in disbelief. “Are the people who run the CIA idiots?”
He shrugged, “he brought them something that helped him to negotiate a deal.”
“What the f*uck could that be?”
“I don’t know. It’s top secret. It has something to do with Rambaldi and the sphere of life.”
She gasped. “He found it?”
“Yes,” Jack took another sip of the coffee. “He and Nadia…”
“NADIA?” The name exploded from her with disbelief. “NADIA? My daughter?”
Secretly, Jack smiled. He was paying her back a little. He knew she had hunted for her daughter for years and never found her. “Yes, didn’t you know? Sydney found her here in a Russian prison and we eventually got her to the states.” Jack did not elaborate.
“Moya bog,” she whispered. “You have seen her? Who does she look like?”
“Certainly not like Arvin,” he said steadily, his eyes locked on hers.
“Arvin? Arvin? Jack, are you crazy? Why would you think she is Arvin’s daughter? She is yours.”
Now it was his turn to stare at her, his mouth open in shock. “But…but the affair…”
“What damned affair? With Arvin?” She stood slowly. “Is this world going mad or am I?” She turned and threw her cup and saucer against the far wall of the kitchen. They shattered into pieces as they hit the floor.
“He…he told Dr. Barnett that he had an affair with you. First, he told her he thought Sydney was his daughter. Then he said Nadia was his daughter.” Jack was in shock. He watched as tears came into Irina’s eyes, falling down her cheeks.
“So because I was a spy, assassin, a…a sociopath…I also had an affair with…him? And everyone believed him including you—and Sydney?” Tears were coming fast and furious. She strode past him toward a closed door. She opened it, entered, and slammed it shut.
Jack sat still, his mind in muddle. She had no affair. Arvin lied? Could he be sure? Both were quite capable of lying with such guile it was now hard to tell when they told the truth. Arvin said he was the father. Irina angrily denied it. Still Arvin had broken the hourglass just as Rambaldi instructed. He and Sydney witnessed that.
He stood up and strode to the closed door. Opening it, he entered to see Irina lying face down on her bed. He had never seen her cry…tears yes, but never like this.
“Damn it, Irina,” he growled. He pulled her up off the bed to stand before him. “Stop it.” Both hands were on her forearms and he was about to shake her, when the crying lessened. “Are you telling me the truth…you didn’t have an affair with Sloane?”
She sniffed, “I did not!”
“Christ!” Jack swore. “Nadia is my daughter?”
“She better be because I had sex with you and no one else when she was conceived.” She was beginning to exhibit signs of the Derevko temper. “So you and Sydney were quick to believe him?”
“It was the hourglass. He broke it as Rambaldi said to do. I saw him do it. So did Sydney.”
“Sukyn sin,” she snapped in Russian. “Did it occur to you that YOU were there also?” Now there was rage in her voice and on her face.
“Damn it,” he swore back at her, “if you had told us when you turned yourself into the CIA we had another daughter, we would not have this argument.”
“What good would that have done me?” She was angry. “You hated me and I did not know where she was. Bill Vaughn took her from the KGB and hid her. I killed him for that. He thought he was protecting her. I would have protected her. He would not tell me where he left her. The fool!”
“And all of this was related to Rambaldi’s prophecy?”
“By this time, I didn’t care. I went through hell in Kashmir and then I gave birth to Nadia. The KGB took her from me the next day and I never saw our daughter again. Please, Jack, you must believe me. I—I want to see her. It’s been twenty-four years!” Her words ended in an almost primordial cry.
Jack pulled Irina close to him, wrapping his arms around her as though to protect her from the onslaught of the feelings swamping her mind with what he had said. He took her face his both hands. “Shh, shh,” he whispered. “She’s a fine young woman. Sydney adores her sister.”
She stared into his face and saw the honesty and perhaps even, an unspoken apology. Her face lost its sorrow and anger. She smiled softly and swallowed. He bent over slightly and put his mouth over hers. Irina felt the tingle and kissed him back. It had been months since she’d seen him—Panama. That was a night she didn’t forget. There was electric magic between them. Irina as Laura had fallen in love slowly, but surely, with the man she was sent to seduce and spy upon. That love continued.
As they kissed, she felt Jack’s hands move down her back and they slipped under her slacks to grip her buttocks. She gave a guttural moan that came from deep in her chest. Her hands moved to rake his back to demand his full attention and she thrust her right leg between his. He was aroused. He looked at her and could smell the heat of sex.
“Jack, take me to bed.” It was an invitation he did not need.
He undressed her and then himself. They slid together beneath the sheets. Their sex was hard, rough, but ended with each satisfied. He kissed her, staring at her with a quizzical look.
“Jack,” she whispered, “tell me about Nadia.”
She lay with her head on his shoulder as he described what their youngest daughter looked like. He hated the fact he didn’t have a picture. He told her that she was dark, like Katya.
“My mother was the same,” she murmured. “She was from Georgia.”
“She is beautiful, Irina. Her beauty will stun you.” Jack stroked her thigh. He felt the tenseness in her body slowly subside. “Irina, we have a more pressing problem.”
“Keep doing what you are doing…” she whispered her voice raspy, low, and seductive. Her breathing was picking up speed. Using her left hand, she curled her fingers around his testicles, gently stroking them.
They made love again.
Irina awoke to hear the shower running. Jack was there. She rolled out of bed, running to her closet and pulling out a red silk robe. Throwing it on to cover her nakedness, she hurried to the kitchen to put coffee on and to fill a teakettle with water. She laid out cups and saucers, spoons, and sliced some bread for toast.
Hurrying back to the bedroom, she found Jack toweling off. Silently she took the towel from him and dried his back, buttocks, and the backs of his thighs. She leaned forward a brief moment and kissed his back. He turned, taking the towel from her and kissed her.
“Last night,” he said, “was wonderful.” Throwing the towel onto the rack, he stared at her, his face serious. “You must die, you know.”
She inclined her head. “Do you have a plan?”
“Shower and get dressed. By the time you are finished, I will have some ideas.”
Irina dressed in black pants, red turtleneck sweater, and boots entered the kitchen area to find Jack already sipping his coffee. He was frowning as she poured herself some tea and put bread in the toaster. She opened the refrigerator and pulled out butter as well as a jar of jam and a bowl of eggs.
Ten minutes later, she put a plate down with scrambled eggs and two pieces of toast for each. Jack made quick work of the food. Irina took a little longer over hers. “Well?”
She figured he’d been mulling over some kind of plan.
“I have a sanction from the CIA to kill you.”
She caught her breath. “They gave you permission to kill me?”
“You are not a popular person with them. I told the Director you had a contract out on Sydney’s life. They gave me what I wanted.”
“So will you?”
“Yes. Everyone must believe I killed you. You must go into hiding and somewhere no one will find you. You cannot be Irina Derevko. You must assume an identity so far removed from your present circumstances there will be no questions asked about your identity.
“This is a huge country.” He drank some more coffee. “Tell me. Can you get a job so menial no one will question you?”
She stared at him, thinking. A menial job with a wardrobe to match would be easy in a country struggling with democracy. “I can think of several poor jobs. There are plenty to choose from in Russia these days.”
“I do not want to know where or what you will be doing. Remember, you cannot afford, once you are dead, to be fingerprinted or have any reason for the police or SVR agents to challenge you.”
“How are you going to make everyone believe you killed me?” She asked.
“You do not want to know that.” He put his hand on hers. “Neither of us must have any information about the other. Secrecy is extremely important if we are to carry this out. Sydney will know. Arvin will know. They must believe you are dead.”
Irina stood up and walked around to his side. “Jack,” she said kneeling beside him, “what is Sydney going to think—about you?”
He sighed, “I’m going to take a great deal of heat from her about this. She’ll hate me at first. The proof will come when we find out who is supposed to get the contract for her death. You still have no leads?”
“None, but I haven’t checked my laptop. How long before I must disappear?”
“I have three days to complete the sanction.”
Irina was gone when he returned to the apartment. She left a note. “Farewell. I love you.”
It was signed Handel4me.
Jack burned the note. He left the apartment as spotless as he could. Katya or Elena would probably search for some reason Irina was dead. He could not afford to leave his fingerprints for the SVR or police to find.
Part 2 - Irkutsk
Irina stood on a cliff overlooking Lake Baikul. She was wearing a heavy winter coat and a shapkas. Irkutsk, a city of a million people, was behind her. She came out here to think and to plan. Contacts in Los Angeles and Moscow were funneling information to her via a closed, secret server. They were not aware who was paying them for their work. She maintained complete anonymity. There was not one piece of evidence that Irina Derevko was alive. According to what she learned, Sydney had come to Moscow, identified a body, had it cremated and the ashes put into an urn. She winced a little, thinking about it.
She glanced over her shoulder. He had not arrived yet. She dug her hands into the heavy pockets to keep them warm. It was four o’clock in the afternoon and the temperature was dropping. She hoped he’d come soon. The encrypted email she received a week ago set up the meeting.
Irina Derevko had been dead almost four months. Shot once in the head, Irina’s body remained unclaimed for almost three months in the morgue at the Moscow State Hospital. She was only identified by her fingerprints and word spread throughout the criminal world. SVR took her off their most wanted list, as did the CIA. Other law enforcement agencies did the same. A hated, feared terrorist was at last dead. No one stepped forward to claim the deed.
On the third month after her murder, a young woman, Sydney Bristow, claimed the body. She had papers proving Irina Derevko was her mother. She had the body transported to a crematorium. They gave her the ashes in an urn. She in turn took them to a mausoleum near the place Derevko was born in 1951. She interred her there. The name on the brass plaque read Irina Derevko 1951 – 2005.
Irina remembered Jack’s last visit. She heard nothing from him until a week ago asking her meet with him. He would bring her up to date with what had been happening since her death.
“Irina?”
She turned to face him a smile on her face. “Jack!” She took two steps and his arms were around her. They kissed. She stepped back. He didn’t look that well. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing…I’ve been working too many long hours. Come with me, I’ve a car. We can talk in there.”
When they were settled, Jack reached in the back seat and pulled out a thermos. He poured two cups of hot, steaming coffee and handed her one. “You’ll have to make do without cream and sugar.”
She nodded, sipping the hot liquid gratefully. “Thank you.”
He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Irina watched him. She did not like his color or the way he acted. She saw his right hand quiver. She didn’t want to press him. He called the meeting.
“Things are heating up.” Jack started. “I suppose though you would like to know what happened after I returned from Moscow.”
“Yes.” She held the cup between her hands.
“The Covenant was working hard to get the Rambaldi artifacts. I knew that Lauren Reed, a senator’s daughter, was one of the agents. We suspect now that she killed her father, probably on orders from them. Sydney located Nadia, who was pretending to be comatose in a Russian prison in Chechnya. She brought her out and handed her over to Sloane who was with us.” He went on to explain all that had happened including the fact that Vaughn killed his wife near Palermo. “Lauren told Sydney that there was a secret document in Wittenberg that would explain why she had not heard from her mother.”
“Oh, Jack!” Irina caught her breath.
“Oh, yes, our daughter left Vaughn to take Lauren back home to be buried. Interestingly enough, Lauren’s mother, was also a Covenant agent. She is currently in prison. Anyway, Sydney using her abilities got into the safety deposit box Lauren told her about and found the report about the sanction and my killing you.”
He sighed, “I tried to beat her there, but she was reading the documents when I arrived. I told her she was never supposed to read them. She told me never to speak to her again and left. She was gone before I could follow.”
“Sweetheart,” Irina put her left hand on his arm. “I’m sorry.”
He grimaced. “Don’t be. I knew if she found out, it would be hard to get her to listen. About that time, Arvin and Nadia showed up at Langley. They reportedly brought something so valuable that Langley gave Arvin command of a black ops group, which is named “Authorized Personnel Only” or APO. Nadia transferred from the Argentine Secret Service shortly after that at the behest of Sloane and Sydney who went to see her for information.
“Earlier, Sydney who was in the CIA underwent a ‘meltdown’ in front of a CIA Director who was about to send her to desk job at Langley for insubordination. I had not seen her for about a month. Arvin and I met and I joined the team which included Vaughn as well as Dixon.” He sipped the coffee. “Sydney quit the CIA.”
“Oh Jack. I wanted that so much.”
“Don’t get your hopes up…she was joining the team also. However, she had to face the fact that I was there as well as Arvin.” Now he put his hand on hers and his thumb rubbed the surface of her index finger. “She wouldn’t look at me or talk to me. Vaughn later accosted me and told me about Sydney’s sorrow and the depth of it. He quoted her saying, “He did it, Vaughn…he killed her…he killed my mother.”
Irina turned his hand in hers and brought it to her lips. “Oh my God,” she whispered.
“That’s not the worst. Her next assignment was to steal a sword in London’s heaviest protected museum. She did. Then she contacted Tomasaki…”
Irina gasped. “Jack, he was the one I was supposed to pay.”
“I know. He took the sword and Sydney. He wanted to know why the contract was terminated. I guess he didn’t know you were dead. She escaped with Nadia’s help and chased him to his hideout. They fought and she killed him. As he died, he named you as the one who had put the contract out on her. Sydney was in shock.
“When we met again in APO she said ‘you killed Mom to save me?’ Then she wanted to know why you did? I couldn’t answer. We’ve not been able to really communicate for any length of time since then.” His hand quivered. He glanced at her to see if she noticed, but she was looking out the window. “Irina…I…”
“What’s wrong, Jack?” She turned and stared at him. She put her left hand over his right.
“I’m … I’ve been hit with heavy radiation.”
“What the f*uck are you doing here? You should be in the hospital.” Her voice raised and it was almost strident. There was fear in it. “I’m taking you to Irkutsk General.”
“No, I should be at UCLA’s Nuclear Medicine department. I had to see you…to tell you about what has happened. In case I—I die, you have to tell Sydney.”
“Idiot,” she screamed. Tears began falling from her eyes. “When did this happen?”
“A week or so ago,” he said tiredly. “Take me back. My plane is at the airport.”
Irina hurried around to the driver’s side. An hour later, she pulled up at the tarmac in front of a private hanger. Jack moved to leave the car. He was tired and it was worse than he thought. He pushed open the door and Irina was there, helping him out. The pilot of his plane stepped out of a small office.
“Jack,” said Irina, “I’m coming with you.”
“No…I can manage. Just need to rest for a few hours.” He took a few steps and stopped.
The pilot came up. “Everything okay, Sir?”
Irina looked at him. “I’m Mrs. Bristow. He needs to get to a hospital, but we have to get him to the States.”
“Let me,” the pilot took Jack’s other arm and the two helped him into the plane.
They settled Jack into a seat, dropped the armrests on the others, so he could lie down. Irina found blankets and pillows. She arranged them on him
“I’m leaving, Jack. Do you have any money, Euros, possibly?”
“Why?”
“To pay off the guards, who must be coming since the car is parked outside this plane.”
He chuckled and reached in his pocket. “And how do you explain yourself?”
“Never mind…it will be done.” She took the sheaf of money from him and counted approvingly.
Hours later, the plane landed at Santa Monica Airport. An ambulance waited inside the freight gate and drove to the plane when it stopped. Mechanics rolled up a stairway and the door opened. Irina motioned the men to enter. She would let them help Jack down to the ambulance.
He had been shocked on awakening to find her by his side. “Are you crazy? If anyone sees you…”
“Jack, sweetheart, I want to be sure you will be all right. I’ve talked to the pilot. He’s going to have maintenance done to the plane. I’m paying him to take me back.”
“With what?” He asked and then realized she must have money here in the States. The woman was impossible.
“If –“
“Shhh!” She put her hand over his mouth. “I’ll let Sydney know where you are.”
“Irina, you can’t!”
“Trust me,” she grinned at him. “I can and she won’t know who it is—just a nurse from the hospital.”
Part 3 – UCLA Medical Center
At UCLA’s hospital, Irina accompanied Jack to the Emergency Room. He was able to sign papers and give them insurance information. The ER doctor heard what was wrong and immediately called the Nuclear Medicine Department. They rushed Jack by gurney to the fifth floor and put into a room by himself. Nuclear warning signs were on the door immediately placed on the door. A nurse and doctor were inside doing preliminary examinations and drawing blood. Irina stood at the window looking at the activity, frowning.
She opened Jack’s cell and found Sydney’s number.
“Hello,” said a voice not Sydney’s, but sleepily. It was five in the morning.
“Hello, this is Nurse Olson at UCLA. Is Miss Sydney Bristow at home?”
“Sorry, she’s away. Can I take a message?”
“Who is this?”
“I’m her sister, Nadia Santos.”
Irina caught her breath and gripped the phone, but kept her voice calm. “We have admitted a Mr. Jack Bristow, who wanted us to notify his daughter.”
“JACK?” Nadia cried. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry, but it is confidential.”
“Where is he?”
“The nuclear medicine department.” There was silence at the other end. “Fifth floor.”
“I’m Sydney’s half-sister, maybe it will qualify me as family. We shared the same mother.”
“You can try,” Irina said smiling. “Good bye.”
Irina glanced at Jack’s menu and saw Marshall Flinkman’s number listed. She made the call. Jack had said something that made her think the funny little op tech knew about the problem. She hoped he was still home. It was now five fifteen.
“Hello,” the voice was sleepy and low.
“Marshall Flinkman?”
“Yeah.”
“UCLA Medical Center, Nuclear Medicine Department, fifth floor. Jack Bristow was brought to the hospital a half hour ago. We understand you know details about the amount of radiation he took. Can you come down?”
“Yeah, yeah.” I’ll be down in thirty minutes.” He hung up.
Irina turned back to watch what was going on inside Jack’s room. She leaned forward into the window as they hooked Jack up to three monitors. This man was the focal point of her other life. He gave meaning to her existence. The past two years after she had him near her, Irina realized more than ever the loss. Now he was in danger of dying, terrible danger. She felt a fireball of agony in the pit of her stomach. She pushed away from the window. The doctor was coming out.
“Doctor, how is he?”
“He’s a very sick man. I don’t know how many rads he took nor for how long.”
“Is he going to die?”
He shook his head, “I don’t know. I can tell you more later in the day.”
“When can I talk to him?”
“Then.”
“I may have to go.”
“I thought you were his wife. We do have a waiting room.” He pointed in the direction of an area beyond the double doors. “There’s a cafeteria and…”
“Thank you.” She turned and hurried to the restroom. Irina saw a beautiful dark haired girl leave the elevator. It was Nadia, she guessed. She had to get out of sight.
Nadia stopped at the nurse’s station and asked for Jack Bristow’s room. The nurse told her she would not be able to see or talk to him. He was in isolation. She pointed to the doctor standing on the other side of the counter writing. “He can tell you his condition. Dr. Wilkins?”
“Yes,” he looked up.
“This young lady is asking after Jack Bristow. She’s his…” the nurse looked at her.
“Step-daughter.” Nadia lied, knowing she must be related to Jack in order to get any information. “I wanted to know how he was doing.”
“Hasn’t changed since I told his wife I won’t know…”
“His wife?” Nadia’s mouth opened in shock.
“Why yes, she brought him into the ER.”
Nadia didn’t say anything just stared at him.
“Anything wrong?”
Just then, Marshall hurried up carrying a file folder. “Hey, Nadia…” He looked at Dr. Wilkins. “Are you Jack’s doctor?”
“Yes.”
“Here’s the information you need. How is he?”
“I won’t know until this evening.” Wilkins sighed. In the space of less than ten minutes, three people wanted information about Bristow’s condition. “I told Mrs. Bristow she could wait in the waiting room.” He nodded to Marshall. “Thank you again. It will help us treat him.”
“Where…is Mrs. Bristow?” Nadia asked.
The doctor pointed to the restroom door. “I last saw her going there.”
Nadia turned. Marshall put his hand on her arm. “Wait. You might want to be careful. Irina Derevko is dead, so you do not know who this might be. She could be dangerous.”
She shook him off and hurried toward the door. Swinging it open, she stepped cautiously inside. The bathroom was empty. There was no one in the two stalls or standing at the sink. Nadia leaned back against the wall…her hopes dashed. She thought and she knew the odds were against her, that her mother had somehow come back to life. Gathering herself together, she went outside to the worried Marshall. She shook her head.
Part 4 – Irkutsk
Jack left the plane first. It was cold, windy and there were flakes of snow flying through the air. He helped Sydney and Nadia down, reminding them to be careful. The tarmac was slippery as they crossed it. He was out of the hospital for only a month when he told his daughters he had to see them.
“I believe I had a wake up call. I am not going to live forever. I need to share my contacts with you. If you continue in APO or in any intelligence gathering unit, the more trusted your contacts, the safer you will be.”
“Dad,” Sydney interrupted. “I don’t think your dying just yet. You are too crusty, cranky and downright stubborn to give up on life.”
Jack cracked a smile, “No, Sydney, radiation poisoning took a lot out of me. It made me consider my mortality.”
“So you want to share your contacts?” Nadia said.
He nodded. “Unfortunately, some of them will want to meet with you…talk with you. These are the best contacts you will have. I want you for a week. No one must know where you are going or why. It’s a sister vacation. Are you game?”
The two young women nodded. That Jack Bristow was going to give up some of his precious contacts would make the trip extremely valuable in the future.
Now they had traveled from Vancouver BC, to Manila in the Philippines, then to Kyoto and Tokyo, Japan, Beijing, China and now in Irkutsk, Russia. So far, they had spent three days meeting and talking with Jack’s prime contacts. The four men and one woman had been honored to meet the two young women. Some had heard of Sydney Bristow and not just once.
“Why the contact in Irkutsk, Dad?” Sydney asked.
“It’s the biggest city in Siberia now and the gateway to oil, precious stones, gold—untapped resources of immense value. There are criminals of all kinds out here on this frontier waiting to plunder. Some of them have already taken what is not theirs.”
He helped the two into a waiting car. He gave an address. The two sisters stared out into the darkness, which would be lighter soon. Snow swirled in the headlights and did not stop even though the wind seemed to die down. Traffic was light. Sydney glanced at her watch. It was barely six in the morning. Who would be up at this time of dawn? The car he had hired stopped in front of a ten-story office building.
Jack got out and told the driver to wait, and then he helped his daughters out. He had not told Nadia yet what Irina had told him. He wasn’t sure he could. He led the way into the building. There seemed to be no one around except a cleaner who was picking up her scrub brush, bucket, and broom. She moved slowly to the elevator. Jack hurried ahead of the girls as though to be sure he would be able to get on the same elevator. Sydney and Nadia had to run to stay with him.
Jack went in first and stood in front of the cleaner. Sydney and Nadia hurried inside, standing in front of him. “What floor?”
“Eight,” he said. He reached around Nadia and pushed the button. The elevator went up slowly and it creaked.
Jack pushed the stop button. The elevator stopped. Sydney and Nadia looked at him in surprise.
“Hello, Sydney,” said Irina. Her heart was beating so fast. She had expected them when Jack called her a week ago to tell her he was coming.
“Irina, I want to thank you for seeing me back here to the States. You took an immense personal risk.”
“Sweetheart, you wouldn’t go to the local hospital, so I had to be sure you made it to UCLA. God, the campus is immense.” It had been years since she taught English Literature there. “Don’t forget Marshall, he had all the material at hand and was there so fast that the doctors had you in treatment before an hour passed.”
He laughed. “I’ll say he did. I’ve thanked him quite profusely several times, much to his amazement.” He paused. “No, the reason I’m calling is that I want to see you and I want you to see your daughters. It’s time Sydney knows you are alive and it’s time you saw Nadia.”
“Oh Jack, isn’t that dangerous?” Irina felt a chill go up her spine.
“I’ll be careful.” He said reassuringly. “Neither of us is getting any younger. You need to see Nadia and now.”
Sydney turned at the sound of the familiar voice. A cry of recognition strangled in her throat as she flung herself into her mother’s arms. They stood together. Sydney didn’t care about anything except those arms around her. Irina kissed her on both cheeks and pushed her back slightly to look at her eldest.
“Sydney, sweetheart, you look wonderful.”
“He didn’t kill you…he—he didn’t,” she looked at Jack with absolute adoration in her eyes and on her face.
Nadia stood entranced by the sight of a mother she’d never seen. She was speechless. She could not think of anything to say. All her life she wanted a family…a father and a mother. Sloane was her father…and now, here was Irina, alive. Tears began to fall down her cheeks. She could not move.
“Oh my God,” cried Sydney, hearing Nadia sobbing behind her. She turned. “Mom, this is Nadia.”
“Nadezhda,” whispered Irina. She stepped forward as Jack moved back. “My sweet little girl.” She held Nadia by the arms, looking at her, memorizing her face, stunned a little by her beauty. She was dark like her mother, like Katya and Yelena. She was lovely. “Nadezhda,” she crooned, moving to take her in her arms. It had been so long, so long…
They stood together for what seemed a lifetime.
“Sorry, Irina, girls…but we’ve got to go.”
“Why is she here,” asked Sydney. Irina had both daughters close to her.
“To stay alive,” answered Jack. “She’s been in hiding ever since we learned someone was trying to reinstate Rambaldi’s prophecy. I will tell you both more later, but right now, we have to leave. Your mother has a job to do.” He hit the down button to the basement.
“Scrubbing floors?” Nadia looked up at her much taller mother.
“To stay alive,” reiterated Irina. She extricated herself from the two girls. She rearranged the babushka on her head. She looked at Jack. “One thing…” She stepped close, took his face between her hands, and kissed him…hard. “I love you,” she whispered in Russian, “more than you know.”
The doors opened. She picked up the pail and brushes and not looking back, disappeared down a hallway.
Fini