The Perfect Weapon Ending 1 Chapter 1002: Part 4 section 1 of 2
Ending 1 Chapter 1002 Part 4 section 1 of 2
In Kashmir:
How had he found her? She wondered again, as she heard the knock on the door. She knew her courier had not been followed. Jack had promised and moreover, her courier was highly skilled, could lose any tail. And he had scanned the package for any transmissions and found nothing. Most importantly, Jack would not have used the same technique twice on the same person.
Earlier:
“This is notour grandmother’s passive transmitter,” Marshall said eagerly, holding up a tiny piece of electronica between the tongs of a forcep. “No, sir. No, ma’am. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a new generation of transmitter. Not only does it transmit, no, not just that, it-“
“Marshall,” Kendall said, rolling his eyes, “It may be late at night, but this is not an infomercial. This is a briefing for the troops before they get on the road. So-“
“Actually,” Jack interrupted. “Teams two, three and four are already on the roads to Morocco, Cypress, and Italy right now.”
“Thanks for letting me know, Jack!” Kendall exclaimed.
“I’m letting you know now, Kendall,” Jack said, raising an eyebrow.
“My authority here is merely an illusion,” Kendall muttered. Then he flung a hand up in Jack’s direction, before words could tumble out of Jack’s slightly-parted lips, “I know, I know - the illusion of authority is better than none at all.”
“But if you feel that strongly that the package will go to Kashmir, why send troops to those locations at all?” Dixon asked, looking up from packing his case.
“Because-“
“Personally, not that anyone’s asking my opinion,” Kendall shrugged, “I agree with Dixon. I think you’re being paranoid. I still fail to see the necessity of sending teams to all of her confirmed homes. She’s in Kashmir and she’s staying there until we take her into custody.”
“Because, there is no---”
Everyone chorused, “Substitute for extensive background preparation.”
Jack gave a small smile, “Once again, I am startled that they actually listen to me.”
Weiss commented, “That’s because we’re too afraid not to listen.”
“Well, a little fear is a good motivator,” Kendall said.
“Regardless of your motivations, there can be no mistakes on this mission. Are we all clear on that? This is our best chance,” Kendall said, looking from Weiss to Dixon. “You are Team One. The critical team. The other teams are just evidence of Jack’s-“
“Those teams are my, one of my just-in-case back ups.” Jack paused, then admitted, “Derevko has an amazing ability to elude us which I would never underestimate and-“
“And besides, they will raid those sites and acquire any available intel remaining there,” Weiss added. “A doubleplay.”
“Yes.” Jack’s eyes opened infinitesimally wider in surprise. “Hmm. But what I was about to say when I was interrupted by the shock of Weiss having a strategic revelation-“
“Hey!” Weiss protested.
“Listen, Eric the eclair --” Kendall began.
“That’s enough, boys,” Carrie said quietly, interrupting. “We’re all on edge.” She turned and smiled at Marshall and suggested, “Marshall, why don’t you finish explaining about that transmitter. I know how hard you worked on it.”
Marshall smiled back and then stuttered a few times before explaining. “It’s also a just in case. And a way to test a new technology. This one,” he pointed to the small circle resting on the table, “Is, well, actually this is one of several we made. Jack insisted that we test and retest. A prototype was not good enough. Oh, no! Not for this mission, nope, he wouldn’t trust---”
“Marshall,” Jack said with exaggerated patience. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s that there is no room for any mistakes in this mission. Any scientist knows that you don’t rely on the prototype unless there is no other option. And we had options. Specifically, we could test the transmissions specs quite easily because for the last few days we had Vaughn in the region we thought---”
“You thought, Jack,” Kendall corrected him, nodding toward the satellite images. “You thought. Give yourself credit.”
“I’ll give myself and everyone else credit when she’s safely locked up in federal prison,” Jack snapped. “No one, no one, should doubt Derevko’s ability to play the escape game, is that clear?” Then frowned as he saw Sydney frown in concentration. When she said nothing, he continued, “This new transmitter is also a just-in-case, that I began thinking about on the way home from Panama and then-“
“He told me,” Marshall said excitedly, “That later he lay awake one night and thought ‘what if?’ Which, if I don’t mind saying so myself, is often how I come up with my own best ideas. You’re lying there all alone in bed and- Not that I think Jack is lying there alone because he couldn’t be with someone, but then again, when would he have the time and after Panama-“
“Marshall! Stop fixating on Panama!”
“Sorry. Sorry. I’m just jealous. Not of Panama. No, not that. I mean, Irina Derevko is not my ex-wife, or wife, or whatever she is. But she is Sydney’s mother and so maybe I should just-“
“Move along!” Jack barked out, running his hands through his hair.
“Okay. But I can’t quite believe I didn’t think of this one myself but -You have to think outside the box, which has become a trite expression I know, but, heh, heh, given that the transmitter is in a box, is somewhat ironic, wouldn’t you say? Jack?” He winced when Jack just stared at him.
“Marshall...” Kendall said impatiently, looking at his watch. “The team needs to get in the air.”
“But, Jack, wouldn’t this courier also have been instructed to scan any and all packages, even this one, immediately upon receipt?” Weiss asked.
Marshall, bouncing on his feet, exclaimed, “But that’s the beauty of it! The device is specifically designed to begin transmitting two minutes after a detection device passes over it.
“After?” Dixon said, stopping in mid-motion, as he packed his case next to Weiss.
“Basically all detection devices operate on the same principle," Marshall began, once again bouncing excitedly. Carrie wondered to herself if he would be this excited when they had sex the first time. She sighed, as he continued. "They are seeking pulses or waves of some kind. If there is none, there is no red flag to the detection device. However -- and here’s where the genius is -- all detection devices give off their own pulses or waves. And we are going to use the very strength of the weapon - its pulses - against it. There is no signal from this transmitter when a scanner passes it. Instead, the scanner itself will trigger the transmitter. Two minutes after the scanner passes it, the transmitter will begin sending us the signal. So, this device is like a sleeper bomb. It only begins transmitting after the detection device triggers it.”
“How...ironic.” Kendall said, shaking his head.
“Well, you know me. Mr. Irony,” Jack quipped.
“And even better, even more ironic,” Marshall added, “The transmission mimics the scanner, it will use the same signal pulse as the scanner, so if they attempt to scan it again, the scanner will just find a mirror of its own signal.”
“A mirror....” Sydney murmured, shaking her head. “Oh. Dad,” she said softly, just to him, as the others continued discussing the transmitter. “A mirror ploy. Again. She always loved mirrors. I remember those mirrors in the bedroom, across...from...the-“ She bit her lip and felt her eyes widen as she watched a tiny bit of redness enter her father’s cheeks. Heard a siren in her head shriek, ‘too much information, too much information.’ Yikes. Now she had an inkling of what her father felt when he had inadvertently seen a few seconds of that videotape. She rubbed her eyes.
Marshall asked, “Syd, are you tired? You’re rubbing your eyes...”
“Dixon!” Jack called out softly. “I need to speak to you for a moment.” When Dixon came over, Jack whispered in his ear, “What’s not in the briefing packet...” Jack tapped the portfolio in his hand. “Is that I want you to recover and destroy some photographic evidence that is in here after Derevko is in custody. I would rather Sydney and Vaughn didn’t have to see....” Dixon looked carefully at Jack and then over at Sydney. Jack nodded. Dixon nodded in return.
“Jack, do you, we even need the transmitter, since we know she is in place?” Weiss asked curiously when the two older men finished their brief conversation.
“It’s always better to have more than one mode of attack. She could always move at the last moment, before that package is in her hands. She won’t be moving immediately thereafter, but before...who’s to say? I’m positive she would not move from her home, but just in case.... What I know, without any doubt, is that wherever that package is prior to being opened is where she will be. She wants that package, that she sees,” he said so blandly that the tone of his voice masked the portent of his words for a moment, “As just another play in the game she believes to be unending between the two of us.”
“We could have just had her courier followed,” Dixon suggested.
“Too risky,” Jack pointed out, “The transmitter does serve a purpose - it allows us to tail the courier without sending an agent, who could be seen. The courier could have lost us and in so doing would have informed Derevko that I had sent a tail, breaking my word and ending the game.”
“You promised her no tail on the courier?” Kendall asked in surprise. “You made a promise and you intend to keep that promise?”
“Yes,” Jack said shortly. “Besides, a good way to gain someone’s trust is by asking them to trust you.” Sydney winced, remembering Derevko’s words, just those words about trusting her, designed she realized suddenly to make her feel guilty about distrusting her, thereby making her drop her guard and... Damn, this game. She just wanted it to be over.
“And she would trust you? Your word?” Marshall asked.
“Yeah. After Panama, wouldn’t she-“ Weiss asked.
“She saw that as part of the game. And...she does trust me. Trust is a game to her. That’s all she sees. That’s all she wants to see. That’s the most important aspect of any relationship to her. The game.”
“Your ex-wife trusts you in the game-“ Dixon began.
“Well, to be perfectly accurate she is not my ex-wife. She is my wife. Still.”
“What?!” Weiss exclaimed.
Dixon asked he locked the clasp of his pack, “Jack... Why didn’t you have the marriage annulled?”
Jack shrugged, “It’s never wise to sever a connection prematurely. After all, you never know when it might come in handy. And too, the fact that I did not annul the marriage made her believe-“
“That you didn’t want to annul the marriage, which would lead her to trust you even more. Which would...” Weiss shook his head. “It’s one big circle.”
“It’s a perfect circle of entrapment,” Dixon said softly. “In that region, the existence of that legal connection is a-“
“True,” Jack said with a nod. “As you’ll see, Dixon, when you read the briefing packet on board the plane. Now you and Weiss need to get a move on. The package will go out later, to give you two a head start. Vaughn will be waiting to meet your plan in the market town, where you will be delivering snacks to Zamir’s brother’s truck. Dixon is team leader, Vaughn is arresting officer and Weiss is back up.” Dixon nodded and grabbed the packet from Jack’s hand and started off.
“Why am I always back up?” Weiss moaned.
“Because you get distracted by bakeries,” Sydney said with a self-deprecatory smile.
“Speaking of which...Hey, Dixon, let’s stop at Krispy Kreme on our way out!” Weiss called as he scurried to catch up to Dixon.
“Don’t forget your beards!” Jack yelled down the hall to the two of them. In the silence of the team’s departure, Jack heard a sound behind his back and whirled around. Sydney was watching Weiss and Dixon hurrying to catch their plane and sniffled again. “Sweetheart? Are you okay?” he asked softly.
“Let’s go, okay, Dad?” Sydney asked, grabbing her purse.
“Dad, when will this be over?” Sydney asked softly as they walked toward his car.
“It should be by this time tomorrow night...” he looked at the lightening sky they could see in the rectangular opening of the parking garage. The greyness would soon fade before what appeared to be a brilliantly-bright day ahead. “Or morning. It’s all dependent upon the timing.”
“The timing has to be precise,” Sydney said, trying to smile, as he opened her car door. Stopping, he looked at her. Waited. “Dad...” She leaned forward and rested her head on his shoulder.
Hesitantly, he reached his hands up and hugged her loosely. “I know. This is hard.”
“Is it difficult for you?” Sydney asked.
Jack raised his eyebrows. What had she just asked? Twice in one day, she had asked about his feelings? What was going on? He said slowly, “When I think about what might have been, then yes, it’s difficult. But when I think about what is, then no. I have to live with the reality, play the hand I was dealt, not the hand I had once wished I was dealt,” Jack answered honestly, although he forebore from saying that when one was playing against as good a gamesmaster as Irina Derevko, this game was almost as good as it got. Almost. It wasn’t the ultimate game, the game between a man and a woman, but until he was ready for that again, it would be enough. “That may not be what you want to hear, but it is the truth.” For which, he sighed, I’ll probably pay.
She took a deep breath, listened to Vaughn’s voice telling her to not be too hard on her father. Listened instead to his heartbeat under her forehead. Listened to her own heart, telling her that her father would truly have preferred another ending. She rubbed her head back and forth against his strong shoulder and sighed, “Dad, I want it to be over.”
“As do I,” Jack said softly. “You didn’t have to be here tonight, you know. Or later.”
“No. I need to witness this. I think. You’re sure it will be bloodless?”
“Sweetheart, there are no one hundred percent guarantees in a game like this. I can only do my best. But....Yes, I’m sure she will be immobilized by the package. If I had sent in the locals or our team without prepping her this way, she would have not only had a greater chance to escape, but would have fought back. This way, she will be too stunned to resist in a timely fashion. That is my main reason for employing it. Not only to communicate that the game between us is over, irrevocably over, - completing my personal goals. But doing so in such a way that she will be in shock when the next phase begins, allowing us to achieve our professional goals and bring her to justice.”
She took a shuddering breath. “Dad, do you ever do anything that’s not a doubleplay?” She asked, trying to smile as her eyes welled with tears.
“Yes," Jack said simply. Tipping her face up, he kissed her cheek. Then hugging her close, he whispered. "Yes. The reason, the only reason I’m standing here, holding you now, is because you are my daughter and I love you.”
’Honey: I sent off the package to your dead drop. And I will be seeing you soon. Jack.’Jack: I hope you did a better job of wrapping it than you used to do with Christmas presents. And you will be seeing me soon? How close are you to finding me? Irina.
Honey: Closer than you think. Jack.
Jack: When? Irina.
Honey: It all depends upon the timing. I would not want our reunion to be less than perfect. Jack.
In Kashmir, later:
But she shrugged, as she walked to open the door to her bedroom. Why was she debating about how he had found her? He was right there on the other side of the door, could answer all her questions in a moment. After she killed him for breaking- “I am coming!” she said quickly in response to another peremptory knock and flung open the door.
TBC at Chapter 1002 Part 4 section 2 of 2