Chapter 2016: Part 1
Chapter 2016: Part 1 aka Postmortem
Judy waited for them by the fountain, running her hands slowly through the bubbling water. The cool wetness was refreshing in the dry heat. She looked around the courtyard which, like the house, had numerous personal touches. The colors inside might occasionally be a bit strong, but the house had character and personality. It was truly a home Irina had created, waiting only for her family to make it come alive. God willing, they were all ready to take the next steps to do so...She looked up as one of the guards on the roof called out and jumped to her feet as the entire team strode through the gates.
"How is everyone doing?" Judy asked with quiet urgency as they approached. Her eyes flicked over each person quickly but thoroughly. Dave was leaning slightly on Jack’s arm; he had overdone it physically, of course; stubborn man. She walked toward him and took his hand, transferring his need from Jack to herself. They all looked tired, resigned, calm, but...hopeful. How interesting.
"Jack and Dave both survived being in a tiny cave," Weiss noted. "Which had to be a bitch, given their claustrophobia-"
"I don’t have claustrophobia-" Jack and Dave both began, then stopped to grin at each other. Judy and Irina exchanged a roll of the eyes.
"And you, Irina?" Judy asked. Irina was dusty and dirty, but the triumph in her eyes made her come alive. Butwas it triumph or was it satisfaction? Yes, she looked satisfied and relaxed. That made sense. She had had a long journey, full of what ifs and if onlys. Hopefully, seeing herself as she once was mirrored in Arvin had given her the sense of closure and accomplishment she needed and deserved. Judy turned to Vaughn as Irina began to speak, wondering if he had seen a difficult truth.
"I think we should have terminated him the minute we had him in our sights. We could have had him buried, cleaned up ourselves, and been eating dinner by now," Irina sighed impatiently. She had plans to complete, after all.
"Ah, then. So no chance of lingering regret with you, then?" Judy asked in a prim voice.
Irina gave a husky chuckle. "Making a note for your patient log, Doctor? Should we discuss it in private later?"
"Certainly. We’ll talk more later." Judy nodded briskly and turned to Sydney, wanting to hide her amusement from sharp eyes. "Sydney...?"
"Polling the audience, Dr. Barnett?" Sydney kicked the toe of her boot back and forth. "I... I suppose I wish we could have kept hope alive, that there’s always hope that someone might change. Mom did it after all. So...Arvin... But he didn’t. Right up to the end, he kept insisting..." She shook her head and bit her lip. "There was no hope. None. He was just going to keep on destroying anything, anyone in his path without counting the cost. The end...had to come."
"Yes, it did, sweetheart," Irina interjected, then stopped as she saw noted Zamir’s truck in the courtyard. Why had he arrived here in one of his beer nut trucks? A helicopter would have been more efficient. Why was she surrounded by people who made messes... Whom she loved beyond all else, including the need for order and control.
Irina smiled affectionately at Jack, then Sydney, before musing, "He was like a tiger that threatens a village in India. Sometimes you can resettle them elsewhere; sometimes they keep returning and then there is no choice. It’s a matter of survival. You do see that, don't you, Sydney?"
Judy looked closely at Jack, who was looking closely at Sydney as she nodded slowly, then more quickly. Is that why - or at least one reason why - he had verbally goaded Sloane? Not only to push him for the enjoyment of it, but to prove to Sydney that there was no hope yet? Of course, of course. A doubleplay. Good idea. "Perhaps, Sydney or anyone else, we can continue the discussion later back in the...house, which is an inadequate word for it, but..."
"Excellent," Sark agreed, already walking off. "Someone needs to comfort Arezou now that she's discovered the news about her father’s betrayal of their host."
Nia nodded as she set off after Sark after a nod from Dave. "True. A grievous sin, indeed. They will feel shamed by his lack of honor. Julian is correct. We should go to comfort them now that the guards have taken him to the cell. They should not be alone."
"Eric, you need to go have the medic look at the back of your head," Irina ordered. Weiss nodded, but instead sat down on the edge of the fountain. Vaughn and Sydney looked at him, then sat down as well, both sighing deeply.
"I’ll help direct Mr. Zamir with his delivery," Judy offered. "While you all bathe. I’m sure you want to clean yourself of the day’s...dust," she said euphemistically, her eyes noting the blood splatters they all seemed to ignore. An emotional cleansing would come with the physical washing away of the day. Unless they were all Lady MacBeths, which seemed unlikely. Only Sydney seemed even slightly tense and that anxiety seemed to increase while she stared at the doorway to the inner hallways of Querencia. Hmm.
"Thanks, Judy," Jack said with a small smile. Judy nodded in return.
Irina’s gaze narrowed. What did that little exchange with Judy mean? Nothing, nothing, she told herself. You’re focusing on the irrelevancies, when Jack was about to take a shower. Him, wet - that was relevant. "Come, Jack, let’s go get wet-"
"Now there’s an offer I can’t refuse," Jack agreed.
"What, getting wet or coming?" Dave quipped. "Although I suppose the one does precede the other- Oomph!" Dave grunted and stumbled as Irina slapped his arm. She grabbed him to keep him upright.
"For that piece of idiocy, Dave, I think you have to be the one to report into Kendall," Irina urged as she waited to make sure he had his footing.
"Ugh. Really, shouldn’t the punishment fit the crime?"
"For the crime of..." Irina paused and looked up at Jack. Deepening her voice and her accent, she began again. "For the crime of salacious speech..."
Jack licked his lower lip. "Say that again? Please."
"Since you asked so nicely, come along with me, Jack," Irina ordered, taking his hand and tugging him forward. "I’ll punish you for your crimes."
"What punishment? For what crime?" Jack asked even as he willingly followed Irina.
"I’ll think of something...like the fact that we really should have just drilled Sloane between the eyes the first moment we saw him-" Irina began.
"Now, that’s where you are so wrong-" Jack argued.
"No, I'm not. But how about the crime of not telling me what the perfect weapon is?" Irina asked as they disappeared behind the grilled entrance to the inner hallways.
"You can always tie me down and torture me -- that would be a good punishment," Jack offered.
Judy and Dave listened, then turned to each other and nodded. "Good game plan, Lorena," Dave whispered.
"Yes, she’ll draw any lingering questions out of him about what happened today..." Judy agreed.
"Not that I think there are any, but at least now she’s doing it herself," Dave noted, remembering how in the past Laura had so often called him to talk to Jack. That concern had been proof enough of her love and she probably would have been able to handle it herself as time went on, if they’d had the time together that was. Well, they did now. "They’re going to be fine. Better than fine. Better than they were in the past," Dave said confidently.
"I agree." Judy nodded as they began walking themselves.
"What did you do while you were waiting?" Dave asked, squeezing her arm with his hand. "Were you worried?"
Judy nodded and slipped her hand over Dave's. "Naturally. I had faith in you all, but life does not go according to plan..."
"Yeah, shit happens. I know that, but it all went down as we expected. Aside from the glitch Yasmina’s husband caused, but...maybe...going into that cave was a way of closure for me," Dave admitted.
"Ah..." Judy nodded. "We’ll have to test that nonexistent claustrophobia of yours some time soon."
"So we will. But you didn’t spend your time fondling worry beads, Dr. Barnett, now did you?" Dave smiled gently as he touched Judy's hair, the pale strands gleaming in the deep orange tones of the setting sun as the shadows deepened around the courtyard.
"No. I spent some time with Yasmina and her daughters."
Dave said sincerely, "Thank you, thank you. They must have been anxious and..." He shook his head. He wouldn't say Yasmina was in love with her husband, but they shared a life, a family, and many years together. She had not always agreed with his views, but she had understood his perspective and respected him. Now...
"Yasmina was devastated, in her understated way. Betraying a host’s generous hospitality..." Judy shook her head. "Apparently, a major issue in their culture."
"It's an honor issue. To save one kind of honor rule, he broke another. They will feel shame."
"Yes. Shame and anger. I mostly listened to her. I think if she were, well, this is contradictory, but if she were who she is in a different culture, I think she would divorce him for it."
"I think he may divorce her, as would be his right under their law. He does not respect who she is becoming, he views her...as becoming a whore for talking to me while looking me in the eyes, for going without her headcovering. He is..." Dave shook his head. "Displaced. He is a displaced refugee. A stranger in a strange new world, one to which he cannot or will not acclimate. He sees his wife and daughters changing and..."
"Some people simply cannot adapt to change and others thrive, while yet others fall somewhere in the middle." Judy nodded. "An interesting psychological question. The why and how of it."
"Yeah, it’s a good question and one in which I have more than a passing interest," Dave said drily. Then he glanced over at Judy. "Hey, your rats - maybe we can devise an experiment-"
"Maybe we can," Judy laughed. She took Dave’s hand and squeezed it. "Now that we’ve engaged in one form of foreplay - talking about rats..."
Dave laughed and rolled his eyes. "I am so easy, aren’t I? Perhaps too easy, after all, Jack said we’re supposed to have a serious discussion of our sexual histories and exchange medical clearances..." Dave mentioned, remembering belatedly.
"I’m clean. And I checked your medical file before we went on this adventure. Just in case... So I know that you’re clean."
"Just in case?" Dave choked. "You did not."
"I did too. Jack is not the only person who believes in background research," Judy said in her professional voice, knowing it would elicit a grin from Dave. "Speaking of which, when I wasn’t talking with the women in your family..."
"Arezou and Yasmina?" Dave nodded. Yes, along with his cousin, Juli and the Bristows, they were his family. He would make sure they were taken care of...or however Jack would have worded that with those damn stupid prepositions. Arezou needed opportunities for education and exploration. Yasmina...needed a way to boss people around and use her organizational abilities. Surely, there was some way... Later, he told himself. You don’t need to solve everyone’s problems tonight.
"Yes. When I wasn’t talking with them, I conferred with the cook - who thankfully speaks English - and we talked about whipped cream," Judy said in a bland voice as they slowly approached the grilled doorway.
Dave stopped walking and began to laugh. "In this climate?"
Judy spun around to the other side of the grill and peeking through noted, "In this climate, rapid eating of whipped cream is essential."
"Great, since speed seems to be my strong suit at the moment," Dave admitted with a laugh at his own expense, as he held onto the doorway for a second before joining Judy in the hall.
"Hmm. Well, speed will be of the essence right now, but tomorrow..."
"Tomorrow? Tomorrow we’re heading home in the morning and the flight will take all day and then the debriefings, so tomorrow won’t work, Jude--"
"We’ll see..." Judy smiled secretively.
"What does that smile mean?" Dave asked suspiciously.
"Why don’t you use your superior manipulative abilities on me and see if you can find out?" Judy asked, opening the door to Dave's room.
Dave spoke into his phone. "Kendall, it’s-"
"I know who it is, Caro!" Kendall barked. The man’s deep voice was distinctive and he was not an idiot who’d been chewing his nails waiting for a report. "Where is Sloane and why did you wait so long to call?"
"Six feet under. I was busy." Dave looked toward the bathroom with a smile. Judy had certainly resisted his manipulations much more deftly than he’d hoped, at least when it came to whatever secret made her smile at odd times. Other times, well... He sighed again. With his knee paining him, Bossy Judy had been a welcome visitor.
"Are you...You’re serious." Kendall heaved out a long sigh. "I’m sure all of your reports will demonstrate - beyond a shadow of a doubt - that his death was impossible to avoid."
"Of course. Why else would he be dead?"
"Why else indeed?" Kendall rolled his eyes.
"So...Sylvester. Would you do me a favor?"
"Would I...What, what now?"
"Now, that it’s safe for me to be alive, can you please inform my cousin that I am, in fact, alive?"
Kendall nodded. Caro’s cousin appeared to be his only living relative and she was - "Absolutely."
"That was awfully easy..." Dave said suspiciously. He leaned against the wall and craned his head. Where was Judy?
"It is incumbent upon me as the director of this section to do my duty to my country as well as a team member and-"
"You liked her picture, didn’t you?" Dave began to laugh. It always came down to the game between a man and a woman. "Unless she’s changed, she’ll shoot you down."
"Maybe I like that quality in a woman."
Dave snorted. "Or maybe you’ve just grown accustomed to that quality in a woman given the way you act around them. Watch your mouth. She’s my cousin and if you -"
"Oh, go celebrate with the rest of that unholy trinity and allow me to do my job, Caro." Kendall snapped his phone closed and walked off with a smile. Dixon looked at him and shuddered. Poor woman.
"Kendall says I need to go celebrate--" Dave began as he walked into Judy's bedroom. He stopped to watch her brush her hair. A simple task, but a deep pleasure. He sighed happily. How had he gotten so lucky to meet Judy so soon? "I can't wait to see Lorena's face."
Judy moved her head so that her hair hid her own expression. The face she couldn't wait to see was Jack's come morning."We need to get going. I promised I'd help direct." She looked up and started to see Dave standing next to her. He could move so silently!
“You’re going to direct? I’ll go along!” Dave offered immediately, clasping Judy in his arms. “I love Bossy Judy.” He bent his head and gave her a kiss that surprised him with its sweetness.
Clatter
The brush hit the tile floor, startling them both with its loud vibrations against the hard surfaces of the room.
“Jack, do you think Dave and Judy...” Irina sighed contentedly as Jack ran a brush through her hair. She watched his relaxed face in the mirror of the - no, their bureau in front of her. Their bureau, their mirror, their reflection, their house, their home, their life. She would mute that intense yellow in the breakfast room.
“Do I think they are a good couple? Absolutely,” Jack told her. He set the brush down, pushed her hair aside, and kissed the soft skin of her neck.
“Because you thought of the two of them getting together?” Irina asked, tilting her head to enable Jack’s mouth to...yessss... She shivered as he bit the muscle where her neck joined the shoulder.
Jack nuzzled into her neck, gently biting her from shoulder to ear lobe, feeling her shiver against his mouth as she held perfectly still, waiting. Flicking his tongue against her ear lobe, he said casually, “Well, I was correct about that. Judy is just what Dave needs and I think the reverse is true.”
“I’m not jealous of her, you know,” Irina said firmly, reaching out to clench her hand around the discarded hair brush.
Jack slowly lifted his gaze to the mirror and looked Irina in the eyes. “Good. Because jealousy of my blonde therapist would be irrational and we know how much your prize logic.”
“Yes. Of course,” Irina said quickly. Then she saw the knowing look in Jack’s eyes and expelled an exasperated breath. She and Judy had worked on this issue over and over. It was so inefficient to keep returning to an ineffective pattern. “And ... emotionally, I know that I am secure in our relationship and nothing can come between us this time.” She turned and pulled Jack hard against her body. “Nothing can come between us this time.”
“Excellent. Now either kiss me or start talking with polysyllabic words and...”
Irina frowned as she heard shouting. "Cacophony.”
Jack shook his head. “Now, that’s a polysyllabic word that does nothing for me. It sounds too much like-“
“Jack!” Irina slapped his shoulder. “I’m serious. What in the world..." She held herself perfectly still to listen. Why was Dave...laughing, his deep voice unmistakable? What was he doing?
“I’ll go find out,” Jack offered quickly.
Irina blinked as Jack left the room in a silent rush. Her eyes narrowed as she darted to the doorway and watched him disappear around the corner. Why was he moving so quickly? What was he doing? She turned around and noted Jack’s towel, discarded on a chair and frowned.
Jack was never so sloppy. A break in a pattern, Irina mused as she folded it neatly and set it on the sink before walking out to the courtyard. Of course, Jack had known she wouldn’t leave the room without setting it to rights - hating messes was her pattern. Which meant... Ah. She walked slowly. Apparently, they needed time for something.
"Over there." Judy pointed to a spot in the courtyard facing west. "That's a better option than the other locations."
"Good idea," Jack agreed, smirking as he watched Zamir's nephew, Weiss, Vaughn, and Sark sigh deeply and in unison before doing as they were told.
"What was a good idea was making the kids do the moving this time," Dave noted as he stood with Jack, Sydney, Zamir, and Judy.
“With age comes wisdom. And a back that is bad,” Zamir said solemnly. When Dave rolled his eyes, he smiled. It was good to see Dave well again. His friend Jack’s life was finally finding the good karma, much harder than finding that wood Jack had wanted.
"Jack, what's going on?" Irina asked, standing at the back of the group.
"A housewarming gift for you." Jack smiled as everyone stepped back and cleared a path.
"For...A glider!" Irina exclaimed, walking forward to where the elaborately carved wooden glider sat on the courtyard tile. "A glider! In Pakistan!"
"The best of both worlds, I hope," Jack said as he touched the carving in the dark wood of the arms. "It serves the same function but is appropriate for the setting."
Irina nodded silently. She took a step forward, turned around and sat down, curling her fingers over the edge and holding still. She looked down at teh carvings in the seat and blinked. It was a filigree style pattern similar to one she had seen him sketching for a ring for Sydney, only with their initials woven within. "This is beautiful. Thank you. You are a very generous man, Jack."
"Not really..." Jack bent down and put his hands on the back railing behind her head, trapping her within the circle of his arms. "I just remember how much you realllllly liked our old glider, so..."
Irina began to laugh, then tugged on Jack's arm so that he would sit next to her. He set the glider in motion and smiled ruefully when it moved silently. Leaning into her, he whispered, “Zamir’s nephew forgot and oiled it. I told him not to-“
"I don't need a squeak anymore," Irina said, knowing it was true as the words poured out. She glanced up at Judy, understanding her part in this now. She had helped, to be, well, helpful. But by the assessment in her eyes, it was also a test, no doubt. A test for...herself. She understood. "I like the squeak, it has happy memories for me. But I don't need it to...fill some hole in me anymore."
"Well, that's a relief," Dave quipped. "Given how you were ready to kill us the last time.”
"This...squeak. Why would she want a squeak?" Zamir asked Dave. "No sense that makes to me."
Weiss bit his lip and turned to Vaughn. "The Indian Yoda. This, I tell you."
"It’s...perfect for this place, this time.. No squeak is needed." Irina said over the lump in her throat as she and Jack rocked back and forth. "Thank you."
"I thought that if this was going to be one of our homes, it should have a glider," Jack said softly.
"My nephew makes--" Zamir began.
Everyone began to laugh. "Everything, your nephews do make." Weiss told him. "This fact, we know."
Nia laughed. “Another fact, this we know is that it is time to eat. The cook is pacing back and forth and I, for one, am quite famished.”
“Time to eat?” Dave looked at Judy and winked. “I’m mostly interested in dessert. I hope there’s whipped cream on the menu.”
“Shush!” Judy hissed, feeling her face redden as everyone but Jack and Irina turned to walk to the dining room.
Sydney stopped at the doorway. “Why don’t you go sit with your parents on the glider?” Vaughn urged. He smiled. “You know you want to.”
“Wellll...” Sydney smiled. “If I wouldn’t be intruding.”
“Oh, come on. You want to sit inbetween them.”
“You’re right, but...” Sydney shrugged and looked back into a dining room. A red dining room. She walked away from it and back to the arched grilled entryway from the courtyard. “I’m not sure I understand my father and his acceptance of this, all this. It’s a little...too much. Adding that glider to the way my mother decorated this house is...inexplicable. To me.”
Sark’s soft voice came from the darkness. “If it’s any consolation, I think in some ways this house was not only her comfort, it was her penance.”
“What do you mean?” Sydney asked quickly, turning to see Sark lounging against the wall in th hallway. Waiting, she thought. Or was he...betwixt and between like she was. So close, yet...not quite there yet. “You were her replacement for me.”
“In a very trifling way,” Sark argued. “Because - and do allow me to be honest-“ He stopped, waited, then asked, “Aren’t you going to say something snide such as, ‘That would be a first, you being honest?’”
“No. I’m waiting for you to tell me what you know,” Sydney said honestly. “I’d appreciate hearing it.”
Vaughn stiffened. This rapprochement between Sark and Sydney made him uneasy. Perhaps...he needed to step it up.
“As you wish, Princess,” Sark said softly. “Princess Bride?” He sighed. Dave would appreciate that game. Or Irina. Or even Weiss, given the way the stick apparently up Vaughn’s ass had just tightened a quarter turn. “I was hardly a replacement for you, Sydney, because the simple truth is that Irina Derevko was no one’s mother. She was a teacher, a mentor, a taskmaster. But a mother, as you knew her? No. She was the closest I remembered of a mother, but she was...a caretaker, not a true mother. The woman I knew was...only a portion of the woman I see now. Perhaps those are harsh words, but...” Sark shrugged.
“The words are true. I know that. I see myself that as much as I loved my mother as a child, I only saw a portion of her, what I saw...” Sydney stopped and ran her fingertip along the lacy grill work separating the courtyard from the inner corridors. She looked through the grill at her parents and poked her finger through an opening, wincing slightly as a rough edge caught her finger. “As the saying goes, I saw through a mirror, dimly. And perhaps that’s because who she was then was merely a reflection of what she could be. Perhaps...yes, that’s what my father’s been talking about when he discusses her potential. Or...all of our potential.”
“Even me?” Sark asked lightly.
“Astonishingly enough, even you!” Sydney teased, responding to Sark’s tone. “You’d better be careful around Arezou or Dave will make sure you never see your full potential with any woman again. If you know what I mean.”
“Ouch!” Sark laughed. “I enjoy Arezou. Her curiosity is...refreshing. I like her. Which is...”
“Different,” Sydney supplied before issuing a warning. “Take your time with her, or anyone.”
Sark laughed again. “Yes, sister Sydney. But you’re right. Timing is critical. Too soon with a girl like Arezou, who needs to experience life and the world itself, would be a disaster. And too late with another kind of woman, who has had enough, would also be a disaster...”
Vaughn’s head snapped up. Had that been a warning? He looked away from Sark’s too-knowing gaze - and why the hell that punk should know something he didn’t was ridiculous - and into the courtyard. Jack and Irina were still there, but Judy and Dave had joined them, obviously urging them to go inside. Two couples, different stories, same ending. One had found each other so long ago and then had lost everything but with love and effort had come full circle. Another had moved quickly to create what they’d never had before. Timing.
“A charmed circle...” Sydney whispered, looking in the same direction. “My parents. I always thought the way they were...look at their body language, how they always curve toward each other...I always thought they were a charmed circle. One I wanted to be part of. And I was. I want...” She broke off and smiled slowly. “Well, I’m exhausted. I should eat and then go to bed. To that damn purple room.”
“I’ll walk you to the dining room,” Sark offered.
“I think not!” Vaughn stepped forward and took Sydney’s arm. He missed the smug look Sark sent Sydney as she looked back over her shoulder and winked.
TBC at