The Perfect Weapon Chapter 2004: Part 3 section 2
Chapter 2004: Part 3 Section 2
“You didn’t know that, did you? As you didn’t know that I didn’t escape in Panama, I merely took a field assignment.” Then Irina smiled. “It would behoove you, Kendall, to be aware of your facts before you make statements. Because there is no substitute for ---”
“Extensive background research?” Kendall stared up at her, squinting to see her. Why hadn’t she turned on a light, damn it!
“I see you do listen to Jack on occasion.”
“I listen.”
“Then you seem to ignore what you have learned. To your misfortune. Of course, no amount of background research would have provided you with this intel, since I am quite certain that Jack would not have made any mistakes around you.”
“Mistakes? What kind of mistakes?”
“The kind of mistake that might have told you that Jack and I have been working together since Panama.”
Kendall felt his jaw drop slightly. He shut it immediately with a snap. “I don’t believe you.”
“I thought you might not.”
“You have proof?”
“Multiple forms. Multiple---”
“Multiple modes of attack?” Kendall sighed. “Why am I not surprised. Go ahead. Give me one to start with.”
The phone rang with a shrill tone and Judith Barnett swore as she wrestled upward from a deep sleep.
“Well, this is starting to get interesting,” Jack said, tapping his fingers on one knee.
Irina continued, “Of course, no amount of background research would have provided you with this intel, since I am quite certain that Jack would not have made any mistakes around you.”
“Mistakes? What kind of mistakes?”
“The kind of mistake that might have told you that Jack and I have been working together since Panama.”
Kendall felt his jaw drop slightly. He shut it immediately with a snap. “I don’’t believe you.”
“I thought you might not.”
“You have proof?”
“Multiple forms. Multiple---”
“Multiple modes of attack?” Kendall sighed. “Why am I not surprised. Go ahead. Give me one to start with.”
The phone rang with a shrill tone and Judith Barnett swore as she wrestled upward from a deep sleep.
“Well, this is starting to get interesting,” Jack said, tapping his fingers on one knee.
“Oh, I thought it was pretty interesting before, given the fact that I had a knife at my throat!” Kendall disagreed.
Jack shrugged. “The only question I have is, what kind of security do you have on your place that she was able to break in....” He smiled and shook his head. “Ha. I guessed earlier tonight that she had broken in somewhere---”
“Like that’s such an unusual event in Derevko’s life!” Kendall snarked. “Breaking and entering---”
“Everyone needs a hobby,” Jack said lightly. “And it’s better than yours,” he added, remembering the contents of a certain drawer in Kendall’s home. Turning to Judy, he caught the look on her face. Ah, she must have seen the same drawer. They looked at each other and grimaced. Jack urged her, “Do go on. The phone rang and..”
"Barnett..." Judy said, struggling to prop herself up on one elbow. Blinking, she peered at the clock on her nightstand. 3:14am. Who...
“When was this?” Jack asked quietly.
“Last night,” Judy told him. Peering at her, he saw the fatigue in her face.
“I’m sorry,” Jack said, reaching out briefly to touch her hand. “That you are involved in this. You look...”
“Exhausted. I know.” Judy shrugged. “It’s not the first time I’ve lost sleep over a...case and truthfully, last night, yesterday, was one of the more interesting...challenges in my life.”
“Rats in a maze, are we? Did you take notes?” Jack asked wryly.
“Of course,” Judy smiled softly. “Although the end result of this test remains to be seen.”
“Judith Barnett? It’s Kendall.”
"Kendall," Judy sighed. She rubbed her eyes. Was this some sort of cosmic test of her patience? Was this the ghost of Sigmund Freud punishing her for losing her temper and sending that pencil flying across the room the other day? “What is it and don’t you have a first name?" Judy sighed. She wasn’t happy when she was awoken in the middle of the night. And this time - To be woken up at 3am by Kendall, who of course, didn't even have the courtesy. Any other supervisor calling at this hour meant that there was an emergency, but Kendall... She sighed impatiently. “It’s 3am, Kendall---”
"I have an emergency. I have a knife at my throat. You have to help me--"
“Me? I can help you with that, how? And why would I want to?” The words popped out before Judy could censor them. But then again, it was the middle of the night and - What had he said? “Pardon me. I must have misheard you---”
"I have a knife at my throat and I’d like you to tell me if you can confirm the allegation that Jack Bristow has been working with Irina Derevko."
"I can.. What?" Judy woke up completely in that instant. She blinked and reached for her glasses. Why, she didn’t know, since she was in the dark in more ways than one.
"You can confirm and I do wish you would do so quickly---" Kendall said in a nervous voice that she almost enjoyed hearing. That is, if she were the kind of person who enjoyed the misfortune of those who so clearly deserved it.
“Yes, Judy,” Jack smiled. “If you were that type of person.”
“But of course, I am not,” Judy said primly, then chuckled when Jack shook his head knowingly. “What would be the point?”
“Sheer enjoyment?” Jack surmised.
Judy thought quickly. Why would Kendall want confirmation of what Jack was doing with Derevko? For no good purpose, she would imagine. After all, this man was the same one who having failed in eliciting information about his staff’s sessions with her, had tried to force her supervisor to force her to break patient confidentiality. He could bleed to death for all she cared. Finally, enjoying the sound of his impatient comments in her ear, she yawned elaborately and asked laconically, "Like I believe you have a knife at your throat. What, some girlfriend took your little games too far or---”
“It’s not my girlfriend!” Kendall said almost desperately.
“Okay, let’s say it’s true, any of this. Why would you want me to confirm such a notion?” Judy asked suspiciously. “For what purpose? How would I know such a thing? And if I did, how would I know that you aren’t merely trying to find yet another tool in that endless political game between you and Jack? Or how do I know it's not someone with an axe to grind against Jack? Or---" She broke off when she heard the phone pass away from Kendall and a new voice came on the line.
"Your desire to protect my husband is commendable, Dr. Barnett. However, what he needs from you now is confirmation of my work with him."
"Irina Derevko, I presume,” Judy responded automatically.
Judy held her phone away from her ear and stared it for a moment. She must be dreaming. Except she didn’t think her subconscious could have devised a scenario in which Irina Derevko would be calling her on the telephone. In the middle of the night. To obtain confirmation of her connection with her husband. Which she could only know, Judy realized suddenly, if Jack had told her of his mistake in their last session. Which meant... Damn it! She had been right. They were working together and... she sighed. Her life was about to get much more interesting, she had a feeling. Who needed sleep?
“Yes. This is Irina Derevko, Dr. Barnett. It is late and I am sorry to disturb you--”
“I’m sure your guilt on the topic will keep you awake at night,” Judy said dryly, turning on the bedside lamp. “What do you want?”
Irina’s eyebrows raised at the unexpected bluntness. Hmm. “I feel as though I know you. May I call you Judy? Jack has spoke of you so often.”
“Jack has spoken of you on occasion, as well,” Judy noted with a blandness that Irina thought Jack would appreciate. “Therefore, you may call me Dr. Barnett.”
Irina bit back a snort of laughter. Jack must love her, that attitude. Then she froze as she felt a chill creep across her skin. Straightening her shoulders, she shook her head and refocused. She asked out of curiosity and because as every second ticked by Kendall’s face grew more and more red from frustration, “By the way... What did Jack call me? Laura or Irina?”
“Hymie!” Kendall interjected. “You’re Hymie, aren’t you?”
“That’s one name he calls me,” Irina admitted with a twist of her lips.
Judy interrupted, “This is all terribly fascinating and I’ll anticipate with relish, Ms. Derevko, our forthcoming discussions on which name you will prefer, but if you don’t mind, where is Jack?” Judy trailed off, before asking the million dollar question. “And what do you really want?”
“Yes, what do you want? Really?” Kendall echoed.
“I want to go home. As I’ve said to you before, Kendall. And Dr. Barnett, don’t worry. Jack is fine, sleeping at home, I would presume. No doubt exhausted after getting that SOS from Sydney two nights ago and then overseeing the clean up crew in her apartment.”
“How did you---” Kendall broke in.
“Be quiet. I was not speaking to you,” Irina snapped.”Didn’t your mother teach you any manners?” Judy smiled reluctantly as Kendall fell silent. Irina continued, “Dr. Barnett, if Jack has not expressed it so yet, let me assure you that he has tremendous gratitude for your help in recovering himself. And for that, you have my deepest gratitude.”
“I’ll reserve my expression of reciprocity for another occasion. Such as the time when I might believe it.” Judy noted, the words popping out again. She started when she heard the other woman laugh. Her eyes narrowed. “Why do you want confirmation of your contention that I know of your alleged work with Jack? For what purpose?"
"You are a psychologist, aren't you?" Irina sighed. She stood up and walked away from Kendall. Turning her back on him, she kept him in sight via the mirror above his dresser. Automatically, she began opening drawers, ignoring his exclamations of anger. "Always asking questions. So irritating. Or were you perhaps also an attorney in another life? All the ‘alleged’ and ‘contention’ might indicate--"
"Ms. Derevko. I asked you a question.” Judy asked softly, “Should I repeat it? Or did you hear it the first time?"
Irina raised her eyebrows. This Dr. Barnett was, as the Americans said, a cool customer. "I heard it. I was merely trying to make small talk."
"How interesting. Especially at 3 in the morning. I'm so glad you called."
Irina smiled. No wonder Jack liked this woman so much. She was amusing. That was all; there was no reason to worry. This Dr. Barnett was a blonde. A blonde, she told herself. She had to remember that. And Jack, she had a feeling, would not find possessiveness as amusing in their fifties as he had found it in their twenties. "Jack told me that you knew he and I were working together. He said he had made a mistake and you knew."
"He did? When?"
Irina reeled off the date and time and then added, "He said that you were his just---"
"Just in case? I was his just in case? That..." Judy bit her words off.
"I completely agree, Dr. Barnett. He is the most irritating man in the world."
"So he is," Judy agreed.
"But I love him," Irina whispered.
"Is that so?"
"I need to prove it. I know that. That is the doubleplay of this strategy of mine. Which, as you know, Jack will appreciate."
"That remains to be seen,” Judy said softly. “What is the doubleplay?"
"I am putting myself... at risk. I am giving myself up with the proviso that if what I am alleging is true, that Jack and I have been working together since Panama--”
“This is an interesting way of giving yourself up!” Kendall exclaimed, given that the point of the knife had once again resumed its precarious position against his throat.
Jack smiled. “She’s always interesting.”
Judy stared at him. He seemed calm, but with each passing second, she felt the tension rising in him. Anxiety, anger, not fear, no not fear. But she could feel the tension, see the tightness around his mouth. He could handle this. If Kendall would just move it along! Suddenly, she had an empathy for Derevko’s impatience and a desire to wield a knife herself.
”I tire of this useless commentary from you, Kendall.” Irina pressed the point, literally and figuratively. “What you should be doing and I admit that even though Jack has expressed his lack of -- shall we say -- deep-seated respect for your administrative abilities to say nothing of - how do you say it? - people skills, I find myself astonished that you have not been demanding proof of my allegiances yet. Time is precious, after all.”
“And just how would you prove that?" Kendall sneered. “Because there is no way Jack would have created or kept compromising material---”
Irina sighed. “Your lack of understanding of the game is reprehensible. Minor office politics and backstabbing, yes -- that you understand on a superficial level, but this kind of game?” Irina shook her head. “Jack kept proof both in order to buy me a pardon and if necessary, if I proved untrue, to prove his good intentions. Or so I would assume. It's what I would have done. He would have known that there was some chance that his involvement with me would come to light and given that, just in case, it was in his best interests to have documentation of--”
“A doubleplay,” Judy said softly. “Of course.”
“Of course. Now,” Irina sighed happily. At least this therapist seemed to understand the game in play. “Since you seem to understand this game and why not?” She shrugged. “Dave did too, even if he was not the best games player.”
“Dave?” Kendall asked, frowning. “Who is Dave?”
“Do you do no background research on your senior staff?” Irina asked. “Foolish mistake. But I will save you time. Dave was Jack’s best friend---”
“Derevko.” Judy interjected. “If this is...going to continue, I’d really rather prefer to do this in person.”
“How fortuitous,” Irina smiled. “Since your ride should be arriving at any moment. You may wish to get dressed with some alacrity.”
“Either that’s the side of you that was an English teacher or you’re channeling Jack’s tendency to---”
“Use ultra formal language when...” Irina bit her words off as she remembered Kendall was listening. He didn’t need to know that piece of information about Jack.
“Why did you stop there?” Kendall demanded of Judy. “When you were talking about Jack’s tendency to do something?”
Judy shrugged and dissembled. “Oh, just remembering my surprise when Weiss and Marshall knocked on my door about three minutes later.”
“Why are we stopping here?” Jack asked, knowing Judy had omitted something she didn’t want Kendall to know. “Can we move this along?”
“Do you want to know how long I lay there, bound up?” Kendall asked. “Because really...”
“Because really my heart bleeds purple piss at the notion of your discomfort, Sylvester,” Jack sneered. “And besides, didn’t Irina use those cuffs in your personal collection with the....” Jack tapped his chin. “Let me think. Yes, the purple fur on the interior? For your personal comfort? Isn’t that what the little tag says?”
“Pink...” Judy choked out as she realized that Jack must have made a little field trip to Kendall’s house at one time too. “Pink fur.”
“I stand corrected. Pink it is.” Jack nodded. “This is getting interesting. Do tell, Judy.”
“Do tell, Judy,” Kendall repeated in an undertone. “Wait a MINUTE! Jack, were you in my house---”
“Yeah. You really should install a traffic signal or something, Kendall, if you’re going to irritate enough people that they feel compelled to break into your house to ascertain your secrets. As---”
“I really need to upgrade my security system,” Kendall made a note to himself.
Jack looked at Kendall’s pad of paper. “You might want to make another note...”
“Yeah, what?”
“Upgrade your personality system first.”
Judy stuck the side of the pencil into her mouth and bit down hard to keep from bursting into a peal of exhausted laughter. This man was the man several supervisors, including Arvin Sloane, had referred to so long ago as an ‘unrepentant smartass.’ As she had seen in the last year with the emergence of his sense of humor once again, that particular wall of glass surrounding his true self had begun to shatter and this was more evidence that his journey toward wholeness was on the right path.
“You think this is amusing, don’t you, Barnett?” Kendall snarled.
“Why, yes, I do, Sylvester. Almost as amusing as those photos I took with you and Weiss last night.” Judy tapped the pencil on Jack’s hand. “Now, those are what I call amusing.”
Jack glanced up at Kendall’s suddenly-white face. “What did Weiss and you do, Kendall? I mean, Judy, weren’t we saving Weiss for Susan?”
“Why yes, we were, Jack!” Judy nodded. “But when there’s a great photo op...” Judy shrugged. “Far be it from me to not take advantage of every opportunity. And...” She sighed. “With a little bit of luck and a lot of therapy, Weiss too, may emerge emotionally unscathed from the encounter."
Outside in the rotunda, Marshall took what remained of his fingernails out from between his teeth long enough to point at Weiss, still pacing. “If Jack finds out what you threatened Ms. Derevko, Mrs. Bristow, that woman, Sydney’s mom... whatever, with...”
“I know...” Weiss moaned. “He’ll shoot me in the face.”
“I wonder if Derevko text-messaged us with Kendall’s own phone or if she used a routing system or if...” Marshall trailed off, lost in thought, as he and Weiss cautiously approached Kendall’s house. “What are you doing?!” Marshall squeaked suddenly as Weiss pulled his gun from his holster. “Dr. Barnett said---”
“I know what Barnett said,” Weiss hissed, jerking his head back in the direction of the car where he’d insisted the therapist wait. Barnett had told them that Jack had been working with Irina since Panama, that it had been Irina who had originated the text messages summoning them to her apartment and then to Kendall’s house, but... “But it never hurts to be careful. And this scar throbbing on my neck tells me to be extra careful---”
“There’s no scar on your neck,” Marshall told him, peering sideways. He nodded and tapped his own temple. “It’s in your head---”
“My neck is part of my head---”
“No, it’s not. And I meant that the scar is in your mind. Perhaps you should talk to Barnett about that. And speaking of which, Barnett said that Jack has been working with Irina, so we should be okay---” Marshall reminded him in a stage whisper.
“Yeah, and Derevko shot her own daughter at point blank range so...” Weiss reminded him. “So pardon me if my belief in Derevko’s notions of family togetherness don’t correspond with my own!” He put his hand on Kendall’s front door knob and to his shock, it easily pushed open. He and Marshall scanned the foyer and Weiss rolled his eyes at the cheap security system he saw. “Geez, Kendall, what kind of security system do you have on this place anyway?” Weiss asked in disgust.
Marshall agreed. “No kidding. Someone in his position--”
“What position? The one in which he could be bleeding to death on the floor and we’d all step over him carefully so as to avoid messing up our shoes but no one’d be running for so much as a Band-aid---”
“Ah, Kendall,” a husky voice came from down the hallway. “It seems you inspire such loyalty and devotion from your staff. I wonder if they’ll help you in your current predicament....” Irina laughed.
“Get in here already, you Keystone Kops!” Kendall shouted.
“I’m not walking into some trap,” Weiss whispered as they went slowly down the hallway.
“Well, me neither!” Marshall whispered back. “I’m not an agent. I’m just a techie. What weapon do I have? This laptop he told me to bring? Although I guess it was Derevko who told me to bring it, right?” He held the computer up in front of him. “Although, on second thought, it’s thick enough and the plastic is strong enough that it could serve as a bullet proof vest. Or shield. Hey, that’s pretty cool, a computer doubling as a shield, but then again I’d hate to sacrifice this particular model. It has all of my---”
“Don’t tell me you didn’t back up your hard drive!” Weiss asked in disbelief. “I mean, honestly, Marshall, even I back up---”
“What? Your collection of doggie pictures or your porn?” Marshall asked, extreme anxiety sharpening his words.
“Ha, Ha, Flinkman. What’s your version of porn? A particularly racy binary code spelling out---”
Irina rolled her eyes. How did Jack work with this crew, anyway, without cracking up every other minute? Whispering should be done quietly enough so that one’s --- Oh, what the hell. She called out, “If you two are done babbling at each other, you might wish to enter the dubious comforts of Kendall’s bedroom and assist him.”
“What?” Weiss asked. Moments later the door opened and Weiss’s gun was seen first.
“Put the gun down,” Kendall ordered wearily. “There’s no danger. To you anyway.”
“How about me?” Marshall squeaked. “I mean, that dentist---”
“The dentist isn’t here!” Irina exploded and stalking over to the door, flung it open. Marshall and Weiss stood there, eyes wide, mouth agape. “Just me.”
“If you don’t mind my saying and I hope you don’t because of course you can kill me in a minute, no probably thirty seconds, no probably---” Marshall swallowed hard at the sight of the tall women in black with a knife in her hand, silhouetted against the light. “You’re much scarier than that dentist.”
“Good,” Irina smiled slowly. “Then you’ll have no objections to doing what I ask. And no ponging this time, Marshall.” She turned to Weiss who’s gun was still upraised. “And you Weiss - your job is to make some phone calls.”
Weiss shook his head, still holding his gun. “You’ve already come close to killing me once and while I don’t relish the thought of dying, neither do I intend to betray --”
“I’m not asking you to betray anyone or anything, Agent Weiss. Just make a few phone calls. To verify -- for your sake as well as Kendall’s, Dr. Barnett’s and my own game plan -- that I can indeed be trusted.”
“Trusted to do what?” Weiss asked.
“Fair question,” Irina admitted. “You must be curious---”
“Yeah, I’m curious too, Ms. Derevko.” Marshall looked confused. “Sydney’s mom---”
“Whatever,” Irina sighed. “I know. It’s confusing. But what’s not confusing is this. I have a pardon waiting for me, I just need to gather all of the information and make one final phone call. Then I need to rewrite the terms of the pardon, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Right now, Weiss, what I need you to do is---”
“Wait. You have a pardon waiting?” Weiss asked suspiciously. “I don’t believe---”
“She says she’s been working with Jack since Panama,” Kendall interjected. “Says he’s gotten sign offs from every senator on the Intelligence Committee except one.”
“Yes. As. I. Said.” Irina forced her impatience down, knowing that Weiss was looking at her, trying to ascertain her sincerity. Jack said he was a good boy, still a little wet behind the ears, but a good solid agent. Hence her phone call to him that she hoped she wouldn’t regret. Irina said, “And Agent Weiss what I want...” Irina stopped and gave Weiss a conciliatory smile, then stopped when she saw his face merely tighten. What did he want from her? She shrugged inwardly and plowed ahead, determined to keep moving forward. “For now, what I would like you to do - if you’ll agree to it ---”
“It just kills you to be in a position of having to ask for help, doesn’t it?” Kendall snapped, enjoying this moment at least.
“At least I’m not tied up in smiley-face boxers with furry pink handcuffs. Sylvester,” Irina said sweetly.
“Sylvester?” Marshall and Weiss echoed.
“Hey, Sylvester is that cat always chasing after Tweety Bird!” Marshall exclaimed. “I saw this cute reworking of one of those cartoons on this site the other day... What was the URL?...”
“Later, Marshall---” Irina began.
“You know, it’s kinda funny, actually how that cat could never outsmart that bird,” Weiss noted with a grin. “He was always so spitting mad about it too. Wasn’t he, Sylvester?”
“That’s enough!” Kendall shouted, straining at the cuffs. “Why am I still cuffed?” he demanded.
“Why not?” Irina shrugged. “Now, back on point. Agent Weiss, I would appreciate it if you would call the senators on the Intelligence Committee and confirm my status. All but one senator that is. I’ll be calling him. Jack has signed copies of my pardon agreements on file, I’m sure. But I want an amendment, which you can discuss with the senators over the phone. If you will agree to it, that is.”
“Why me? Why not have Kendall call?” Weiss asked suspiciously as Irina walked back toward Kendall and held the knife over him. Kendall was certainly sweating it out tonight, Weiss noted, seeing the shine on the top of the dome. This was good. Although the pink on those cuffs was not really Kendall’s color.
“I would imagine,” Judy said from behind Marshall. “That she doesn’t trust him to make the calls and/or would prefer a second person willing to verify the veracity of her statements.”
“Dr. Barnett!” Weiss glared at her. “I thought I told you to stay in the car---”
“I don’t take orders well, Agent,” Judy told him as Marshall stepped through the door and down the hall, laptop in hand. “Now step aside and let me assess this situation for myself....” Judy broke into laughter as she looked into the room and saw Irina Derevko, clad in black with a stiletto in hand leaning over Kendall spread-eagled on the bed wearing nothing but smiley-face boxes, a surfeit of sweat and bright pink...furry...handcuffs. She began laughing again. What had Jack said once about the benefits of being opportunistic? “Quick, someone, take a picture.”
“I already did,” Irina told her, as brown eyes met blue for the first time. They both stared.
Irina tilted her head. This was the famous Judy. Blonde, very blonde, she thought. There is a god. And those eyes were... Dangerous. They reminded her of Dave’s blue eyes. So odd to think of them as permanently shut. So unbelievable, when these lively eyes reminded her so much of him. Blue eyes with intelligence, impatience, wisdom, amusement.... And right now, those eyes were quietly appraising.
A test, Irina knew. This woman would put her to the test. If not now, later and... this was a test she had to pass. One on which she had to not only pass, but get an “A.” Jack trusted this Judy and if Judy didn’t trust her, then her life would become much more difficult. Well, then, she would get an “A” on this test, she decided. There were no margins for foolish errors this time.
Then looking into those eyes, Irina relaxed slightly as she saw what she knew Jack must have seen. What had been in Dave’s eyes too. Their souls, really, if she believed in such a thing. Both of them were utterly trustworthy. Judith Barnett was a good choice. For a therapist, a colleague in this game and maybe... Keep on point, Irina, she told herself. If this plays out as you hope and plan, you’ll have years of tomorrows.
Judy nodded. Derevko looked determined, tired, amused, impatient... Intelligence was in those eyes too, with a flicker of anxiety and concern that betrayed a hard-won emotional intelligence. And a good sense of humor, she decided, seeing the cuffs. “Are those standard KGB issue cuffs, Ms. Derevko or---”
“Irina, please.” With a flick of the knife, Irina cut off a small piece of fur and holding it in her glove-clad hand, blew it away with a light puff from her lips. She returned the knife to its position near Kendall’s neck, just for the fun of it, just to see his eyes widen. She smiled as she told Judy, “The Soviet Union’s intelligence department, I can assure you, was not possessed of this sort of fanciful nature.”
“Oh, so when you targeted Jack, you did so with plain silver cuffs?” Kendall sneered. Then grunted when Irina’s knife cut a thin red line in his neck.
Marshall paced back and forth in front of Weiss inside the Op Center. “I wonder how it’s going in there. I wonder if Jack has killed Kendall. For whatever he might have said in there. For what he said to Derevko about the cuffs. For---”
“For general purposes? I would, if I were Jack,” Weiss shrugged. “The only question is how he’d do it.”
“Well, if he had only his bare hands, that would limit his options---” Marshall began.
Weiss gave a short laugh. “Obviously you’ve never seen Jack Bristow in action.”
“No.” Marshall stopped pacing. “Bet it makes you kinda glad that you didn’t do that full search on Derevko, isn’t it?”
Weiss dropped his face into his hands. “Damn, damn, damn. You don’t think she’ll tell him, do you?”
"Hands up!" Weiss told Derevko, still aiming the gun. "And drop your knife." It was almost too bad to call a halt to it, Weiss thought. Kendall looked like he just might have pissed his pants. If only they’d had a camera on him to catch that look on his face as the knife had cut such a thin slice. Speaking of which, he could really go for a ham sandwich. But right now...Priorities, he decided. “And then I’ll need to search you for---”
Irina sighed and dropped the knife, kicking it in Weiss' direction, then raising her hands. "Go ahead. Frisk me."
"She's...clean," Weiss said a moment later. "Although she could be secreting something elsewhere. I believe I’ll---"
"I draw the line at a body cavity search," Irina said firmly. She knew it was SOP, but really... “And Jack wouldn’t be happy---” She stopped when Weiss choked on that realization.
"Then I'll cuff you," Weiss countered.
“There’s the best idea I’ve heard all night!” Kendall exclaimed. That... woman would pay for this humiliation.
“Let me guess,” Jack said softly. “That’s one reason why you pulled that little stunt at the beginning. Didn’t follow her game plan in order to get some form of petty revenge because the boys and Barnett saw you in your boxers?”
Kendall winced. Putting it that way did make it sound petty. He shrugged. “Okay, well, here’s the Cliff Notes version. Derevko broke into my house, made threats, made promises. Charmed the boys, mostly. Spent hours talking to Barnett. Waded through reams of paper. Handed me a screw---”
“I think you’re overly exhausted, Kendall,” Jack began. “She handed you a what?”
“She handed me a screw. From that Rambaldi machine Sloane had in Mexico City. Disabled the whole damn thing with a screwdriver. Said it was you who gave her the idea---”
“Me?” Jack blinked. Then he laughed. “Oh. When I said, ‘Screw Sloane’?”
“She also said,” Judy told him. “That she was wrong not to chase after Sloane, that she was wrong to argue with you---”
“She does like to argue,” Jack noted with a smile even as he rubbed his hands up and down his legs before clasping them tightly together in his lap. Judy nodded and began to talk once again.
”Cuff me?” Irina repeated as Weiss pulled out his Agency-issue handcuffs. She began to argue, then forced down the annoyance. Weiss had no real reason to trust her, after all. It was in her best interest to allow him to enjoy his small moment of payback, hopefully leaving them even. And this was just another test. She had known there would be many. This was just a minor one. The major ones were Jack and Sydney. And she sighed, looking past Weiss, that Dr. Barnett. Well, it could be worse. Dave would have been worse, far more critical. Especially if he had known she had only tried to contact Jack the one time. Then she frowned. Had he known? She touched the puzzlebox necklace, then the key around her neck.
"Derevko?" Weiss prompted, growing visibly nervous at her movements.
Irina sighed again and held out her hands. "Fine. For now." When he finished, she leveled him with a glare. “And don’t ever threaten me again. I allowed it once, but never again.”
“Perhaps if you refrained from shooting family members, coworkers and friends, they wouldn’t threaten you when they get the opportunity,” Judy pointed out. “Just a thought.”
“Just a thought,” Irina muttered sarcastically. Then asked more loudly, “Or they wouldn’t set me up with a cottage full of explosives in Madagascar?” Jack still owed her for that one.
“Yeah, like that,” Kendall smirked, feeling more confident now that Derevko was cuffed. “Wait, isn’t anyone going to uncuff me?” he asked suddenly realizing no one was moving forward to do so.
“Be quiet,” Irina said absently. “You are not needed right now. What’s needed right now is to move on with my game plan, after which I can make Jack pay for that little -- how do you say? Hissy fit? I need Marshall. Where is he?”
“Oh. She hasn’t forgotten about Madagascar?” Jack asked with a sigh. “I’m going to be paying for that, aren’t I?’
“You don’t look too distressed at the notion.” Judy smiled even as she kept a close eye on Jack. He was controlling his impatience. He seemed to be truly enjoying the story and, she decided, also enjoying the fact that Irina was waiting. Evil man.
“I’m not,” Jack grinned. “She’ll have a good idea or two. I hope.”
“I don’t even want to know what kind of sicko games you two play---” Kendall began.
“Sylvester, I’ve seen your nightstand drawer, so don’t tell me about sicko games,” Judy grimaced.
“Did Marshall see that?” Jack asked. “The kid probably couldn’t, shouldn’t know about that type of...”
Kendall protested, “My pursuits fall well within the normal range of---”
“Define normal,” Jack and Judy said in unison.
“Marshall!” Weiss yelled, belatedly realizing that he wasn’t in the room.
Marshall burst into the room. “Oh, sorry, I just was setting up my laptop to use Kendall’s equipment, which is totally inadequate, by the way. Or rather I was trying to. You need a server-based system and your voice and optical character recognition systems are antiquated and...What? Why is everyone staring at me?” Marshall looked down, checked his fly, counted his buttons and looked up perplexed. “Wait. Ms. Derevko? Or is it Mrs. Bristow? Or do you hyphenate? Or...” Marshall trailed off.
“Good question, Marshall,” Judy noted quietly. Turning toward Irina, she asked her, “And what is your answer? What name will it be?”
“For now, Derevko is fine,” Irina noted quickly, avoiding Barnett’s eyes. That woman was going to ask a lot of questions, she just knew it. These psychology types were always full of those damn questions of theirs. She could just hear it. Why did you do it? When did you realize you’d made a mistake? How did it make you feel? But...why, she wondered abruptly, was the voice in her head Dave’s and not Dr. Barnett’s? Later, she told herself. Later. Now, Kendall was looking like he might have a fit any moment and she didn’t want to miss that.
“Marshall!” Kendall interrupted. “Would you get me out of these cuffs?”
“I---” Marshall looked from Kendall to Weiss to Derevko and then over to Barnett. They all looked at each other.
“Do you have a key? I don’t,” Judy said.
“Me neither,” Weiss shrugged.
“I’m sure I don’t,” Irina commented. “They aren’t my cuffs, after all.”
“Pick the damn lock!” Kendall ordered.
“I don’t work for you,” Irina reminded him.
“Fine! Weiss, you’re an agent, didn’t they teach you at Langley how to---”
“So if those aren’t your cuffs, Ms. Derevko, whose...are...they?” Marshall’s voice trailed off as his eyes grew wide and he stared in disbelief at Kendall. “But they’re...pink! With fur!”
“We all have our hobbies, Marshall,” Irina said gently. Poor boy. He didn’t need to see this. Hell, she’d been around the world a few times and she didn’t need to see it! He needed to be distracted and she needed to get this game in gear. Time was wasting. “Marshall, I assume you are the one who installed the security protocols and firewalls on Jack’s computer?”
“Yes, ma’am, I did,” Marshall said, taking a step away from the bed. “State of the art. Top of the line. Well, better than the line, because let me assure you, yessiree, that this software cannot be found on any line. No, it cannot. When Jack asked me to develop a unique set of protective devices, as well as voice recognition and conversion systems for English, Russian, Chinese ---”
“When?” Kendall snapped out.
“Well, let’s see...” Marshall began counting backwards. “It was right after...Panama.”
“I see,” Kendall sighed. “I see the set up. Too late, apparently. But... Marshall, can you hack into Jack’s computer or not?”
“Of course, but...” Marshall shook his head. “I am not going to be a party to...whatever it is...”
“Marshall,” Judy said, moving forward to lay her hand on his arm. Waiting until he looked at her, she told him, “It’s okay. We just need confirmation that Jack has been working with Derevko. She thinks---”
“I know,” Irina interrupted impatiently. “That there are recordings and possibly transcripts on his secure files of my field work and our conversations since Panama on his computer.”
“You do? How?” Marshall asked.
“He told me so.” Irina smiled encouragingly at the nervous man. My, he was sweating profusely. “I just want to retrieve the recordings of our conversations as a form of proof of the our work together.”
Marshall nodded. “Well, I’d better get to work then,” he said, his mind already on the tasks ahead.
“I want Barnett to read them all,” Kendall interjected. “I want her opinion on what’s been going on.”
“You’re not in a position to ---” Irina snarled at him. He was so...
“I’d like to read them myself. Just to confirm. I think I’m owed that if I’m getting dragged into this,” Judy said firmly.
“Fine.” Irina rattled her cuffs in annoyance. “Marshall, if you would. Just download the files, either the recordings or the transcripts onto your computer. Not my computer. And I couldn’t have hacked into his computer to change anything, correct? So the files you download will be his and his alone, correct?”
“Well, yes. The firewalls I installed on his computer were a product of a random---”
“Marshall!” Weiss interrupted. “We don’t need a lesson in...whatever the hell it is you’re talking about. We just need confirmation that the files you can download appear to be uncorrupted. Is that what you’re saying? That the protocols you installed should have prevented her from hacking into them?”
“Yes.”
“Good,” Irina said firmly. Smiling at Marshall, she added, “Jack also told me how deeply impressed he was with your skills. I am hopeful that you will be able to hack into his computer without him being aware of it---”
“Why?” Judy asked sharply. “What is all this about, anyway? Why the subterfuge?”
“I want...”
“Yes, what do you want?” Kendall asked, jerking his arms and making the bed rattle slightly.
“I want to surprise my husband,” Irina admitted.
“You what?” Judy asked.
“I want to surprise him---”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea...” Judy demurred. “Surprises have not been good things in Jack’s life, if you think about it.”
“He said he wanted me to surprise him,” Irina told her urgently. Surprise was the essence of this game. If Barnett called Jack, and she would be the one most likely to spill the beans, then her entire game plan was in jeopardy. “He did---”
“When?” Kendall asked. “When?”
“Mexico City.” Irina smiled when the men’s mouths fell open. Judith Barnett just looked at her appraisingly. Again. “I have proof. In my own cellphone, I have a recording of the conversation...”
“When?” Weiss asked, trying to see the time line of that night in his head.
“Before Sydney saw me in the hallway. Jack was urging me to go after Sloane and I refused because I thought Sydney would chase after him, not me. We argued. Jack was right and I...”
“You were...” Judy prompted.
“I was wrong,” Irina admitted. That hadn’t been too horrible, she decided. She could do this. Then again, she had to do this if she wanted her marriage and her family to work again. There were no Options B or C this time. Only one. The correct one. The choice that would lead her back to the path she should have never left. Or rather, help her create a new path. That other path was lost in the mists of time and ‘if onlys’. And if only Kendall would shut up.
“I was wrong to ever trust that son of a bitch!” Kendall yelled. “Damn it! You had some...marital moment in Mexico City---”
“Hardly,” Irina said dryly. “Jack was a little doped up.” The bound aspect was good though, she thought with a sigh. Maybe that’s how he might pay for Madagascar. She looked up feeling eyes on her and caught Dr. Barnett’s amused glance that faded instantly as the therapist assumed a bland countenance. Annoying woman! Barnett seemed to know what Irina was thinking and... Oh, stop obsessing about her and move on, she told herself. “Dr. Barnett, if you’ll retrieve my cell phone, you can play that back while Marshall begins to work on the computer, perhaps?”
“Oh, why not?” Judy shrugged and pressed the buttons as Irina instructed. Irina watched Dr. Barnett’s face. Why she didn’t know since it gave away nothing.
“Well!” Weiss exclaimed into the pregnant silence after the recording ended with gunshots and Irina telling Sydney to chase after Sloane.
“Wellll, yes,” Irina agreed, looking around. “If I could have only forced her to chase Sloane... But there was no way and Jack made me promise not to use physical force on Sydney---”
“Did he?” Judy asked. “Is there a recording of that?” She’d be interested in hearing the two of them relate as parents.
“Yes, there should be. Marshall, would you look for that next?” Irina gave him the date and Marshall went to work.
”Who transcribed that recording?” Jack asked. “From Mexico City?”
“Weiss,” Judy told him. “The only people who have heard the recordings are the four of us and you. Don’t worry, Marshall assures me that he will ensure that Kendall has no copies of the recordings or the transcripts.”
“I love how everyone is so concerned about Jack’s privacy but---”
Judy yawned.
Judy sighed and rubbed her eyes. She was not a middle of the night person. “I need some coffee,” she said to no one in particular.
“If you want to stay awake and you will after this for fear of nightmares, take a look in Kendall’s nightstand,” Irina suggested.
“The stuff of nightmares?” Judy shuddered.
“Absolutely.” Irina paused, then offered hesitantly, “Do you want to see?”
“Sure. Lead on, Lady Macbeth.” Judy took a step toward the bed.
“That’s Macd---” Irina corrected automatically. Looking over her shoulder, she rolled her eyes. “Oh. Very funny.”
Judy shrugged as she opened the nightstand drawer. “Sorry, not an English major.”
“I’m sure your slip of the tongue calling me Lady Macbeth had no meaning whatsoever,” Irina said dryly. “But..Where did you go to school?” Irina asked, knowing that was a standard conversational gambit in this country. Judy told her and Irina stopped. “That’s a coincidence. But I’m sure you know that university is where Jack and I...met?”
“You mean where you targeted him as your mark?” Judy corrected. “Let’s call a spade a spade.”
“Yes, let’s,” Irina agreed with a sigh. “Did you play cards like everyone else seemed to on that campus?”
Judy nodded. “Of course. Poker, hearts, bridge and--”
“Screw Your Neighbor? I loved that game,” Irina said. She looked up. “It’s odd that we never met. You must have been in the same department as Dave. Jack’s best friend.”
“I know who Dave was,” Judy said briskly as she debated telling Derevko that she had met Dave and Jack the same day Derevko had. She forgot the notion as she looked into the drawer. “It’s like looking into the contents of someone’s mind, of course,” she noted, pointing at the mix before them.
“But I may need to cleanse my mind after this!” Irina said as she held up an item.
“Ew...” Both women exclaimed.
TBC at Part 3 Section 3