Gotcha! Part 3

lenafan

Cadet
:rolleyes: Here's part 3. I have the final part soon. I checked and saw my pages would really make it extra long, so I decided to end it and continue with Part 4.
:D I thought it would be OK to tell a secret about Irina that no one knows, yet. ;)

As always, the characters belong to JJ Abrams and his devious mind. I can hardly wait for next Sunday!


Part 3
Gotcha! Opus 2

The screaming stopped abruptly. Silence once again filled the night. A light moving through the forest cast shadows on trees and bushes as it came closer and closer to the cliff. Finally it stopped. A man held a flashlight, sweeping it back and forth. The light stopped moving, focusing on something.
Jack stood frozen, looking at the body lying on a ledge. He couldn’t quite make it out. He climbed down. There was a ledge, an extension of the one the body was on. It was narrow, but definitely passable. He kept the light in front of him. He glanced once at the house above. There was no light. He knew if Sloane were interested, he would have been on the balcony looking. Jack kept his eyes now on where he was going. The body was lying, feet towards him, dressed in pants and shirt. He incongruously thought it was foolish for anyone to be out this time of night without a jacket.
He kept the flashlight on the ledge. Then when he was about twenty feet away he saw the hair. It was Irina. His heart raced unevenly. Was she dead?
As if in answer, he heard a soft moan. “Irina!” he called softly to her.
No response. He got closer. The ledge was a little narrower and if he was not careful he would join whoever it was down below. He kneeled and gently shook her left foot, the one closer to the cliff wall.
Again, there was no movement. He shook it again, saying, “Irina! It’s Jack!”
This time, she moved her foot.
“Don’t move. You’re on the ledge of a cliff. Looks like you fell about fifty feet from the top of the cliff. Do you know what I’m saying?” Jack hoped she did.
“Yes.” She said quietly.
“Are you in any pain?”
“My chest hurts.”
He nodded, at least, thinking her legs were good enough to stand up on. “Can you move your arms and legs?” He watched as she accomplished what he had asked.
“You are on a ledge that is not too wide, but I think you can stand up. Look above you and see if you can find a crack in the rock…something you can hold.”
Irina slowly drew herself up on her knees. She looked up to the left and reached up. She grunted in pain, stopping for a moment, then reached again. The pain was sharp, like a knife slicing through her chest into her back. Sweat broke out on her face. She squeezed her eyes shut, taking shallow breaths, but even those hurt.

Jack watched her carefully. She did have courage, with all the bad things she had done and was, he had to give her that. She was only a year younger than he and must sometimes feel as he did when involved in the physical stress. He took a step closer to her.
“Reach out with your hand,” he called. She put her hand out. He tried to reach it. “Another step and I’ll have you.”
Irina leaned in against the cliff, biting her lip, as the pain knifed through her. She took another step and felt Jack’s strong hand grip her by the wrist. She closed her eyes, feeling his strength, and slid closer to the end of the ledge where he was waiting.
As she took the last step, he pulled her into his arms. Irina gasped, “Jack!”
“Sorry,” he leaned down and kissed her. “We have about four hundred feet to get to my car. Can you make it?”
“I’ll try,” she gasped.
Twenty minutes later, they were in the car. Jack had put her in the front seat and, after putting a bag in the trunk, drove down an old road. She was in pain the entire time. He made a decision.
“We’re going to find a hospital.”
“Jack, that’s –“ she couldn’t finish.
An hour later, Jack helped her back into the car. The emergency room at the hospital had ascertained by fluoroscopy that she had broken two ribs on her right side. The doctor strapped her with tape. He told Jack she would have to wear this for several days and that it would be best if he made arrangements to see a doctor when he got to their destination.
Jack had explained they had been hiking when she fell. Of course, the doctor suggested he had been foolish bringing her in instead getting help. Jack had placated him, and assured him he would have Irina seen.
”Where are we going?”
“Some place I just learned about a couple of weeks ago, Cortona, Italy.”

Los Angeles
Sydney awakened, uneasy and cold. What was that dream she had last night? It was almost like a nightmare. She thought a moment and realized she had been under so much stress that her senses seemed on end, stretched and almost vibrating. She took a deep breath. Where were they? Together? Apart? What had happened? She hated Arvin Sloane passionately and wanted him dead. First Danny, now Francie! A tear ran down her cheek as she thought of her dead friend. Damn Sloane.
She looked over at Michael. He was peacefully sleeping unaware of her. She slipped out of bed, walking into the kitchen. She fixed herself some coffee and rubbed her eyes. Why had she been so frightened? She couldn’t even remember the dream, only the scream.
She was on her second cup, when Michael came into the kitchen, hair tousled and a sleepy expression on his face. Syd smiled at him. “Hey!”
He leaned in and kissed her. “What got you up?” He glanced at the clock. It was seven.
“Dreams!” She took another sip. “Going to work?”
“Yes, I’m supposed to help design a trace program for Echelon.” He yawned. “It was something your father thought of, the last time your mother disappeared.”
Something in her eyes caused him to hesitate. “What?”
“My parents have disappeared without a trace. Isn’t this a little late?”
“Not my idea,” he said uncomfortably.
“We’ve never talked.” She stared at him.
He swallowed. “No, and I’m not sure I want to yet.”
Sydney put her cup down. “You know, I’ve never seen the proof that my Mom killed your Dad. You’ve said it. Kendall and Devlin said it. Dad said it. But no one has ever shown me any proof that she did this to your family.”
“She told me several months ago. She said “how do you say thank-you to the woman who killed your father?” He swallowed. “What about that?”
“In what context did she say it?” Sydney persisted. “The way I see it, things have been said that don’t make sense. I want her to tell me and then I’ll believe it.”
She touched Vaughn on the face. “I love you.” She kissed him. “I’m going to shower and dress. I’m taking Will in to speak with Yeager. I told him I’d give him moral support. Yeager can be tough.”

Zurich
Arvin slept in, secure in the knowledge he had one less partner. He didn’t like being encumbered with too many people. Of course, he would have preferred Irina since her knowledge of Rambaldi almost matched his own. But there was too much history with her. Sydney was her daughter and he knew if he killed the daughter, the mother would most certainly find a way to kill him. So, get rid of Irina and he could take care of Sydney without worrying.
He walked downstairs. The house was empty. Sark wasn’t up yet evidently. He checked in with the housekeeper-cook about breakfast. She told him it would be ready shortly. Arvin walked to his office, opened the door and stood stunned in front of the safe. It was open and it was empty. He had been robbed of his most precious possession, the Rambaldi manuscripts! He raced back up to Sark’s room. It too was empty, in fact the bed had not been slept in. He went out to the balcony, picking up a pair of binoculars. It was hard to see, but he thought he saw something at the foot of the cliff. Sark? Irina? Both?
Who took the manuscripts? He felt his rage growing. Someone was going to pay for this.

Lucerne

Jack pulled up to the hospitals ER. He looked at Irina. She smiled wanly feeling the pain in her chest. He got out and then helped her.
“Maybe we can get more pain medication?”
She nodded hopefully. He helped her out of the car. They walked inside past an old man who was nodding on a seat in the sun. The man saw them and got up, walking out toward the car. He looked at the license plate and then walked out to the street and onto a bus that had just pulled up.
Irina was taken to an exam room, Jack following. He handed the doctor the notes from Zurich. After reading them over, the doctor examined her and checked the taping. He looked at Jack. “How far is your next stop?”’
“Italy. I would think we should have some pain medication.”
“Definitely. And take those curves carefully. Too much bouncing around will cause unnecessary damage and more pain.”
Jack helped her down. Irina leaned into him, thankful for his strong arms. He settled her into the car. She had taken a pain pill inside. Jack had more in his pocket, probably enough to last four days.

Los Angeles
Marshall saw Sydney enter the office and waved her over. “Hey!” He said. “How are things?”
She sighed, “they could be better if I knew where my parents are.”
He looked somewhat uncomfortable, fidgeting with the item he held in his hand. “Ummm, I’ve thought about this, but you’re my idol.” He grinned foolishly, then handed her the little box. “Please don’t tell anyone, or your Dad. He’ll kill me.”
“What are you talking about?”
He handed her the box. “Here. It’s a GPS tracker for the point I put into your Mom.”


Florence, Italy
It had taken another three days of careful driving to reach their destination. He and Irina had spent the night in Lucerne after she had seen the doctor, then in Milan, then last night in Florence where they paid another visit to a hospital. The ribs were on the mend. Irina seemed better every day. At night, they lie in each other’s arms, talking about her, about him, and mostly about Sydney. Jack told Irina he understood completely her desire to get Sydney to leave the CIA.
“You know,” he said quietly that night in Florence, “I’ve been thinking about doing the same.”
She turned into him, wincing as pain warned her to be careful. “Jack, the CIA has been your whole life.” She looked into his face and eyes. He was serious.
He raised up a little to kiss her. “And what has it gotten me?” He sighed. “You, on the other hand, are an ongoing adventure.
“Sydney is grown up. She’s old enough to make her own decisions. If she wants out, she’ll go. I think it’s time for us to do something for us.”
“Maybe,” answered Irina, looking at his strong face. “What did you have in mind?”
“Rambaldi. It’s your passion and you, my dear, are mine.” He put his hand behind her head, pulling it to him and kissed her.
“Jack, you don’t know about me. We married, we had Sydney, and I left you. For twenty years and you know nothing about those years. How can you give up all that you’ve worked for just to be with me?”
He laughed. “Nothing you tell me about yourself would surprise me. As I see you, you are ruthless, deceitful, and relentless in your pursuit of these Rambaldi artifacts. You probably care nothing about anyone including me,” he paused, “and Sydney. But you happen to be my wife and I have never stopped loving you even after learning the truth.”
“Oh Jack,” she said, “I do care about you, Sydney and my father.” She stopped as if realizing she’d said too much.
“Your father?? I thought he was dead?” Now that surprised him.
She was silent for a moment, then sighed, “Well he isn’t. He’s still very much alive and living in Moscow. Before this happened, I was hoping to get Sydney to go there to see him. She’s his only grandchild.”
 
“Nothing you tell me about yourself would surprise me. As I see you, you are ruthless, deceitful, and relentless in your pursuit of these Rambaldi artifacts. You probably care nothing about anyone including me,” he paused, “and Sydney. But you happen to be my wife and I have never stopped loving you even after learning the truth.”
“Oh Jack,” she said, “I do care about you, Sydney and my father.” She stopped as if realizing she’d said too much.
“Your father?? I thought he was dead?” Now that surprised him.
She was silent for a moment, then sighed, “Well he isn’t. He’s still very much alive and living in Moscow. Before this happened, I was hoping to get Sydney to go there to see him. She’s his only grandchild.”
::heart slows down:: Jack is so resourceful, and I really like how you incorperate a 'family' into the story. From the show we have heard nothing of Jack's family, and only the mention of Irina's grandmother when the earrings were mentioned. I think it would be nice to see some sort of family appear, though I don't know whose....
Great Job, another chapter, I hope, in progress!

off topic...I found this slightly amusing and thought you might as well. I have a debate tournament this weekend in Palm Beach, Fl. Well people have been asking me where I am going, and Palm Springs always pops out (because of the earlier mention of your trip. and by the way how was it?), I might have to think about coming here less often. :smiley:
 
:P Palm Springs is bright sunny and hot today. Running 85 degrees.
What do mean not come here? :confused: You mean the site, or Florida?
Wait til you see what happens with relationships next. :Ph34r: OOOh is someone in for a surprise! :rolleyes:
 
the site, sorry I should have specified it would be a little hard for me not to come to Fl considering I live here lol
I hope its a good surprise, but i am excited all the same!!!! :woot: :lol:
 
Back
Top