* * * * Knowing how impatient Sydney was for any activity, Irina quickly passed along the rest of the information that Sark had accumulated while tracking her. Much of it Jack had already seen in Hong Kong; some had been added in recent months.
�You�ve seen him lately?� he had asked over the encrypted cell-phone.
�Not since he left,� she had replied. �But I�ve spoken with him.�
�He�s decided what he�s going to do then. He�s found his corner of the market.�
�So it would seem.�
�And that is�?�
There had been an almost imperceptible pause before she answered. �Whatever he�s working on is low-profile and high-tech. Industrial espionage is a distinct possibility.�
�Substantial profits, minimal risk, no partners.�
She must have heard something in his tone for her response had been tinged with amusement. He had almost been able to visualize her smile. �You know what he�s doing; you know where he is.�
�I know where he�s been,� he had admitted. �There were operations in Toronto and Basel recently that have had his stamp on them.�
She hadn�t asked what he had recognized; he hadn�t offered to explain.
�He�ll be in touch with you,� she had said instead.
�What makes you so confident of that?�
This time he had heard her soft, low laugh. �I�ve been part of his life for nearly as long as he can remember. He is accustomed to me; I�m familiar to him, but you� You�re a novelty, and I think he seems to be quite taken with the concept of having a father. You intrigue him, Jack. Sooner or later, his curiosity will get the better of him.�
He hadn�t asked why she believed this; she hadn�t offered to explain.
* * * * Their first joint-intelligence operation proved to be of little informative value - but seeing Sydney come to life once in the field again had been priceless. It had also been a shock for Jack to realize just how much being tied to a desk at the Agency was killing her. There was a startling difference between the pale young woman who had been drifting further and further away from him and the vibrant one who had charmed her way into the Frankfurt facility to steal a glimpse of their research. She was still glowing happily even days later - even after they�d determined that the files she had downloaded gave them little more than a few tantalizing yet disconnected hints. It had been the first thing that she�d done outside of a psychiatrist�s office to help investigate what had happened to her.
Despite the fact that there seemed nothing further to be gained from the files, Sydney continued to pore over them. After the first week Jack was beginning to grow slightly concerned at the obsessive nature of her study, but her smiles -brighter than they�d been in months- alleviated some of his apprehension. When Kendall assigned him to oversee a mission in Mumbai, he left for India with only minor misgivings. His sense of unease was heightened, however, upon his return three days later.
Sydney continued to smile brightly, but there was a different -almost mischievous- quality to it now. Jack couldn�t decide whether to interpret her new attitude as another step in her recovery, or as a sign of something more troubling. Reports from her doctors indicated that new patterns seemed to be developing in her psychological evaluations - greater openness in some areas, unexpected evasiveness in others.
He was certain that she was hiding something from him, but he couldn�t determine precisely what it was. He had thought at first that she was still scrutinizing the Frankfurt reports but soon realized that the computer files she closed whenever he approached her working at home didn�t look like anything he had ever seen before. Speculating about the possible source of those unfamiliar documents merely fueled his trepidation.
He was somewhat relieved when she sat down across from him in the living room one evening but didn�t pick up one of her usual books. She was ready to talk.
�There was a dummy file in the download,� she said. �It was designed to delete itself from the server after twenty-four hours but remain on any copy made. It was a message. From Sark - wanting to arrange a meeting.�
�Why?� he asked when she didn�t continue.
�It didn�t say. Just had a time and place.� Anyone else would have believed the lie, but Jack was beginning to know his daughter better than he ever had before.
�Have you decided whether or not you want to go?�
�Yes,� she said quietly.
�When is it? Where?�
�New Orleans.� She looked away. �Last week.�
Jack watched his daughter fidget nervously. He had known that sooner or later his children would have to come to terms with their unexpected relationship on their own. Nothing that he or Irina could do would be able to settle things between them. He shook his head ruefully and permitted himself a faint smile. �It was inevitable. I should have guessed that�s what you�d been trying to hide all week.�
�It seemed like the best way,� she said with a relieved sigh at his unruffled acceptance. �I needed to see him by myself� without you or Mom running interference. I needed to see if he�d changed as much as everything else has these past two years.�
�And do you think he has?�
�No,� she said, one corner of her mouth turning upward ironically. �And yes.�
He could tell that something significant had changed between them at that meeting. Now that her fears about his reaction were allayed, she seemed almost relaxed.
�What happened?�
�There wasn�t any bloodshed, if that�s what you�re worried about.�
�Sydney.� He didn�t want to push her, but his frown was reflexive.
�We just talked, Dad,� she said. �He just seemed like Sark - professional, confident, maybe trying a little too hard to be witty, but mostly just the same as he�s always been,� she shrugged. �Except that now we�re related.�
�What did he want?�
She grinned slightly. �To make sure I wasn�t going to shoot him again.�
�A valid concern,� he said dryly. �But I can�t believe that was the only item on his agenda.�
Her glance flickered away for a moment then back. �He made me another offer.�
�To work for him?�
�I would never work for him,� she said heatedly, and he heard the unintentional emphasis.
�With him?� he amended. Her lips tightened as she caught her slip. �It wasn�t as easy to turn down this time, was it? I�m sure he made a very compelling argument.�
�Nothing I hadn�t heard before.� Again, he was fairly certain that her casual lie would have fooled others, but he had been expecting it.
�Nothing you�ve ever been in a position to seriously consider before, either.�
�I could never work with him, Dad,� she protested.
�Why not?� His tone was gentle and she stared at him in surprise. He didn�t blame her. The question seemed so unlikely, coming from him. But he couldn�t deny the potential he saw in their possible partnership. It was an objective assessment that they were two of the best operatives he�d seen in his career. The thought of what they could do if they ever decided to willingly work together was staggering. �The two of you would be a good team.�
�We�d be a great team, but that isn�t the point. I won�t commit treason!�
�Simply meeting with him the way you did, Sydney, could be considered an act of treason,� he reminded her.
She giggled suddenly. �Not to mention all those times you�ve talked to Mom,� she added. �Forget about firing us. If Kendall ever finds out any of this, he�s going to have us tried and convicted after he recovers from his stroke.� Her words were too true to be very funny and she sobered again quickly.
�Do you think he would ask you to commit a more blatant act of treason than just meeting him?� he asked. �Did he tell you what any of his future plans might be?�
�Of course not. I mean no, he didn�t tell me and I don�t know�� Her voice trailed off and she sighed. �Actually, he offered to let me pick the missions.�
�Interesting approach.� He could almost admire the neatness of the proposal. There were few things, he suspected, that would entice Sydney more effectively than the promise of control over her own fortunes. And the boy wouldn�t be giving up anything that he particularly cared about in the bargain. From his own perspective, the situation would have the added benefit of putting his son into Sydney�s sphere of influence. �He needs direction because he has no compass of his own. You�d be a good conscience for him.�
She gave him a startled look then burst into laughter. �It�s scary how much you two think alike. Dad, if I didn�t know better, I�d swear you were trying to talk me into going with him.�
�No, of course not,� he said. �I do, however, see the appeal in the arrangement� for both of you.�
�I see the appeal too, okay? But I know he was taught manipulation by one of the best. I know he was trying to sell me what I wanted to hear, but I�m not buying it. So don�t worry. Your children won�t be uniting to take on the world any time soon. Maybe I don�t hate him as much as I thought I did, but I don�t trust him an inch more than ever.�
�I wasn�t doubting you,� he said. �I just wanted to be sure I understood how you saw the situation.�
�I know, Dad,� she replied. �Well, that was my professional opinion. Now do you want to know what I think of him personally?�
�By all means.�
�I think Mom may have been right about him. He may not understand exactly what a family is yet, but I think that he likes the idea of having one.� Her expression grew pensive. �I remember how much I missed Mom as I was growing up, and how much I missed you. I remember how badly I wanted all of us to be together. I had this image of what I wanted - this perfect family. In the past few years� well, before�� She gave him a melancholy smile. �As up and down as my relationship with Mom has been, I�m glad that I got a chance to know her even a little bit better. And I�m glad that you and I are finally getting closer. It�s been too long.�
Jack found that he was blinking rapidly as his daughter�s voice wobbled. It had been more than four years since they�d first started trying to rebuild the relationship that they�d never really had to begin with. Strangely enough, they�d come farther in the past few months than they had in the two years before Sydney had disappeared. Their weekly dinners out, their nightly reading in quiet companionship, their comfortable conversations as they sat in rush hour traffic, even the time they spent together working on unsanctioned missions to find out the truth behind her missing time - all of these simple things meant more to him than he could have ever imagined. Not for the first time, he regretted that it had taken them so many years to reach this point, but he was grateful that it didn�t seem to be too late after all.
Sydney cleared her throat and continued. �I know what it�s like to want something that deep down you don�t think you�ll ever be able to have. So I can really sort of understand how Sar� Ste� oh, hell!� Her tone was suddenly so exasperated that he couldn�t help smiling. �The brat. I understand a little about how the brat feels now that he knows who you are. Who we are,� she corrected herself. �Who he is. And I�m sure he�s had that picture of a perfect family in his head for a long time too. I really do believe that he wants to be part of this - no matter how not-perfect we are.�
Part of this, he thought. Part of this family. Not-perfect was a bit of an understatement. But he suddenly realized that it was more of a family than it had been in decades. It wasn�t just that he and Sydney had grown closer or that she was persistently renewing her relationship with her mother. He and Irina had also reached a reluctant and unexpected truce in recent years as a result of their shared objectives. And then there was Stephen, who had never been a part of any of it before, now forging his own bonds with each of them. The boy had his complex relationship with Irina and his apparent truce with Sydney. Although he had Irina�s assurance that Stephen was gradually warming to the idea of having a father, Jack knew that there could be no half-hearted acceptance on his own part. No matter what the boy had done in the past or what he might do in the future - Jack knew that there were no conditions on a father�s love, not even for a son so flawed and damaged as his.
�What did he say to give you that impression?�
�It wasn�t really so much what he said,� she shrugged. �There�s just something in his eyes now. That�s what you see in him, isn�t it? His perception of us has changed, but his perception of himself is different now too.�
�I think so,� he said. �I hope so.�
�I�m sorry I didn�t tell you about this before, Dad. It was just something that I had to do.�
�I know,� he said. �I understand.�
Although he knew that the siblings� relationship was not -and probably never would be- uncomplicated, he was pleased that it didn�t look as though he and Irina were going to have to worry about fratricide in the near future.
After Sydney had gone to bed, however, he allowed his other concerns to surface. She had given in too quickly, he thought. She had admitted too easily how tempting her little brother�s offer to leave behind one life and start a new one had been. The impression that there had been something more to their meeting continued to nag at him. He was positive there were still some things about it that she hadn�t told him.
Like where, exactly, those new files on her computer had come from, and what they contained. The distinct possibility that they had been provided by Sark did not ease his mind. Treachery was practically a family tradition.
* * * *
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