Story time!

[{ tessa }]

Jack, Jack, Jack. lol. hes so blunt, but you know its because he wants to protect Sydney. This is getting really interesting. cant wait for more!

oh and FRANCIE! YAY! ;D

[Roxie !]

Lmao. Thank yoouu! You know, if I REALLY wanted to vaguely set this in season two, it would probably make more sense for Francie to be all evilish. But I really didn't have the heart to do it xD. Imma sap.

[Roxie !]

Title: Broken Wings.
Author: Moi.
Rating: PG-13ish for violence and language.
Fandom: Maximum Ride / Alias
Pairings: As of yet, hinted Max x Fang and Sydney x Vaughn. More on that later. In later chapters, expect Iggy x OC and possible Irina x Jack.
Chapter Summary: Just as the Flock gets settled in to the safehouse, Angel's results come in. And the only people who can help her are the last two people anyone wants to deal with right now.
Notes: BWAHAHA. Told you I'd fit these guys in. This'll be fun. Oh, and fun fact? Narva is located in Estonia, which is a small eastern European country. Just fyi =) Inspired by my research I'm doing on my great grandpa's family tree--he was Estonian. Interesting stuff, history.



Warm sunshine drifted in through the window. My first thought was 'Ugh. Who opened the drapes?. Wait a minute...drapes? I opened my eyes and found myself laying in an actual bed. My head was propped on an actual pillow! Now, you probably take both of these things for granted, but let me tell you: when you're on the run with five other mutant bird kids and you never stay in one place for too long, a bed and pillow become rare luxeries.

I sat straight up, wondering where the heck I was. I was tense, ready to spring into action at the first sign of danger. Then, slowly, the events of last night came sliding back into focus. Agreeing to what the CIA claimed was protection, if only for Angel's sake. Being brought to their safehouse. We'd been given two rooms right next to each other: one for Nudge, Angel, and I, and another for Fang and Iggy. I looked around, and sure enough, both of the girls were buried under their sheets in beds across the room. They were still sound asleep.

We got in kind of late last night. After narrowly escaping a Russian terrorist, hiding out under a bridge, and being interrogated by the CIA, it was probably around three in the morning when we finally went to bed. I didn't completely trust the situation, and I wasn't able to get a whole lot of sleep anyways. But I did eventually end up drifting off, I guess. And we definately slept in. Judging from the way the sun was shining in, it was probably almost noon.

I got up, crept over to Nudge's bed, and lifted her pillow from where it was concealing her head. "Come on, sleepy head. Time to get up." I said, shaking her gently.

Nudge groaned something that sounded like "Mrrrmpherrg."

"Sorry, didn't catch that."

"I'm tired." Nudge lifted her head up off the mattress to stare at me groggily. "Do we have to get up now?"

I shrugged, smiling. "Sorry, sweetie, we've got stuff to do." Even if we were going to be cooped up here, I wasn't willing to sit around and do nothing.

Nudge looked slightly disgruntled, but she sat up obligingly. Satisfied, I turned to the tiny lump under the bedspread that was Angel. I sat down next to her, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Angel?" I all but whispered. "Come on. Wake up."

There was a long pause. Then, almost in slow motion, Angel stirred. She poked her head up from under the blanket, peering out at me with sad blue eyes. I had to smile at her.

"Hey." I greeted quietly. “How ya feeling?”

Angel let out a tiny yawn. “Mmm. Weird. Still not normal…but not as tired.” She reported.

I sighed. “That’s good. We’re gonna figure all of this out, okay?”

“Hey Angel,” Nudge said, smiling widely at her. “I bet I know what would make you feel better! Breakfast! I could really go for some eggs. Or bacon…or both!”

Yeah, breakfast was probably a good idea. I was starved, and I was betting the others were too. But I slowed Nudge’s bouncing before she could knock anything over. “Not so fast. Why don’t you go wake up Fang, Ig, and—“

“Too late!” Gazzy announced, entering the room. He was looking a little less depressed than yesterday(the sleep had obviously done all of us some good), but he made straight for his sister.

Fang and Iggy weren’t far behind him. Iggy took a seat on Nudge’s bed, his strawberry blonde hair ruffled. Fang stood a few feet away, stretching his wings.

“Hey guys.” I greeted them, glad to see that they all looked rested. “Everyone feeling better?”

Iggy smiled. “Not bad. What’s the plan for today?” He wanted to know.

I hadn’t really thought about it, to tell the truth. But it was clear that the Flock wanted to make themselves useful. “I dunno. We have to wait until Angel’s results come back…then we’ll try to help her.”

Fang peered out the window. “We slept late.” He muttered.

“I’m hungry!” Gazzy called from beside Angel, echoing Nudge’s earlier comment.

I laughed. “Okay, okay. Hold on.”

And then, as if on cue, there came a soft knock at the door. The boys had left it open when they came in, and Sydney now stood in the doorway. Sans bubblegum hair and gothic makeup, you could tell she was older than the eighteen year old she’d appeared to be—probably in her late twenties.

“Good morning.” She said carefully, and a little awkwardly. There were still some trust issues going on, and she didn’t seem to know how to address them. Well, that made two of us.

“Hi!” Nudge answered chipperly for all of us.

Sydney smiled slightly. “I just wanted to tell you, they’re bringing in some clothes and things later today—whatever you might need.” She looked around. “Is there anything you need that you left at…?”

Home? Not really how I would refer to the abandoned building we were staying in, but whatever. Before I could say anything, Angel spoke up.

“Total!” She gasped with sudden realization. “Total’s our dog! I can’t believe we left him! He must be so worried!”

Ah. Total. Our flying, talking dog. I felt kind of bad forgetting about him, but so much other stuff had been going on.

Sydney was nodding. “Your dog? Okay, where did you leave him?”

“The building they abandoned behind Hoover Street. Top floor.” I answered for Angel, mentally reminding myself that we would no longer be able to use the place for a hideout after all of this was over. Not once a CIA team had swept the place looking for a little lost, slightly neurotic dog.

“I’ll make a call. We’ll find him.” Sydney reassured, her words directed mostly at Angel. She seemed to be about to leave, but then paused. “Anyone want breakfast?”

I barely had time to brace myself against the coming explosion. Gazzy, Nudge, and Angel started chattering excitedly in response. Sydney looked bemused by their outburst, but tried to listen to all three of them at once. “I guess that’s a yes, then?”

I glanced at Iggy. “Iggy knows a few things about cooking. He’d be more than happy to help.” I offered for him. Iggy nodded, and I could tell he was silently agreeing to keep an eye on our new ‘buddy’. I wasn’t picking up on any threats, but we couldn’t be too careful.



Twenty minutes later, we were all downstairs and starting the day. Iggy and Sydney were in the kitchen, Gazzy and Angel were glued to the T.V., and Fang and I sat in the dining room. Nudge flitted between rooms, talking to anyone who would listen about the new music mix CD she was planning on making.

“Just like old times.” Fang commented, watching Nudge scurrying around the house. I knew he was talking about the old house we once lived in with Jeb—my father. After everything we’d been through, that seemed like another lifetime.

I shrugged. “It’s too good to be true. Too good to last.” I replied bluntly.

He rolled his eyes. “And they call me pessimistic.”

I gave him a playful shove, and he smirked. Our eyes met, and my own smile faltered slightly. Fang didn’t miss it.

“You’re still worried about Angel.” It wasn’t a question. I didn’t try to deny it.

There was suddenly a knock at the door. I used this as an excuse to look away.

“I’ll get it!” Sydney swept past at once. She opened the door, and, peering out into the hall, I saw the man who’d been introduced as Michael Vaughn step into the house.

I tried to seem interested in their conversation, but I could feel Fang’s eyes on me.

“Max,” He said, straight out. “There’s nothing you could have done. You know that, right? It happened too fast.”

I scowled at him reluctantly. “It was my fault we were there in the first place.” I pointed out.

“We all agreed to go.”

“But I should have been watching Angel closer!” I blurted suddenly, looking into Fang’s dark eyes again. “She’s the youngest. She’s…” I didn’t have to explain to him. He knew that Angel had always been like a little sister to me—or even more, a daughter.

Fang watched me closely, and I saw that familiar, comforting flicker of understanding in his features. “It’s like you said. We’re gonna deal with this.”

He was so calm, so reassuring, that I felt like I could believe him. I felt safe.

It was then that Sydney came back into the room, followed closely by Agent Vaughn. She looked slightly pale, and he looked grim. I tensed at once.

“What’s wrong?” I demanded, standing up.

Sydney took a deep breath. “I…I think you all need to hear this. Especially Angel.”

Fang stood up beside me, his brow furrowed. “Her results are in? Is that it?”

Agent Vaughn lifted the papers he was holding. “We have them here. Please, call your friends in.”

Sensing tension, Iggy poked his head into the dining room. “Hey guys? You want chocolate chips in the…” He froze. Turned his head inquiringly to the door. “…Pancakes? Who else is here?”

“Angel?” I called, not answering him immediately. “Nudge, Gazzy? Can you guys come in here for a second?”

The kids came wandering in a moment later. Gazzy stuffed his hands in his pockets. “What’s up?”

Agent Vaughn wasted no time in getting to the point. “We finished analyzing the effects of Angel’s injections. Now, we’re not completely sure, because obviously we’ve never seen anything like this. But…” He trailed off, looking at Sydney for support.

Sydney hesitated. “We think Anna was trying to subdue Angel’s abilities. Maybe even reverse them completely.”

There was a stunned silence. My mind went blank, and I looked in shock at Angel. She looked afraid.

“…Reverse them?” I choked. “How…”

“We don’t know to what extent.” Agent Vaughn replied immediately. “She’ll probably lose any feeling in her wings…permanently, if we don’t do something.”

“Max,” Angel suddenly looked very frightened. “Max, I can’t read his mind…I can’t read yours, either.” She said, turning to Sydney. “I can’t read anyone’s!”

I felt sick. This couldn’t happen. Anna had gone too far. I don’t care what kind of prophecy she believed in. She would not destroy my Flock. My family. I felt angry and devastated and…and scared all at once, but somehow, I found my way over to Angel. I knelt next to her. “It’s…it’ll be okay…” God, I could barely talk.

Do not fall apart, Max. You’ll only scare her more.

Angel looked very close to tears. “I don’t want this to happen to me.” She whispered to me.

I looked her firmly in the eyes. “Nothing is going to happen to you, sweetie. I promise.” With that, I stood up, and looked over at the CIA agents. “How to we fix this?”

Vaughn frowned deeper. “We’re not sure…the injection substance was very unstable. This could be—“ He looked over at Angel, like he couldn’t bring himself to scare her any more. He lowered his voice. “Painful. Even fatal.”

That was it. We had to do something, and now. “How do we fix it?” I repeated through gritted teeth.

It was Sydney who answered this time. “Anna has a cure. At least, we think she does. If we can find it in time—“

“Where is it?” I asked immediately.

“We picked up a transmission in Narva. There’s a lab that Anna’s using there…that’s where she’d be storing a cure. The problem is, it’s an old base that was once used by the School.” Sydney looked anxiously at Angel. “It’s heavily protected, and the exact location is unknown.”

“So that’s it?!” Gazzy seethed. “You can’t do anything to help my sister?”

Sydney looked at him sadly, but Agent Vaughn answered. “Well, that’s not exactly true. Marshall—our tech man, he hacked some old School databases. Employee lists, to be exact. We’ve found a few members that worked at the Narva base many years ago. Members that are known to still be alive today.”

“What?” The question came from Sydney, to my suprise. She was staring incredulously at Agent Vaughn. “You didn’t tell me that. Who?”

He looked at her grimly. “We sent out a message on a few networks that would be able to contact them. But Syd, it’s a long shot. They’d never agree to go public, or meet with anyone connected to the CIA. They’re known criminals.” His gaze softened. “And I didn’t want to give anyone false hope.”

There was silence as we all stared at each other. Sydney narrowed her eyes. “Who are they? The employees?”

More silence. Agent Vaughn suddenly glanced at me. I couldn’t take this.

“Who?” I repeated Sydney’s question angrily.

He sighed deeply. “…Irina Derevko. And Jeb Batchelder.”

[{ tessa }]

Aw I liked this chapter! it was nice seeing the Flock get to chill out, if only for a little while. I lurve Max & Fang too!! & the image of Syd cookin breakfast is just too cute
but poor Angel. losing her powers. the girl needs a break!!

Oh my gosh and you HAVE to get Irina up in here NOWWW. por favor!

[Roxie !]

The Flock do deserve a break, don't they? xD Too bad these things never last. I promise more Fax, it's just kind of moving slowly because of the other things in the plot =). And easy, Irina'll definately be around along with Jeb. I can already tell she's gonna be so much fun to write!

Oh, a little Alias-related story I found funny. So I was at Jimmy's house on Sunday, and we found an Alias video game for his Xbox. I know, right? It was crazy fun. xD But anyway, I told him I loved the show, and let him borrow my Season One dvds. So when I saw him today, he started RANTING about how he watched the first five episodes and how it's impossible to stop, and then he was like. "Why is that Will guy ALWAYS at Sydney's house? He's ALWAYS there. So for like, the first three episodes I thought they were related...until they started kissing. Even then, I just passed it off as them being drunk. It happens." And I was just like "woooow." xD. I thought it was hilarious.

[{ tessa }]

LOL!!! omg true though. Will was always at Sydneys apartment during the first two seasons! Like WTF! Haha. and remember how he and Francie randomly fell in love?

[Roxie !]

Yeah xDDD! They were cute, though. Of course they were barely together for like, two seconds before Francie got doppleganger'd. That was one thing I hated. Whenever they cloned people or whatever. It was such a random plot twist. And it ended up happening to like, half the characters.

[{ tessa }]

Lol I know. It made me so paranoid that random people would be clones!

[Roxie !]

Title: Broken Wings.
Author: Moi.
Rating: PG-13ish for violence and language.
Fandom: Maximum Ride / Alias
Pairings: As of yet, hinted Max x Fang and Sydney x Vaughn. More on that later. In later chapters, expect Iggy x OC and possible Irina x Jack.
Chapter Summary: Sydney decides some rules are made to be broken, goes against the CIA and meets with her mother. But can Irina be trusted?
Notes: THIS is what I do when I'm supposed to be working on my ap essay xDD. Oh, and this chapter was SOOOO much fun to write. Seriously. But while she's cool and alll, Irina is tricky and complicated as a character, so please tell me whether I did her justice or not. Oh, and this is random, but I love that name. Irina. It's pretty. xD Okay, I'm done.

Oh, and SORRYYY it got so gosh-darned long. There was a lot of stuff I had to fit in. Just warning you, the next one'll probably be long to, because the time'll be right for a mission! Dundundun.




When Vaughn had first informed me of the contacts they’d found, I couldn’t even form the words to respond. I just stood there, staring at him, praying that I hadn’t heard him right.

Irina Derevko.

Just when I thought my mother couldn’t get any more horrible, I found out she was involved in this. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

Vaughn looked at me through sympathetic eyes. “I’m sorry, Sydney.” He said softly. I saw him glance at the others, and I instinctively followed his gaze. The kids were staring at us, open-mouthed. Max’s features were etched with cold disbelief.

I could tell that Vaughn wanted to say more. But when he spoke next, it was only to say, “I really need to go. They’re expecting me…I’m already late. But look, I promise I’ll tell you more when we know.” He looked seriously at me for a moment, and then, as if anxious to get away, he turned and slipped out the front door.

I couldn’t think. I glanced at Max, but she seemed frozen to the spot. Without even realizing what I was doing, I was out the door in a flash, practically sprinting to catch up.

”Vaughn!” I called, and he whirled around.

“Syd, you shouldn’t be out here.” He warned under his breath as I neared.

“Don’t give me that,” I spat impatiently. “You can’t just drop a bomb like that and—and expect—Vaughn, I need more information. Please, give me something.” I looked at him pleadingly, trying to convey the desperation I was feeling.

Vaughn ran his hand through his hair. “I know this is hard. I really, really get it. And I wish I could say something…anything that would make you feel better. But the fact is, we have no information. None. We only have what Irina is willing to give us.” He gave a sigh. “And you know she’ll never go for this.”

I stared at the ground. “Let me talk to her.” I said suddenly. I looked up again.

Vaughn stared. “What?”

“Listen, if you can get me in contact with her, if there’s any way…she might be willing to listen.”

Vaughn shook his head, looking bewildered. “You’d never get away with it. That would be breaking about twenty rules all at once.”

“I’m not asking you to lie for me, or cover for me.” I said quickly, urgently. “I wouldn’t put you in that position! But Vaughn, I need to know if there’s a way.”

He paused. For a long time, I wondered if he’d even answer me. And then… “Marshall. Marshall would know.”

I nodded. “Thank you.” I said, relieved.

“And Sydney?” Vaughn added. “You know I’d cover for you in a second. I’ve told you before…I’m on your side.”

I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. I just stepped forward, closed my eyes, and hugged him tight.


When I returned to the house, it was oddly quiet. I came into the T.V. room and saw the Flock seated around the various chairs and the sofa. From the way they were staring at me, I could tell they’d been talking before I came in. There was a small, awkward silence.

“Who’s Irina Derevko?” Fang growled at last.

I grimaced. “My mother.”

Fang gave a tiny nod, but Iggy uttered a small “Hmm.”

I shot him a questioning look, before I remembered that he couldn’t see me. “What?” I asked.

But it was Max who answered me. She was sitting with her arm wrapped around Angel’s shoulder, comforting her, and she didn’t look at me when she spoke. “Jeb Batchelder is my father.”

I blinked, surprised, but instantly sympathetic. I knew what it was like to have a parent betray you. “Before this, did you know…?”

“Yeah.” Max said shortly. “We’ve always known that he worked for the School. But he never told us about this.”

“Do you have any way of contacting him?” I didn’t mean to sound interrogating, but this was important.

Max finally looked up at me. “Not anymore.” She said evenly.

I didn’t say anything else. Defeat washed over me. Then, Gazzy spoke. “So that’s it? It’s over?”

“No, listen,” I looked at him earnestly. “We’re doing everything we can—“

“You mean you’re doing everything you can.” Max stood up suddenly. “You barely even know Angel! You don’t know how much this means to her! You really expect us to just sit here while you try and stop the people who did this to her?!”

I stared at her, contemplating. She was stubborn, but she had a point, and I knew that if I was in her position, I would want exactly the same thing. “No…I don’t.” I said at last. “So if and when we get the information we need, I promise you that I’ll make sure they let you help us. No matter what happens. But right now, I need to find a way to contact Irina. And nobody can know about it. Please, Max.” I pleaded, stepping closer to her. “Can you hold down the fort here for a few hours?”

Max stared at me levelly, almost sizing me up. Then, slowly, she nodded.

Now for the hard part.

--

I frowned angrily at the computer screen, willing it to display the results I needed. “Is it working?”

“One second.” Beside me, Marshall typed a few phrases of coding into the database. “See all these IP addresses? It’s kind of like a guestbook. Anyone who accessed this network is gonna show up here. Neat, huh?” He smiled proudly.

“Very.” I murmured, still glued to the screen. “You think we can find the message the CIA sent to my mother?”

“Well, if we can, and she actually read the message, I can use my tracers to connect to any communication devices Irina—ooh, sorry, Ms. Derevko, might have on hand.” Marshall blurted excitedly. “Now, we won’t get any locations. Y’know, no google map stuff. Heh. It’s never that easy, is it? But if you wanna talk to her directly, this is definitely the easiest way to do it.”

“Okay.” I sighed. “Worth a try. And Marshall? Thanks. I really do appreciate this.”

“Aw, any time, Syd.” Marshall grinned. He seemed thrilled to be facing the challenge of a good hack, at least.

I watched anxiously as the results filtered. After what seemed like hours, a tiny green light blinked rapidly.

“We’ve got a connection!” Marshall all but leapt joyfully out of his seat. “Awesome! This is great! You should have no problem getting a hold of her now.” He turned to me, fiddling slightly. “Uh, well…I guess I’ll leave you two alone, then.” With a shrug, he leapt out of his seat, gave me a little wave, and headed back toward his desk.

I smiled, watching him go. Marshall really did grow on you. I just hoped he wouldn’t mention any of this to my father. If Dad found out about who I was trying to contact, he would probably skin me alive. And a few weeks ago, I wouldn’t have blamed him. It wasn’t long since I had sworn I’d never speak to my mother again. But now…it didn’t look like there was much choice.

I took a deep breath, glanced around to make sure no one had entered the small office, and typed.

MOM? IT'S ME. SYDNEY.

I wasn’t really sure how this was going to work. It seemed like a kind of crude paging/instant messaging system. But after several minutes, there was still no reply. I frowned.

THERE’S NO WAY YOU CAN BE TRACED FROM HERE. I’M USING MARSHALL FLINKMAN’S COMMUNICATION LOCATOR.

A pause. Obviously, she wasn’t going to trust me that easily. Time to dive right in.

I NEED TO SPEAK TO YOU ABOUT THE SCHOOL.

I waited. I was almost holding my breath. This was my only chance…our only chance. I had to find out what she knew. But it seemed Irina wasn’t buying it…and somehow, I hadn’t expected anything else. She’d let me down so many times before. What made now any different?

Resigned to the truth, I turned away from the computer screen. Then, suddenly, something flashed across the page.

» I’D PREFER WE DO THIS FACE TO FACE.

I thought about it for about two seconds. It wouldn’t be safe. I typed again.

DO YOU THINK I’M STUPID?

» ON THE CONTRARY, SYDNEY. YOU’RE SMART ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT IF YOU WANT ANY INFORMATION, IT MUST BE ON MY TERMS.

I hesitated. No, this was crazy. I was absolutely out of my mind. I couldn’t really be considering meeting a known criminal and terrorist who’d betrayed and lied to me more times than I could count? And yet, said criminal and terrorist was my mother. She’d had plenty of chances to kill me if she wanted me dead. I could at least find out what she was asking.

WHICH ARE?

» I WANT YOU TO MEET ME AT PIER 47, AT EXACTLY 11:45 PM. NO SECURITY OR SURVEILLANCE. NO WEAPONS. YOU COME ALONE. IF YOU TRY ANYTHING, YOU’LL NEVER GET THE INFORMATION YOU NEED.

Could I really trust her? Agreeing to this would be defying my superiors. To meet with a known international criminal would be breaking every rule in the book…it would be going behind the CIA’s back. I tensed. And then, I thought of Angel. An innocent, six year old girl who could be dying because of what Anna had done. I thought of the countless other people Anna could harm if her mission was successful. And that was all I needed to set my resolve.

ALRIGHT.

» DON’T TELL YOUR FATHER.

Well, one thing was for sure. If she thought I had any intention of telling Dad about this, she really did think I was stupid.

--

My watch read 11: 42, exactly. It was the only technology I’d brought with me, along with my cell phone. Knowing my mother, she’d have some sort of security sensors hidden around here. And if she found out I had any gadgets on me, she wouldn’t show.

I walked slowly and cautiously down pier forty-seven. Everything was dark and shady, and I could barely see. This didn’t feel right. What if it was a trap? A trap that I’d so stupidly walked in to. If it was, then I had undoubtedly let everyone down by coming here tonight.

I stood, tensed, letting the silence wash over me. And then, in the alley behind the pier, I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. An indistinct shadow, vaguely resembling the form a person. And then, as the figure stepped closer, her features became clearer. For a moment, I had the impression that I was staring into a mirror. The same dark hair; same light brown eyes. But as the moonlight illuminated her, I realized quickly that this woman was older than I was; her features were darker, her expression more cunning and calculating.

I was looking at Irina Derevko.

“Hello Sydney.” She greeted smoothly.

I gaped at her. Part of me didn’t even believe she was real. “Mm—“ But I caught myself before I could utter the word “Mom.” The last time I had felt close enough to this woman to call her that, she’d turned around and back-stabbed me, my father, and everyone at the CIA.

Irina soundlessly approached until there was about four feet between us. I froze, looking her over warily.

“I’m not carrying a weapon.” She arched an eyebrow, looking vaguely amused. “After all we’ve been through, I would have at least thought you’d know by now that I have no interest in taking your life.”

“That’s only because you need me. You need me to be the retriever of your precious Rambaldi artifacts, so you can steal them from right under the CIA’s nose the second I bring them back.” I wasn’t fooled for a moment, and I stared her down icily. “Isn’t that right?”

Irina didn’t miss a beat. “No,” she said calmly. “It’s because you’re my daughter.”

I’ll admit that threw me off for a second. But it didn’t take long for my anger to boil over. “Stop.” I gritted. “I know what you’re doing. And it won’t work…not again.”

“Oh Sydney,” Irina looked mildly exasperated.

“No.” I stopped her instantly. “I didn’t ask to speak with you so you’d have another excuse to manipulate me. I asked you to speak with me to answer my questions. If you aren’t going to do that, then why are you here?”

She gave me a very strange look, opened her mouth, and then closed it again. Whatever she was going to say, she’d decided against it. “Ask away.”

I wasn’t going to give her another chance to change the subject. “You worked for the School.” I all but accused. “In Estonia. A facility in Narva.”

“I did.” Irina nodded faintly, her eyes narrowed. “I’m curious, however…who gave you the lead?”

I shook my head. “That doesn’t matter. I was just wondering, between betraying your family and your country to Russian intelligence, faking your death, and running off to terrorize the world…when did you have time to work for them?” I inquired venomously.

Her expression was completely unreadable. She didn’t so much as flinch. “That was a long time ago. It must have been…nineteen years. I was ordered there by the KGB. It was a very short employment, I assure you.”

I did some quick math in my head. Nineteen years ago. That was two years after she’d left my father and I. “The KGB ordered you to work there?” I asked, and she nodded. “And then they ordered you to leave?”

Irina tilted her head. “Not quite.”

“Then why—“

“Trust me, Sydney, when I say that you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

I clenched my teeth. More secrets…what had I expected? But there was no point in arguing with her. This wasn’t what I’d come to find out anyway. “Fine.” I said bitterly. “I need to know everything you can tell me about the facility. Exactly where it’s located, and what security measures are in place.”

“And why is that?” Irina inquired. “If you’ve come this far, you must have done enough research to know that the place has been abandoned.”

Was she playing games? Or did she honestly have no idea about Anna. “Abandoned by the School,” I agreed slowly, gauging her reaction. “But not abandoned completely.”

I thought I saw a flicker of surprise in my mother’s gaze, but she said nothing.

“What did they use it for? Back when the School had control?” I prompted.

Irina sighed. “What else? Genetic experimentation. The Narva base was, however, more focused on postnatal experimentation. They used children already born—aged anywhere from infants, to as old as about six.” She explained quietly.

I felt a shudder of disgust. How could anyone be that inhumane? “And you worked for these people?” I whispered.

She averted her gaze and repeated what she had said earlier. “I was following orders.”

“Right. That’s your excuse for everything, isn’t it? Don’t pretend for a second that you couldn’t have put your foot down—“

“Listen to me!” For the first time, there was an icy sharpness to Irina’s usually calm, quiet voice. “You could not possibly understand my situation, Sydney. And I did not come here to discuss it with you!” I almost stepped back, faced with this sudden ferocity. But then she seemed to realize that she had raised her voice, and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, I could see no trace of emotion. “I’m sure we’d both like to get out of here quickly. I’ll answer your questions if you answer one of mine.”

Oh, great. This would be good.

“Why do you need to know this? Who’s occupying the Estonian labs that the CIA is so interested in?”

That was two questions, I noted. What was more, I wasn’t sure exactly how much I could tell her. Any information in the hands of this woman could be dangerous. “Anna Espinosa and her team have set up in Narva. She’s hiding out there. They’re…she’s…interested in one of Rambaldi’s prophecies,” I explained at last. “One that had something to do with the School research.”

Irina’s eyes widened. “The avian DNA crossing?” She mused, clearly familiar with the prophecy. “But why…?”

I didn’t think it was safe to tell her about Max and the Flock. Not yet. Given Irina’s obsession with Rambaldi, there was no telling what she would do. “Anna’s trying to finish what the School started. She’s continuing their research.” I told the half-truth, trying to remain neutral.

She didn’t comment on whether she believed me or not, but nodded. “Interesting. Well, if you need them, I can send the coordinates to the CIA, along with security information—“

“No.” I interrupted, a little sharper than intended. Irina stared at me blankly. I took a breath. “No...I…I need you to give the information to me. Otherwise, there’s a chance that…” I didn’t finish. So many things could fill that blank. The CIA could decide not to send me in, or to simply destroy the lab—and Angel couldn’t afford that. Besides, I’d promised the Flock that they’d be able to help, which Dixon would definitely never agree to unless I had leverage.

But there was no need to explain. My mother was suddenly tense. “You want to lead the mission yourself?”

“This is really important.” I began, wondering why I was bothering to explain myself to someone who’d broken the rules more times than I could count.

Irina held up a hand. “What’s important is that you understand something, Sydney. You can not get involved with this. Ask someone at the CIA to do it—anyone. But you need to stay away from this place.” She hissed urgently.

I stared at her, completely confused and thoroughly disconcerted. “What?” Was all I could think to say. I looked closer, and realized that the expression on her face could only be described as…fear. I suddenly felt indignant. “How can you tell me that? You have no idea what’s at stake here. It’s my job to stop people like Anna!” And people like you. I added silently.

Irina took my hand suddenly, and I was too stunned to pull away. “I know you like to play the hero, Sydney, but this is…it’s too deep. Believe what you like, but I’m telling you this only because I’m concerned for your safety.”

“You have no right to be concerned about me!” I backed away from her jerkily. “You’ve betrayed Dad and me twice now. Remember that? You left us twice. You have no right to stand there and act like you actually care about someone other than yourself.”

“But I do.” Irina said simply. Before I could say anything, she was pushing a small object into my hands. I looked down, and realized that it was an ear piece set, a lot like the one I used at the CIA.

“It’s a two-way communicator. Equipped with bug and tracker killers. Don’t bother trying to trace the frequencies.” She explained, smirking slightly. “If you want your information, you’ll fly to Narva, and contact me on this. The only person I trust to get you through that security alive is myself.” And then, turning on her heel, she began to walk away.

I stared speechlessly after her. I had no idea what to think, or whether to trust what she’d just told me. Because when I thought about it, she’d more or less told me nothing.

Sensing my bewilderment, Irina turned around one last time. “Remember what I told you before, sweetheart. Truth takes time.”

And then, just like that, she was gone.

[le Dawnz]

Whew! Caught up!

OMG I LOVE Marshall! "The tall one with the black hair kind of scares me." xDDD He's so spastic! And it's almost like he adores Sydney. Not in the 'I'm-Secretly-In-Love-With-You' way but more the 'hero-worship/you're-my-best-friend-in-the-world' kind of way.Or at least that's how it reads to me at the moment. I've never seen Alias (except little clips on YouTube) so I don't really know for sure. I loved Max and Fang's little moment. And then the whole DUN DUN DUN!! I totally saw the Jeb thing coming, but I was like, O.o when you said Irina and immediately thought, "Could this be any more perfect?!" xD I'm way too into the whole torture-your-characters-with-random-plot-twists thing. And this last chapter was great! Very... believable. I mean, I could actually SEE it happening. Totally amazing.

Hey, who else is in love with this song? www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI4JLa0hbUw

And sorry for going on and on. Even though you can't actually hear this whole thing I've basically taken no pauses to breath because I'm really pent up right now not to mention I've got this pinch in my back right now and a knot at the base of my skull where it meets my neck so I'm really wound up which is also added to the fact that I haven't talked to you guys in FOREVER because first I got a new job then school started and then my stupid internet had to be stupid and refuse to connect with my laptop so I couldn't get on because the stupid internet company is doing something with the wiring so the whole area is like this but at least it's getting better because not only do I like to get on at least ONCE IN A WHILE to talk to you guys and get all this energy out but I NEED it because my AP class is an ONLINE class and I need it to submit my homework. Whew. Which reminds me, you're taking an AP class to Rox? What type? There are only three AP classes at our school. A history one for juniors which no one bothers taking because it's way way too hard that or they don't even realize we HAVE it or they just like the regular history teacher too much (lol Mr. S, his wife had a baby last year and his name his Sully! Like on Monsters' Inc.! And also, he'll forever be known (to Twilight-obsessed peoples anyway) as the kid born on the release day of the Twilight movie, poor kid. xD) and then we have two types of english ap classes for seniors, one of which I am taking. So yeah. Anyway, I'll just stop talking now. Maybe I can use this energy to reply to something. Hmmmm.......

Cause I get a thousand hugs
from ten thousand lightning bugs
as they try to teach me how to dance...

xD. Okay, I'm done now. Seriously. =) ^^

[Roxie !]

Aww! I've never heard that song before, but there's something about it that...I dunno, just makes you happy!! xDD

Omg, you are SPOT ON with the Marshall thing. Throughout the show, he kinda has a little bit of a crush on Sydney, but at the same time kinda looks up to her. It's cute xD.

My school is really weird, because we have regular classes, and then we have ADVANCED classes, and then we have AP classes. We have a lot of AP classes( a few for most of the main subjects each), but they're only for juniors and seniors. I'm taking AP English and AP Euro, but the essay was for English.

[{ tessa }]

OMG I loved this chapter!!! dont worry, you have Irina down PERFECTLY. she's so badass, yet when it comes to her family she has such an obvious soft spot (ugh, until season 5, WTF??) but anyways, good job!! And I love the last line, great shout out.

Oh btw I bs'd my way through that essay lol.