The Perfect Weapon: Chapter 2013: Part 2 cont'd and concluded
Chapter 2013: Part 2 cont’d and concluded
“Susan? What is going on?” Irina pressed as the two of them stood in front of Judy’s bookcase with Sydney. “Why do I feel that something is about to happen? Something I would rather not have happen?”
“I don’t know all the details, but...” Susan nodded at the bookcase. “Judy said-“
“I know what she said,” Irina snapped. “She had something to show me and it was hidden in a book. And that I should enjoy the search, to just pretend I was looking for some Rambaldi artifact and- “ Irina glared as Sydney began to laugh. “Focus.”
Sydney clamped her lips shut and looked up at the ceiling. Laughter was welcome but inappropriate. Her mother was tense today, very tense. As the countdown to Operation Ophelia grew closer, the heretofore hidden strain grew closer to the surface. She really should find a way to release it, Sydney decided, seeing the tightness in Irina’s face. Knowing her parents, she had an idea about what the best method would be, but knowing her parents they’d figure that out all on their own. “Yes, Mom. Focus. It must be something obvious, but hidden. Something...from your past?”
Irina glared at the wall of books. “I was an English teacher! There are many memories in many books, so many conversations your father and I had...But Pride and Prejudice isn’t here, so which one would be...Oh, this is ridiculous!” she exclaimed impatiently. As both Susan and Sydney shrugged, Irina forced herself to concentrate. She had so much else to plan, but... Think logically. Think like Judy. This appointment today was for a shared family session, one Judy thought so critical she’d insisted upon it before the next stage of the op. Judy knew how to set priorities, so it must in fact be important. The essential information would not be released, apparently, until she found this book. So this book....
Sydney was correct, it was probably some connection to the past and the present. Knowing Judy it was probably some pointed barb to test her again. Some test of her willingness to commit to her family in the future, which Judy loved to point out meant acknowledging the real consequences of the past. The past...Yes, it kept circling back, the memory book kept opening those pages, reminding her, urging her to something... She ran her fingers along the spines of the books. Judy was trying to help her find something, some key...Some opening, some tie, some connection.... Her hand stopped.
"WHAT?" Judy cried out. "You did what?"
Dave turned to look at Judy. “I had Jack and Irina play the falling game after the party.”
“You...” Judy shook her head. “You interfered again. Another reachable moment, I suppose?”
“Yes. I hoped Jack would tell Irina what he told me about the falling game. I’ll apologize again, however, for interfering. But I--”
Judy sighed and looked out at the cityscape, then shuddered.
“What is it? Aside from the fact that you’re ready to throw me off of the roof.” Dave stared at Judy’s white face.
“That would imply that I could actually walk over to the edge, which is extremely unlikely.”
“You’re afraid of heights?” Dave nodded and touched Judy’s arm. “I bet I could find a way to help you overcome that fear.”
Judy smiled. “I bet you could. Is that an unknown chapter in the manual?”
“It could be.” Dave winked, then sobered. “I’m sorry if-“
“No, no. I think the falling game was a good idea. Inspired, actually. How did it go?” Judy asked eagerly. It was a great idea, actually. And having been there at the beginning, Dave had been the appropriate person to implement the test and close the circle.
“It...went. He told her some important truths and then...he fell and she caught him. Immediately.” Dave smiled reminscently in relief. "She got it. He trusted her, he had faith...."
Judy whistled. “Amazing.”
“Yes. You helped him so much with that. Thank you,” Dave said quietly. "He needed you and you gave him exactly what he needed. No one could have done better. No one could have tried harder, from what Jack has said. It was because of you that he was able to take that leap of faith in Panama and in his own living room, Judy."
Judy blushed, even as she felt pride in her accomplishments. Hearing the praise from Dave meant a lot, given his involvement in the case. “But, he actually fell backwards? And waited for her to catch him.” Judy shook her head. “He makes me ashamed of my stupid fear of heights. Thank you for telling me. I’ll need to slightly amend my own game plan for this morning.”
Dave nodded. “I thought you might be pulling a battering ram out of your bag of tricks, it’s what I would have done-“
“Isn’t that what you did do, with the falling game?” Judy pointed out.
“Yeah. That’s why I wanted to tell you. I think another such move would be unnecessary. Now.”
“I agree. The same technique, just a lighter touch.” Judy looked down at her briefcase thoughtfully.
“I...think we might make a good team,” Dave suggested, his eyes alight with interest.
Judy smiled and tapped Dave’s arm. “Do you? I prefer a firmer touch to a lighter touch, for the record.” She wrapped her hand around his wrist and squeezed.
Dave began to choke with laughter. “I was referring to a professional team. Not-“
“Oh dear god,” Judy groaned and bent her head in embarrassment.
Dave looked down at her blonde head and gave into temptation, kissing her hair. “Don’t worry, I think this is the start of a beautiful-“
“Excuse me.” Jack cleared his throat as he opened the door to the roof. “Pardon me for interrupting, but I thought this was a family therapy session, not a rooftop date.”
Dave shrugged. “Not gonna happen up here, anyway. She’s afraid-“
Jack nodded and looked around. “Of heights. I know. Surely, Dr. Caro, you can find a therapeutic method that will help her overcome-“
“I’m sure I can, Dr. Bristow-“ Dave grinned.
“Excuse me! Doctor...doctor....” Judy spluttered.
“Idiot?” Dave offered.
“Jerk?” Jack asked.
Judy tapped her foot. “I am standing right here.”
“So you are. And where are the rest of the women?” Jack asked. “Why aren’t they here and why are we?”
Judy gestured around the roof top. “I thought you might appreciate it if we were on the roof, in an open space-“
“Why? What are you about to do that’s going to exacerbate my supposed claustrophobia?” Jack asked, growing more tense with each word as his warning system went on full alert.
“Why does he deny that?” Dave asked turning to Judy.
“It is a question. It’s a common phobia. Even among people who haven’t been incarcerated and interrogated for months at a time,” Judy noted.
Dave nodded. Judy hadn’t had time to work on that issue with Jack yet. “True enough. Very common. And there are therapeutic desensitization methods that might work - have you told Irina-“
“Have you told...” Jack growled. “Hello. I am standing here too. And claustrophobia - if anyone should have claustrophobia, it’s Dave and he doesn’t, so why should I-“
“As if all phobias are logical? They can be a perfectly-logical and learned response to a stimulus, but... anyway,” Dave finished as Jack’s face registered enough impatience that he thought it prudent to come further away from the edge. “How do you know I don’t have claustrophobia? How do I know?” Dave pointed out. “No one’s been locking me in a cave in the last few months, have they? I think I’d turn into a blubbering mess if someone showed me a chain, a bat, and a dark cave.” He shuddered. “God, I never want to hear the thwap, thwap of a bat’s wings again. Although I did hear the creak of chains the other night and it didn’t scare me. Go figure.” He grinned.
Judy watched curiously as Jack’s face tinged with pink. She looked up as Dave bent down and whispered, “They found an alternate use for the sling seat.”
“Well, of course.” Judy shrugged.
“Of course?” Dave asked, licking his lower lip.
“Except for the fact that the seat is outside, in the open...” Judy smiled again and turned away from the avid look on Dave’s face. “So, Jack, I want to warn you....”
“You found the picture, didn’t you?” Dave interrupted. “You did.”
“Will you stop interrupting me?!” Judy hissed. Seeing Jack’s amused face, she looked down, straightened her suit jacket, and then cleared her throat. “Dr. Caro-“
“I’m sorry. I really am. I’m just-“
“A jerk,” all three said in unison.
Judy took a deep breath and glared at Dave. “Are you done?”
“Probably not.”
Judy looked at Jack. “You know, I could really just...”
“Hurt him?” Jack shrugged. “I know the feeling. The best way to proceed is to ignore him whenever possible. Or give him an incentive for good behavior.”
“I am not a dog, unlike Susan’s theory-“ Dave protested, but with a smile.
Judy nodded and then smiled slowly herself. “Okay. Dave, if you will refrain from interrupting me even one more time, I will show you my rats for our first date.”
“Oh.” Dave blinked, then grinned. Wow. She was really upping the ante. “Deal.” Shit, he should have counter offered that she had to wear a lab coat.
“Good. Then my answer to your question, Dave, is that I did find the photograph. Both of them, actually.”
“Ah. Good plan. Before and after. Perfect. Just...perfect,” Dave whispered. Good, she was good.
“Both of...what pictures?” Jack broke in, then swung to stare at his friend. “Dave, what did you do?”
Dave nodded at Judy. “I buried two pictures-“
“And I found them-“ Judy said quickly.
“What the hell is this? Some psycho scavenger hunt?” Jack gritted out. Pictures? He thought he had destroyed all of the pictures. “Dave hides pictures and twenty years later Judy finds them as if...Oh god, it’s like Rambaldi-“
“Without the megalomania, of course,” Dave agreed.
“Of course. You only manipulate for the good of mankind? And you-“ Jack glared at Judy. “Why-“
“Think about it, Jack. Why would I pull out that picture? Think about it,” Judy urged. “Use what you know of me and come to a logical conclusion.”
“To...” Jack forced himself to breathe slowly. He nodded. “To prove a point you feel is essential. You would not deliberately hurt me. Nor would Dave. So, you feel I need to see it and so should...” He clamped his lips shut and walked away, over to the edge of the roof.
“It’s this one.” Irina pulled the book from the shelf. “Of Human Bondage. Unfortunately, as good as Jack looks all tied up, I don’t think Judy wants me to read this as a manual for marital aids.”
"Oh, speaking of which, that gift you gave me, Irina--" Susan winked. "Eric loved the leash--"
“OH MY GOD!” Sydney shrieked, covering her ears. "Double squick, double squick!"
Irina pulled Of Human Bondage from the shelf with a triumphant glance at Susan, who nodded. Irina looked down at the book, remembering Natasha telling her about it. Natasha. Now, it didn’t bother her. No, it didn’t. So Natasha had slept with Jack. It was not a problem. In any case, Natasha was blonde. And even better, dead. Good. So... She looked up as she realized that Sydney and Susan were staring at her curiously. “Oh. It’s one of the two books Jack used in his story. Madame Bovary and Of Human Bondage. He must have told Judy about using it and in some way, Judy is going to--”
“What story?” Sydney asked, watching as Susan reached for the book.
“Give me that back-“ Irina protested fiercely. She held the book protectively in the crook of one arm while extending the other hand in a sharp, swift defensive move.
Susan gulped and stepped back, suddenly afraid of the look on Irina’s face. “I, um, know you can kill me, Irina. I know it. But do you, uh, think you can avoid doing that? I’m looking forward to using more of your...gifts with Eric, you know...” She sidled toward the door.
Irina blinked and in an instant her face changed to wear a neutral smile. She ignored Sydney’s suspicious look, dropped her hand, and smiled again, trying for something more natural this time. That girl had no business touching her book, however, the book Judy had told her to find with a look that told her failure was not an option. Who had said that... She shrugged. “I apologize for scaring you. I forget sometimes that civilians-“
“I wasn’t too thrilled to see that look either, Mom,” Sydney noted. She began to walk toward the door, relieved when her mother followed. “Compartmentalize, okay? We’re not on a mission, right now.”
“Aren’t we? Judy’s sent us on some mission, hasn’t she?” Irina asked, looking down at the book, as they waited for the elevator to the roof. “I knew this was the book. Jack used it as part of his backstory on his in and out missions--”
“Ugh- TMI! Again.” Sydney protested. Then she stared at the book. “Why would he use a book, a classic even, for part of his backstory?”
“When he was younger and before he met me...” Irina reminded herself. “He pretended to be a comp lit doctoral student. Harmless, you see. A harmless...geek,” she said fondly. “Good cover, I admit.”
Susan pressed the elevator button. “Wait. He...played a geek?”
Sydney smiled at the disbelief on Susan’s face. But she was not alone in her disbelief. Jack Bristow, a geek? “Seriously, could he pull that off?”
Irina laughed as lightly as she could manage given the fact that Jack had successfully pulled off that op far too many times, before and after their marriage. “Well, he thought he did. In a way. At times...” She shrugged dismissively.
“Mom. We all know about the manual!” Sydney reminded her. “As disgusting as it is to imagine that my father did...that, he wouldn’t have written it if he’d failed-“
“Okay, he was successful. But of course, he wasn’t geeky. He was too gorgeous-“
Susan grinned. “Oh, I know. Day-um, even as a young man-“
“How do you know that, Susan?” Irina pounced verbally.
Ding
Susan sighed with relief as the doors to the elevator opened. “Uh, you two go on ahead. I’ll run up the stairs. I can use the exercise.”
“But...” Sydney began, unsure if she wanted to be stuck in a tiny cubicle hurtling through the building with her mother in this mood. She had been anxious all morning and now...there was some undercurrent she didn’t understand. Was it this sense her mother had that something was going on?
“Just promise me she won’t look in the book,” Susan pled and fled toward the stairs. Judy would be furious if Irina looked in that book before arriving at her destination, but there were times when survival took precedence over following orders.
“Okay!” Sydney called out. She sighed as the doors closed and held her hand out for the book. Irina rolled her eyes and slapped the book into Sydney’s hand. Sydney looked down at it. “So. Comp lit doctoral candidate. He had enough knowledge to pull that off?”
“He...did.” Irina nodded and smiled reminiscently. “He knew and loved to talk about it. You know he thought of becoming an English teacher like his mother. He could have been a college professor. He thought about it, going back for his PhD in lit, but...I talked him out of it because I was afraid I’d get sent home if he left the Agency.”
“He...thought of going back for his degree in English lit? When I did talk about my degree, he never told me, he only talked about you...” Sydney shook her head. What other pieces of private intel was her father holding inside?
Irina looked at the control panel as they traveled inexorably upward and admitted, “He...It was probably too painful for him to tell you. He probably realized that I talked him out of it so that...or he thought that I did that to keep him in the game as a viable source of information-“
“And you did-“
“Yes, but because I didn’t want to leave him. In that moment, I was honest with myself.”
“Briefly?” Sydney teased daringly, given the unpredictable mood her mother was in.
“Yes, briefly. Before we made love and made you that night on possibly, even, the bed,” Irina snapped back.
Sydney blushed and rested her forehead against the wall of the elevator as it hummed its way to the top. Why did she think she was going to win against her mother? She pressed the roof button on the control panel over and over. She wanted out. Now.
Jack stared at seagulls swooping below the rooftop. God, how he wished he were anywhere but here right now. He didn’t want to be here, he didn’t want to be here, he didn’t want to be here.
“Jack, you know why I’m doing this. Let’s talk about it before the others arrive,” Judy began, taking a tentative step closer to Jack. Come back from the damn edge, she wanted to shout at him. He wasn’t going to jump, but just seeing him that near to the lip was making her slightly dizzy. She forced the vertigo down and focused on the back of Jack’s head.
“I know why you’re doing this. But I disagree with your methods. I don’t see the point of showing one of those photographs to my family. Sydney has forgiven me. I’ve forgiven Irina. So, why?” Jack asked, his voice low and tight as it was expelled through lips barely open. “Is it because of Operation Ophelia?”
“Only in part. I would have shown that photograph to them regardless. But before Irina embarks on that op, I do want her to understand what happened the last time. It’s essential and-“ Judy held up her hand as Jack began to protest, then realized he couldn’t see since he was turned to face the view she found so daunting. “No, let me finish. It’s essential that Irina and Sydney see this, see the truth. Sometimes, words are not enough to break through our illusions. Sometimes-“
Jack blurted out, “I know. Irina, in Panama, she looked into a mirror and...Dave’s portfolio, those words, seeing his words, she said...” He stopped. Of course. Judy never forgot any detail. Part of her brilliance as a therapist was her creativity in using seemingly-insignificant details to find patterns and use them to achieve the desired results. “You know that. I told you. She saw and...knew.”
“Yes. So we are going to embark on that journey again today because it works for her. See and know. Have we learned the importance of facing our past and moving on? But first step first.”
Jack nodded slowly, turned back from the edge and walked to Judy and Dave. “I understand. I still hate it.”
“I understand that too,” Judy said, putting her hand on Jack’s arm, noting that Dave also was patting his back. “It will be okay.”
“Yeah. But...what is this before and after?” Jack asked, concentrating on a gap in his knowledge rather than a potential gap in his faith about the next few minutes. For the love of god, what would Sydney think when she saw what he had been? No child should see their parent like that... but Judy thought it was okay and if Dave disagreed, lord knew, he would have said something. So.... “Okay, before and after? To what was that in reference?”
Judy exhaled in relief as Jack examined the problem, analyzed it, come to a conclusion, and handled it without falling back into fear. All without dangling a preposition. She ignored Dave’s thumbs-up signal from behind Jack’s back.“A photograph Laura took of you. On a couch, sleeping, wearing...just jeans-“
“Wait a minute!” Jack whirled to glare at Dave. Dave looked up at the bright blue sky and began whistling. Jack grumbled at him, “You can shove that rainbow somewhere up your ass.” Then Jack turned red as a thought occurred to him and slowly faced Judy. “Just that one photo? No others?”
“Why, were there others?” Judy asked quizzically.
Jack glared at Dave once again. “Uh...yeah. But, don’t worry about that. Right, Dave?”
“Are you talking to me?” Dave asked with wide eyes.
“Unless that was a gun in your pocket when I came out on the roof and saw you hitting on Judy, can the DeNiro impression -“
“Ahem!” Judy interjected. “I don’t know about any others, Jack. You can talk later with Dave about that, but-“
“Judy?” Sydney asked as she and Irina emerged onto the rooftop.
“Where’s Susan?” Judy asked.
“She was afraid Mom was going to strangle her, so she’s coming up the stairs,” Sydney held up the book. “I have the book. Is this the correct choice?”
“Perfect,” Judy nodded. “Good job, Irina. I knew you‘d remember that detail.” Yes, Irina remembered every detail she be better off forgetting about Jack’s past with other women.
“Perfect weapon,” Jack sniped as he caught sight of the title. “Of Human Bondage. How...literal of you, Judy. Using books as weapons, now?”
“Shell casings,” Dave agreed out of the corner of his mouth.
“Sydney just hold onto that book for a moment,” Judy suggested. She looked at it for a moment, then nodded as Susan rushed onto the roof. “Good. I have something I want to show you all.” She bent over and reached inside her briefcase, before standing back up. Taking a quick breath and a firm grip on the photograph, she flipped it over and held it up, in front of Irina. “Remember this?”
“Moya!” Irina exclaimed, reaching for the photograph. Jack half naked on the couch - that was hers! Finally! It was just within her reach--
“Not yet-“ Judy jerked backward. She wasn’t too surprised by the avidity on Irina’s face. If that had been her husband in that picture, she would have killed to get it and the husband back too. As Irina had in a way, killed her old life and now, she’d participate however unknowingly in the death of her last illusions about that life and the choices she’d made. “No-“
“Da. It’s mine. Give it to me- now.“ Irina demanded, taking a step forward. “No one should see that but me and he’s mine-“ Irina groaned as she saw the identical knowing look on Dave and Jack’s faces. Caught. “The jig...”
“Not possessive any more, Mom?” Sydney asked, dropping her hand from her temple. She’d seen that look on her mother’s face before, long ago. Some woman...yes, at the beach. Some woman had asked her father for help with a flat tire and her mother had sniped and snarked about it the entire ride home. “Be honest. You pretend or okay, you try, but that is part of who you are. I remember this time on the way home from the beach-“
”I...Okay, that was me. That is me.” Irina touched her chest, while still staring at the photograph. It still existed! It was not lost forever. It was within her grasp, if Judy would just give it up. She would, she would. But not right now, for some reason. So focus. The photograph was still wonderful. Perfect, actually, she decided anew as she looked at it with hungry eyes. Her Jack was right there. If only the other photographs, but... No. She had one, more than she had any right to expect. And...she sighed. Her memory had not deceived her. The image captured the quiescent strength and beauty of the man she’d found irresistible, then and now. Who wouldn’t be possessive of a man like that?
Irina nodded. “That is me. I admit it. I was then as Laura. Now, my name is Irina Bristow and I am still possessive. I endeavor to handle the negative qualities of that aspect of my personality, but I am possessive.”
“So. Then you were Laura Bristow.” Judy turned the photo over and pointed at the writing on the back. “And then you were Irina Derevko, or rather that’s who you were before and after Laura-“
“And now I’m Irina Bristow. What is your point?” Irina asked impatiently. She shoved her hair behind one ear to keep her hands busy and from wrapping themselves around Judy’s neck. All she’d have to do was knock her down and she could have that photo. It was hers, after all. Hers.
“Yes. You know who you are. And who is that?” Judy asked, pointing at Jack in the photo. The Jack in front of them turned his head away, his jaw tight, as he felt Judy pulling them down the path.
“My husband.” Irina stuck her hands in her pockets. She would not strangle Judy. She would not. Actually, all she would have to do was lure her close to the edge and with Judy’s fear of heights... No. It wouldn’t work. Judy was too intelligent to fall for that kind of trick. What were her other options? Thinking of them, she repeated stubbornly, “My husband-“
“So it says on the back...” Judy turned the photo over and pointed. Dave looked up at Judy with wide eyes. “My husband-“
“Yes. Mine, not yours. My husband and my picture,” Irina snapped. She wanted that picture. She wanted that picture. It was hers. He was hers. She looked up at Jack. “That picture...Moya,” she whispered as she saw anxiety in Jack’s eyes. He had been strangely quiet since she’d arrived on the roof. And Dave...he’d been unnaturally quiet. What had Judy done to shut him up for once? Something...formidable. Judy was tough. In her own way, she was an immovable object. Therefore, find another way to get what you want, she told herself. “What do I have to do to get it, Judy?”
Judy held the photo up before Irina. “Just answer some questions. Who was this Jack? Describe him to me, to us.”
“This isn’t necessary-“ Jack interjected. Judy was going to do something, go somewhere Irina was not expecting. She was setting her up for a fall. He could see it in her eyes. He knew her patterns. But Sydney, should she really- He stared at his daughter’s confused face.
“Yes, it is. Sydney should hear this,” Judy said firmly. “And Irina needs to say it. You have to trust me on this, Jack.”
“I do, but...I don’t want anyone hurt...” Jack admitted. “I know, I know, sometimes you have to hurt in order to cauterize the wound, but-“
“It will be okay, Jack. I have faith.” Judy’s soft voice hung in the air.
Jack nodded at the challenge, then looked down as Sydney laid her hand on his arm, sensing his need for comfort. He frowned; the parent should give comfort, not need it, but...He saw Dave smiling in approval at Sydney and forced himself to relax. Too much pride, Dave would say. Judy too. “Go on.”
Judy continued. “Okay, Irina. Tell us. Describe this Jack to us. Jack as he was then. As you saw him. Professionally and personally. Describe your Jack to us.”
“My Jack? He was.. Loving. Generous. Brilliant. Argumentative. Patient - sometimes, demanding - other times. Funny. Teasing. Serious. Hiding a sadness underneath. Complex. Beautiful. Absolutely... beautiful.” Irina paused to smile as Jack’s face turned red and Sydney smiled at his discomfort. “Tough. Sweet. Strong.” Irina reached her finger out and carefully traced the curves of muscles in Jack’s arms and chest with just the edge of her nail, avoiding even the lightest touch for fear of smudging the image with body oil. “Strong, inside and out.”
” I see.” Judy took the book from Sydney. She pulled out a folded black and white photograph.
Irina breathed heavily with anticipation. Was that another image from her portfolio? Judy had better not have found any photos of Jack on their bed. “Is that-“
“Judy...” Jack whispered. He knew one of her set ups. The trap was about to snap shut. He winced and forced himself to watch as it seemed to unfold in slow motion.
“Strong. That’s how you saw your Jack. So then. Who is this?” Judy opened the other photograph and held it up. As Irina stared at the image incredulously, Judy pressed, “Who is this? Tell me.”
“It’s not...” Irina shook her head and looked up at Jack. His face was as tightly drawn as if he’d been carved from marble. Nothing, there was nothing in his eyes. They might as well have been closed, as they were in that picture, but no...It couldn’t be Jack in that picture, looking so vulnerable. That could not be an image of reality, of a strong man brought low and restrained. No, it had never been that bad, she thought frantically as each her brain struggled to understand, then deny what it saw. It must be some trick. Some trick of Dave or Judy or...
“It’s Jack in the intake room at the psychiatric facility after his breakdown,” Judy said softly. “Isn’t it, Dave?”
“Yes, it is,” Dave whispered.
“It’s...It can’t be...” Irina stopped speaking. She could not hear her voice or anyone else’s voice for the roaring in her ears. She could not speak because she had no breath. No, she could not breathe for the weight crushing her chest. And she was certain her heart had stopped beating. Surely, it had.
That was what happened, after all, when life or its certainties ended. But no, it was her illusions, her last one, crushed, shattered by reality.
With an image in black and white.
If she had titled the other picture, ‘my husband,’ this one....
It couldn’t be, it just couldn’t be...Jack. It couldn’t be. It couldn’t be Jack looking so...small on that...what was it? A gurney? Curled up. Fetal...
Dave had said...Was this what Dave had been talking about in his portfolio? No, no...
She looked frantically at every detail of the photograph, hoping that the details would negate the larger picture. Dirty? No, that couldn’t be Jack, he was so fastidious - no, she was getting confused. He was fastidious these days, now, wearing...what had she thought...wearing his suits like an armor of dignity. Then...his sneakers had mud on them. Mud? From where? Had he been in the garden? But...the blood on his shirt?
What had happened? And...a cut on his lip? The scar? And...he looked so vulnerable. She closed her eyes. No more, no more....she pled silently, hearing nothing, feeling nothing and smelling nothing but the unfamiliar sensation of fear, seeing nothing as black and white dots danced before her eyes.
Her world narrowing to the image she stared at so long the identifiable objects became mere shapes which became shades of grey which became smaller and smaller and smaller dots of color until she could no longer see the whole. How she wished she would not see it again, could erase it, could ignore it, could destroy it as she had shattered that mirror, but the truth would always be in her mind’s eyes, she knew. This picture whose title had to be...what was it Jack had said in Panama?
Truth and consequences.
Yes, that was what he said. She could hear his voice, but...then she heard a moan. Who was that? The black and white image shimmered before her eyes like a desert illusion caused by heat and fear and thirst as it came back into focus.
She blinked dry eyes as it seemed to come to life before her eyes, the black and white and grey becoming color and then... her voice croaked, “Jack?”
TBC at Chapter 2013: Part 3