NRPG : All, here's the final part for this portion of Sydnie and My collaborative effort. There may be more to come later in future days.
Sau Woon : Awesome post. nuff said.
Respectfully SUbmitted,
Sydnie Macelroy - Agent Zenya Gorky, Team Zulu Jeff Uribe - Agent Leo Jones, Team Zulu.
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[Zenya's apartment, earlier in the evening]
>When she came out of the bedroom, dressed in jeans and a yellow >sweater that felt a bit strange after weeks on end of nothing but >business suits, Valery was sitting on the sofa, sketch book in hand, >doing absolutely nothing.
>"I wasn't expecting you home so soon," he said.
>"Then you won't mind if I go out."
>Valery shrugged. "Why would I mind?"
>"Why indeed." She walked out, pulling the door shut a little harder >than necessary.
Valery watched her go with perhaps a pang of regret, but nothing more. It was entirely Zenya's fault and he would never be convinced otherwise. She was the one who had sold out, gone over to the enemy. She had more reason than he to mistrust and despise everything the government represented, but now she was a part of it - one of them.
Shrugging, he took up his sketch book. A few lines here, a little shading there, and it was nearly perfect, at least as far as his imagination could take him. The haunting image of a woman, young, beautiful, idealistic. He'd met her less than a week ago, but he couldn't get her out of his mind. She was already a powerful presence in his life. If there had ever been a time he'd had such strong feelings about Zenya, it was a distant and faded memory.
He reached for the phone and dialed the number from memory. A moment later, a familiar voice said [Hello.]
"Shayla. It's me."
[Hi, Valery.]
"The Siberian Express just blew out of here," Valery said. It was a phrase Shayla had started using. Cold as January in Minsk. Never mind that Minsk is in Belarus, not Siberia. It was fitting nonetheless. "Looks like she's going to be gone a while."
[Good. Why don't you come on over to my place, then.]
"I was hoping you would come here. I have all my things here. I want to paint you."
[Really? I've never had my portrait painted before.]
"Who said anything about a portrait," Valery said, a leer in his voice.
Shayla giggled charmingly. [In that case, pack up whatever you need and be here in fifteen minutes.]
*****
[Leo's Apartment, 9:15 pm]
Zenya returned the photograph to its place on the shelf and went back to poring over the files Leo handed to her. She read about the "shadowy group" that was behind her family's deaths and how they were based in New York, although it wasn't known where. Her family's bank accounts were of some interest to her, seeing as how transactions made into it were coming from both Moscow and various cities in the United States. An interesting piece of surveillance info that was noted by Leo was the fact that her father "was observed taking down notes of some sort into a journal or ledger" every night at about the same time. But after his death, no journal could be found.
Within the file, she also saw old surveillance photos of the family together during happier times. Just ordinary images, nothing special. Anyone looking at them would be hard-pressed to find any significance in them. Except these people were Zenya's family. She knew the stories behind every expression and every motion represented in the pictures. One of her father, walking out the front door of their house. Nothing special about it except the look of consternation on his face. Who would guess that was the night he had found out that Boris and Lydia had been talking marriage, that he had been so angry, he'd stormed out of the house, only to call ten minutes later from the bar down the street to apologize and give them his blessing. Another picture of the front of the house, with Zenya barely visible through an upstairs window, and Irya riding her bicycle in the driveway under the watchful eye of their mother. Sure, the picture told a story, but not all of it. Not that the lesson had lasted less than five minutes, that Irya had fallen off the bike, scraped her knee and run back into the house crying. She had flat out refused to try it again, and stubborn child that she was, she'd gotten her way.
A few minutes later, their pizzas arrived and they tore into them. Zenya gave a chuckle as she saw Leo plucking off some of the veggies that he didn't really care to eat and putting them aside.
"So..." Zenya started. "I didn't know you were married at one time."
Leo looked up and gave a melancholy smile. "Ah, I see you found the picture of happier times on the shelf."
Zenya took another bite of her pizza. "I guess I did. What happened to them?"
Leo's eyes suddenly took on a glassy faraway look, a cloud stole across his face, his emotions on that precarious balance between sadness and anger. He looked out of his window into the starry night outside and said the one word that explained it all, "Docker."
"Leo, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." Zenya said, suddenly sorry that she had brought it up.
"Don't worry about it." Leo said, his head dropping. "I can't really blame it all on Docker. I guess it was partially my fault also."
[Columbia, South Carolina. February 13, 1997 5:45 am]
"Is it totally necessary for you to have to kill this guy today?" Jenn asked as she straightened out Leo's tie, trying not to strangle him with it. She was less than happy when Leo told her that he'd have to fly to London for another job.
"Jenn, this guy is responsible for the deaths of over a hundred innocent children in that school bombing in Manchester." Leo said calmly, knowing how his wife was. "Besides, I'm taking the private jet. It'll take less than 24 hours and I'll be back in time for breakfast tomorrow. It's a simple in and out job for an in-and-out specialist like me. Besides, this is my last job. I told Phil that after this, I'll be spending my aging years at home driving you and Andrea nuts."
Jenn smiled at this last piece of news and gave Leo's face a loving caress. He knew that he was back in her good graces once again as she kissed him deeply before he was about to go. "Well, you come back in one piece, love. I'll be needing my in-and-out specialist also tomorrow." she said with a mischievous come-hither smile on her face.
For a moment, Leo hesitated leaving, wanting to spend just a few more moments with his wife. That is, until she pushed him toward the door. "Go. The faster it's done, the quicker you get back." she said. "Besides, I'll be waiting with a surprise for you."
"Really?" Leo said, "Can't I see it now?" A grin spread across his face.
"Mmmmm.... nope." Jenn answered, her eyes sparkling knowing what kind of effect she was having on him. "It's a surprise. Now go..."
With a final kiss, Leo left for the airport where the black ops jet would be waiting for him to take him to London.
A tear coursed down Zenya's cheek as she felt the pain that Leo was going through reliving his memories. It was hard enough for her to recall the last moments of her families death, she could imagine what it would be like for Leo to remember this. "You don't have to go on." she said, reaching over and taking Leo's right hand into her left, trying to comfort him as best she could.
"I think I do." Leo said, wiping away the tears with his left hand and giving Zenya's hand a little squeeze with his right. "I've never shared this with anyone and I think it's about time."
Zenya nodded as Leo went on.
[Columbia, South Carolina. February 14, 1997 3:45 am]
The job itself went without a hitch. The bomber never knew what hit him as Leo managed to poison his drink in that restaurant and left without being recognized by anyone. After finishing the job, he shopped for a valentine's day gift for Jenn and Andrea and hopped on the jet to get back home. He pulled into his driveway and silently walked up the steps, not wanting to wake either of the women in his life up. As he fumbled for the keys to the front door, he noticed that it wasn't fully closed and locked as expected. The warning lights went off in his head as he took out his automatic and entered the house.
Instinctively, he headed for his daughter's room first, hoping that all was well with her. When he got there, he saw the outline of his little girl in her usual cover-the-whole-bed-to-sleep sprawl. He nearly let out a sigh of relief until he turned on the light to see the crimson stain below his daughter's head and the entry wound that marred her otherwise angelic features. It felt as if he had just been kicked in the stomach, knocking the air out of him, his brain refusing to acknowledge the information his eyes sent to it. He stumbled back into the hall, his fears suddenly erupting within him as he looked towards the master bedroom.
On weak legs, Leo made his way down the hall, the master bedroom door getting closer and closer although it felt like the hall was stretching out longer and longer. As much as he didn't want to see what was in there, Leo reached out and opened the bedroom door. Flipping on the lights, Leo's brain tried to shut itself off from the input that it received. The bedroom looked as if a tornado ripped right through it, things were strewn all over the floor. Then he saw Jenn, tied to the bed spread-eagled, the sheets below her soaked in her blood. Her body was slashed multiple times and there was blood everywhere. On the wall above their bed, someone had written "HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY" in Jenn's blood. There was a card below that, nailed to the wall. Somehow, Leo managed to make his way there to snatch the card that contained only 1 word, Docker. Cutting Jenn's arms loose, Leo let out a howl of agony as he cradled his wife in his arms, rocking slowly. That's how the police found him when they arrived at the house, rocking his wife gently crying over his loss.
"And it's partially my fault for leaving them there unprotected." Leo said, rocking himself gently as Zenya pulled him to her, trying to give him as much comfort as she could. "I shouldn't have left, I shouldn't have..."
For the next few minutes, no one said a word as they each cried over the losses they had to live with for the rest of their lives. There was a little comfort for either of them, knowing that they had one another to depend upon. After the tears stopped flowing, Zenya and Leo pulled back from each other a little, their arms still around each other and they stared at each other's tear-streaked faces, neither saying a word until Zenya chose to break the silence.
"Don't blame yourself for what happened to your family." Zenya said, her resolve starting to reassert itself inside her. As Leo was about to say something, she placed her fingers over his lips. "No, it wasn't your fault any more than my family being killed was mine. I just realized that now. Docker changed our lives, and it's him that we have to blame."
Leo's brow knitted together in confusion as he thought things through, his hand reaching up to caress the side of Zenya's face softly. Zenya turned her head slightly to rest her cheek in Leo's hand, and before either of them knew it, their heads started to move closer together, Leo saying, "As long as we have each other, we can face this." Zenya nodded as she closed her eyes preparing herself for the kiss that she felt uncertain about, but felt so right at this moment. Before their lips were about to touch, a ringing came from Zenya's cell phone that was lying on the table next to their lukewarm pizzas. That was just enough to snap them out of the moment, each of them drawing back, suddenly uncertain of what was about to happen.
"Fate." Leo said wistfully, as he released Zenya from his grasp and headed to the bathroom.
Zenya reached over towards her cell phone, uncertain herself of what had just occured, opened it and answered.
"Hello?"
[Hello, Agent Gorky. I must admit, the two of you make a cute couple.]
Zenya's mind snapped out of the fog it was in and concentrated on the voice on the other end of the line. "Who is this?" she asked sternly, causing Leo to become concerned as he walked out of the bedroom.
[Don't you remember me? It doesn't matter, I guess I'm glad we didn't sacrifice you, who would Agent Jones have to cry on?]
"Rebecca Cross?" Zenya asked, her voice a little uncertain. At that, Leo's full attention focused on Zenya and her conversation.
[You do remember. I'm glad.]
"What do you want?"
[Oh, nothing now. I started out with revenge on you for what happened to my momma. But now that you have Agent Jones, I can kill your other half without any worries. You certainly don't need him anymore, do you?]
Upon hearing this, the blood seemed to drain from Zenya's face. "What have you done to Valery? Where is he?"
[Why should you care? You have your Leo.]
Confusion at the whole situation started to spin Zenya's head. "Where is Valery?" Zenya hissed.
[He's at the old Sunset apartments, room 312. A key will be waiting for you]
"What are you going to do to him?"
[The same thing we will do to Agent Lee's friend. Goodbye, Agent Gorky]
As Rebecca Cross hung up, Zenya closed her phone and started to gather her things together.
"What's the matter?" Leo asked, concerned at the look of worry that was on Zenya's face.
"Rebecca Cross has my boyfriend captive. I've got to go help him." Zenya said
"Wait. I'll go with you." Leo said, "You'll need backup."
*****
[in the car, 10:25PM]
After she told Leo where they were headed, Zenya lapsed into silence, leaning against the door of the car, as far away from him as she could get, and staring out into the darkness. Still haunted by Leo's story, her mind began to play tricks, imagining what they would find when they got to the Sunset Apartments, then trying to analyze the conversation with Rebecca Cross in search of some clue as to what the woman had in mind. And in the midst of all of that, she thought of the expression on Leo's face, concern, yes, but something else, too. The kiss that almost happened, the intensity of the moment, and then the revelation that she had a boyfriend. She wouldn't have blamed him for being angry or hurt, but that look of confusion was worse than either one. When was she planning on bringing that up? Would she have said anything at all? She had to wonder about that herself. All in all, she didn't know what to feel worst about.
When they arrived, Leo parked his car in a vacant space, and as he reached for the door handle, Zenya grabbed his arm. "Just a second," she said. Her mind was still reeling, and the vodka she'd drunk earlier - more of it than she'd realized at the time - wasn't helping. But she knew that she needed a clear head right now, and somehow she knew that taking a minute or two to compose her thoughts wasn't going to make a difference.
"Are you okay," Leo asked.
Zenya shook her head. "He's in danger because of me," she said, smiling ironically. Hadn't she just been telling Leo not to blame himself? But this was entirely different. "I know I should have told you about him before, but" She let the thought trail off, still not quite sure just what had really happened or how it had started, only that while it was happening, Valery, the man she was committed to, if it was only by a mere technicality, was facing who knew what at the hands of a deranged woman bent on revenge.
"Zenya, that's not the important thing right now."
"But it is. I remember a few little surprises Rebecca Cross has had for us in the past." She didn't add, who knows if I'll get another chance. It was understood. "It just never occurred to me to mention him. To you or anyone else. He's not really a part of my life anymore. Not in any way that matters. And if I had just had the courage to say good-bye when I should have, none of this would be happening." She caught sight of something in Leo's eyes that brought a smile, this time a genuine one. "And please don't throw my own advice back at me."
"Okay, I won't. But you can't think about that. It'll only get in the way."
"Is that experience talking?"
Leo shrugged. "I suppose so." He reached out a hand to her and she took it, but a bit reluctantly. "Ready?"
Zenya looked over at the building, an ugly brownish-gray stone monstrosity built in a nearly perfect square. Balconies lined the front where it faced its twin, Sunset II. There were no angles or contours to break its blockish appearance, it just sat there, decrepit and run-down in the middle of a decrepit and run-down neighborhood. There were a few lights on here and there, not many. Zenya looked to the third row of windows - all of them dark.
She took one more deep breath and finally nodded. "Ready."
They got out of the car and crossed the lot to the building, already with guns unholstered, ready for anything. Inside the front door, a narrow foyer was lit by a single dying light bulb, revealing a stained linoleum floor and a long row of mailboxes, most with broken hinges and no names on them. The mailbox for unit 312 was hanging open. Inside, Zenya found the key that Rebecca had said would be waiting. Taking it, they made their way up to room 312, where who-knew-what would be waiting for them.
Once they stood outside of room 312, Zenya carefully slipped the key into the lock and stepped aside to let Leo open the door. As he slowly turned the knob, they steeled themselves for the inevitable shotgun blast or bomb detonation that they expected. When none of these things happened, they entered the room to make a quick search, only to find nothing inside.
"Damn her and her games." Zenya said, obviously frustrated at not finding Valery in the room. A few moments later, her phone began to ring once again.
Zenya snapped open her phone and nearly yelled into the phone, "Hello?"
[Hello, Agent Gorky. I'm glad you could make it. The show is about to begin.]
"What show? Where is he, damnit. You said he would be here!"
[Oh, I did, didn't I? I meant to say Sunset II apartments, not Sunset. I do believe you could probably see him if you stepped out onto the balcony.] A slight giggle followed, Rebecca obviously pleased with herself.
As Leo and Zenya stepped out onto the low balcony, they looked across they way towards Sunset II and the sight that greeted them. Standing upon an identical balcony was Valery, his arms bound behind him, and the would be pusher who's left arm was slung across Valery's chest to keep him from struggling too much.
"My god, he's going to push him over the balcony" Leo whispered as he raised his gun.
Zenya could hardly hear Rebecca's voice over the phone as she said, [Say byebye baby!]. The seconds seem to stretch out into an eternity as everything seemed to happen all at once. She could only watch as the pusher's arm withdrew from across Valery's chest in order to give him a hard shove. From her left, she caught a glimpse of Leo's gun firing once as she heard Valery call out her name. Then she saw a crimson splash on Valery's white sweater as Leo's bullet hit him on his right shoulder, causing Valery to spin away from the pusher's free hand. Zenya could hardly believe that Leo had shot her boyfriend until she saw what effect it had on the pusher. The pusher had lost his leverage when Valery's body got spun around from in front of him, which made him push nothing but air and left him open and vulnerable. A moment later, Leo squeezed off two more shots, one hitting the pusher high on his shoulder, the 2nd barely missing his leg. Knowing that the original plan had failed miserably, the pusher launched himself into the apartment where Leo couldn't shoot him. Zenya barely heard the cry of rage that Rebecca gave off as she cut her off to call 911. Leo was already out of the room and racing across to Sunset II, Zenya hot on his heels.
When they got to room 312, Valery was still out on the balcony, clutching his shouler. Leo looked inside to make sure the pusher wasn't still inside. By this time, Zenya was came up behind Leo and looked at him to give the all clear sign.
"Go inside and tend to Valery." Leo told Zenya. "I'm going to look for the pusher. Nearest hospital will be St. Vincent's, I'll meet you there."