Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of Kudos and BBC. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, I lied. There were a few more loose ends that needed tying up. So here is the final chapter BEFORE the epilogue. Once again, thank you for reading Broken, and I appreciate all your comments and votes.
This chapter is really just me going through my process of tying as many loose ends as I can before ending the story, which also sets up future stories should I wish to continue with the adventures of Alexa. It also allows me to give more background to my original characters and take them forward to other stories of my own, along with a MI5 operative who has to change his own name to protect the innocent :)
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Alexa George was more than just dead, killed in a car bomb in the middle of London.
Thanks to Hillary Watt QC, the media had destroyed her as well. Even Found Hope, the foundation Alexa had begun, distanced themselves from her, stating that she had long been removed from the Board of Directors and had had no involvement with the foundation for the past year and a half.
Hillary accused Alexa of killing her husband shortly after he had been sentenced on the same day, denying him the appeal that she herself had allegedly prepared - for she claimed that she did have evidence that could have exonerated him from all the charges leveled against him.
Jools Siviter had never been a traitor, she told the media. Citing his twenty-five year service to the the service, regardless of how long it took for her to detail every achievement her husband had on his vitae and not caring that she had the gall to release her statement at Alexa’s own memorial, Hillary Watt used the media to prove her husband’s innocence. It became one of the most powerful moments in her career.
Hillary was the hero’s widow, tainted by charges of betrayal leveled Alexa George who had been so psychologically unbalanced and broken by her imprisonment in Russia, that she had chosen Jools to be the target of her bile. Hillary brought out legally obtained records of Alexa’s admission into Bedlam, as well as the five instances that Family Services had almost taken her own son away from her because of her dangerously unbalanced state.
Within days, the tide of public sentiment went against Alexa that even Found Hope had to shut their offices for awhile, having received death threats from strangers and their offices had even been broken into.
Hillary did not care that she had lied the entire time, even after Harry had begged her to withhold the facts about Bedlam due to patient privacy and the information about Family Courts because none of the charges had ever been proven against her.
“I will do everything in my power to prevent such confidential information from being printed in newspapers, Hillary,” Harry said angrily. “You are breaking patient confidentiality and you know it. She was my god daughter and you know very well that everything you’re saying right now are just lies.”
But Hillary was not about to be deterred.
“She’s dead, Harry,” she said coldly, as they both stood just beyond the Millennium Bridge, her car waiting to take her to the memorial where Harry, too, was about to attend. “While I have a career to salvage and two daughters I need to raise on my own, what does Alexa George need a reputation for now? She’s dead.”
Harry watched her walk away, his lips pressed together along a straight line but as he was about to turn the opposite direction to head for his car, Hillary stopped and called his name.
Harry saw Hillary’s brow furrow, though her lips were set in a knowing smile. Harry Pearce would be cut from the same cloth as her husband, and she’d known their kind for too long. “Alexa George and her son are dead. Aren’t they?”
But Harry didn’t answer. He turned around and kept walking away.
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Alexa spotted the newspaper as soon as they landed in Geneva on the third day since leaving England. When she stopped in front of the newsstand, Valentin pulled her away and told her to keep walking with her head down till they reached their hotel.
“You are no longer Alexa George,” he said. “Best to remember that. And before we get to the hotel, we need to buy some hair dye.”
She was now Daniella Russell, a young mother traveling with her son, Nicholas. Valentin had provided them with the temporary passports just before they landed in Brussels, where they stayed for two days before boarding a plane bound for Geneva.
They would have a chance to change them again when they'd arrive in Geneva, preferably with names that Alexa and Liam would personally choose as their future identities.
In Brussels, Alexa and Liam kept to themselves. While Valentin’s guard kept an eye on them, Valentin took care of business on his end, speaking to his superiors and telling them about his plans. For his job was not done just yet.
Never once did Alexa ask Valentin where he was taking them. She simply watched him silently, her green eyes following him whenever he was in the same room with her. For Liam’s sake, she had to appear as calm as she could be even though deep inside, she was in turmoil.
Valentin had taken away her phone and had prevented her to have access to any phones in the hotel. She was dead, he reminded her. They’re having your memorial as we speak, although someone else has just crashed it and has just made a statement about you. Damaging statements.
The game had changed drastically, she thought. Life was no longer hers and she wondered if Lucas knew where they were. She had been so happy to see him in the distance, running towards her from the other plane even though something told her that he’d just experienced something terrible. But the force of the bullet that hit her on the chest threw her backwards and Alexa hit her head against the side of the plane door.
It had knocked her out momentarily and she felt Liam’s hands leave her fingers, hear him cry out for Lucas as he bounded down the stairs before another barrage of bullets filled her ears. For a moment she thought she was dead for her chest felt like it was on fire, every breath she took bringing forth so much pain to her torso.
When the flight attendants dragged her inside the plane, she had almost passed out again, the pain searing through her. It took her a few moments to collect herself, to let the pain dissipate throughout her chest and by then, she heard the voices of Valentin and his driver in the interior of the plane, clearer now as the door was shut as soon as they entered with Liam.
Valentin had knelt over her then, inspecting her chest and her face, his long fingers touching her face and turning her head to the side to inspect the skin between her neck and shoulder. When he was convinced that she was alright, he helped her sit on the chair and buckled her and Liam in.
Before long they were in the air and London was below them, the image of Lucas nothing but a tiny speck on the ground. She held on to Liam then, wracked in sobs as he kept calling for Lucas until he eventually quieted down and fell asleep.
At the Hotel Geneve, where Valentin had reserved a suite for them, he waited till she helped Liam get settled in the bedroom playing with one of his handheld games and asked her to come to the living room. She sat down on the sofa across from him.
“Do you know where we are?”
Alexa nodded.
“And do you know why we are here, Alex?”
Alexa did not answer. She looked away for a few moments and looked back at him, her green eyes boring into his.
“Why did you save us?” She asked, recalling what happened shortly after his driver had shoved her into the limousine. She had assumed that she was being picked up by Harry’s driver, only to realize too late that she should have paid better attention to her surroundings.
Love had left me too addled, she thought to herself.
Inside the limousine, Valentin told her then that all Harry’s plans had been compromised. He showed her the intercepted communication logs between people she didn’t recognize, identifying her and Liam as ‘fox one’ and ‘fox two’, respectively.
“I have no reason to lie to you,” Valentin had told her. “The orders came yesterday, the second such execution order for you. They had released a first one, which has its variations and I’m certain that Harry had this information as well, but they released the second set of kill orders last night, and already, we have seen the bomb inside the car that’s supposed to pick you up. The first one that Harry and I intercepted must have simply been the decoy, to distract us from what was really going to happen.”
“Have you told Harry Pearce?”
Valentin shook his head. “And why should I interfere with his job? He does his and I do mine.” He handed her a bag. “Put this on,” he instructed as Alexa pulled out a bullet proof vest. “And pray that you will not need it.”
He had saved their lives at the risk of his own, Alexa thought. But she knew that Valentin Durev did not do things that would not benefit him in the end. Saving her life had no benefit for him, none that she could think of. She was not his concern at all.
“Why did you save us?” She asked again.
For a few moments Valentin remained silent. If Alexa hadn’t recognized him now, he doubted if she ever would unless he told her. But was it really important for Valentin that she know that he was her father? What would he have wanted such a confession to achieve?
He sighed. She would not hear the truth from him. He had saved their lives and that was enough for him, to know that she would be safe from here on - but first, she had to give him something he wanted.
“Nine years ago,” Valentin began. “You were handed a list of all Russian sleepers throughout Great Britain - Tiresias, I believe. Oscar Millivic had successfully hacked into the KGB systems, retrieved the information before planting a virus in the system that destroyed the original list whenever someone tried to access it. It was a huge breach, and I’m sure you remember the major housekeeping in Moscow that followed.”
Alexa did not say anything, though she knew what he was referring to. She had lived through it.
“Only one other person has the dossier on Tiresias, and that is our mole within Section D. She is not about to relinquish or share it with anyone because she believes it’s her guarantee for safe passage back to Russia when her job is done. But she did hand over the thumb drive that you surrendered to Nathaniel.”
“So what’s your problem?” Alexa asked coldly. “You have all the names that you need.”
As if Valentin didn’t hear her, he continued. “Two years ago, you flew to Geneva to deposit something important at Suisse International Bank. Your own insurance policy against the Russians, I believe.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Alexa whispered.
“Oh yes, you do, Alex. You play the dumb blonde role well, but not too well that I can’t spot it. You see, when Oscar handed you Tiresias, you broke through all the encryption codes and split the list into two. You hid both into matryoshka dolls, but you only kept one in your Spitallfields flat. The other half of the names you deposited into your account here in Geneva. It was to be your own guarantee, just like our mole believes in Section D.”
For a few minutes, Alexa did not speak. She took a deep breath and exhaled. “Without Nathaniel still alive to do your bidding, I’m without a protector, a guarantee to keep me alive,” Alexa finally said, leveling her eyes with Valentin’s. “If I hand it over to you, I’ll be dead in no time. So I completely understand how your mole in Section D feels.”
“So I was right,” Valentin chuckled. “And now you know what I want, Alexa. I want the other half of Tiresias. If Harry Pearce has Sugar Horse, we need Tiresias, even if we have to settle for only a portion of the complete list.”
“Is that why you saved us? To make sure you get Tiresias back?”
Valentin smiled. “What do you think?” He got up and poured himself a scotch. He pointed to the bottle as he glanced at her and poured her a glass as well, handing it to her as he sat back down. “Tiresias is about to wake in a few months, so we need to know the complete list of sleepers and their missions. And should our mole in Section D get caught and one half of the sleepers revealed and neutralized, at least there’s still your half of the list that will remain in place.”
“You are asking me to betray my country, Valentin,” Alexa said coldly.
Valentin chuckled. “You are half Russian and half Argentinian, Alexa. Your being British is only because your mother was smart enough to know which side of the pond she wanted you to be part of. It’s only a piece of paper and the way you were raised to believe that you were English by blood, when in reality you are not.”
Alexa frowned. “That’s not true. I’m Nathaniel’s daughter - and even if I’m not, I’m Harry’s. Nathaniel said so - that night --”
“Continue to tell yourself that, Alexa,” Valentin said. “Nathaniel said you were Harry’s so it would give you the protection you needed because he knew his time had run out. But Harry requested a DNA test run weeks ago - you know about it, because he asked your permission for the blood sample. But he never asked me. How he obtained my blood, I don’t know, but I’m glad that he got to find out the truth about your paternity. It freed him from the embarrassment of his affair with Minerva at the same time that his own wife was about to deliver their first child.”
Alexa stared at him as the meaning of his words finally began to sink in. She shook her head, then turned away, deep in thought.
“The tree and the leaves are only as strong and beautiful as the roots that hide beneath the ugly ground, Alexa,” Valentin continued as he watched her. “Do you remember that fable? I used to tell that you when you were little.”
Alexa found that no words escaped her lips. Something about the leaves and the roots brought back a distant memory that made her look up at him, searching his face.
“You see, you are so much like your father,” Valentin said, watching her closely. “You are so much like me.”
Alexa got up and walked towards the glass doors leading to the balcony overlooking Lake Geneve, her index finger pulling the striped curtains aside to let some of the sunlight into the room.
When she was eight years old, she’d met a man whom her mother had introduced to her as Uncle Val. They would meet at the park while Nathaniel while at the embassy, and together, they would watch Alexa play with the other children, hanging upside down from the monkey bars.
Once, when Nathaniel had to return to London for a meeting, ‘Uncle Val’ had come to the house and spent the night with them, telling Alexa the fable about the leaves and the roots. And the next time Nathaniel left for yet another trip abroad, the same thing would happen and he’d tell her other stories, fables from his own country. One day, Alexa even wrote the word ‘papa’ on a photograph of them together.
Looking back, Alexa had always thought that maybe it was just a little girl’s fantasy, that she’d developed a crush on this man who was so warm and smiling, who told her stories when Nathaniel never did. Nathaniel had been too busy saving the world, working with isotopes and nations to worry about memorizing or even reading his daughter a story.
But he wasn’t too busy not to know that his wife was having an affair with a Russian FSB analyst and within days, Nathaniel requested a transfer back to London, citing personal reasons. And before long, Alexa forgot all about the man she once called ‘papa’.
“Your mother craved power, Alex, you know that. We met in Cologne, your mother and I, and I’d like to believe that she loved me the way I loved her. But I was a penniless communications analyst who had no power whatsoever except over the little things that weren’t important to her,” Valentin said, his expression turning wistful. “When Nathaniel George came along and fell head over heels in love with her, she saw her chance to grab hold to that power and wealth and she never let go. Especially when she realized she was pregnant with you.”
“Father said they married just weeks after meeting each other,” Alexa said.
“So that you would be born Nathaniel George’s daughter, and not the daughter of a powerless Valentin Durev.”
“But you are powerful now,” Alexa said softly, turning to face him.
“Power that couldn’t save your mother from Nathaniel’s rage,” Valentin snorted. “But whatever power I have now can save you only if you give me what I want. Give me Tiresias and you will never see me again, if that’s what you truly want. You no longer need to fear for your life.”
“Did you kill Jools, too?”
Valentin shook his head. “Jools did it to himself. But the aftermath of it, all the things that his wife is saying in the media, that is beyond anybody’s control. But you can start a new life now, Alexa. Anywhere you want to go, except England, of course.”
Alexa said nothing as she sat back down on the sofa. She was exhausted. Her chest hurt, the skin having turned a deep shade of purple where the bullet had hit the vest three days earlier.
“What about Lucas? When can I call him?”
“Unfortunately, that is the only condition that I shall impose on you,” Valentin said as he sat next to her, touching Alexa’s arm for the first time since they had found themselves together. “Never contact Lucas North, even to tell him where you and Liam are. Let him find you.”
She frowned. “I don’t understand. Lucas can keep a secret. He has every right to know that we’re alive.”
“And do you honestly believe that he’s not being watched, Alex? That all his calls and correspondence aren’t being monitored - not just by the Russians but by MI5 as well? If anyone finds out, even Harry Pearce, where you and Liam are, do you truly believe that they will simply ignore the information and not try to find you? You’ve just been accused of killing the former head of MI6, Alexa. The media has already crucified you.”
Alexa shook her head. “There’s got to be a way for him to know that we’re alive, Valentin. At least that.”
“No,” Valentin said vehemently. “I like Lucas, Alex. Don’t get me wrong. But we need to give it time. He has to believe that you both are dead. At least for now.”
Alexa frowned, her eyes searching the room as if an answer would magically appear before her. “Will you at least tell him then?” Alexa asked.
“I will do my best,” Valentin replied though he knew that he would never be the one to tell Lucas for he would never see the man again. He had never intended to stay in London in the long term. Valentin had always known that his London stay was a temporary one. He had achieved everything he had wanted to during his brief stay and he was eager to return home to Moscow.
For a few minutes, they remained silent, each one lost in their thoughts. But slowly, the mood between them changed. It was a certain charge in the air, one that signaled to Valentin that the time for personal talk was over. They’d said what they needed to say to each other but there were still more important things to take care of.
“If I hand over Tiresias to you,” Alexa said softly. “You promise that we’re truly free? Free from it all?”
Valentin turned to face Alexa and lifted her chin with his finger. “I truly wish I could have saved you from Jools, sweet child. But I did everything I could to keep you safe when you were in Moscow.”
“I never saw you in Moscow.”
“When Jools betrayed Mikhael Lubienko, he came to me,” Valentin began. “He helped me rise through the ranks of the FSB with the intel he provided me, the same way his intel helped Jools in MI6. I became his handler and allowed him to run his clubs without interference from the local police. That’s how he heard about the plan to kidnap you and he did the job because I told him to.”
Valentin sighed. “He was supposed to send you back to England right away, but things didn’t go as planned because Arkady had his own plans and perversions - which I truly regret that you had to go through, Alexa. Before I knew it, you had agreed to work with him after you discovered that Nathaniel handed over Sugar Horse to Mikhael. I would have given anything for those names, but you destroyed it before anyone could get their hands on it.”
“Then Oscar happened,” Alexa whispered.
“Yes,” the older man nodded. “The ferret had managed to paralyze the FSB and Tiresias disappeared from all our databases. I was unable to help Mikhael or you at that time, and it broke my heart to learn what happened to you, Alex. And what was about to happen to you when you returned to England.”
Before Alexa could say anything, Valentin shrugged and stood in the middle of the living room. He did not want to relive the horrors that Alexa had had to endure during the last nine years in England, left alone after Nathaniel disappeared from her life, and left under Jools’ mercy that included being admitted into Bedlam for five days, locked in a room with no windows.
“But here you are and everything is about to change, Alex. You’re about to be free - that I promise you. But first, we need to go to Suisse International and retrieve what I want.” He brought an arm around Alexa’s shoulders, smiling, as he helped her up from the sofa. “I know you weren’t stupid enough to have opened that Swiss account under your own name, as that name is now dead to the world, and destroyed. Do you have access to everything you need to get in there and get me what I want?”
Alexa turned to look at him, her face, so vulnerable when they were talking about Lucas earlier, now seemed more alive, her cheeks filled with color. The game had certainly changed, she thought, but this time, it had changed in her favor.
The real chess master had been revealed - and she was his queen.
She thought of Lucas for a brief second, before forcing herself to focus on the present. Alexa knew that Lucas would find them. He had promised her that he would.
There was something suddenly liberating knowing that she was finally free of the men who had kept her down for so long, even if her name had been dragged through the mud in the process. What mattered was that she and Liam would be free from all that.
Alexa leaned forward and kissed Valentin on the cheek. She could smell the taste of freedom. She could feel it. It was finally within her reach.
“Of course, papa,” she replied as Valentin smiled, trying to remember how that saying went again.
The apple does not fall far from the tree.