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Carrie stood in front of the house for what felt like hours before she found the courage to ring the bell. Finally, she pushed it too hard. She was shaking her finger when she heard footsteps stop on the other side of the door. A minute passed without the door opening, but no footsteps either.
Carrie could tell by the shadows that the person on the other side of the door was taller than Brody’s children. She was sure his wife was home, and fairly sure that she was alone. The children had gone back to school the week before. Once, long ago, she would have felt uncomfortable with the level of knowledge she had of this house, this family. The Carrie with those qualms died a decade ago; the Carrie of today had been born as two indestructible towers fell.
“Mrs. Brody, it’s Carrie Mathison. I know you don’t want to see me, but I need to speak with you.”
Still only silence.
“I have some information about your husband.”
Feet shuffling. Hand on the lock. Just a little more effort...
“I don’t believe your husband set off that bomb, Mrs. Brody.”
Lock snapping open, and, yes, the knob was turning. The door opened an inch.
“My husband is a terrorist.”
“Your husband was a terrorist.”
The door opened a bit wider. Carrie could see Jessica Brody’s face now.
“Nick told me he was working for the CIA. Was he lying?”
“We killed Abu Nasir because of him.” Because Abu Nasir figured out I was valuable to your husband and used me to kill the Vice President. She pushed the thought aside. That line of thinking would do her no good here. “Nick Brody is a complicated man, but he has always loved his family and his country.”
“You love him too.”
No use lying about that anymore. “Yes, Mrs. Brody. I love him very much.”
“You might as well come in.”
Jessica pulled the door open and stepped back. Carrie searched her face for a moment, but found only the blank expression of a Congressman’s wife. Brody may not have been born for politics, but his wife was a natural.
“Is it safe to talk in the house?”
“As far as I know, and I would know.” Carrie knew there was a touch of smug satisfaction in her voice, but she was tired of trying to suppress it. She was back on the case, back in the agency, and it felt sweet as hell.
“Well, come in then.” Jessica left the doorway open for Carrie and turned toward the kitchen.
“Thank you.”
Carrie closed the door and followed her down the hall. Jessica picked up her coffee mug and braced her back against the sink. Carrie paused in the doorway.
“You have a lovely home.”
“Please, don’t try to be pleasant. It doesn’t suit you.”
Carrie swallowed. This was the first over display of emotion she’d seen in Jessica and it was every bit as controlled as her calm. This was a different woman than the one who had greeted her long lost husband, no question.
“Ok. I know it looks bad, Mrs. Brody-”
“You’ve been fucking my husband for months. You might as well call me Jessica.” There was no rancor in the statement. Was their marriage really over then? It had seemed too good to be true, however beautiful their weekend had been.
“Jessica, then. You’ve seen the video.”
“Yes. We saw it when it came out.”
“We’ve had that video for over a year.”
Jessica’s eyes widened slightly, but she said nothing. Oh, she was good.
“They planned to release it the day Elizabeth Gaines was-”
“The day you came here.”
“Yes.”
Jessica took a long sip of her coffee, and spoke her next words to the floor.
“Nick tried to tell me about that. He planned to kill the Vice President?”
“Yes.”
“He probably deserved it. He’s dead now.”
“Yes.” Carrie searched Jessica’s face, but couldn’t find anything that looked like knowledge of Brody’s actions. “He was not a good man.”
Jessica looked up. “I didn’t think you were allowed to say things like that.”
“I say a lot of things I’m not supposed to.”
“I can see that.”
“He’s safe, as far as I know.”
“Where?”
“I’m not sure, exactly, but I wouldn’t tell you if I was.”
Jessica’s expression hardened for a moment, but then softened into her stoic calm. “I suppose that’s for the best.”
“He held up his part of the bargain. We got Nasir. The CIA was done with him, for awhile at least.” We were going to start a life together.
“What stopped him? The first time.”
“Dana, I think. She called him. He said his vest malfunctioned, but he could have repaired it.”
“I think she knows. Or knows something.”
“How-”
“When the video... Chris kept saying there had to be a mistake, but Dana just sat there.”
“I don’t know if... There was a boy named Issa.”
Jessica looked up sharply. “Issa?”
“He was killed in a drone strike ordered by the Vice President. He was Abu Nasir’s son.”
“And Nick?”
“Taught him. Loved him, probably. Everyone has their reasons. Your husband is a good man.”
Jessica sighed. “I know.”
“The last thing he said, before the explosion, was that his car was in the wrong place. I was right before, and I’m right now.” No more doubts. No more waffling.
“Why do you believe him?”
“Because I know when he’s lying.”
Jessica nodded.
“That’s all I came to say. I just thought you should know.”
More silence.
“I should go.”
Carrie turned to leave the kitchen.
“Thank you.”
Carrie looked back, but Jessica was completely still, staring at her coffee.
When she shut the Brody’s door behind her, she felt a weight lift. Brody loved her, she’d done the right thing by telling his wife, and now she could get on with clearing his name. She picked up her phone.
“Saul, I’m on my way back. … About half an hour.”
Days like this, Carrie had no doubt she was mentally ill. She was surrounded by dead colleagues, the entire country was terrified, and she didn’t think she’d ever been happier.