Title: Break the Silence formerly Lies in Silence
Author: Suzi aka hotpot
Rating: PG-13/R for now leading to eventual NC-17
It will get there. I promise.
Shipper: S/V briefly then full on Sarkney!!!
Spoilers: Through Crossings and a brief bit from the promos for Blowback
Summary: After a mission goes tragically wrong, Sydney is plagued by dreams of Sark and begins to search for the truth
Disclaimer: Sadly, none of these characters belong to me. They belong to JJ, Bad Robot and Touchstone
A/N: I have this posted over at SD-1 as well, but I thought my fellow AA friends might enjoy a bit of Sarkney smut. This fic is dedicated to Jems and Eva - my cheerleaders and support! Oh and btw - this is my first fan fic ever, so uh - be gentle.
And now you're left to face the gloom ~Norah Jones
Sydney pulled the black blazer from off of the hanger and put her arm through the sleeve. She winced as she pulled the jacket over her wounded shoulder. The pain from her wound and the hurt aching within her did nothing to quell the emptiness she felt. As she shut her closet door, she reached into the small box containing some linen hankies. She would need these today. Nothing from now on would ever be the same and the sooner she realized that maybe the realization would finally hit her. In the meantime, she knew that she was still walking around in a haze of denial.
In her life, she managed to compartmentalize everything. This was something she was unprepared for, something even her quick mind would not allow to be comprehended. She put the hankies into her purse and walked out the door. Taking the keys out of her purse, Sydney paused. For a split second, a lapse allowed her a brief what-if. What if she had seen that other person coming? What if she had moved a little faster or pulled her weapon a little sooner? Shaking her head and attempting to push the thoughts out, she put her key in the lock. There would be plenty of times in her life to allow for what-ifs. It did not change the outcome. She had a funeral to go to.
******
Almost too easy, Sydney thought. Grab and goes did not get much more textbook than this. She held the chip in her hand as she went to maneuver it into the case Marshall had given her for it. This little chip contained hundreds of arms dealers that The Covenant had been doing business with and now the CIA had it.
She looked over at Vaughn and he smiled at her. He motioned for her to fall back to the rendezvous point with Weiss. She nodded and began to creep forward throwing a quick look back at Vaughn. He stayed where he was covering her from his vantage point. As she reached her mark, she went to signal him and suddenly saw movement over off to the right side of Vaughn’s point.
They had taken out the guards upon entry of the building and all security systems had been disabled. As far they knew, no one else should have been there. Yet, Sydney was certain she saw some movement and it wasn’t Vaughn. Hunched over, Sydney hustled over to where Vaughn should have been. Yet, he wasn’t there. She heard light mumblings off to the left of her and she quickly drew out her gun. Suddenly, a person’s voice came from behind her.
‘Drop it. Now.’ Sydney turned to see a masked figure holding a gun at Vaughn’s temple. Sydney looked at Vaughn and back at the person in the mask. She could tell by the build of the masked person, that it was most likely a woman.
‘I said drop it now!’ The woman yelled pressing the gun into Vaughn’s temple making him wince. Sydney dropped her gun out in front of her never taking her eyes of the masked woman or Vaughn.
‘Take out the chip and toss it over to me.’
“Let go of him first,’ Sydney countered buying time trying to make out the rapid blinking patterns Vaughn was trying to convey to her.
The masked woman snorted. ‘Miss Bristow, you are in no position to be making demands here. Now. Toss me the chip. Or say good-bye to Agent Vaughn here…’
Again, the masked figure pressed the barrel of the gun into Vaughn’s temple for emphasis. ‘Alright, it’s in my front pocket here.’ Sydney said nodding her head toward the pocket.
The masked woman nodded for her to get it while keeping the gun on Vaughn’s temple. Sydney slowly reached down into the pocket and pulled out the tube. She held it up for the woman to see and the masked woman nodded.
‘Now, toss it over. Gently.’ Sydney nodded and made a mock toss as Vaughn swung his hands from off his head and landed an elbow in the masked woman’s midsection.
Sydney dove off to the side behind some boxes quickly grabbing her sidearm. As she whirled out from the boxes, she saw the masked figure on the ground and Vaughn standing above the masked woman with her gun now trained at her own head.
‘Are you alright, Syd?’ Sydney kept her gun aimed on the masked person as she approached Vaughn.
‘Yeah, are you?’
‘Of course, I was hoping you were catching what I was blinking to you…As soon as I motioned you ahead, they jumped me…’ he said gesturing to the crumpled figure on the ground ‘Radio Weiss and tell him we are bringing someone in…’
Sydney nodded and put her hand up to her comm. ‘Weiss, this is Mountaineer, come in.’ Sydney glanced over at Vaughn now kneeling beside the masked person. What was he doing?
‘Vaughn…’ Sydney started to say as suddenly the masked figure brought her right arm up and across. Sydney saw the glint of medal from the knife concealed at the masked woman’s wrist and saw Vaughn bring his hand to his throat. The woman went to push herself up, but Sydney was too quick. Almost as soon as the shot rang out from Sydney’s gun, the masked figure was down.
Sydney ran over to Vaughn. Blood was spewing from his neck and he was gasping for air. She fell to her knees and cradled Vaughn’s head. Her hand flew to her comm. ‘WEISS! Agent down, I repeat, Agent down! Rendezvous immediately!’ Sydney looked down at Vaughn.
Blinking back tears she tried to remain calm. ‘Vaughn…you’re going to be okay. I’m going to wrap this around here…’ She tore off a piece of material from her lightweight jacket and went to apply pressure to his neck wound. ‘Vaughn…VAUGHN!’
‘Syd…’ Vaughn choked out, ‘I…I’m so…’
‘Shhh Vaughn, it’ll be okay…Shhhh’ she began to stroke the side of his face ‘we have to get going…Weiss is waiting.’
‘Syd…I…I hurt you…’
‘No Vaughn…no…it’s okay…’ she said quickly wiping away at her tears ‘Just…Just hang on…’
Where the hell was Weiss? What the hell had just happened? Why did Vaughn lean over the masked person for God sakes? Damn it Vaughn, what were you thinking? Suddenly, she heard footsteps running up behind her. Turning her head to look, she realized it was Weiss.
‘Weiss!!! Over here!’ She looked down at Vaughn. ‘You’re going to be okay Vaughn. Weiss is here and he’s going to help me get you back to the van…’
‘Syd…the woman…who is…it?’
Sydney looked over at the masked figure lying on the ground. Vaughn had realized it was a woman too. Why did he care who it was? He was covered in his own blood gasping for air, but asked about the identity of the assassin.
‘Not important Vaughn…’ Weiss was reaching around to lift up Vaughn and carry him to the van. Weiss looked at Sydney with concern. ‘We better hurry…there might be more.’
As Weiss lifted up Vaughn, Sydney moved over to the masked assailant. Why was Vaughn so curious about this masked person? Curious enough for him to bend over her and garner a closer look that left him wide open for counterattack.
Sydney reached out a gloved hand and reached for the black mask. Holding her weapon in her right hand, she slowly pulled back the mask with her left hand.
Pieces of blonde hair fell across the face of the assassin. Sydney gasped as she realized she was looking at the face of Lauren Reed Vaughn.
******
The cruelest lies are often told in silence. ~Robert Louis Stevenson
Vaughn’s funeral had been a blur. In fact, the past month had been a blur. Thank God for Weiss. He had been her support, her rock in all of this madness. She wished with all of her heart that her father was there too. However, Jack had immediately been sent on a deep undercover mission.
In the meantime, they were all still trying to sort out the business of Lauren Reed. She was the senator’s daughter who appeared to be the picture of a loving wife and co-worker. Sydney had a hard time comprehending how Lauren seeming so inept at her position as an NSC liaison could be some sort of super spy who had no qualms about digging the barrel of a gun into her husband’s temple and eventually slashing his throat. The idea of Lauren being a mole would have been laughable if it hadn’t been true.
Sydney shuddered at the memory of that night. She did not often allow herself the if-only’s that had plagued her before, but she when she did she thought of Vaughn and the choices he had made - all of them.
He had moved on so quickly after her supposed death. Coming out of hiding to meet with Kendall, she was sure Vaughn would still be waiting. Yet, when she saw him with Lauren, it became apparent that he had not.
Sydney was dead to him and for all it mattered; she was dead to herself as well. Becoming Julia Thorne had been a test of wills. She allowed herself to believe in what she was doing because there seemed to be no life left for her back home. Eventually, the time had come where it was no longer second nature to assume the role of Julia. Sydney’s life was over as she knew it.
When she awoke in that alley in Hong Kong and later saw the anguish in Vaughn’s face, she was angry that he had moved on so quickly. She learned from Weiss how Vaughn and Lauren had met and their subsequent whirlwind courtship. Made to see them together everyday in the office, Sydney would try to tell herself to move on as well.
Yet, when faced with what appeared to be certain death, Vaughn had pulled her back in. Given her hope in South Korea of things that could have been, but would never be. He was a married man and unbeknownst to them, the marriage was a deception.
Sydney smirked bitterly at the thought of deception. Wasn’t that all she had in life? What her life had been built on? Vaughn seemed to be the one person spared by all of it, but now Sydney was realizing in their line of work; no one was safe.
Had Vaughn known it was Lauren under the mask? Did he have his moment to taste deception or had he been spared? Sydney wondered if Vaughn knew it would be Lauren’s face he would see or did he depart this life believing the lie they all had foolishly been fed?
She began to question herself and her own actions. Vaughn’s death was no exception. She should have been the one covering Vaughn and let him go ahead first. If Lauren had grabbed her, Sydney would have kicked her ass all over the place. Why didn’t Vaughn give Sydney any warning of what he was about to do when he bent over Lauren? She would have questioned it, but she would have covered him.
Sometimes, she realized that when she came back, he was not the man he was before. She did not understand the things he did, but she no longer thought it was her place. Her sanity depended on keeping her distance from him, but that was never possible.
Damn it, Vaughn. At times, she couldn’t help but feel angry with him. Yet, at the same time, she felt sorry for him. Something about that masked woman made him question her identity, even the last words Sydney heard him speak were questions of who was behind the mask.
He must have known, Sydney thought sadly. It shouldn’t have surprised her. Everyone in Sydney’s life knew about deception, Vaughn had just realized it too late.
******
Turn to gray, bluer shade, when the sun comes
Peaceful time, cease your mind, dreamsome… - Shelby Lynne
Sydney was there again. That night and this time, Vaughn was not going to die.
She was in her original position looking back for Vaughn to come join her on the way to the rendezvous point. Just like that night, Vaughn was not there. Sydney was ready this time as she withdrew her weapon and made her way over to where he had been, but went in the opposite direction she had before.
She would get the drop on that b****. She would make her pay for what had happened. This was going to be great.
Sydney heard the mumblings and took her weapon and jumped out. There was no point in the element of surprise. Lauren always knew she was coming. She never wore the black mask anymore and this time she did not have a gun to Vaughn’s head. She was holding it to Sark’s head.
Sydney stood there with her own gun pointed at the space in between them momentarily confused. Where’s Vaughn?
‘Oh, he’s not important anymore Sydney…’ Lauren replied as if reading Sydney’s mind. ‘Come to think of it, he never was…’ Lauren smiled gleefully at her.
Sydney pointed her gun at Lauren. ‘Not in the mood for this s*** Lauren. Where the hell is Vaughn?’ Sark had assumed Vaughn’s role and began to blink Morse code patterns at her. Sydney looked back at Lauren ignoring Sark.
‘Mmmm, I think you might want to show some more concern for the man I have here’ Lauren began to run her fingers through Sark’s hair tauntingly.
Sydney steeled her gaze at Lauren. ‘I could care less about him b****. Now. For the last time Lauren, where is Vaughn?’
Lauren looked Sydney straight in the eye and began to laugh. Shaking her head she spat ‘Poor Sydney, even when the answer is right under her damned nose…’
Lauren suddenly took the gun off of Sark and fired at Sydney. The pain seared in her shoulder yet she stood firmly in place. Lauren looked at her and fired again. This time the shot pierced her in the chest, yet she did not move.
Sydney began to laugh. ‘No. Poor Lauren. You forget, this is my dream and it ends how I want it to…’ Sydney fired her gun at Lauren and struck her in the leg. Lauren fell forward and yelled out in pain.
Sydney looked at Sark still on his knees with his hands behind his head just as Vaughn had been. ‘What are you doing here? Where is Vaughn?’ She asked while keeping an eye on Lauren waiting for her to rise up for Round Two.
‘Sydney, you can’t keep doing this to yourself…Dreaming about saving Vaughn and getting vengeance on Lauren is not going to bring him back…’
Lauren suddenly reached up and began to aim her gun at Sydney. Almost as an afterthought, Sydney shot her and felt a twinge of satisfaction.
‘Well, it makes me sure feel a hell of a lot better…’ She said looking down at Lauren. Sydney turned and peered at Sark still on his knees with his hands behind his head ‘Are you going to stay like that?’
‘It’s your dream Sydney, not mine. When you get tired of all this and you want some real answers, you know where to find me…’
Suddenly, a huge wave of realization washed over Sydney. There was no finding Vaughn. He wasn’t there. He would never be there. She would always be too late and Lauren would always die no matter what…and so would Vaughn.
Sydney stirred from her dream coming to the realization of reality and what had just happened.
The dreams were frequent and she was used to them by now. Yet, she couldn’t help but feel that she was losing him all over again whenever she awoke.
Usually, they ended the same. Lauren would die, but Sydney still would not find Vaughn. Yet tonight, she saw Sark in Vaughn’s place.
Why Sark? What had he said? Something about real answers…Sydney sleepily pulled the covers up to her chin. She needed to stop dreaming about Vaughn, but dreaming about Sark was not exactly what she was after either.
*********
He could tell she was having trouble sleeping. Sark prided himself on being able to read people, but the way Sydney was carrying herself she might as well been an open book.
As he watched her walk to her car from behind the tinted windows on his black Lexus, he wished things had turned out differently for both of them. If he had things his way, he and Sydney would be working together. Sark knew they were destined to work together and Sydney scoffed at the idea.
If she only knew, Sark thought, I could make her forget all about Agent Vaughn. Sark started the car and pulled out into traffic. Let’s see if Sydney is going into the office today.
Sark had heard all about Mr. and Mrs. Vaughn’s subsequent fateful evening together. Who was Lauren Reed kidding anyway? Why did she think she would be unrecognizable to her bloody husband of all people?Ignorant cow. Lucky for her, Sydney took care of her then. The Covenant had no tolerance for incompetence…Mmmm, pity. I might have been the one to off her.
Sark saw Sydney pull into the parking garage and he drove on past. He wasn’t sure if she was going back into the office on a regular basis or not. There was a rumor circulating that she wanted out, but so far from the looks of it – that had been proven false. Sark hoped she wouldn’t quit. There was too much he hoped she would uncover about him.
The truth finally out in the open. He longed for that day, imagining what the look on her face might be when she would find out that he, Julian Sark, was in so incredibly deep undercover with MI-5. Never was there a time where he was a regular agent. No records of any kind could ever be traced back to the former self he once was. That would come only when he brought down Sloane and any subsequent organization brought forth by him.
He knew he and Sydney were destined to work together and one day, she would truly see that. Sark could not wait.
Sark smiled to himself. Nice to see she was attempting to get back to normal. It was only a matter of time before she realized who had what she needed to find. When it came to Sydney Bristow, Sark could be a very patient man.
*******************
"All credibility, all good conscience, all evidence of truth come only from the senses." ~Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
Sydney nervously fidgeted with the clasp on her watch. She was early again for her session with Dr. Barnett. After what had happened with Vaughn, she had put in for time off. Naturally, Dixon gave it to her, but recommended she would still come in to consult with the psychologist. It was a good idea. Dr. Barnett was helping her sort out her varying emotions and trying to help her overcome the dreams she kept having. She reached up and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear and glanced at time.
‘Ms. Bristow, Dr. Barnett will see you now.’ Sydney smiled at the receptionist.‘Thank you.’
‘Sydney. Come in and sit down,’ Barnett said motioning to the chair across from her, ‘Tell me, how have you been?’
‘Well, not bad…’Sydney began ‘Actually, I’m thinking about coming back soon.’
Barnett raised an eyebrow. ‘Really Sydney? Do you think you are ready to come back?’
‘Honestly, the way I look at it – it’s now or never…’ Sydney sighed and glanced at the doctor.
‘Are you still having trouble sleeping at night?’
Sydney looked at Barnett wondering what in the hell that had to do with her returning to the CIA. Do I look really look that tired, Sydney wondered. ‘Not really. I mean, there are still dreams, but I’m handling them.’
Barnett studied Sydney before she spoke. ‘Do you think if you return the dreams will stop? That coming back will distract you from the thought of them?’
Sydney replied without hesitation. ‘I’m hoping so.’
Barnett seemed satisfied she got the answer she wanted. ‘Alright Sydney, so are the dreams still the same?’
Sydney thought of their previous discussions deciphering the meaning behind her dreams. She wanted to go back and change it all. See Lauren for who she was and fight against her instead of diving for safety. Vaughn was never in the dreams. Barnett deduced that to Sydney’s strong mentality not allowing herself what she really wanted all along: Vaughn. To save him, protect him, and open his eyes to the deception brought into his life by his wife.
Sydney suddenly jumped in her chair at the memory of her most recent dream. ‘Sark.’ She whispered to herself.
‘I’m sorry?’ Dr. Barnett asked.
‘Sark. He was in the dream I had last night…In Vaughn’s position…’ Sydney blinked at the memory trying to recover more. Barnett waited. ‘I killed Lauren again because she wouldn’t tell me where Vaughn was…’ Sydney paused ‘Sark – he just looked at me with…’ she trailed off looking over to the window.
‘With what Sydney?’
Sydney turned to look back at Barnett. ‘Pity. He looked sad for me…that none of it would change anything.’
Barnett looked at Sydney stunned. Sydney’s subconscious manifested itself into the appearance of Mr. Sark. Mr. Sark was bringing her into reality. Absolutely amazing, Barnett thought.
‘Wait. That’s not all,’ Sydney continued ‘He said when I was tired of it, I could get the truth from him…. Truth? The truth about what?’
‘Sydney, when was the last time you saw Mr. Sark?’ Sydney thought about it. She shook her head. She wasn’t sure. ‘Do you realize that for the first time, your subconscious took shape in your dream – and that shape was Mr. Sark?’
Sydney stared at Barnett. Sark had given her a mental reality check. ‘What about ‘the truth’?’ What could that mean?’
Barnett leaned forward in her chair. ‘Sydney, it sounds to me that maybe you need to find that out for yourself.’
Sydney sat frozen in the chair. Did I just hear her right? ‘Let me get this straight, you want me to make contact with an international assassin because I had a dream that he had something to tell me?’ Sydney asked incredulously.
Barnett leaned back in here chair and looked at Sydney levelly. ‘I’m going to say this once Sydney. Take it at what you will – we both know you have a very strong mind. In a rather clear manner, you dreamt that Mr. Sark told you Vaughn would never come back and you could not change that. You just said yourself he looked at you with pity.’ Barnett continued ‘Mr. Sark told you he had the truth for you. You and him have crossed paths before in the past – investigate. That’s what I’m telling you. Maybe there is something out there you need to know about…’
Sydney stared at the woman like she had just grown a second head. ‘Yeah, right. I will get right on that,’ She glanced down at her watch ‘Ah, well, I’m willing to wrap up this session a little early, alright by you?’ Sydney stood up from her chair and made her way past the doctor.
Barnett reached out to stop her. ‘Sydney, just pay attention to your dreams. They might have something to tell you.’
Sydney glanced down at Barnett’s outstretched arm. Barnett lowered it and watched Sydney walk out of her office.
Incredible, Barnett thought. Two weeks ago, Arvin Sloane confesses to her that he may be Sydney Bristow’s father and now Sydney is dreaming of Sark telling her he knows some ‘truth.’ Could on some subconscious level Sydney know? Barnett cared for Arvin, but if he were telling the truth and truly was her father – it would destroy Sydney. She does need to find out the truth Barnett thought whatever that may be.
********
Truth lies not only in a dream, but in many dreams. ~ Pier Paolo Pasolini
It started to play out like it always did. She was back in the lot creeping towards Vaughn’s location preparing for another takedown of Lauren, but this time it wasn’t Lauren waiting for her. As Sydney stepped out from behind the boxes, a masked figure stood before her. She did not know this person.
For a moment, they stood staring at each other waiting for the other to make a move. Sydney blinked. The figure had beaten her to it and was now holding a gun at Sydney. She tried to regain control of the situation, but something was holding her back.
‘Sydney…’ The figure hissed ‘I’ve been expecting you.’ It was certainly not Lauren this time. Sydney began to feel afraid. She wanted to speak, but no words came out. ‘I always knew you would join me, but I didn’t realize it would be so soon.’
Sydney didn’t want to stand there any longer. She wanted to run away from this person taunting her and not allowing her to speak. The figure continued ‘We are destined to work together, you and I. It’s our destiny.’ Sydney recognized that line and momentarily regained some control.
‘NO!’ She shouted at the figure. Sark. It must be Sark. She went to reach for her sidearm, but it wasn’t there. She felt the fear start to return.
‘That’s too bad Sydney. If you can’t be for me, you will only work against me…’
The figure fired his weapon. The bullet pierced Sydney in the lower abdomen. Hot needles of pain roared up her spine. She looked down at her sweater beginning to show blood. She went to run, but couldn’t. Sydney was frozen in place at the mercy of this figure terrorizing her. She was going to die. Another shot was fired hitting her this time in the left shoulder, but she could not react. She could only feel the pain and see the blood continue to pool on her sweater. Sydney had never been more afraid than at this moment. She shut her eyes and braced herself for the next shot praying that it would be the last.
Sydney heard a shot ring out, but felt nothing. She opened her eyes to see the masked figure fall forward in front of her. Sark was standing behind him holding a gun still smoking from the shot.
‘Are you alright?’ he asked her moving over towards her. The pain was lessening and she felt herself able to move. She nodded too stunned to speak. ‘Sydney, you need to see what I have to show you. You mustn’t be afraid anymore.’ Sark brought a hand up to her cheek to wipe away the tears that had began to fall.
‘I’m not sure I am ready for this.’ Sydney said turning to look up at him. Sark nodded understanding.
‘Come here. I want to show you something.’ He took her hand and led her over to the fallen masked figure. ‘I want you to know, things are not always as they seem.’ He looked at her and then gestured to the figure and pointed at the mask. ‘Go on Sydney. I won’t let anything happen to you.’
Sydney bent down and reached for the mask. She looked up at Sark and he nodded at her reassuringly. She pulled up the mask to reveal the face of the figure that had shot her. It was Arvin Sloane.
Sydney jolted up in bed shaking. The whole dream was playing back in her mind and she was trying to comprehend it. Sark had just saved her life and showed her the face of her greatest enemy. The dreams had gotten her attention now. She was going to find Sark.
*********
Finding Sark would be easy. What she would say to him, now that would be the hard part. Sydney had found out from a contact that Sark had most recently been seen in Manhattan, but it was unclear if he was still there or not. Sydney also managed to come by the address of his supposed property in the area. For the time being, she would just have to do some old-fashioned surveillance work.
Apparently, Sark’s property was actually a floor located in a luxury living tower. Conveniently enough, directly across from this tower was another building with a window side facing Sark’s floor. Even more convenient, according to the floor plans she obtained for his building – his main entryway and living quarters were in direct view from the sixteenth floor office building. She hoped Sark liked keeping the drapes open.
Gaining entry into the office located on the sixteenth floor proved to be easy. Passing herself off as a member of the cleaning crew, she was able to get into the office and put a remote camera on the window. Something special Marshall had whipped up for her – a small clear disk containing a camera that stuck to virtually any surface. It could deliver clear visuals from up to 8,000 feet. Sydney had not had any recent run-ins with Sark and she wanted to be prepared. If he wasn’t in the area, she figured she could always break into his building and try and find some information herself.
Something made her hope he was around so she could see him face to face. His demeanor in her dreams bothered her. He had been so protective of her and she had felt so safe in his presence. I wonder if a side that like exists in Sark. She took a sip of her coffee as she waited for the most recent images to upload to her computer. Bless his housekeeper for letting a little sunlight in. No sign of him yet, but Sydney was feeling pretty certain that he had to be there. There was a lot of movement in and out all day. Housekeepers, bodyguards, and several other people seemed to be coming and going at a steady rate. She sighed. Sydney would be patient. She needed to see Sark.
Three days worth of surveillance was turning up nothing except for the fact that Sark must have a hell of a lot of money to keep a staff like that on hand. This is getting frustrating¸ she thought. If nothing turns up soon, I’m going to have to scout his other possible locations. Sydney glanced at her laptop screen and did a double take as the last image collected finally finished loading. It was a shot of someone just coming in through the front door. Sark - was there. Sydney had to act quickly. Not only was she unsure of how long Sark would be in town, but also she needed to keep the element of surprise on her side.
Sydney phoned her local contact and asked if Sark kept any regular appointments when he was in the city. Apparently, there was just one. Whenever Sark was in town, he always picked up new suits at Barney’s. Using her computer skills to hack into Barney’s personal shopping appointments log, one name stood out. Julian Lazarey at 2:00 P.M tomorrow. Perfect, Sydney thought it’s time to go shopping
*******
Every girls crazy about a sharp dressed man ~ ZZ Top
Sark had the driver take him around to the back of Barney’s. He let his man enter the place first checking it for the all clear. Sark needn’t be bothered when he was picking up some new suits. As he was waiting in the corridor for his personal consultant to show him to the private dressing room, he caught sight of a leggy blonde perusing the tie table up front. Mmm, perhaps I should pick up some ties today as well, Sark thought beginning to head towards the rather impeccably dressed woman. Sark noticed how her professionally styled skirt clung to her quite right, but had a slightly risqué slit up on her left thigh. Sark couldn’t quite see her face from where he was standing, but that wouldn’t be a problem for long.
‘Mr. Lazarey?’ Sark stopped in his tracks. Blast. He turned to look back at the man acknowledging that he was Lazarey. ‘Right this way, sir.’ The consultant gestured to the hallway on the left. Sark sighed and turned to cast one last glance back at the blonde, but she was no longer there.
Standing in the dressing room, Sark began to try on the suits he had specially ordered. The material was exquisite and the cut was exceptional. He turned in the mirror admiring himself in the suit. Absolutely, he thought smirking at the mirror. He paused at the sounds coming from the other side of the door.
‘Mr. Lazarey?’ A woman’s voice called out as he heard a light knocking at the door to his dressing room.
‘Lawrence! I told you I didn’t want to be disturbed!’ he yelled out to his guard. He saw the lock on the door began to turn. What’s the meaning of this? Sark quickly crossed over to the side of the room where his side arm was. The door opened suddenly and there was the leggy blonde in the sl**tish office skirt. He blinked and realized she had a gun of her own aimed directly at him.
********
‘I sincerely hoped you would be dressed,’ she said.
Sydney Bristow. This is certainly a surprise, Sark mused. ‘I could change that if you’d like…’ he countered hoping to get a rise out of her. No such luck. ‘So, what do I owe for the pleasure of your company this time Ms. Bristow?’
Sydney glanced off to the side of him seeing his firearm on the dressing table. ‘Sark, move away from it. Now.’
He also then glanced at the gun in a halfhearted attempt to make her believe he was considering going for it anyway. He had no intention of doing so now that he knew it was just Sydney. That coupled with the fact he didn’t want to have a row with her in the middle of a Barney’s dressing room. He did have an image to maintain. He moved over closer to her and put his hands in his pants pockets.
Sark looked at Sydney realizing she still had the gun aimed at him. ‘Good Lord, Sydney – I’m unarmed and I’m assuming you have taken out my man out there. So, perhaps you can relax your trigger finger a bit?’ She lowered her weapon. ‘Thank you. So I ask again, what are you doing here?’
‘You know something.’ she began. Sark could tell that she looked truly at a loss for a brief second. He was almost more than confused by her expression than what was being said to him. Almost.
‘Do you think you could be a little more specific?’ he smirked at her. What was she after and why the bloody hell ambush him at Barney’s of all places?
‘I can’t believe I’m about to say this,’ Sydney looked pained and Sark had to admit he was more than intrigued now than ever ‘Since Vaughn died, I’ve been having these dreams. Lately, you have been in them and you tell me you want to show me the truth…’ For a moment, Sark wondered if this were some sort of ploy, but from the anguished look on Sydney’s face he could tell it was no ruse. ‘In the last dream, I was almost killed. I couldn’t defend myself…this person…in a mask was killing me, but you saved me. You Sark, and then you showed me his face…and it was Sloane.’ She peered at him gauging his reaction waiting for some kind of tell.
Sark had stiffened at the mention of Sloane’s name, but Sydney hadn’t noticed. Damn right I right I saved you. He was definitely intrigued. It was almost like Sydney’s mind was realizing things Sydney never allowed herself to catch on to. Quite a rare thing, he was sure. However, standing in the middle of the Barney’s dressing room was no place to psychoanalyze her. Also, there was that image to maintain again.
He smirked and walked towards her. ‘Tell me Sydney, if these dreams had been of a more sordid manner,’ he paused and gave her body a good once over before continuing ‘would you still have been so quick to seek me out?’ he asked lowering his gaze to the high slit of her skirt. He saw her once vulnerable look quickly harden.
‘Don’t flatter yourself…’ she spat.
‘On the contrary, Sydney…’ Sark heard footsteps outside the dressing room. Quickly, he grabbed Sydney around the waist and brought his lips to hers. She immediately brought her hands up to his chest in an attempt to push him away, but he grabbed her wrists with one hand and held onto her back with another. He heard the door to the dressing room open.
‘Mr. Lazarey?’ Sydney broke away from the kiss and Sark quickly moved both hands to her waist keeping her in place. ‘Is everything okay, Mr. Lazarey?’
‘Oh yes, of course. Dear Amber here decided she wanted to see my new suits after all,’ he looked at Sydney and grinned.
The consultant cast a doubtful glance at Sydney. ‘What can I say? He just looked irresistible in the black one!’ she gushed.
Sark could not help but genuinely laugh out loud. ‘Darling, they are all black.’
Sydney turned her attention from the consultant to look at Sark. Something about the way she looked at him after that remark made him think she had heard the genuine amusement - the true side of him he sometimes forgot existed.
He swept a piece of her blonde hair from her yes and leaned forward to gently brush his lips against hers. She moved her hand up the back of his neck and pressed her lips to his, accepting his kiss. He stepped into her closing the gap between them as he nibbled at her lower lip. Sydney playfully took a step back, which Sark matched by stepping forward. He felt her attempt to take another step backwards, but he realized she could go no further. Sark had Sydney pinned against the dressing room wall.
Sark lowered his hand to Sydney’s thigh and began to bring it up to push that teasing slit of her skirt higher while his other hand caressed her cheek. He pressed himself firmly against her allowing her to feel the state that she was putting him in.
Breaking away from her fiery kisses, he took his lips to her neck feeling her hot breath on his own. He began a trail of kisses below her ear as she unexpectedly nipped at the earlobe. Sark let out a growl and brought his hand under her skirt around to feel the silk of her panties. Sark heard Sydney’s breath catch as she began to rake her nails gently over the back of his neck.
The sound startled him and he pulled back from Sydney. He would surely wish he hadn’t done it later, but he suddenly became aware of where they were and more importantly of who he supposedly was. The consultant was gone and wherever Sydney had stashed his guard, he surely would be waking soon. Sydney blushed as she attempted to catch her breath. Sark would not allow an awkward silence to ruin what had just happened, so he took the liberty of making his point brief.
‘Now is neither the time nor the place Sydney. I’m not sure what you are after; regardless it’s not safe here. I want you to go to the payphone at Ninth and Park – I will call you at 7:00 P.M. sharp with the details for a meet.’
Sydney stared at him contemplating offering up a protest not knowing whether she could trust him or not. ‘Please Sydney, you have my word, but you must go now.’ He brought his hand up to her back and led her over to the door. Before she could say a word, Sark spoke ‘Down the hall on the right there is a back door to the alleyway. Please Sydney. Go.’
She took a moment to turn and look him in the eyes. ‘You better do as you promised Sark.’ With that, she opened the door, glanced out and was gone.
Oh Sydney, I will do that and more.
**************
Sydney couldn’t believe what had happened earlier. She went intending to convince Sark she knew he had information about Sloane and attempt to make some kind of deal with him. Not only did she not do that, but also told Sark she was having dreams about him and then wound up making out with him in the dressing room.
She was sitting on the couch in her hotel room trying to figure out where she went wrong. Bad enough I kissed him back, but he was the one to stop it. She almost felt sick to her stomach and pulled the blanket up around her tighter. She glanced at the clock. She needed to leave soon to go to that payphone location.
He better call, she thought bitterly. If he didn’t, she would have wasted her time in Manhattan. She let him out of her sight without getting what she wanted and he would use it to his advantage to be long gone. She needed to think of what she was going to say. Under no circumstances was she going to bring up the dreams again. In fact, she was going to pretend the whole afternoon didn’t happen at all.
Why in the hell did I tell him about the dreams? Oh God, I told him he saved me. She could see it now – all these big time assassins sitting around a big round table swapping stories. There was Sark telling them all how Sydney Bristow dreamt about him being her protector and the how she proceeded to have her way with him in the dressing room at Barney’s. Oh no, I feel sick again. She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. Then she realized the other curious part of their meeting today, how concerned he seemed for both of their safeties. He was practically pleading with her to leave and not with any type of physical threats of violence either. Interesting, what did he have to worry about?
Sydney thought of what had transpired before he asked her to leave. The feel of Sark’s hand inching up her thigh, the way he growled when she had gently bitten his earlobe, the small shiver of excitement she felt as his hand had found the black satin panties she had worn especially for the occasion – The skirt must have really done the trick, she thought.
‘Ah! No!’ she called out trying to shake the images from her mind. This was Sark here. He was an international assasin who she had many bad dealings with in the past. Yet, here she was lost in the reverie of what went on in the dressing room with him. This is not helping. I need to take my mind off of this.She decided she would go downstairs and get some food before 7:00. Perfect. She got up from the couch and grabbed her purse making sure the room key was still in there. After she slipped on her flip-flops, she opened the room door to find Sark standing there with his hand up preparing to knock.
‘Hello Sydney, mind if I come in?’
**********
The look before I go- Is the look for you -You only have to look and it will all come true ~ The Cure
Sydney’s mouth fell when she saw him standing there. He raised his eyebrows at her to suggest she should move out of the way. She glanced out in the hallway before standing to the side and letting him in.
‘My, this is a dull little room, isn’t it?’ Sark asked while surveying the room. Sydney ignored it. We can’t all afford the Barney’s lifestyle Sark. Oh God – Barney’s. She never wanted to hear the name of that store again. She tried to push the thought out of her mind.
‘What happened to calling me at 7:00?’
‘Sydney, I thought after this afternoon, you might enjoy seeing me in person.’ He cast a glance at the bed before settling into the armchair obviously enjoying teasing her.
She glared at him. ‘Are you sure that’s not what you were hoping for?’ she countered.
He shrugged like maybe that thought had crossed his mind. ‘If I would have known the state of your hotel was like this, I would have suggested my place.’
Cocky bastard. All right, enough of this. ‘How did you find me?’
Sark looked truly amused that she was making this so easy for him. ‘You’re contacts found me. You forget Sydney, they work both ways.’ She sighed and moved over to sit across from him on the couch. ‘Now tell me, what do you want from me?’
‘Information,’ she began ‘about Sloane.’
Sark scoffed at the mention of his name. ‘Come on, we know he’s a fine citizen now. Practically giving millions to charity simply out of the goodness of his heart.’
Sydney stared at him. Damn it, he’s going to make it difficult. Two can play that, she thought. ‘Bulls***,’ Sydney countered ‘I know he arranged that hit on Lindsey to get the Rambaldi artifact all playing into his endgame. Sark, you helped him bring down the Alliance. I know you can help me because you are close to Sloane.’
Sark mused to himself at what Sydney didn’t know about that hit on Robert Lindsey. Maybe he would get to tell her about it one day. ‘The Alliance is old news Sydney and everything I knew about Sloane, I told the CIA when I was in custody.’
Sark was continuing to play the game with her and she realized she was going to get nowhere unless she told him what he wanted to hear. ‘Sloane is the one who gave me the key to that apartment in Rome. After that, he was the one that lead me to the dream doctor…’
Sark sat forward in his chair and cut her off. ‘Did you think about going to him to have your latest dreams analyzed? Might do a bit of good.’ He asked toying with her.
She felt the heat rise to her cheeks at the mention of the dreams. ‘No, actually I didn’t. Know why? That doctor is dead – let me finish.’
Sark found it amusing how she looked at him both accusingly and annoyed at the same time. ‘Oh, right – pity.’ Again smirking at her, he gestured to speed it up ‘Do you think I can have the abridged version of this?’
‘Sure, it’s not like you probably don’t know it all anyway. It all led me to finding the location of the cube – the one thing the Covenant still needed me for.’
He looked at her levelly. ‘Do you want me to tell you Sloane is really Covenant? He is, but you are smarter than that.’
‘I want proof Sark. I know you can get it for me.’
‘And what do I get for all of my troubles?’
‘Immunity if helps put Sloane away.’
He studied her trying to make it appear like he was giving her offer consideration that it wasn’t worth. ‘How about this Sydney?’ He pulled a file from underneath his coat and tossed it onto the coffee table between them. ‘I’ll give it to you for nothing.’
Sydney reached over and picked up the file. In it were pictures of Sloane meeting with various people she didn’t recognize, bank account numbers and transactions, addresses and drop off points, itineraries and several invoice slips as well as few other random items.
She looked up from the folder and studied Sark. ‘You are giving this to me for no reason.’
He didn’t expect to convince her the information was legitimate, not to mention very valuable. It had taken him a bit of time to acquire it, but it was mostly outdated. However, if Sydney took the time to investigate it – she would be able to move forward in her findings just as Sark had.
‘Yes, I am. All I ask in return it that you don’t contact me on this matter again.’ He stood up from the chair. She stood up as well challenging him with her eyes.
‘How do I know this is reliable? That you aren’t trying to set me up or lead me away from what’s really going on?’
Of course, Sark’s reaction was an immediate smirk. ‘You don’t, but you were the one who sought me out for the information.’
Sydney bit her lip. He had her there and she knew it. Maybe he was giving her a start. She nodded at him. ‘Thank you then.’
Sark walked over to leave putting his hand on the doorknob. ‘You’re welcome, Sydney. Remember what I said – don’t contact me about Arvin Sloane again.’
She nodded as he opened the door. He gave her one last look before walking out and shutting the door behind him. Sydney sighed and looked over at the folder on the table. It was a start, but she had a lot of work to do.
Let me know what you think, and I'll post more ^_^ I just have to say - if you read this far in one bit - you are awesome! Thanks for reading!
Author: Suzi aka hotpot
Rating: PG-13/R for now leading to eventual NC-17
It will get there. I promise. Shipper: S/V briefly then full on Sarkney!!!
Spoilers: Through Crossings and a brief bit from the promos for Blowback
Summary: After a mission goes tragically wrong, Sydney is plagued by dreams of Sark and begins to search for the truth
Disclaimer: Sadly, none of these characters belong to me. They belong to JJ, Bad Robot and Touchstone
A/N: I have this posted over at SD-1 as well, but I thought my fellow AA friends might enjoy a bit of Sarkney smut.
This fic is dedicated to Jems and Eva - my cheerleaders and support! Oh and btw - this is my first fan fic ever, so uh - be gentle. And now you're left to face the gloom ~Norah Jones
Sydney pulled the black blazer from off of the hanger and put her arm through the sleeve. She winced as she pulled the jacket over her wounded shoulder. The pain from her wound and the hurt aching within her did nothing to quell the emptiness she felt. As she shut her closet door, she reached into the small box containing some linen hankies. She would need these today. Nothing from now on would ever be the same and the sooner she realized that maybe the realization would finally hit her. In the meantime, she knew that she was still walking around in a haze of denial.
In her life, she managed to compartmentalize everything. This was something she was unprepared for, something even her quick mind would not allow to be comprehended. She put the hankies into her purse and walked out the door. Taking the keys out of her purse, Sydney paused. For a split second, a lapse allowed her a brief what-if. What if she had seen that other person coming? What if she had moved a little faster or pulled her weapon a little sooner? Shaking her head and attempting to push the thoughts out, she put her key in the lock. There would be plenty of times in her life to allow for what-ifs. It did not change the outcome. She had a funeral to go to.
******
Almost too easy, Sydney thought. Grab and goes did not get much more textbook than this. She held the chip in her hand as she went to maneuver it into the case Marshall had given her for it. This little chip contained hundreds of arms dealers that The Covenant had been doing business with and now the CIA had it.
She looked over at Vaughn and he smiled at her. He motioned for her to fall back to the rendezvous point with Weiss. She nodded and began to creep forward throwing a quick look back at Vaughn. He stayed where he was covering her from his vantage point. As she reached her mark, she went to signal him and suddenly saw movement over off to the right side of Vaughn’s point.
They had taken out the guards upon entry of the building and all security systems had been disabled. As far they knew, no one else should have been there. Yet, Sydney was certain she saw some movement and it wasn’t Vaughn. Hunched over, Sydney hustled over to where Vaughn should have been. Yet, he wasn’t there. She heard light mumblings off to the left of her and she quickly drew out her gun. Suddenly, a person’s voice came from behind her.
‘Drop it. Now.’ Sydney turned to see a masked figure holding a gun at Vaughn’s temple. Sydney looked at Vaughn and back at the person in the mask. She could tell by the build of the masked person, that it was most likely a woman.
‘I said drop it now!’ The woman yelled pressing the gun into Vaughn’s temple making him wince. Sydney dropped her gun out in front of her never taking her eyes of the masked woman or Vaughn.
‘Take out the chip and toss it over to me.’
“Let go of him first,’ Sydney countered buying time trying to make out the rapid blinking patterns Vaughn was trying to convey to her.
The masked woman snorted. ‘Miss Bristow, you are in no position to be making demands here. Now. Toss me the chip. Or say good-bye to Agent Vaughn here…’
Again, the masked figure pressed the barrel of the gun into Vaughn’s temple for emphasis. ‘Alright, it’s in my front pocket here.’ Sydney said nodding her head toward the pocket.
The masked woman nodded for her to get it while keeping the gun on Vaughn’s temple. Sydney slowly reached down into the pocket and pulled out the tube. She held it up for the woman to see and the masked woman nodded.
‘Now, toss it over. Gently.’ Sydney nodded and made a mock toss as Vaughn swung his hands from off his head and landed an elbow in the masked woman’s midsection.
Sydney dove off to the side behind some boxes quickly grabbing her sidearm. As she whirled out from the boxes, she saw the masked figure on the ground and Vaughn standing above the masked woman with her gun now trained at her own head.
‘Are you alright, Syd?’ Sydney kept her gun aimed on the masked person as she approached Vaughn.
‘Yeah, are you?’
‘Of course, I was hoping you were catching what I was blinking to you…As soon as I motioned you ahead, they jumped me…’ he said gesturing to the crumpled figure on the ground ‘Radio Weiss and tell him we are bringing someone in…’
Sydney nodded and put her hand up to her comm. ‘Weiss, this is Mountaineer, come in.’ Sydney glanced over at Vaughn now kneeling beside the masked person. What was he doing?
‘Vaughn…’ Sydney started to say as suddenly the masked figure brought her right arm up and across. Sydney saw the glint of medal from the knife concealed at the masked woman’s wrist and saw Vaughn bring his hand to his throat. The woman went to push herself up, but Sydney was too quick. Almost as soon as the shot rang out from Sydney’s gun, the masked figure was down.
Sydney ran over to Vaughn. Blood was spewing from his neck and he was gasping for air. She fell to her knees and cradled Vaughn’s head. Her hand flew to her comm. ‘WEISS! Agent down, I repeat, Agent down! Rendezvous immediately!’ Sydney looked down at Vaughn.
Blinking back tears she tried to remain calm. ‘Vaughn…you’re going to be okay. I’m going to wrap this around here…’ She tore off a piece of material from her lightweight jacket and went to apply pressure to his neck wound. ‘Vaughn…VAUGHN!’
‘Syd…’ Vaughn choked out, ‘I…I’m so…’
‘Shhh Vaughn, it’ll be okay…Shhhh’ she began to stroke the side of his face ‘we have to get going…Weiss is waiting.’
‘Syd…I…I hurt you…’
‘No Vaughn…no…it’s okay…’ she said quickly wiping away at her tears ‘Just…Just hang on…’
Where the hell was Weiss? What the hell had just happened? Why did Vaughn lean over the masked person for God sakes? Damn it Vaughn, what were you thinking? Suddenly, she heard footsteps running up behind her. Turning her head to look, she realized it was Weiss.
‘Weiss!!! Over here!’ She looked down at Vaughn. ‘You’re going to be okay Vaughn. Weiss is here and he’s going to help me get you back to the van…’
‘Syd…the woman…who is…it?’
Sydney looked over at the masked figure lying on the ground. Vaughn had realized it was a woman too. Why did he care who it was? He was covered in his own blood gasping for air, but asked about the identity of the assassin.
‘Not important Vaughn…’ Weiss was reaching around to lift up Vaughn and carry him to the van. Weiss looked at Sydney with concern. ‘We better hurry…there might be more.’
As Weiss lifted up Vaughn, Sydney moved over to the masked assailant. Why was Vaughn so curious about this masked person? Curious enough for him to bend over her and garner a closer look that left him wide open for counterattack.
Sydney reached out a gloved hand and reached for the black mask. Holding her weapon in her right hand, she slowly pulled back the mask with her left hand.
Pieces of blonde hair fell across the face of the assassin. Sydney gasped as she realized she was looking at the face of Lauren Reed Vaughn.
******
The cruelest lies are often told in silence. ~Robert Louis Stevenson
Vaughn’s funeral had been a blur. In fact, the past month had been a blur. Thank God for Weiss. He had been her support, her rock in all of this madness. She wished with all of her heart that her father was there too. However, Jack had immediately been sent on a deep undercover mission.
In the meantime, they were all still trying to sort out the business of Lauren Reed. She was the senator’s daughter who appeared to be the picture of a loving wife and co-worker. Sydney had a hard time comprehending how Lauren seeming so inept at her position as an NSC liaison could be some sort of super spy who had no qualms about digging the barrel of a gun into her husband’s temple and eventually slashing his throat. The idea of Lauren being a mole would have been laughable if it hadn’t been true.
Sydney shuddered at the memory of that night. She did not often allow herself the if-only’s that had plagued her before, but she when she did she thought of Vaughn and the choices he had made - all of them.
He had moved on so quickly after her supposed death. Coming out of hiding to meet with Kendall, she was sure Vaughn would still be waiting. Yet, when she saw him with Lauren, it became apparent that he had not.
Sydney was dead to him and for all it mattered; she was dead to herself as well. Becoming Julia Thorne had been a test of wills. She allowed herself to believe in what she was doing because there seemed to be no life left for her back home. Eventually, the time had come where it was no longer second nature to assume the role of Julia. Sydney’s life was over as she knew it.
When she awoke in that alley in Hong Kong and later saw the anguish in Vaughn’s face, she was angry that he had moved on so quickly. She learned from Weiss how Vaughn and Lauren had met and their subsequent whirlwind courtship. Made to see them together everyday in the office, Sydney would try to tell herself to move on as well.
Yet, when faced with what appeared to be certain death, Vaughn had pulled her back in. Given her hope in South Korea of things that could have been, but would never be. He was a married man and unbeknownst to them, the marriage was a deception.
Sydney smirked bitterly at the thought of deception. Wasn’t that all she had in life? What her life had been built on? Vaughn seemed to be the one person spared by all of it, but now Sydney was realizing in their line of work; no one was safe.
Had Vaughn known it was Lauren under the mask? Did he have his moment to taste deception or had he been spared? Sydney wondered if Vaughn knew it would be Lauren’s face he would see or did he depart this life believing the lie they all had foolishly been fed?
She began to question herself and her own actions. Vaughn’s death was no exception. She should have been the one covering Vaughn and let him go ahead first. If Lauren had grabbed her, Sydney would have kicked her ass all over the place. Why didn’t Vaughn give Sydney any warning of what he was about to do when he bent over Lauren? She would have questioned it, but she would have covered him.
Sometimes, she realized that when she came back, he was not the man he was before. She did not understand the things he did, but she no longer thought it was her place. Her sanity depended on keeping her distance from him, but that was never possible.
Damn it, Vaughn. At times, she couldn’t help but feel angry with him. Yet, at the same time, she felt sorry for him. Something about that masked woman made him question her identity, even the last words Sydney heard him speak were questions of who was behind the mask.
He must have known, Sydney thought sadly. It shouldn’t have surprised her. Everyone in Sydney’s life knew about deception, Vaughn had just realized it too late.
******
Turn to gray, bluer shade, when the sun comes
Peaceful time, cease your mind, dreamsome… - Shelby Lynne
Sydney was there again. That night and this time, Vaughn was not going to die.
She was in her original position looking back for Vaughn to come join her on the way to the rendezvous point. Just like that night, Vaughn was not there. Sydney was ready this time as she withdrew her weapon and made her way over to where he had been, but went in the opposite direction she had before.
She would get the drop on that b****. She would make her pay for what had happened. This was going to be great.
Sydney heard the mumblings and took her weapon and jumped out. There was no point in the element of surprise. Lauren always knew she was coming. She never wore the black mask anymore and this time she did not have a gun to Vaughn’s head. She was holding it to Sark’s head.
Sydney stood there with her own gun pointed at the space in between them momentarily confused. Where’s Vaughn?
‘Oh, he’s not important anymore Sydney…’ Lauren replied as if reading Sydney’s mind. ‘Come to think of it, he never was…’ Lauren smiled gleefully at her.
Sydney pointed her gun at Lauren. ‘Not in the mood for this s*** Lauren. Where the hell is Vaughn?’ Sark had assumed Vaughn’s role and began to blink Morse code patterns at her. Sydney looked back at Lauren ignoring Sark.
‘Mmmm, I think you might want to show some more concern for the man I have here’ Lauren began to run her fingers through Sark’s hair tauntingly.
Sydney steeled her gaze at Lauren. ‘I could care less about him b****. Now. For the last time Lauren, where is Vaughn?’
Lauren looked Sydney straight in the eye and began to laugh. Shaking her head she spat ‘Poor Sydney, even when the answer is right under her damned nose…’
Lauren suddenly took the gun off of Sark and fired at Sydney. The pain seared in her shoulder yet she stood firmly in place. Lauren looked at her and fired again. This time the shot pierced her in the chest, yet she did not move.
Sydney began to laugh. ‘No. Poor Lauren. You forget, this is my dream and it ends how I want it to…’ Sydney fired her gun at Lauren and struck her in the leg. Lauren fell forward and yelled out in pain.
Sydney looked at Sark still on his knees with his hands behind his head just as Vaughn had been. ‘What are you doing here? Where is Vaughn?’ She asked while keeping an eye on Lauren waiting for her to rise up for Round Two.
‘Sydney, you can’t keep doing this to yourself…Dreaming about saving Vaughn and getting vengeance on Lauren is not going to bring him back…’
Lauren suddenly reached up and began to aim her gun at Sydney. Almost as an afterthought, Sydney shot her and felt a twinge of satisfaction.
‘Well, it makes me sure feel a hell of a lot better…’ She said looking down at Lauren. Sydney turned and peered at Sark still on his knees with his hands behind his head ‘Are you going to stay like that?’
‘It’s your dream Sydney, not mine. When you get tired of all this and you want some real answers, you know where to find me…’
Suddenly, a huge wave of realization washed over Sydney. There was no finding Vaughn. He wasn’t there. He would never be there. She would always be too late and Lauren would always die no matter what…and so would Vaughn.
Sydney stirred from her dream coming to the realization of reality and what had just happened.
The dreams were frequent and she was used to them by now. Yet, she couldn’t help but feel that she was losing him all over again whenever she awoke.
Usually, they ended the same. Lauren would die, but Sydney still would not find Vaughn. Yet tonight, she saw Sark in Vaughn’s place.
Why Sark? What had he said? Something about real answers…Sydney sleepily pulled the covers up to her chin. She needed to stop dreaming about Vaughn, but dreaming about Sark was not exactly what she was after either.
*********
He could tell she was having trouble sleeping. Sark prided himself on being able to read people, but the way Sydney was carrying herself she might as well been an open book.
As he watched her walk to her car from behind the tinted windows on his black Lexus, he wished things had turned out differently for both of them. If he had things his way, he and Sydney would be working together. Sark knew they were destined to work together and Sydney scoffed at the idea.
If she only knew, Sark thought, I could make her forget all about Agent Vaughn. Sark started the car and pulled out into traffic. Let’s see if Sydney is going into the office today.
Sark had heard all about Mr. and Mrs. Vaughn’s subsequent fateful evening together. Who was Lauren Reed kidding anyway? Why did she think she would be unrecognizable to her bloody husband of all people?Ignorant cow. Lucky for her, Sydney took care of her then. The Covenant had no tolerance for incompetence…Mmmm, pity. I might have been the one to off her.
Sark saw Sydney pull into the parking garage and he drove on past. He wasn’t sure if she was going back into the office on a regular basis or not. There was a rumor circulating that she wanted out, but so far from the looks of it – that had been proven false. Sark hoped she wouldn’t quit. There was too much he hoped she would uncover about him.
The truth finally out in the open. He longed for that day, imagining what the look on her face might be when she would find out that he, Julian Sark, was in so incredibly deep undercover with MI-5. Never was there a time where he was a regular agent. No records of any kind could ever be traced back to the former self he once was. That would come only when he brought down Sloane and any subsequent organization brought forth by him.
He knew he and Sydney were destined to work together and one day, she would truly see that. Sark could not wait.
Sark smiled to himself. Nice to see she was attempting to get back to normal. It was only a matter of time before she realized who had what she needed to find. When it came to Sydney Bristow, Sark could be a very patient man.
*******************
"All credibility, all good conscience, all evidence of truth come only from the senses." ~Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
Sydney nervously fidgeted with the clasp on her watch. She was early again for her session with Dr. Barnett. After what had happened with Vaughn, she had put in for time off. Naturally, Dixon gave it to her, but recommended she would still come in to consult with the psychologist. It was a good idea. Dr. Barnett was helping her sort out her varying emotions and trying to help her overcome the dreams she kept having. She reached up and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear and glanced at time.
‘Ms. Bristow, Dr. Barnett will see you now.’ Sydney smiled at the receptionist.‘Thank you.’
‘Sydney. Come in and sit down,’ Barnett said motioning to the chair across from her, ‘Tell me, how have you been?’
‘Well, not bad…’Sydney began ‘Actually, I’m thinking about coming back soon.’
Barnett raised an eyebrow. ‘Really Sydney? Do you think you are ready to come back?’
‘Honestly, the way I look at it – it’s now or never…’ Sydney sighed and glanced at the doctor.
‘Are you still having trouble sleeping at night?’
Sydney looked at Barnett wondering what in the hell that had to do with her returning to the CIA. Do I look really look that tired, Sydney wondered. ‘Not really. I mean, there are still dreams, but I’m handling them.’
Barnett studied Sydney before she spoke. ‘Do you think if you return the dreams will stop? That coming back will distract you from the thought of them?’
Sydney replied without hesitation. ‘I’m hoping so.’
Barnett seemed satisfied she got the answer she wanted. ‘Alright Sydney, so are the dreams still the same?’
Sydney thought of their previous discussions deciphering the meaning behind her dreams. She wanted to go back and change it all. See Lauren for who she was and fight against her instead of diving for safety. Vaughn was never in the dreams. Barnett deduced that to Sydney’s strong mentality not allowing herself what she really wanted all along: Vaughn. To save him, protect him, and open his eyes to the deception brought into his life by his wife.
Sydney suddenly jumped in her chair at the memory of her most recent dream. ‘Sark.’ She whispered to herself.
‘I’m sorry?’ Dr. Barnett asked.
‘Sark. He was in the dream I had last night…In Vaughn’s position…’ Sydney blinked at the memory trying to recover more. Barnett waited. ‘I killed Lauren again because she wouldn’t tell me where Vaughn was…’ Sydney paused ‘Sark – he just looked at me with…’ she trailed off looking over to the window.
‘With what Sydney?’
Sydney turned to look back at Barnett. ‘Pity. He looked sad for me…that none of it would change anything.’
Barnett looked at Sydney stunned. Sydney’s subconscious manifested itself into the appearance of Mr. Sark. Mr. Sark was bringing her into reality. Absolutely amazing, Barnett thought.
‘Wait. That’s not all,’ Sydney continued ‘He said when I was tired of it, I could get the truth from him…. Truth? The truth about what?’
‘Sydney, when was the last time you saw Mr. Sark?’ Sydney thought about it. She shook her head. She wasn’t sure. ‘Do you realize that for the first time, your subconscious took shape in your dream – and that shape was Mr. Sark?’
Sydney stared at Barnett. Sark had given her a mental reality check. ‘What about ‘the truth’?’ What could that mean?’
Barnett leaned forward in her chair. ‘Sydney, it sounds to me that maybe you need to find that out for yourself.’
Sydney sat frozen in the chair. Did I just hear her right? ‘Let me get this straight, you want me to make contact with an international assassin because I had a dream that he had something to tell me?’ Sydney asked incredulously.
Barnett leaned back in here chair and looked at Sydney levelly. ‘I’m going to say this once Sydney. Take it at what you will – we both know you have a very strong mind. In a rather clear manner, you dreamt that Mr. Sark told you Vaughn would never come back and you could not change that. You just said yourself he looked at you with pity.’ Barnett continued ‘Mr. Sark told you he had the truth for you. You and him have crossed paths before in the past – investigate. That’s what I’m telling you. Maybe there is something out there you need to know about…’
Sydney stared at the woman like she had just grown a second head. ‘Yeah, right. I will get right on that,’ She glanced down at her watch ‘Ah, well, I’m willing to wrap up this session a little early, alright by you?’ Sydney stood up from her chair and made her way past the doctor.
Barnett reached out to stop her. ‘Sydney, just pay attention to your dreams. They might have something to tell you.’
Sydney glanced down at Barnett’s outstretched arm. Barnett lowered it and watched Sydney walk out of her office.
Incredible, Barnett thought. Two weeks ago, Arvin Sloane confesses to her that he may be Sydney Bristow’s father and now Sydney is dreaming of Sark telling her he knows some ‘truth.’ Could on some subconscious level Sydney know? Barnett cared for Arvin, but if he were telling the truth and truly was her father – it would destroy Sydney. She does need to find out the truth Barnett thought whatever that may be.
********
Truth lies not only in a dream, but in many dreams. ~ Pier Paolo Pasolini
It started to play out like it always did. She was back in the lot creeping towards Vaughn’s location preparing for another takedown of Lauren, but this time it wasn’t Lauren waiting for her. As Sydney stepped out from behind the boxes, a masked figure stood before her. She did not know this person.
For a moment, they stood staring at each other waiting for the other to make a move. Sydney blinked. The figure had beaten her to it and was now holding a gun at Sydney. She tried to regain control of the situation, but something was holding her back.
‘Sydney…’ The figure hissed ‘I’ve been expecting you.’ It was certainly not Lauren this time. Sydney began to feel afraid. She wanted to speak, but no words came out. ‘I always knew you would join me, but I didn’t realize it would be so soon.’
Sydney didn’t want to stand there any longer. She wanted to run away from this person taunting her and not allowing her to speak. The figure continued ‘We are destined to work together, you and I. It’s our destiny.’ Sydney recognized that line and momentarily regained some control.
‘NO!’ She shouted at the figure. Sark. It must be Sark. She went to reach for her sidearm, but it wasn’t there. She felt the fear start to return.
‘That’s too bad Sydney. If you can’t be for me, you will only work against me…’
The figure fired his weapon. The bullet pierced Sydney in the lower abdomen. Hot needles of pain roared up her spine. She looked down at her sweater beginning to show blood. She went to run, but couldn’t. Sydney was frozen in place at the mercy of this figure terrorizing her. She was going to die. Another shot was fired hitting her this time in the left shoulder, but she could not react. She could only feel the pain and see the blood continue to pool on her sweater. Sydney had never been more afraid than at this moment. She shut her eyes and braced herself for the next shot praying that it would be the last.
Sydney heard a shot ring out, but felt nothing. She opened her eyes to see the masked figure fall forward in front of her. Sark was standing behind him holding a gun still smoking from the shot.
‘Are you alright?’ he asked her moving over towards her. The pain was lessening and she felt herself able to move. She nodded too stunned to speak. ‘Sydney, you need to see what I have to show you. You mustn’t be afraid anymore.’ Sark brought a hand up to her cheek to wipe away the tears that had began to fall.
‘I’m not sure I am ready for this.’ Sydney said turning to look up at him. Sark nodded understanding.
‘Come here. I want to show you something.’ He took her hand and led her over to the fallen masked figure. ‘I want you to know, things are not always as they seem.’ He looked at her and then gestured to the figure and pointed at the mask. ‘Go on Sydney. I won’t let anything happen to you.’
Sydney bent down and reached for the mask. She looked up at Sark and he nodded at her reassuringly. She pulled up the mask to reveal the face of the figure that had shot her. It was Arvin Sloane.
Sydney jolted up in bed shaking. The whole dream was playing back in her mind and she was trying to comprehend it. Sark had just saved her life and showed her the face of her greatest enemy. The dreams had gotten her attention now. She was going to find Sark.
*********
Finding Sark would be easy. What she would say to him, now that would be the hard part. Sydney had found out from a contact that Sark had most recently been seen in Manhattan, but it was unclear if he was still there or not. Sydney also managed to come by the address of his supposed property in the area. For the time being, she would just have to do some old-fashioned surveillance work.
Apparently, Sark’s property was actually a floor located in a luxury living tower. Conveniently enough, directly across from this tower was another building with a window side facing Sark’s floor. Even more convenient, according to the floor plans she obtained for his building – his main entryway and living quarters were in direct view from the sixteenth floor office building. She hoped Sark liked keeping the drapes open.
Gaining entry into the office located on the sixteenth floor proved to be easy. Passing herself off as a member of the cleaning crew, she was able to get into the office and put a remote camera on the window. Something special Marshall had whipped up for her – a small clear disk containing a camera that stuck to virtually any surface. It could deliver clear visuals from up to 8,000 feet. Sydney had not had any recent run-ins with Sark and she wanted to be prepared. If he wasn’t in the area, she figured she could always break into his building and try and find some information herself.
Something made her hope he was around so she could see him face to face. His demeanor in her dreams bothered her. He had been so protective of her and she had felt so safe in his presence. I wonder if a side that like exists in Sark. She took a sip of her coffee as she waited for the most recent images to upload to her computer. Bless his housekeeper for letting a little sunlight in. No sign of him yet, but Sydney was feeling pretty certain that he had to be there. There was a lot of movement in and out all day. Housekeepers, bodyguards, and several other people seemed to be coming and going at a steady rate. She sighed. Sydney would be patient. She needed to see Sark.
Three days worth of surveillance was turning up nothing except for the fact that Sark must have a hell of a lot of money to keep a staff like that on hand. This is getting frustrating¸ she thought. If nothing turns up soon, I’m going to have to scout his other possible locations. Sydney glanced at her laptop screen and did a double take as the last image collected finally finished loading. It was a shot of someone just coming in through the front door. Sark - was there. Sydney had to act quickly. Not only was she unsure of how long Sark would be in town, but also she needed to keep the element of surprise on her side.
Sydney phoned her local contact and asked if Sark kept any regular appointments when he was in the city. Apparently, there was just one. Whenever Sark was in town, he always picked up new suits at Barney’s. Using her computer skills to hack into Barney’s personal shopping appointments log, one name stood out. Julian Lazarey at 2:00 P.M tomorrow. Perfect, Sydney thought it’s time to go shopping
*******
Every girls crazy about a sharp dressed man ~ ZZ Top
Sark had the driver take him around to the back of Barney’s. He let his man enter the place first checking it for the all clear. Sark needn’t be bothered when he was picking up some new suits. As he was waiting in the corridor for his personal consultant to show him to the private dressing room, he caught sight of a leggy blonde perusing the tie table up front. Mmm, perhaps I should pick up some ties today as well, Sark thought beginning to head towards the rather impeccably dressed woman. Sark noticed how her professionally styled skirt clung to her quite right, but had a slightly risqué slit up on her left thigh. Sark couldn’t quite see her face from where he was standing, but that wouldn’t be a problem for long.
‘Mr. Lazarey?’ Sark stopped in his tracks. Blast. He turned to look back at the man acknowledging that he was Lazarey. ‘Right this way, sir.’ The consultant gestured to the hallway on the left. Sark sighed and turned to cast one last glance back at the blonde, but she was no longer there.
Standing in the dressing room, Sark began to try on the suits he had specially ordered. The material was exquisite and the cut was exceptional. He turned in the mirror admiring himself in the suit. Absolutely, he thought smirking at the mirror. He paused at the sounds coming from the other side of the door.
‘Mr. Lazarey?’ A woman’s voice called out as he heard a light knocking at the door to his dressing room.
‘Lawrence! I told you I didn’t want to be disturbed!’ he yelled out to his guard. He saw the lock on the door began to turn. What’s the meaning of this? Sark quickly crossed over to the side of the room where his side arm was. The door opened suddenly and there was the leggy blonde in the sl**tish office skirt. He blinked and realized she had a gun of her own aimed directly at him.
********
‘I sincerely hoped you would be dressed,’ she said.
Sydney Bristow. This is certainly a surprise, Sark mused. ‘I could change that if you’d like…’ he countered hoping to get a rise out of her. No such luck. ‘So, what do I owe for the pleasure of your company this time Ms. Bristow?’
Sydney glanced off to the side of him seeing his firearm on the dressing table. ‘Sark, move away from it. Now.’
He also then glanced at the gun in a halfhearted attempt to make her believe he was considering going for it anyway. He had no intention of doing so now that he knew it was just Sydney. That coupled with the fact he didn’t want to have a row with her in the middle of a Barney’s dressing room. He did have an image to maintain. He moved over closer to her and put his hands in his pants pockets.
Sark looked at Sydney realizing she still had the gun aimed at him. ‘Good Lord, Sydney – I’m unarmed and I’m assuming you have taken out my man out there. So, perhaps you can relax your trigger finger a bit?’ She lowered her weapon. ‘Thank you. So I ask again, what are you doing here?’
‘You know something.’ she began. Sark could tell that she looked truly at a loss for a brief second. He was almost more than confused by her expression than what was being said to him. Almost.
‘Do you think you could be a little more specific?’ he smirked at her. What was she after and why the bloody hell ambush him at Barney’s of all places?
‘I can’t believe I’m about to say this,’ Sydney looked pained and Sark had to admit he was more than intrigued now than ever ‘Since Vaughn died, I’ve been having these dreams. Lately, you have been in them and you tell me you want to show me the truth…’ For a moment, Sark wondered if this were some sort of ploy, but from the anguished look on Sydney’s face he could tell it was no ruse. ‘In the last dream, I was almost killed. I couldn’t defend myself…this person…in a mask was killing me, but you saved me. You Sark, and then you showed me his face…and it was Sloane.’ She peered at him gauging his reaction waiting for some kind of tell.
Sark had stiffened at the mention of Sloane’s name, but Sydney hadn’t noticed. Damn right I right I saved you. He was definitely intrigued. It was almost like Sydney’s mind was realizing things Sydney never allowed herself to catch on to. Quite a rare thing, he was sure. However, standing in the middle of the Barney’s dressing room was no place to psychoanalyze her. Also, there was that image to maintain again.
He smirked and walked towards her. ‘Tell me Sydney, if these dreams had been of a more sordid manner,’ he paused and gave her body a good once over before continuing ‘would you still have been so quick to seek me out?’ he asked lowering his gaze to the high slit of her skirt. He saw her once vulnerable look quickly harden.
‘Don’t flatter yourself…’ she spat.
‘On the contrary, Sydney…’ Sark heard footsteps outside the dressing room. Quickly, he grabbed Sydney around the waist and brought his lips to hers. She immediately brought her hands up to his chest in an attempt to push him away, but he grabbed her wrists with one hand and held onto her back with another. He heard the door to the dressing room open.
‘Mr. Lazarey?’ Sydney broke away from the kiss and Sark quickly moved both hands to her waist keeping her in place. ‘Is everything okay, Mr. Lazarey?’
‘Oh yes, of course. Dear Amber here decided she wanted to see my new suits after all,’ he looked at Sydney and grinned.
The consultant cast a doubtful glance at Sydney. ‘What can I say? He just looked irresistible in the black one!’ she gushed.
Sark could not help but genuinely laugh out loud. ‘Darling, they are all black.’
Sydney turned her attention from the consultant to look at Sark. Something about the way she looked at him after that remark made him think she had heard the genuine amusement - the true side of him he sometimes forgot existed.
He swept a piece of her blonde hair from her yes and leaned forward to gently brush his lips against hers. She moved her hand up the back of his neck and pressed her lips to his, accepting his kiss. He stepped into her closing the gap between them as he nibbled at her lower lip. Sydney playfully took a step back, which Sark matched by stepping forward. He felt her attempt to take another step backwards, but he realized she could go no further. Sark had Sydney pinned against the dressing room wall.
Sark lowered his hand to Sydney’s thigh and began to bring it up to push that teasing slit of her skirt higher while his other hand caressed her cheek. He pressed himself firmly against her allowing her to feel the state that she was putting him in.
Breaking away from her fiery kisses, he took his lips to her neck feeling her hot breath on his own. He began a trail of kisses below her ear as she unexpectedly nipped at the earlobe. Sark let out a growl and brought his hand under her skirt around to feel the silk of her panties. Sark heard Sydney’s breath catch as she began to rake her nails gently over the back of his neck.
The sound startled him and he pulled back from Sydney. He would surely wish he hadn’t done it later, but he suddenly became aware of where they were and more importantly of who he supposedly was. The consultant was gone and wherever Sydney had stashed his guard, he surely would be waking soon. Sydney blushed as she attempted to catch her breath. Sark would not allow an awkward silence to ruin what had just happened, so he took the liberty of making his point brief.
‘Now is neither the time nor the place Sydney. I’m not sure what you are after; regardless it’s not safe here. I want you to go to the payphone at Ninth and Park – I will call you at 7:00 P.M. sharp with the details for a meet.’
Sydney stared at him contemplating offering up a protest not knowing whether she could trust him or not. ‘Please Sydney, you have my word, but you must go now.’ He brought his hand up to her back and led her over to the door. Before she could say a word, Sark spoke ‘Down the hall on the right there is a back door to the alleyway. Please Sydney. Go.’
She took a moment to turn and look him in the eyes. ‘You better do as you promised Sark.’ With that, she opened the door, glanced out and was gone.
Oh Sydney, I will do that and more.
**************
Sydney couldn’t believe what had happened earlier. She went intending to convince Sark she knew he had information about Sloane and attempt to make some kind of deal with him. Not only did she not do that, but also told Sark she was having dreams about him and then wound up making out with him in the dressing room.
She was sitting on the couch in her hotel room trying to figure out where she went wrong. Bad enough I kissed him back, but he was the one to stop it. She almost felt sick to her stomach and pulled the blanket up around her tighter. She glanced at the clock. She needed to leave soon to go to that payphone location.
He better call, she thought bitterly. If he didn’t, she would have wasted her time in Manhattan. She let him out of her sight without getting what she wanted and he would use it to his advantage to be long gone. She needed to think of what she was going to say. Under no circumstances was she going to bring up the dreams again. In fact, she was going to pretend the whole afternoon didn’t happen at all.
Why in the hell did I tell him about the dreams? Oh God, I told him he saved me. She could see it now – all these big time assassins sitting around a big round table swapping stories. There was Sark telling them all how Sydney Bristow dreamt about him being her protector and the how she proceeded to have her way with him in the dressing room at Barney’s. Oh no, I feel sick again. She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. Then she realized the other curious part of their meeting today, how concerned he seemed for both of their safeties. He was practically pleading with her to leave and not with any type of physical threats of violence either. Interesting, what did he have to worry about?
Sydney thought of what had transpired before he asked her to leave. The feel of Sark’s hand inching up her thigh, the way he growled when she had gently bitten his earlobe, the small shiver of excitement she felt as his hand had found the black satin panties she had worn especially for the occasion – The skirt must have really done the trick, she thought.
‘Ah! No!’ she called out trying to shake the images from her mind. This was Sark here. He was an international assasin who she had many bad dealings with in the past. Yet, here she was lost in the reverie of what went on in the dressing room with him. This is not helping. I need to take my mind off of this.She decided she would go downstairs and get some food before 7:00. Perfect. She got up from the couch and grabbed her purse making sure the room key was still in there. After she slipped on her flip-flops, she opened the room door to find Sark standing there with his hand up preparing to knock.
‘Hello Sydney, mind if I come in?’
**********
The look before I go- Is the look for you -You only have to look and it will all come true ~ The Cure
Sydney’s mouth fell when she saw him standing there. He raised his eyebrows at her to suggest she should move out of the way. She glanced out in the hallway before standing to the side and letting him in.
‘My, this is a dull little room, isn’t it?’ Sark asked while surveying the room. Sydney ignored it. We can’t all afford the Barney’s lifestyle Sark. Oh God – Barney’s. She never wanted to hear the name of that store again. She tried to push the thought out of her mind.
‘What happened to calling me at 7:00?’
‘Sydney, I thought after this afternoon, you might enjoy seeing me in person.’ He cast a glance at the bed before settling into the armchair obviously enjoying teasing her.
She glared at him. ‘Are you sure that’s not what you were hoping for?’ she countered.
He shrugged like maybe that thought had crossed his mind. ‘If I would have known the state of your hotel was like this, I would have suggested my place.’
Cocky bastard. All right, enough of this. ‘How did you find me?’
Sark looked truly amused that she was making this so easy for him. ‘You’re contacts found me. You forget Sydney, they work both ways.’ She sighed and moved over to sit across from him on the couch. ‘Now tell me, what do you want from me?’
‘Information,’ she began ‘about Sloane.’
Sark scoffed at the mention of his name. ‘Come on, we know he’s a fine citizen now. Practically giving millions to charity simply out of the goodness of his heart.’
Sydney stared at him. Damn it, he’s going to make it difficult. Two can play that, she thought. ‘Bulls***,’ Sydney countered ‘I know he arranged that hit on Lindsey to get the Rambaldi artifact all playing into his endgame. Sark, you helped him bring down the Alliance. I know you can help me because you are close to Sloane.’
Sark mused to himself at what Sydney didn’t know about that hit on Robert Lindsey. Maybe he would get to tell her about it one day. ‘The Alliance is old news Sydney and everything I knew about Sloane, I told the CIA when I was in custody.’
Sark was continuing to play the game with her and she realized she was going to get nowhere unless she told him what he wanted to hear. ‘Sloane is the one who gave me the key to that apartment in Rome. After that, he was the one that lead me to the dream doctor…’
Sark sat forward in his chair and cut her off. ‘Did you think about going to him to have your latest dreams analyzed? Might do a bit of good.’ He asked toying with her.
She felt the heat rise to her cheeks at the mention of the dreams. ‘No, actually I didn’t. Know why? That doctor is dead – let me finish.’
Sark found it amusing how she looked at him both accusingly and annoyed at the same time. ‘Oh, right – pity.’ Again smirking at her, he gestured to speed it up ‘Do you think I can have the abridged version of this?’
‘Sure, it’s not like you probably don’t know it all anyway. It all led me to finding the location of the cube – the one thing the Covenant still needed me for.’
He looked at her levelly. ‘Do you want me to tell you Sloane is really Covenant? He is, but you are smarter than that.’
‘I want proof Sark. I know you can get it for me.’
‘And what do I get for all of my troubles?’
‘Immunity if helps put Sloane away.’
He studied her trying to make it appear like he was giving her offer consideration that it wasn’t worth. ‘How about this Sydney?’ He pulled a file from underneath his coat and tossed it onto the coffee table between them. ‘I’ll give it to you for nothing.’
Sydney reached over and picked up the file. In it were pictures of Sloane meeting with various people she didn’t recognize, bank account numbers and transactions, addresses and drop off points, itineraries and several invoice slips as well as few other random items.
She looked up from the folder and studied Sark. ‘You are giving this to me for no reason.’
He didn’t expect to convince her the information was legitimate, not to mention very valuable. It had taken him a bit of time to acquire it, but it was mostly outdated. However, if Sydney took the time to investigate it – she would be able to move forward in her findings just as Sark had.
‘Yes, I am. All I ask in return it that you don’t contact me on this matter again.’ He stood up from the chair. She stood up as well challenging him with her eyes.
‘How do I know this is reliable? That you aren’t trying to set me up or lead me away from what’s really going on?’
Of course, Sark’s reaction was an immediate smirk. ‘You don’t, but you were the one who sought me out for the information.’
Sydney bit her lip. He had her there and she knew it. Maybe he was giving her a start. She nodded at him. ‘Thank you then.’
Sark walked over to leave putting his hand on the doorknob. ‘You’re welcome, Sydney. Remember what I said – don’t contact me about Arvin Sloane again.’
She nodded as he opened the door. He gave her one last look before walking out and shutting the door behind him. Sydney sighed and looked over at the folder on the table. It was a start, but she had a lot of work to do.
Let me know what you think, and I'll post more ^_^ I just have to say - if you read this far in one bit - you are awesome! Thanks for reading!
