xxv.
the key
it was four a.m. sark’s phone rang at the side of the bed. he gently reached over to pick it up, trying not to wake sydney.
“yeah?” he whispered.
it was irina. “meet me at the back door.”
he hung up and tried to slip out from underneath sydney. she moaned and snuggled close to her pillow but didn’t wake up.
he pulled on a pair of jeans and a wife beater. taking time to kiss sydney on the head and pull blankets around her before he went, he headed out.
“morning,” he yawned to irina.
“a walk?”
he nodded. she led the way to the beach. the sand was still damp from the storm, but the waves were peaceful and there were no clouds in the dawn sky. the air was fresh and cold. so cold it stung sark’s bare arms, but he didn’t mind. irina had taught him that it was the best way to wake up. she too was wearing a sleeveless top.
goose bumps rose on their arms and their bare toes dug into the sand as they walked in silence.
“you really do love sydney?” irina kept her eyes in front of her.
“with everything i have,” he replied.
she nodded silently.
“you’ll take care of her for me?” she asked.
“why? are you going somewhere?” he studied her face.
“i’m thinking of turning myself in.”
it was a statement. fact. just
wham! and there it was. it stopped sark dead in his tracks. irina, however, continued to walk. eventually he regained control of his legs and caught up.
“why?”
“because of jack,” she said quietly. “i can’t believe what i’ve done to him.”
“if you turn yourself in, they will kill you,” sark said. “will that be any better for him?”
“i don’t know.”
for the first time sark had ever seen, tears were forming in irina’s eyes. he gestured to a rock where they could rest.
“talk to sydney,” he suggested, brushing the sand off the rock before he sat down. “she probably knows. i mean, maybe even just one night with you would be enough for him.”
“if sydney left, would one more night be enough for you?” irina asked. she paused. “maybe one night isn’t enough for me.”
“there’s no winning solution. possible outcomes: you die. you and jack are ruined. you might make jack happy, but you leave sydney and me. if you stay, you feel guilty. any way you approached this, someone is going to be unhappy,” he explained. “go with your gut.”
“julian, my mind is so scrambled i can’t tell my gut from my eyelash,” she replied, more tears welling and threatening to escape.
he wrapped an arm around her and wiped the unshed tears from her eyes.
“who ever though when we first met that eventually you’d be coming to me for advice?” he chuckled.
“you thought you were so hot when i first met you,” she laughed quietly. “you were just the coolest kid on the block. yet, even when you were so arrogant and cold with everyone else, you were practically meek with me.”
“that’s because i didn’t know what to make of you,” he explained. “you amazed me. i thought i was in love with you, but i had no idea what love was. i just knew i got a funny feeling whenever you were around. i trembled.”
“i noticed,” she smiled, looking out to the horizon. “i’ve noticed you now act the same way around sydney.”
he blushed slightly. “you are the only two women i’ve ever loved.”
irina stood up, still with a faint smile, and offered sark her hand to help him up. he took it and stood next to her. she kissed him.
“our last kiss,” she promised, squeezing his hands and leaning her forehead against his.
he nodded.
they walked back to the house in silence. the sun had risen so goose bumps no longer occupied their arms. the sand was still cool, squirming beneath their feet.
irina stopped at the threshold and took sark’s hands once more. they didn’t say anything, but there was communication. he smiled, squeezed her hands, and headed inside.
***
sydney was still sleeping peacefully in his bed. he smiled and watched. seeing her made him want to tie her down. he couldn’t let her get away. he felt he needed to put her in a cage just to make sure he wouldn’t lose her.
he laughed at himself. even if he went to all the trouble to try to control her, he knew he couldn’t. he doubted anyone could hold on to sydney bristow for very long.
“you know some people would find it very creepy if you watched them sleep,” sydney said, eyes still closed.
sark laughed. “are you one of them?”
she yawned and stretched, shaking her head. “don’t worry, i kind of like it.”
“sorry if it’s too early for you. five a.m. might not be your favourite time to wake up,” he said.
“it’s not,” she replied. “i prefer four.”
he chuckled.
“how’s your shoulder?”
“i’ve forgotten about it. it’s fine.”
“promise?”
“promise,” she laughed.
“you know, if we were put in that situation again, i’d still shoot you,” he said.
“and i’d still think you were an asshole,” she smiled.
“works for me.” he tossed clothes at her. “get dressed. i think today’s going to be special.”
“what?” sydney chuckled as she dressed.
“i’ve got a feeling. something’s going to happen.”
she smiled, shaking her head as she buckled her pants.
after she dressed, she took his arm and they headed down for breakfast; smiling and laughing, just happy to be together.
“sir,” harris accosted him before he even made it to the breakfast room. “john is out of custody.”
***
five minutes later sark was at his desk, frantically rearranging papers so he had room to write.
“i’ve got him,” harris said.
sark grabbed a pencil—ready to take down any important information—and picked up the phone.
“john?”
“hello, sir.”
sark could tell the man was trying to sound upbeat, but in reality was exhausted.
“what’d they do to you?” he asked.
“oh nothing too bad, sir. there was no physical pain, just mental. bright lights, no food, things like that,” john explained. “no sleep. physical, mental and emotional exhaustion.”
“what’d you tell them?”
“nothing, sir. nothing.”
the line was silent. eventually he went on.
“i continually asserted that i did not know who you were. i insisted that i—and my crew—was hired to take care of the landscape. by the end they truly believed me,” he paused and laughed slightly. “you see, when they showed up, i was in dirty old ripped jeans and a t-shirt with grass stains and i was sweating like i had just worked out. i had turned on the lawnmower while we were emptying the house, so its engine was warm. when they came bursting in i almost cried—swearing that i was just a gardener.”
sark smiled. “good job, john.”
“i learned from the best, sir.”
“well, come find us if you want to. jonas knows where we are if you don’t know. if you want to continue working we’d love to have you,” he said.
“yes, sir.”
“so long john.”
“i’ll see you later, sir.”
sark hung up. he grinned, happy at least some of it was over. sydney stood up from her place on his couch.
“everything’s okay?” she asked.
no. irina’s thinking of turning herself in, which is basically committing suicide. the cia will never stop looking for you. i love you. i can’t lose you. i can’t lose irina. i can’t lose what i have now. the only thing that is okay is john. he got away with it so we got away with it. that’s the only thing that’s okay right now.
these thoughts all went flying through his head. he deflected and ignored them.
“yeah,” he nodded. “everything’s okay.”
sydney smiled. the office door opened, no preceding knock.
“sark,” it was irina. “she’s got it.”
sark stood up with no response and followed her out. as he passed sydney he smiled.
“i told you something was going to happen today. she’s got something and it’s only six.”
sydney grabbed his hand and walked out with him.
holding hands isn’t exactly the most professional thing to do, sark thought.
ah, who gives a frack?
ella beamed when they entered the room. irina stood still, taking it all in. harris bit his fingernails. the energy of the room was so intense it blew your hair back when you came inside. sark walked to the necklace, observed it. it didn’t seem any different to him.
“go,” irina said to ella.
“this piece of jewellery is absolutely amazing,” ella replied, still beaming. “it’s the key.”
“to what?” sydney asked.
“it’s
the key,” she repeated. “there was always a rumour about one of rambaldi’s workplaces. people said it was hidden underground deep in the wilderness of siberia and that he had hidden certain keys in his inventions that could open it. the workplace hasn’t been found yet, but this is part of the key.”
“only part?” sark circled closer to the necklace.
“there are three parts; this necklace, one of his rings, and a pair of earrings,” ella explained. “only the most elite rambaldi experts know about the key. we are the first to know what the three parts are. see this?” she pulled out a huge magnifying lens and focused it on the necklace. “rambaldi always engraved the eye on his works. well in this one, the eye was made up of even smaller engravings that—when looked at with a strong enough magnification—show the ring and the earrings.”
“how do we find the other parts?” harris asked.
“we don’t need to,” irina stated. “i know who has them.”
as one, the room turned and looked at her with wide eyes. she connected hers with sark’s.
“cole.”
***
sydney remembered the name mckenas cole. she remembered the bitter, angry man who had invaded sd-6. she remembered him calling her pigtails. she remembered him being in cia custody.
“how is it that he has possession of the other two parts?” she asked. “as far as i know, he’s been in cia custody.”
“he’s under house arrest,” irina replied. “and he has a way to easily beat the system and continue his illegitimate business even while the cia watches.”
sydney nodded. she was amazed at what the “bad guys” were able to do and how easily irina knew about everything going on with other organisations. she wondered if the cia knew half as much as irina did.
“you know his system irina,” sark said. “how do we get this?”
“miss roosevelt, do you think they know what the pieces are?” she asked.
“probably not. the only reason i realised it was because i have such an extensive background in rambaldi. i grew up on him,” ella explained. “i doubt there’s any way they could know.”
“then we just set up a buy,” irina stated. “he will just think we are collecting more rambaldi artifacts.”
“but do we really want to pay his price for the other two parts?” sark asked.
“trust me,” ella cut in. “if these are actually the keys to the lab—and i know that they are—you want to pay any price you have to. they are probably the most important rambaldi artifacts there are.”
“he has both of them?” sark began to pace around the necklace again.
“as far as i know,” irina replied.
he stood still, thinking. harris chewed on his lip. irina tapped her fingers against her crossed arms. sydney’s eyes darted from person to person.
“let’s do it,” sark broke the silence.
they broke into action. harris, irina and sark knew the drill and could work seamlessly. sydney stumbled along behind sark, walking too slowly and not knowing what to do. ella packed up the necklace and put it back in the safe.
harris went to call jonas. information on any known movements would be very important for this acquisition. if they were going to be able to get this done, they needed to know everything they could.
“nothing on the cia relating to us,” harris reported to sark as they continued preparing. “nothing at all relating this operation. as far as jonas knows, no one will interfere, and, if we do this right, everything should work.”
“good,” sark nodded. “take the computers. see if you can get john. tell irina that she’s in charge of the specs.”
harris nodded and left the room.
sydney sighed.
“qu’est-ce qu’il y a?” he asked.
“oh nothing’s really wrong. i just wish i could be of assistance,” she replied. “i feel like i’m doing nothing.”
he grabbed her and kissed her deeply. “you’re keeping me sane.”
she giggled and kissed him once more.
***
irina can do anything, sark thought as he watched her work. she was organising the meet. she was brilliant.
she’s amazing. her ability just to go, to ignore the fact that she is working with her daughter who she abandoned, to shove everything deemed unimportant to the side. it leaves you in awe.
“tomorrow,” irina announced, hanging up the phone for the last time. “eleven am.”
sark nodded. “good.”
his stomach growled, making him chuckle. “i forgot to eat breakfast.”
“eat and then we’ll go over everything. i want to be ready for whatever we could possibly encounter,” she said.
“good choice. i’ll be back when i’m done.”
***
“cook!” sark exclaimed, pushing open the swinging kitchen door but not entering.
“julian,” she growled through gritted teeth. “apple sauce?”
“cold,” he smiled.
“
raus.”
he left the doorway and sat at the table. cook came out quickly with the apple sauce. she sat it down in front of him and turned to go back to the kitchen. he grabbed her arm.
“sit,” he commanded. “i want to know what’s been happening around here since i’ve been gone.”
cook shook her head but sat anyway.
“she stopped eating her regular scrambled eggs, no salt, no pepper, non-buttered toast,” she began. “she has oatmeal; i don’t even know how because she doesn’t let me make it. she says it used to be her favourite. urlich and garder still have ham steaks and pancakes. ally ate raisin bran every day. i’m glad he’s gone. he was a pest. he never listened, always came into the kitchen. sound familiar?”
she shot him a glare. he laughed.
“admit it cook, you love me,” he teased.
“you don’t even know my real name do you?” she snapped.
“alexandra bianca neely.”
cook smiled. she stood and headed back to the kitchen. before the door she stopped but didn’t turn around.
“the kitchen is no longer off-limits to you,” she announced. “you are welcome any time.”
he laughed as she disappeared through the swinging door.
***
later that night sark found sydney in her workout room, pounding her un-gloved fists against a punching bag. he was quiet, trying not to alert her of his presence. when he was just about a foot behind her, his foot hit the ground too hard.
when she heard him, she impulsively turned and swung. the fist connected with his jaw.
“oh my god, i’m so sorry. i didn’t know it was you. i just acted,” she immediately apologised.
he spit out some blood and came flying back up at sydney. even though it was the last thing she expected, her reflexes were fast enough to dodge his fist.
they circled each other, eyes glaring. sark’s idiosyncratic smirk played on his lips. sydney’s face was stone.
she dove first. he ducked and threw her over his back. she landed with a thud but was up before he had a chance to continue his attack. instead his foot caught her in the stomach and sent her flying backward.
her retaliation was a swinging kick to the head. he was dizzied but stood and sent his fist to her face. blood spurted from her nose. she dodged a second punch and took his feet from under him. the gushing crimson had no effect on her.
still on the floor, his breath left him as she jumped on top of him. she got a few good punches in before he was able to flip her over. he only had two punches out before he collapsed next to her.
they were both breathing violently, nursing their wounds. sark spat a little more blood onto the ground. sydney squeezed her nose to stop the flow.
“i didn’t know it was possible to be both sadistic and masochistic,” she broke the silence.
“i’m not! i only enjoy hurting you because i know you can hurt me even more,” he defended himself.
“i was talking about me.”
xxvi.
the next morning, harris, ella, sydney, sark and irina got ready silently. they ate breakfast silently. they gathered their things silently. this was a big job. this meant possibly understanding rambaldi. there could be no mistakes, no false steps. not to mention the fact that sydney was walking directly into a house controlled by the cia. sark had tried to get her not to come, but she ignored him.
sydney was amazed at how easily they got in. the cia was no where to be found, even though she knew they were watching the house with everything they could. cole had never stopped being a threat to them; now she was the only cia agent who knew what he was doing, and she had left.
they turned the final corner of the underground tunnels leading to his basement.
there sat mckenas cole, grinning from ear to ear. that smile always did make him look slightly insane.
“hey there pigtails,” he grinned.
she showed no reaction.
like mother like daughter, sark thought.
“you chose mommy over daddy, did you? she won the custody battle,” he jeered.
“you always did behave like a juvenile,” irina scoffed.
“you always were a business-loving bitch,” he replied.
“right, so let’s get to it,” sark said. “where are the pieces?”
“right here.”
cole opened the box on the table in front of him and gestured for them to sit down. they all ignored him.
ella stepped to the box.
“it’s real,” she said after examining the artifact for a while. “but there is only one.”
“yes, about that—” cole began.
irina had him out of his chair and against the wall with a gun to his head. her face and voice were still one hundred percent emotionless.
“where is the other piece, mckenas?” she asked.
“your good friend simon walker just walked out with it,” he replied, still grinning.
irina snapped his neck. he crumpled to the floor.
“couldn’t kill me could you?” his voice was feeble but angry. “you just wanted to make sure i was completely paralysed. bitch.”
he spat pathetically at her feel. she rolled her eyes and turned around.
“take the piece. we have some business with walker,” she said briskly and headed for the door.
“when the cia finds me, i’m going to tell them it was you!” cole called.
“i hardly think paralysing mckenas cole will be the worst thing i have done in the eyes of the cia.”
they left cole on the ground, cussing under his breath.
***
sydney stared silently out the car window. rain drops exploded as the car sped down the highway. sark was driving, following harris, ella and irina in the other car.
“she was right,” sydney said quietly. “paralysing someone is no where near as bad as the other things she’s done.”
“she’s not evil,” sark sighed. “she’s a business woman. it’s just a different business than you’re used to.”
“this is the same business i’m used to. this is just the other side,” her voice was rising slowly.
“you know as well as i that mckenas cole deserved worse that being paralysed. yes the people on this so-called ‘other’ side hurt people, but it’s rare the injured party is the least bit innocent,” he explained.
“she killed people. lots of people! she killed innocent people!” she exclaimed. “she murdered vaughn’s father.”
sark went white. as much as he despised vaughn, even though he knew vaughn was pathetic in many ways, he was consistently worried sydney still loved vaughn. he felt he was compared to vaughn. he didn’t want to be lower.
sydney noticed the change.
“i don’t love him,” she stated. “but i don’t know if i can work with her.”
“let’s finish this. let’s finish today. we’ll talk about it tonight, i promise.”
he kissed her hand. she nodded.
“okay.”
***
“tomorrow we will get the key from simon. in a few days time, we will have opened the room. after that, i will end our association with irina,” he explained that night.
“i don’t want to make you—it’s necessary in the business to—don’t do it because of me.”
he smiled and brushed her hair from her face.
“you don’t understand. irina and rambaldi are my only two connections to that life now. my front companies are now all legitimate. as soon as i found out you were staying, i informed my contacts and associates i was leaving,” he said. “when this last thing is done, i will officially be a normal and law-abiding citizen.”
she blinked quickly and looked out the window.
“i love you,” he cupped her face.
“i love you too.”
sydney finally understood him. she finally realised just how much he loved her and how much he was willing to do for her. his every action had become for her.
***
“simon is in his nearest residence,” sark announced at their after-dinner meeting. “an hour plane ride and we can be there. he’s on one of his two-day vacations. he’ll just be lazing around, watching television, doing whatever. on his vacations, he ignores all business unless there is a possible threat to him. we just need to keep our threat quiet.
“we’ll need to set up a team, but he operates without bodyguards so it shouldn’t be too difficult,” he continued. “he probably knows we are coming though, expects us. i’m sure he and cole planned this somehow. it makes me feel as though they are attacking a different part of our operation. i don’t see any reason for this except as a diversion. irina what is happening with your organisation?”
“there have been no known infiltrations. i will check everything tonight,” she replied.
“harris—” sark began.
“john will be coming and bringing three other men. he says it will be easier to meet us where we land instead of here. jonas has not reported any communication of any sort between cole and walker. granted, he didn’t know about the rambaldi deal, and if they are attacking us, they would keep it as quiet as possible,” harris answered before he was asked.
“okay. i’m going to get everything ready tonight, just to be sure. we all need our sleep too. this is it,” sark said.
the rest nodded at him. they understood. if they ever had a chance to understand rambaldi, this would be it. they were ready.
***
sydney sat in a secluded room while sark got ready. she knew it was one of the few without video surveillance. she didn’t want him to see her cry.
“this is it,” she told the wall. “in a few days’ time, everyone will know everything. everything will be exposed. there’s no turning back now. it’s gone too far.”
the drops fell slowly, leaving trails of their warmth on her cheeks. she wiped them away, glad no one could see her in this position. she felt pathetic. she was supposed to be strong and determined, that’s what everyone thought. if only they could read her the way they thought they could.
***
sark stood at the doorway as sydney showered. he slowly stripped his clothes and pulled the shower door open to join her. she smiled slightly and moved to make room for him. he stepped in.
it wasn’t sexual; it was adoration. he washed her body slowly, lathering the soap over every inch of her. she leaned into his touch. he traced the scar he had caused on her shoulder. he kissed it lightly. he washed her hair, massaging her scalp. she return the favour; scrubbing his body first, then his hair.
the entire time, they were silent. they kept eye contact as much as possible, breaking it only when necessary. he held her close under the warm water. they just stood there, letting the water cascade over them.
sydney turned it off and sark reached out to grab towels. he dried sydney’s skin, kissing every part as he dried it. she giggled. he smiled and kissed her knees.
“you always had a thing for my knees,” she teased him. “a fetish, perhaps?”
“my fetish,” his kissed her neck, “is you.”
she smiled and pulled a towel around his shoulders. she kissed him. their mouths were always perfect for each other; a mould and matching cast. she tasted him one last time before someone knocked at the bedroom door.
“just a second!” sark called. he whispered to sydney. “i’ll be back. i love you.”
“love you too,” she nuzzled into his neck.
he pulled on pants and a shirt, closed the door so sydney couldn’t be seen, and answered the knock. it was harris.
“information on cia movements, sir,” he said.
“let’s walk.”
sark glanced back at the closed bathroom door and left the room with harris.
“what is it?” he asked.
“cia sent out another team looking for sydney,” harris explained. “they are in england for some reason.”
“one of simon’s residences is in england,” sark said pensively. “what does jonas say?”
“shouldn’t be a problem to us, he said. but i’ll have him check about the connection between simon and the cia,” he replied.
“okay. anything else?”
“no, sir. that’s all. have a good night.”
“and you.”
sark headed back to his room, wondering if anything was happening in the cia regarding simon. that would make it a little harder.
sydney was still in the bathroom when he came back into the room. he closed the door, called to her, and sat on the bed, unbuttoning his shirt.
“frack me, frack me, frack me,” sydney giggled as she came out of the bathroom and dove on top of sark, pushing him back to the bed.
he laughed, tickling her. “but i have to get my sleep.”
“come on! this will be our last time,” she said.
he looked at her quizzically.
“our last time in this life. after this it will be hard to explain the bruises and cuts we leave on each other. i mean, normal citizens aren’t usually so beat up,” she beamed.
“oh, so you want to hit me some more, do you?” he chuckled.
she kissed him and bit his lip, making it bleed. it just made him laugh.
“this will be the last time while i’m still on the wrong side of the law,” he smiled. “the last time i’m a bad boy. maybe you should punish me.”
she used his belt to tie his hands over his head.
“you’re going to regret saying that,” she grinned.
“somehow, i doubt it.”
***
the next morning, they approached simon’s building as silently as possible.
“irina and i will go in. sydney and harris, if we aren’t out in five minutes or if we call you, come in. otherwise patrol the outside. john and the rest of the team, surround the building at don’t let him out,” sark instructed over comms.
the silence in response was understanding.
sark and irina crept toward the building. sark’s heart raced. this was his last assignment. this was the last time he was going to be risking his life for something he didn’t understand. from now on, it was only sydney. this needed to be done.
it was only one building, only five rooms. there was no chance for his escape.
sark and irina worked seamlessly; they always had.
“simon and his photography,” irina sighed as they stared at the door to a dark room. “i suppose it’s good he has a hobby.”
“should we wait?” sark smirked.
“who knows how long he’ll be in there? though i hate to interrupt.”
she kicked in the door.
empty.
sark went inside.
still empty.
“he’s not here,” sark said. “do any of you see him?”
“nothing from my side, sir,” harris replied.
“my team says no change. he’s not out here,” john said.
silent.
“sydney, what about you?”
still silent.
“sydney?!” his voice was frightened now.
hearing no reply, he raced past irina and outside. sydney was not at her post.
“sydney do you copy?!”
harris and the team came running up.
“i haven’t seen her or heard anything,” harris said.
“nor any of us,” john added. “what could have happened?”
“simon,” irina said quietly. she walked slowly out of the building. “he planned this.”
“he took…” sark couldn’t finish the sentence.
“he took her,” she stated.
“how…why…” he was lost for words.
“cole probably contacted him as soon as we called. they planned it. probably didn’t expect to end up paralysed though.”
“cole’s lucky he can’t feel. simon’s going to wish he was paralysed,” sark said with rage burning in his eyes.
irina rolled her eyes. “you sound like a corny action hero,” she scoffed. “just get it done.”
***
“that was simon,” irina said at the mansion as she hung up the phone. “yes, he has sydney. no, he hasn’t hurt her.”
“i’m going to kill him. next time i see him i will kill him with my bare hands.”
“we need to meet him with the other two keys at a warehouse tomorrow at nine,” irina stayed stoic. “we’re going to need a bigger team if we are going to get sydney and keep the pieces.”
“how can you feel nothing? this is your daughter!” sark exclaimed.
“thank you for pointing that out,” she said flatly. “i always have been better at hiding it, haven’t i?”
“i can’t hide it! i love her!” he screamed. “i love sydney anne bristow! she is my life. she is everything to me, and without her i am nothing. i realise this is weak. i realise i shouldn’t allow myself that type of emotion. but this is who i am! i am weak. i feel. i am human.”
irina looked at him, disdain dripping from her eyes.
“i am human as well. i feel. the only thing that makes you weak is your inability to hide or control your emotions,” irina explained. “you could be brilliant.”
“i suppose this is as good a time as any to inform you i am leaving this business,” he replied. “my front companies are legit, my favours are repaid. i’m done.”
she just looked at him. it seemed as though she expected this.
“you think sydney will love you for this? you think she will be happy to be out of the life?” she asked. “she lives for this.”
“she lives for taking down the bad guys,” sark corrected her. “and since she started working with us, she doesn’t know who the bad guys are anymore. there are other ways to keep the excitement. there are other experiences to make her blood rush and her heart pound.”
“it won’t work,” irina shrugged. “she’ll miss it. you know she will.”
***
that sinking feeling made sark realise that irina had voiced his fears. he was scared to death that he couldn’t keep sydney happy. he was so afraid she wouldn’t be okay, so afraid she would leave him.
but now that she was gone, he couldn’t think of that. all he could think of was getting her back.
he couldn’t wait until nine am the next morning. how was he supposed to sleep without her by his side?
sleeping pills could always knock me out, he thought as he rolled over in his empty bed for the thirty-seventh time.
he got up, not bothering to turn on the lights, and stumbled to the bathroom for the pills.
he took the recommended dosage and flushed the rest down the toilet. he couldn’t afford a possible overdose.
the pills worked as they should. he pushed thoughts sydney, and within minutes he was swallowed by the night.
finally. hope you like. posted two just to make up for the wicked long hiatus.
m-c
