Unlikely Company

Background info: Sydney is under the alias of Julia Thorne and is working for the Covenant, relaying the Intel she acquires to Kendall from the CIA. Sark is also unwillingly working for the Covenant (and not in CIA custody) in the hope of getting his money back which funds the Covenants operations.

Sydney under the Alias of Julia Thorne is forced to seek Sark's help when she suddenly becomes the prime suspect of a recent CIA scandal...

Chapter 1

LA

Kendall had decided to call it a night and was on his way to his car on the third level of the garage. He lazily punched the button of the elevator and let it drop down to his level. He was a few feet away from his car when his mobile began to ring. The vibrations sent shudders through him, and he knew who was calling.

Hesitantly he reached in his pocket to reveal the phone and it was no surprise to see that the number was withheld. Dropping into the driver's seat he pressed the button to receive the call and brought it to his ear.

"Kendall," was all he said.

"It's me." Said the female caller.

"We need to talk." He replied in a reluctant monotone.

"Yeah I know; The Covenant, they're after a file. I don't know what's on it yet or why they need it, but-" Kendall cut her off.

"That file contained all the Rambaldi codes the CIA has ever obtained. Not only that but it had all the decryptions we spent months working on."

"Wait, what do you mean 'had', what's happened to it?" There was a long pause before she asked the question again.

"Sydney." He addressed her by her name this time, forcing her to listen carefully. "The Covenant was after that file for its purposes in their Rambaldi operations. We had that file on one of the CIA's private servers…until last night."

"What happened?" She prodded.

"Somehow a virus entered the system and wiped the file clean. Now from the intel we've put together we can assume it was the work of the Covenant."

"That doesn't make any sense. Why would they destroy it when they needed it?"

"We believe that the file hasn't been destroyed, but removed from our database, and transferred to a Covenant server."

"Well can't you trace it?"

"We already did." Another lengthy pause.

"And…?"

"Sydney, we deduced all the suspects to you."

There was and uneasiness to her voice when she next spoke. "What do you mean me?"

"The guys in op tech have confirmed that our server was accessed from a secure location using specific access codes. Now those codes could only have come from someone who knows the protocols from within the CIA."

"So what, you've just decided to blame me!" She retorted, the anger in her voice clear now.

"Sydney, you're the only agent the Covenant has that has the knowledge such high clearance intel on the CIA. You're the only possible option as far as the CIA is concerned. They're after you, and you know it's only a matter of time before they find you. The best option you have is to turn yourself in"

"What so they can lock me up for something I haven't done. I did not create that virus."

"I don't see what other option you have Sydney."

"You could tell them; tell them I didn't do it."

"And you suppose they're just gonna take my word for it? My orders are that if you make contact with me I am to bring you in. If you turn yourself in we can conduct an official operation and confirm that you didn't do it, if that is the case."

"What do you mean 'if that is the case'?" There was another brief silence. "You think I did it don't you?"

He was hesitant to answer, then continued. "Sydney if you don't, they're gonna think you're hiding something."

"I didn't do it." She protested, and then realising there was winning to the conversation she gave a deep sigh. "But I'll find who did." And with that she was gone.

Kendall clammed his phone shut and threw it into the back of the car. He paused a moment before forcing his car out of the parking bay he was in and sped off through a crowd of stationery cars.

GREECE

There was a surprisingly cold chill, which snaked through the hidden back alleys of the Grecian town. Sark shifted awkwardly as he looked down at his watch. His contact was late. He figured they had either backed down from their deal, or had been killed already. Either way he was not going to wait any longer.

He slid off the hood of his car and began to walk round to the driver's door. He paused in his step as he heard screeching tyres approaching him from the other end of the alley. He rolled his eyes, and then turned to where he was stood to greet the stranger, who was rapidly approaching him.

The car came to an unsteady halt a bit too close for his comfort. Whoever was inside certainly had some back bone to be so bold before him. He gave a slight smirk of admiration for the stranger, even though they had never met. He had spoken to her over the phone, and she had convinced him that she had Intel worthy of his presence. So tonight he had shown, and apparently she had too.

He waited cautiously, waiting for the driver to emerge form their car. He grew a bit concerned when they didn't. Slowly grasping the gun, which he had lodged in his belt at his lower back, he stalked over to the car. Steadily placing his hand on the handle of the driver's door, he gave a sharp tug to reveal an empty seat. He scanned the car round with his gun, but came back up to stand straight when he was certain no one was in the car.

Uneasy with the whole situation he stepped back away from the car, ready to make a quick exit when he felt his throat tighten with the arm that had quite comfortably itself locked around his head. After a few failed attempts to free himself he bought the gun up to shoot at his capturer, but watched it fall to the ground as it was knocked out of his grip.

He concluded that they were female, and whoever they were he would be the first to admit they were good. A certain curiosity came over him as to who they actually were. The arm loosened its grip slightly, and he saw it as an opportunity. Ready to jab his head back, he found his footing, and braced himself for a throb of pain over his skull. Instead, he felt the sharp piercing of a needle at his neck, and soon after felt the cold, solid ground come to meet him.

When he woke he failed to recognise any of his surroundings. Eyes coolly scanning the dank warehouse, he heard clicking of heels approaching him from behind. Unable to turn round, he waited for them to present themselves in front of him.

"You…" Was all he could say in astonishment.

She gave a forced sarcastic smile as she pulled up a chair to sit directly in front of him. He however couldn't move for the handcuffs she had so kindly provided.

"You're alive." He continued.

"And kicking." She confirmed.

"I believe that." He said taking the time to observe her. "You set this whole thing up." He didn't need an answer, and she didn't make any efforts to give him one.

She wasn't the Sydney Bristow he once knew. Physically she hadn't differed much. He admired her attire for a moment. She wore all black; a casual pair of clean-cut trousers and a tight fitting jacket zipped three quarters up and she had left the high collar wide, very practical when he thought about it. Her hair was pulled back tight into a neat bun, and he could only just make out the highlights she had in the dim light. Even though her hair was full of life, her face revealed her true state. Looking back at him she was cold.

He saw that she had lost that innocent aura about her, but it wasn't just that; it was something in her eyes. When he looked closely at her he saw the once so strong patriotic glow had gone, and left her hollow. It unnerved him to see her so raw, so distant from everything. Normally his very presence would have sparked some anger or frustration, but there was nothing.

Uncomfortable, with his roaming eyes, Sydney clapped a hand round his head, clutching at his hair, and jolted his head back, which forced him to pay attention. "I want something from you." She told him, giving him a classic Bristow menacing look before releasing him to let his head loll forwards. "And you're going to give it to me." There was no doubt in her words, which meant that she would get what she wanted, and he knew it.

"Well perhaps if you tell me what it is, exactly, that you want." He watched her pace the warehouse slowly. "You know Sydney, I must admit that even I couldn't have faked my own death with such perfection."

"Don't act as if you didn't have anything to do with that." She warned him rolling her eyes.

"I'll be honest." He noted the small chuckle she gave. "I was aware that the Covenant planned to carry out such an operation, but not to this extent. I also wasn't aware that their efforts to brain wash you had failed. You're not Julia Thorne?"

"It just didn't have that ring to it." She answered, abruptly turning towards him. "But as far as they're concerned I am her." She continued taking her seat again. "…And I intend to keep it that way."

Her message was clear, and he knew what he would face if he betrayed her. One mistake he never made was to underestimate her abilities. "Understood." He said giving a curt nod.

She lifted her head drawing in a deep, slow breath, never taking her eyes off his. It was clear he wasn't lying. "The Covenant stole a file from the CIA. I assume you knew about this?"

"Sydney, I may fund the Covenant's operations but they don't exactly clear them through me before hand. I know just about as much as you do."

"I don't care what's on the file, and quite frankly I couldn't care less about the CIA getting it back but…" Her voice trailed off, and she looked away for a brief moment.

"They think you did it." He said matter of fact. Her look was all the confirmation he needed. "What do you want from me?"

"I need you to tell me where that file is now." She returned her stern gaze to him again.

He shook his head slightly and pursed his lips. "As I said before, The Covenant doesn't keep me informed as much as I'd like." She began to stand, but dropped back down when he said, "It's in London." He said calmly.

"London" She repeated, cautiously eying his response.

"Yes. I believe the file your after is currently being stored on an isolated server at a hotel in south London."

"And you just give it up, just like that? Why?"

"The Covenant is in possession of a great deal of money that belongs to me, yet they provide nothing in return. Like you, I would much like to see them destroyed."

She took in his words, and then shrugged disappointedly. "It's too bad." He gave her a quizzical look. "I wanted to beat you up…or hit you, or something." She revealed the keys to the handcuffs from her pocket and released his wrists.

He clenched and unclenched his fists to stimulate his fingers. They both paused. She wondered if he might hit her. "Don't worry Sydney, I have no intention of trying to escape."

"Like I said…" She said standing tall over him. "…It's too bad. Come one." She added and he followed her out the warehouse exit. He tried to remember the last time he had been in London.