GREED HAS A PRICE TAG
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Alias, just borrowed them for this story. No copyright infringement is intended...honest.
Francie stood in the kitchen of her new restaurant on the verge of tears.
"What's up, Francie? You okay?" Eric asked as he put his hand on her shoulder.
She tossed a handful of papers onto the table in disgust. "I don't know what I've gotten myself into. There are so many bills. Bills that I'm not going to be able to pay." She put her hand to her forehead and closed her eyes, hoping all her troubles would just disappear. "I don't even know how I'm going to pay you and the rest of my staff, to be honest."
"Don't worry, you'll get on your feet. It just takes time. No business venture is ever easy at the beginning. Hang in there. I gutta go check on the meat delivery but we'll talk later, okay?"
Francie gave him a slight smile, "Okay." She watched him leave the room and then sighed heavily.
LATER THAT NIGHT
Sydney was lying on the couch watching television when Francie arrived home. She turned down the volume as she sat up, "Francie? Will?"
"It's me," Francie said as she walked into the room.
Sydney immediately noticed that something was bothering her. "Bad day?" she asked.
"You could say that again." Francie plopped down on the couch next to Sydney, tossing her pocketbook onto the coffee table.
Sydney reached out her hand and took Francie's into hers. "Don't quit now. You've worked too hard for this."
"I know," she smiled, "I'm not throwing in the towel just yet. Things are going to turn around."
"That's my girl." Sydney got up and started heading for the kitchen. "You wanna split a pint of ice cream?"
"Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to go out for a beer. We haven't done that in a while."
"Sure, why not. Let me call Will and we'll.."
"Just us," Francie said quickly.
"Um...okay."
"I'm sorry, I just thought we could have a little girl talk, ya know?"
"Gotcha. I'm gonna change and we'll go."
Francie smiled as Sydney disappeared into her bedroom. After a few minutes, Sydney reappeared and reached down on the end table for her car keys. "I'll drive," Francie suggested as she saw what Sydney was reaching for.
"Okay," Sydney said as she put the keys back down.
As they drove along the streets, Sydney did most of the talking and soon realized it. "Francie, what's the matter? You've hardly said two words since we left." Sydney looked out and then wondered where they were going. "Which bar are we going to?"
"I need to make a quick stop first."
Sydney felt uneasy. Francie had been acting strange ever since she'd opened the restaurant. She chalked it up to nerves and anxiety but Francie seemed distant.
They pulled into the parking lot of a warehouse and Francie pulled up next to the entrance.
"What are we doing here?" Sydney asked.
"I need to talk to the manager about a delivery I need for tomorrow morning. I totally forgot about it." Francie got out of the car and realized that Sydney remained seated. "You better come with me because it could take a little while." Sydney huffed and got out of the car, following Francie into the warehouse.
They walked down a short hallway and then into a large room filled with cardboard boxes. Francie stopped in the middle of the room and Sydney nearly bumped into her. "What are you stopping for?"
"I see you've held up your end of the bargain, Ms. Calfo." A short man walked into the room with two men on each side of him.
Sydney's eyes grew wide as confusion set in, "What's going on here?" she whispered to Francie.
"I'm sorry," Francie answered without looking at her. She walked toward the man, leaving Sydney standing alone.
The man motioned to his men and they began walking towards Sydney. She readied herself as they got closer and she kicked out, catching one of the men square in the face. The second man came at her and she crouched down, hooking her leg around his and knocking him to the ground. The first man came at her again, this time he returned kicks of his own. She managed to block most of them but he found an opening and threw a punch at the side of her face. She fell back onto the floor and was about to get up again but was she was greeted with a gun shoved into her cheek. The second man quickly got behind Sydney and forced her arms behind her back, handcuffing them together.
Sydney breathed heavily, her eyes moving to Francie who was still standing next to the man. "Why?" Sydney mouthed to her, hoping she'd see the hurt in her eyes, but Francie looked away.
"Get her ready for transport, I'll meet you outside," the man said as he led Francie away. The two men began kicking and punching Sydney until the darkness of unconsciousness claimed her.
The man led Francie into a small office. He went over to the desk to where a steel suitcase was sitting. He opened it and turned it towards her. "One million, just as we had discussed. I trust that this will take care of your financial worries."
Francie stared at the money and smiled, "Yes, sir."
He snapped the case shut and handed it to her. "Well, it was a pleasure doing business with you. Thank you for such a speedy delivery of my product." Francie smiled at him but didn't say anything. "I know this goes without saying, but I'm going to say it anyway. You're not to breath a word of this to anyone, NO ONE. This money not only buys Ms. Bristow's head but it also buys your silence."
Francie nodded, "Yes, sir. All of this is forgotten as soon as I leave this room."
The man smiled, "Excellent. Now, I'm sure you've got some bills to take care of."
Francie nodded again and left the room in silence.
---
Sydney slowly came to, blinking out the cloudiness of her vision. Her brow creased as she looked around at her surroundings - a small, empty room with a concrete floor, concrete walls and a tiny window towards the ceiling. A window that no human could crawl through no matter how hard they tried. She was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall.
As she became more aware of things her brain began to realize the pain that coursed through her body. She leaned her head back as a wave of pain shot through her. Her ribs ached on her left side. Breathing was a little difficult so she assumed that at least one of those ribs was broken or fractured. Then there was the blood. The front of her white shirt was now stained with dried blood as were her jeans. She looked for a sign of a knife or gunshot wound on her upper torso or lower body but didn't find any. Her nose ached and so did the side of her head so she gathered that all of the blood originated from there. She tried moving her hands but they were bound behind her, cuffed to a steel pipe that ran across the length of the room. "Great," she said under her breath.
The door to the room opened and the man from the warehouse entered. One of his men followed closely behind him.
"Only one goon this time?" she said sarcastically.
The man chuckled, "You're in no position to be a wise ass."
"Who are you?" she asked.
The man stood in front of her and squatted down, "You look just like her."
Sydney spat in the man's face, "Screw you!"
The other man quickly produced a gun and aimed it at Sydney, shooting her in the thigh. She fell onto her side, crying out in pain, unable to clutch her bleeding wound.
The man wiped the spit from his face with a handkerchief as he stood up. "Nice. Real nice. I give you a compliment and you spit in my face." Sydney breathed heavily as her body soaked up the pain. "You know, I'd love to kill you right now with my own bare hands but unfortunately I can't do that. I've already damaged the goods more than I should have which will cost me a few bucks."
Sydney got herself back into a seated position, desperately trying not to cry. "Who do you work for? Or is that an obvious question?" she asked through clenched teeth.
"I don't work for her, if that's what you're thinking."
"That's right," a woman's voice said. Everyone looked towards the doorway and saw Sydney's mother standing there, hands folded over her chest. She entered the room, looking at Sydney's bloody, beat up form. "I thought I made it clear that no extreme measures were to be taken. Irina knelt down beside Sydney and grabbed her wounded leg causing Sydney to cry out as she squeezed. "This is a bullet wound, if I'm not mistaken."
"She's hard to handle at times. It..."
"Save it!" Irina said as she stood up and wiped the blood from her hand onto the lapel of his jacket. "Don't expect full payment."
"No, no Ms. Devereko. I fully understand."
Sydney watched as this man had suddenly turned into nothing more than a spineless jelly fish now that her mother was here. "In fact, don't expect payment at all," Irina said as she flipped up her wrists, aiming one at him and one at the other man. Within a split second, a small blade flew from each of her wrists, striking each of the men in the jugular vein. They both fell to the ground clutching their throats as every ounce of their blood drained from their bodies.
Sydney swallowed hard as her mother turned around and looked her in the eye. "Hello, Sydney." Sydney didn't answer her. "It's been a while since we last met so I thought I'd arrange for this little reunion."
"Why?"
"I'll get to the whys but right now we're going to take a little ride." Irina reached into her jacket and pulled out a syringe and a small bottle. She filled the syringe and flicked it to get the bubbles out. "Sleep tight," she said as she jabbed the needle into Sydney's shoulder, pushing the plunger down. Sydney's eyelids got heavier and heavier and she was soon unconscious.
---
Sydney woke up slowly, the bright light shining in through her window blinded her. She realized that she was lying on an actual bed, rather than a damp, cement floor. She tried to get up but found that her legs were chained to the bed. Grunting in pain, her wounds began to let it be known that they were still there.
"You shouldn't move around so much. You'll tear those stitches," Irina said as she entered the room with a tray of food.
"Where am I?"
"I'm afraid I can't tell you." She set the tray down on Sydney's lap, "You better eat something to get your strength back up. You lost a fair amount of blood last night." Sydney looked down at the bowl of corn flakes, glass of orange juice and toast. Her head snapped back up when she felt Irina's hand on her face, checking on the cut near her eye. Her gentle touch surprised her. "He didn't do a very good job sewing this up for you. Now you're going to have a scar," Irina frowned.
"What do you want with me?" Sydney asked sheepishly.
Irina pulled up a chair beside the bed and sat down. "I want you to work with me."
"You mean work FOR you."
"No, WITH me. Whether you like it or not my blood runs through your veins and deep down inside you're just like me. We'd make an unstoppable team."
Sydney couldn't believe what she was hearing. "There's no way I would ever do that."
"You know, your father has done a tremendous job of lying to you about me over the years, Sydney. I'm sure he neglected to tell you about all the times that I had to stay at a hotel for the night because he'd come home in a drunken rage. You were just a baby at the time. I did everything I could to keep you safe."
"What? Dad would..."
"Your father is a master liar, Sydney."
"We all are! We do it every day."
Irina leaned back in her chair and folded her arms over her chest. "So you really don't want to work with me?"
"Do I really need to say 'no' again?" Irina's stare into Sydney's eyes felt like a laser beam. "If you're going to kill me now that I've rejected your offer just do it and get it over with. I'm tired of playing games." Sydney tossed the tray of food onto the floor by her mother's feet. Cereal and juice spilled onto Irina's shoes but she remained unmoving for a few moments.
Suddenly, Irina got to her feet. She grabbed Sydney by the front of her shirt and then punched her hard in her sore ribs. Sydney cried out in pain as Irina pushed her weight on her and kept her folded over, causing her more pain. "You listen to me and listen good. You're coming on a job with me. And if you fight me on it," Irina punched her once again, "I WILL kill you." Sydney struggled to get away from her mother's grip but was unsuccessful. "Do I make myself clear?" Sydney gasped and grunted in pain. "Do I?!?"
"Yes," Sydney hissed.
Irina let go of her and backed away, leaving Sydney hugging her midsection in terrible pain. "Get some rest. We leave tonight." She left the room, slamming the door behind her. Sydney tried not to cry, mostly because it pained her to do so, but she couldn't stop the tears from falling.
LATER THAT NIGHT
Irina and Sydney arrived at a pier and parked at the back of one of the buildings. Irina reached over and hooked a bracelet around Sydney's wrist, locking it and then pressing the green button on it. "Here's the deal. Cooperate and you live. Don't cooperate and you die. Simple. That right there is a bomb. If you back out of the mission at any time, I'll active it and blow you to pretty little pieces." Irina handed Sydney a rifle. "Don't even think about turning around to fire this at me. It's not loaded. Your bullet will be waiting for you where you'll be stationed. I'll radio to you when your target is in sight. Go up to the roof, head left until you get to the air conditioning unit, turn right and go straight ahead. The target will be across the way in the office that has the green banker's lamp on the desk. Now go."
Sydney opened the car door and painfully got herself out of the car. Her ribs and thigh were begging her not to move but she had no choice. Limping, she made her way up to the roof and to her station. She found a bullet lying on the ground and loaded it into the rifle. Aiming the gun towards the adjacent building, she searched for the target office. "Got it," she said through her microphone.
"The target should be arriving any minute. He's wearing a black trenchcoat and a red tie. As soon as you have him in your sights, take him out."
Sydney keep watch on the office. Her stomach felt like a mass of butterflies were having a wrestling match, but she put it out of her mind. Still she watched. Then a man entered the office, stopping in front of the desk, reading some mail. But when his head lifted up a bit Sydney felt like she was going to be sick. "Oh God," she exclaimed.
"Shoot him!" Irina yelled.
"I...I..."
"Do it or you'll join Danny sooner than you think!"
Sydney fired the rifle right into the window of the office. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she got up. "It's done. Are you happy now!" She limped back down to the car where Irina was waiting. "Take this thing off of me!"
Irina took deactivated the device and removed it from Sydney's wrist. "That's my girl," Irina said with a devilish smile. She pulled away quickly, making her getaway before the police arrived. "You'll thank yourself later on, Sydney."
"You're sick."
"Me? I'm sick? Your father is a manipulator. He..."
"You're one to talk! Who the hell do you think you are? Mother Theresa? You get my best friend mixed up in a greedy deal and get her to sell me out. God only knows what else you've done that I don't even know about." Sydney winced as the pain flared up in her ribs.
"That was the only way I could get you to meet with me."
Sydney laughed and felt anger brewing inside her. "You know what? I've had it! Just had it!" Sydney reached over and grabbed the wheel, causing the car to swerve all over the road.
"Stop it!" Irina yelled.
"No!" She continued to tug on the wheel. One last tug blew out the back tire which sent them into a spin and then sent the car flipping over and over across the deserted street finally coming to a rest, upside down, on the side of the road.
Both women were stunned for a moment. Irina felt her sore head and felt warm, sticky blood trickling down her face. She then remembered what got them in this position and immediately reached for her gun.
"Looking for this?" Sydney said as she aimed the gun at her mother.
"Go ahead. Show me you have the guts to kill your own mother."
Sydney took Irina's cell phone and dialed her father's number. After a few rings he answered, "Dad, I need help. I'm over on Granger Avenue, near the pier."
"I'll be there as soon as I can."
Sydney tossed the phone at her mother. "You don't really think I'd kill my own father, do you?" She unbuckled her seatbelt and wiggled out of the car through the window. She leaned heavily against the car as her body radiated with pain. Then she walked over to the drivers side so she could keep her gun trained on her mother.
A set of headlights approached from up the road and Sydney could just tell that it was her father. She began limping towards the oncoming car and was about halfway there when she was suddenly thrown to the ground by a explosive blast. Looking back, the car that she and her mother had been in was engulfed in flames. Her father came to a screeching halt and quickly got out of the car and ran over to Sydney, helping her to her feet and taking her into his arms. "What the hell is going on?"
"That was mom," she said with a hitch in her voice. Jack hugged her tightly and then took her home.
---
After a week in the hospital, Sydney returned home. Will greeted her with open arms as she limped into the apartment. He helped her to sit down on the couch and got her settled in.
"I'm sorry you weren't allowed to come see me in the hospital. I had a lot of debriefing and stuff. With Francie being involved it was just, well, complicated."
Will put up a hand, "No need to explain, I understand. I just can't believe Francie would do something like that."
"That's the thing about these people, they're VERY persuasive. They'll make you do things you never thought you'd do." Will rubbed Sydney's shoulder, comforting her. "The worst of all of this," Sydney paused for a moment and sighed, "my mother isn't dead."
"What? I thought...the car exploding and all."
"We thought so too but they never found a body. She must have slipped away when I went up the road to meet my father. I should have killed her when I had the chance." Sydney hung her head.
"So, now what?"
Sydney raised her head, "I guess I just wait until the next time that she tries to kill me." Sydney leaned against Will as he put his arm around her.
THE END