I'm Your Villain

Part Two

"The signal from the device implanted by Agent Vaughn has come to rest in Dublin, Ireland." Sloane said as he stepped to the side to reveal satellite images. "The body has been placed in what appears to be a public cemetery."

Sydney watched the screen as it zoomed in closer on the cemetery. It felt like the old years being briefed at SD-6, the only change was Vaughn, who sat beside her now. He had been ready to leave as soon as Marshall had informed him of the location, his eagerness could be understood, but Sydney was certain that the motives behind it weren't entirely focused on the body of his dead wife.

"Why haven't we left yet? The longer we wait, the lower the chances of finding Sark in the area." Vaughn suddenly spoke up.

"Our objective here isn't to locate Sark, Agent Vaughn, it is to retrieve the body and ensure that news of her death hasn't spread." Sloane replied.

"We can't assume that Sark is still there, we also can't assume that he's just left her body in a public grave. We don't even know if he discovered the tracking device...he could be waiting." Sydney said as she turned to Vaughn who seemed to be finding it harder and harder to remain still.

" Sydney's right, we can't assume anything, especially in the case of Julian Sark. We do not know his motives. The removal of the body could only be a minor part of his plans. We have to approach with caution." Jack added.

"This will be a stealth retrieval mission...Sydney, Vaughn; you will leave in an hour." Sloane said before dismissing them, " Sydney, I'd like to see you in my office before you go."

Sydney watched Vaughn from across the aisle of the plane, studying him as he stared out of the window. Everyone was aware of his attachment, not only to Lauren but to Sark. His anger was taking over him, blinding his judgement and removing his abilities to see reason. Sloane had warned her of Vaughn's motives, of how he was obviously blindly looking past the retrieval mission and towards his own objective... Sark. He'd implanted a tracking device in his dead wife's body in the hopes of finding him, and that disturbed her. She didn't like being asked to pay extra attention to Vaughn, as though she were babysitting him, making sure he didn't do anything foolish.

Her thoughts drifted back to Sark. Sure the objective was to retrieve Lauren's body, but like Vaughn, Sydney couldn't help wondering whether Sark was still nearby, whether there was a chance for his capture, and whether they could use Lauren's body as some kind of lure. Sark obviously had a much deeper attachment to Lauren than she had previously thought, so maybe they could use that against him...

He lifted the glass of bubbly that rested on top of the grave stone and took a sip. They watched him from the other end of the cemetery, both ready in position to make a move. Sark remained at the grave, and they continued to watch as he ran a gloved hand over the engravings in the stone. Vaughn couldn't take it any longer. He couldn't stand seeing such a man as Sark displaying affection for a woman like Lauren, the woman that had been his wife. He knew the orders, he knew that he was supposed to remain in position beside Sydney, hidden by the rows of grave stones and monuments…But he couldn't do it any longer.

"The area appears to be clear, there's no one there but you two, and Sark," Marshall said as he re-checked the feed from the body imaging satellite. Three heat sources, and from the live feed it appeared that they simply had to wait for Sark to leave before moving in to retrieve the body.

"Thanks Marshall," Sydney whispered into her comm. before relaxing her stance a little, readying herself for what could be a long wait.

Vaughn remained in position, not letting a single muscle relax in Sark's presence. He couldn't understand how Sydney could remain so calm in this situation, knowing that Sark was so close, so within reach, and so alone. It was the perfect opportunity, and he wasn't going to let it pass. With this thought in mind he began to move from behind the grave stone providing him with cover.

"Vaughn, Vaughn!" Sydney kept her voice as low as possible as she tried to grab for his sleeve and pull him back, but her attempts were pointless.

He looked back at her dismissingly, she of all people should understand. He continued to weave his way through the grave stones, carefully advancing with each step, closer and closer to the blond man the continued to mourn.

Marshall watched the screen as Vaughn moved towards Sark and couldn't help but hold his breath. If he'd learnt anything from his life with SD-6 and the CIA, it was that these things never went according to plan, especially when you strayed from the original one. Sydney's pleas to Vaughn had done nothing, and he knew that Vaughn wouldn't listen to him either. All he could do was watch and wait for everything to unfold.

Vaughn found cover behind the statue of an angel. He leant his back straight up against the cold granite as he steadied his breathing, composing himself for the moment he'd been waiting for for so long. He looked past the corner of the statue and burned Sark's exact position into his mind. He drew in one last breath before he stood and stepped out from behind the statue, giving him a clear shot at Sark's back.

"Wait! Wait! There's another figure approaching from the east!" Marshall exclaimed frantically but it was too late.

Sydney searched the eastern side of the cemetery for the approaching person but could see nothing in the darkness. "Vaughn, back off, now..."

Vaughn raised his gun, his sights set on the back of his skull. He tightened his grip on the gun as Sark finally registered the presence behind him. He turned, drawing Vaughn's eyes immediately to the red blinking light in Sark's hand. His eyes then traced up to the face of the man...it wasn't Sark.

"It isn't Sark..." he whispered to himself as though he needed to confirm what his eyes were seeing.

"Put the gun down Mr. Vaughn, you don't want to be blown up to you?"

Vaughn considered dropping his gun as Sydney weaved her way through the graves towards them. She still couldn't see the other figure, but according to Marshall, they had stopped suddenly not far from Vaughn and the other man.

"Where is he?" Vaughn practically growled.

"Mr. Sark's location isn't your main concern tonight. I will ask you once more...lower your gun."

Vaughn wasn't in the mood for games, and he wasn't in the mood for another of Sark's. He held his gun in the same position, directly aimed at the imposter's head.

"He's in front of you Syd, almost directly between you and Vaughn, can you see him?" Marshall asked, the sweat pouring from him as he continued to watch.

Sydney peered over the grave stone before her, now finally gaining view of the additional presence. " Sark!" Sydney exclaimed as she gained full view of him.

Vaughn spun around, desperately seeking his target, but the angel statue blocked his view. Shots began to ring out as Sark opened fire on Sydney, causing her to take cover behind the grave stones once more.

"Agent Vaughn...I can't say I'm not pleased by your foolishness." Sark said with a smirk from behind the statue. Now he had to wait only a few more moments before Vaughn would put everything into full effect. Sydney returned gunfire with Sark, causing him to duck down and disappear from her sight.

Vaughn held his gun on the imposter, though his mind remained focused on Sark. He knew exactly where he was, and he could get a clear shot... Sydney would cover him. His mind raced as he turned his back on the imposter and took a step towards the statue. Before Sydney could react the imposter pressed the detonator. Simultaneously four graves surrounding Vaughn's position exploded, knocking Sydney onto her back as a large cloud of smoke settled over the cemetery.

Marshall watched the explosion on screen as a large mass of heat exploded onto the screen, accompanied by the sound of the blast through the comms. "Sydney, Vaughn?" He asked, desperately hoping that they would answer him. He stared at the screen, waiting, hoping to still find their heat signatures present, but with a flicker the screen went black, and Marshall felt his heart beating outside of his chest.

Sydney slowly lifted herself from the ground, finding it hard to balance herself after being shaken by the blast. She didn't know how long she'd been out, but the smoke was still thick, and she began to cough as it choked her. She gasped for air as she stared into the cloud, searching for movement, for a sign that Vaughn hadn't been affected by the blast. Between coughs and gasps for air she called for him, straining to hear for a response through the ringing in her ears...but he didn't respond.

She rested against a grave stone as she tried to regain control of her breathing, wishing for the smoke to disappear. She could hear Marshall talking to her but she couldn't hear a single word. Slowly the smoke cloud lifted, allowing her to view the remains of the cemetery, the debris from the blasts...She moved slowly towards the epicenter where Vaughn had been standing. She braced herself for the worst...but instead, she found nothing.

"...Sark..."

I wanted to have this updated sooner but even though I had it planned out I couldn't get it started. Thank y'all for the reviews. phi4858,I went with what I had planned already, I just hope it turned out to be different to what you didn't want to happen. I hope y'allliked this chapter. Let me know what you think so far./ Britt