I'm Your Villain
Part Three
Sydney stared out at the clouds as the plane made its way back to Los Angeles. Vaughn had ignored protocol, and completely disregarded her. It stung, knowing that he was so hell-bent on gaining revenge...and for what? Because of the relationship between Lauren and Sark? It was all part of the deception, part of the lie that was the Vaughn/Reed marriage, the marriage that had cut into her and left her bleeding for months. She thought after her death they'd be free, free to be together again, but she was wrong. From the grave Lauren haunted her, taunted her and continued to play a part in her life.
Her thoughts returned again to Vaughn...Lauren was dead, she was gone, and everything that had happened should have been buried with her. He wasn't concerned with her, with what they had or what they may have had as time passed. He'd destroyed it all that night with his actions. Going after Sark had severely compromised them, and now Vaughn was probably paying for it in a cell somewhere, and he would be paying for it in other ways too. She'd done her job right down to the letter, she'd recovered Lauren's body, and now because of the entire situation it would be her job to rescue Vaughn and secure Sark. She watched the clouds begin to change shades of grey. As the sky began to fall in to darkness she realized that her hope had also fallen, and would possibly be lost forever.
The sound of chains rattling echoed throughout the small room as Vaughn began to awake. Sleepily his eyes opened to view his surroundings; a small concrete walled room, water dripped down the walls and formed puddle on the floor. The damp and cold enveloped him as he pulled at the chains that secured him to the metal chair, which itself was secured to the floor with bolts. He pulled at them again with all his strength, the metal scraping against his wrists. He let his arms fall to the arm rests as he sighed through the cloth gag in his mouth. He'd found Sark, but now what? Walking into a situation which would no doubt end with Sark beating him into a bloody pulp was the furthest situation in his mind when he'd decided to move from his position. Now would he regret it?
The door scraped against the floor as it opened. Light flooded into the dim room as Sark entered the room with a smirk on his face. All had gone according to plan. He'd relied on Vaughn's ignorance and hunger for revenge, and it had paid off. Now it was Vaughn who was imprisoned, vulnerable, and incapable of defending himself. It was his turn to have a little fun.
"I only hoped you'd be this foolish Mr. Vaughn. It seems we find ourselves in reversed roles." Sark moved across the room, finding a better position in which he could clearly see Vaughn's face. "You rather enjoyed your visits while I was in custody, and now it's only fair that I return the favor. But first...I wanted to ask; what sort of man places a tracking device in his dead wife's body?" He paused and watched Vaughn's face for any kind of response. "No answer? Well, that isn't the main focus of this meeting we find ourselves in...rather, I found myself wondering what is behind your motives, Mr. Vaughn. Is it revenge? Revenge for me stealing her away from you? Because really, she was only looking for something she wasn't getting from you. I didn't drive her into my arms, that was you. You pushed her away from you once Sydney returned. You're angered by the love I displayed for Lauren, that I removed her from that pitiful grave and gave her a proper burial, but really Mr. Vaughn, were you in any sort of position to be angry? She was never yours to bury..."
Vaughn bit into the gag and kept his gaze on Sark. He displayed no emotion. He didn't want to give Sark what he wanted; he didn't want him to know how his words affected him. Sark took a few steps closer. "Is it revenge? Or is it prevention? You push Sydney away as you pushed Lauren. You just can't hold onto your women, can you? It's pitiful, but not as pitiful as you will feel after I'm done with you." Sark smiled as he back handed Vaughn across the face and began one of the numerous planned sessions. Sark would get what he wanted. Vaughn was helping it along through his actions, and now he was simply the constellation prize, a party favor to play with while the true fun was yet to come.
Two days later Sydney pulled into the Montecito Resort & Casino, uncertain of what to expect. She made her way inside the casino, her mind filled with the endless possibilities of what could be waiting for her, and who might be waiting. She didn't know what was going to happen, all she had was a small piece of information presumably sent from Sark, asking her Sydney, and only Sydney to be at a certain bar within the casino on this day, in 10 minutes time, and that was it. There was no mention of Vaughn, of a trade or anything concerning his safe return.
She looked down at her watch as she made her way towards the bar. She kept herself on high alert, but felt comfort knowing that Marshall was watching over her, and several plain clothed agents were scattered around her already. For the past two days they had been searching for anything to use to bargain with Sark, and for reasons why he would need Vaughn other than for the obvious motivation of torture. With so much information lacking APO was practically flying blind. All they could do was follow Sark's instructions and piece together data as they received it.
Sydney stood at the entrance of the bar and quickly scanned the interior, searching for any familiar faces or anyone suspicious. She couldn't see anyone she recognized, and looked down at her watch once more. With only 3 minutes until the specified time she headed inside and took a seat at the bar and waited for the minutes to count down. With Marshall watching overhead she focused on those around her rather than behind her, and waited for something, anything, but she remained undisturbed at her place at the bar. She consulted her watch again. It was now a minute past the designated time, and she was beginning to feel that pang in her stomach that she felt when things were going to go wrong.
"What can I get you?" The bartender asked.
"I'm supposed to be meeting someone here around this time..." She trailed off, wondering just how much information she should give away, then realized that she really didn't have much to give away anyway. "I'm not really sure who it is I'm meeting...blind date." She smiled and tried to act as nervous as she possibly could.
"Oh, I think I've got a message here for you. Are you initials SB?"
"Yes, yes they are," she smiled and thanked him as he handed her an envelope with her initials scrawled on the outside. She opened the envelope to find a key for Room 793. She frowned. A specific room was private, hidden from the public and from crowds, and most importantly hidden from the surveillance cameras. She felt hesitant, but as she had been told by both Sloane and her father, this was their only lead to Sark.
Sark watched the surveillance feed as Sydney left the bar and crossed the foyer, heading towards the elevators. He smiled. She was taking a risk going to that room and he admired that. He couldn't help but wonder what was driving her, whether she was focused more on finding himself or the missing Agent Vaughn. He watched her within the elevator, aware of another presence within the casino's system, as well as the several agents which had been following Sydney at length from the moment she'd entered the casino. It never ceased to amaze him that the direction to come alone was never followed, and almost always lead to the deaths which could have easily be prevented. But today they were lucky, for it wasn't one of those days when numerous deaths would occur for not following simple directions. Sark wasn't stupid enough to place himself within the hotel. He waited for her in another destination, and what she found in that room would certainly draw her to him, whether it was through curiosity or a need to find him...she would come to him.
Sydney exited the elevator and moved along the corridor searching for Room 793. She walked further and further away from the elevator, each step filling her mind with doubts about the situation and what she might find within that room. With Sark things were never simple, and she still couldn't even hope to predict what she would be faced with in just a few moments. She paused in front of the door, key in hand, preparing herself for the worst and hoping for the best simultaneously. She gripped the gun in her purse as she turned the key and entered, only to find an empty room.
She moved further into the room, making sure she was alone. Nothing seemed out of place, nothing out of the ordinary...what was going on? She entered the bedroom, a discrepancy on the bed catching her eye. She moved to the end of the bed, getting a better look at what was spread out before her. She wasn't sure what to expect, but she certainly wasn't expecting this. There she found clothing, a passport and other documents, a plane ticket and that familiar blond wig. She lifted the wig as she opened the passport, the details within only confirming the reasoning behind the wig and clothing... "You've got to be kidding me..."
I know it's taking me a while to get to the Sarkney, thanks for being patient, I'm working on it!Montecito used from LV, probably copyrighted to them so I'll acknowledge it here. My net might be gone in 2 weeks time so I'll try to have this wrapped up by then. Thanks for the reviews, and I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! Next chapter should be up in the next few days./ Britt
