Part Eleven

LA : Warehouse

Sydney and Marshall had left the scene. The agents on site had said that they weren't needed for the transfer. Lauren had arrived, on behalf of the NSC. She was to over see Carrie's treatment, and report back to the head office. She watched as Carrie was lead out from the warehouse and into an armoured van. She was chained to the walls of the vehicle, and accompanied by several heavily armed guards.

Lauren gave them the all clear, and within seconds the van could only be seen in the distance. She looked behind her, into the warehouse opposite the one Carrie had been kept in. Several bodies were packed into body bags, and we layed out in a line across the floor. She shivered. She would never get used to the sight of dead bodies. Maybe her father had been right for disallowing her enrolment as a field officer. She sighed and returned back to Base Ops.

Base Ops : Rotunda

"Are we any closer to identifying the shooter?" Syd asked.

"No, without the files, we cannot do anything." Dixon replied.

"Ask Carrie, bargain with her. If it was the Covenant she is the only one who can confirm it."

He looked down. "Syd, something's happened.."

Sydney looked away. It had happened again. She never knew how the Central Intelligence Agency could allow criminals to escape. You'd think the CIA would learn from their mistakes. She shook her head.

"This has happened twice! There's a pattern forming. Who can do the job right if American Intelligence can't?!? Now we'll never know what happened." Syd looked down. She felt like she owed Lazarey. His killer needed to be brought to justice.

"Not entirely," Dixon began, "The files that we thought were destroyed, the files containing the satelite footage have been recovered. But they are encoded. We don't have the personnel to decode the file here, it's been sent to another field office." He said before leaving.

Sydney felt a little better. But she didn't trust other offices, she didn't know how they operated..She would've preferred Marshall to be handling it, but he wasn't in any condition to be working.

LA : Hilton Hotel

Sark entered the hotel's lobby, entirely dressed in black. He wore a wig, spiked black hair with red tips. He pulled out a piece of paper from his jacket pocket, and read the name of the contact he was to meet. He casually walked up to the service desk.

"Hey. I'm Deryck Barker. Is there a package here for me?" He asked cooly in a Californian accent.

The woman behind the desk searched the bundle of papers and various items beside her. She uncovered a small package, and handed it to Sark.

"Thanks man." Sark said as he smiled. He turned away from the desk and opened the package. It contained a key to a room, 711. Sark threw the packaging into the nearest rubbish bin, and headed for an elevator.

LA : Hilton Hotel Room 711

Sark unlocked the door slowly, checking the corridors for any onlookers. He entered the room, and shut the door behind him. He scanned the room, and noticed his contact sitting in the corner, waiting. He took a seat in the chair opposite, and waited for them to speak.

"Those who have been assoicated with the CIA need to be disposed of. You know as well as I, they are a risk to our partnership."

Sark nodded. "Yes, I am aware of the risk. If the Covenant even began to suspect that I was being disloyal, they would not hesitate to put a bullet in my head. I believe it is your duty to get a certain CIA agent on our side, are we any closer to reaching this goal?"

"They will see our way of thinking, I'm sure of it. The numerous attempts on their lives have been diverted, I don't want it to happen again."

" I will take care of it." Sark replied, before leaving the room.

Part Twelve

LA : Syd's apartment

Marshall sat on the floor, playing the XBOX he had brought over from his house. It was early, very early. The sun hadn't even risen, but somehow, Marshall couldn't bring himself to sleep. He was afraid of the nightmares he might have. The nightmares that were even worse than his won reality. He became more involved in the game, Madden Football. He loved it, it gave him an insight into what it would've been like to be a footballer....

Marshall was never the athletic type, he never really fitted in during high school. He was always the guy sitting alone during lunch, the one that was bullied for his lunch money, teased, ignored, and forgotten. The game didn't help lift his sorrows. Usually when he scored a touchdown he would feel proud, and would get up and do a little dance, but right now he couldn't gather the energy.

The phone began to ring. He checked the time, 4:45am. He quickly picked up the phone, hoping that the ringing wouldn't have woken Sydney.

"Hello?" He asked, he wondered who would be calling at this hour. "Sydney isn't up, but I can take a message..." He waited for a reply.

"I do not want to speak with Sydney," replied a muffled voice. Whoever it was was using a voice concealer.

"What do you want?" Marshall asked quickly, he was nervous.

"I want to tell you the truth, about Carrie. You know that she is a member of the Covenant, but that is not the worst of her lies." The voice said, waiting for Marshall's response.

Marshall was confused, but he stayed silent. He couldn't bring himself to ask the questions he was thinking.

"Carrie isn't pregnant, she never was. It was all a lie, she played your trust." The voice continued, "I'll take your silence as disbelief, I'm sure Sydney would be happy to confirm it."

Marshall's eyes were filled with tears. He couldn't speak, he tried to but the words were stuck in his throat. He still held the phone in his hand, the dial tone ringing through the receiver. He dropped it to the floor, and looked around Syd's apartment. He wasn't sure what to do with himself. He grabbed his jacket, and left the house.

Marshall got into his car, and started the engine. He was in no condition to be driving. Deep down he knew it, but he didn't care. The voice from the call repeated over and over in his mind. Carrie wasn't pregnant, she was never pregnant. She lied, she lied to him, and he completely trusted her. His emotions were on overdrive. He put the car into gear and put his foot down, the car sped off, further and further away from Syd's apartment.

LA : location unknown

Marshall pulled over to a spot overlooking a beach. It was well before dawn. He watched the waves rolling into the shore. And he thought about the child that didn't exist. He had so many hopes for his son, or daughter, but now they all just disappeared....

LA : Syd's apartment

Sydney rolled over in bed, trying to get more comfortable. She tried to wake herself up, but she found herself dreaming....

Sydney stood in the middle of a football field. She turned, looking at the empty seating in the stadium, when she heard a voice calling out her name. She couldn't make out the voice. She turned, to see a man, dressed in a football uniform running towards her. She smiled, and watched as the footballer got closer and closer. She couldn't see his face, the helmet hid it from her view. He stopped in front of her, as she tried to figure out who the face belonged to. She recognised the eyes as Vaughn's. She hugged him. He began to kiss her, and she removed his helmet. She opened her eyes to look at his face. She looked into familiar green eyes, and realised that she was kissing Marshall.....A bell began to sound in the distance.......

Her alarm clock was going off. Sydney quickly sat up in bed. Her dream had startled her. Marshall? She shook the thoughts out of her head, she only had those dreams when she was in love with someone. Like Cory in the 9th Grade, Noah, Danny, and Vaughn...Again, she dismissed the idea as she put on her robe and left her room. She went into the kitchen. The XBOX was still on, Marshall must've left it on when he went to bed. She turned it off and looked at the time. 5:30am. Usually Marshall was up by now. She made herself a coffee and knocked on Marshall's door.

"Marshall, do you want a coffee?" Syd yelled through his closed door. She waited for a reply. Normally he'd reply straight way, he'd respond in some kind of way. She was concerned. She knocked again, but still no answer.

She opened the door and entered her spare room. The bed was empty. Thoughts flashed through Sydney's mind. She looked out the front window, his car was gone. She picked up the phone and called the office. Dixon picked up.

"Dixon! Marshall's missing!" She exclaimed, as she called Marshall's cell phone..It rang behind her. She swore under her breath.

"Alright, don't panic. I'm sure he just went for a drive, but i will make sure that all agents are on alert." Dixon said, trying to re-assure Syd.

She hung up on him, and quickly got dressed. She got into her car and drove to his house. He wasn't there. She drove around aimlessly. Syd had no idea where to even begin a search. Minutes passed and she grew more and more worried.

LA : location unknown

The sun was beginning to rise on the horizon. The sky was changing colour, and Marshall's emotions were now calming down. He wanted to leave L.A, leave it all behind and start new somewhere, maybe Vegas. But deep down he knew he couldn't bring himself to leave. So much of what he loved was situated in the "City of Angels". Marshall thought about his mother, he loved her too much to just abandon her. And work, his work at the CIA was his life. And then there was Sydney....

Part Thirteen

LA : Syd's apartment

Sydney pulled into her driveway, next to Marshall's car. She got out of her car as fast as she could, and ran inside. Marshall sat in the kitchen, back to the door.

"Marshall!" Syd exclaimed, "I was so worried, I thought...."

"Yeah, I'm sorry, I just, needed to think a few things through...." Marshall stopped himself, he wanted to stay strong, like Sydney. He didn't know how she did it, she was so brave. Marshall wanted to tell Syd about the call, but was too afraid. He wasn't sure if he could hold his emotions together, he'd fallen apart enough in front of her.

Syd noticed that he was hiding something. But she didn't want to push the subject of Carrie, if he wanted to talk to her about it, he would. Sydney slumped down on the lounge while Marshall went into his room. She looked through the documents in front of her, a list of Lazarey's enemies. She wanted to know who killed him, and why. But the CIA no longer had the files in their possession, she had to trust that someone else would uncover the killer. She sighed, and looked back over her shoulder. Marshall stood with photographs in his hands. She tried to see what they were, but couldn't make them out.

Marshall was on the verge of tears. He had a lump in his throat, and was gulping back the tears, trying to keep it together. He concentrated on the photos of an unborn child. Not his, but someone elses. By now Syd was standing in front of him, looking down at the photos in his hands.

"Marshall...." Syd began.

"Don't..." He said, still fighting back tears.

"Marshall I'm so sorry," she continued, watching Marshall's expression change.

"I'm sick of everyone saying that they're sorry. Sorry doesn't change a thing, it doesn't change the lies...Just...don't.." He said as he pushed past her and out the door.

Syd went after him, but stopped at the open door. She watched him reverse out of her drive way, and drive away from the house. She stood at the doorway for minutes, waiting for him to come back, but he didn't. She closed the door and sat down. Someone had told him about the baby. But who? There were too many people that could've known, too many Covenant agents, and few other people.

Sydney thought about Marshall. He had lost the chance to see Carrie, to ask questions, to let out his anger. He never got to say goodbye to the woman that had deceived him, and there was little chance of him ever seeing her again. It was her mother's fault, and she knew it. If Irina hadn't of been there, if she hadn't killed those guards and forced the move, Marshall would have seen Carrie.

LA : location unknown

Sark leaned in and watched the monitor in front of him. Marshall had entered his house. Sark smiled, Marshall was right where they wanted him. The plan was now ready to be carried out. Covenant agents would enter the house, take him hostage and then Sark and his associate would finally have what they wanted. He had to settle his thoughts. Sark knew he couldn't get ahead of himself, especially when the CIA was involved....Bristow. He grabbed his phone and dialled.

"The chicken has returned to the coup, you know what to do."

"Yes," Weiss replied, as he hung up and looked at his partner, Carrie.

Part Fourteen

LA : Marshall's apartment

Marshall stood in the lounge room, and looked around his apartment. So many memories, false memories, that he was led to believe. He now had no sympathy for Carrie. All of his thoughts about Carrie had changed, he didn't care what happened to her, she obviously didn't care about him. Did she ever care about him at all? Or was it all just an act? He was still filled with anger. He looked at the photo of Carrie and himself on the coffee table.

Marshall went into the nursery. He sat down in the rocking chair, and closed his eyes. All of his dreams of fatherhood were gone. Everything was perfect. He knew he had to stop getting so worked up over it, but he couldn't help it. Marshall wasn't used to feeling so much hate, he didn't know how to deal with it. Once again he became enraged. He picked up the Noah's Arc lamp beside him, and threw it at the wall. He kicked over various toys and objects on the floor. He over-turned the cot, and broke the numerous ornaments on the bookcase. He stopped and looked down at the mess he had made, trying to catch his breath.

Base Ops : Rotunda

Vaughn checked the feed he was receiving on his computer. It's authenticity was confirmed, Marshall was at his apartment. Vaughn picked up his phone and called Marshall's cell phone. It was turned off. He hung up and redialled, this time calling Syd. He waited a few seconds, before she picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Sydney, you need to get over to Marshall's. He's there alone, we don't know what the Covenant has planted in that apartment. It'd be safer to keep him out of there." Vaughn said,

"Ok. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"The surveillance team would move in, but we need them in place, just in case." He said. He was worried about Sydney. She seemed to be dropping everything in her life to be there for Marshall, and he didn't like it.

"Ok, no problem." She said before hanging up.

Vaughn put the phone down and looked at it. The two of them hadn't had a decent conversation in weeks. He looked up as Lauren left the rotunda. He had been meaning to talk to her, but now he would have to wait.

LA : Marshall's apartment

Marshall turned to leave the nursery. He looked down at the teddy bear in front of him. He picked it up and left the room. Before he could make his way to the door he heard the sound of window breaking. Marshall turned to where the noise had come from. He slowly walked towards the hallway, trying not to make a noise.

"You don't wanna mess with me. You can't mess with magic Marshall." He yelled with a shaky voice, as he picked up the only intact lamp in his house.

Before he could make it down the hallway the front door was kicked in. He spun around to see two figures enter his apartment, dressed from head to toe in black, and armed with guns. Marshall was shaking. He was field rated, but he had no idea how to handle a situation like this. They slowly approached him, as he ran down the hallway into his room. He locked the door and looked for a way to escape. He tried to think of what Syd would do in a situation like this. Marshall scanned the room, and spotted the broken glass on the ground. He looked up at the shattered window pane.

"Oh God, please don't hurt me." He pleaded, but he couldn't see anyone in the room with him.

Marshall jumped as the two figures began to bang on the door. He was panicking. He stood frozen, looking at the door. The two figures stopped banging, and Marshall breathed a sigh of relief. He was startled but a gun shot. They were firing at the lock. It wouldn't be long before they were in the room, before they would get to him.

Marshall was grabbed from behind, one arm around his waist and another around his chest, with a hand covering his mouth to prevent him from yelling. He tried to turn to see who had a hold of him, but whoever it was had a strong grip. He was pulled backwards to the window, turned, and pushed outside. He still couldn't see the face of his captor. They released their grip on him, and he slowly turned to see who it was that had taken him.

Part Fifteen

LA : Marshall's apartment

Marshall looked up into the face of his captor.

"Sydney?!?" He exclaimed.

"Shhhh.." She said, trying to keep him quiet, "Come on."

She led him towards the side gate of his house, as the two figures entered Marshall's room. They searched the room, and noticed the broken window. One of them looked out to see Marshall and Sydney running towards a car. They got into Syd's car and sped off. Syd occasionally glanced at her rear view mirror to see if they were being followed. She drove them around in circles, making sure that they weren't being tailed. Convinced that they weren't followed, she headed back in the direction of her house.

Marshall glanced over at Syd, and tried to get up the courage to thank her. He had done it so often, he didn't know why it was so hard for him to say it this time. He looked down at his feet, and at the teddy bear he still had in his hands. He couldn't believe he had held onto it. Syd noticed the bear in his hands, and glanced up at him. They pulled into her driveway. Sydney undid her seatbelt and began to open the car door. Marshall grabbed her hand, and kept her inside the car.

"Syd....thank you." He said sincerely.

Sydney smiled, "You don't have to thank me, it's my job to keep you safe." Marshall smiled. She remembered what he had said on their first mission. The two of them sat in the car for a few seconds, before heading into the apartment.

LA : carpark

Lauren sat in her car and waited for her contact to arrive. She had been meeting with someone a lot over the past year, acquiring intel and various pieces of information that helped her with her mission. She looked down at her watch, her contact should be there any second. She turned to watch a car enter the carpark, and slowly pull up next to her. She stayed in her car as her contact got out of his. He opened her passenger car door and sat down in the seat.

"I understand you wanted to meet with me...why?" Sark asked, curiously. He had never trusted Lauren, he never believed that her loyalty lied with the Covenant, and one day he hoped to prove himself right.

"Yes, I believe my position within the NSC and the CIA may be in jeopardy." Lauren said, seriously.

"And why is that?"

"They have recovered the file containing the satelite footage. It is now being decrypted and analysed in another government facility, a facility that i cannot access." Lauren knew that Sark would be dissapointed.

"We can't have that happen, can we?" He asked, smugly.

Lauren was relieved, she thought that Sark would have been angry with her, "No, we can't. What do you propose i do?"

Sark looked out the window, and took of his sunglasses. He looked back at Lauren, and pulled out a baretta fitted with a silencer. Lauren's expression changed to shock, as Sark shot her three times. He stepped out of the car, and closed the door. He looked in through the window, and waved at Lauren's lifeless body, before getting into his own car and leaving the scene.

LA : Streets

Sark smiled as he replaced his sunglasses over his eyes. He knew that he was right, one day the Covenant would order the kill, and his early suspicions would be proved correct. Lauren Reed was never a good agent, neither for the Covenant or the NSC. The higher stationed members of the Covenant should have taken more notice of him, and now maybe they would.

Sark's phone began to ring. He looked down at the phone beside him, and picked it up.

"Hello."

"Mr Sark, we have bad news," Weiss said, little confidence in his voice.

Sark's pleased expression morphed into anger, he had been failed him again.

"How?"

"Bristow, some how she knew, swooped in and saved him." Weiss replied, while chewing on a chocolate bar. He waited for Sark's response.

Sark slammed down the phone, and changed his car into a higher gear. He was fuming.