Chapter 12

London

The next morning, the three agents were waiting anxiously for Sam at a relatively anonymous restaurant. Though the night before could have caused awkwardness between Sydney and Vaughn, the two actually felt closer to each other. Though they tried to hide it from Jack.

Jack was somber. He was still trying to process all the information he had learned the day before. His dead wife was actually alive and an alliance member. And he had a second daughter that he didn't know anything about. Jack's initial reaction was to shut down emotionally, but he had learned with Sydney that that never worked.

Sam walked in the restaurant and spotted the three agents. She cautiously walked over to their table and sat down.

"Sorry I'm late, but I thought I was being followed so I had to take the long way to get here."

"You lost your tail?" Jack asked as he looked outside to see if he could spot anyone watching them.

"I lost them."

"Why would someone be following you? Who knew you were meeting us?" Sydney asked.

"I didn't tell anyone," Sam replied.

"No one saw us leave your apartment. What reason would the alliance have for following you then?" Vaughn asked.

Sam starred at him, trying to stall. At that moment the waitress came over and Sam ordered some tea. The table was quiet as the waitress brought Sam her tea.

"I didn't go to class yesterday, after I talked with you," Sam said as she prepared her tea. She avoided eye contact with everyone. "I went to Mum's office."

"You did what?" Sydney asked, shocked.

"I wanted to know, no I needed to know, what she had tried to get me into."

"What did you find?" Jack asked quietly.

Sam hesitated then took a sip of her tea, not sure how to say what she had to say.

"How much worse can it get?" Sydney asked, trying to coax Sam into answering.

"I didn't find much," Sam started. "Mum came back earlier than I expected. But apparently I'm not the only one she tried to recruit into this world." Sam paused and took a breath.

"Who else did she recruit?" Vaughn asked.

"I found a memo from Mum to SD-6. To a man named Sloane. Mum told Sloane to have Sydney recruited into SD-6, even if it was against Jack's wishes."



Chapter 13

London

"She did this to me," Sydney said under her breath as she shook her head in disgust. Her own mother had recruited her into this evil organization. Her mother was, in part, responsible for Danny's murder. Her mother was responsible for the double life Sydney had been forced to lead since her recruitment into SD-6, and especially now with the CIA. How could her own mother cause her so much pain?

"Listen, I know this is yet another shock for you, and I'm sorry I'm the one that had to deliver it. But I thought you should know." Sam said not being able to stand any more silence between the four of them.

"No…I mean," Sydney took a breath, "thank you for telling me. I, we, did need to know. I guess the question is: where do we go from here?"

"I don't mean to be rude," Sam said. "But the mother I have loved and adored all my life has become the supposed bad guy. She is the only mother I- well we-have. I'm not sure I want to give that up. So I think it would be better if we went our separate ways."

"Laura caught you in her office?" Jack asked, ignoring Sam's statement, while looking past her.

"What? Oh, well yes, but she didn't question it. It wasn't the first time I've been in there."

"And you were followed on your way here today?" Jack asked.

"Yes," Sam looked at him, puzzled. "But I lost the tail."

"Are you sure?" Vaughn asked this time, as he followed Jack's gaze.

"Well I thought I was," Sam said. She turned around and saw a man at a table, out of place in a government suit. Sam recognized him as the same man who had followed her earlier.