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A few hours later, Sydney had arrived in Mexico City. She hadn't checked in her suitcase, so she got off the plane and started walking through the airport. She pulled out her cell phone, intending to call Sark once she got outside, and was startled to find him sitting in a nearby chair, waiting for her, dressed in a white polo and khaki slacks.
"Greetings."
Sydney stopped when she was a few feet away from him. "How long have you been here?"
"Since you called."
"That long?" Sydney asked, her tone disbelieving. Sark nodded, smirking. She smirked back. "Obviously you have no life."
Sark pretended to appear wounded. "Sydney, you know that *you're* my life." He couldn't quite keep a straight face, so now he was smiling slightly.
Sydney said simply, "Shut up, Sark."
Sark got down to business. "Tell me why you're here."
"Let's talk somewhere else."
Sark nodded, grabbed Sydney's suitcase, and motioned for her to follow. Sydney protested that she could carry her own suitcase, but Sark wasn't having it. Once outside, Sark put Sydney's suitcase in the trunk of his car and opened the front passenger door for her to get in.
He ignored her death glare, and shut the door once she had gotten in. He went around and climbed into the driver's seat. Sydney looked at him.
"Where are we going?"
"Safehouse."
Sydney gave a slight nod in concurrence, and Sark sped off.
Jack was sitting at his computer in the Joint Task Force when Vaughn walked up to him. "I heard the news," Vaughn said. "Dixon told me Sydney left."
Blatantly ignoring Vaughn's words, Jack stood up with a folder of papers and gave Vaughn a quick eyeball. "You're functional already?" he asked. "I didn't think you'd be up and about for a few more days at the least." He started to walk away, and Vaughn stopped him.
"Tell me what's going on," he said. "Tell me why Sydney just left."
Jack stared. "You said Dixon told you she left. I'm assuming he already gave you the details as to why she's gone."
"Yes," Vaughn admitted, "but I would think you know me better than that to think that I would just believe that Sydney would take off because her life suddenly got too hard."
"She's never dealt with anything like this before, Agent Vaughn. There's no doubt that she is strong."
"I know that," Vaughn snapped, "that's why I don't understand why Sydney would—"
Jack cut him off, and said firmly, "Sydney is handling this in her own way. Respect her decision."
Vaughn fumed. "I *will* respect her decision once you tell me the real reason as to why she left. I know you're not telling me everything."
"It is not your place," Jack began, "to continue to worry about Sydney as if she were still dating you."
"That's not what I'm doing, Jack," Vaughn said slowly. "I loved your daughter in the past, and just because two years went by, it doesn't mean I stopped caring about her."
"I will not permit you to act as if nothing's changed, to make Sydney be in more pain than she already is. You don't seem to realize that whatever relationship you had with my daughter was severed by time." Jack paused a moment, seeing right through Vaughn as Vaughn tried to fix him with an icy glare, but only managed to come off as menacing as a teddy bear. "You have a wife, Mr. Vaughn. Learn to understand what it means to be a husband and leave my daughter alone." He walked away with Vaughn looking pained as he stared down at his feet.
Sydney gulped when she and Sark arrived at the safehouse. "Simon's not here, is he?"
"No," Sark answered.
"Thank God," Sydney mumbled. She couldn't talk to Sark about her plan if Simon was there. She needed to have Sark be the one to tell Simon about her plan.
"What's the big deal, Sydney?" Sark asked. "I figured you'd want to see him."
"Oh, I do," Sydney said, nodding, "just not until after you and I talk."
"Let's get to it, then."
Once Vaughn had gotten his bearings, he decided to pay a visit to Weiss and see if he knew anything or suspected that something was amiss. Lauren spotted him.
"There you are," she said. "I've been looking all over for you."
"I was talking to Jack," he admitted.
"Is something wrong?" Lauren asked, concern knitting her brow.
"It's just—" Vaughn pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't understand why Sydney would just leave. It isn't like her to throw in the towel."
"I talked to her," Lauren told him. Vaughn looked at her, an expression of surprise on his face.
"You talked to Sydney before she left?"
"Yes."
"What did she say?"
"She said that she needed to be alone for a while. She said she couldn't focus with the way things are right now." Lauren looked down. "I think it might have something to do with you and me. I know she still has feelings for you, and I think that it hurts her to see us together."
"No," Vaughn said, shaking his head, "Sydney's stronger than that. *Better* than that. I don't think that us being together is why she left."
"What are you saying, then?" Lauren asked. "Do you think she might be planning something?"
"I don't know," Vaughn ceded, sighing softly. "But if she is, you can bet that Jack Bristow knows all about it."
Sydney stretched out on the couch in the safehouse, while Sark took a seat in an adjacent recliner. He looked at her, noting how peaceful she appeared, and snarked, "Tuckered out, are we?"
Sydney cracked a smile and replied, "A tad, yes." She held Sark's gaze for a moment, then looked away at the same instant Sark did. "We need to make some changes in this whole 'working for the Covenant' plan."
"Such as?"
Sydney folded her arms behind her head and glanced up at the ceiling. She could feel Sark's gaze on her. "The Covenant already knows who I am. They'll recognize me if I appear before them." She looked at Sark to see if he was following what she was telling him. He gave her a nod of acknowledgment. "So, I propose that I work with them anonymously. Tell them you have an asset who's interested in doing jobs for them, and that I'll work through you. I'll get my assignments through you, and you'll pass along whatever I obtain, all the while not mentioning who I am."
Sark chuckled lightly. "I'm guessing that you or you and your CIA buddies have devised a double-agent scenario already." Sydney grinned at him. "I'm impressed."
"Oh come on, Sark," Sydney jested, "you wouldn't expect anything less from me and you know it."
Sark smiled at her and they locked eyes again. Neither turned away until Sark picked up a folder and began flipping through the papers in it. Sydney sat up and looked at it.
"What's that?"
Sark didn't detract his focus as he beckoned, "Come look."
Sydney frowned in distaste but stood up all the same. She walked over to Sark and nudged his elbow off the arm of the chair so she could sit down. She grabbed the folder from him and propped it on her lap. She noticed Sark fixing her with an annoyed glare out of the corner of her eye. She ignored him and studied the papers.
Sark pulled the handle back on the recliner.
Sydney lost her balance as the foot rest swung up fast and caused her to nearly fall into Sark's lap. Sydney grunted in annoyance. Sark hid a grin.
"Comfy?"
Sydney turned towards him, narrowing her eyes, and was vaguely aware of how close Sark's lips were to hers. She turned away and shoved Sark's leg over, grateful that there was room for the both of them. She sat with one of her legs on the footrest and the other draped over the arm of the chair.
She considered herself lucky to be wearing jeans. A skirt would have been tragic.
"So," she began, "anytime you want to start going over this"
"'Course," said Sark, as he snatched the folder from her and laid it across his right leg and her left. He flipped back to the first page.
"Looks like a recon op," Sydney noted, and Sark nodded.
"Should be pretty simple," Sark said. "I'll notify the Covenant of the new arrangement regarding you, and then we'll talk to Simon."
"Okay," Sydney agreed, flipping to the next page to read more about the mission. She looked at Sark, saw him with his opposite elbow propped on the other arm of the chair, his fist supporting his chin. She looked at him for a long moment, wondering what he was thinking.
She wondered if he hated her for what she had told him about his father.
She wondered if he trusted her to make the whole Covenant operation work.
She wondered if he had a plan to destroy her.
She wondered if he was on her side.
She saw him breathe in deeply, still looking away from her, and she sighed, realizing she didn't know him at all and she probably never would. "Sark?" she said softly.
Sark turned towards her, their faces inches apart. Sark pursed his lips and asked, "What?"
Sydney just stared at him for a few moments as if she could read into his entire soul just by looking at him. Her eyes flicked from his eyes down to his lips and back again, and Sydney swore she saw something more intense in them than she had seen just a moment before.
She looked away. "Nothing."
"Sydney."
She looked at him again and shivered, the deep blue of his eyes going right through her. "It's really nothing," she insisted, looking down at the folder for lack of a safer place to focus her gaze.
Sark leaned in and tilted his head down to meet Sydney's eyes. "Are you worried about the mission?"
Sydney lifted her eyes to Sark's. She realized they were close enough to kiss and wondered if that meant anything. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and admitted, "I was actually thinking of asking aboutwhat I told you" Sark turned away as she trailed off and Sydney said earnestly, "I'm really sorry."
Sydney closed the folder and looked at Sark, unnerved at how still and silent he was. Without thinking, she grabbed his hand. Sark said nothing and didn't attempt to free his hand from Sydney's grasp. Sydney still looked at him even as he avoided her eyes.
The front door opened then, and Sydney nearly leaped out of her seat, clearly startled. She saw that it was Simon, looking particularly good dressed all in black, a long coat draped over his arm. Sydney released Sark's hand before Simon could see, and climbed out of the chair awkwardly.
Simon chuckled as Sydney walked over to him. "I was going to say, you two looked awfully cozy there."
"Nah," Sydney countered, and slapped the folder against Simon's chest. He took it from her and raised an eyebrow. "Mission specs," Sydney offered.
"Ah," Simon said, nodding. "First mission already?" Simon asked, directing his question to Sark.
"Yep," Sark said, putting down the footrest and standing up. He walked to the door and looked back at Sydney and Simon. "I'm going for a drive. I'll be back later."
As soon as Sark had left, Simon had tossed the folder onto a small table and had begun kissing Sydney's neck as he worked to lift up her top. Sydney moved out of reach and picked up the folder, sneering at Simon.
Simon pouted. "Do we really have to do this now, babe?"
Sydney stepped closer to him and wrapped her hand around Simon's crotch. "I'll make it worth your while." Simon gave her a half smile. Sydney relented, "Okay, while you *read*, I'll make it worth your while."
Simon smiled fully and kissed Sydney long and deep. He pulled back and took the folder from her, then plunked himself down on the couch, making himself comfortable as he opened the folder and began to read.
Sydney knelt before him and pulled him closer as she began unzipping his pants. She pulled them down a bit and rose up slightly, leaning towards his tented boxers. "How're you doing?" she asked him, her hands on his legs.
Simon peered over the top of the folder and told her, "We're infiltrating a building in London."
"Uh huh," Sydney murmured as she tugged down his boxers, exposing him. She let her fingers trace a path up his thigh. "What else?"
Simon groaned and answered, "Doesn't look like it'll be too hard."
Sydney smirked and moved her hand closer to him, but not yet touching. "Sure about that?"
Simon grunted and decided, "It could be harder than it looks."
"I'll guess we'll see about that, won't we?" Sydney said, and curled her fingers around him, stroking him gently. She looked up at Simon and saw his eyes closed and his face contorted in pleasure as his mouth formed words of wanting. She moved her hand away and saw the confused look on Simon's face. She raised her eyebrows at him expectantly.
Simon reluctantly continued reading. "The Covenant wants something, but they're not really clear about exactly what it is."
"Bummer for us, I guess," Sydney said with a sigh.
"Yeah," Simon continued, "yeah, they're really vague here." He turned the page and Sydney was nearly convinced that he was focused more on the folder than her. She squeezed him and Simon gulped. "Still not clear on this page"
"Damn," Sydney muttered, and stroked him quicker. Simon mumbled her alias under his breath and managed to turn the page. He all but tossed the folder aside when Sydney wrapped her lips around him.
Simon thrust into her mouth and his head rolled back when Sydney fondled his balls in just the right way. He saw her look up at him and was afraid she'd stop if he didn't finish reading everything in the folder. He had one page left but was rapidly losing interest. The lack of interest didn't just come from what was happening, it also stemmed from the fact that the papers in the folder beat around the bush about what the Covenant wanted retrieved.
He almost thought that the whole mission might be a setup on the Covenant's part, but all rational thought was quickly erased because his orgasm was creeping up on him fast, and the way Sydney's mouth was working on him was suddenly becoming too much to handle.
He burst right then and felt her throat working around him as he breathed heavily and thrust gently. She stood up and plopped down on the couch, taking the folder from him and tossing it aside. She let her head drop onto his shoulder.
"Babe?" Simon asked, zipping his pants. "You all right?"
Sydney looked up at him and smiled for his benefit. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Okay," Simon said, and pressed a kiss to her forehead as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He peered at her, not really believing her claim that she was indeed all right. He decided to find out what was wrong. "Julia," he said softly.
"Hm?"
"What's bothering you?"
Sydney sat up then, fixing Simon with a confused stare. "Nothing's bothering me, Simon."
"Not the mission?"
"It's not anything," Sydney insisted. "There's nothing wrong. I'm fine."
"If you say so," Simon muttered. He looked at her. "You're not even concerned that we have no idea what we're supposed to retrieve here?"
Sydney gazed into his eyes. She hadn't given much thought to the vague nature of the mission specs, but she supposed she guessed that Sark would fill both her and Simon in. That is, if he even had the information. She raised an eyebrow at Simon. "Are you saying we can't trust Andrew?"
Simon shook his head and shrugged. "I'm not sure what to believe. It's possible that our ally here isn't what he seems."
"Or," Sydney countered, "it's possible that the Covenant isn't what it seems."
"Right," Simon agreed.
"So what do we do?"
Simon shrugged again. "It's up to you, babe."
Sydney felt her blood run cold. "Why me?"
"Well," Simon started, "if you believe that everything's all right here, we'll go. If you believe something's a bit fishy, we won't." He tilted his head at her and affectionately squeezed her arm. "I can always find us another job."
Sydney nodded and looked down at her hands in her lap. She couldn't afford to say 'no' to this opportunity and squander the operation to shut down the Covenant before it even started. She would have to take any and all risks if she wanted to succeed.
She looked up and saw that Simon was waiting for her answer. "We'll go." Simon nodded and kissed her, and Sydney found herself wondering if she was getting in too far over her head.
A/N: Yay! I updated! I started this chapter on November 30th and finished it on December 15th. All the time in between was devoted to schoolwork and general laziness regarding this story. ;x Anyways, I've written up to chapter 12, and at the moment, I'm modifying that chapter. After 11 and 12, there will probably be a few more chapters to sort of tie everything together, and then it will end. I was thinking of having it be longer, but I need to work on 'Scars.' Plus, this story doesn't need to go on for much more than I have planned, anyway.
Thank y'all for reading. ;)
~E