The job goes well, save for the panicky hitch in Marshall's safe cracking code that has Javier jumping down her throat. The second time, it works, and she responds with what she hopes is Julia's characteristic cool sarcasm: "It's not exactly factory-condition."
Javier shuts up, and she is relieved to see that the cylinder of biological agent that he extracts from the freezer matches exactly the decoy that Sark gave her. It's safely camouflaged in a bag of tampons back in her bag, at the hotel.
They steal out of the facility, back to the Hummer and make tracks for the city.
In the hotel room, Simon sidles up behind her on the balcony, slipping his hands around her waist and then down her front to cup her possessively. She stiffens at his touch, and then he's whispering in her ear, "The fellas want to celebrate a job well done, but I don't think they trust you… Can I make it up to you later?"
She puts on her best smile and turns around to face him. "They trust me enough to steal biological weapons, but not to share a few drinks, huh?" She toys with the buttons on his shirt, biting her lip as though considering whether or not she approves of him going out without her. "If it's a guy thing, I suppose I could take you up on your offer."
Walker smiles and laughs evilly, the sound bubbling out of his throat. He squeezes her ass tightly and pulls her to him, his lips smashing hers. He pulls away to ask, "Say—did you get your business straight with Mr. Sark last night?"
"That's between me and Mr. Sark," she replies cryptically, pushing him away with a hand on his chest. "You'd better not keep the guys waiting."
Walker eyes her as though he might keep them waiting quite awhile longer, but finally shoves his hands in his pockets and says, "Alright, then. Don't you go disappearing on me again—I like you around."
"I'll try," she smiles slyly at him.
The second the door closes behind him, she is in motion, pulling the decoy from her bag and running the decryption device on the suitcase containing the real cylinder of agent. God only knows what the Covenant wants with a propellant to make the deadliest viruses airborne—she shivers at the thought—but they're not getting it. She snaps a pair of latex gloves on, so as not to leave any fingerprints behind on the case.
The device beeps as it finishes deciphering the lock's codes, and she hurriedly dials the combination. The locks click smoothly open, and she opens the case to find the silver metal cylinder resting in the foam. Before she places the decoy in the case, she peels a small black sticker from its backing and places it squarely on the bottom of the container. It could be anything—a lab marking, a manufacturer's label—but this sticker carries a tiny transmitter that will go hot in 24 hours. Hopefully by then, Sark will have carried it back to the Covenant's headquarters, where they will conveniently discover that it's not real, and Simon will be permanently relegated to her past.
She carefully wraps the real agent in a t-shirt and places it in side her bag. She is meticulous in positioning the case back under the bed, lest it arouse Simon's suspicions when he returns from the bar with liquor on his breath and finds her note on the bedside table.
S—you always did say I was a nutter. I forgot I have to meet a friend later. Catch up with you soon? J.
She steals downstairs down the stairwell, passing several maids chattering in Spanish on a landing, smoking inside the building. Vaughn and Weiss are waiting in the van parked in the alley behind the hotel, and as Weiss careens through the narrow streets towards the airport, she unwraps the cylinder delicately and hands it to Vaughn. He places it in a suitcase not unlike the one it just came from, and as he clicks the locks shut with his thumbs, he mumbles, "Good work, Syd."
She nods, silent, and stares out the window.