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Chapter Thirteen:
Holding the Cards

"Uh huh," Marshall nodded vehemently. "I think that what is happening is that the memories you are reiterating to her, she is like, in a way, digesting them and making them into Julia's. They are things that she can digest because they are not threatening."

"What are you trying to say Marshall?" Dixon asked. "That we need to scare her?"

"Not scare her, just confront her."

"With what?" Weiss put forth.

"With memories of Syd's that are unpleasant. Memories that have the ability to cripple, destroy a person."

"And you think that it would shatter the illusion of Julia?" Jack asked.

"Yes! You saw the way she reacted when Will confronted her. That is how she deals- with violence. Unlike a person, she cannot attack a memory. And if she cannot deal, then maybe…"

Dixon leaned back. "It sounds ludicrous…but, I like it. The only question is, how exactly do we do this?"

Jack turned to him. "I can't believe you even need to ask that. You know damn well who we need."

Dixon paused and then nodded shortly. "Can we trust him on this?"

Jack shrugged. "We don't have a choice."

The ringing of Jack's mobile stopped him, as he was about to approach the secretary before him.

"Hello."

"It's Dixon. I've just spoken to Langley. They have approved admission. Bring him in ASAP."

"Got it," Jack flipped the phone shut and took a step forward. "Jack Bristow for—"

"Go right through, Mr Bristow," the secretary cut him off. "He is expecting you."

Jack nodded and then proceeded through to the office. In the doorway hr paused for a second, waiting for the occupant to look up.

"Hello Arvin," he said quietly.

Sloane looked up, a smile on his face. "Jack. It's been a long time."

"Not long enough," Jack replied bluntly.

Sloane's smile did not falter. "So, what have I done to deserve the pleasure of your presence?"

"The CIA needs you in L.A. I am here to escort you." Jack paused. "And remember that any refusal on you behalf nullifies that handy little pardon agreement of yours."

"I would never dream of it," Sloane replied. "But, may I ask why I am needed?"

"Everything will be explained in L.A."

Vaughn strode into the cell. "I need to ask you a question."

Julia scowled at him through narrowed eyes. "Get lost."

"I am asking you a question and you are going to answer it!" Vaughn yelled.

"I am not—"

"Do you know a woman called Lauren Reed?"

Julia blinked, obviously taken aback. "What? No cryptic stuff about Sydney?"

"I asked you a question- now answer it," Vaughn demanded.

Julia could not help but smile. She had never seen him so frazzled before. For the first time she was the one who held all the cards. "Why do you want to know about Lauren?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"So you know her?" he pressed.

"I never said that," she replied lightly.

"Please," Vaughn said, his voice low.

"Fine," Julia sighed heavily. "I don't know her personally- she's currently under deep cover. I'm not sure what her exactly assignment is, but some of her intel has lead to several of my own…'assignments'."

Vaughn seemed to stiffen. "So, she is a member of the Covenant?"

"I just said that, didn't I?"

"And she provided you with details which lead you to carrying out executions?"

"Did I stutter? Do I need to repeat everything?" Julia asked exasperatedly. "Anyway, what is the big deal—"

She cut off as Vaughn turned on his heel and, without another word, exited the cell.

"Hey!" she called after him, but he did not reply and just continued walking. "Oh yeah, that would be right. When you want to talk, it's free for all, but when I want to talk to you, you just walk away!"

With a frustrated sigh she slumped down onto the bench. She's had more than enough of this place.

The small interview room was bare, and the lighting dim. It was silent as Sloane stared at Jack and Dixon who were seated opposite him.

"You're telling me that Sydney is alive? And in this facility?"

Jack nodded. "And we need you to talk to her."

"About what?"

"About everything that you did to her," Dixon replied, his voice cold. "To her friends. To her colleague's…"

Sloane leaned back in his seat, a faint smile on his face. "Why would you want to have a conversation like that?"

"Because, in her mind, she is not Sydney," Jack said. "She believes that she is a Covenant operative going by the name of Julia Thorne."

Sloane frowned. "Are you sure that it is her?"

"Are you saying that you authorized a third double? Not the just the two that we were aware of?" Dixon asked.

"I said nothing of the sort," Sloane replied calmly. "It is just that the protocol is out there. It is a possibility."

"And one that has been disproved," Jack said. "The woman we have in our custody is Sydney. She just doesn't know it."

"So then," Sloane rubbed his chin. "How exactly am I supposed to help?"

"By doing exactly what we tell you."

As the days passed since the engagement had been broken off, Lauren found herself growing more and more consumed by a seething anger and hatred inside of her.

That woman had destroyed everything. Her deep cover task with Michael Vaughn was going to be her ticket into the inner sanctum that was the Covenant. She was sick of being on the outer, sick of having to blindly follow orders. In the hierarchy of power, she was situated on the lowly bottom blocks.

But then came along the abduction of Sydney Bristow and the opportunity of a weakened Michael Vaughn. it was to be her chance to prove herself. To show how worthy she was to the organization.

And it was working. Her position at the NSC had only proven her abilities more. She had leaked valuable intel without ever raising suspicion. She had Vaughn considering a return to the CIA. She had a rock on her finger.

And then her so-called superiors had lost track of Thorne and everything was blown. The mission and her chances of rising through the ranks.

And that was not something that Lauren was going to be able to forget easily.

"Her cell is closely monitored," Jack said to Sloane, his voice somewhat tight. "So don't even think about trying anything."

"Please give me a little credit, Jack. Do you take me for a fool?"

"No Arvin, I take you for a man who cannot be trusted."

"And yet you still turned to me for help."

Jack turned to him, his eyes narrowed. "Do not mistake me asking you for help as a sign of forgiveness or trust. You are simply a last ditch effort."

Sloane let out a soft laugh. "I can always count on you to be blunt."

"Hello Sydney."

Julia froze. Her back was to the entrance of the cell, so she had not seen who had spoken, but the voice had sent chills down her spine, setting her nerves on edge.

Turning slowly she came face to face with him. He did not appear threatening, with his weathered face and small build. But in his eyes was a deep cruelness. One that not even Julia could fathom and she had done her fair share of awful things.

"Who are you?" she whispered. He had only spoken two words, yet Julia knew that she would rather have Vaughn in here spouting his lies, than be in the presence of this man.

"You know exactly who I am," he said.

She shook her head. "No, I don't. So could you please leave. Now."

"No."

Julia sized him up. It had taken all of five seconds for the guards to intervene last time. She wondered how much damage she could cause this man in that amount of time.

"You really don't know who I am?" he pressed. "You don't remember Arvin Sloane?"

"Listen to me, you son of a bitch! You have been a plague on my life. You repulse me! Every time I sat across from you, listening to your lies, all I could do was fantasize about slashing your throat!"

"Get out," Julia demanded.

"You don't remember what I did to you?"

"You have done nothing to me."

"I lied to you Sydney. I betrayed you. For years. You trusted me and all I was doing was using you for my own personal gain."

"So? It's not like I've never done anything like that before."

He took a step forward, and Julia shrank away from him. She didn't want him near her. There was just something about him that made her feel…not like herself.

He was continuing to speak, but Julia was not taking it all in. Occasionally she caught the odd word, making her feel more and more uneasy. Why was he making her feel this way?

"What about Danny?"

The slight pounding in Julia's head was growing louder. Bringing a hand up to her temple, she shook her head. Whoever Danny was she didn't want to speak about him. Especially not with the man in front of her.

"I had him killed. You remember, don't you? Coming home and finding him, dead. Any chance of a future with him gone."

A loud scream filled Julia's head as the metallic scent of blood assaulted her senses. Her worst nightmare now a reality. She had caused this. This was her fault. She had broken the one rule that you did not break.

The screaming continued, and Julia felt as if her head were about to split in two. Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to ease the pain and the noise, but it was all in vain.

"And Francie. You don't know what I did to her yet do you? Allison Doren put a bullet in her brain. She had no funeral. She was buried in a cold and unmarked grave. How is your friend supposed to rest in please when nobody even knew that she was dead?"

Julia shook her head violently. "Stop it," she hissed. "Stop it."

"She lived with you for months. You trusted her. And she was working for me. There was no way that I could leave you alone Sydney. There was no way that I could let go of all the control that I had over you."

"You never controlled me." Julia spat out, surprising herself.

"But I could always hurt you, Sydney. I did not care if I caused any pain. But you, oh you most certainly did."

"No Agent Bristow, you killed him…I just wanted to rip his finger right off again…'Bringing them to justice.' I love that -- Arvin Sloane talking about justice…That was the extent of his concern. It was as if someone had overcooked his steak…She would have killed you for a lot less…Seeing the kind of woman you've become, knowing that I had something to do with it... that's as rewarding as if I had a child of my own…"

"No, no, no," she muttered. The screaming was getting louder. She had to get out. He had to get out. She wanted this to stop.

"You're remembering now, aren't you? All that pain and all that hurt. You're feeling it; it's coursing through you. Crippling you."

"You could never do that to me," Julia suddenly hissed. "What you did just made me stronger."

"I lied to you. I killed your best friend. I killed you fiancé. I…"

His voice drowned out as the screaming took over completely. It was only when she dropped to her knees that Julia realized that it was her who was screaming. And as she clamped her hand over her mouth, to try to contain herself, the world around her slowly faded to black.

"Hey Weiss," Vaughn walked up to him. "Where's Jack?"

"He took Sloane down to see Sydney. He should be heading back up now."

Vaughn stopped dead. "He did what?" he exclaimed.

"He took…" Weiss trailed off. "Did you not know that we brought Sloane in? How could you not know?"

"Forgive me for being slightly distracted lately," Vaughn said. "What is Sloane supposed to be doing?"

"Well, I guess we're using the worst of Sydney's past to try and bring her back."

"By using Sloane?" Vaughn asked and Weiss nodded. "And what is this does work? What will that do to Sydney?"

"Um…" Weiss paused, obviously stumped. "I'm not sure…"

"Yeah, well I have a fair idea," Vaughn said. "And there is no way that she should be out through that alone."

Vaughn could hear screaming as he dashed down the hall, however as he neared the cell they suddenly cut short. "I got it," he called to the guards who were making their moves.

Arriving at the cell he saw Sloane standing there, simply staring at Sydney, who was crumpled on the floor.

"What did you do?" Vaughn demanded. He was caught between the need to tend to Sydney, and urge to wrap his hands around Sloane's neck.

"What I was told," Sloane replied calmly.

"Well, you've done enough," Vaughn shot back, pushing him back towards the entrance. "Get out." He watched as Sloane turned and walked away and then crouched down beside Sydney. "Hey," he said gently pulling her into his arms. "Sydney? Wake up for me, Syd."

Slowly her eyes fluttered open, connecting with his own. "Vaughn?"

Shock coursed through Vaughn as he realized that he had called her Sydney, and that she had responded. "Sydney?"

She struggled to sit up, bringing a hand to her forehead. "Who else would I be…" she trailed off as she looked around, taking in her surroundings. "Vaughn."

"Yeah?" he asked, barely able to contain his elation and relief. She was back. Whatever Sloane had done, it had obviously worked.

"How did I get here?"