Sydney made a final adjustment to her long blond wig and checked it to see if it looked okay in a mirror. She turned around to face Dixon who was also sitting in the back of the van setting up his surveillance equipment.
"Give me twenty minutes before you come around to the front of the hotel. That should give me enough time to make the switch." Sydney said to Dixon.
"Make sure your camera is on. I'll be able to warn you if there are any bodyguards."
"Sure." Sydney gave Dixon a final smile before she headed out of the van and towards the hotel. She pressed a button on the back of a silver pin on her jacket lapel.
"Okay?" She whispered into her microphone.
"Yeah. That's great Sydney. Have a good look around the lobby before you go into the ballroom." Dixon replied.
Sydney then walked up the steps at the front of the hotel and into the reception area.
~~~
Jack landed in Geneva hoping he would be in time to catch Sydney before she got to the hotel. He rushed out of the airport as soon as he could and got a taxi to the hotel. He wasn't exactly sure what he was going to do once he got there and the idea of seeing Sydney's mother after all these years stirred up emotions in him he thought were buried away. He knew he would not only have to save Sydney, but also confront his wife.
~~~
Vaughn stepped out from behind a car that was parked behind the SD-6 van. He carefully pulled out his tranquilliser gun from his jacket pocket so that no one else would see. He then tapped gently on the van door."
"Hello?" Vaughn heard Dixon say as he opened the door.
'Sorry Dixon.' Vaughn thought as he shot Dixon with the gun. Dixon immediately slumped to the floor of the van. Vaughn quickly pushed Dixon's body into the van and closed the door. He hid the gun in his pocket and ran to the other side of the van to the driver's seat. He was glad to see that the keys were still in the ignition. He started the engine and moved the van to the front of the hotel making sure he locked all the doors before he casually walked into the hotel. Vaughn stood around in the lobby pretending that he was waiting for someone. In truth he was looking and listening for any potential sign of trouble.
~~~~
Sydney looked around as she walked into the empty ballroom. She expected Clausard to be waiting there for the K-Directorate representative.
'What's going on?' she thought to herself. At that moment Sark walked out from behind a pillar and pointed his gun at Sydney's head.
"Hello Sydney." Sark said as he smiled at her.
"What are you doing here?" She spun around to face him.
"I knew you were predictable enough to be the 'good little spy' and carry out the mission without asking too many questions. If SD-6 had bothered to do some research, they would have known that the 'sale' was in fact a set-up for you to come here."
"All this just so you could talk to me?' She said irritated by Sark's attitude.
"Of course not!" Sark laughed at her question. "Come with me and all will be explained."
"Where are we going?" She asked reluctantly. She could feel the barrel of Sark's gun digging into her back.
"Not far. And don't even think of trying anything like last time." Sark answered.
They headed to the north end of the hotel ballroom and Sark opened a door. It led into a smaller room.
"Why are we going into this room?" Sydney asked. She knew that Vaughn was listening and she hoped that he would be able to get some help.
"I have someone one else to take care of first so Sydney if you could just wait here."
Sydney eyes then grew wide with surprise when she was pushed into the room by Sark and saw someone else there, sitting in the far corner next to the wall, pointing a gun at her.
~~~~~
"Sydney!" Vaughn whispered. He realised something was really wrong as soon as he recognised Sark's voice through her microphone. Sark being there was definitely not part of the plan. He knew he had to find a way of getting to her. He finally reached the ballroom and began to skirt around the edge of it trying to find the door that would lead him to where Sydney was being held.
"What are you doing here?" One of the hotel staff asked him after he had been there a few moments.
Vaughn was unsure if it was one of Sark's bodyguards. He tried to think of an excuse that would put the man off. He quickly replied that he was there to meet a friend of his and was killing time by having a walk around the grand ballroom. Vaughn was glad that he was casually dressed and that the cast on his leg made him seem pretty harmless. The man seemed satisfied with Vaughn's response and let him continue to wander the room.
~~~~
Jack reached the hotel, paid the taxi driver and quickly ran into the hotel. As soon as he walked in a man he instantly recognised as Sark stood in front of him.
"I know where Sydney is. Now don't do anything stupid. Follow me and I will take you to her." Sark said.
"How can I trust you?" Jack said quietly.
"You can't. Just follow me. You will understand why soon enough."
Jack realised he had no choice, but to accompany Sark. They reached the room and Sark pointed his gun at Jack, forcing him to sit down next to Sydney. He looked across and saw Irina sitting next to Sydney.
"Hello Jack." Irina said softly.
Jack couldn't respond. His eyes left Irina's face for a moment and saw that Sydney looked just as worried as he felt.
~~~~
Vaughn saw a door that was slightly ajar at the other end of the room and walked towards it as quietly as possible. As he peered into the room, he could only see what he realised was Sydney's foot and he managed to hear some muffled voices in the distance. Instead of storming the room, which would probably get both Sydney and himself seriously hurt he decided to see if there was another door into the room.
He walked out of ballroom at the north entrance and found a narrow hallway that led off from it. He turned the corner and calculated where another door could be. He was pleased to find that it hidden behind a long curtain. He slowly opened the door and realised he was hidden from Sark' s view if he stayed within the folds of the thick velvet curtain. He could see and hear almost everything in the room. He stood frozen on the spot, unable to move. His head began to spin with what he was seeing.
~~~
Sark paced around the three other people sitting in the room. His gun remained pointed at Sydney. He smiled when he saw how well his plan worked out.
"This was all too easy to arrange. I saw in Taipei that Jack would do anything for his daughter." Sark first looked at Jack and then his gaze fell on Sydney. "Well isn't this great? One big happy family!" Sark laughed.
"What?!" Jack said. Sark stopped walking around them, amazed at Jack's response.
"This gets even better! I can't believe Sydney didn't tell you. I suppose I should now start calling you both mother and father!"
Jack looked across at Irina once again and saw her nod her head to confirm that Sark was speaking the truth. "I was pregnant when I left. You are his father." Irina stated.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you straight away Dad. I wasn't sure you could cope with it all." Sydney said as tears welled up in her eyes.
"My mother's last attempt at an impromptu family reunion didn't go as well as expected." Sark lifted his injured arm which was bandaged and in a sling. "So I thought that I would be able to do a better job. Get the whole family together."
"Why are we really here?" Sydney said angrily.
"I can see where you get your no-nonsense nature from. Even if Jack wasn't much of a father to youor me." Sark said.
"What do you want?" Jack said his voice rising.
"Me? I don't want anything. I would however like to know what actually happened all those years ago, between mother and father here. I'm sure you'd like to know too, sis." Sark finally sat down opposite Sydney in the only empty chair left, his gun still pointing at Sydney. Sydney, Jack and Sark looked across at Irina waiting for her to explain her side of the story.
"I was recruited by the KGB before I met Jack." Irina began. "I was sent to America and it was only after I fell in love with Jack that they gave me the orders to spy on you." Irina looked across at Jack. He was having a hard time keeping all his emotions under control. "I was only following the orders I was given." Irina explained.
"Orders including killing all those CIA officers?!" Sydney exclaimed as her tears finally spilled over onto her cheeks."
"I didn't want to do it. I wish none of them had died. But the KGB would have killed me, if I hadn't complied." Irina said simply.
"But you faked your death, you went into hiding and left us anyway!" Sydney retorted.
"I really had no choice. I only thought of your safety, Sydney. I ended up sacrificing the love of my children and my husband." Irina said quietly.
"We've seen the videotaped interview." Jack said bitterly. "How can we possibly believe a word you've just said?"
"I only told them what they wanted to hear in the interview. But I am telling you the truth now, Jack. I never stopped loving you." Irina looked directly at Jack and smiled nervously. Jack's mind instantly went back to the time when she had first said she loved him. She had smiled at him in the exact same way.
"Everything you say is a lie. Do you really think that I am going to make the same mistake again Laura?!" Jack roared. "I'm not the same idealistic, foolish man I was thirty years ago!"
~~~~
Vaughn blinked away the tears from his eyes. As soon as he had heard Sydney mention his father's death he pulled out the gun that he had been hiding inside the cast on his leg. He stepped back so that when he pointed the gun, it just peeked out from the folds in the thick curtain. But he was unable to focus his thoughts. He could only hear the blood pounding in his chest and head. He felt as if he couldn't breathe.
His arm began to shake and the gun wavered. He could make just make out Irina's figure as a blur in the distance. Vaughn had thought about this moment for so long, but he never thought that he would have a gun in his hand. Jack's angry, booming voice finally fired him into action and he squeezed the trigger