Chapter Four
"I'm going shopping!" Sydney announced as she walked into the attached room. "No, you're not," replied Jack. "Sure she is," said Irina. "I'm going too." She smiled at Sydney. "We don't have to be back until tomorrow. I really don't want to be stuck in a hotel room all day." She grabbed her purse and took off out the door. Irina soon followed. "So when's the wedding?" she asked. "What wedding?" "Yours and Vaughn's, of course." "Who says that we're even going to get married?" Irina shot her a look, but Sydney remained silent, shopping, picking out clothes. About fifteen minutes later, she realized that Irina was no longer behind her. She looked across the room to see Irina rapidly conversing with a man in Russian. She crossed the room and stood next to Irina. "Who is this?" asked the man in French, hoping that Sydney wouldn't understand. "Sydney Bristow, her daughter," Sydney replied perfectly in French. The man looked surprised for a minute, but then switched to Russian and said, "You have a daughter?" "Yes," Irina replied, in English. "She works for Sloane." "Really? Mr. Sloane is around here somewhere. The four of us should have lunch together today." Irina saw the look of fear that crossed Sydney's face and quickly said, "We were just getting back to the hotel." Sydney saw Sloane walk toward them and ducked off behind a rack. "Who is this?" asked Sloane. Sydney saw a very unhappy Sark come up from behind. His eyes widened as he saw Irina standing in front of Sloane. "Irina Derevko, Russian Intelligence." "Derevko," muttered Sloane. "Last I heard. she was a CIA.prisoner!" He motioned for Sark to get out his gun and take her prisoner. Sark escorted Irina to the car. "Where is Agent Bristow?" he asked. "My husband and I separated years ago, Mr. Sark," she replied. "Not your husband, Irina, your daughter." "She's on a mission for Sloane," Irina lied through her teeth. Sark smiled. "If she was on a mission for Sloane, she'd be here with me. Tell me, Irina, where are the Anthrax spores that you stole from me?" "I have no idea what you are talking about." Sloane came over to the car. "Put her in and send her to the second base location. We'll find the anthrax on our own." "Mom," whispered Sydney. She pulled out her cell phone and quickly dialed Vaughn. "Mr. Sloane," said Marshall from a satellite com-link. "I just picked up an SD-6 communication signal coming from your area." "Analyze it further." "Vaughn," whispered Sydney. "Syd! What's up?" "Sloane is here! He recognized my mother and took her into custody. Sark is here too!" "Sir," Marshall said. "Yes?" "The cell phone was identified as Agent Bristow's." "Jack Bristow?" "No, Sydney." Sark saw Sloane's eyes widen and he knew that he'd found Sydney. "Mr. Sloane, I'll go and track her," he said. Sloane snapped back to reality. "Yes, go ahead and do that." Sark checked behind every clothing rack and searched the store. He began to get frustrated as he heard, "Vaughn, can you hear me? I need you to call Kendall and get to send a team out here-now!" The phone was roughly yanked from her hands and she spun around in her crouch. "Sark," she whispered. "I'm giving you a five-minute head start before I will begin chasing you. Marshall found your cell phone signal and identified it. In short, Sloane knows you're here. He also knows that your mother is a CIA prisoner. There is no doubt in my mind that he will offer a ransom for her return." "What about my." her voice trailed off. "Double-agent status?" "Yes." "As far as I know, he has no idea. He's just a little curious as to why a CIA prisoner is running around when she's supposed to be at the CIA headquarters, and while I'm interrogating her, your cell phone signal is found in the area. Your five minutes begins now, Miss Bristow. I will be keeping your phone in the event that I don't catch you." She nodded and took off running. Three and a half minutes later, she began to get a cramp in her side. She groaned and ducked into an alleyway. She couldn't go back to the hotel, in case they redialed the number and found.Vaughn, and Dad! She thought. She saw a shadow get closer to the alleyway and curled herself into a ball. She noticed that her purse has some sort of liquid stuck to it. She remembered what it was a minute too late.
*Flashback*
"Marshall's All Purpose Liquid Tracers," Marshall replied triumphantly. Sydney yawned. "Why do I always get stuck testing out your stupid inventions?" she asked.
*End Flashback*
"Damn you, Sark," she said, peeling the almost invisible tracer off her purse. She took a deep breath, got up, and began running again. She heard footsteps gaining on her, but she kept running. She felt something grade her shoulder, but ignored it. She put her hand on her shoulder, and when she pulled away, saw the unmistakable blood on her palm. She felt dizzy and fell to the ground. The last thing she remembered before losing consciousness was Sark with a triumphant look on his face.
***
"Where is she?" Jack grumbled angrily, pacing the hotel room anxiously. Vaughn flipped through the channels. "You really need to calm down. Sydney will be fine." "It's not her that I'm worried about. She's got a good head on her shoulders. It's Irina and Sark that I'm worried about. They worked together once, and I'm sure that Sloane will find that out. The CIA won't pay the hundred grand that Sloane's going to want for Irina, and then what am I supposed to tell them- that I let my serial-killing ex-wife and my double- agent daughter go SHOPPING in Moscow? Oh, yeah, Kendall's going to be thrilled about that one. Vaughn chuckled. "He's going to be even more thrilled when he finds out." he looked like he had said something he wasn't supposed to. "What?" "Nothing." "Come on, it can't be any worse than you and Sydney are going out or something," he stopped as he saw the look on Vaughn's face. "You are going out, aren't you?" Vaughn nodded sheepishly. Jack shook his head. "Why have protocol if people are going to break it," he went into the other room. The phone rang. "Hello?" Vaughn answered. "Oh good, Agent Vaughn. I'm very glad that you answered," an all too cheerful voice came over the line. "What do you want, Sark?" Jack sat up from the couch in the other room. "You see, I have-or rather SD-6 has your girlfriend and her mother here. It's really quite a family reunion. Here's the deal, you hand over one- hundred grand for Irina, and you can have your precious little CIA prisoner back." "What about Sydney?" "She'll be discussed at a later date. Mr. Sloane has a special interest in her." "Gee, I wonder why," muttered Vaughn. "Vaughn?" Sydney's voice came over the phone. "Syd!" "Tell Dad not to worry about me! Get Mom out! They're going to force her to work for SD-6 and torture her!" Sark came back on the line. "There you have it, Agent Vaughn, although the last part you weren't supposed to hear. You have twenty-four hours to hand over the hundred grand, or Agent Bristow will be dead. We will be back in LA within six hours. I believe Jack knows where to find us," the line went dead. "What happened?" asked Jack. "We have twenty-four hours to get one hundred grand, and get Irina back, or they will kill Sydney."
"I'm going shopping!" Sydney announced as she walked into the attached room. "No, you're not," replied Jack. "Sure she is," said Irina. "I'm going too." She smiled at Sydney. "We don't have to be back until tomorrow. I really don't want to be stuck in a hotel room all day." She grabbed her purse and took off out the door. Irina soon followed. "So when's the wedding?" she asked. "What wedding?" "Yours and Vaughn's, of course." "Who says that we're even going to get married?" Irina shot her a look, but Sydney remained silent, shopping, picking out clothes. About fifteen minutes later, she realized that Irina was no longer behind her. She looked across the room to see Irina rapidly conversing with a man in Russian. She crossed the room and stood next to Irina. "Who is this?" asked the man in French, hoping that Sydney wouldn't understand. "Sydney Bristow, her daughter," Sydney replied perfectly in French. The man looked surprised for a minute, but then switched to Russian and said, "You have a daughter?" "Yes," Irina replied, in English. "She works for Sloane." "Really? Mr. Sloane is around here somewhere. The four of us should have lunch together today." Irina saw the look of fear that crossed Sydney's face and quickly said, "We were just getting back to the hotel." Sydney saw Sloane walk toward them and ducked off behind a rack. "Who is this?" asked Sloane. Sydney saw a very unhappy Sark come up from behind. His eyes widened as he saw Irina standing in front of Sloane. "Irina Derevko, Russian Intelligence." "Derevko," muttered Sloane. "Last I heard. she was a CIA.prisoner!" He motioned for Sark to get out his gun and take her prisoner. Sark escorted Irina to the car. "Where is Agent Bristow?" he asked. "My husband and I separated years ago, Mr. Sark," she replied. "Not your husband, Irina, your daughter." "She's on a mission for Sloane," Irina lied through her teeth. Sark smiled. "If she was on a mission for Sloane, she'd be here with me. Tell me, Irina, where are the Anthrax spores that you stole from me?" "I have no idea what you are talking about." Sloane came over to the car. "Put her in and send her to the second base location. We'll find the anthrax on our own." "Mom," whispered Sydney. She pulled out her cell phone and quickly dialed Vaughn. "Mr. Sloane," said Marshall from a satellite com-link. "I just picked up an SD-6 communication signal coming from your area." "Analyze it further." "Vaughn," whispered Sydney. "Syd! What's up?" "Sloane is here! He recognized my mother and took her into custody. Sark is here too!" "Sir," Marshall said. "Yes?" "The cell phone was identified as Agent Bristow's." "Jack Bristow?" "No, Sydney." Sark saw Sloane's eyes widen and he knew that he'd found Sydney. "Mr. Sloane, I'll go and track her," he said. Sloane snapped back to reality. "Yes, go ahead and do that." Sark checked behind every clothing rack and searched the store. He began to get frustrated as he heard, "Vaughn, can you hear me? I need you to call Kendall and get to send a team out here-now!" The phone was roughly yanked from her hands and she spun around in her crouch. "Sark," she whispered. "I'm giving you a five-minute head start before I will begin chasing you. Marshall found your cell phone signal and identified it. In short, Sloane knows you're here. He also knows that your mother is a CIA prisoner. There is no doubt in my mind that he will offer a ransom for her return." "What about my." her voice trailed off. "Double-agent status?" "Yes." "As far as I know, he has no idea. He's just a little curious as to why a CIA prisoner is running around when she's supposed to be at the CIA headquarters, and while I'm interrogating her, your cell phone signal is found in the area. Your five minutes begins now, Miss Bristow. I will be keeping your phone in the event that I don't catch you." She nodded and took off running. Three and a half minutes later, she began to get a cramp in her side. She groaned and ducked into an alleyway. She couldn't go back to the hotel, in case they redialed the number and found.Vaughn, and Dad! She thought. She saw a shadow get closer to the alleyway and curled herself into a ball. She noticed that her purse has some sort of liquid stuck to it. She remembered what it was a minute too late.
*Flashback*
"Marshall's All Purpose Liquid Tracers," Marshall replied triumphantly. Sydney yawned. "Why do I always get stuck testing out your stupid inventions?" she asked.
*End Flashback*
"Damn you, Sark," she said, peeling the almost invisible tracer off her purse. She took a deep breath, got up, and began running again. She heard footsteps gaining on her, but she kept running. She felt something grade her shoulder, but ignored it. She put her hand on her shoulder, and when she pulled away, saw the unmistakable blood on her palm. She felt dizzy and fell to the ground. The last thing she remembered before losing consciousness was Sark with a triumphant look on his face.
***
"Where is she?" Jack grumbled angrily, pacing the hotel room anxiously. Vaughn flipped through the channels. "You really need to calm down. Sydney will be fine." "It's not her that I'm worried about. She's got a good head on her shoulders. It's Irina and Sark that I'm worried about. They worked together once, and I'm sure that Sloane will find that out. The CIA won't pay the hundred grand that Sloane's going to want for Irina, and then what am I supposed to tell them- that I let my serial-killing ex-wife and my double- agent daughter go SHOPPING in Moscow? Oh, yeah, Kendall's going to be thrilled about that one. Vaughn chuckled. "He's going to be even more thrilled when he finds out." he looked like he had said something he wasn't supposed to. "What?" "Nothing." "Come on, it can't be any worse than you and Sydney are going out or something," he stopped as he saw the look on Vaughn's face. "You are going out, aren't you?" Vaughn nodded sheepishly. Jack shook his head. "Why have protocol if people are going to break it," he went into the other room. The phone rang. "Hello?" Vaughn answered. "Oh good, Agent Vaughn. I'm very glad that you answered," an all too cheerful voice came over the line. "What do you want, Sark?" Jack sat up from the couch in the other room. "You see, I have-or rather SD-6 has your girlfriend and her mother here. It's really quite a family reunion. Here's the deal, you hand over one- hundred grand for Irina, and you can have your precious little CIA prisoner back." "What about Sydney?" "She'll be discussed at a later date. Mr. Sloane has a special interest in her." "Gee, I wonder why," muttered Vaughn. "Vaughn?" Sydney's voice came over the phone. "Syd!" "Tell Dad not to worry about me! Get Mom out! They're going to force her to work for SD-6 and torture her!" Sark came back on the line. "There you have it, Agent Vaughn, although the last part you weren't supposed to hear. You have twenty-four hours to hand over the hundred grand, or Agent Bristow will be dead. We will be back in LA within six hours. I believe Jack knows where to find us," the line went dead. "What happened?" asked Jack. "We have twenty-four hours to get one hundred grand, and get Irina back, or they will kill Sydney."