Closing In
Do you have that folder with you? Sark asked.
Yeah, I put it in the glove compartment, Sydney replied, opening it up and pulling out the folder.
What's our next stop?
Sydney opened the folder and removed the single piece of paper. She read it over. It doesn't say, she said quietly.
Sark jerked his head towards her. What the hell are you talking about? What do you mean it doesn't say?
Sydney sighed in exasperation. It doesn't say, dude. Wait. She wrinkled the paper with her fingers and gasped when second and third papers came loose. Christ, pages were stuck together.
Oh great, Sark muttered. We may have missed our rendezvous because—
Sydney cut him off. Don't you dare blame me, the last paper we had was just as thick.
Sark sighed. Just read the damn thing.
Sydney glared at him for a moment, annoyed at his demanding tone. She let out a sigh before reading aloud what was written on the sheet.
You're going to go straight to the safehouse in Langley. A team of ours stopped by the Los Angeles safehouse to check that you were already gone and found it ransacked. This has led us to believe that the team SD-6 has amassed is quite large and extremely close to catching up to you.' Yeah, no shit, Sydney muttered the last sentence. She cleared her throat and continued. We also now suspect that Sloane is growing confident in his pursuit and has joined his search party.' Sydney let out a frustrated groan and remarked, This is really insightful.
Just keep reading, Sark said, irritation in his voice.
Sydney shot him another glare and he glared back. She sighed.
It would behoove you not to make a great number of stops because of the inevitable close proximity you will be in with Sloane. With any luck, you will arrive in a few days. If you absolutely need to stop, the list on the next page includes the addresses of the safehouses you will pass on your way to Virginia. As a final note, know that this is the final stretch, and hopefully it will all be over soon,' Sydney finished.
Okay, then we need to figure out what path we want to take to get there, Sark told her.
Got a map? Sydney asked.
In there. Sark gestured to the glovebox.
Sydney pulled it out and looked at it. We need to pull over and do this. She pawed through the items in the glovebox and pulled out a Sharpie.
Sark pulled into an old, abandoned gas station and flipped on the overhead light. Sydney lay the map and pen in her lap and linked her fingers together as she flexed them, palms facing away from her, cracking her knuckles.
Let's look at this objectively, she said in a pointed, almost stern tone.
Sark raised an eyebrow at her and smirked a bit. Sydney grinned.
What? I've always wanted to say that.
Sark turned away to hide the grin on his face, then turned back to her and examined the map.
I think we have perhaps three options that will get us there fast, but also leave us time to relax if we need to, Sark told her.
How can you decide that so quickly? Sydney asked.
Sark shrugged without supplying any kind of explanation. Sydney rolled her eyes and scoffed. Sark took the pen and began circling cities.
Wait, that's going to go through and end up on my dress.
Sark clicked his tongue. Then go change.
He popped the trunk from inside and Sydney got out. She lifted the trunk lid and pulled her suitcase closer to her. She opened it up and rummaged through, looking for something comfortable for what was undoubtedly going to be a long ride ahead of them.
She decided on an old, faded and frayed pair of jeans and a long-sleeved top. She stood by the passenger's side of the car, in plain view of Sark and vice versa. She unhooked the clasp holding the dress in place at the nape of her neck and let the material slip down, exposing her breasts.
Hey, you're lucky this is an abandoned gas station, Sark called.
I know, right? Sydney said with a teasing grin as she leaned over slightly to peer through the window at Sark.
Sark groaned, turning back around, away from what he was convinced was a higher power. She's doing this on purpose, he muttered to himself.
Sydney stepped out of the dress and stood clad only in lace panties as she reached for the bra she had chosen which was lying on top of her jeans and shirt.
The teasing had become almost too much. Sark stayed focused on the scenery to his left of desert and cactus as he tried to ignore the scenery to his right of a half-naked goddess of a woman.
A couple minutes later, Sydney climbed back into the car. She gave Sark a warm smile as she began to study the marks he had made on the map.
This tux is bothering me, I'm going to change, he announced.
Sydney said with a shrug.
Sark fought the urge to burst out and ask what was wrong with her. She was pretending she had no idea that she had been teasing him just a few minutes before. He wondered if he could create the same effect on her that she had on him. He got out of the car and went to the trunk to go through his suitcase. He decided on khakis and a polo shirt. He casually stood on the passenger's side and slipped off the jacket then loosened his tie and unbuttoned his shirt.
He found himself whistling and hoped Sydney would notice and turn around as he unbuttoned his pants and removed them. When she didn't look, he sighed and dressed quicker. He wondered why she could control her inner desires but he couldn't control his. He figured it related back to the whole deal about why men didn't understand women and why they never would.
He groaned as he slammed down the lid of the trunk.
Twenty minutes later, after deciding which route to take to the safehouse in Langley, the pair were on the road again.
They had decided to drive to Salt Lake City and rest for a day, then travel to Denver, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and finally end up in Langley. They sincerely hoped that Sloane hadn't anticipated their exact path and that he possibly split up his team and sent some of his people to different cities in the area rather than traveling with the whole group.
They prayed they'd make it to Langley before Sloane was able to corner them.
But it wouldn't be enough.
Author's Note: I don't own Sharpie (like you really thought I did).