Chapter 4
It'd been a few minutes since Sydney had heard Korin and his men leave and Sark still hadn't come to her. She stepped out of the bedroom and saw him standing outside on the terrace looking out into the night. He appeared to be deep in thought. Sydney wasn't sure if he was even aware she was there.
"Sark?" She called quietly.
He inhaled a deep breath of air but didn't respond.
"Sark?" She called again, this time walking up behind him.
Without turning he said in a low voice, "we have a problem."
"I know. You told them we'd be staying and I don't know about you but that wasn't in my profile."
"Yes, I know. It's complicated."
"Sark, we have to leave now." She urged. "The mission was a success. We got what we came for. What are you doing?"
"This isn't about the disk." He confessed.
"Then what is it about?"
"Sydney," he turned to face her, "there's a child here."
"A child.." She repeated, frowning up at him.
"Yes, a child." And he stared deep into her eyes until the full ramifications of what he was saying hit home.
Shock and disbelief filled her face.
"Where?" She demanded. "How do you know?"
"I saw her earlier. She was being taken to one of Maurice's clients."
"How old is she?"
"I would guess seven."
Sydney turned and walked back in and sat down on a chair. She looked like she may be sick. Sark followed her in and knelt beside her.
"You're sure?" She asked.
"Do you really need to ask me that?"
"So what are you thinking? Are you thinking we should tell Sloane? Have him extract her?"
'As if he'll do anything,' she thought.
"Be serious Sydney, you know as well as I do Sloane cares nothing about a stray child."
"And you do?" A viable question, she thought, under the circumstances.
Sark looked at her thoughtfully and shrugged. He struggled for some explanation, but for once he didn't have one to give her. He'd reacted on impulse earlier when he said he would stay. For a moment he considered saying, 'she looked like you may have.' but then he thought better of it.
After a moment Sydney said, "Sark, we can't stay here, but if there is a girl, we can't just leave her here either."
"Now you see the problem." He said flatly. "I need to think."
"If we stay here any longer, Sloane isn't going to like it." She warned.
"Sloane will have to accept it," he pointed out, "if we stick together. There's another problem.."
"What's that?"
"When they reboot their security surveillance system, it will automatically reset the cameras and listening devices. They'll be able to watch (his eyes followed the room demonstratively). They may be even as we speak."
"I'll pulse it," she said, reaching for her ring.
"I wouldn't advise that." He stopped her. "The first time could have been explained away, but now....Korin may be momentarily intimidated, but he isn't a fool Sydney."
"Are you saying what I think you're saying? We'll have to 'interact' for their benefit?"
"I'm saying that I need time to think."
Sydney weighed the situation in her head. "How long?" She asked finally.
"A day.. maybe 2."
Sydney started to stand up but winced in pain and had to sit back down. She put her hand to her face.
"Oh God, Sydney, I'm sorry. Let me get you some ice for that." He offered, starting to get up.
"No, I'm fine. It's just bruised."
Tilting her chin up to the light he looked her over very seriously.
"You're lucky." He said finally.
"I'll cover it up in the morning."
"Don't cover it too well," he reminded her quietly.
"I know."
****************
L.A. - The parking lot of what looks to be a shipyard.
"Jack," Will came forward holding out his hand, "thanks for coming."
"I got your message. What's up? Congratulations by the way, on your new job."
"Oh, thanks. Hey, I didn't want to bother you with this but Sydney didn't get home last night like I thought she would and when Vaughn wasn't able to make our meeting this morning, I got a little worried. I know I shouldn't be. They've probably just got held up, right? No big deal.." Will trailed off looking up to Jack for reassurance.
Jack mulled over whether he should tell him or not, finally deciding to go ahead. "You have security clearance now, so I think it's alright to tell you. Sydney wasn't able to connect with Vaughn as planned. Something has come up and Vaughn's .. concerned. He felt Sydney didn't look quite like herself when he saw her in Austria."
"So he's seen her? He's there with her now?" Will breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
"No, not with her, but near her. He's decided to stay until Sydney makes contact. For some reason Sark's extended the mission."
"Sark has?" Will questioned.
"He's leading the mission."
"Are you serious? Sark's leading Sydney? I don't get it. Why doesn't Vaughn just pull her out?" Will knew that probably sounded incredibly dumb.
"Vaughn?" Jack started. "Vaughn is Sydney's handler, Will, that's all. Sydney's the one who makes the decisions for Sydney. There's no reason to be alarmed here," Jack tried to sound convincing, "They've probably just run into some kind of delay. If Sydney needs him, Vaughn is there. He always is. That's his job, it's his function in life."
"Yeah, but will he be enough?" Will wanted to know. "I mean can you trust him with her life?"
"Vaughn is the only one I trust."
****************
Back in Austria ~
Sark got up, put on some light music, and turned out the lights.
"From what I've learned about their in-room surveillance," he whispered, kneeling back next to her, "is that it only comes on intermittently. Randomly monitoring each room in the chateau. Of course, they can target a specific area. But the automatic system reboot program will likely only revert to its standard level. He stood up and began looking all around the room. "When it turns on it should emit some type of signal or light."
Sydney stood up and began searching too until Sark touched her arm and pointed up. There it was. A very faint green light emitting from the ceiling above them. It flashed several times and then went off. Sark turned on a light and they saw it was disguised as the smoke detector. They found one in there, and one in the bedroom. He turned the light back off.
"Enya, darling, join me out on the terrace," he called.
Sydney had gone to check the bathroom. "It's clear," she whispered, coming out and following Sark outside. Once there, he handed her a fresh glass of champagne.
"What now?"
"We'll drink some champagne and then go to bed," he answered absently.
They sat there in silence for what Sydney could only guess was an eternity. Then, without warning he got up, replaced their glasses on the table, and took her hand to lead her inside. It was already a reflex to look up as they entered the room. No light for now, they saw, and Sark dropped her hand. Sydney went to the bathroom to wash up and Sark lit several candles and built the fire back up. He had it back to its original beauty by the time she emerged a short time later. Sark then excused himself.
She was glad because it gave her a chance to clear her head. There was no way she would believe Sark was only interested in protecting a little girl. But if there really was a girl, Sydney had to ask herself, did it matter? She needed time to think too. Had she missed something? Something Sark didn't? For an instant she wondered if he hadn't seen her with Vaughn in the hall. But he couldn't have, they were too fast. Oh God, her head ached. She needed to sleep. She crawled into bed, lying on her side to watch the fire.
When Sark came back into the room he was wearing only silk pajama pants. He started to get into bed across from Sydney when she hissed, "Over my dead body Sark."
"Sydney," he calmly pointed out, ignoring her threat and climbing in next to her, "I don't think that it would be in keeping with our little ruse if I were to be caught sleeping on the floor, do you?"
"Fine," she snapped, "but you keep your distance."
"It'll be my pleasure, I assure you." He said, moving over closer and pulling her gently into his arms so that her head lay on his chest. She knew this was only because it made it easier to talk quietly without flagging someone who may be watching, but she didn't like how comfortable he seemed to be with it. Nor did she like how their bodies fit so naturally together.
"This better not be part of some ulterior motive you have in keeping me here," she warned him.
"Are you always this charming in bed?" He chided her.
"I'm serious Sark."
"It'll be a stretch," he yawned, "but I think I can restrain myself. I'd appreciate it if you would do the same," he teased.
"Go to hell."
"Oh, that's very pretty Sydney. Now, stop talking. I need to think."
She started to lift her head off his chest and move away but he held her firmly there. She looked up at him questioningly.
He motioned his eyes to the ceiling. "Don't look now..."
She didn't. She laid her head back down and closed her eyes. Her cheek was throbbing now. She had taken something for the pain, but it hadn't kicked in yet. She was so tired she could hardly keep her eyes open; and Sark felt bizarrely comfortable. As she waited for him to give her the 'all clear' signal, she felt herself drifting off to sleep. The clouds filling her mind as Sark's fingers absently played with her hair in the firelight.
****************
Vaughn had wasted no time in calling Kendall. It was a surprise he hadn't given him any grief about staying. Now all he could do was pace the floor and wait - hope that she would call. No, he didn't want her to call because that would mean she was in trouble. Seeing her like that at the chateau had really unnerved him. Instinctively he felt Sark was up to something. The thought of Sark touching her in any way made him tense. The man had already tried to kill her once. He was a terrorist for Christ's sake. And now he had Sydney in his room under the pretense they were a couple, .. or, something. Vaughn knew Sydney was fearless and determined to succeed in her counter-missions. After seeing her earlier, he worried how far she'd have to go.
"Agent Vaughn?" Called a voice from the other room.
"Here. What do have for me?" He sounded impatiently, coming into the com room of the CIA safe house located about 4km from the chateau.
"It was time-consuming but we've been able to tap into their surveillance system undetected. We should have a visual any moment now. We flagged it to read only into Agent Bristow's room, which is why we have lots of black periods. It appears to run on a 60 second looping cycle, more or less."
"What do you mean?"
"Periodically it appears security is accessing specific areas which then off-sets the program."
"So what you're saying is that even though it runs on a fairly regular program, there's no telling when her room will be under observation?"
"Correct. It should be coming up.. right.about.. now. And, there it is." A view of the bedroom filled the screen.
Vaughn leaned in to get a closer look. The image was grainy and the room was dark save for a dwindling fire in the corner. There were two forms on the bed. Upon closer examination he could see one was definitely Sark propped up in the bed. Next to him, lying with her head on his chest was apparently Sydney. Her hair was spread across her face and his torso, making it impossible for anyone else besides Vaughn to be sure. But Vaughn knew her form too well. The curve of her hip, the shape of her leg.. there was no question it was her. Sark's arms were cradling her, but they weren't moving. They were asleep. Vaughn felt the color draining from his face. He needed air.
"Notify me if there's a change," he instructed, walking quickly out of the room.
****************
It'd been a few minutes since Sydney had heard Korin and his men leave and Sark still hadn't come to her. She stepped out of the bedroom and saw him standing outside on the terrace looking out into the night. He appeared to be deep in thought. Sydney wasn't sure if he was even aware she was there.
"Sark?" She called quietly.
He inhaled a deep breath of air but didn't respond.
"Sark?" She called again, this time walking up behind him.
Without turning he said in a low voice, "we have a problem."
"I know. You told them we'd be staying and I don't know about you but that wasn't in my profile."
"Yes, I know. It's complicated."
"Sark, we have to leave now." She urged. "The mission was a success. We got what we came for. What are you doing?"
"This isn't about the disk." He confessed.
"Then what is it about?"
"Sydney," he turned to face her, "there's a child here."
"A child.." She repeated, frowning up at him.
"Yes, a child." And he stared deep into her eyes until the full ramifications of what he was saying hit home.
Shock and disbelief filled her face.
"Where?" She demanded. "How do you know?"
"I saw her earlier. She was being taken to one of Maurice's clients."
"How old is she?"
"I would guess seven."
Sydney turned and walked back in and sat down on a chair. She looked like she may be sick. Sark followed her in and knelt beside her.
"You're sure?" She asked.
"Do you really need to ask me that?"
"So what are you thinking? Are you thinking we should tell Sloane? Have him extract her?"
'As if he'll do anything,' she thought.
"Be serious Sydney, you know as well as I do Sloane cares nothing about a stray child."
"And you do?" A viable question, she thought, under the circumstances.
Sark looked at her thoughtfully and shrugged. He struggled for some explanation, but for once he didn't have one to give her. He'd reacted on impulse earlier when he said he would stay. For a moment he considered saying, 'she looked like you may have.' but then he thought better of it.
After a moment Sydney said, "Sark, we can't stay here, but if there is a girl, we can't just leave her here either."
"Now you see the problem." He said flatly. "I need to think."
"If we stay here any longer, Sloane isn't going to like it." She warned.
"Sloane will have to accept it," he pointed out, "if we stick together. There's another problem.."
"What's that?"
"When they reboot their security surveillance system, it will automatically reset the cameras and listening devices. They'll be able to watch (his eyes followed the room demonstratively). They may be even as we speak."
"I'll pulse it," she said, reaching for her ring.
"I wouldn't advise that." He stopped her. "The first time could have been explained away, but now....Korin may be momentarily intimidated, but he isn't a fool Sydney."
"Are you saying what I think you're saying? We'll have to 'interact' for their benefit?"
"I'm saying that I need time to think."
Sydney weighed the situation in her head. "How long?" She asked finally.
"A day.. maybe 2."
Sydney started to stand up but winced in pain and had to sit back down. She put her hand to her face.
"Oh God, Sydney, I'm sorry. Let me get you some ice for that." He offered, starting to get up.
"No, I'm fine. It's just bruised."
Tilting her chin up to the light he looked her over very seriously.
"You're lucky." He said finally.
"I'll cover it up in the morning."
"Don't cover it too well," he reminded her quietly.
"I know."
****************
L.A. - The parking lot of what looks to be a shipyard.
"Jack," Will came forward holding out his hand, "thanks for coming."
"I got your message. What's up? Congratulations by the way, on your new job."
"Oh, thanks. Hey, I didn't want to bother you with this but Sydney didn't get home last night like I thought she would and when Vaughn wasn't able to make our meeting this morning, I got a little worried. I know I shouldn't be. They've probably just got held up, right? No big deal.." Will trailed off looking up to Jack for reassurance.
Jack mulled over whether he should tell him or not, finally deciding to go ahead. "You have security clearance now, so I think it's alright to tell you. Sydney wasn't able to connect with Vaughn as planned. Something has come up and Vaughn's .. concerned. He felt Sydney didn't look quite like herself when he saw her in Austria."
"So he's seen her? He's there with her now?" Will breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
"No, not with her, but near her. He's decided to stay until Sydney makes contact. For some reason Sark's extended the mission."
"Sark has?" Will questioned.
"He's leading the mission."
"Are you serious? Sark's leading Sydney? I don't get it. Why doesn't Vaughn just pull her out?" Will knew that probably sounded incredibly dumb.
"Vaughn?" Jack started. "Vaughn is Sydney's handler, Will, that's all. Sydney's the one who makes the decisions for Sydney. There's no reason to be alarmed here," Jack tried to sound convincing, "They've probably just run into some kind of delay. If Sydney needs him, Vaughn is there. He always is. That's his job, it's his function in life."
"Yeah, but will he be enough?" Will wanted to know. "I mean can you trust him with her life?"
"Vaughn is the only one I trust."
****************
Back in Austria ~
Sark got up, put on some light music, and turned out the lights.
"From what I've learned about their in-room surveillance," he whispered, kneeling back next to her, "is that it only comes on intermittently. Randomly monitoring each room in the chateau. Of course, they can target a specific area. But the automatic system reboot program will likely only revert to its standard level. He stood up and began looking all around the room. "When it turns on it should emit some type of signal or light."
Sydney stood up and began searching too until Sark touched her arm and pointed up. There it was. A very faint green light emitting from the ceiling above them. It flashed several times and then went off. Sark turned on a light and they saw it was disguised as the smoke detector. They found one in there, and one in the bedroom. He turned the light back off.
"Enya, darling, join me out on the terrace," he called.
Sydney had gone to check the bathroom. "It's clear," she whispered, coming out and following Sark outside. Once there, he handed her a fresh glass of champagne.
"What now?"
"We'll drink some champagne and then go to bed," he answered absently.
They sat there in silence for what Sydney could only guess was an eternity. Then, without warning he got up, replaced their glasses on the table, and took her hand to lead her inside. It was already a reflex to look up as they entered the room. No light for now, they saw, and Sark dropped her hand. Sydney went to the bathroom to wash up and Sark lit several candles and built the fire back up. He had it back to its original beauty by the time she emerged a short time later. Sark then excused himself.
She was glad because it gave her a chance to clear her head. There was no way she would believe Sark was only interested in protecting a little girl. But if there really was a girl, Sydney had to ask herself, did it matter? She needed time to think too. Had she missed something? Something Sark didn't? For an instant she wondered if he hadn't seen her with Vaughn in the hall. But he couldn't have, they were too fast. Oh God, her head ached. She needed to sleep. She crawled into bed, lying on her side to watch the fire.
When Sark came back into the room he was wearing only silk pajama pants. He started to get into bed across from Sydney when she hissed, "Over my dead body Sark."
"Sydney," he calmly pointed out, ignoring her threat and climbing in next to her, "I don't think that it would be in keeping with our little ruse if I were to be caught sleeping on the floor, do you?"
"Fine," she snapped, "but you keep your distance."
"It'll be my pleasure, I assure you." He said, moving over closer and pulling her gently into his arms so that her head lay on his chest. She knew this was only because it made it easier to talk quietly without flagging someone who may be watching, but she didn't like how comfortable he seemed to be with it. Nor did she like how their bodies fit so naturally together.
"This better not be part of some ulterior motive you have in keeping me here," she warned him.
"Are you always this charming in bed?" He chided her.
"I'm serious Sark."
"It'll be a stretch," he yawned, "but I think I can restrain myself. I'd appreciate it if you would do the same," he teased.
"Go to hell."
"Oh, that's very pretty Sydney. Now, stop talking. I need to think."
She started to lift her head off his chest and move away but he held her firmly there. She looked up at him questioningly.
He motioned his eyes to the ceiling. "Don't look now..."
She didn't. She laid her head back down and closed her eyes. Her cheek was throbbing now. She had taken something for the pain, but it hadn't kicked in yet. She was so tired she could hardly keep her eyes open; and Sark felt bizarrely comfortable. As she waited for him to give her the 'all clear' signal, she felt herself drifting off to sleep. The clouds filling her mind as Sark's fingers absently played with her hair in the firelight.
****************
Vaughn had wasted no time in calling Kendall. It was a surprise he hadn't given him any grief about staying. Now all he could do was pace the floor and wait - hope that she would call. No, he didn't want her to call because that would mean she was in trouble. Seeing her like that at the chateau had really unnerved him. Instinctively he felt Sark was up to something. The thought of Sark touching her in any way made him tense. The man had already tried to kill her once. He was a terrorist for Christ's sake. And now he had Sydney in his room under the pretense they were a couple, .. or, something. Vaughn knew Sydney was fearless and determined to succeed in her counter-missions. After seeing her earlier, he worried how far she'd have to go.
"Agent Vaughn?" Called a voice from the other room.
"Here. What do have for me?" He sounded impatiently, coming into the com room of the CIA safe house located about 4km from the chateau.
"It was time-consuming but we've been able to tap into their surveillance system undetected. We should have a visual any moment now. We flagged it to read only into Agent Bristow's room, which is why we have lots of black periods. It appears to run on a 60 second looping cycle, more or less."
"What do you mean?"
"Periodically it appears security is accessing specific areas which then off-sets the program."
"So what you're saying is that even though it runs on a fairly regular program, there's no telling when her room will be under observation?"
"Correct. It should be coming up.. right.about.. now. And, there it is." A view of the bedroom filled the screen.
Vaughn leaned in to get a closer look. The image was grainy and the room was dark save for a dwindling fire in the corner. There were two forms on the bed. Upon closer examination he could see one was definitely Sark propped up in the bed. Next to him, lying with her head on his chest was apparently Sydney. Her hair was spread across her face and his torso, making it impossible for anyone else besides Vaughn to be sure. But Vaughn knew her form too well. The curve of her hip, the shape of her leg.. there was no question it was her. Sark's arms were cradling her, but they weren't moving. They were asleep. Vaughn felt the color draining from his face. He needed air.
"Notify me if there's a change," he instructed, walking quickly out of the room.
****************