Chapter 8 -

Talk about distractions. The business day was probably close to one of the worst she'd had in some time. Not only did she get completely sideswiped by the altered surveillance video, she was sure that her father saw it, too. That issue itself was going to require some swift, feasible answers. What was most complicated was the road she should take – honesty or blatant lies. She hated to keep things from her father, but in this case, it was probably better off if he was in the dark.

Luckily, she didn't have to face it today. She was kept at her desk as planned until seven PM. Most of the day was spent secretly researching Sark, his residence in LA, surveillance layout, and security schedule. With Jack leaving early, she had an open exit for the day. Taking full advantage of it, she practically rushed out the building.

From what she discovered, she had ten minutes to make her way into the building. The avoiding all the cameras wasn't going to be a problem. With a detailed layout, she found a few small holes where she could make it in unseen. Considering how sharp security was they sure did leave a good amount of information accessible – available with some work of course.

Nearing the five-story condominium complex, Sydney purposely parked five blocks away, out of all camera views. With less than two minutes until this round of security left, Sydney watched for the license plate number she found in the system. Not having to wait long, she saw the car pull away, right on schedule.

She took advantage of the opportunity and sprinted in the near darkness toward the building, reaching the fire escape in the rear. After climbing to the third floor, she entered through an open window then walked the rest of the way up the provided stairs. Reaching her floor destination, Sydney looked at her watch for the time. Before leaving SD-6, she timed a temporary blackout of the cameras on his floor. She had only two minutes now until they were online again.

Her courage wavering with each second that went by, she finally brought her hand to connect with his door, knocking twice. The nervousness came with each second that he kept her waiting. She knew he was here since his car was right outside. What if he had company? She never thought of that. He could have made some sort of agreement with Sloane about physical fulfillment.

Stop it, that's absurd. Yet entirely possible…

With the click of the lock, she watched the door slowly open. Taken aback, Sydney found her face red with embarrassment or maybe a hint of attraction. Wearing only a perfectly baggy pair of blue running pants with white stripes down the sides, Sark appeared from behind the door.

Sydney couldn't help but take one look at his chest, it was the third time she saw the hardness she previously felt in the few times her body was against it. His skin appeared soft, not just from the sweat beads that glistened in the light, but also from its creamy beige color. Obviously she interrupted his workout. Bare-chested with not one hair visible, she watched as his peck slightly flexed with his arm movement. Stuck in the moment, she allowed her gaze to drift a bit lower, noticing a rippling six-pack…

Focus!

She glanced back up at his face, finding his right eye a bit swollen, joined with a small cut. Sign of a struggle, definitely.

"You know you have less than two minutes until Corgan and Smith are parked outside," Sark interrupted her thoughts. Inviting her in, Sark stepped away from the door, completely opening it.

Trying to make light conversation Sydney joked. "It sounds like you're taking all of this in jest, at least."

"It appears that I am, doesn't it?" Sark spoke with no emotion in his voice. "Now what can I do for you, Agent Bristow."

Habitually taking in her surroundings, she looked around the large flat. Even though it had no scheme of decoration, just sprinkled with a few random decorative pieces – it was still relatively warm considering its temporary state. Could be due to the medium blue walls and taupe trim. Feeling his stare, she knew he was waiting for her to speak, an action that seemed much easier before she got here.

"Why… how did you do it?" Sydney asked, almost stammering. "And most importantly, what do you want from me?"

Sark walked to the kitchen and the bottle of wine he had set out on the counter. "Is that all you want to know." His comment was laced with sarcasm. "Which one first, the why, how or what?" She watched him look at her and hardly recognized the look on his face…

Is he actually going to open up to me?

"There are other issues we need to discuss too, but you choose," Sydney replied, leaving the ball in his court.

With what she hoped to be a friendly gesture, Sark brought her a glass. She gave him a polite smile, but quickly made it disappear. This could go either way, blackmail could be his specialty and she must be prepared for anything. She watched as he sat on the taupe – colored leather – full cushioned couch, placing his glass on a coaster sitting on a nearby table. Attempting to make her somewhat more at ease, he grabbed his white wife beater tank, covering the bulk of his chest.

"You can sit," Sark spoke. "Be aware I will heed the last request you made at the hotel."

She obliged by taking a seat at the other end of the couch. The harshness, she remembered, coming out of her when she told him not to touch her ever again, was still fresh in her mind. What did he expect? He completely crossed the line of invasion. As she took a drink of her wine, she studied him, assuming that he must be in the process of choosing his words wisely.

"I can tell you what you need to know, no more," Sark began. "Before I joined forces with SD-6, I linked my private system to their surveillance. This gives me the ability to search for key words in the system and find out when certain people will be watched." Sydney kept her stare, as he made eye contact with her, clearly stating that he had been watching her to a certain extent. "Since the system is almost two years old and the outside surveillance feeds take almost twenty minutes, I also have the option to freeze and manipulate them before they reach security."

"Which is how you were placed at the pier," interrupted Sydney, stating the obvious.

Sydney watched him finish the rest of his wine in one large gulp. Showing hesitance as he stared at his empty glass, Sark cleared his throat before continuing, "Despite what you may have concluded due to my recent behavior, my dealings at SD-6 have nothing to do with you directly. I'm not out for revenge, nor do I have some sort of vendetta against you or your father that's been orchestrated by Irina. In the few times that I've worked with a team, I've always tried my best to look out for them. Especially if they emulate the abilities and passion I feel I bring to the group dynamic." Sydney tried to hide her appreciation of the compliment. "Whether you choose to accept it or not, I believe I was mislead, and found too much truth in something said that wasn't completely true or may have been said to reassure a third party. For that I do apologize." Sark looked back up at her with a look of sincerity.

Sydney slightly smiled, softening her eyes to show her acceptance. Sark stood taking both of their glasses back to his kitchen. "I hope that answers your questions," he called from the other room.

Not fully reassured, she had to ask. "Most of them, but…" trying to phrase her question correctly she paused, "you intercepted video of me with a friend–"

"You mean your CIA contact," Sark interrupted her as he walked back in the room. Giving her the news she dreaded, he continued, "Michael Vaughn is his name, I believe."

He handed her a second glass of wine, which she gladly took. This was turning out to be the worse case scenario she had imagined earlier. "You saved my ass, needless to say. So what is it that you want?"

"Nothing," Sark replied, and then rethought his answer, "Just an answer to the one question I have."

Sydney looked at him, in fear of what he was going to ask. "You could use this information to your full advantage, and you only want me to answer a question."

He took another sip of his wine. "I believe I have made it clear that I'm not out to get you or your family, Miss Bristow."

"So, what's your question then?"

She watched as he smiled slightly, appearing to take pleasure in making her uncomfortable. "How long were you romantically involved with your handler?"

Narrowing her eyes slightly at the nature of his question, she realized she had indeed started squirming. Should she even dignify his intrusion with an answer? They seemed to be even now, after he manipulated the video for her. "You're doing this for your own amusement," Sydney stated flatly.

"Think of it as a tool used to cope with the secluded life I've been leading. You did note I was taking all of it in jest when you arrived," he playfully replied.

Also choosing her words wisely, she somewhat opened up to him, "Technically, I never was romantically involved with Agent Vaughn. And since he was just removed as my handler, I doubt I will be in the future."

Sark didn't respond. He just watched her face, studying her reaction. After a moment, he stood. "So, since you're going to be here for a while, are you hungry? I can order out for you."

"What do you mean by "a while"? Didn't you say you had ways out of here? Some way to leave without being noticed?" Sydney did little to hide her frustration.

Sark laughed, "You did all this research to get here and didn't bother to finish? The two blokes outside, armed and surely using infrared, won't leave their post until three A.M. Even if I have access to pause the cameras, there's no way out of here without being identified until the switch, Miss Bristow."

Her stomach sank with his answer. "Sydney. Please, just Sydney," She was normally so thorough, always paying attention to detail. Blame it on the day, she decided