Chapter Four
She almost cried out his name as she saw him, still and unmoving. The guns were still pointed at her and she put up her hands in surrender. That was when Cuvee walked in. Irina's face turned cold and Sydney wore a look of hatred on hers.
"You shot him," she said coldly.
"You expected me to allow him to waltz in here and help you? I don't think so," said Cuvee with a smiled. He walked closer to Irina. "Irina," he said quietly. "I suppose that we now know where exactly your loyalties lie."
He undid the gag and she spoke quietly. "My loyalties have always been in the same place," she said, leaving the question unanswered for him.
He had Sydney handcuffed and pushed into another room. He managed to remove Jack's gag as well so that they could speak freely.
"I hate him," said Irina quietly.
"He'll be back," said Jack. "But what about Sydney?"
"She'll probably be tortured," said Irina in a monotone voice.
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Jack defensively.
"Don't get defensive and don't tell me that I don't care," she said. "I do care. I'm just making a general statement." She looked over at Vaughn. "I don't know what we can do for him though."
"Where's Sark when you actually need him?" asked Jack sarcastically.
The door opened behind them and they braced themselves for Cuvee.
"You rang?" asked Sark sarcastically, taking out a knife and sawing the duct tape that was taped around their wrists apart.
Irina rubbed her wrists and peeled the last of the tape from them. "Did you see Sydney?" she asked.
He shook his head. "No, I didn't. Does Cuvee have her?" He looked at Jack and Irina's faces. "Never mind. Stupid question."
Jack ran over to Vaughn, who was still lying motionless on the floor. "Vaughn, get up," he shook the man. Vaughn had lost a lot of blood.
"Can you carry him? One of you?" Irina asked Jack and Sark. "If we can't manage to get Sydney out now, then we can at least get Vaughn out of here and some medical assistance and come back for Sydney.
"We'll find her dead if we do come back," said Sark quietly. "You two get him out of here. I'm going to find Cuvee. I have an alliance with him. I can possibly give him something in return for Sydney."
"I'm not entrusting you with my daughter's return," said Jack, lifting up Vaughn.
"Jack, we have to," said Irina. "We don't have another option."
"Yes we do. You and Sark take Vaughn back and I'll get Sydney."
"You don't know the base," argued Sark. "I do. I can get her out. I know where Cuvee would have taken her."
"Like I said, I am not trusting you to bring my daughter back."
"Mr. Bristow, right now I appear to be your only chance. You have to get Agent Vaughn out of here before he loses any more blood."
"Jack, he's right," said Irina quietly. "Sydney can take care of herself. Right now, our main priority is Vaughn."
Jack finally nodded. "You're right," he said quietly.
"Take this door down the flight of stairs. My car is parked in the parking lot," said Sark, tossing Irina the keys. "Call for assistance using the car phone. Good luck," he left the room and Irina and Jack turned and headed down the stairs.
"Mr. Sark," said Cuvee when Sark joined him.
"Everything went as planned," Sark said smoothly. "Agent Bristow and Derevko believe that I am completely on their side. The car that I allowed them to use has a tracer on it, so we can find them. Inside the suitcase," he motioned to the table, "is a headset that will allow you to listen in on their CIA conversation. You can then report them to Arvin Sloane and SD-6; Jack as being a double agent, not to mention his daughter." he baited Sydney who was tied to a chair in the center of the room. She ignored him. "And hand over Derevko and her information to Arvin Sloane."
"You son of a bitch," she muttered through gritted teeth.
"Silence," said Cuvee, slapping her across the face. Her cheek turned red where he had hit her.
"Sloane's not going to believe you," she said to Cuvee, "when you tell him that my father is a double agent. He's not, and Sloane and my father have been friends for years."
"You and I both know that your father is a double agent, Miss Bristow," said Cuvee. "And yes, Sloane will believe me when I tell him. I have perfect evidence, not to mention Mr. Sark will enlighten him."
"Sark can't." she stopped. She had almost said that Sark couldn't say anything to Sloane without exposing himself.
"Mr. Sark can't what?" asked Cuvee, his eyes gleaming.
"He'd never have the guts to do that. Sloane doesn't trust him as it is. Sloane wouldn't believe him."
Cuvee slapped her again, this time harder and causing a small cut on her cheek. "Oh he would," he said quietly to her. "He would."
He motioned for Sark to follow him and left. Sark stepped closer and whispered, "Stay put. I'll be back for you."
"Stay put?" she asked sarcastically. "Oh yeah, I'm really in a hurry to up and go somewhere."
"Your parents should have made contact with their ride now. The car that I put the tracer on, one of my men is driving in the opposite direction. Agent Vaughn will be fine."
"It's not him that I'm concerned about," she said quietly.
"What was that?" he asked.
"Nothing," she said.
"I'll be back," he said again, and quickly kissed her on the lips. She stared blankly at him as he left the room.
***
"Vaughn," Irina gently shook him as he began to regain consciousness. He opened one eye and looked at Irina. "Great," he muttered. "I might as well be a member of the family."
"What family?" asked Irina.
"Yours. When I got your virus, thank you very much, I got stuck waking up after being unconscious for forty-eight hours to Jack. Now I get stuck waking up to you," he said grumpily, sitting up.
"Fine, I'll invite Kendall in the next time. You can decide then who's worse."
"I'll take you and Jack, thanks," he said sarcastically. "Where's Sydney?" he looked around. "SD-6?"
Irina remained silent, deciding on how to break this to him.
"No," he said quietly. "You abandoned her?"
"We didn't abandon her," said Irina.
"Ms. Derevko," said a guard, entering the room. "Agent Kendall told me to escort you back to your cell as soon as Agent Vaughn had woken up."
"All right, one minute," said Irina, dismissing him with a wave of her hand. "Sark told us that he would break her out. You were losing too much blood, too fast. We had to get you out of there. I was the one who pulled to get you out of there. Jack wanted to put Sydney first."
"And why am I awake now?"
"It's been two days. You've had about ten blood transfusions and been through surgery at least once. Kendall, Jack and I have taken turns sitting here." She stood to leave.
"Ms. Derevko?" asked Vaughn as she turned.
"Call me Irina, Vaughn," she said.
"Irina.thanks," he closed his eyes and fell back against the pillows.
***
"Any word on Vaughn?" Sydney was becoming accustomed to these nighttime visits from Sark. Cuvee hadn't been in to torture her or anything. She was getting worried that he was catching on to Sark. Sark had been visiting her for the last two nights and updating her on Vaughn.
"No," said Sark. "He woke up today," he said with a small smile. He knew how much this meant to Sydney. "He spoke to your mother."
"What did he say?"
"I don't know. Your father told me this. After talking to you last night, I flew back to the US and met with Sloane. They are sending in a team to extract you."
"It's about time," she said.
"Had I been able to do it sooner, I would have," he said sincerely.
What's going on here? She asked herself. Is Sark going soft?
"Sydney, I've got to get moving," he said as his head jerked toward the hallway. "I just want you to know though.that no matter what you decide to do about your feelings for Agent Vaughn, I just want you to know.that I'll always care about you." He turned and left, leaving her alone to think in the darkness.
What was he doing? How did he know that she had feelings for Vaughn? Sure, the date may have been a dead giveaway, but how would he have known that it was a date, and not just a business meeting.
You idiot, she mentally yelled at herself. Here he is, baring his soul to you and here you are, running off to Vaughn, who you think is always going to be able to protect you.
She closed her eyes and leaned her head back, letting her mind drift away as she fell off to sleep.
***
"Come on," Sark hissed as he undid the tape that tied her hands together.
"What?" she asked groggily.
"Come on. We're getting out of here. The ride is outside. Let's go." Her eyes barely opened and he sighed in exasperation as he picked her up and carried her.
"Where are we going?"
"Sydney, listen to me. Did Cuvee feed you anything at all today?"
"Just some water."
Damn it, he cursed mentally. He knocked her out for a week. He put her into the back seat and got behind the wheel. He sped towards the airport and pulled out a syringe. "I knew that he was going to do that." He got out and opened the back door. He helped Sydney sit up.
"Sydney, listen to me. I'm going to give you an adrenaline boost. We have to go, now!" He found a vein an injected the adrenaline. Her eyes flew open.
"What the hell did you do to me?" she asked angrily.
"Cuvee put something in your water earlier. I gave you an adrenaline boost."
"Now I know how Vaughn felt."
"Sydney, we have to go. Cuvee will discover that you're missing any minute. We need to be in the air when he finds out."
She nodded and followed him through the airport. He led her to his private jet and they got on.
"I'm still tired," she yawned.
"By all means, sleep," he said with a smile.
"Nah, staying awake is too exciting."
"For the whole plane ride?"
"You're right," she closed her eyes. "Sark?" she opened one eye and asked.
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry," she said.
"For what?"
"You know what it is, and if you don't, then I'm not going to tell you," she rolled over in the comfy plane seat.
He smiled. She was turning out just like him.
"Sydney?"
"Yeah?"
He walked over to her seat and sat down next to her, putting an arm around her. He leaned into him and laid her head on his chest.
"I love you," she said quietly.
He opened his mouth and stopped, but continued. "I love you too."
***
"And what, may I ask, was the point in sending my parents to Malaysia? Surely it wasn't a vacation," she said angrily, butting heads with Kendall.
"They were sent to retrieve a map, Agent Bristow," said Kendall.
"Oh yeah, and did they come back with it? No! I had to go in and save their butts, again," said Sydney.
"You've never had to save us," said Irina, defensively.
"Oh yes I have," she muttered.
"From who?"
"Yourselves."
"Very funny."
"Actually," said Jack. "It was Sark who managed to get us out of there."
"And get Vaughn shot at the same time," protested Sydney.
"I got shot on my own," Vaughn was in a wheelchair again.
"Hey," she smiled and almost hugged him.
"It's all right," he said with a smile of his own. "I'm not contagious or anything." She hugged him.
"Agent Bristow, the map has undoubtedly been moved," began Kendall.
"Or wasn't there in the first place," said Jack.
"What do you mean?" asked Kendall.
Irina smiled. "It wasn't in Malaysia in the first place."
"So you mean that we sent the two of you there on a joy ride?" asked Kendall.
"No," said Jack. "We got Sark exactly where we want him. We put a tracer on him. We tracked him to his latest.location."
Sydney fought to hide her shock. "Where is it?"
"Just outside of LA. We'd like to infiltrate it," said Irina.
"We?" asked Kendall.
"Yes," said Jack, "As in Irina and me."
"Then no," said Sydney before Kendall could respond. "I don't need to have to save you from Sark. I hate the thought of you two going off on your own little thing together. Dad, suddenly, you're doing the exact thing that you told me not to do, get close to Mom." She stormed off.
"Want me to go talk to her?" asked Vaughn.
"Yeah," nodded Jack.
"Syd!" called Vaughn as she headed for her car. "Where are you going?"
"I have to find someone," she got into her car and sped off. She had to find Sark before her parents did. The only problem was, she didn't know where he was.
"Hey!" she yelled to Marshall.
"Hey," replied Marshall.
"Have you seen Sark?"
"Yeah, in a conference with Sloane."
"I need to pull him out of it."
"Be my guest. Room A."
She flew toward the conference room, hoping that she wouldn't be too late. What would she tell Sloane though, what could she get Sark out of a conference for?
She opened the door and Sloane, Dixon, and Sark looked at her.
"Agent Bristow," said Sloane dryly. "So kind of you to join us."
"What are you talking about?" she asked.
"We called you," said Sark. "You and I are going to Colombia."
"Why?"
"Sit down please," said Sloane, motioning to a chair. "We called you on your cell phone, you know the one that you are always supposed to have on?"
She took the phone out of her pocket and looked at it sheepishly. "I forgot to turn it on."
"Anyway," said Sloane. "You will be going to Colombia. You will retrieve the Rambaldi code."
"Code?" asked Sydney."
"Rambaldi left a code, hidden in hieroglyphs in a cave in Colombia. You will retrieve the code and destroy the cave before anyone else can get to it. We will then be able to find the artifact behind it."
"Any idea as to what the artifact is?" asked Dixon.
"We have a slight idea, but not really."
"All right," said Sark. "How long are we staying?"
"You will only stay as long as necessary. Hopefully you'll be back by morning. Your flight leaves in four hours." He handed them a folder with the information. "Good luck."
"I need to talk to you," she whispered as they left the room. She pulled him into another empty room.
"What is it?" he looked concerned.
"My parents put a tracer on you when you saved them in Malaysia. They know where you went after we got off the plane."
"My house," he said grimly.
"A safe house?"
"No, the place where I live."
"A safe house," she said.
"Sydney, I do not live in a safe house. I have a house just outside of LA, as impossible as it is to believe."
"Sark."
"Sydney, call me Andrew. You're driving me nuts."
"Fine. Andrew.when I left, my parents were getting a team ready to go and infiltrate it."
His face grew cold. "Let's go," he said.
"Where are we going?"
"My house, we have to move some stuff from it so that the CIA doesn't find it. I have rather.personal items that the CIA doesn't need to get a hold of."
"Like what?" she asked as they walked. "Not illegal drugs I hope."
He laughed quietly. "No, not illegal drugs. I have plenty of illegal weapons, the major systems to my networks are there.I have to get rid of them, either destroy them or move them so that your parents don't find them. Let's just put it this way," he said as they got into the car, "I have essential things there that could destroy SD-6 or the CIA if I really wanted to."
"You're kidding," she breathed.
"No," he said as they drove. "I could take down Sloane and SD-6 by myself if I wanted to."
"Then why haven't you?"
"I can't tell you that."
"You don't trust me?"
"Sydney." he took her hand in his. "I do trust you, but if you were tortured for information or anything.I just wouldn't want to take the chances."
"Andrew."
He smiled. "I have to get Sloane to fully trust me first. I have to make sure that he trusts me and will leave me SD-6, or the weapons and connections to the Alliance so that I can later destroy them. Regardless of what your parents, Vaughn, and Agent Kendall believe, I am on your side, I promise."
She leaned her head back against the seat. "I'm going to get to see your house?"
"Yes," he said quietly. "You will. If we need to, we can stay there tonight, provided that your parents don't infiltrate it. We can leave for Colombia in the morning and Sloane will be none the wiser."
"You're sure?"
"Yeah," he smiled. "I'm sure."
She pulled out her cell phone and pressed a few buttons.
"Jack Bristow," said her father.
"Dad," said Sydney.
"Where are you?" he demanded.
"Packing. I'm going to Colombia in four hours. My cell phone was off when Sloane called. I'm leaving."
"With Sark?"
She paused. "Yes. We're supposed to get the code of Rambaldi, the hieroglyph that will tell us where Rambaldi hid the artifact."
"What about Sark?"
"What about him?"
"Would he be at the location we discussed?"
"Probably packing, yes. Just wait until I get back."
"Sydney, if we do this while you're gone, it'll be easier. He'll be out of the country."
"Dad, I want to be there when you do it. I want to finally have something on Sark."
"Sydney, we're doing this tonight. Make sure that you're out of the county!" He slammed down the phone, hanging up on her.
"They're doing it tonight, after we've supposedly left."
"All the more reason for us to stay," he said with a small smile.
"I have an idea!" she said. "What if we switched the numbers on the garage and mailbox?"
"To what?"
"I don't know, one number off. What if they raided a house next door or something?"
"What makes you so sure that I have neighbors?"
"I don't know."
"You're right, I do have neighbors. One won't be home for a while, so we have time to switch the numbers. Speaking of which," he paused. "We're here."
She took in his house. a two-story blue house with a few trees in the front yard. A large tree in the back shaded the house, she noticed as she slowly got out.
"We don't have much time," he said as he took a tool kit from his trunk. He tossed her a screwdriver and they went to work, changing the numbers on the house and mailbox, adjusting them by one."
"3126 never existed," he said. The next house was 3130, and they had changed his house to 3128.
"What if they just go by the car or the look?"
"The car," he got back in, "Is going in the garage." He pulled the car into the garage. "And if they go by appearance, then we'll have to make a break for it.
They went to work, loading up various items of importance and putting them in the trunk.
"Do you want me to grab the computer?" she asked.
"If we take it," he shook his head, "It looks too obvious. Take out a few wires on the inside." She opened up the computer and cut a few wires. "Are you sure that's okay?"
"I can always have someone come out and install new ones. It's fine," he hugged her to him. "We'd better go," she said quietly, not wanting to disturb the moment. "Are you sure? I thought that you wanted.to explore. You couldn't get over the fact that I live in a normal house just like any other law-abiding citizen in LA."
"Law-abiding?" she snorted. "Yeah right."
"You're right though," he said. "We'd better go."
She nodded and they headed for the garage. Just as they were about to open the door, Sark dashed back into the other room to grab something. He came back and as they opened the door, the doorbell rang.
"We can't go now," she whispered. "What do we do?"
He thought quickly. "We either hide, or answer it."
They opened the door to the garage as they heard the front door get kicked in.
"They're paying for a new door," muttered Sark.
"What do we do?" she asked again.
"Get in," he quietly opened the door. "And get down." They ducked into the car as the door opened.
"Someone's here," announced Jack. "The car's here." "Sydney was supposed to get him out of the country."
"Maybe he hasn't left yet. Search the place."
They closed the door.
"Do you think that there's a team outside?" asked Sark.
"There might be," said Sydney. "It's always a possibility."
"Then let's make a break for it."
"What?"
"Let's make a break for it, and fast."
Sark jammed the accelerator down as soon as the garage door had fully opened. Jack and Irina came flying out as Sydney ducked so that her parents couldn't see her with Sark.
"That was close," she said as they flew down the street.
"Yeah," agreed Sark as they drove. "Do you need anything from your house?"
She nodded, "Yeah."
They arrived at her house and she packed a quick suitcase. She was relieved that Will and Francie weren't home.
Sark drove to the airport and they changed clothes and became Mr. and Mrs. Cooper, a newlywed couple, visiting friends in Bogotá, Colombia.
"Why do I get stuck playing your wife?"
"When were you stuck playing my wife? I think that this is a new experience for you," he said teasingly.
"I got stuck as your girlfriend. That was torture enough."
He shook his head, "You scare me." He smiled.
"I know," she quickly switched to a very touristy accent as a flight attendant came to them and asked if they wanted anything.
They declined and went back to talking. Had someone spotted them and watched them, they could have passed for a real married couple, not enemies working for the CIA and against SD-6. Sydney closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, listening to Sark's voice
She almost cried out his name as she saw him, still and unmoving. The guns were still pointed at her and she put up her hands in surrender. That was when Cuvee walked in. Irina's face turned cold and Sydney wore a look of hatred on hers.
"You shot him," she said coldly.
"You expected me to allow him to waltz in here and help you? I don't think so," said Cuvee with a smiled. He walked closer to Irina. "Irina," he said quietly. "I suppose that we now know where exactly your loyalties lie."
He undid the gag and she spoke quietly. "My loyalties have always been in the same place," she said, leaving the question unanswered for him.
He had Sydney handcuffed and pushed into another room. He managed to remove Jack's gag as well so that they could speak freely.
"I hate him," said Irina quietly.
"He'll be back," said Jack. "But what about Sydney?"
"She'll probably be tortured," said Irina in a monotone voice.
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Jack defensively.
"Don't get defensive and don't tell me that I don't care," she said. "I do care. I'm just making a general statement." She looked over at Vaughn. "I don't know what we can do for him though."
"Where's Sark when you actually need him?" asked Jack sarcastically.
The door opened behind them and they braced themselves for Cuvee.
"You rang?" asked Sark sarcastically, taking out a knife and sawing the duct tape that was taped around their wrists apart.
Irina rubbed her wrists and peeled the last of the tape from them. "Did you see Sydney?" she asked.
He shook his head. "No, I didn't. Does Cuvee have her?" He looked at Jack and Irina's faces. "Never mind. Stupid question."
Jack ran over to Vaughn, who was still lying motionless on the floor. "Vaughn, get up," he shook the man. Vaughn had lost a lot of blood.
"Can you carry him? One of you?" Irina asked Jack and Sark. "If we can't manage to get Sydney out now, then we can at least get Vaughn out of here and some medical assistance and come back for Sydney.
"We'll find her dead if we do come back," said Sark quietly. "You two get him out of here. I'm going to find Cuvee. I have an alliance with him. I can possibly give him something in return for Sydney."
"I'm not entrusting you with my daughter's return," said Jack, lifting up Vaughn.
"Jack, we have to," said Irina. "We don't have another option."
"Yes we do. You and Sark take Vaughn back and I'll get Sydney."
"You don't know the base," argued Sark. "I do. I can get her out. I know where Cuvee would have taken her."
"Like I said, I am not trusting you to bring my daughter back."
"Mr. Bristow, right now I appear to be your only chance. You have to get Agent Vaughn out of here before he loses any more blood."
"Jack, he's right," said Irina quietly. "Sydney can take care of herself. Right now, our main priority is Vaughn."
Jack finally nodded. "You're right," he said quietly.
"Take this door down the flight of stairs. My car is parked in the parking lot," said Sark, tossing Irina the keys. "Call for assistance using the car phone. Good luck," he left the room and Irina and Jack turned and headed down the stairs.
"Mr. Sark," said Cuvee when Sark joined him.
"Everything went as planned," Sark said smoothly. "Agent Bristow and Derevko believe that I am completely on their side. The car that I allowed them to use has a tracer on it, so we can find them. Inside the suitcase," he motioned to the table, "is a headset that will allow you to listen in on their CIA conversation. You can then report them to Arvin Sloane and SD-6; Jack as being a double agent, not to mention his daughter." he baited Sydney who was tied to a chair in the center of the room. She ignored him. "And hand over Derevko and her information to Arvin Sloane."
"You son of a bitch," she muttered through gritted teeth.
"Silence," said Cuvee, slapping her across the face. Her cheek turned red where he had hit her.
"Sloane's not going to believe you," she said to Cuvee, "when you tell him that my father is a double agent. He's not, and Sloane and my father have been friends for years."
"You and I both know that your father is a double agent, Miss Bristow," said Cuvee. "And yes, Sloane will believe me when I tell him. I have perfect evidence, not to mention Mr. Sark will enlighten him."
"Sark can't." she stopped. She had almost said that Sark couldn't say anything to Sloane without exposing himself.
"Mr. Sark can't what?" asked Cuvee, his eyes gleaming.
"He'd never have the guts to do that. Sloane doesn't trust him as it is. Sloane wouldn't believe him."
Cuvee slapped her again, this time harder and causing a small cut on her cheek. "Oh he would," he said quietly to her. "He would."
He motioned for Sark to follow him and left. Sark stepped closer and whispered, "Stay put. I'll be back for you."
"Stay put?" she asked sarcastically. "Oh yeah, I'm really in a hurry to up and go somewhere."
"Your parents should have made contact with their ride now. The car that I put the tracer on, one of my men is driving in the opposite direction. Agent Vaughn will be fine."
"It's not him that I'm concerned about," she said quietly.
"What was that?" he asked.
"Nothing," she said.
"I'll be back," he said again, and quickly kissed her on the lips. She stared blankly at him as he left the room.
***
"Vaughn," Irina gently shook him as he began to regain consciousness. He opened one eye and looked at Irina. "Great," he muttered. "I might as well be a member of the family."
"What family?" asked Irina.
"Yours. When I got your virus, thank you very much, I got stuck waking up after being unconscious for forty-eight hours to Jack. Now I get stuck waking up to you," he said grumpily, sitting up.
"Fine, I'll invite Kendall in the next time. You can decide then who's worse."
"I'll take you and Jack, thanks," he said sarcastically. "Where's Sydney?" he looked around. "SD-6?"
Irina remained silent, deciding on how to break this to him.
"No," he said quietly. "You abandoned her?"
"We didn't abandon her," said Irina.
"Ms. Derevko," said a guard, entering the room. "Agent Kendall told me to escort you back to your cell as soon as Agent Vaughn had woken up."
"All right, one minute," said Irina, dismissing him with a wave of her hand. "Sark told us that he would break her out. You were losing too much blood, too fast. We had to get you out of there. I was the one who pulled to get you out of there. Jack wanted to put Sydney first."
"And why am I awake now?"
"It's been two days. You've had about ten blood transfusions and been through surgery at least once. Kendall, Jack and I have taken turns sitting here." She stood to leave.
"Ms. Derevko?" asked Vaughn as she turned.
"Call me Irina, Vaughn," she said.
"Irina.thanks," he closed his eyes and fell back against the pillows.
***
"Any word on Vaughn?" Sydney was becoming accustomed to these nighttime visits from Sark. Cuvee hadn't been in to torture her or anything. She was getting worried that he was catching on to Sark. Sark had been visiting her for the last two nights and updating her on Vaughn.
"No," said Sark. "He woke up today," he said with a small smile. He knew how much this meant to Sydney. "He spoke to your mother."
"What did he say?"
"I don't know. Your father told me this. After talking to you last night, I flew back to the US and met with Sloane. They are sending in a team to extract you."
"It's about time," she said.
"Had I been able to do it sooner, I would have," he said sincerely.
What's going on here? She asked herself. Is Sark going soft?
"Sydney, I've got to get moving," he said as his head jerked toward the hallway. "I just want you to know though.that no matter what you decide to do about your feelings for Agent Vaughn, I just want you to know.that I'll always care about you." He turned and left, leaving her alone to think in the darkness.
What was he doing? How did he know that she had feelings for Vaughn? Sure, the date may have been a dead giveaway, but how would he have known that it was a date, and not just a business meeting.
You idiot, she mentally yelled at herself. Here he is, baring his soul to you and here you are, running off to Vaughn, who you think is always going to be able to protect you.
She closed her eyes and leaned her head back, letting her mind drift away as she fell off to sleep.
***
"Come on," Sark hissed as he undid the tape that tied her hands together.
"What?" she asked groggily.
"Come on. We're getting out of here. The ride is outside. Let's go." Her eyes barely opened and he sighed in exasperation as he picked her up and carried her.
"Where are we going?"
"Sydney, listen to me. Did Cuvee feed you anything at all today?"
"Just some water."
Damn it, he cursed mentally. He knocked her out for a week. He put her into the back seat and got behind the wheel. He sped towards the airport and pulled out a syringe. "I knew that he was going to do that." He got out and opened the back door. He helped Sydney sit up.
"Sydney, listen to me. I'm going to give you an adrenaline boost. We have to go, now!" He found a vein an injected the adrenaline. Her eyes flew open.
"What the hell did you do to me?" she asked angrily.
"Cuvee put something in your water earlier. I gave you an adrenaline boost."
"Now I know how Vaughn felt."
"Sydney, we have to go. Cuvee will discover that you're missing any minute. We need to be in the air when he finds out."
She nodded and followed him through the airport. He led her to his private jet and they got on.
"I'm still tired," she yawned.
"By all means, sleep," he said with a smile.
"Nah, staying awake is too exciting."
"For the whole plane ride?"
"You're right," she closed her eyes. "Sark?" she opened one eye and asked.
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry," she said.
"For what?"
"You know what it is, and if you don't, then I'm not going to tell you," she rolled over in the comfy plane seat.
He smiled. She was turning out just like him.
"Sydney?"
"Yeah?"
He walked over to her seat and sat down next to her, putting an arm around her. He leaned into him and laid her head on his chest.
"I love you," she said quietly.
He opened his mouth and stopped, but continued. "I love you too."
***
"And what, may I ask, was the point in sending my parents to Malaysia? Surely it wasn't a vacation," she said angrily, butting heads with Kendall.
"They were sent to retrieve a map, Agent Bristow," said Kendall.
"Oh yeah, and did they come back with it? No! I had to go in and save their butts, again," said Sydney.
"You've never had to save us," said Irina, defensively.
"Oh yes I have," she muttered.
"From who?"
"Yourselves."
"Very funny."
"Actually," said Jack. "It was Sark who managed to get us out of there."
"And get Vaughn shot at the same time," protested Sydney.
"I got shot on my own," Vaughn was in a wheelchair again.
"Hey," she smiled and almost hugged him.
"It's all right," he said with a smile of his own. "I'm not contagious or anything." She hugged him.
"Agent Bristow, the map has undoubtedly been moved," began Kendall.
"Or wasn't there in the first place," said Jack.
"What do you mean?" asked Kendall.
Irina smiled. "It wasn't in Malaysia in the first place."
"So you mean that we sent the two of you there on a joy ride?" asked Kendall.
"No," said Jack. "We got Sark exactly where we want him. We put a tracer on him. We tracked him to his latest.location."
Sydney fought to hide her shock. "Where is it?"
"Just outside of LA. We'd like to infiltrate it," said Irina.
"We?" asked Kendall.
"Yes," said Jack, "As in Irina and me."
"Then no," said Sydney before Kendall could respond. "I don't need to have to save you from Sark. I hate the thought of you two going off on your own little thing together. Dad, suddenly, you're doing the exact thing that you told me not to do, get close to Mom." She stormed off.
"Want me to go talk to her?" asked Vaughn.
"Yeah," nodded Jack.
"Syd!" called Vaughn as she headed for her car. "Where are you going?"
"I have to find someone," she got into her car and sped off. She had to find Sark before her parents did. The only problem was, she didn't know where he was.
"Hey!" she yelled to Marshall.
"Hey," replied Marshall.
"Have you seen Sark?"
"Yeah, in a conference with Sloane."
"I need to pull him out of it."
"Be my guest. Room A."
She flew toward the conference room, hoping that she wouldn't be too late. What would she tell Sloane though, what could she get Sark out of a conference for?
She opened the door and Sloane, Dixon, and Sark looked at her.
"Agent Bristow," said Sloane dryly. "So kind of you to join us."
"What are you talking about?" she asked.
"We called you," said Sark. "You and I are going to Colombia."
"Why?"
"Sit down please," said Sloane, motioning to a chair. "We called you on your cell phone, you know the one that you are always supposed to have on?"
She took the phone out of her pocket and looked at it sheepishly. "I forgot to turn it on."
"Anyway," said Sloane. "You will be going to Colombia. You will retrieve the Rambaldi code."
"Code?" asked Sydney."
"Rambaldi left a code, hidden in hieroglyphs in a cave in Colombia. You will retrieve the code and destroy the cave before anyone else can get to it. We will then be able to find the artifact behind it."
"Any idea as to what the artifact is?" asked Dixon.
"We have a slight idea, but not really."
"All right," said Sark. "How long are we staying?"
"You will only stay as long as necessary. Hopefully you'll be back by morning. Your flight leaves in four hours." He handed them a folder with the information. "Good luck."
"I need to talk to you," she whispered as they left the room. She pulled him into another empty room.
"What is it?" he looked concerned.
"My parents put a tracer on you when you saved them in Malaysia. They know where you went after we got off the plane."
"My house," he said grimly.
"A safe house?"
"No, the place where I live."
"A safe house," she said.
"Sydney, I do not live in a safe house. I have a house just outside of LA, as impossible as it is to believe."
"Sark."
"Sydney, call me Andrew. You're driving me nuts."
"Fine. Andrew.when I left, my parents were getting a team ready to go and infiltrate it."
His face grew cold. "Let's go," he said.
"Where are we going?"
"My house, we have to move some stuff from it so that the CIA doesn't find it. I have rather.personal items that the CIA doesn't need to get a hold of."
"Like what?" she asked as they walked. "Not illegal drugs I hope."
He laughed quietly. "No, not illegal drugs. I have plenty of illegal weapons, the major systems to my networks are there.I have to get rid of them, either destroy them or move them so that your parents don't find them. Let's just put it this way," he said as they got into the car, "I have essential things there that could destroy SD-6 or the CIA if I really wanted to."
"You're kidding," she breathed.
"No," he said as they drove. "I could take down Sloane and SD-6 by myself if I wanted to."
"Then why haven't you?"
"I can't tell you that."
"You don't trust me?"
"Sydney." he took her hand in his. "I do trust you, but if you were tortured for information or anything.I just wouldn't want to take the chances."
"Andrew."
He smiled. "I have to get Sloane to fully trust me first. I have to make sure that he trusts me and will leave me SD-6, or the weapons and connections to the Alliance so that I can later destroy them. Regardless of what your parents, Vaughn, and Agent Kendall believe, I am on your side, I promise."
She leaned her head back against the seat. "I'm going to get to see your house?"
"Yes," he said quietly. "You will. If we need to, we can stay there tonight, provided that your parents don't infiltrate it. We can leave for Colombia in the morning and Sloane will be none the wiser."
"You're sure?"
"Yeah," he smiled. "I'm sure."
She pulled out her cell phone and pressed a few buttons.
"Jack Bristow," said her father.
"Dad," said Sydney.
"Where are you?" he demanded.
"Packing. I'm going to Colombia in four hours. My cell phone was off when Sloane called. I'm leaving."
"With Sark?"
She paused. "Yes. We're supposed to get the code of Rambaldi, the hieroglyph that will tell us where Rambaldi hid the artifact."
"What about Sark?"
"What about him?"
"Would he be at the location we discussed?"
"Probably packing, yes. Just wait until I get back."
"Sydney, if we do this while you're gone, it'll be easier. He'll be out of the country."
"Dad, I want to be there when you do it. I want to finally have something on Sark."
"Sydney, we're doing this tonight. Make sure that you're out of the county!" He slammed down the phone, hanging up on her.
"They're doing it tonight, after we've supposedly left."
"All the more reason for us to stay," he said with a small smile.
"I have an idea!" she said. "What if we switched the numbers on the garage and mailbox?"
"To what?"
"I don't know, one number off. What if they raided a house next door or something?"
"What makes you so sure that I have neighbors?"
"I don't know."
"You're right, I do have neighbors. One won't be home for a while, so we have time to switch the numbers. Speaking of which," he paused. "We're here."
She took in his house. a two-story blue house with a few trees in the front yard. A large tree in the back shaded the house, she noticed as she slowly got out.
"We don't have much time," he said as he took a tool kit from his trunk. He tossed her a screwdriver and they went to work, changing the numbers on the house and mailbox, adjusting them by one."
"3126 never existed," he said. The next house was 3130, and they had changed his house to 3128.
"What if they just go by the car or the look?"
"The car," he got back in, "Is going in the garage." He pulled the car into the garage. "And if they go by appearance, then we'll have to make a break for it.
They went to work, loading up various items of importance and putting them in the trunk.
"Do you want me to grab the computer?" she asked.
"If we take it," he shook his head, "It looks too obvious. Take out a few wires on the inside." She opened up the computer and cut a few wires. "Are you sure that's okay?"
"I can always have someone come out and install new ones. It's fine," he hugged her to him. "We'd better go," she said quietly, not wanting to disturb the moment. "Are you sure? I thought that you wanted.to explore. You couldn't get over the fact that I live in a normal house just like any other law-abiding citizen in LA."
"Law-abiding?" she snorted. "Yeah right."
"You're right though," he said. "We'd better go."
She nodded and they headed for the garage. Just as they were about to open the door, Sark dashed back into the other room to grab something. He came back and as they opened the door, the doorbell rang.
"We can't go now," she whispered. "What do we do?"
He thought quickly. "We either hide, or answer it."
They opened the door to the garage as they heard the front door get kicked in.
"They're paying for a new door," muttered Sark.
"What do we do?" she asked again.
"Get in," he quietly opened the door. "And get down." They ducked into the car as the door opened.
"Someone's here," announced Jack. "The car's here." "Sydney was supposed to get him out of the country."
"Maybe he hasn't left yet. Search the place."
They closed the door.
"Do you think that there's a team outside?" asked Sark.
"There might be," said Sydney. "It's always a possibility."
"Then let's make a break for it."
"What?"
"Let's make a break for it, and fast."
Sark jammed the accelerator down as soon as the garage door had fully opened. Jack and Irina came flying out as Sydney ducked so that her parents couldn't see her with Sark.
"That was close," she said as they flew down the street.
"Yeah," agreed Sark as they drove. "Do you need anything from your house?"
She nodded, "Yeah."
They arrived at her house and she packed a quick suitcase. She was relieved that Will and Francie weren't home.
Sark drove to the airport and they changed clothes and became Mr. and Mrs. Cooper, a newlywed couple, visiting friends in Bogotá, Colombia.
"Why do I get stuck playing your wife?"
"When were you stuck playing my wife? I think that this is a new experience for you," he said teasingly.
"I got stuck as your girlfriend. That was torture enough."
He shook his head, "You scare me." He smiled.
"I know," she quickly switched to a very touristy accent as a flight attendant came to them and asked if they wanted anything.
They declined and went back to talking. Had someone spotted them and watched them, they could have passed for a real married couple, not enemies working for the CIA and against SD-6. Sydney closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, listening to Sark's voice