Stay With Me
Chapter Four
Sark cautiously opened the door to Irina's safehouse. He sweeped the house for listening devices, cameras, and any other kind of bug possible. Everything looked normal. Sark found a laptop sitting on a table, dust settling over the screen and keyboard. Sark blew on the machine to make the grain rise. He turned it on and easily hacked into the system, partly because he was genius, partly because he knew Irina Derevko so well. He began a seach through the files, unsure of what he was looking for. Then, it hit him. A file named SEB flashed across the screen. Sydney Elizabeth Bristow. He stopped it and knew this was it. Instructions on how to use the Bible and the exact location of it. He thought it was in Madagaskar and had been blown to pieces, but apparently not. He scanned the document and realized the Bible was in the house. All the searches for the manual and it had been in Los Angeles the whole time. Sark started to grin, admiring Irina's talent and brilliance, feeling the worry and tension slide away. Irina was going to fix this. She always did. He printed out the directions and followed them. They were a little odd. Only Sark could understand the direction's questions.
*Above the girl, the baby begins.*
He found a picture of a little Sydney and felt around the frame. A key slid down.
*In front of the wood, a key will fit.*
Sark looked outside and a tree was directly out the window in the kitchen. He looked down at the kitchen sink and saw an ornate tree backsplash. He moved the tile aside and a key hole lay underneath. He unlatched it. Sark pulled out a heart shaped pendant.
*Not five nor three nor four nor ten, only the age in which disappearing occurs.*
Sark found an odd shaped six in a group of dried flowers. He pulled up on the six and the vase lifted, revealing a heart. Sark planted the heart into the hole and the wall opened. Inside lay a binder. A thick, blue binder. The Bible. Sark glanced around at the small closet. It had a key pad in the middle of the wall. He stopped for a moment, considering possible codes. He settled for their code for Tolstoy, her favorite author.
8954575
The gridlines switched off and he had access to the manuscript. He put his hand on the blue notebook and he could feel the power it held. A strange feeling washed over him, but he resisted the urge to open it and run off; holding the power to take down any organization he desired. He had a family now, attachments. He had a reason to stay. He loved Sydney more than anything and he had a daughter. But it took all the strength in the world not to open that book.
Sydney had to wait four days until her mother was back on the roof. They were away from prying ears and eyes, and hopefully kept them all protected. Sydney pressed the diamond.
"Andrew?"
"Is she up there?"
"Yep. Did you find anything at the house?"
"Well, I need to talk to your mother."
Sydney felt hurt that he wouldn't share the secret, left out and suspicious. What if he just wanted to break Irina out. Maybe she was aiding that.
"Angel Baby, I need to tell your mother before I tell you. Don't be angry."
Sydney sighed, ignoring the look she received from Vaughn as she entered. Irina was tapping her foot impatiently, waiting for the arrival of her daughter.
"Morning, Sydney."
Sydney smiled, "Hi, Mom."
"Irina."
Irina nodded, jumping right into it. "Did you find it?"
"Great hiding spot, creative clues."
"Only you and I would understand them. You opened it already."
"Actually, no, I chose to wait."
Irina blinked in surprise.
"The power scared you." She predicted.
"Not scared, exactly."
"Go to page 545."
Sydney heard him flipping through the pages of some book.
"Irina, it's..."
"Everything the CIA needs to take down the Alliance. The locations, the heads of each branch, codes, and all the inventory of each branch's vault."
Sydney broke into a grin.
"Mom..."
"You can have your life back, Sydney."
Sydney threw her arms around the woman, ignoring the marshall's screams. Irina held her until they jerked them apart, reality returning.
"Keep it safe!" She yelled into the air as Sydney was pulled inside the Operations builidng. Tears fell down, relief and hope and sadness all rolled into one. Vaughn rushed over, afraid Sydney had been upset by Irina.
"Sydney?"
"Get Kendall. We can take the Alliance down. We've got the information."
"We?"
"Sark and I."
"He is dead."
"No, he's not. Come on." So Vaughn hurried to Kendall's office.
"What is this about you knowing how to take down the Alliance, Agent Bristow?" Kendall asked as soon as he entered the room. Sydney raised her head confidentally, meeting Kendall's imploring stare.
"Yes, I know how. Sark?"
"Here, Sweetheart."
Kendall's mouth opened in shock; first from the voice of Sark alive and well, also by Sark's term of endearment, since Kendall was still living in oblivion.
"Go ahead and read the information. You might want someone who can type quickly, Kendall." Sydney said calmly. Kendall called another officer in.
Sark began, "Beijing, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Dempassar, Wake City, Santo Dominco, Quebec, Berlin, Madrid, the locations of all twelve Alliance branches. Names: Alain Christophe, Arvin Sloane, James Montrose, Peter Vilder, Malcolm Feldebern, Jose Rodriguez, Xander Peale, William Sparklen, Jason Smith, Richard Owen, Nicolas Welk, David Dupont. Codes for the computer infiltration: 125, 367, 921, 834, 765, 577, 723, 532, 276, 466, 354, 621. The artifacts inside the vault remain to be unseen." Sark fibbed that part, deciding to let the CIA figure that out alone. Kendall stated, stubbornly, "We're supposed to trust Mr. Sark?"
Sydney shrugged. "There's nothing I can say that will make you believe him."
"How do you know all this intel?"
Sark answered, "I've been gathering the information for a year."
An obvious fib to only Sydney.
"This information could be wrong."
"It's not." Sark and Sydney said in unison.
"I'll contact my superiors and discuss this with them. Until then, no movements on the Alliance."
Sydney nodded and left the room, unaware that Vaughn was behind her.
"Where'd you really get this intel?"
"I found the Bible."
Sydney smiled. "Are you going to keep it?"
"No. It's going back into oblivion."
"It did scare you."
"No. I just - it's hard to resist using it to my advantage. But I love you and it will be worth it. I hope we can both leave this life. I have enough money for the three of us to live comfortably without having to work."
Sydney sighed in contentment, knowing what he said was true. They could live comfortably together with their child. The day of reckoning for Arvin Sloane was approaching and he would pay.
"Sydney? He's got the Bible?"
Sydney whirled around to face her handler.
"How long have you been following me?"
"Since you left. He's got the Bible and you aren't going to force him to give it to CIA?"
Sydney rolled her eyes. "Nope."
She started to walk again, hoping Vaughn wouldn't betray her.
"Come on, Syd."
"No one should have the manual, government or no. It's took much for someone to possess."
"It's not right."
"Vaughn, please. Trust me."
He took a deep breath, considering.
"Fine. I'll call you when we know that the Alliance can be destroyed."
"Thanks."
Sydney unlocked the door to the SUV, giving Vaughn a smile before starting the engine.
Chapter Four
Sark cautiously opened the door to Irina's safehouse. He sweeped the house for listening devices, cameras, and any other kind of bug possible. Everything looked normal. Sark found a laptop sitting on a table, dust settling over the screen and keyboard. Sark blew on the machine to make the grain rise. He turned it on and easily hacked into the system, partly because he was genius, partly because he knew Irina Derevko so well. He began a seach through the files, unsure of what he was looking for. Then, it hit him. A file named SEB flashed across the screen. Sydney Elizabeth Bristow. He stopped it and knew this was it. Instructions on how to use the Bible and the exact location of it. He thought it was in Madagaskar and had been blown to pieces, but apparently not. He scanned the document and realized the Bible was in the house. All the searches for the manual and it had been in Los Angeles the whole time. Sark started to grin, admiring Irina's talent and brilliance, feeling the worry and tension slide away. Irina was going to fix this. She always did. He printed out the directions and followed them. They were a little odd. Only Sark could understand the direction's questions.
*Above the girl, the baby begins.*
He found a picture of a little Sydney and felt around the frame. A key slid down.
*In front of the wood, a key will fit.*
Sark looked outside and a tree was directly out the window in the kitchen. He looked down at the kitchen sink and saw an ornate tree backsplash. He moved the tile aside and a key hole lay underneath. He unlatched it. Sark pulled out a heart shaped pendant.
*Not five nor three nor four nor ten, only the age in which disappearing occurs.*
Sark found an odd shaped six in a group of dried flowers. He pulled up on the six and the vase lifted, revealing a heart. Sark planted the heart into the hole and the wall opened. Inside lay a binder. A thick, blue binder. The Bible. Sark glanced around at the small closet. It had a key pad in the middle of the wall. He stopped for a moment, considering possible codes. He settled for their code for Tolstoy, her favorite author.
8954575
The gridlines switched off and he had access to the manuscript. He put his hand on the blue notebook and he could feel the power it held. A strange feeling washed over him, but he resisted the urge to open it and run off; holding the power to take down any organization he desired. He had a family now, attachments. He had a reason to stay. He loved Sydney more than anything and he had a daughter. But it took all the strength in the world not to open that book.
Sydney had to wait four days until her mother was back on the roof. They were away from prying ears and eyes, and hopefully kept them all protected. Sydney pressed the diamond.
"Andrew?"
"Is she up there?"
"Yep. Did you find anything at the house?"
"Well, I need to talk to your mother."
Sydney felt hurt that he wouldn't share the secret, left out and suspicious. What if he just wanted to break Irina out. Maybe she was aiding that.
"Angel Baby, I need to tell your mother before I tell you. Don't be angry."
Sydney sighed, ignoring the look she received from Vaughn as she entered. Irina was tapping her foot impatiently, waiting for the arrival of her daughter.
"Morning, Sydney."
Sydney smiled, "Hi, Mom."
"Irina."
Irina nodded, jumping right into it. "Did you find it?"
"Great hiding spot, creative clues."
"Only you and I would understand them. You opened it already."
"Actually, no, I chose to wait."
Irina blinked in surprise.
"The power scared you." She predicted.
"Not scared, exactly."
"Go to page 545."
Sydney heard him flipping through the pages of some book.
"Irina, it's..."
"Everything the CIA needs to take down the Alliance. The locations, the heads of each branch, codes, and all the inventory of each branch's vault."
Sydney broke into a grin.
"Mom..."
"You can have your life back, Sydney."
Sydney threw her arms around the woman, ignoring the marshall's screams. Irina held her until they jerked them apart, reality returning.
"Keep it safe!" She yelled into the air as Sydney was pulled inside the Operations builidng. Tears fell down, relief and hope and sadness all rolled into one. Vaughn rushed over, afraid Sydney had been upset by Irina.
"Sydney?"
"Get Kendall. We can take the Alliance down. We've got the information."
"We?"
"Sark and I."
"He is dead."
"No, he's not. Come on." So Vaughn hurried to Kendall's office.
"What is this about you knowing how to take down the Alliance, Agent Bristow?" Kendall asked as soon as he entered the room. Sydney raised her head confidentally, meeting Kendall's imploring stare.
"Yes, I know how. Sark?"
"Here, Sweetheart."
Kendall's mouth opened in shock; first from the voice of Sark alive and well, also by Sark's term of endearment, since Kendall was still living in oblivion.
"Go ahead and read the information. You might want someone who can type quickly, Kendall." Sydney said calmly. Kendall called another officer in.
Sark began, "Beijing, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Dempassar, Wake City, Santo Dominco, Quebec, Berlin, Madrid, the locations of all twelve Alliance branches. Names: Alain Christophe, Arvin Sloane, James Montrose, Peter Vilder, Malcolm Feldebern, Jose Rodriguez, Xander Peale, William Sparklen, Jason Smith, Richard Owen, Nicolas Welk, David Dupont. Codes for the computer infiltration: 125, 367, 921, 834, 765, 577, 723, 532, 276, 466, 354, 621. The artifacts inside the vault remain to be unseen." Sark fibbed that part, deciding to let the CIA figure that out alone. Kendall stated, stubbornly, "We're supposed to trust Mr. Sark?"
Sydney shrugged. "There's nothing I can say that will make you believe him."
"How do you know all this intel?"
Sark answered, "I've been gathering the information for a year."
An obvious fib to only Sydney.
"This information could be wrong."
"It's not." Sark and Sydney said in unison.
"I'll contact my superiors and discuss this with them. Until then, no movements on the Alliance."
Sydney nodded and left the room, unaware that Vaughn was behind her.
"Where'd you really get this intel?"
"I found the Bible."
Sydney smiled. "Are you going to keep it?"
"No. It's going back into oblivion."
"It did scare you."
"No. I just - it's hard to resist using it to my advantage. But I love you and it will be worth it. I hope we can both leave this life. I have enough money for the three of us to live comfortably without having to work."
Sydney sighed in contentment, knowing what he said was true. They could live comfortably together with their child. The day of reckoning for Arvin Sloane was approaching and he would pay.
"Sydney? He's got the Bible?"
Sydney whirled around to face her handler.
"How long have you been following me?"
"Since you left. He's got the Bible and you aren't going to force him to give it to CIA?"
Sydney rolled her eyes. "Nope."
She started to walk again, hoping Vaughn wouldn't betray her.
"Come on, Syd."
"No one should have the manual, government or no. It's took much for someone to possess."
"It's not right."
"Vaughn, please. Trust me."
He took a deep breath, considering.
"Fine. I'll call you when we know that the Alliance can be destroyed."
"Thanks."
Sydney unlocked the door to the SUV, giving Vaughn a smile before starting the engine.