A/N – Thanks pie for helping me with the block. I didn't think it would ever go away. And of course, thank you for the beta. Thanks for the reviews guys.

Chapter 3 – Secrets of Triumph

There was something about taking control of a situation that made her smile inside. In daily life, grabbing and controlling the reins, then using them to their full advantage, brought her great satisfaction. That same fulfillment was magnified though, when the situation revolved around sexual desire.

She had spent two days planning her conquest of him. Everything from the light dabs of vanilla perfume she placed behind her ears, down to her freshly manicured toes. It was all designed for him. Considering how well it went, she labeled it a success.

As she was packing for the short trip to Greenland, Sydney reminisced about her victory. When she walked around the corner to his dining area, and found him fully leaning in that chair, she could see the concern that he held prior to her arrival, wash away completely. She had that effect on him when they were alone, and that she considered another triumph. 

His admission of missing her, the first time he had ever verbalized something that intimate, was reward enough for her. She didn't return the gesture, but she hoped that he knew by her actions she felt the same. Well, more than that actually.

Throughout the year, one of the only things in her life keeping her sanity intact was Sark. She shed many tears by herself for the woman who had continually betrayed her. Late at night in her room, she cried over what was lost, only to wake the next morning, and try to face another day at SD-6. Those days would have been harder to bear if his presence didn't calm her so. Just knowing that he was there on the days and nights she felt the lowest, helped her immeasurably.

So yes, considering the fact he stayed by her side through some extremely dark times in the past year, she more than missed his presence after the two weeks they had spent apart. She couldn't speak the words, almost didn't want think them, but she was more than aware of the feeling that was there.

But all of the secrets had gotten to her. Sark closely guarded almost everything in his life. Their intimacy had brought them closer, they were lovers that spent time getting to know the little things about each other, but she still felt at arm's length from him. There was so much he hadn't told her, plans that could direly affect everything around her, and that's what was holding her back. When it came to his business with SD-6 or Irina Derevko, she was as much in the know as the CIA was. 

Yet she couldn't stop the massive grin that spread to her face, after she thought about his kitchen counter. With the last of her things packed, she zipped her carryon.

"I've seen that smile before."

Sydney turned to her bedroom door and found Will, standing just inside. Her smile faded slightly from a hint of guilt, and she hoped he took no notice. She nervously curled her hair behind her ear. "What smile?"

He stepped a little closer to her. "That one. You know, the one when you're thinking about someone dear to you."

Sydney nervously looked down at her suitcase. The remorse she felt after being with Sark, had died substantially during the past year and now was almost to non-existent, but Will's timing, unfortunately, was impeccable. She didn't know what to say, so he continued.

"Francie swears that you're seeing someone and are just not telling us, but for curiosity's sake, is it that he's from the CIA?"

Sydney forced a smile on her face, hoping it looked genuine. "Do you guys think that I can't be happy without having a guy somehow involved in it?"

"It's not that at all," Will did his best in backtracking. "You just have this air about you, like you've found someone that makes you feel the same way that I feel about Francie."

She did. Her feelings for Sark had progressed almost as quickly as Will's did for Francie. Her best friends had hooked up officially right after her graduation. Sydney saw it coming from a mile away. All the time they were spending together at the restaurant, at home when she was away. It was bound to happen, and she couldn't have been happier for them. But unlike theirs, her feelings were locked away, tucked into that neat box she kept hidden from everybody.

"If or when that day comes," Sydney reassured him, "you two will be the first to know."

Her cryptic answer encouraged Will to change the subject. "So where to this time? Tahiti? The Amazon?"

Sydney smirked at his comedy. "Greenland."

His expression showed his surprise after hearing her response. "What the—do you realize it can get close to twenty below there this time of year?"

"It's fully realized," she remarked sarcastically.

"Sorry, Syd." Will walked over to give her a kiss on the cheek, followed by a hug. "Sloane is a bastard," he whispered near her ear before letting her go. "I'll see you when you get back."

"Thanks, Will."

She watched as he walked out the door. The fear of him finding out about Sark diminished once he left her sight. Purposely, she pushed it back down to sit with everything else she was going to have to face sooner or later. Preferably much later, if she even had to at all.

Will hadn't been joking when he mentioned the frigid weather in Greenland. Before she left, she read what the weather was going to be like, but the degree of cold that greeted her was surprising. Even under the multiple layers of thermal clothing, she still shivered slightly.

The basement area that they had accessed was almost as cold as it had been outside. A thin sheet of ice had formed on the floor, making it difficult to stand. The smell of their location was telling of its inhabitance or lack thereof. Mold and other pungent smells overpowered her senses, but thankfully they weren't going to be there for long, it was close to noon already. Cautiously, they situated themselves in a dark corner.

"The target will be in place in five minutes."

Sydney heard Dixon's voice through her com link, as he cued them for their entry. She glanced just to her left at Sark, and in the darkness she could see him nod, having just received the same confirmation. With such a short amount of time left, they moved closer to the underground entrance of the building.

After cutting her communication to Dixon, she whispered to Sark, "We still could have achieved the same results going my route." Her comment was made in jest, since she really did agree that his way in was the most efficient.

Sark shook his head and smiled at her. "You're impossible."

"I know." Sydney chirped. She turned her earpiece back on, waiting for final confirmation from Dixon.

Moments later, Dixon rang back through. "Schroeder's in, and has five armed guards with him. They're in my sight if you need me."

At Dixon's directive, they ascended the metal ladder and accessed the main floor of the warehouse. She followed him as they quietly made their way through a room full of large crates, slowly nearing Schroeder and his men. Just before they reached him, Sark stopped, putting his hand up to stop her too. Sydney noticed that only two of the men were in the same room as Schroeder, the rest must have been out guarding the perimeter.

"I recognize those two," Sark quietly spoke to her. "Irina's here."

Her stomach sank. She wasn't the least bit surprised that her mother was after the same information. This had become the norm over the past year. What came next was the most difficult part. Who would win this round?

"The largest one in the black down jacket, can't fight, but has excellent aim. The man next to him with the oversized nose is the opposite. Your choice." Sark gave her the option.

Up for the challenge, she touched her nose, telling him her choice. Sark went right. Sydney went left. Both did what they could to stay unnoticed. As Schroeder sat at a table, looking through his itinerary, they approached their respective targets.

She spied Sark across the room, coming within a few feet of his man. She caught his eye and nodded, informing him that she was in place. After taking a deep breath to ease the anxiety she felt, she readied herself for a fight.

From behind, Sark raised his Glock 18 and held it inches away from his target's head. "Drop the gun, mate." His demand didn't even faze the man, and he remained still. At the same time, Sydney aimed hers at the second man, who immediately took notice of both of them.

"Don't even think about it." She cautioned, also from behind.

Completely in shock, Schroeder instinctively raised both of his hands in surrender. The look of terror on his face showed that he wasn't familiar with this sort of ambush.

"We were told you might show," Sark's target stated in a thick French accent.

Sark ignored him, "I said drop the gun." He jabbed the metal into his head, showing his readiness. Before she knew it, the man Sark had, spun to point his weapon at Sark. His attempt was stopped, as Sark grabbed his arm and gun, throwing it to the side. He slammed the guy's face into a nearby crate. "This would go much more smoothly if you'd just cooperate." His gun dug into the back of his neck now, causing the man to wince.

Sydney felt her man's wheels spinning, planning some sort of move. Within seconds, his leg swung around, and tried to knock her or her gun away. Her free arm, blocking it, met his leg and then her left foot greeted his neck. He dropped his gun and stumbled backward momentarily, until he was sitting on the table that Schroeder was seated at. She stepped closer, her gun still aimed at his head.

Sydney turned her attention to Schroeder and demanded the obvious, "We're here to collect the Rambaldi information. Place what you have back in the case and hand it over."

Taking another chance, the man she held took another kick at her, connecting with her arm and then the side of her face. She immediately felt the skin on her cheek peel as the steel toe boot that he was wearing, broke it. With her gun thrown to the side, she retaliated by bringing her elbow up to his face, hitting him square in the nose. She knew from its size, that it had been broken countless times before, and was probably one of his weakest areas. Sure enough, his hands were drawn to his face, and he screamed in agony.

She looked to Sark, who was doing what he could to hold the larger man in place. She pushed her man and his broken nose into the nearest crate. "Now!" She demanded to Schroeder, her voice rose slightly.

Schroeder gathered all of his work and placed it back in the case. His hands shaking, he handed Sydney the thick metal case, and returned his hands to the surrender position. She looked at Sark, who nodded his head, and they both took one last swing at their targets. Sydney bludgeoned hers with the case and Sark used his pistol. Both dropped to the floor, rendered unconscious.

With another victory under their belts, they both ran toward the area from which they entered and made their escape.

In a remote area near the airport in Sisimiut, Sydney and Sark sat in their rental van, awaiting Dixon's return from confirming their flight time. After changing into more civilian attire, Sark sat in the front, preparing a cloth with some antiseptic for her face. Sydney sat just behind him, making the final adjustments on her blonde wig. When he was finished, he moved to join her in the middle seat of the van.

"Here," he placed the soaked cloth on her wound. His hand gently applied the medicine to her face. "He got you pretty good."

She didn't move her hand to take over the hold on the cloth. Her mind had been whirling over another encounter with someone affiliated with Irina Derevko. Even though they had won this round, there was always another one just around the corner. She smiled at him, overwhelmed by appreciation for another kind gesture of his to "pick up the pieces" in her complicated life.

"Thank you." Her words were quiet, but endearing nonetheless. The thank you was for more than the antiseptic, and he knew it. On its own, her hand was drawn to his cheek. Softly, she caressed his skin with her thumb. They sat there, silent for a few moments, wondering if the other was going to make a move in public.

They were both startled when they hear the front door of the van open.

"Our flight is in thirty… minutes." Dixon's sentence trailed off after catching the end of the intimate display between the two. When they heard the door open, they had both dropped their hands, but it must not have been fast enough.

Sark's cell phone broke the small amount of silence. He looked at Dixon, then immediately grabbed it to answer. "Sark."

Sydney saw a small change in Sark's reaction after he answered the phone. His eyes shifted slightly to look at her, and then he stood to move past her, exiting the van. Sydney looked at Dixon and smiled. She could tell he was more than curious about what he had just witnessed. Still, he knew that this wasn't the time to discuss it.

"I know I'm ready to get out of this weather." Sydney told him, as she replaced the cloth on her cheek. 

Dixon climbed into the driver's seat, and they waited for Sark to reenter. He had moved relatively far away from their location, and she could tell the conversation that he was having wasn't the most pleasant.

Secrets. The look on his face was similar to the one he had last night, before she made her way to him. It appeared that he was either uncomfortable with her being near as he dealt with his business or this "business" had something to do with her. The latter was a frightening thought, and could be the one thing to ruin what they had. This was another one of those times where, despite their intimate relationship, she felt she didn't know him at all.