Author's Note: Bwah redheadgrl! Hee! Hope this chapter lives up to everybody's expectations….I write for you Sark/Sarkney fans! :) (I'm a bit nervous about posting this chap…gosh!) ps: what does rnrn mean man?!

*****

'Door to your left, Sydney.'

This stupid facility has too many turns. Finally.

'Four six eight ten.' I jab the buttons and exhale when the door slides open.

'Keep to your left. Use the crates as your cover.'

I resist the urge to snap, 'I know that!' Blowing my cover over a pointless verbal spat doesn't seem very worthwhile.

'The artefact is located in the glass case in front of you. Proceed with caution, several men are passing by the room.'

I see it. A large scroll under a glass dome. Whipping my nifty gadgets out, I'm fairly confident this should go well. Slice the glass open, lift out the artefact, stick the CIA-chip on, and I'm done.

'Take cover, a man's entering the door's access code.'

I ignore him, thisclose to lifting the artefact out. I'm fast, I can do this come on come on come on -

'Stop being so damned stubborn! Get out of there!'

Done.

Cold metal presses against the back of my head.

Fear slams into me first, followed by dread when he twists my arm painfully around my back, rasping threats into my ear. Shock sinks in when he turns me roughly around and I see Sark, his gun trained on the now very unfortunate guard.

'Let her go.'

This is insane. Sark is in no position to make any demands - all the guard has to do is trigger the alarm and we can kiss our molars goodbye. But he does nonetheless, with his cold eyes and grim mouth.

'Drop the gun,' he says gratingly. 'Or she dies.'

Sark shrugs. 'I'm here for the artefact.'

In that split-second of confusion, the guard hesitates, and is subsequently rewarded with a bullet between his eyes.

He barks at me to get moving and I do, blinking back shock and terror and the urge to slap him. We're out of the facility at last and we scramble into the back of the van. The SD-6 assigned driver jams the accelerator.

'What were you thinking?' I snap. 'If you missed, you would have killed me!'

'I never miss,' he says coolly, the calm in his voice frustrating me more than my brush with The Permanent Hiatus.

'Don't you ever, ever do that again!'

'What, save your life? This is the thanks I get? You were the one who didn't listen to me to begin with!' He sounds angry now. Good. GOOD!

'I had a job to do!' Iwon'tcryIwon'tcry.

'Not at the cost of your own safety.' He looks tired now, as he runs his fingers wearily through his hair. I want to hate him. So bad. But the words tumble out of my mouth like renegade bile before I can force them down. 'Stop pretending that you care. Stop hurting me. Just stop. Please.' His eyes widen. That's almost funny.

I realise now that I'm crying and my arm hurts like hell and I don't think I'm ever going to get over him but then he leans forward and grasps my face and before I can react he's pressing his lips against mine with impossible tenderness.

I pull him closer with my good arm.

*