Chapter Eleven: Heed the Words of Jack Bristow

"You're lying," Sydney gasped, staring at her father as she collected her gun from where it had landed on the floor.

Jack smirked in response. "Part of you hopes that I am," he observed. "You've already said goodbye to Michael, made your peace with him being gone. Besides, if he's alive, that means you'll have to answer for your actions of the past year."

Hot tears spilled down Sydney's cheeks. What would Michael think, knowing she'd been sharing a bed with Sark while he had been-- well, she wasn't sure where he'd been for the last year, but undoubtedly he'd been suffering. Unable to contact her. Would he feel enraged, betrayed? Would he refuse to ever see her again? Or would he eventually be able to understand and accept the events that had happened in his absence?

Either way, Sydney knew that knowing what she'd done would hurt Michael, and the thought was almost too much for her to bear.

"Another part of you wants me to be telling the truth," Jack continued. "Because you love him so much, you would give anything for him to be alive, and whether he's able to get past what you've done or not, at least you'll have the chance to find out."

Sydney wondered if she would be able to live, if Michael was alive and didn't want her anymore. He'd already been taken from her once. She didn't know if she could stand losing him again.

"But either way," Jack said. "The curiosity is killing you now, and you need to know what I know."

He was right, of course. "What do you know?" Sydney whispered.

Jack smiled a grim half-smile. "I know that Michael's being shot was all part of the plan, if the two of you refused to take my deal. I know that he wasn't hit by the kind of bullet that kills, but by the kind of bullet that makes one appear dead for a matter of hours."

"I've never heard of such a thing," Sydney said, her voice soft. She needed to sit down, but the only place was on her father's cot, next to him. That was out of the question.

"Most people haven't, and if they have, they don't believe it's real," Jack said matter-of-factly. "It's like truth serum. It sounds too ridiculous to be anything but something made up for the movies."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Sydney asked tearfully, though of course she knew the answer to the question. He hadn't told her because he believed that she was a dangerous criminal. Face it, Syd, the voice in her head told her. You are a dangerous criminal.

"You would have been told, if your mother hadn't busted you out of captivity so quickly," Jack informed her. "That was the plan. Michael was told that if he told what he knew about the Organization, you would be told that he was alive. Of course, we were planning all along to tell you that he was alive, but that if you didn't tell us what you knew about the Organization, we would kill him. Painfully, quietly."

"I didn't know the US government resorted to such tactics," Sydney said bitterly.

"They do when criminals the caliber of yourself and Michael are involved," Jack told her. "They do when an organization is as much of a threat to national security as Derevko's is. Oh, excuse me," he said, bitterness coloring his own words. "As yours is. I understand Irina has given control to you and your Mr. Sark, though she's far from out of the picture."

"Where is Michael now?" Sydney asked quietly.

"Well, since your mother took me as a prisoner only days after she busted you out, I can't be sure now, can I?" Jack challenged. "At the time I left, he had been told about your escape, and they had offered him a deal in exchange for his own freedom."

"Not mine," Sydney realized.

Jack stared at her, utter hatred in his eyes. "Sydney, I can assure you that if the CIA ever gets their hands on you, you will never again see the light of day."

A chill ran through Sydney's body. "Michael would never take a deal like that," she said. "He would never give them information that would allow them to lock me up." Or worse, she thought with a shudder.

"Maybe not," Jack agreed. "But I can assure you that the CIA will try every tactic to get him to do exactly that. It will get ugly, Sydney. They will try to convince him that a free life with him is better for the children than life with you, where they're being raised as minions of the Organization. And don't think they haven't been keeping an eye on you." Sydney gasped in horror at the idea that Michael might already know what she'd been doing with Sark, that someone else had explained it to him in a far less sensitive way than she surely would have chosen. "I'd keep your eyes open, Sydney. They will break him. And you will spend the rest of your life in prison."

Already the wheels were spinning in Sydney's head as she tried to think of a way out, a way to make his words untrue. "I'm assuming that my mother doesn't know he's alive."

Jack smirked. "Since Michael isn't back here with you, then I would assume that she doesn't, though I can't say that I'm displeased that you asked the question. Never trust that woman completely, Sydney."

"Dad, please," Sydney said wearily. "She could very well have locked me up in a cell just like this for what I tried to do to her."

"The fact that she didn't doesn't make her any more trustworthy," Jack said sharply. "I'm serious, Sydney. Be careful."

"Fine." Sydney bit her lower lip, pacing about the small cell. "What if we offered the CIA a deal?" she wondered aloud. "Your freedom for Michael's."

Jack smirked. "Sydney, I'm sorry, but my freedom does not mean nearly as much to them as keeping one of the Organization's leaders behind bars does. The only person they would accept in exchange for Michael is you, or possibly Irina."

Sydney turned a steely glare on him as an idea occurred to her. A joyous, wonderful idea. "Why am I even talking to you?" she asked, doing her best to keep the glee out of her voice. "Mother busted me out of federal custody, surely she'll be able to do the same for Michael once she knows he's alive." She felt a sudden surge of relief rush through her. She had her mother on her side. She would make no deal, spend no time behind bars in exchange for Michael's freedom. She would simply take it. And she turned, offering her father a mirthless smile. "You just made the mistake of a lifetime, Jack Bristow, telling me about Michael. We will find him, and when we do, I can assure you that your life will mean even less to Mother than it already does."

Jack merely stared at her. "I've made a million mistakes of a lifetime, Sydney, and most of them have involved your mother. I mean it, Sydney. Don't put too much of your trust in her."

Sydney smiled. "I will trust," she said, making her way out of the cell. "Whoever can best help me achieve my goals. And I can assure you that that person isn't you."