Chapter Seven
"Sydney?" my mother asked, knocking on my hotel room door. We were in Madrid, why? Beyond me. We'd been here for two days. Somehow, the CIA hadn't found us, yet.
"Yeah, come on in!" I called, seeing as I had left the lock between the frame and the door. It was open.
"Hey," she said, sitting next to me as I flipped through a folder.
"Hi."
"What are you really doing here, Sydney?"
"Sark and I have.plans."
"What kind of plans?"
"Ask Sark. I'm not quite sure."
"Sydney."
"Mom, I'm serious."
"He likes you, you know."
"Who? Sloane? Yeah, I know, thanks for stating the obvious."
"No," she smiled. "Sark." Sark? Sark is an assassin. He likes no one, other than himself, and maybe his gun.
"Mom, Sark and I hate each other with a passion."
"Sydney, I'm right about these things, admit it. I was right about Vaughn, wasn't I?" she gestured to my hand.
Another knock came at the door. "Yeah?" I called.
"Agent Bristow," Sark pushed the door open. "Irina," he nodded. "We need to talk."
"Close the door," I said. He did.
"We have a bit of a problem."
"Yeah?" I asked.
"Our assassin is a traitor."
"How?"
"I overheard him speaking to Sloane about our true intentions. He's bound to bring it up."
"So we're all on the same ground here? We want Sloane out?" my mother asked. "Yes," Sark answered for me. "We do."
"He's going to be harder to remove without Emily," she said.
"It will be done. And at our hands- no one else's," he said.
I sat quietly. "Vaughn knows."
Sark's eyes shifted from me and turned from their usual dark, icy blue to a lighter color. "Knows what?" Was my mother right, sure, chameleon eyes weren't uncommon, but when Sark's change color, something's up.
"That I'm alive. I made eye contact with him in Tuscany two days ago. He understands, and knows."
"Will he tell Kendall?" asked my mother.
"Or worse yet, your father?" suggested Sark.
"No," I shook my head. "Vaughn won't."
"You're sure that you can trust him?"
"Yes, I am."
***
Vaughn's POV
It was three in the morning and I had to be at work by eight. Why was I awake, still?
I knew the answer to that question. It was one word- the name of a woman who died, and took my heart with her. Although now, she knew it, and I knew it- she was alive. Somehow though, this only complicated things. At least when I thought she was dead, there was a final tone to it. Now though, she was alive, and there was nothing I could do about it.
Six hours later, I was on my third cup of coffee and desperately trying to stay awake so I could write my mission debrief.
"Hey," said Weiss. He noticed my coffee cup, full, again. "What is that, your fourth cup?"
"Third," I corrected him. "I.uh.didn't get much sleep last night."
"Mike, that's obvious. Your new asset is hardly going to be impressed."
"She's ready?"
"Yeah, meeting's in a half hour. New assignment."
"What about the other girl?"
"Who, Abbie?" Weiss smiled.
"Oh no," I said, rolling my eyes.
"Yeah. Partners. She goes, I stay. Plenty of radio communication," he smiled.
"Uh, Eric? Breaking protocol didn't work for Syd and I and it won't work for you." I stopped. "You've got a thing for blondes, don't you?"
"No," he shook his head. "I don't!" He blushed.
"Eric!"
"What?"
"Agent Weiss?" the blonde appeared in the door.
He grinned at me. Great. Weiss has a new girlfriend. "Yeah?"
She smiled. "Agent Kendall wants to see the both of you. He wants us for debrief," she added to Weiss.
"Where to?" he asked.
"Don't know. That's the point of a debrief, so we can be prepared for the mission," she smiled.
Ugh, this was getting disgusting. I decided to get a move on and meet my asset.
"Agent Vaughn," Kendall greeted me. "This is Agent Colleen Pagnotta. Agent Pagnotta, Agent Vaughn."
"Nice to meet you," she said politely. Was that a ring on her finger? Yes, thank God. I won't end up like Weiss, once again, thank God.
"Your next assignment is in Madrid. Irina Derevko and Sark were spotted, just recently, at a hotel." A picture, obviously from a hotel security camera- a color security camera flashed on the screen. It was a blonde Derevko and a brunette Sark, but definitely them.
"That's them," I said.
"Agent Pagnotta and Agent Mason have been briefed on Sark and Derevko. Agent Bristow is being given operational control. Your flight leaves in an hour."
I looked at Weiss as we stood up. I hadn't told him about Syd. God, how I missed her. Maybe I'd find her, see her there, if only for a minute. Maybe, just maybe.
***
Syd's POV
"We've been compromised!" Sark flew into my hotel room.
"How'd you get a key?" I asked. This was clearly an invasion of my personal space.
"Front desk," he smirked, clearly seeing that I was not happy with his barging in on my free time. He tossed me my suitcase. "Get packed. The CIA is in the hotel."
"What?" I flew off the bed and started tossing stuff into my suitcase.
"Sloane wants you to go down the side staircase and out the indoor pool exit. Meet us at the car."
"Black limo?"
"Yeah," he picked up my suitcase that I had finished packing. I grabbed the magazine that I was reading, in case I got time later, and took off.
I flew down five flights of stairs, and I had one more flight to go before I finally crashed into someone.
"I'm sorry," I said quickly in Spanish. "Excuse me."
"Wait," he grabbed my arm. "Syd?" It was Vaughn. My heart sank. He didn't need to see me here- not now, when I was on the run from him.
"Vaughn!" I hugged him. Don't get me wrong, I was happy to see him, it was just the wrong time.
"Syd," he helped me up and kissed me. I pulled away after a minute.
"I have to go. Sark's waiting."
He nodded. "All right," he quickly kissed me again. "Wait," he said as I turned to go.
He handed me his cell phone. He had already dialed a number and it was ringing.
"Hello?" a man's voice answered. It was a voice that I knew all too well. Kendall.
"Hello?" he asked again.
I took a deep breath. "Kendall, it's Sydney Bristow. I'm in Spain."
"Can I ask what the hell you're doing in Spain? Or do I just not want to know?"
"I'm alive, all right? I have to go, bye." I handed Vaughn the phone and ran.
"What took you so long?" asked Sark.
"I ran into an agent. I had to take her out."
He raised an eyebrow. "Get in."
I climbed in and closed my eyes. Somehow, seeing Vaughn just made things worse. I missed him more than ever."
"You all right?"
"Yeah. I just want it all to be over."
"Me too."
"Me moved over next to me as Sloane and my mother got in. Somehow, I didn't find myself completely grossed out. Of course, I could have been sitting next to Sloane, so I wasn't complaining. Maybe Mom was right, the way he was acting and looking at me. Maybe he did like me.
Scary thought, Syd. Sark liking you? I woke up from my thoughts.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"Further south. We're going to visit Mr. Caplan," Sloane said.
I sank back into my seat. It was going to be long ride.
***
Vaughn's POV
Well, I'm back in LA- without Sydney. Now the CIA thinks that Kendall and I are both nuts. Jack's been sitting on a little secret though; he's the new director of the Ops Center. Kendall's not happy, to say the least.
My cell phone rang and I answered it.
"Hello?"
"We're in Spain," it was Sydney. "I'm on a secure line. Bug killer, untraceable, the works."
"Whose phone are you on?"
"Sark's." My heart sank. "He let you use his phone?"
"Yeah. He knows. Vaughn, he's the reason that I'm almost ready to take down Sloane. He's helping me."
"I doubt that."
"He is."
"Whatever you say, Syd. Anyhow, I have to go. There's a meeting."
"All right. Love you."
"Love you too."
I headed for debrief and managed to get cornered by Jack. Great.
"Mr. Vaughn," nope. Not a good tone. "You may be.comfortable with my daughter, but this in no way means that you are comfortable with me." Well I seriously hope not. Are we hinting at something here?
Stop it, I mentally told myself. I debated on whether to tell him about Sydney or not. Nah.
"I'd also like to inform you that I know of your.meeting in Spain with my daughter. Kendall informed me. When she contacts you again, Vaughn, you will tell me, all right?" I could only nod. Jack knows Syd's alive, and he wants to track her. Great.
"She's still in Spain. I made contact with her a few hours ago."
"What, exactly did she say?"
"She's working with Sark. They're going to take down Sloane."
"Jack's eyes flashed. He was not a happy camper. "Hand me your phone the next time she calls."
I nodded, and headed for debrief.
"Basically what it comes down to is that we are putting you- all of you," Jack gestured to Weiss, Agent Pagnotta, Agent Mason and me, "on two missions. Your first is to track down and kill this man." A picture flashed on the screen of a heavyset-looking man, completely decked out in Scottish dress, with bagpipes. Weiss looked mildly amused and tried not to laugh.
"Willy Andrews. Scottish free agent. Seen meeting Sloane at the hotel that he was seen at last week. We suspect that he may be working with Sloane and Derevko."
"So what are we supposed to do, exactly?" asked Weiss.
"Hunt him down, track him to Sloane. Weiss and Mason, that is your assignment. Agent Vaughn, when Bristow makes contact, you will get the location and move in to extract her."
"What about Caplan?" I asked.
"We're doing all we can," said Jack.
I decided to go and see Caplan's wife, take matters into my own hands.
"You should try the hypnosis therapy," I said. "We don't have any more leads."
"I don't feel comfortable with the government poking around in my head," she said.
"Like I said, we're out of leads. We may not be able to find your husband."
"You're saying that I'm not doing enough? How dare you," I never said that, and I opened my mouth to explain, but she had already left.
I went back a few days later. "We found a lead. We found that the Russian reporter that we have been monitoring received a fax today."
"Did you find out what it said?"
"A single Russian word. Endgame."
"They're going to kill him," she said quietly.
"Not necessarily," I said.
"They will. Seven years ago, I was ordered to seduce and marry Neil. I implanted a tracking device in his arm, but it has a secondary purpose. My handler- he had the code to have it release cyanide into his bloodstream. That's what the fax was about. It was activated."
I stared in shock at Elsa. "You're not authorized to be telling me this." She nodded. "We'll do what we can, thanks."
***
Sydney's POV
It was Sark's and my job to guard Caplan. Although, after what happened to my mother, I could see why Sloane wanted us to guard him. It didn't matter if he managed to strangle us.
Sark's cell phone rang. "Sark," he answered.
"Find Sydney," I heard Vaughn's voice.
"How did you get this number?" he asked.
"I have my ways," he said sneakily. "Now let me talk to Sydney."
He gave the phone a dirty look and sighed as he handed it to me. "Mr. Vaughn," he said simply.
"Hello?" I asked.
"It's me. Listen, Caplan has a device in his left arm that is set to release cyanide in forty-two hours. I'm going to try and get the codes to disarm it. Meanwhile," he paused for effect, "your father brought in Elsa Caplan. She's working for the SVR. She put the device in. She's in your mother's cell and uh.he's the new director of the Ops Center."
"Oh.my God," I said.
"Yeah, so you and Sark should get this show on the road."
"The assassin's working as quick as possible."
"Willy Andrews?"
"Yeah."
"Syd, he's not helping you guys."
"What do you mean?"
"Weiss and his new girlfriend have been assigned to track him. He was seen in your last hotel with Sloane. Security cameras showed he and Sloane in the lobby, talking for about an hour. They looked highly friendly, Syd."
"Wait- Weiss's new girlfriend? The blonde?"
"Yeah. Syd, look into it."
"I will, don't worry."
"We trying to come get Caplan and pull you out, all right?"
"Yes."
"I've got to get moving, try and get the codes from Elsa. I'll keep you updated."
"Please do."
"All right. Bye."
"Bye." I hung up.
"Sloane wants to see me. Will you stay here?" Sark asked.
"Yeah," I nodded.
Sark left and Caplan and I were alone. "My name is Sydney Bristow. I am a double agent for the CIA. A team is being sent in for you. Your wife.she works for the SVR. She injected you with a tracer set to release cyanide into your bloodstream in forty-two hours. We have to remove it, or you will die."
"Can you remove it later?" he didn't look fazed that his wife was a Russian spy. "Yeah, when my team gets here." Why not remove it now? Oh well.
"Sydney, duck!" Sark's voice shot through the air. I immediately crumpled to the ground as a bullet flew over my head.
It was Sloane who had shot at us. Sark ran to me and grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet.
"Come on," he said, firing off a few shots to warn Sloane to keep his distance.
We ran as quickly as we could, flying around corners and pausing long enough for Sark to fire a few shots.
Finally, we made it out. Sloane had stopped chasing us and we escaped.
"What happened?"
"Our assassin spilled. We were compromised."
"No."
"Yes. I'm turning myself into the CIA. You'll be able to go back to normal."
What if I don't want to go back to normal?
"What if I like the excitement of this life?" I asked.
"You're saying that your CIA life with Mr. Vaughn isn't exciting?" he asked with a smirk.
"I'm not saying that." It's just that Vaughn's.a safe option. I need a little excitement, but Sark, exciting?
He handed me his cell phone. "Call Agent Vaughn. Let him know that we'll be in LA in the morning."
I dialed, Vaughn answered. "Hello?"
"Hi," I said.
"Where are you?"
"You were right. Andrews did turn us in. Sark is surrendering to the CIA. He wants to help."
"Syd, are you sure?"
"Yeah, I am."
"All right. I'll inform Kendall."
"We'll be in LA in the morning."
"See you then."
"Yeah, bye."
"Hey," Sark said. "We've got a couple of hours before we have to get back. Come on," he hailed a taxi.
"Where are we going?"
"You'll see."
We finally arrived at a small house, right next door to a lush, green forest. Was this Sark's house?
"Here we are," he said, paying the driver. "My house in Spain."
"It's beautiful," I said.
"You like it?"
"Yeah," I smiled.
I don't really know what happened after that, but suddenly, Sark's lips covered mine. My first thought was to push away and then haul off and slug him, but then I relaxed and leaned into the kiss.
He finally pulled away and our eyes met.
"I'm sorry," he said, going over to the porch swing.
"Sark, it's all right. It's been coming. No one can hate someone with a passion and not have some other feelings deep down," I sat down beside him.
He smiled and brushed his thumb over my lips and kissed me again. "Come inside when you're ready," he got up and went inside.
I felt like I was floating. I was in love with Sark. I saw something glitter in the sunlight and I looked at my hand. It was the ring that Vaughn had given me two weeks ago. It suddenly hit me. Without being fully aware of it, I had cheated on Vaughn. How was I going to manage to get out of this one?
"Sydney?" my mother asked, knocking on my hotel room door. We were in Madrid, why? Beyond me. We'd been here for two days. Somehow, the CIA hadn't found us, yet.
"Yeah, come on in!" I called, seeing as I had left the lock between the frame and the door. It was open.
"Hey," she said, sitting next to me as I flipped through a folder.
"Hi."
"What are you really doing here, Sydney?"
"Sark and I have.plans."
"What kind of plans?"
"Ask Sark. I'm not quite sure."
"Sydney."
"Mom, I'm serious."
"He likes you, you know."
"Who? Sloane? Yeah, I know, thanks for stating the obvious."
"No," she smiled. "Sark." Sark? Sark is an assassin. He likes no one, other than himself, and maybe his gun.
"Mom, Sark and I hate each other with a passion."
"Sydney, I'm right about these things, admit it. I was right about Vaughn, wasn't I?" she gestured to my hand.
Another knock came at the door. "Yeah?" I called.
"Agent Bristow," Sark pushed the door open. "Irina," he nodded. "We need to talk."
"Close the door," I said. He did.
"We have a bit of a problem."
"Yeah?" I asked.
"Our assassin is a traitor."
"How?"
"I overheard him speaking to Sloane about our true intentions. He's bound to bring it up."
"So we're all on the same ground here? We want Sloane out?" my mother asked. "Yes," Sark answered for me. "We do."
"He's going to be harder to remove without Emily," she said.
"It will be done. And at our hands- no one else's," he said.
I sat quietly. "Vaughn knows."
Sark's eyes shifted from me and turned from their usual dark, icy blue to a lighter color. "Knows what?" Was my mother right, sure, chameleon eyes weren't uncommon, but when Sark's change color, something's up.
"That I'm alive. I made eye contact with him in Tuscany two days ago. He understands, and knows."
"Will he tell Kendall?" asked my mother.
"Or worse yet, your father?" suggested Sark.
"No," I shook my head. "Vaughn won't."
"You're sure that you can trust him?"
"Yes, I am."
***
Vaughn's POV
It was three in the morning and I had to be at work by eight. Why was I awake, still?
I knew the answer to that question. It was one word- the name of a woman who died, and took my heart with her. Although now, she knew it, and I knew it- she was alive. Somehow though, this only complicated things. At least when I thought she was dead, there was a final tone to it. Now though, she was alive, and there was nothing I could do about it.
Six hours later, I was on my third cup of coffee and desperately trying to stay awake so I could write my mission debrief.
"Hey," said Weiss. He noticed my coffee cup, full, again. "What is that, your fourth cup?"
"Third," I corrected him. "I.uh.didn't get much sleep last night."
"Mike, that's obvious. Your new asset is hardly going to be impressed."
"She's ready?"
"Yeah, meeting's in a half hour. New assignment."
"What about the other girl?"
"Who, Abbie?" Weiss smiled.
"Oh no," I said, rolling my eyes.
"Yeah. Partners. She goes, I stay. Plenty of radio communication," he smiled.
"Uh, Eric? Breaking protocol didn't work for Syd and I and it won't work for you." I stopped. "You've got a thing for blondes, don't you?"
"No," he shook his head. "I don't!" He blushed.
"Eric!"
"What?"
"Agent Weiss?" the blonde appeared in the door.
He grinned at me. Great. Weiss has a new girlfriend. "Yeah?"
She smiled. "Agent Kendall wants to see the both of you. He wants us for debrief," she added to Weiss.
"Where to?" he asked.
"Don't know. That's the point of a debrief, so we can be prepared for the mission," she smiled.
Ugh, this was getting disgusting. I decided to get a move on and meet my asset.
"Agent Vaughn," Kendall greeted me. "This is Agent Colleen Pagnotta. Agent Pagnotta, Agent Vaughn."
"Nice to meet you," she said politely. Was that a ring on her finger? Yes, thank God. I won't end up like Weiss, once again, thank God.
"Your next assignment is in Madrid. Irina Derevko and Sark were spotted, just recently, at a hotel." A picture, obviously from a hotel security camera- a color security camera flashed on the screen. It was a blonde Derevko and a brunette Sark, but definitely them.
"That's them," I said.
"Agent Pagnotta and Agent Mason have been briefed on Sark and Derevko. Agent Bristow is being given operational control. Your flight leaves in an hour."
I looked at Weiss as we stood up. I hadn't told him about Syd. God, how I missed her. Maybe I'd find her, see her there, if only for a minute. Maybe, just maybe.
***
Syd's POV
"We've been compromised!" Sark flew into my hotel room.
"How'd you get a key?" I asked. This was clearly an invasion of my personal space.
"Front desk," he smirked, clearly seeing that I was not happy with his barging in on my free time. He tossed me my suitcase. "Get packed. The CIA is in the hotel."
"What?" I flew off the bed and started tossing stuff into my suitcase.
"Sloane wants you to go down the side staircase and out the indoor pool exit. Meet us at the car."
"Black limo?"
"Yeah," he picked up my suitcase that I had finished packing. I grabbed the magazine that I was reading, in case I got time later, and took off.
I flew down five flights of stairs, and I had one more flight to go before I finally crashed into someone.
"I'm sorry," I said quickly in Spanish. "Excuse me."
"Wait," he grabbed my arm. "Syd?" It was Vaughn. My heart sank. He didn't need to see me here- not now, when I was on the run from him.
"Vaughn!" I hugged him. Don't get me wrong, I was happy to see him, it was just the wrong time.
"Syd," he helped me up and kissed me. I pulled away after a minute.
"I have to go. Sark's waiting."
He nodded. "All right," he quickly kissed me again. "Wait," he said as I turned to go.
He handed me his cell phone. He had already dialed a number and it was ringing.
"Hello?" a man's voice answered. It was a voice that I knew all too well. Kendall.
"Hello?" he asked again.
I took a deep breath. "Kendall, it's Sydney Bristow. I'm in Spain."
"Can I ask what the hell you're doing in Spain? Or do I just not want to know?"
"I'm alive, all right? I have to go, bye." I handed Vaughn the phone and ran.
"What took you so long?" asked Sark.
"I ran into an agent. I had to take her out."
He raised an eyebrow. "Get in."
I climbed in and closed my eyes. Somehow, seeing Vaughn just made things worse. I missed him more than ever."
"You all right?"
"Yeah. I just want it all to be over."
"Me too."
"Me moved over next to me as Sloane and my mother got in. Somehow, I didn't find myself completely grossed out. Of course, I could have been sitting next to Sloane, so I wasn't complaining. Maybe Mom was right, the way he was acting and looking at me. Maybe he did like me.
Scary thought, Syd. Sark liking you? I woke up from my thoughts.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"Further south. We're going to visit Mr. Caplan," Sloane said.
I sank back into my seat. It was going to be long ride.
***
Vaughn's POV
Well, I'm back in LA- without Sydney. Now the CIA thinks that Kendall and I are both nuts. Jack's been sitting on a little secret though; he's the new director of the Ops Center. Kendall's not happy, to say the least.
My cell phone rang and I answered it.
"Hello?"
"We're in Spain," it was Sydney. "I'm on a secure line. Bug killer, untraceable, the works."
"Whose phone are you on?"
"Sark's." My heart sank. "He let you use his phone?"
"Yeah. He knows. Vaughn, he's the reason that I'm almost ready to take down Sloane. He's helping me."
"I doubt that."
"He is."
"Whatever you say, Syd. Anyhow, I have to go. There's a meeting."
"All right. Love you."
"Love you too."
I headed for debrief and managed to get cornered by Jack. Great.
"Mr. Vaughn," nope. Not a good tone. "You may be.comfortable with my daughter, but this in no way means that you are comfortable with me." Well I seriously hope not. Are we hinting at something here?
Stop it, I mentally told myself. I debated on whether to tell him about Sydney or not. Nah.
"I'd also like to inform you that I know of your.meeting in Spain with my daughter. Kendall informed me. When she contacts you again, Vaughn, you will tell me, all right?" I could only nod. Jack knows Syd's alive, and he wants to track her. Great.
"She's still in Spain. I made contact with her a few hours ago."
"What, exactly did she say?"
"She's working with Sark. They're going to take down Sloane."
"Jack's eyes flashed. He was not a happy camper. "Hand me your phone the next time she calls."
I nodded, and headed for debrief.
"Basically what it comes down to is that we are putting you- all of you," Jack gestured to Weiss, Agent Pagnotta, Agent Mason and me, "on two missions. Your first is to track down and kill this man." A picture flashed on the screen of a heavyset-looking man, completely decked out in Scottish dress, with bagpipes. Weiss looked mildly amused and tried not to laugh.
"Willy Andrews. Scottish free agent. Seen meeting Sloane at the hotel that he was seen at last week. We suspect that he may be working with Sloane and Derevko."
"So what are we supposed to do, exactly?" asked Weiss.
"Hunt him down, track him to Sloane. Weiss and Mason, that is your assignment. Agent Vaughn, when Bristow makes contact, you will get the location and move in to extract her."
"What about Caplan?" I asked.
"We're doing all we can," said Jack.
I decided to go and see Caplan's wife, take matters into my own hands.
"You should try the hypnosis therapy," I said. "We don't have any more leads."
"I don't feel comfortable with the government poking around in my head," she said.
"Like I said, we're out of leads. We may not be able to find your husband."
"You're saying that I'm not doing enough? How dare you," I never said that, and I opened my mouth to explain, but she had already left.
I went back a few days later. "We found a lead. We found that the Russian reporter that we have been monitoring received a fax today."
"Did you find out what it said?"
"A single Russian word. Endgame."
"They're going to kill him," she said quietly.
"Not necessarily," I said.
"They will. Seven years ago, I was ordered to seduce and marry Neil. I implanted a tracking device in his arm, but it has a secondary purpose. My handler- he had the code to have it release cyanide into his bloodstream. That's what the fax was about. It was activated."
I stared in shock at Elsa. "You're not authorized to be telling me this." She nodded. "We'll do what we can, thanks."
***
Sydney's POV
It was Sark's and my job to guard Caplan. Although, after what happened to my mother, I could see why Sloane wanted us to guard him. It didn't matter if he managed to strangle us.
Sark's cell phone rang. "Sark," he answered.
"Find Sydney," I heard Vaughn's voice.
"How did you get this number?" he asked.
"I have my ways," he said sneakily. "Now let me talk to Sydney."
He gave the phone a dirty look and sighed as he handed it to me. "Mr. Vaughn," he said simply.
"Hello?" I asked.
"It's me. Listen, Caplan has a device in his left arm that is set to release cyanide in forty-two hours. I'm going to try and get the codes to disarm it. Meanwhile," he paused for effect, "your father brought in Elsa Caplan. She's working for the SVR. She put the device in. She's in your mother's cell and uh.he's the new director of the Ops Center."
"Oh.my God," I said.
"Yeah, so you and Sark should get this show on the road."
"The assassin's working as quick as possible."
"Willy Andrews?"
"Yeah."
"Syd, he's not helping you guys."
"What do you mean?"
"Weiss and his new girlfriend have been assigned to track him. He was seen in your last hotel with Sloane. Security cameras showed he and Sloane in the lobby, talking for about an hour. They looked highly friendly, Syd."
"Wait- Weiss's new girlfriend? The blonde?"
"Yeah. Syd, look into it."
"I will, don't worry."
"We trying to come get Caplan and pull you out, all right?"
"Yes."
"I've got to get moving, try and get the codes from Elsa. I'll keep you updated."
"Please do."
"All right. Bye."
"Bye." I hung up.
"Sloane wants to see me. Will you stay here?" Sark asked.
"Yeah," I nodded.
Sark left and Caplan and I were alone. "My name is Sydney Bristow. I am a double agent for the CIA. A team is being sent in for you. Your wife.she works for the SVR. She injected you with a tracer set to release cyanide into your bloodstream in forty-two hours. We have to remove it, or you will die."
"Can you remove it later?" he didn't look fazed that his wife was a Russian spy. "Yeah, when my team gets here." Why not remove it now? Oh well.
"Sydney, duck!" Sark's voice shot through the air. I immediately crumpled to the ground as a bullet flew over my head.
It was Sloane who had shot at us. Sark ran to me and grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet.
"Come on," he said, firing off a few shots to warn Sloane to keep his distance.
We ran as quickly as we could, flying around corners and pausing long enough for Sark to fire a few shots.
Finally, we made it out. Sloane had stopped chasing us and we escaped.
"What happened?"
"Our assassin spilled. We were compromised."
"No."
"Yes. I'm turning myself into the CIA. You'll be able to go back to normal."
What if I don't want to go back to normal?
"What if I like the excitement of this life?" I asked.
"You're saying that your CIA life with Mr. Vaughn isn't exciting?" he asked with a smirk.
"I'm not saying that." It's just that Vaughn's.a safe option. I need a little excitement, but Sark, exciting?
He handed me his cell phone. "Call Agent Vaughn. Let him know that we'll be in LA in the morning."
I dialed, Vaughn answered. "Hello?"
"Hi," I said.
"Where are you?"
"You were right. Andrews did turn us in. Sark is surrendering to the CIA. He wants to help."
"Syd, are you sure?"
"Yeah, I am."
"All right. I'll inform Kendall."
"We'll be in LA in the morning."
"See you then."
"Yeah, bye."
"Hey," Sark said. "We've got a couple of hours before we have to get back. Come on," he hailed a taxi.
"Where are we going?"
"You'll see."
We finally arrived at a small house, right next door to a lush, green forest. Was this Sark's house?
"Here we are," he said, paying the driver. "My house in Spain."
"It's beautiful," I said.
"You like it?"
"Yeah," I smiled.
I don't really know what happened after that, but suddenly, Sark's lips covered mine. My first thought was to push away and then haul off and slug him, but then I relaxed and leaned into the kiss.
He finally pulled away and our eyes met.
"I'm sorry," he said, going over to the porch swing.
"Sark, it's all right. It's been coming. No one can hate someone with a passion and not have some other feelings deep down," I sat down beside him.
He smiled and brushed his thumb over my lips and kissed me again. "Come inside when you're ready," he got up and went inside.
I felt like I was floating. I was in love with Sark. I saw something glitter in the sunlight and I looked at my hand. It was the ring that Vaughn had given me two weeks ago. It suddenly hit me. Without being fully aware of it, I had cheated on Vaughn. How was I going to manage to get out of this one?