Developments
Disclaimer:
I do not own Alias; ABC, Bad Robot Productions and JJ Abrams do, and I give
full acknowledgement of that (good work guys). I do not own and am not affiliated
in any way, with the brands mentioned in this piece (such as Ford, BWM or Colt),
more than likely I've used them because they're known, or because they're very
nice bits of kit that I hope to have one day. Finally, I'm a student, don't
sue me, I've got nothing worth taking.
Authors note:
Well, I've just seen season 2's ep 13, and I don't really know what to say apart from 'What the hell'?
A potentially very good series cut short - it looks like this will be the last season of Alias, and to be honest, I think that is a bit of a foolish mistake - it could have run on a lot longer if planned out right, but alas, its happened so there's no going back, I can only hope that the scriptwriters know what they're doing.
On a sidenote, this chapter might seem very odd, as I got through half of it and had to stop due to 'real-life' issues, picking it up almost two weeks later, so sorry if it seems a little disjointed
- Enjoy
Spyder
Time frame:
None - Just generally set after Sydney becomes a double agent.
"You have seen only a fraction of what we are capable of. Do not doubt our integrity or resolve. Failure to comply will result in consequential actions against your organisation. We will contact you with further instructions"
The electronic voice clicked off, and once again, Sydney found herself in the main meeting room at SD-6, accompanied this time only by her father and Arvin Sloane.
The latest message had arrived earlier this morning, after the SD-6 listening post in Oman had been completely annihilated, leaving no visible trace that it ever existed.
The last satellite photo taken of the base showed a mixture of buildings and guards spread out, but nothing wrong, whereas ninety minutes later, the satellite scan simply showed a large crater of sand.
There was not a single trace of the any of the buildings left.
"Where do we stand now?" Sydney found herself asking, still staring at the few satellite images there were of the base.
Her strategic question caught both men slightly off guard.
"After our meeting last night, I made several calls to the various other SD cells around the world, regarding this group. None knew anything of them, but knew that whoever they were had taken down SD-9" Sloane said
"However, when I spoke to Alain Bouchard, head of SD-2, he informed me of a document they picked up off a K-Directorate agent in Switzerland a few years ago. This document was at least thirty years old and dated back to the Cold War, but in it, a single reference was made to a group they call MI0, a group that the KGB suspected of running top secret black operations for NATO inside the Soviet Union. As far as we know, its existence was never proven"
"NATO? Does that mean our government is involved?" Sydney made sure to pick the right words, less Sloane be let on to the fact that she knows the truth about SD-6.
"At this point, we don't know, but we can't rule it out."
"Given the documents age, and the vagueness of the report, we have to question the authenticity of the information in the document" Jack said, in defence of Sloane.
Sydney looked at him warily, something else was coming. "What aren't you telling me?" she said, quizzing her father, who just looked very upset at her interruption.
"Two hours ago, I contacted K-Directorate, and informed them that we have information we'd like to exchange. They want information on certain rebel factions within their organisation, and we want anything and everything they have that refers to MI0" Jacks words were clinically spoken like a true spy.
"However, the response we received was not one we were anticipating" Jack said, letting Sloane take over
"The response we received did regard documents on MI0, but were not from K-Directorate. They were from our old friend Mr David Sark, claiming he was willing to hand over the information we were after, unconditionally"
"Unconditionally? Ok, that does not sound right" Sydney butted in
"That's what we originally thought, but further communications has revealed that his organisation have had problems with this group in the past, claiming that it is mutually beneficial to both sides to work together in taking down this group" Jack chose his words carefully, trying hard not to show face in front of Sloane, who tossed a folder over to Sydney.
"You're going to New York to rendezvous with Sark, to retrieve the information he has obtained. Given the ambiguity of this meet, you'll be accompanied by Security Sections alpha team, who'll be there to give backup"
Opening the folder, Sydney removed a single typed sheet of paper with instructions on it, and a map of a park with several red circles marking certain points and area's, denoted with corresponding numbers.
"Jack..." Sloane said, interrupting Sydney train of thought
Taking the remote, Jack flicked the screens to a detailed overview of the park. "The plan is simple; you'll meet with Sark here, next to the fountain, in plain sight and under the cover of a sniper, as a precaution. They'll be situated on the rooftops here and here" as he spoke, the map zoomed out, and two of the surrounding buildings seemed to flash yellow.
"There will be a pair of agents inside the park nearby, and four more within a safe distance, probably situated either in the park, or outside one of the cafés nearby" three more buildings flashed yellow, as a red circle appeared, centred on the fountain.
"Since we don't want to take anything for granted, I'd like you to be armed as well, when you meet, just as a precaution."
Sydney nodded, ignoring the look of wariness on her fathers face.
"When do I leave?"
"Tonight"
New York twenty-four hours later
Given the rapid nature of her departure from Los Angeles, Sydney never got round to meeting with Vaughn for the counter mission, but somewhere along the line, the CIA had decided that with SD-6 under pressure from both the alliance and this foreign group, that they would pay no attention to their own agents, and they had guessed right.
All of SD-6's intelligence assets were operating outside of the country, looking for any trace of any sort of activity possibly linked to MI0, and as such, it was relatively easy for a CIA computer expert to shuffle the seating arrangements around so that one Michael Vaughn would be able to sit next to a Sydney Bristow on flight UA843 from LAX to JFK International.
On the flight over, Vaughn had explained to her what had happened to the base and to what her counter-mission was to be, as well as the backup plans "just to be sure", and now, it was time to put the plan into action.
Looking down at her watch, Sydney strolled into the park in the general direction of her meeting point with Sark as the time ticked over to 10:00am.
With a security section team as her backup, she wouldn't be able to talk directly to Vaughn or the CIA in any way, mean or form, since there would be the possibility that Security Section would pick up the transmission, and deal with her then and there.
Instead, the CIA decided to simply rip the SD-6 feed coming from the wire in her jacket - it was safe, secure and with no way of detecting it, they couldn't be discovered.
As she walked towards the fountain, Sydney was able to spot the short pallid figure of Sark immediately.
Dressed down, he wore a pair of wrap-around sunglasses and a black trenchcoat, done up all the way, despite the humidity in the air. There was a single metal briefcase by his feet, probably containing the files.
Sydney made her way to the fountain, and towards Sark, who just stood there smiling at her.
"Ah, Ms Bristow, how wonderful to see you again" he said in a pleasant tone, not fooling anyone.
"Hello Sark" was Sydney's monotonous response.
He tilted his head downwards slightly, to see over his glasses. "No pleasantries Ms Bristow?"
"None this time" Sydney responded, folding her arms across her chest.
"Ah, very well" he responded "I take it you have Mr Sloane's response"
"Yes, I take it those are the files" she said, gesturing to the briefcase in his hand.
"That is correct." He paused "I take it you have a backup team"
She knew the game he was playing, but decided to go along anyway. "Yes, I'll presume you didn't come alone either".
Sark nodded, as a voice came over her earpiece. 'Understood Bluebird, we've got you covered'
"Friends?" Sark said, noticing Sydney turning her head away from him slightly
Sydney just glared at Sark - both of them knew that any sudden movements would be cause for the other side to fire, resulting in a high casualty count due to the openness of their transaction.
Both waited in silence for a minute, just glaring at each other until Sydney turned her head away slightly, the voice on the other end inaudible to Sark.
"Understood" Sydney said monotonously. "Alright Sark, lets get this over and done with and part amicably, the less time I spend around you the better for you"
Taken slightly aback by her words, Sark's face turned sour. "As you wish".
Putting the case on the floor between them, Sark removed his sunglasses, as Sydney removed her phone, just as it began to ring.
With arm outstretched, and palm open, Sydney was impassive as Sark took it from her hand, answering it on the fourth ring.
Even they both knew who it was, Sark spoke first.
"Hello"
"Hello Mr Sark" Despite the distance between Los Angeles and New York, Sloane's voice was crystal clear on the other end. "This is simply to say that we agree that this new threat should be dealt with and that a temporary truce should be called upon, so that we can properly deal with this problem"
Sark smiled, but said nothing. He could almost hear Arvin Sloane fuming at the other end.
"However, this is only a temporary truce. Once we have the situation sorted, do not expect anything from us in the future."
"Thank you Mr Sloane, I understand perfectly" he said, before the line went dead.
Expectedly, the phone call ended as abruptly as it began, and Sark smiled lowering the phone from his ear.
As he handed back the little device, Sark just looked as Sydney stood there as impassively as she could, but Sark could see how unhappy she was about the situation, almost to a point where it was bordering with pure, unadulterated rage.
"Thank you" he said, in a joyous voice just to annoy her. Predictably Sydney snatched the phone back rather violently.
Looking up at the sun smugly, Sark decided he wanted to see how far her restraint would go. "Its amazing really, that we two are not really that much unalike, yet we're both so very, very different" he said, in his clipped Oxbridge accent.
When she didn't answer, he shot a look at her. "No?"
Slowly, and carefully, she spoke. "No"
"I suppose you are right really, each man is his, or in your case, her own" Sark smiled again.
"Is there a point to this?" She asked
Sark shook his head, still smiling. "Where have some of the old ways gone, eh Sydney? We're two professionals doing our respective jobs, but where has the banter gone?"
Sydney just scowled at Sark.
"I suppose out with the old, in with the new. Very impersonal, though, don't you think?"
Looking down, Sydney dropped her sunglasses slight as she spoke. "Sark, I'm not here to debate the pleasantries of the world with you, and you are beginning to stretch my patience, so I suggest we get this done quickly"
"Of course" he said, dutifully, picking up the case.
Slowly Sydney offered her hand for the case, but something caught Sark's attention, and he peered over her shoulder.
"Sark" Sydney said, bringing him back to reality.
Lowering his head slightly, Sark was consumed in thought for a second as he tried to recognise the face.
Moments passed, and Sydney's patience thinned close to breaking point.
About to take the case off him, Sark looked up again, and peered over her shoulder once more.
Immediately his eyes went wide and his face paled as he realised who he was looking at.
Noticing the change in Sark's complexion, Sydney turned around, and suddenly realised who he was looking at.