A/N: I wanted to thank EgyptianKat for her kind comments. I think I lost a
lot of readers here at ff.net b/c there was a full month in between
chapters 1 and 2.
From Chapter 4:
Just as I was saying that, we heard the distinctive screech of metal against metal as the front door opened. "Hey Mister Sloane, Bristow's almost here. You want us to stop him before he arrives?" a familiar voice asked.
"That's okay Vinnie. I need you, Willie, and Eddie to go back and follow him in. Make sure he doesn't bring any reinforcements, this is just between him and me," Sloane said with an unpleasant chuckle.
"Yes Mister Sloane," Vinnie replied obediently. A few minutes later the door opened again, leaving the two men alone once more.
"Are you sure that's completely wise sir?" the other man asked in a cultured voice. "What if he manages to get away?"
I could almost see Sloane's evil smile when he answered. "He won't Sark. He wants this as much as I do. Be assured, things are going exactly as I planned. In fact," he gestured toward the door which was opening once more, "I believe that's our illustrious friend now."
Chapter 5: Revelations
From my vantage point, I could see Sark melt into the shadows as Jack came into view, walking like a man who knew his destiny and wasn't afraid to face it. "You're alone Arvin," he commented blandly. "That wasn't very smart of you."
"Hello to you too Jack. I was beginning to think you weren't coming. Oh," he added, pointing at the gun Jack was holding, "you can put that away. Even if you could get a shot off, my men would kill you in an instant."
"I'm ready to die today, are you?" Jack asked pointedly.
In my peripheral vision I could see Sydney jerk when she heard the fatalistic tone in her father's voice. I looked at her and put my finger to my lips. She nodded reluctantly and I turned back to watch the scene unfolding in front of me.
"Brave words Jack," Sloane said with a raised eyebrow. "But I'm afraid I can't let that happen." A movement behind Jack caught my eye and I looked up to see Eddie, Vinnie, and Willie silently sneaking into the building.
"How do you plan on stopping me?" Jack questioned with a smirk.
"Oh I don't. They're going to do it for me," Sloane replied as his goons surrounded Jack. "Now just give them the gun Jack, or were you serious when you said you were ready to die?"
Jack glared at him and put his gun in Vinnie's outstretched hand. "That's what I thought," Sloane said with a smile. "Tie him up boys, I don't want him getting away." Willie tossed a rope to Eddie, then shoved Jack down into a rusted chair in the middle of the room. I winced for Jack when Eddie cinched the knots tight around his arms and legs. He must be immune to pain, he didn't utter a complaint.
"You'll never get away with this Sloane," Jack warned him, struggling unsuccessfully to get loose from his bonds.
Sloane just shook his head in amusement. "I'm disappointed in you Jack," he said. "I'd think you could come up with something more original to say than that, but for the sake of discussion, why won't I get away with this?"
"Even if you kill me, there are ten agents on their way. You'll still die," Jack informed him. I had to admire Jack's demeanor, even tied up he was cool as a cucumber.
Sloane took a step closer and waved his finger in an annoying fashion. "Tsk tsk Jack, didn't your mother teach you not to lie? You and I both know you don't have backup coming."
"That may be true, but you have no way of knowing one way or the other," Jack challenged.
"Oh but I do," he replied, pointing to where Sark was emerging from the shadows.
The livid expression on Jack's face told me all I needed to know-this was the mole. "Davis!" he hissed as his face turned a mottled red from his rage. I was confused for a moment until I realized that Davis must have been Sark's name at the FBI.
The blonde man clucked his tongue and said, "Such a useless waste of energy on emotion, I'm surprised. I thought the great Jack Bristow could control himself better."
"I don't often find out that my partner is a traitor," Jack pointed out icily. "How could you betray your country like this?"
I could almost see the smile on Sark's face as he looked up at the ceiling. "You'd never believe me if I told you Jack."
"Why don't you try me and find out?" he asked contemptuously.
"Very well, but don't say I didn't warn you," he told him, his arms spread out in front of him with his palms facing up. "I do it because it's fun."
"Fun?" Jack asked, completely bemused.
"I told you you wouldn't understand. Yes, fun. I like the intrigue, the adrenaline rush I get knowing that every time could be the last. That's why I joined the FBI to begin with, but the thrill soon wore off so I had to go looking in different places. About that time, one of Arvin's contacts came to me and let me know that he was looking for an agent on the inside." He shrugged, his blasé tone expressing the complete lack of emotion involved in his decision. "I admit that I hesitated for a while-no matter what you may think now, I did love this country at one point. In the end though the excitement of the chase won out over staid patriotism. You can't imagine how exhilarating it is to lead two different lives, one that completely counters everything the other is supposed to believe in. The knowledge that you could always get caught is an amazing feeling."
"Yes yes," Sloane interrupted. "It's a fascinating story, now let's get down to business."
"Of course Mister Sloane," Sark said with a deferential nod.
As Jack watched the repartee between the two villains, I saw a gleam in his eye. He still had one ace up his sleeve, and it was time to play it. "Sloane, there is one detail you haven't thought of. If you kill me and Sark disappears, they'll know he was the mole and the hunt will be over."
"Ah, but that's where you're wrong. You always did underestimate me Jack. Why is that?" Sloane wondered. "Ah well it doesn't matter now, I have the perfect plan."
"And what would that be?" the agent inquired, every word laden with irony.
"We are going to kill you with Sark's gun. When you're dead, we're going to put your gun back in your hand and fire a shot into Sark's leg," Sloane replied matter-of-factly.
"You're going to shoot yourself?" Jack asked the young man.
Sark shrugged. "It's a small price to pay really when you think about what I'll be getting in return," he answered calmly.
"You see Jack, after he's been shot he's going to call the Bureau saying he's found the mole. When they come out and find you they won't believe it at first, but ballistics don't lie. The bullet in Sark's leg will corroborate his story perfectly. I must say you played right into my hands when you left protective custody. Sark-excuse me, Agent Davis-will tell them the attempts on you must have been staged to throw off any suspicion when you disappeared."
"It's a brilliant plan," Billy muttered behind me.
"Yes it is," I agreed as I turned to face him. "What do you propose we do about it?"
"I think we." Sydney started.
"Let's wait a moment before doing anything," Harry suggested, cutting off whatever she might have been about to say. "There might be more men coming and we don't want to catch Sloane only to get ambushed. That wouldn't do Jack any good."
"You can't be serious," Sydney protested, only to be interrupted by Billy.
"Harry's right, that's SOP in situations like this," he agreed.
I stared at him for a minute, completely disgusted by his yellow behavior. "You're willing to hang a fellow agent out to dry like that?"
"It's what the handbook says to do," he said defensively.
"Now wait a minute," Sydney objected.
She was cut off in mid-sentence once again when Eric voiced his opinion on that course of action. "You guys are a real piece of work, you know that?" Eric whispered angrily. "There's a man down there about to be killed and set up for something he didn't do, and all you can think of is your blasted rule book."
"You can say that because you've never had to live by the book," Harry told him self-righteously. "If you had, you'd know there's a reason for the things we do."
"Really? Does that make you sleep better at night?" Eric rejoined.
"Can it guys," Billy ordered suddenly. Surprised, we all turned to hear what he had to say. "Does anyone see Miss Bristow around anywhere?"
We all scanned the area, trying to find Sydney. When I finally did, the rock in the bottom of my stomach made me wish I hadn't. "She's right there," I said hoarsely, pointing to her as she walked up to Sloane, holding the pistol I'd loaned her.
"Well well, what have we here?" Sloane asked. "It seems like the Bristows both feel like dying today. Vinnie, why don't you take that pistol from Miss Bristow, I'd hate to see someone get hurt."
The boys and I reached a silent agreement. All the arguments had to be set aside, there was a civilian at stake now. We quietly formed a perimeter around Sloane and his men while they attempted to subdue Sydney.
She wasn't making it easy for them, I realized in amusement as I watched. The instant Vinnie reached her right side, Sydney elbowed him in the gut. She ran to her father and kneeled down to untie the knots, but Eddie grabbed her around the waist. Willie took the gun from her and tossed her down on the floor, grabbing some rope to tie her up with.
That was the moment we'd been waiting for. All four of us advanced quickly, guns drawn. Billy and Harry had their hands full with the three goons, they weren't about to go without a fight. They were unarmed though so it was clear who would come out on top.
I had the supreme privilege of seeing fright flit across Sloane's face as I approached him. "That's enough Sloane," I said coolly as I took the gun he was attempting to draw. "Eric, untie Jack will ya?" I called out.
"I'm on it Vaughn," he replied from his position on the floor behind Jack's chair.
The instant he was free, he grabbed one of the discarded guns off the floor and approached Sloane with it. I stood back and let him take control-this was his little shindig after all. "It's the end of the line for you Arvin," he sneered.
I watched with surprise as Sloane started to edge away from Jack toward the door. "Stop right there or I'll shoot you where you stand," Jack promised.
Sloane looked at him with a queer half smile on his face. "Oh, you won't shoot me Jack," he said smugly.
In reply, Jack clicked the safety off. "Really? Are you so sure of that?" he asked grimly.
The smile on Sloane's face didn't even slip. An uneasy feeling started in my toes when my trigger finger began to itch. Sloane was up to something, and it was no good. What exactly it was became clear with his next sentence. "Jack, have you seen your daughter in the last few minutes?" he questioned nonchalantly, nodding slightly toward the door.
I followed his line of vision, and my heart stopped beating for a moment when my eyes found Sydney. "Jack, Sark's got her!" I told him urgently.
"That's right Jack, just think of her as a little insurance policy. Sark will hold Sydney until you let me go. As you can see, your agents are having a hard time handling Willie, Vinnie, and Eddie so they won't be any help to you. Now I'm sure that if you left right now you could catch up with them before anything happened to her, but then you wouldn't be able to shoot me. What'll it be Jack? Me or your daughter?"
From Chapter 4:
Just as I was saying that, we heard the distinctive screech of metal against metal as the front door opened. "Hey Mister Sloane, Bristow's almost here. You want us to stop him before he arrives?" a familiar voice asked.
"That's okay Vinnie. I need you, Willie, and Eddie to go back and follow him in. Make sure he doesn't bring any reinforcements, this is just between him and me," Sloane said with an unpleasant chuckle.
"Yes Mister Sloane," Vinnie replied obediently. A few minutes later the door opened again, leaving the two men alone once more.
"Are you sure that's completely wise sir?" the other man asked in a cultured voice. "What if he manages to get away?"
I could almost see Sloane's evil smile when he answered. "He won't Sark. He wants this as much as I do. Be assured, things are going exactly as I planned. In fact," he gestured toward the door which was opening once more, "I believe that's our illustrious friend now."
Chapter 5: Revelations
From my vantage point, I could see Sark melt into the shadows as Jack came into view, walking like a man who knew his destiny and wasn't afraid to face it. "You're alone Arvin," he commented blandly. "That wasn't very smart of you."
"Hello to you too Jack. I was beginning to think you weren't coming. Oh," he added, pointing at the gun Jack was holding, "you can put that away. Even if you could get a shot off, my men would kill you in an instant."
"I'm ready to die today, are you?" Jack asked pointedly.
In my peripheral vision I could see Sydney jerk when she heard the fatalistic tone in her father's voice. I looked at her and put my finger to my lips. She nodded reluctantly and I turned back to watch the scene unfolding in front of me.
"Brave words Jack," Sloane said with a raised eyebrow. "But I'm afraid I can't let that happen." A movement behind Jack caught my eye and I looked up to see Eddie, Vinnie, and Willie silently sneaking into the building.
"How do you plan on stopping me?" Jack questioned with a smirk.
"Oh I don't. They're going to do it for me," Sloane replied as his goons surrounded Jack. "Now just give them the gun Jack, or were you serious when you said you were ready to die?"
Jack glared at him and put his gun in Vinnie's outstretched hand. "That's what I thought," Sloane said with a smile. "Tie him up boys, I don't want him getting away." Willie tossed a rope to Eddie, then shoved Jack down into a rusted chair in the middle of the room. I winced for Jack when Eddie cinched the knots tight around his arms and legs. He must be immune to pain, he didn't utter a complaint.
"You'll never get away with this Sloane," Jack warned him, struggling unsuccessfully to get loose from his bonds.
Sloane just shook his head in amusement. "I'm disappointed in you Jack," he said. "I'd think you could come up with something more original to say than that, but for the sake of discussion, why won't I get away with this?"
"Even if you kill me, there are ten agents on their way. You'll still die," Jack informed him. I had to admire Jack's demeanor, even tied up he was cool as a cucumber.
Sloane took a step closer and waved his finger in an annoying fashion. "Tsk tsk Jack, didn't your mother teach you not to lie? You and I both know you don't have backup coming."
"That may be true, but you have no way of knowing one way or the other," Jack challenged.
"Oh but I do," he replied, pointing to where Sark was emerging from the shadows.
The livid expression on Jack's face told me all I needed to know-this was the mole. "Davis!" he hissed as his face turned a mottled red from his rage. I was confused for a moment until I realized that Davis must have been Sark's name at the FBI.
The blonde man clucked his tongue and said, "Such a useless waste of energy on emotion, I'm surprised. I thought the great Jack Bristow could control himself better."
"I don't often find out that my partner is a traitor," Jack pointed out icily. "How could you betray your country like this?"
I could almost see the smile on Sark's face as he looked up at the ceiling. "You'd never believe me if I told you Jack."
"Why don't you try me and find out?" he asked contemptuously.
"Very well, but don't say I didn't warn you," he told him, his arms spread out in front of him with his palms facing up. "I do it because it's fun."
"Fun?" Jack asked, completely bemused.
"I told you you wouldn't understand. Yes, fun. I like the intrigue, the adrenaline rush I get knowing that every time could be the last. That's why I joined the FBI to begin with, but the thrill soon wore off so I had to go looking in different places. About that time, one of Arvin's contacts came to me and let me know that he was looking for an agent on the inside." He shrugged, his blasé tone expressing the complete lack of emotion involved in his decision. "I admit that I hesitated for a while-no matter what you may think now, I did love this country at one point. In the end though the excitement of the chase won out over staid patriotism. You can't imagine how exhilarating it is to lead two different lives, one that completely counters everything the other is supposed to believe in. The knowledge that you could always get caught is an amazing feeling."
"Yes yes," Sloane interrupted. "It's a fascinating story, now let's get down to business."
"Of course Mister Sloane," Sark said with a deferential nod.
As Jack watched the repartee between the two villains, I saw a gleam in his eye. He still had one ace up his sleeve, and it was time to play it. "Sloane, there is one detail you haven't thought of. If you kill me and Sark disappears, they'll know he was the mole and the hunt will be over."
"Ah, but that's where you're wrong. You always did underestimate me Jack. Why is that?" Sloane wondered. "Ah well it doesn't matter now, I have the perfect plan."
"And what would that be?" the agent inquired, every word laden with irony.
"We are going to kill you with Sark's gun. When you're dead, we're going to put your gun back in your hand and fire a shot into Sark's leg," Sloane replied matter-of-factly.
"You're going to shoot yourself?" Jack asked the young man.
Sark shrugged. "It's a small price to pay really when you think about what I'll be getting in return," he answered calmly.
"You see Jack, after he's been shot he's going to call the Bureau saying he's found the mole. When they come out and find you they won't believe it at first, but ballistics don't lie. The bullet in Sark's leg will corroborate his story perfectly. I must say you played right into my hands when you left protective custody. Sark-excuse me, Agent Davis-will tell them the attempts on you must have been staged to throw off any suspicion when you disappeared."
"It's a brilliant plan," Billy muttered behind me.
"Yes it is," I agreed as I turned to face him. "What do you propose we do about it?"
"I think we." Sydney started.
"Let's wait a moment before doing anything," Harry suggested, cutting off whatever she might have been about to say. "There might be more men coming and we don't want to catch Sloane only to get ambushed. That wouldn't do Jack any good."
"You can't be serious," Sydney protested, only to be interrupted by Billy.
"Harry's right, that's SOP in situations like this," he agreed.
I stared at him for a minute, completely disgusted by his yellow behavior. "You're willing to hang a fellow agent out to dry like that?"
"It's what the handbook says to do," he said defensively.
"Now wait a minute," Sydney objected.
She was cut off in mid-sentence once again when Eric voiced his opinion on that course of action. "You guys are a real piece of work, you know that?" Eric whispered angrily. "There's a man down there about to be killed and set up for something he didn't do, and all you can think of is your blasted rule book."
"You can say that because you've never had to live by the book," Harry told him self-righteously. "If you had, you'd know there's a reason for the things we do."
"Really? Does that make you sleep better at night?" Eric rejoined.
"Can it guys," Billy ordered suddenly. Surprised, we all turned to hear what he had to say. "Does anyone see Miss Bristow around anywhere?"
We all scanned the area, trying to find Sydney. When I finally did, the rock in the bottom of my stomach made me wish I hadn't. "She's right there," I said hoarsely, pointing to her as she walked up to Sloane, holding the pistol I'd loaned her.
"Well well, what have we here?" Sloane asked. "It seems like the Bristows both feel like dying today. Vinnie, why don't you take that pistol from Miss Bristow, I'd hate to see someone get hurt."
The boys and I reached a silent agreement. All the arguments had to be set aside, there was a civilian at stake now. We quietly formed a perimeter around Sloane and his men while they attempted to subdue Sydney.
She wasn't making it easy for them, I realized in amusement as I watched. The instant Vinnie reached her right side, Sydney elbowed him in the gut. She ran to her father and kneeled down to untie the knots, but Eddie grabbed her around the waist. Willie took the gun from her and tossed her down on the floor, grabbing some rope to tie her up with.
That was the moment we'd been waiting for. All four of us advanced quickly, guns drawn. Billy and Harry had their hands full with the three goons, they weren't about to go without a fight. They were unarmed though so it was clear who would come out on top.
I had the supreme privilege of seeing fright flit across Sloane's face as I approached him. "That's enough Sloane," I said coolly as I took the gun he was attempting to draw. "Eric, untie Jack will ya?" I called out.
"I'm on it Vaughn," he replied from his position on the floor behind Jack's chair.
The instant he was free, he grabbed one of the discarded guns off the floor and approached Sloane with it. I stood back and let him take control-this was his little shindig after all. "It's the end of the line for you Arvin," he sneered.
I watched with surprise as Sloane started to edge away from Jack toward the door. "Stop right there or I'll shoot you where you stand," Jack promised.
Sloane looked at him with a queer half smile on his face. "Oh, you won't shoot me Jack," he said smugly.
In reply, Jack clicked the safety off. "Really? Are you so sure of that?" he asked grimly.
The smile on Sloane's face didn't even slip. An uneasy feeling started in my toes when my trigger finger began to itch. Sloane was up to something, and it was no good. What exactly it was became clear with his next sentence. "Jack, have you seen your daughter in the last few minutes?" he questioned nonchalantly, nodding slightly toward the door.
I followed his line of vision, and my heart stopped beating for a moment when my eyes found Sydney. "Jack, Sark's got her!" I told him urgently.
"That's right Jack, just think of her as a little insurance policy. Sark will hold Sydney until you let me go. As you can see, your agents are having a hard time handling Willie, Vinnie, and Eddie so they won't be any help to you. Now I'm sure that if you left right now you could catch up with them before anything happened to her, but then you wouldn't be able to shoot me. What'll it be Jack? Me or your daughter?"