Threats and Revelations



Sark had received a call from Vaughn saying that he should come in right away because Vaughn wanted to have a word with him. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Vaughn was probably going to give Sark an earful about Sark's new relationship with Sydney along with some undertones that would clearly indicate he was pissed that Sydney was not his girlfriend any longer.

So now Sark found himself in a small room of the joint task force building with his back against the wall and Vaughn breathing down his neck as his hands gripped his shirt tightly.

"Listen you son of a bitch," Vaughn was saying, "I don't trust you and I can't figure out why the CIA does."

"They have good reason," Sark said calmly, not the least bit bothered by Vaughn's intrusion of his personal space. Vaughn was getting worked up for nothing and Sark wasn't going to allow him the satisfaction of freaking out and pushing him away. Remaining a calm demeanor should put Vaughn in his place.

"Look, all I'm saying is, if you put Sydney in any kind of dangerous situation and she gets hurt in any way, I will kill you," Vaughn said venomously, keeping his tight grip on Sark's shirt and pressing him harder into the wall.

Sark was amused. "What makes you think that I would place Sydney in any kind of situation that was even remotely dangerous?"

Vaughn narrowed his eyes. "Why wouldn't you? You're a heartless assassin, why would you even care if something happened to Sydney?"

Sark felt his muscles tense. How dare this petty CIA employee who was dumped rather easily by Sydney question the fact that he cares for her? "Mr. Vaughn, I don't care for your contemptuous remarks regarding my relationship with Sydney—"

Vaughn cut him off coldly. "I am not talking about your relationship with Sydney."

"It is certainly implied," Sark said, his annoyance level rising.

"In that case," Vaughn began, "your 'relationship'—as you call it—is probably based on false pretenses. I have a hard time believing that you're with her because you care for her. Instead, you're probably using her to weasel your way into her life and build up a foundation that you will later crush by betraying her."

Sark was boiling with rage. He grabbed Vaughn by the shirt and spun him around so that Vaughn was now the one with his back slammed against the wall. "You are not going to question my love for Sydney again. I know that all of this is stemming from the fact that she picked me over you and you can't handle it, so you've decided to threaten me. All you need to know is that I love Sydney and I would never ever do anything to hurt her."

Vaughn was silent but his teeth were clenched with the words he wanted to spit out at Sark. There was no way he was going to trust Sark, and it had nothing to do with the fact that Sydney had left him. He just didn't trust Sark based on everything Sark had done in the past and he was worried that Sark may have a plan in place to harm Sydney and by making her believe that he loved her, he would be able to insinuate himself into her life. Plus, he was involved in the CIA he had access to classified documents and an easy way to escape (probably with Irina, whom Vaughn didn't trust either) to leave Sydney feeling broken.

Vaughn was above (or he liked to think he was) feeling jealous about a relationship that a woman he loved had with another man. He wanted to believe that he was worried and concerned for Sydney on a best friend level, something like what Will probably felt towards her. Vaughn didn't want to believe that he had been so in love with Sydney that when she had left him for Sark that he had felt like personally disposing of Sark in such a way that Sydney would never know that it was he who had done the deed.

He had to admit, though, Sark was right: he was upset that Sydney had broken up with him and that was an enormous part of the reason why he didn't trust Sark. Although, based on Sark's past exploits, a great deal was left to be desired in the whole area of trustworthiness.

Vaughn was about to speak again when Sark released his shirt and stepped back. "If you ever question my devotion to Sydney again, I can assure you that you will not like the consequences." Sark turned and started to leave.

"Wait," Vaughn ordered, his voice harsh.

Sark turned slightly and gave Vaughn an icy glare as he waited for Vaughn to explain.

"I apologize for presuming that you were taking advantage of Sydney," Vaughn began, and Sark stared at him, inviting him to continue. "But I'm still not completely complaisant about the idea of trusting you, and you and I are going to be working together, so I need your word that you are not betraying this country and that you do not plan to do so in the future. Otherwise, this is not going to be pleasant for either of us."

"I assure you, Mr. Vaughn, that I am not—in any way, shape, or form—betraying this country." Sark put out his hand.

Vaughn grasped Sark's hand and gave it a hearty shake, then Sark left after they exchanged brooding stares. Vaughn sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a migraine forming from the massive amount of stress. He briefly wondered what the hell he had gotten himself into as far as placing his trust in Sark, then left the room and went to his desk.


Sydney and Will had arrived and were now talking with Sark. Sydney had explained to Will in great detail the purpose of his kidnapping on the drive to work. It had involved what Sark had told her the night before, in reassurance, so that she would be able to move on from the incident as well. Will was a bit relieved (if that was the right word) and thus a bit more comfortable than he figured he would be in standing a mere two feet from him.

"It's uh—well—good to see you again," Will said with a chuckle, extending his hand.

"Likewise," Sark said warmly, shaking Will's hand.

Sydney watched the exchange with a sense of relief. At least she wouldn't have to worry about any rifts between Sark and Will even if it was obvious that the two would never become friends.

"Oh," Sark began, "there is a briefing in a few minutes."

"Okay," Sydney and Will said in unison.

"I actually have to go to my desk and get a few things," Will said to Sydney and Sark. "I'll see you both at the briefing."

Sydney and Sark nodded and Will gave them both a brief smile before marching through the rotunda to his desk. Sydney turned to Sark and smiled at him. Sark smiled back, almost wishing that he could just wrap her up in his arms and leave with her, play hooky for a day. Sydney's smile grew wider and it was obvious that she was thinking the same thing.

"We should get going," Sydney said, tilting her head to one side.

Sark nodded and found himself staring deep into her eyes. How had he not noticed before just how beautiful her eyes were? Especially when the light hit on them just the right way and they were the perfect shade of amber, but even when they were their normal chocolate brown with a ring of chestnut the same color as her hair and a ring of gold near the pupils, they were probably the most gorgeous eyes a person could ever have. An odd feeling came over him and created a dull ache in his chest where his heart was beating. He thought about how lucky he was to be with Sydney and briefly felt sorry for Vaughn. He could now see why Vaughn had been so upset earlier—Vaughn didn't want to see Sydney hurt. He especially didn't want to see Sydney hurt by someone like Sark, a trained assassin who had pretty much been up to no good for years and who was allied with Sydney's mother, someone who had never exactly been considered trustworthy until recently.

Sark understood why Vaughn was worried and he himself realized that he was worried about anything ever happening to Sydney. He would never do anything to hurt her, but there were people who would—people like Sloane.

People like Sloane who would take advantage of her in more ways than one.

People like Sloane who would think about no one but themselves and use Sydney's skills for their own purposes and for their own sick manipulation.

People like Sloane who would stop at nothing to vanquish anyone who stood in their way.

People like Sloane had to be eliminated.

But there was something else that needed to be taken care of, first, Sark decided. He needed to tell Sydney what Sloane had done to her roommate and who her roommate now was as a result of Sloane's sordid plan. He knew it wouldn't be easy, and he knew it was likely that Sydney would blame him for what had happened even though he had had no control over it. He had even begged Sloane not to take that action. He knew that Sloane was just trying to hurt Sydney in every way he possibly could. He even wished that Irina could have gotten out of CIA custody sooner, before Sloane had had Francie killed. He and Irina may have been able to stop him before it had happened.

He didn't want to dwell on the past, though. He knew it would drive him crazy if he did and he needed a clear head for the briefing. But that still wouldn't stop him from being filled with a new rage and wanting to have Sloane put in front of him right now so that he could inflict on him every possible kind of torture he could.

Sark was lost in thought and hadn't realized that his eyes were now gleaming with an intense anger and that Sydney had gotten worried and was lightly running her hand over his cheek, trying to bring him back to reality.

"Andrew," she whispered, "is something wrong?"

Sark just stared at her for a moment, looking into her eyes again, hating the way they looked so open, so vulnerable, so scared, because she was worried about him. He finally shook his head and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to him as he kissed her hair and led her in the direction of the briefing room.