Surprise



Sydney fought to catch her breath as she choked out, "Vaughn?"

Vaughn heaved a sigh and adjusted the assault rifle on his shoulder, then began his explanation. "I was told in a briefing after you had disappeared that the only Rambaldi artifact your mother and Sark had taken was the manuscript with the tracking device. So, knowing that you had probably discovered that, I went to Marshall and found out the coordinates so I could come and help you in whatever way that I could."

Sydney felt her eyes grow moist and she stepped towards Vaughn and hugged him. "Thank you."

"Of course," Vaughn whispered into her hair.

Sydney stepped back. "I'm sorry I just left without saying anything, but I had no choice. I had to do this." She avoided saying why because it was obviously none of Vaughn's business, and was thankful when Vaughn didn't ask any questions.

"It's fine, Sydney," Vaughn assured her. "But I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that you have some sort of explanation that goes along with this whole escapade."

Sydney nodded. "This is going to sound crazy to you, I'm sure, but we devised a plan to trap Sloane."

Vaughn grinned. "'Crazy' is a pretty tall order to fill. What did you have in mind?"


Sydney, Sark, and Irina explained to Vaughn the plan to apprehend Sloane and a short while later, they were in position and waiting for Sloane to arrive. Sydney, Sark, and Irina were sitting in the living room like they had before Vaughn showed up, and Vaughn was in the bathroom, waiting for Sydney to move things along after Sloane had revealed everything they needed to know.

There was a sense of fear in each of the four as they waited, as none of them had any idea what Sloane's plans were or if he would show up alone or with company. If he brought guards, Sydney, Irina, Sark, and Vaughn would almost certainly be done for.

Sydney sat next to Sark on the couch, trembling ever so slightly. Sark grasped her hand and thread his fingers through hers, then planted a kiss against her temple. Sydney managed a small smile for Sark's benefit, but she knew Sark saw right through it.

After a while, Sydney stood up and paced, clearly agitated. Despite being frustrated, the whole monotone atmosphere was fraying her nerves. "Why isn't he here yet?"

Irina and Sark exchanged glances at Sydney's actions, then Irina spoke quietly. "He'll be here soon, Sydney."

Sydney slumped back down on the couch and Sark wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Sydney sighed. "Are we even sure this will work?"

Sark and Irina were silent for a moment.

"Sydney, there's obviously no way of knowing whether or not it will work because we don't know what Sloane is planning for when he gets here," Sark explained. "But, whatever the risk, it's worth it. We want this to end, don't we, Sydney?"

Sydney pursed her lips at Sark's condescending attitude. "Obviously," she said flatly.

Sark narrowed his eyes at Sydney. "Then so be it."


An hour had passed and Sloane had still not arrived. Sydney wasn't as restless as she had been before, but she was still uncertain.

"I hope Vaughn hasn't fallen asleep," she tossed out casually, drumming her fingers absently on her knee.

"I'm sure he's just as alert as when he was an hour ago," Irina reassured Sydney, but there was no mistaking the irritation in her voice.

Sydney was about to speak again, to ask once more about the solidity of their plan, when there was a soft knock at the door. She cast a glance at her mother—who switched on the recorder—then at Sark, before standing up and walking over to the door. There was another knock and Sydney opened the door.

Sloane stood in front of her, dressed in a light gray suit with a matching tie and electric blue round-rimmed sunglasses. Sydney couldn't help but notice that the sunglasses made his eyes look even more rat-like than they already did.

"It's good to see you again, Sydney," Sloane said with a smile that made Sydney's stomach churn. Without waiting for a response, he invited himself in and turned towards the living room to see Irina and Sark standing up and smiling at him.

Irina gave Sloane a hug while giving Sydney a sympathetic smile over Sloane's shoulder, and Sark cordially shook Sloane's hand.

"Sit down," Irina offered, gesturing to a plush chair as she sat back down in the chair she had already claimed.

"Thank you," Sloane said with a creepy grin as he sat down. He sighed a bit and wiped his brow with his hand. "It's warm today."

"Indeed," Sydney said, walking back over to the couch and sitting down beside Sark. As per their plan, Sydney curled her legs under her and leaned as close to Sark as she could without falling into his lap.

Sloane smiled at the exchange and Sydney honestly thought she might vomit right then and there.

"So Sydney," Sloane began, leaning back comfortably in the chair, "what made you defect to our side?" When he said 'our,' he gestured to himself, Irina, and Sark.

Sydney put on her best convincing smile and grasped Sark's hand, lovingly running the fingers of her other hand up and down Sark's arm. "I'm in love," she said simply, and turned towards Sark to share a quick kiss with him.

Sloane and Sark exchanged glances, and Sydney caught the knowing looks that went back and forth between the two men. She knew Sloane had to be thoroughly convinced that the reason she had decided to 'join' Sloane's operation was that Sark had seduced her and made her fall in love with him, thus causing her to abandon her principles of what was right and wrong.

"Besides," Sydney said, deciding to take things a step further, and hopefully convince Sloane even more, "I was sick of obeying everyone's orders and not even getting the recognition I deserved. I wasn't appreciated."

Sloane smiled at her. "Don't worry, Sydney," he said softly, "you'll get all the recognition you desire working with us."

Sydney fixed something of a wicked grin in place, then looked out of the corner of her eye at her mother. Irina sprang into action, shifting audibly in her seat to take Sloane's focus off of Sydney and make him give all of his attention to her.

"Did you come alone?" she asked. "Or did you bring along a little army?" She grinned and winked at Sloane who grinned back.

"No, Irina. I decided I didn't need an army when I was simply meeting with my dear friends."

"Speaking of which," Sydney spoke up, "since I am working with you now, just what do you have planned? What's in store?"

Sloane seemed to take on a different expression—one that was almost wistful—as he began to indulge his plan. "Obviously, it involves Rambaldi. He had a device called Il Dire—The Telling. It uses forty-seven artifacts that, when assembled, create a machine."

"What does it do, exactly?" Sark chimed in.

Sloane shook his head. "I don't really know, except for the fact that it seems to make fate and free will clash and become one."

"Are there any Rambaldi pages that we aren't in possession of yet that might explain exactly what the machine does?" Irina asked, propping her chin on her fist.

"It's entirely possible," Sloane said, "but we don't know where to look as of yet."

The four fell into silence for a few minutes.

"So where are the artifacts?" Sloane asked. "I know that you mentioned they were in a safe location, but I was wondering exactly where that location is."

Irina spoke first, after a moment passed. "Sweden."

Sloane simply nodded, not questioning Irina's answer. Irina glanced down and Sydney realized that she was feeling the weight of the guilt of lying to someone like Sloane when the consequences were never simply a feeling of compunction.

Sydney cast a glance at both her mother and Sark, realizing that they were waiting for her to get the show on the road. "Excuse me for a moment," she said almost sheepishly, and stood up, walking towards the bathroom. She reached it hurriedly and braced herself for the next phase of the plan.

"Hey," Vaughn whispered when Sydney had closed the door behind her and was leaning up against it.

"Hey," Sydney whispered back. "Are you ready?"

Vaughn nodded and held up the handcuffs. "I assume we wait for sounds of Sloane getting his lights punched out."

In spite of herself, Sydney chuckled lightly and nodded. They were quiet for a few moments before Sydney said, "Thanks for coming. It really means a lot to me."

"You're welcome."

Sydney smiled weakly, her stomach twisting into a number of cruel knots as she continued to wait. Thankfully, it wasn't long before the sound of the first punch being thrown was heard along with Sloane's subsequent groan and shout. A few more punches were thrown, followed by grunts of pain, and then all was silent. Sydney and Vaughn exchanged glances then walked out of the bathroom and made their way over to Sloane's limp form lying on the living room floor.

Vaughn tossed the handcuffs to Sydney who knelt down and pushed Sloane onto his stomach, pulled his arms behind his back and snapped on the cuffs. Sydney stood up and wiped her hands on her pants haphazardly.

"Did you guys have any trouble?" she asked, glancing at her mother and Sark.

"Not really," Sark said, "but he's a bit tougher than I've previously given him credit for."

Sydney stepped closer to Sark who slipped an arm around her waist. Sydney turned towards Sark and smiled at him, then looked at her mother and Vaughn, smiling still. "We did it."

Irina, Sark, and Vaughn all smiled back at her, relieved expressions on their faces. It was over, and every single one of them could not have been more happy.

"So what's our plan of attack?" Sydney asked, then added, "So to speak."

Vaughn spoke up. "We send for the back-up that I brought with me and get the hell out of here."

"You brought back-up?" Sydney asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course," Vaughn said, flashing her a grin. "You didn't think I would come unprepared, did you?"

"No, I guess not," Sydney admitted, returning the smile and blushing slightly.

"Damn," Vaughn said, "I left the comm link in the bathroom with my gun. I'll be right back."

Sydney nodded and Vaughn turned around and started to head for the bathroom. Sighing in something akin to exhaustion, Sydney plopped on the couch and leaned her head back, her eyes closed. Not more than a moment later, the front door burst open and several of Sloane's cronies charged in.

Sydney barely had time to react as a bullet tore through her body and the sound of her scream filled the air.


A/N: Sorry for the two and a half month delay for this chapter, but as I'm sure a great deal of you who are reading this know, I was working on 'Scars.' I was determined to get this done before the season finale aired and darned if I wasn't able to do so. Oh well;x Anyway, once again, sorry about the delay, and sorry about the cliffhanger, but everything will be resolved in the next chapter or so. Thanks to everyone who breathed down my neck for me to get this done, namely gin2001 and Mrs. Curls, you guys are great;) *hugs everyone*