New Chapter! ENJOY!


Sydney had resigned to gardening on this beautiful Saturday morning, longing to forget about her daughter and Sark, and whatever escapade they were planning. She hated that Anna was so close to her father, despite the miles that had been between them during all her daughter's formative years.

As she watered some lilies, she decided to analyze her life. Where had she gone wrong? She had been born to the strangest parents she'd ever encountered, parents who really had loved each other, but had been separated by deceit and espionage for years. Now they were together, more in love than she could recall them being when she was six years old. It truly was strange.

Danny had been the first love of her life; truthfully, he was her first boyfriend. She had never had time for such things during her years in private school. Her life had been his demise; he had died because of her. Then, the second man she loved, Michael Vaughn, had died because of her as well. It was a wonder that she had not destroyed Will's life, and that was now happily married, and had been so for ten years. His two daughters were beautiful, and he was living the life he deserved.

Sure, Sydney had Eric. She was extremely thankful for him. He was so unlike any of the other men in her life. He had never let her down...had never given her reason to doubt him, or his love for her. He was faithful, kind, reassuring...he had accepted Anna as his own, despite his feelings of malice toward Sark. He raised Taryn, Michael and Melina's daughter, as his own as well, and had gladly done so. His love for his own sons, Michael and Phillip, often brought Sydney to tears. He would do anything for their four children.

The children...

Sydney had wonderful relationships with her two youngest sons. Michael was sensitive, intelligent and artistic. He created works of art that Sydney envied. He was now in a prestigious art school, embarking on a life as an artist. Sydney envied the simple nature of his life - things were so uncomplicated for Michael. He could dictate his own future, could paint it, shape it...make it his own.

And Phillip, her youngest, was the opposite of Michael, but nevertheless she loved him with equal value. Phillip was more like Eric; sarcastic humor and quick wit melded with an unreal athleticism. Much like his mother, however, he wore his heart on his sleeve. His weakness was his empathetic nature, as he struggled to relate and help everyone in the family when they faced problems.

Taryn, her beautiful adopted daughter was different from the rest of them. While she sometimes joined in with the humorous family banter, she often remained closed off and distant from the family. Perhaps this was why she had embraced acting with such a passion. In her moments on stage, she could forget that her mother and father were former intelligence officers with complicated lives. She could almost forget that her real mother was an assassin, while her real father had died in the field, at her real mother's hand. Almost. Now she was away at school in New York, and Sydney had not heard from her in months...

Sydney sighed. Anna. Her relationship with her eldest daughter was anything but fantastic. They loved each other so much, but were just too similar. Sydney hated the determination in Anna eye's, the fierce fire that mirrored her own. Despite being raised by Eric, who was a kind and gentle man, Anna harbored Sark's own violent nature within her. Sydney shuddered. She could only hope that Sark was taking care of their daughter. Their daughter.

That thought scared her. She had never remembered, even after all these years, those two missing years of her life. She had talked to Sark about it often, on the rare occasions when she had taken Anna to visit him. He had never given her an answer; his face had remained stoic, but his eyes had acquired a sadness she had never seen during their past dealings. He always shrugged his shoulders, thanked her for bringing Anna to see him, and would shut the door slowly. (He had a summer home about twenty minutes from Sydney's own residence) It almost seemed that he couldn't bear to look at her. The truth was she couldn't look at him anymore; the not knowing...it haunted her.

Sydney was snapped out of her thoughts when her cell phone rang. She stood up, walking to the empty bird bath where it was sitting, and opened it slowly.

"Hello?" she asked tentatively. She had not recognized the number.

"Well Well. Hello my dear." Sydney stiffened. It couldn't be.

"Melina?" she whispered.

"That's right sister dear. I must say, I don't know how you let this Mr. Sark slip through your fingers...he's a feisty one...and that daughter of yours..."

"What are you talking about Melina? How are you even alive?"

"Questions, questions...why don't you just listen Syd? You were always the impatient one. I have your boytoy and your daughter right here. They were trying to stop me. Not very intelligent."

"Why are you telling me this? What do you want from me?" Sydney was shouting now, and Eric, having heard her distress, was standing by her side.

"I want my daughter Sydney. I want her now."

"You will never touch her...you'll have to kill me first."

"That can be arranged sis. Don't push me. If you want your daughter back to you alive, bring Taryn to me. I will call you with the location once you've reached this point." At this, she gave Sydney coordinates. Commiting them to memory, Sydney looked at Eric frantically. She mouthed 'Melina' to him, to which he gasped.

"Silence sis? Don't get any ideas. If you don't have Taryn with you when you come, I will kill Anna. First I will kill her father, in front of her. She' s awfully sensitive you know? Don't know if she could handle it..."

"Melina, why are you doing this? Please, don't hurt my baby."

"I won't. As long as you maintain your part of the bargain. See you in a bit sis," and with that, Melina's voice was gone. Sydney looked at her husband. Tears fell down her face, as he grabbed her into an embrace.

"Sydney, what does she want?"

"Eric, she wants Taryn,"

"Like hell," Eric hissed.

"If we don't bring her, Melina will kill Anna. And Sark. She has them in her custody."

"Oh God." Sydney thought frantically.

"Eric, there's got to be a way to take Taryn, but get Anna without having to surrender Taryn. We need to call my parents," she started to dial the number on her cell phone. Eric stopped her, closing it quickly.

"Honey, won't Melina notice if we bring a task force with us. Didn't she say she only wanted you to bring Taryn?"

"Eric, we have to work this out. I am not letting Melina take another life. I'm not letting her dominate Taryn, like she did Michael. I have to get my baby back...and Sark, he's there too honey. I know you don't exactly admire him, but he's Anna's father..."

"Honey, honey," he silenced her with a kiss on her hairline. "We'll get them both back. We just have to be smart. After all, it wasn't too long ago that we were pretty good at what we did..."

"Yeah...but we're going to need my parents." Sydney sniffed, looking up at her husband. He nodded.

"Make the call," he said. She smiled. She loved this man. He smiled back, and her resolve grew more intense. Melina Bristow was not taking any more lives on her watch. There was no way.


*****


"My contact informed me that Melina has called Weiss,"

"As I suspected. Continue,"

"Well, she wants her daughter,"

"Again, as I suspected. Well, she's not going to get her now is she? I'll make sure of that..."