Syrina
Chapter Eleven
Il Dire
Brennan had taken them all back to his hotel room. He wanted to discuss the plan with Sark before they all went barging into the warehouse where Il Dire was being held. Il Dire had a specific, special power inside of the blasted machine and he wanted to find a way to keep them all immune to the affects of the mechanism. He swept his eyes over his crowded room. Allison stretched out across the bed hap-hazardly, Sydney sat on the plush chair, Sark paced the floor, and Syrina knelt on the rough carpet, her knees drawn up to her chest, her back rigid against the bed. Brennan sat next to Syrina, ecstatic to be near to the little minx again. Syrina had always brought him pure joy. She was like a younger sister he'd never had, like the family he'd missed out on. He'd always been sporadic in her life, but then again, most people had. He'd been away on missions for much of her life, but he always looked forward to seeing her again. Syrina's wide green eyes were studying him; trust filling the irises. She didn't trust many people. Brennan was well aware of that. Distrust was a hazard of the business. It meant a lot to him that Syrina believed in him. He wouldn't let her down. He wouldn't be able to cope with her disappointment. Syrina's eyes flicked over to Sark, confusion, adoration, love and trust illuminating the orbs. Syrina and Sark weren't quite an unlikely couple in Brennan's eyes. Maybe that was just his skewed observation. Syrina had always had a puppy dog crush on Sark, but he'd always been preoccupied with Allison. Now there was an unlikely couple. He liked Allison Doren, but Sark and Alli made no sense. They were too different to be good together. But once again, maybe that was just Brennan's skewed observation.
"Sark, would you stop pacing?"
Sydney burst out. She was obviously annoyed with him. Sark did stop, though his countenance lightened. Brennan realized that Sark enjoyed making Sydney Bristow upset. He decided to break into their seeming competition before one of them decided to shoot the other.
"Let's go over the specs. We'll go to the warehouse after sunset."
Syrina changed positions to face him, her face heavy with worry and dread.
"Il Dire is in the very back of the warehouse. It's been locked away for a lot of time. I don't think most people are aware of what's in there. Sloane constructed this machine over two years ago, which set in motion Rambaldi's prophecy as far as I've been able to detect. There are no guards and no alarms. I'm actually surprised at how lax the security is. I'm sort of disappointed in Mr. Sloane."
Sydney rolled her eyes at this, wanting to convey her displeasure in this entire situation. Brennan shot her a disarming smile and suddenly, Sydney realized how good Brennan Mirali must be in the business. Sydney could even see herself being charmed by this guy.
"So, basically, we'll go in under the cover of night…"
Syrina burst into girlish giggles for his mockery of spy movies.
"You sound like you're narrating a Batman movie, Brenny."
"I suppose I do, darlin'. Now, back to the situation at hand. Sark, Alli, and I will set up a perimeter watch around the building just in case my intel about the guards was incorrect. I think Mr. Sloane is trying to avoid any obvious signs that something important is in the warehouse. Sydney and Syrina will go on through the main room to room…"
"If you say 47, I will quite possibly shoot you in the head."
"Actually, it's room two, although room 47 would be fitting. I think Sloane was going for The Two symbolism. After that, you both will do whatever it is you two are supposed to do."
Syrina's gaze lowered shyly as the entire room fell completely silent. It was as if the possibility that Sydney and Syrina could bring the world to complete destruction and desolation just struck them. Brennan reached around Syrina's lithe frame and embraced her briefly. No one said anything, not even Allison. They sat in silence as the seconds ticked by, foreboding washing over everyone. Allison, being the kind of person she was, broke the interminable quiet.
"So, it's dark. When do we get to do this thing?"
Brennan pulled away from Syrina, missing the peace he'd felt with the sweet girl. Leave it to Alli to cut straight to the point. Sark remained stoic, his game face already in place. Brennan glanced at Sydney and he could almost touch the turmoil raging inside of her. Her face displayed every emotion boiling through her, and, for a brief instant, Brennan felt sorry for the legendary Agent Bristow. He squashed the sympathy immediately, knowing the last thing this woman needed was another person to sympathize her situation. Sydney Bristow could take care of herself. She always had.
"We can do this 'thing' now."
The group stood up, each waiting for the other to make the first move. Sark finally walked to the door, but before he threw it open, he spoke.
"Good luck. I-I hope everything turns out the way we wish it."
Syrina followed Sark, her head held high. She reached out to his hand and he squeezed her palm, wanting to reassure her. The group followed Sark after Syrina stepped away from him, walking to the warehouse.
The warehouse was unguarded, just as Brennan had promised. Syrina and Sydney entered the warehouse easily as the other three spread out across the building. Syrina stopped at the door, wondering if she could just bolt down the street and hide from everything that was about to happen. Sydney stopped next to her, understanding the apprehension Syrina felt. The two stood there, staring out at the empty room. She could see the door opposite them, closed and most likely locked. Syrina knew she didn't want to open the door. Did Sydney? Sydney made the first move toward the door; desire to get the entire problem over with filling her inside. Sydney reached out to the doorknob and twisted. It was locked. Syrina finally made it across the giant room and pulled out a lock picking kit. She knelt in front of the knob and placed the picks inside the lock. She twisted the picks and she heard the latch unsnap. Syrina raised her eyes and met Sydney's. An understanding passed between them as Syrina stood up. Sydney opened the door and their eyes fell on the machine.
"This is it."