Show No Emotion

Spoilers: No

Archive: Yes, but please let me know at sarkaholic23@hotmail.com

A/N: This takes place after Truth Takes Time. Tenses in this story will change. When it is in first person POV, it will be in present tense. When it is in third person POV, it will be in past.

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"Syd, wake up," she heard Vaughn's voice say softly. "It's 6 o'clock, your dad wants us down there at seven."

Sydney groaned and rolled onto her back. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat up. "God, I'm tired."

"Well, yeah, I'd think so. You took a really long walk last night."

Sydney didn't reply and averted her eyes from Vaughn's. She didn't want to lie to him again. She stood up. "I'm going to take a shower." She quickly walked into the bathroom and locked the door. She turned on the water and stripped away her clothes. As she let her head hang back to feel the hot water, she thought back the previous night.

"Syd, there you are, I was so worried about you!" he exclaimed, jumping up from a chair and rushing to hug his girlfriend.

"I…I'm fine," she said, flabbergasted. "I told you I was going to take a walk."

"I didn't know you were going to walk for two hours!"

Had it really been that long? "Oh, well…I found a really nice area."

Vaughn sighed. "Why are you all wet? Did you get into trouble?"

She shook her head. "Uh, no, it was…raining."

Vaughn wrinkled his forehead and glanced outside. "Really? I didn't hear any rain."

"No? Well, it must have just been where I was. It was really quick, though, just some hard rain for a few minutes. That's all."

Vaughn didn't look like he was buying it, but he shrugged. "I'm just glad you're safe."

She shook her head to get rid of the thought. She had lied to him. Vaughn had been so worried when she was gone, so caring when she had returned. The guilt she was feeling was endless. Even more so because she didn't regret what she had really done the last night. Being with Sark had given her a chance to be someone she never had before: herself. Vaughn meant the world to her, of course, but they were also partners in the CIA. She had to put on a pro face. Sark, on the other hand, could see right through the mask. He knew her, he understood her. And that scared her. It scared her to be able to empathize with someone who, up to a few hours ago, she thought was a lunatic assassin. But they'd fought many times. He felt her pain, he knew what it was like to be something you didn't want to be. She sighed, confused and torn about her feelings. She finished with her shower and dressed in a black V-neck sweater and jeans. She came out of the bathroom to find Vaughn packing their things. He looked up and smiled.

"You look great," he said, resuming his packing.

"Thanks," she whispered. She stood next to him to help him.

"Syd? Are you okay?" he asked, folding one of his shirts.

Sydney glanced at him in surprise. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"Well, it just seems like you're upset about something. Ever since you got back last night. Did something happen that I should know about?"

"Have you been talking to my dad?"

"What? No. Why?"

"No reason."

They continued their packing in silence for a moment.

"Syd, you know I'm always here for you, right?"

"Yeah, of course."

"I just don't want you to feel like you can't trust me. I love you, Sydney, I want to be there for you whenever you need me."

"I love you, too, Vaughn."

"We can't keep secrets from each other, you know? You taught me that."

Sydney bit her lip. Vaughn was both irritating her and making her feel even more guilty without even realizing it.

"Listen, if anything was wrong, I'd tell you, okay?" she snapped, tossing the last item of clothing into her suitcase.

He stood and faced her. "Okay. I'm sorry."

Her face softened. She pulled him toward her and hugged him. "No, I'm sorry. I just…I don't know. Everything's fine, you don't have to worry. I'm just kind of tired. And nervous."

"About your mom and Sloane?"

She nodded into his shoulder. "And about Sark," she added, truthfully.

"You're afraid he's going to betray us?"

No. But say yes. "Yeah."

"Don't worry, Syd. I'll kill him if he tries anything."

Don't you dare. "I know."

They sat at a table in one of the hotel's restaurants. Sark was the only one enjoying something to eat. He munched on toast and sipped a glass of orange juice as Jack went over the game plan.

"Sark says that Derevko and Sloane are currently in a warehouse here," he said, pointing to a street marked Rue de Montheux. "Sark is going to disable the security alarm. All cameras and alarm systems will be shut down for exactly 9 minutes and 38 seconds."

"Why the uneven time?" Vaughn wondered aloud.

"They're very cautious," Sark replied, taking another bite of his toast.

"When Sark joins us, we're all going to go in. We disable anyone who gets in our way until we find Derevko and Sloane."

"There's only four of us," Sydney pointed out. "How are we going to do this?"

"Sydney, we don't have any other option."

"What if Sloane and Derevko escape?" Vaughn asked.

"Then we fail. And we cannot fail, understood?"

They nodded.

"Good," Jack said. "Let's get a move on."

They made their way out of the restaurant and toward the parking lot. Jack led the others to a silver car and opened the trunk. Sydney's eyes widened as she saw that it was filled with a countless number of weapons. Guns, knives, grenades…

"The whole nine yards," Vaughn said, picking up Ruger .45.

"Alright, arm yourselves," Jack ordered, picking up a few choice weapons and getting into the driver's seat. Sark and Sydney gave each other a look. She watched as he picked up a few guns, tucking two on each inside pocket of his jacket and one in his pants. He then followed Vaughn around the car and hopped into the backseat. Sydney was left to choose her guns. She took a Ruger, Taurus, and Glock before joining Vaughn, Sark, and Jack in the car. It was time.

They stopped in front of the deserted warehouse. It seemed as if nobody cared about this street, as if it had been forgotten. Only a few homeless people wandered around, most of them drunk. Sydney looked up at the looming building and shivered. She jumped when she heard Sark speak.

"I'll go disarm the system," he said, cautiously walking toward the building.

Sydney turned to her father. "Dad, what are we going to do when we corner them? How are we going to get them out of here?"

"I have a tranquilizer gun," he replied. "If we find them, they won't be going anywhere. That is, if Mr. Sark isn't planning to betray us."

"He won't," Sydney muttered, not meeting Vaughn's eyes when he glanced at her curiously.

Five minutes later, Sark returned. Sydney could see the faintest bit of sweat on his forehead. He nodded. "I got it. We've got nine minutes, let's go."

They quickly ran to a large door at the side of the warehouse. Sydney and Vaughn positioned themselves at the left of the door while Sark and Jack stood ready at the right. Sydney caught Sark's eye and on impulse, she tenderly said, "Be careful." Sark opened his mouth to respond.

"I will."

Sydney winced when Vaughn said the words, disappointed when Sark turned his attention back on the solid steel door.

"Alright, on three," Jack said, ignoring the brief exchange between Sark and his daughter.

"1…2…now!"

Sark pushed the door open and led the agents in.

"Eight minutes!" he warned, running down a hallway.

"Sark! Damn it! Sydney, go after him!" Jack ordered as he and Vaughn sped up the opposite hall. Sydney obeyed and sprinted after Sark.

"Do you know where they are?" she yelled.

"No, they could be anywhere," he called back. He stopped at a door and kicked it open, keeping his gun pointed forward. Sydney followed suit and entered the room, only to find Sark groaning in frustration.

"This is Sloane's office," he explained, rubbing his temple.

Sydney glanced around, spotting Sloane's computer. "Maybe…maybe we can upload some of his data and--"

"Sydney, no. We can't, there's no time. We must find Sloane and Irina now."

Sydney nodded and started to turn when he yelled, "Sydney! Get down!"

She dropped to the floor with a second thought and covered her head as bullets flew above her. She crawled to a corner to regain her composure. She gasped in horror when she saw a bullet hit Sark's shoulder, watching him as he let out a painful grunt and fell to the floor behind Sloane's desk. From that point, everything became a blur. She snarled and jumped to her feet. She ran forward, disabling as many of Sloane's guards as she was able. After what seemed like hours, one guard remained. She felt a blow to her head, then a knee to the gut before she was thrown to the ground. The guard pointed his gun at her. There was to time to reach for her other guns. She shut her eyes and waited. The gun went off. She felt no pain.

A/N #2: Muahaha, a cliffhanger! Sorry. There's nothing to fear, I've already written out the next chapter. I just wanted to make it interesting. I'd like to thank all of you for your reviews, and I've decided that after I finish Show No Emotion, I will have a sequel. I have the title chosen already. It will be called One Wedding and a Funeral. Take it as you like.