"Well, that makes sense," Kaylee said rather nonchalantly. "I mean, at least now I finally know why you would never let me go to Italy."
"Couldn't have you wrecking a centuries old prophecy just because you wanted to go on a little vacation." Irina softly chuckled. She should have known that Kaylee wouldn't take the news that badly. Unlike Sydney, Irina had been present to raise Kaylee right. Like Sydney, she had turned out a strong, independent woman who could handle anything that life seemed to through at her. Unlike Sydney, she always seemed to take things at face value and not let them affect her too much. "I'm proud of you."
"Well, gee, thanks, mom." Kaylee got out of bed and began getting dressed. "Enough about this prophecy mumbo jumbo. Who's this business associate I'm meeting? I've never known you to keep associates so close that they're allowed to see your home base, so to speak."
"This one is quite special, Kaylee. He's the only one I've trusted with my full identity. I think you'll get along with him quite nicely." Irina stood up and, with a smile, left as abruptly as she came.
Kaylee thought of how momentous this day might turn out to be. "Mother's finally letting me in on the 'family business'," she thought out loud. "This is huge." Grabbing a towel, she rushed to the bathroom adjoining her room to take a quick shower.
After jumping around the bathroom a little in excitement, she finally got herself in the shower. Kaylee wrapped her favorite burgundy towel around herself and rushed out into the hall to tell one of the servants that she would need more towels by the next day.
"Excuse me--" started a strong voice, but Kaylee couldn't tell who it was before she ended up in a heap on the floor. Looking up, she took in the man who had spoken.
The man definitely looked like he had been traveling for a long time. His blond hair was slightly messed up, and his bright blue eyes had large bags underneath them. He had a lean, muscular build to his body and was fairly young looking. "But he makes up for that with style," she thought, knowing that she was rather obviously giving him the once over and then some. Even though the rest of this stranger looked disheveled, his clothing was flawless. He was wearing crisp black pants with a white Oxford shirt rolled up at the elbow and with the top few buttons undone. Kaylee couldn't help but admire that this man had obviously spent a lot of time outdoors to get such a nice tan.
"Um, hello," he said looking down at the position she had claimed on the floor.
"Hi. I'm sorry. I was just looking for... a..." Kaylee paused when she realized the man's smirk had turned into an all-out gaze of confusion. "What's the matter?"
"Sydney?" the man asked. "What the hell are you doing here?"
'How does he know Sydney if I barely knew about her?" Kaylee thought. She suddenly realized that this man must be her mother's mystery business partner, and obviously he had some previous contact with her newly discovered sister. Before she had a chance to correct the man, he was dragging her back into the room from which she came.
"Get dressed, Sydney," he demanded. "And while you're getting dressed, you can explain to me when you started working with your mother. And why the hell you're in France. And why you haven't bit my head off yet. It's not like you to be so civilized."
Kaylee figured that he was right about one thing. She really did need to get dressed if she was to handle this situation properly. "I'll save telling him who I really am 'til later," she thought.
"Stay right there, would you? I won't be that long," she smiled as she went towards the bathroom. Thinking twice about what a spunky American spy would say, she turned at the door, "And don't think I'm doing this because you told me to." To add emphasis, she slammed the door a little too loudly.
Kaylee rested her body against the closed door and finally allowed herself a small smirk. "Too bad my mom's around and I'll have to tell him I'm not Sydney. This could have been fun for a little while."
Meanwhile, Sark found himself alone in a room that had obviously been lived in for quite a long time. He couldn't figure out what Sydney Bristow, the great CIA spy, was doing in her mother's chateau. "I hadn't even heard she left the United States," he mused to himself. "What does Irina have planned that would involve Sydney?"
Sark began to examine the room a little closer, hoping to pick up a clue or two about what was going on. Everything looked to be in order until he reached the desk. Proudly displayed all over the whole desk were numerous framed photos of Sydney and Irina. It looked as though Irina had been around as Sydney was growing up because there were photos of the two all the way from when Sydney was a young child to her college graduation.
"Impossible," Sark said to himself. "Irina couldn't have hidden the fact that Sydney existed all those years from me. There's no way."
"No way what?" came a voice from behind Sark.
Kaylee had been watching Sark look over the contents of her desk for the past few minutes. She knew she should have interrupted his search as soon as she had finished dressing, but she just couldn't stop herself from spending a few moments admiring this man who held such a high regard in her mother's eyes.
"Who the hell are you?" Sark said, his trademark smirk no longer present. He paused a moment and took a more detailed look at the woman in front of him. "You're... not Sydney, are you?" The smirk had returned.
"No, I'm not, Sydney. Sorry for not telling you sooner, but I chose putting clothes on over explaining the whole situation to you immediately."
"I would say not a bad decision, but I don't think I really would have minded if you had put off the whole clothing thing." Sark helped himself to a seat on her bed. "So, explanation, please?"
"My name is Kaylee Derevko. I'm Irina's daughter. I'm surprised you didn't know of my existence if you truly worked as close with my mother as she implied." Kaylee sat down across from him on the bed.
"I'm surprised I didn't know of you either. Seems that you've been a significant part of Irina's life since you've been born." Sark paused a moment in thought. "Can I assume that your father is also Jack Bristow? I can't imagine any other father could produce a daughter that looks so similar to a girl who is only her half-sister."
"You're right. Jack Bristow is my father, and Sydney is my sister. Though I have to admit, like you, I just found out about that today. Irina obviously knew you'd spill the beans."
"She does know me well," Sark said as he stood up again. This girl was looking at him a little too intensely for his liking. It was rather disconcerting to see a face that resembles your enemy so well looking at you so civilly.
"I hope you don't think I'm impolite, but can I ask you," Kaylee posed a moment to add a little dramatic flare to her question, "who the hell are you?"
Sark chuckled at this young woman's spunk, a quality he so often admired in her sister. "You can call me Sark. Like you've already guessed, I am the close business associate your mother has flown in. I guess you could call me her right hand man."
"Nice to meet you... Sark," Kaylee said, not sure if she believed this man actually wanted her to call him Sark.
"She had me fly in because she said she had just finished developments on a new secret weapon that could help tip the scales in our favor." Thinking about the information he had just divulged, he stopped himself from going further.
"I wouldn't censor yourself if I were you, Sark," a voice called out from the doorway. "We Derevkos don't like it when people try to withhold information."
"Irina," Sark immediately rushed over to greet his employer. "It's good to see you're doing well."
"The same to you, the same to you." Irina took in the situation. "I see you've met my little Kaylee."
"If you want to call twenty-four little..." Kaylee mutter.
Her mother looked adoringly over at her and then back up at Sark. "You don't have to worry about censoring yourself around her. She probably knows more about this operation than you do. Though I do have to admit, I've kept your presence a secret. Can I see you outside for a moment, Sark?"
"Of course," Sark answered. "It was very nice to meet you, Kaylee. I'm sure we'll be running into one another again."
"One can only hope," Kaylee said just loud enough for Sark to hear.
Outside of Kaylee's bedroom, Irina noticed that Sark had slightly paled. "What's the matter, Sark?" she asked bluntly.
"Nothing. Nothing at all," Sark said. "Yet."
"Okay. If you're sure?" Sark nodded, and Irina began to lead him down the hallway to one of her many sitting rooms. "Let's get down to business. I called you here because of a secret weapon I've found."
"Yes. You said it was the key to the prophecy. I have to admit I can not figure out what it could be."
"Not what, Sark. Who."
Sark just looked at Irina in puzzlement. It had never occurred to him that a person could be the key to finally figuring out what Rambaldi's prophecy was proclaiming.
Irina realized that Sark may be running a little on overload and decided to help him along a little. "I've found the woman the prophecy talks of at last. Funny to realize that she's been under my nose all this time."
"Kaylee..." Sark whispered.