Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and
owned by people other than me, namely the people who own Alias. Please
don't sue me!!!
Gunfire erupted around Sydney as she ran across the lobby, weaving through columns and anything else that she could put between her and the guards that were shooting at her. She slid behind a solid wooden desk and took a deep breath, pulling out a weapon of her own. She counted to three and then stuck her arm out, shooting at the guards. She ducked back behind the desk as they returned fire and glanced first at her watch and then looked to her right down the long hallway to where the elevator sat. One minute left.
She and Irina had split up when they entered the building. Irina had needed a diversion to disable the security override. Sydney certainly thought she had created a big enough diversion. Splinters exploded from the wood around her and she pulled out another pistol. These guards were starting to piss her off. They were working for Arvin Sloane and were partially responsible for keeping her from her father. She stood up from behind her hiding place and began to spray them with return fire. Some were lucky, most weren't.
She paused as she saw reinforcements coming up behind the guards she had effectively penned down and ran towards the elevator. As she ran she saw Irina push the button to open the doors. Fortunately the doors slid quickly open and Irina ducked inside. She returned fire at the guards who were shooting at Sydney, ignoring the gunfire that was exploding around her.
Just as Sydney was about to reach the elevator, Irina hit the close door button, timing it perfectly so that Sydney slid into the elevator at the last moment before the door shut.
Without hesitation, Sydney immediately pulled off the panel concealing the elevator controls. "What floor," she asked with a quick glance in Irina's direction, trusting that she wouldn't be there if she hadn't already disabled the override. She might not have always trusted everything that Irina said, but she did trust her skills as an agent.
"47," Irina replied without a hint of humor, and Sydney simply rolled her eyes. Sloane's obsession with Rambaldi had always been obvious, but this was going too far.
She finally finished with the elevator controls and stood up next to her mother as the elevator lurched slowly upwards. She looked over at her mother and said softly, "Mom." It was almost a question.
Irina looked over at her, questioningly. "I just wanted to say thank you for helping me find Dad." Sydney looked down for a moment, "I know we haven't always had the best of relationship's," she unconsciously rubbed her shoulder, "but I couldn't have found Dad so quickly without you."
Irina smiled sorrowfully, "Sydney, I never wanted you to be a part of this life, you know that. But I will always be there to help you and Jack, if you'll let me." She cupped Sydney's face in one hand, "I'm so proud of you, Sweetheart." The elevator doors opened to a barrage of gunfire.
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Sloane had left him after they had heard that Irina's home had been destroyed, probably to confirm the news. Jack had used the time to try and get a grip on his emotions. Irina and Sydney couldn't both be dead. Sloane could have staged that whole scene, having that man come in there, just to manipulate Jack in someway. Unfortunately, it seemed that now, after several hours absence, Sloane was back.
"It seems that you were wrong, Jack," Sloane said with cold glee. "Your lovely wife won't be coming back to haunt me." He paused and adopted a sorrowful look, "I'm sorry, however, that Sydney was with her mother at the time. Perhaps if you had been a better father, she might have freed you instead of her mother. She might actually still be alive now." Sloane paced slowly around to the other side of Jack, while Jack struggled to contain his boiling fury.
He still wasn't certain that Irina or Sydney were gone and he would certainly not give Sloane the satisfaction of giving in. He didn't trust himself to reply, although he would have liked nothing more than to kill Sloane with his bare hands at that moment.
Sloane waved a hand at Jack dismissively, seeming to read his former friend's painfully blank expression, "I'm not lying to you here, Jack. I know you don't trust me, but my agents have confirmed this."
A low chuckle that Jack would have recognized anywhere came from the shadows behind Sloane. Jack smiled before he could stop himself. Despite almost twenty years of separation, he would know that voice anywhere. Irina stepped out of the shadows with a gun trained on Sloane.
From the other side of the room, Jack wasn't too surprised to see Sydney mirroring her mother's actions. "Your agents suck." Sydney said flatly.
"You were always one of my best agents," Sloane said, seemingly oblivious to the situation around him.
"You should have thought about that before you killed my fiancé," Sydney snapped back, her finger tightening on the trigger. She glanced away from Sloane for a moment, "Are you okay Dad?"
Jack nodded, glancing between his daughter and his wife. He had been so glad to see them alive that his first reaction to seeing them there had been one of shock and relief. Now, his relief and happiness was changing to fury. How dare Irina put Sydney in this much danger, how could she bring their daughter into the center of Sloane's operations.
"How could you?" He demanded coldly. Without bothering to wait for her to reply, he said, "I should have known better than to think you would keep any promise you ever made to me."
Jack's fury almost disappeared from shock if nothing else as he saw pain flash across Irina's eyes. She looked at him so coldly that he expected her to start yelling and screaming at him for what he had just said. Irina had never been one to back down in a confrontation. What she said though hit him more than a thousand screams though. "You will never know what I have given up for you, Jack, so don't think you can talk to me like that."
"You're the one that stole from me, left me-"
"Stop it," Sydney was almost yelling to be heard in the middle of their furious argument. She waved her gun at Sloane slightly, never giving him an opportunity to move. He was in no position to escape and from the look in her eye, Sloane knew better than to try anything. She took a deep breath. "We need to get out of here," she said slowly, "And you two need to start acting like the professionals that you are. He most likely has backup coming and we need to figure out what to do with Sloane."
"Kill him," Jack and Irina's reply was immediate and in unison.
Sydney stifled the urge to roll her eyes at her parents. "At least you agree on something." She watched as Irina, without taking her eyes off of Sloane, went over and untied Jack, while carefully not meeting his eyes.
She stepped back when she was done and moved away from him, closer to Sydney and Sloane. Sloane had been quiet all this time, but he chose that moment to speak up. "Perhaps you should reconsider before you decide to kill me. After all I have decided on many occasions to spare yours and I would be a very valuable resource for the CIA to have at their disposal."
Sydney looked at him in disbelief, "You have done nothing but make my life hell for the past two years. If you think there is any way the CIA could ever-"
It was Irina that cut him off. "No, Sydney. Let him spend the rest of his days in that cell. If the CIA has learned nothing else from my incarceration, it will be to never let him out under any circumstances. Besides should he ever choose not to cooperate, the death penalty is waiting for him."
Jack looked at her with suspicion, "Since when did you believe in leniency and mercy, Irina," he demanded. It would be just like her to be truly working with Sloane, setting he and Sydney up somehow and putting Sloane in custody to work on them from the inside.
"I don't," she said sharply, "I think death is too merciful for Arvin. I want him to live the rest of the life in the knowledge that his quest for Rambaldi was all for nothing. His wife, the only person I believe that he ever truly loved, died because of his obsession and he will never obtain his goal. I want him to feel pain, for everything he did to Sydney, and for everything he did to you, Jack."
Jack and Sydney were silenced. Neither knew how to respond.
Please leave a review with your thoughts and criticisms, even flames are accepted. It helps me to improve.
Gunfire erupted around Sydney as she ran across the lobby, weaving through columns and anything else that she could put between her and the guards that were shooting at her. She slid behind a solid wooden desk and took a deep breath, pulling out a weapon of her own. She counted to three and then stuck her arm out, shooting at the guards. She ducked back behind the desk as they returned fire and glanced first at her watch and then looked to her right down the long hallway to where the elevator sat. One minute left.
She and Irina had split up when they entered the building. Irina had needed a diversion to disable the security override. Sydney certainly thought she had created a big enough diversion. Splinters exploded from the wood around her and she pulled out another pistol. These guards were starting to piss her off. They were working for Arvin Sloane and were partially responsible for keeping her from her father. She stood up from behind her hiding place and began to spray them with return fire. Some were lucky, most weren't.
She paused as she saw reinforcements coming up behind the guards she had effectively penned down and ran towards the elevator. As she ran she saw Irina push the button to open the doors. Fortunately the doors slid quickly open and Irina ducked inside. She returned fire at the guards who were shooting at Sydney, ignoring the gunfire that was exploding around her.
Just as Sydney was about to reach the elevator, Irina hit the close door button, timing it perfectly so that Sydney slid into the elevator at the last moment before the door shut.
Without hesitation, Sydney immediately pulled off the panel concealing the elevator controls. "What floor," she asked with a quick glance in Irina's direction, trusting that she wouldn't be there if she hadn't already disabled the override. She might not have always trusted everything that Irina said, but she did trust her skills as an agent.
"47," Irina replied without a hint of humor, and Sydney simply rolled her eyes. Sloane's obsession with Rambaldi had always been obvious, but this was going too far.
She finally finished with the elevator controls and stood up next to her mother as the elevator lurched slowly upwards. She looked over at her mother and said softly, "Mom." It was almost a question.
Irina looked over at her, questioningly. "I just wanted to say thank you for helping me find Dad." Sydney looked down for a moment, "I know we haven't always had the best of relationship's," she unconsciously rubbed her shoulder, "but I couldn't have found Dad so quickly without you."
Irina smiled sorrowfully, "Sydney, I never wanted you to be a part of this life, you know that. But I will always be there to help you and Jack, if you'll let me." She cupped Sydney's face in one hand, "I'm so proud of you, Sweetheart." The elevator doors opened to a barrage of gunfire.
=======================================================================
Sloane had left him after they had heard that Irina's home had been destroyed, probably to confirm the news. Jack had used the time to try and get a grip on his emotions. Irina and Sydney couldn't both be dead. Sloane could have staged that whole scene, having that man come in there, just to manipulate Jack in someway. Unfortunately, it seemed that now, after several hours absence, Sloane was back.
"It seems that you were wrong, Jack," Sloane said with cold glee. "Your lovely wife won't be coming back to haunt me." He paused and adopted a sorrowful look, "I'm sorry, however, that Sydney was with her mother at the time. Perhaps if you had been a better father, she might have freed you instead of her mother. She might actually still be alive now." Sloane paced slowly around to the other side of Jack, while Jack struggled to contain his boiling fury.
He still wasn't certain that Irina or Sydney were gone and he would certainly not give Sloane the satisfaction of giving in. He didn't trust himself to reply, although he would have liked nothing more than to kill Sloane with his bare hands at that moment.
Sloane waved a hand at Jack dismissively, seeming to read his former friend's painfully blank expression, "I'm not lying to you here, Jack. I know you don't trust me, but my agents have confirmed this."
A low chuckle that Jack would have recognized anywhere came from the shadows behind Sloane. Jack smiled before he could stop himself. Despite almost twenty years of separation, he would know that voice anywhere. Irina stepped out of the shadows with a gun trained on Sloane.
From the other side of the room, Jack wasn't too surprised to see Sydney mirroring her mother's actions. "Your agents suck." Sydney said flatly.
"You were always one of my best agents," Sloane said, seemingly oblivious to the situation around him.
"You should have thought about that before you killed my fiancé," Sydney snapped back, her finger tightening on the trigger. She glanced away from Sloane for a moment, "Are you okay Dad?"
Jack nodded, glancing between his daughter and his wife. He had been so glad to see them alive that his first reaction to seeing them there had been one of shock and relief. Now, his relief and happiness was changing to fury. How dare Irina put Sydney in this much danger, how could she bring their daughter into the center of Sloane's operations.
"How could you?" He demanded coldly. Without bothering to wait for her to reply, he said, "I should have known better than to think you would keep any promise you ever made to me."
Jack's fury almost disappeared from shock if nothing else as he saw pain flash across Irina's eyes. She looked at him so coldly that he expected her to start yelling and screaming at him for what he had just said. Irina had never been one to back down in a confrontation. What she said though hit him more than a thousand screams though. "You will never know what I have given up for you, Jack, so don't think you can talk to me like that."
"You're the one that stole from me, left me-"
"Stop it," Sydney was almost yelling to be heard in the middle of their furious argument. She waved her gun at Sloane slightly, never giving him an opportunity to move. He was in no position to escape and from the look in her eye, Sloane knew better than to try anything. She took a deep breath. "We need to get out of here," she said slowly, "And you two need to start acting like the professionals that you are. He most likely has backup coming and we need to figure out what to do with Sloane."
"Kill him," Jack and Irina's reply was immediate and in unison.
Sydney stifled the urge to roll her eyes at her parents. "At least you agree on something." She watched as Irina, without taking her eyes off of Sloane, went over and untied Jack, while carefully not meeting his eyes.
She stepped back when she was done and moved away from him, closer to Sydney and Sloane. Sloane had been quiet all this time, but he chose that moment to speak up. "Perhaps you should reconsider before you decide to kill me. After all I have decided on many occasions to spare yours and I would be a very valuable resource for the CIA to have at their disposal."
Sydney looked at him in disbelief, "You have done nothing but make my life hell for the past two years. If you think there is any way the CIA could ever-"
It was Irina that cut him off. "No, Sydney. Let him spend the rest of his days in that cell. If the CIA has learned nothing else from my incarceration, it will be to never let him out under any circumstances. Besides should he ever choose not to cooperate, the death penalty is waiting for him."
Jack looked at her with suspicion, "Since when did you believe in leniency and mercy, Irina," he demanded. It would be just like her to be truly working with Sloane, setting he and Sydney up somehow and putting Sloane in custody to work on them from the inside.
"I don't," she said sharply, "I think death is too merciful for Arvin. I want him to live the rest of the life in the knowledge that his quest for Rambaldi was all for nothing. His wife, the only person I believe that he ever truly loved, died because of his obsession and he will never obtain his goal. I want him to feel pain, for everything he did to Sydney, and for everything he did to you, Jack."
Jack and Sydney were silenced. Neither knew how to respond.
Please leave a review with your thoughts and criticisms, even flames are accepted. It helps me to improve.
