Little Child Lost

Chapter Seventeen

The Passenger

            "Yes, Irina, do tell us what The Prophecy is."

Irina looked only slightly irritated that Jack Bristow had come through the door, demanding to know the prophecy.  She never let things faze her, that would show a weakness she couldn't afford.  Jack wasn't supposed to find out that she was part of The Covenant.  She'd only just started to gain his trust and when he found out that she'd known where their daughter had been all along, he'd arrest her and send her back to prison. 

"Jack…"

"Don't start this, Irina.  Just tell us about The Prophecy, so I can help my daughter get her life back."

Irina didn't notice the mistakable my in that sentence.  Irina gripped her comforter, an action that only went noticed by Sark.  Irina was nervous.  She was upset, which could only be used to their advantage.  If she was that uncomfortable with Jack Bristow in the room, she'd be easier to manipulate.  That is, if she wouldn't voluntarily give up the information they needed.

"The prophecy speaks of the woman who will bring forth the Passenger."

"What is the Passenger?"

"A child."

"Whose child?"  Jack asked cautiously.  Sydney suddenly felt obsolete, with her father taking over the entire interrogation of her mother.  It wasn't that she wasn't glad to have her father there, but she and Sark had planned on taking care of it.

"Sydney's." 

The bottom of Sydney's world dropped out.  She instinctively touched the scar on her abdomen, realizing what must have happened.  She started to crumble, but Sark was there, supporting her, holding her up.  His hand found hers and he squeezed it.  There was no longer any pretense of the self-assured assassin in him.  He didn't care if Irina and Jack saw his weakness-Sydney. 

"I have a child."

"Yes."

Sydney wanted to attack her mother.  Her mother had kept her child from her for months, not even letting on that Sydney had one.  She pretended like she wanted to help Sydney discover her past, but it turns out Irina only wanted to protect the Passenger, the Rambaldi calling. 

"Is it a boy or a girl?"

"Boy.  You named him Rogan."

"Where is Rogan?"  The name seemed unfamiliar on her tongue, no matter how hard she tried to recall him.

"Safe."

"Safe with Sloane?  With a bunch of insane Rambaldi followers?  Away from me?  You tell me where my son is, or I swear to you, I will kill you."

Sydney pulled out a gun, cocking it before leveling it on Irina.  Sark stepped back, never having seen Sydney this ruthless.  He sort of liked it, seeing a whole different side of Sydney.  Irina shot Sark a helpless look as if she thought Sark would bail her out of this.  Obviously she hadn't seen that show of weakness he had allowed.  Irina then turned her gaze on Jack, hoping he would stop Sydney from killing her cold-bloodedly.  Jack didn't look anymore inclined to save her than Sark did.

"He's in Geneva."

"With Sloane?"

"Yes."

Sydney dropped her gun and turned to Sark.

"Julian-"

"We'll go find him, love.  Don't worry."

Sark glared at Irina.  "You looked at me like you thought I'd save you.  You keep something like this from us again and I'll help her kill you."

Sydney smiled softly, surprised at Sark's show of loyalty to her.  Only a few months ago, they'd still been enemies, hardly even trusting each other, his loyalty belonging to Irina.  Now he was loyal to her.  Sark took her arm and guided her out of the house, leaving Jack behind to talk to Irina.

            Sydney was so silent.  She was in shock that much Sark could see.  He wondered briefly if this was worse than finding out she'd been missing for two years.  Her eyes were full of unshed tears as the seriousness of what had happened struck her.  Sark slid to her carefully, not wanting to scare her.  He reached over to clasp her hand and she jumped.  "I didn't ask her any of the questions I should have.  I didn't ask her what Rogan had to do with the prophecy, I didn't ask her who the father was; I didn't ask her anything important.  Just his name and his gender.  I don't know why I didn't." 

The regret was coming off of her in waves.

"You were in shock."

"You didn't ask her any of it."  Her tone had turned from remorseful to accusatory, which Sark didn't appreciate.  It put him on the defensive.

"I know a little bit about The Prophecy.  Not a lot.  Just that the Passenger will render the greatest power as he's brought into it.  I didn't know the Passenger was to be a baby, nor did I know it was to be your baby."

"He'll have great power?"

"Yes.  He is supposed to be raised in it.  I imagine that when we get Rogan away from Sloane, he may not even fulfill that destiny."

"We?"

"Yes, we.  Did you think I would desert you and your son?  To be controlled by Sloane.  That man is an absolute annoyance and he should never raise any child."

"I don't know.  You may have already known about Rogan.  You may have been in on the plan to keep my son away from me.  Everyone else seems to be."

"I honestly had no idea about your son or his connection to The Passenger until Irina mentioned it.  Sydney, there's nothing I can say that will make you trust me, and I'm not accustomed to begging.  But whether you trust me or not, I will not let anything happen to your little boy."

"My little boy.  He can't be more than a year old.  I had to be reconditioned and then to carry a child to term, at least 12 months.  He's a baby and he's already been drug into the entire Rambaldi mess."

"We were immersed in Rambaldi since we were young and we turned out all right."

A small laugh escaped Sydney's lips, a beautiful sound if not tinged with such irony. 

"Did we?"

Sark smiled for a moment before conceding.
"Together we balance each other out into a perfectly normal human being.  As far as Rogan is concerned, he is a baby.  We'll get him away from this before he'll be able to recollect anything.  As for the questions you never asked, I'm sure your father will.  We can contact him when we reach Geneva."

Sydney allowed the tears to spill over and stream down her face.  Sark pulled her to him; no longer worried about the pretenses they'd set up.  He wanted to help Sydney.  Nothing else really mattered.  She buried her face into Sark's chest.  "I hate this, Julian."

"I know, Love.  We'll fix this, I promise."

Sydney clutched his suit, attempting to relax.  Sark would protect her son.  She could sense it, even if it didn't match any of her previous knowledge of him.  He would keep her safe and her son as well.  And that was all she could really ask for.

            Jack paced angrily in front of Irina's bed.  The feeling of Irina's betrayal had pushed into his entire body, every fiber of his being painfully aware that he had been fooled by that woman again.  He hadn't felt like this since he'd found out that Laura was really a KGB agent sent to steal secrets from his bed.  He cursed himself for allowing himself to trust the conniving woman again.  He had shared information with her, believing that she was sharing the same pain he had been when their daughter had turned up dead or missing, whichever they preferred at the moment.  He was thankful that he'd at least started having her estate watched.  If he hadn't gotten that vibe off of her in England, he would never have had the house watched.  She had seemed like she was hiding something and rightfully so.  At least he had trusted his instincts in that area.

"Jack, I didn't want you to find out this way."

"You didn't want me to find out at all, Irina."

She couldn't deny it.  He wasn't supposed to know yet.  Now Rambaldi's Prophecy may fall to pieces.  Sydney and Sark would find little Rogan and Jack would have her arrested or killed once he discovered all he needed to about The Passenger.  All the same, she knew he would be in no mood to play games with her.

"How old is this boy?"

"A year and four months."

"Who is his father?"

"Rambaldi.  We discovered some of Milo Rambaldi's genetic material.  Three and a half months after Sydney's reconditioning, she was impregnated with it."

"What is his purpose?"

"To come into the power of the world."

"World domination.  Not too original and everyone puts so much stock in Rambaldi's being some major prophet.  Where is he being held?"

"Geneva.  There's a small apartment not far from the Omnifam building.  Sloane watches Rogan there with his live-in nanny, Gracielli.  She's a loyal follower of Rambaldi, higher up, but not high enough."

Jack paused, "Not high enough for what?"
"To be in the Council, but she is high enough to care for The Passenger."

"Can Sydney get to the boy without much problem?"

"She'll have to break in.  There are guards," Irina hesitated, deciding not to mention that Sloane would be on careful watch since Lazarey was abducted, "but nothing Sydney can't handle.  I can work out a simple plan for her."

"I think you've done enough planning to last several centuries."

"Jack, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the child or that Sydney was safe."

"I don't want to hear your pathetic apologies.  You're a part of The Covenant."

Irina didn't know if it was a statement or a question.  Her heart was beginning to break as she saw the hurt on Jack's face.  He was trying desperately to hide it, but he couldn't, not from her.  She knew Jack Bristow far too well.

"Yes, I am."

Jack turned on his heels.  He stopped in front of the doorway.
"Don't try to stop Sydney from retrieving her son.  If you do, I will have you arrested and charged with the various counts of espionage you deserve."

"Jack…" Irina edged her way to the door.
"Do not contact me again unless Sydney or Rogan's life is in danger."

Jack was gone before Irina could even whisper another apology or to accept his demand.