Option 5: Sark

Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine, but any cruel or unusual forms of torture found in this fic belong solely to me.

A/N: This is set somewhere (take your pick) after Lauren and Sark team up, but before anyone gets genuinely suspicious of Lauren. Ignore the whole Senator Reed fiasco; I don't like it, so it plays no part in my fic.

"Don't worry, love. I'll be back Monday," Lauren said, leaning down to give Vaughn a quick kiss before she left the Op Center for an NSC briefing.

"I just don't like it that you're going to be away this weekend," Vaughn complained. "I have the time off, and I was hoping we could spend it together."

"I know, love. But if I don't leave now I'm going to miss my flight."

"Of course. I'll see you Monday." Vaughn smiled, and Lauren left.

Just as Vaughn got back to work, Sydney walked up behind him.

"Dixon wants to see the task force. New intel on the Covenant," she said, forcing herself to be casual even though seeing him with Lauren made her skin crawl.

"Not an op, I hope. I'm supposed to have time off," Vaughn said.

"So am I," Sydney said with a smirk. "When has that ever mattered?"

"Never, I guess," Vaughn admitted.

Sydney walked in silence to the conference room, she and Vaughn coming in last. Dixon began talking as soon as they were seated.

"The Covenant is making a move on a Rambaldi artifact currently being held by the North Korean government. The mission is very straight forward," he said, passing folders to Sydney and Vaughn. "Beat them to it. We believe this artifact will reveal the form if not the whereabouts of the Passenger. That information can not fall into the hands of the Covenant," eh added firmly. "You leave in two hours. Flight information is in the folder."

"May be next weekend," Sydney muttered to Vaughn.

"This is a bad move," Lauren complained heatedly. "If the CIA learns of this, they'll undoubtedly send Michael and Sydney to retrieve the artifact. If they recognize me, my cover will be blown."

"Then I suggest you don't let them see you," Sark said dryly.

"Why can't you go in alone? I could run surveillance and be just as useful."

"We go in together," Sark said, leaving no room to argue.

"This is pointless! The intel I've provided has proven invaluable! This is too big of a risk…" Lauren argued anyway.

"You are not indispensable," Sark said with an arrogant smirk.

Sark stepped out of the plane that had landed barely ten minutes before and hurried down the stairs to the runway, Lauren following angrily.

"As I said," Sark called over his shoulder to her. "We'll move tonight at midnight. Hopefully, the CIA won't have time to act on their intel."

Cruising at 35,000 feet, Sydney snatched up her cell phone when the Nokia ring tone sounded.

"Bristow."

"Sydney, Sark is in North Korea," Dixon said quickly. "I want you to move up the op. move as soon as everything is in position."

"So we know if he has backup?" Sydney asked immediately.

"Unknown. There seems to be a woman with him in several of the satellite graphics we've got, but none of her face. The pictures aren't very clear."

"I'll pass it on."

"Good luck."

Sydney looked up to meet Vaughn's anxious gaze.

"Sark is in North Korea. It looks like he's got at least one female operative with him, but she's unidentified," she said, frustration showing itself in her voice. "Dixon wants us to move fast."

"How did they come by the intel?" Vaughn asked.

"Satellite images. They could enhance it enough to get a positive ID on Sark, but there were no good images of the woman's face."

"So we're going in half blind?"

"Looks that way. We may not be able to establish a radio connection to LA with all the government interference, either."

"Great. We're essentially crippled," Vaughn muttered. "Does Dixon suspect there are more operatives?"

"That's not usually how the Covenant works. He seems to think we're just dealing with Sark and his friend. We stand a good chance."

The facility seemed deserted, putting Vaughn and Sydney on their guard. The place should have been heavily guarded. And all of the guards should have been firing semi-automatic machine guns at them by now.

Sydney saw a man in a guard's uniform on the ground, and stooped to check him.

"Dead," she said simply. "Sark is already here."

Without much risk of guards appearing they moved quickly toward the storage room where the artifact was, guns drawn and ready for the first sign of movement.

Just as they reached the stairwell, they heard a noise overhead.

"Sark has already found the storage room," Vaughn muttered, more to himself then to Sydney.

They raced up the stairs, hoping to at least destroy the artifact rather than let the Covenant get it.

Sark paused to look at the amazingly detailed vase. The designs were for more than show; they would reveal, if the rumors were true, what the Passenger was and where to find it.

Finally, Sark pulled out a tiny laser and began burning a hole in the protective glass case.

Lauren stood behind him, holding the oversized backpack to put the vase in. Sark eased it from the glass and handed it to her, and she carefully packed it away. With her hand on the strap, Lauren hesitated.

The heat within the Covenant was becoming intense. Sark had as much has said he could kill her with little or no effect on himself. While the life she'd fabricated was nothing more than a lie, it was comfortable. How would it be if she could just settle into that façade, and forget the Covenant? It would be so much more tranquil…

Sark sensed her hesitation. No way was he going to be double-crossed.

Sydney and Vaughn entered the big storage room just in time to hear the shot echo off the walls. They saw the shock, then the knowledge that she was going to die cross Lauren's face. They saw the powerful bullet tear through Lauren's chest, then explode out of her back, bringing with it a thick spray of blood. And they saw her fall.

Sark didn't take the time to shoot at them. He snatched up the heavy backpack and ran.

Sydney snapped out of the cloud of shock and confusion first, and charged after him. Another door led onto another hallway, and Sydney followed Sark through it. With one well-aimed shot, the pack fell, the strap shredded. Sark kept running; he knew if he even paused Sydney would shoot him. She grabbed the pack and ran back in the opposite direction.

Vaughn stood next to Lauren's pitifully crumpled, bloody body. His face was grim, but strong; he'd reached the same conclusion Sydney had. There was no NSC meeting. Lauren was Covenant.

And now she was dead.

She'd been lying all along.

But now she was dead.

Lauren Reed had betrayed the CIA.

She'd betrayed him.

Lauren Reed was dead.

I just loved repeating that! Dead…dead…dead…Heehee!

And, okay, so it was no coincidence that I started this off with a scene very similar to the one where Jack finally puts two and two together and gets four, as opposed to seven hundred and thirty six.

Okay, I'm running out of plot ideas for this fic. Other than Vaughn and Syd together (which I'm working on, it just isn't right!) who should kill Lauren? I've used, Syd, Vaughn, Jack, Sloane, and Sark…there aren't that many characters left! But no worries…If I have to use a train driven by a random psycho, Lauren will die again! Actually, that sounds like fun…lotsa blood in that one! Heehee…I think I better stick to characters killing her…so…Ah-ha! I've got it! A psycho Dixon driving the train! Yes! Perfect! (Or not…what do ya'll think?)