The hotel desk clerk was rather fast about getting her what she needed from
the convenience store. She paid him generously for his silence. She took
the bag of goodies straight into the bathroom and began to work. She took
the dark hair dye and dyed her wig. Letting the wig dry she re-did her make-
up. She went for a more subtle look this time, emphasizing her brown eyes.
As she applied eye liner she thought about the light blue contacts that had
been left behind in Kovalev's room. It wasn't that she needed them anymore,
but she'd shed them when she began to cry.
Looking in the mirror she looked herself straight in the eye. She fought back the tears that tried to break through her hardened façade, all on their own accord. From the moment she'd woken up with Oleg, after being taken, all she'd wanted was to see Vaughn again. She wanted to be held in his arms, soothed by his words, and brought alive again by his kiss. She dreamed about him day in and day out. But somehow when her dream came true, it wasn't anything like she'd imagined.
Part of her had given up hope that Vaughn could ever love her again. She knew that he was with someone new, that he probably loved her. He was a good man, she knew that he would move on and give himself to his new love, just as he'd given himself to her. After she'd seen him with his blonde lover, she'd tried to forget all about him, all about their lives together. She had almost succeeded, almost. But forgetting about the person with whom you were supposed to spend the rest of your life was hard, if not impossible.
And then out of no where he'd walked into her life again. She still couldn't believe that they had somehow managed to find each other again. But she'd resigned her self long ago to take down the Covenant, to finish the mess that they'd thrown her into. She wasn't about to let them win.
As she watched herself in the mirror, she couldn't help but think back to her situation at SD-6. It was eerily akin to what she was going through now. She was still in love with Vaughn, but her work was keeping them apart. Looking back on it, it seemed ridiculous to go through all of that pain and angst again. But she had no choice.
A lot had happened in the last year. Not only had Vaughn betrayed her, but she'd betrayed him as well. Julia Thorne was almost the antithesis of Sydney Bristow. She'd killed, she deceived; she'd used her body to accomplish her goals. She wasn't proud of any of it. Julia Thorne had no shame, and very few qualms about throwing morals and ethics out the window. At time Sydney had reveled in her new found freedom, as Julia. It was so incredibly easy to just let Julia take over. It was too easy to get lost in her way of living. But somewhere deep inside Sydney Bristow still lived.
Julia did so many things that Sydney would never do. Whether it was sleeping with Simon, or trying cocaine; she'd told herself all along that she was doing it all for a purpose; that she needed to do these things to be Julia, to deceive the Covenant. It was so much easier to be numb in the role of Julia, than to be sad, and angry, and tortured as Sydney. Getting lost in Julia's actions helped Sydney forget about what she longed for, what she lived for. It was dangerous, but the alternative was so much worse.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The ringing stopped abruptly as Lauren moved toward the unconscious bodies in front of her. She slowly began to recognize the two men, but she was confused about their presence. Why would two Covenant operatives be in Kovalev's hotel, when she was supposed to be there to kill him? None of it made sense. Jack's presence in the hotel, the Covenant operatives, even her orders to "take care" of Kovalev.
The Covenant worked in mysterious ways, but they were usually logical. Lauren was usually able to figure out the higher agenda. But this time everything was a mess.
Looking around the storage closet, she found her costume quickly. The housekeeping uniform was a little small, but showing a little leg was never a bad thing. She quickly changed and grabbed a stack of sheets, concealing her weapon beneath them. Leaving her belongings in a bag on the shelf, she exited the room quickly and went straight toward room 447. The door was ajar.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"We should find Sydney and meet with her covertly. That way her cover with the Covenant will not be compromised. Her life will be at a greater risk if we attempt to extract her from the Covenant completely." Irina said softly holding Jack's arm.
"I agree, Sydney is committed to both protecting us, and taking down the Covenant. We aren't going to convince her otherwise." Vaughn said nodding, feeling nauseous as the small room moved slowly around him.
It was obvious that Jack didn't want to hear any of this. "Fine, we locate her and find a way not to blow her cover. However, if she wants out we'll find a way. She needs to know that she doesn't have to do this anymore." Jack said firmly.
Just then the doors began to open slowly.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Looking in the mirror she looked herself straight in the eye. She fought back the tears that tried to break through her hardened façade, all on their own accord. From the moment she'd woken up with Oleg, after being taken, all she'd wanted was to see Vaughn again. She wanted to be held in his arms, soothed by his words, and brought alive again by his kiss. She dreamed about him day in and day out. But somehow when her dream came true, it wasn't anything like she'd imagined.
Part of her had given up hope that Vaughn could ever love her again. She knew that he was with someone new, that he probably loved her. He was a good man, she knew that he would move on and give himself to his new love, just as he'd given himself to her. After she'd seen him with his blonde lover, she'd tried to forget all about him, all about their lives together. She had almost succeeded, almost. But forgetting about the person with whom you were supposed to spend the rest of your life was hard, if not impossible.
And then out of no where he'd walked into her life again. She still couldn't believe that they had somehow managed to find each other again. But she'd resigned her self long ago to take down the Covenant, to finish the mess that they'd thrown her into. She wasn't about to let them win.
As she watched herself in the mirror, she couldn't help but think back to her situation at SD-6. It was eerily akin to what she was going through now. She was still in love with Vaughn, but her work was keeping them apart. Looking back on it, it seemed ridiculous to go through all of that pain and angst again. But she had no choice.
A lot had happened in the last year. Not only had Vaughn betrayed her, but she'd betrayed him as well. Julia Thorne was almost the antithesis of Sydney Bristow. She'd killed, she deceived; she'd used her body to accomplish her goals. She wasn't proud of any of it. Julia Thorne had no shame, and very few qualms about throwing morals and ethics out the window. At time Sydney had reveled in her new found freedom, as Julia. It was so incredibly easy to just let Julia take over. It was too easy to get lost in her way of living. But somewhere deep inside Sydney Bristow still lived.
Julia did so many things that Sydney would never do. Whether it was sleeping with Simon, or trying cocaine; she'd told herself all along that she was doing it all for a purpose; that she needed to do these things to be Julia, to deceive the Covenant. It was so much easier to be numb in the role of Julia, than to be sad, and angry, and tortured as Sydney. Getting lost in Julia's actions helped Sydney forget about what she longed for, what she lived for. It was dangerous, but the alternative was so much worse.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The ringing stopped abruptly as Lauren moved toward the unconscious bodies in front of her. She slowly began to recognize the two men, but she was confused about their presence. Why would two Covenant operatives be in Kovalev's hotel, when she was supposed to be there to kill him? None of it made sense. Jack's presence in the hotel, the Covenant operatives, even her orders to "take care" of Kovalev.
The Covenant worked in mysterious ways, but they were usually logical. Lauren was usually able to figure out the higher agenda. But this time everything was a mess.
Looking around the storage closet, she found her costume quickly. The housekeeping uniform was a little small, but showing a little leg was never a bad thing. She quickly changed and grabbed a stack of sheets, concealing her weapon beneath them. Leaving her belongings in a bag on the shelf, she exited the room quickly and went straight toward room 447. The door was ajar.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"We should find Sydney and meet with her covertly. That way her cover with the Covenant will not be compromised. Her life will be at a greater risk if we attempt to extract her from the Covenant completely." Irina said softly holding Jack's arm.
"I agree, Sydney is committed to both protecting us, and taking down the Covenant. We aren't going to convince her otherwise." Vaughn said nodding, feeling nauseous as the small room moved slowly around him.
It was obvious that Jack didn't want to hear any of this. "Fine, we locate her and find a way not to blow her cover. However, if she wants out we'll find a way. She needs to know that she doesn't have to do this anymore." Jack said firmly.
Just then the doors began to open slowly.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++