A/N: I know this is a short chapter but I think it works! I hope you guys
are liking this story. Special thanks to the three of you who have
reviewed. It's great to know that someone is reading. You guys rock!!
Anna and Sark had made it back down the basement easily, searching for guards around all corners. The basement seemed pretty empty of guards, as they had created a distraction upstairs, with a 'trail' as to divert their attention for a short while. Sark inputed the code again and the two ran through the doorway hurriedly.
"Lab 6!" Anna called out to Sark and he nodded, his eyes quickly scanning the room numbers. "Here!" He yelled at her, running towards the nearest computer in the lab. Anna came up beside him, breathing loudly.
She took out the descrambler from her purse, attaching to the computer's base. "Ok, ok, ok......access grant....so far so good." Anna entered the program; trying to find the location of the serum they needed. Apparently Sloane was offering militant Middle Eastern groups drops of deadly disease to use as a weapon, in exchange for their support in the search for the Rambaldi artifacts and the takedown of the CIA inclusively. "Shit!" she swore.
Sark immediately looked closely at the computer screen. "The virus is in a different room which can only be unlocked from here. It's simultaneous.....ok, so I'll go and pry the door open the moment you activate the code. This red icon will flash on the screen when I'm within 3 feet of the door," he said brusquely, nearing the exit.
Anna held out her hand to stop him. "Oh no you don't. You may have gotten us this far but there is no way I'm letting you get the virus. I don't trust you for one second. You'll probably hand that thing to Sloane or those terrorists in a heartbeat."
Sark's eyes flashed angrily. "Right, or we can just sit here all day! Anna-- you have me tracked. Anywhere I go, you'll know about it!"
Anna ran her hand through her curls, trying to make a decision. *You have control here, it's your call,* she tried to convince herself. Mostly she just didn't want to make a mistake and cause the CIA to lose out. Worse, she didn't want Sloane to win. That was the last thing she wanted. "Fine....but I'm going....you stay hear and get the code." She headed for the doorway, checking to make sure they were no armed guards in the hallway. "But you if you trick me, I will make your life a living hell."
Sark glanced up from the computer screen, his fingers paused from typing. "Because you've made oh so pleasant thus far."
Anna gave him a look packed with strength and threats before running out the door and back down the hallway. She ran as fast as she could, considering she was wearing heels, hitting a guard smack in the chest. She fell to the ground but recovered quickly, high-kicking away his gun. She flipped over him then doubled-back, spinning around as she smashed her leg to his chest and face three times. Another man grabbed her from behind by the waist, dragging her away from the door only a short distance away. She spread her legs, her heels jamming into the narrow hallway's walls violently, backflipping behind the guard. Anna grabbed the baton from his belt and hit him squarely on the head, rendering him unconscious. She panted, pausing for a moment to catch her breath before grabbing their guns and continuing down the hallway.
Sark, meanwhile, tapped his foot impatiently on the tiled floor. The red icon hadn't started flashing yet and judging from the floor plans, the room with the virus wasn't that far away. Anna should have been there by now. He knew they were cutting it short; by now security would have realized that the situation upstairs had been a diversion and would be searching for them. His hands grazed his short hair, his eyes never leaving the computer screen. Sark couldn't help but wonder if this was worry for Anna he was feeling. "No, no," he discounted that theory aloud, thinking that perhaps maybe he feared what would happen to him if she didn't survive. It would look like he had let it happen and the CIA would never get off his back. On the other hand, if she was killed, he could escape and go back to his boss, returning with gifts; the death of a CIA agent and the virus.
As he waited anxiously for the icon to flash, he knew what he had to do.
********************
Anna slowly walked to the door, checking the intersection of hallways for security guards. Back in the lab, Sark exhaled, automatically of course, when the red light started to flash on the computer screen.
Anna opened the door, her eyes widening hopefully, seeing the glass tube, as she entered the room, not noticing the large man behind her, heaving a baton above head. He knocked her out, her athletic form falling to the ground in a heap of red cloth.
In the lab, Sark waited for Anna to come back and was thoroughly surprised when she hadn't come back within 5 minutes of the door opening. He decided to take his chances and started out the room and into the hallway, seeing the open door at the end of the hallway. Upon reaching it, he saw it was empty except for a small piece of deep red satiny-feeling piece of cloth. Her dress. Sark searched the room, seeing no other signs that Anna was ever there. His eyes glinted when he saw the simple glass vial laying untouched in the middle of the room on a glass table. Everything he ever wanted was within arm's reach.
**********
Anna's eyes opened hazily and she had no idea where she was. Steam enveloped her body and she could feel the immense heat of the room overpowering her senses. A large hand slapped her cheek hard; Anna winced in pain, forcing herself to look at her assailant. A muscular man carrying a gun and what had been used to knock her out, bent down, placing his elbows on his knees. She tried to sit up straight but struggled, realizing her arms were handcuffed to a metal railing. Anna tried to shake the rail off the wall but it stayed put, not budging an inch.
"Ah....pretty, pretty. You're a nice one. But, honey, there's no point. It's not gonna come out," the man said, motioning towards the railing.
She refused to look at him and continued to try to free herself, not noticing the mounting bruises on her arm and getting more panicked as she realized he was right.
The man laughed cattily, thoroughly enjoying her struggle. "I've had orders to put you here, baby doll."
Her eyes lifted menacingly. "Don't call me that."
The man laughed again, this time more loudly and obnoxiously. "Sure, whatever you say, baby!"
Anna heaved forward, spitting in his face and grinning snidely. The man moved closer to her, the look on his face murderous and his hand outstretched. But then he resisted from hurting her, seeming to remember something. "I'm not supposed to hurt ya. That's what he said. He said you're to stay here until he comes to do it himself. Do you know, sweeeeetie, how long it takes this boiler room to fill up with unimaginable amounts of steam. Not long. In fact—," He looked around the room, moving his fingers through the steam, "it's already started. And you know that steam burns the flesh right off of ya, eh?"
Anna felt her heart start to pound. Realizing that the guard wasn't kidding, her mind tried to figure out who this man kept referring to. Who was 'he'?
The man stood up, twirling his gun around his fingers. "Well, I'm off. Happy burning." He turned to leave, but turned back, noticing the guns she had stolen from the other guards earlier. He kicked them far away from her, one going over the side of the stairwell, the other a few feet too far for her to reach. Anna felt her last glimmer of hope fade. She leaned her head dejectedly against the railing, wondering how long it would take before the steam started to burn her sensitive skin. Was this how it was going to end?
************
The door to the furnace room banged open and Anna heard footsteps approaching her, the figure shrouded in darkness. She tried to lift up her head but she immediately felt waves of dizziness sweep over her. Anna watched apprehensively as dark shoes came closer and closer.
Sark carefully picked up the gun lying away from Anna, approaching her slowly. She hung her head, knowing what was coming. She had been so stupid; he was the guy the man who had put her in the boiler room was talking about!
"Well, you get everything this time. The information, a CIA agent out of the picture. Congrats...," Anna said sullenly, struggling to take breaths in the overheated room.
He bent down infront of her, one hand reaching out to caress her face, brushing away the stray strands of damp hair. "You know that I have to do this," he stated simply.
She jerked her head away from him. "Why, because you're an evil bastard?" Anna avoided his eyes, forcing herself to turn her expression into something blank and emotionless.
He once again stood up, levelling the gun towards her. "Because I always finish what I start.....and doesn't this look familiar? I'm hoping that it will end differently this time."
"You should know that this isn't over, even if you kill me. The others-- Sydney, Vaughn, Dixon--they'll hunt you down."
Sark smiled slightly, gently biting his lower lip. "I know it's only the beginning." For the second time in a month he fired at her casually, his eyes focused on her cringing face. "Done and done."
Anna and Sark had made it back down the basement easily, searching for guards around all corners. The basement seemed pretty empty of guards, as they had created a distraction upstairs, with a 'trail' as to divert their attention for a short while. Sark inputed the code again and the two ran through the doorway hurriedly.
"Lab 6!" Anna called out to Sark and he nodded, his eyes quickly scanning the room numbers. "Here!" He yelled at her, running towards the nearest computer in the lab. Anna came up beside him, breathing loudly.
She took out the descrambler from her purse, attaching to the computer's base. "Ok, ok, ok......access grant....so far so good." Anna entered the program; trying to find the location of the serum they needed. Apparently Sloane was offering militant Middle Eastern groups drops of deadly disease to use as a weapon, in exchange for their support in the search for the Rambaldi artifacts and the takedown of the CIA inclusively. "Shit!" she swore.
Sark immediately looked closely at the computer screen. "The virus is in a different room which can only be unlocked from here. It's simultaneous.....ok, so I'll go and pry the door open the moment you activate the code. This red icon will flash on the screen when I'm within 3 feet of the door," he said brusquely, nearing the exit.
Anna held out her hand to stop him. "Oh no you don't. You may have gotten us this far but there is no way I'm letting you get the virus. I don't trust you for one second. You'll probably hand that thing to Sloane or those terrorists in a heartbeat."
Sark's eyes flashed angrily. "Right, or we can just sit here all day! Anna-- you have me tracked. Anywhere I go, you'll know about it!"
Anna ran her hand through her curls, trying to make a decision. *You have control here, it's your call,* she tried to convince herself. Mostly she just didn't want to make a mistake and cause the CIA to lose out. Worse, she didn't want Sloane to win. That was the last thing she wanted. "Fine....but I'm going....you stay hear and get the code." She headed for the doorway, checking to make sure they were no armed guards in the hallway. "But you if you trick me, I will make your life a living hell."
Sark glanced up from the computer screen, his fingers paused from typing. "Because you've made oh so pleasant thus far."
Anna gave him a look packed with strength and threats before running out the door and back down the hallway. She ran as fast as she could, considering she was wearing heels, hitting a guard smack in the chest. She fell to the ground but recovered quickly, high-kicking away his gun. She flipped over him then doubled-back, spinning around as she smashed her leg to his chest and face three times. Another man grabbed her from behind by the waist, dragging her away from the door only a short distance away. She spread her legs, her heels jamming into the narrow hallway's walls violently, backflipping behind the guard. Anna grabbed the baton from his belt and hit him squarely on the head, rendering him unconscious. She panted, pausing for a moment to catch her breath before grabbing their guns and continuing down the hallway.
Sark, meanwhile, tapped his foot impatiently on the tiled floor. The red icon hadn't started flashing yet and judging from the floor plans, the room with the virus wasn't that far away. Anna should have been there by now. He knew they were cutting it short; by now security would have realized that the situation upstairs had been a diversion and would be searching for them. His hands grazed his short hair, his eyes never leaving the computer screen. Sark couldn't help but wonder if this was worry for Anna he was feeling. "No, no," he discounted that theory aloud, thinking that perhaps maybe he feared what would happen to him if she didn't survive. It would look like he had let it happen and the CIA would never get off his back. On the other hand, if she was killed, he could escape and go back to his boss, returning with gifts; the death of a CIA agent and the virus.
As he waited anxiously for the icon to flash, he knew what he had to do.
********************
Anna slowly walked to the door, checking the intersection of hallways for security guards. Back in the lab, Sark exhaled, automatically of course, when the red light started to flash on the computer screen.
Anna opened the door, her eyes widening hopefully, seeing the glass tube, as she entered the room, not noticing the large man behind her, heaving a baton above head. He knocked her out, her athletic form falling to the ground in a heap of red cloth.
In the lab, Sark waited for Anna to come back and was thoroughly surprised when she hadn't come back within 5 minutes of the door opening. He decided to take his chances and started out the room and into the hallway, seeing the open door at the end of the hallway. Upon reaching it, he saw it was empty except for a small piece of deep red satiny-feeling piece of cloth. Her dress. Sark searched the room, seeing no other signs that Anna was ever there. His eyes glinted when he saw the simple glass vial laying untouched in the middle of the room on a glass table. Everything he ever wanted was within arm's reach.
**********
Anna's eyes opened hazily and she had no idea where she was. Steam enveloped her body and she could feel the immense heat of the room overpowering her senses. A large hand slapped her cheek hard; Anna winced in pain, forcing herself to look at her assailant. A muscular man carrying a gun and what had been used to knock her out, bent down, placing his elbows on his knees. She tried to sit up straight but struggled, realizing her arms were handcuffed to a metal railing. Anna tried to shake the rail off the wall but it stayed put, not budging an inch.
"Ah....pretty, pretty. You're a nice one. But, honey, there's no point. It's not gonna come out," the man said, motioning towards the railing.
She refused to look at him and continued to try to free herself, not noticing the mounting bruises on her arm and getting more panicked as she realized he was right.
The man laughed cattily, thoroughly enjoying her struggle. "I've had orders to put you here, baby doll."
Her eyes lifted menacingly. "Don't call me that."
The man laughed again, this time more loudly and obnoxiously. "Sure, whatever you say, baby!"
Anna heaved forward, spitting in his face and grinning snidely. The man moved closer to her, the look on his face murderous and his hand outstretched. But then he resisted from hurting her, seeming to remember something. "I'm not supposed to hurt ya. That's what he said. He said you're to stay here until he comes to do it himself. Do you know, sweeeeetie, how long it takes this boiler room to fill up with unimaginable amounts of steam. Not long. In fact—," He looked around the room, moving his fingers through the steam, "it's already started. And you know that steam burns the flesh right off of ya, eh?"
Anna felt her heart start to pound. Realizing that the guard wasn't kidding, her mind tried to figure out who this man kept referring to. Who was 'he'?
The man stood up, twirling his gun around his fingers. "Well, I'm off. Happy burning." He turned to leave, but turned back, noticing the guns she had stolen from the other guards earlier. He kicked them far away from her, one going over the side of the stairwell, the other a few feet too far for her to reach. Anna felt her last glimmer of hope fade. She leaned her head dejectedly against the railing, wondering how long it would take before the steam started to burn her sensitive skin. Was this how it was going to end?
************
The door to the furnace room banged open and Anna heard footsteps approaching her, the figure shrouded in darkness. She tried to lift up her head but she immediately felt waves of dizziness sweep over her. Anna watched apprehensively as dark shoes came closer and closer.
Sark carefully picked up the gun lying away from Anna, approaching her slowly. She hung her head, knowing what was coming. She had been so stupid; he was the guy the man who had put her in the boiler room was talking about!
"Well, you get everything this time. The information, a CIA agent out of the picture. Congrats...," Anna said sullenly, struggling to take breaths in the overheated room.
He bent down infront of her, one hand reaching out to caress her face, brushing away the stray strands of damp hair. "You know that I have to do this," he stated simply.
She jerked her head away from him. "Why, because you're an evil bastard?" Anna avoided his eyes, forcing herself to turn her expression into something blank and emotionless.
He once again stood up, levelling the gun towards her. "Because I always finish what I start.....and doesn't this look familiar? I'm hoping that it will end differently this time."
"You should know that this isn't over, even if you kill me. The others-- Sydney, Vaughn, Dixon--they'll hunt you down."
Sark smiled slightly, gently biting his lower lip. "I know it's only the beginning." For the second time in a month he fired at her casually, his eyes focused on her cringing face. "Done and done."