"And then he shot apart the handcuffs and helped me out of that damn
furnace room. So, yeah, Sark basically saved my ass!" Anna said, leaning
her back against the headboard of her bed.
Sydney moved to legs into the crosslegged position on top of Anna's covers,
her pajama pants and inch too short. "Wow."
Anna exhaled deeply, still feeling a smidge of shock herself. "Yeah, tell me about. I mean, when was holding that gun towards me....I thought for sure....that was it! But he actually helped me.....saved me.....without him, I'd be dead," she tried to say matter-of-factly, but her voice quivered with emotion.
Sydney pulled her friend into a comforting hug. "I just wonder....why....as glad as I am to have you safe, why didn't he run?"
"I have no idea," Anna said softly, her brown eyes staring out the window pensively.
Why had he come back for her?
Anna strode through the CIA briskly, heading toward the prison cells and carrying a small bundle. She felt distanced slightly from the sounds of the gates opening, only returning back to earth when she stood in front of the man who had saved her from a most painful death. Anna passed the bundle through the box, neither Sark nor her saying anything. He glanced her over quickly, his eyes flickering as he glimpsed a large purple bruise on her left cheek.
Sark broke the silence. "Anna, your cheek....are you alri--"
She held up her hands to silence him, motioning for him to unwrap the bundle. "Blankets, a pillow. Kendall was impressed and decided you should be rewarded. You didn't tell me you had taken the serum....I thought it was lost to the CIA.....but you got it," Anna swallowed her pride. "Good work," she said simply, turning to leave.
Sark voice hit her like a ton of bricks. "Don't you want to know why?"
She turned back slowly, keeping a fair distance from the glass....a fair distance from the intense blueness of his eyes. But she couldn't keep herself from looking up at his concerned face, his forehead creased in thoughtful wrinkles. Nothing needed to be said.
Anna nodded, understanding their unspoken conversation, and gave a small smile, walking backwards a few paces.
Sark grinned, his smile reaching his sparkling eyes. "Hey, Anna--"
"It's Agent Parker to you," she said, her voice serious but her smile larger.
Sark leaned against the glass window of his cell. "Maybe for our next mission, you could come through on your side, eh?"
"Our next mission? Now, who's getting ahead of themselves....and that's assuming the CIA is gonna put you on another leash!" Anna exclaimed, her eyebrows raised.
"I'm pretty sure I came through on this one...we got the virus and the agent to show for it!"
Anna rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Don't hold your breath on getting out of here." She paused momentarily. "Actually on second thought, give it a whirl."
Sark licked his lips, still smiling. "What and deprive you of this banter? You'd miss me." "Like I miss a bad rash....or my college boyfriend, for that matter."
Sark never missed an opportunity. "Boyfriend....that must be a tough gig!"
"No, what must be tough for you is finding women that actually buy into the whole European, I-have-an-accent, slick thing you got going on.....and that haircut. The Neo-Nazi style's been dead for while. Catch up...do the 80s mullet thing, then maybe try a little 70-30 part for the 90s...see where ya end up!" Anna retorted, feigning sweet helpfulness.
"There's the superagent with the extraordinary people skills I remember!" Anna waved her hand, indicating the conversation was over. She grinned the whole time she walked back into the main office. Things were back to normal.
**************A few weeks later
Anna fidgeted with her black dress, trying to keep the thin straps up as she walked through the open gates. "Hey, hey," she said, greeting Sark in an informal manner. Their relationship as handler and asset had gotten more casual but Anna still made it clear that they were were NOT friends, never had been and never would be. He was, as Jack had perfectly put it, a necessary evil. Sark was still Anna's enemy, no matter how informal their discussions got.
Sark's eyes looked her over appreciatively. "Don't tell me you got all dressed up for me!"
"No, as a matter of fact I have a date tonight that I'm already late for," Anna explained, running her fingers through her long, shiny hair.
"You date? There's a real fun-filled event!" Sark said sarcastically, his eyes watching her every move.
"I can be fun.....it just depends on the company....and yours doesn't bring out the best in me!" Sark threw his head back in defeat. "Ok, ok...so where'd you meet this guy you are allegedly going out with? A street corner?"
Anna looked at him upwardly, carefully putting on lip gloss sans a mirror. "No, you're getting us confused! Besides, he happens to be a very respectable.......well, everyone has said nice....--" Sark interrupted her. "Blind date, huh?"
Anna stood, trying to come up with some witty retort but failed miserably, her mouth open but no sound coming out. "So what?....wait, you're not jealous.....are you?" she asked, her eyes twinkling.
"I don't get jealous. Besides, I've said this before.....you're not my type."
Anna nodded in agreement. "True. What kind of man wants a woman that can totally kick his ass!"
He cocked his head, half-smiling. "As much as I love these interactions....what do you want?"
"Oh, right.....Kendall wants to know if you know anything about....a woman.....named....hold on, I have it right here....ah, there! Alison Doren is her name!" Her eyes looked up from the sheet, seeing Sark's paling complexion and wide eyes. "I take it you know her."
Sark turned from the glass window and walked the length of his cell, running his hands over his face. "One could say that," he said vaguely.
Anna looked at him interestedly. "This is off to a great start. Anything else?"
"Ughhh....well, she's a freelancer, doing jobs here and there for various cells. Trained in Russia, her parents were both KGB."
She took all this information down quickly, checking her watch. "Ok, great, we've got evidence she's been seen with Sloane." Anna slid some photographs through the slot. "Any idea why she might be meeting with him? So far we've come up with no connections between the two. Seems pretty random."
Sark flipped through the pictures absent-mindedly. "Pretty random," he repeated dully.
Anna's chocolate eyes melted through him. "Are you feeling ok? You seem a little off today? Well, I guess no more than usual!" She flashed him a bright smile, waiting for his reply. "Seriously, are you alright? You have NEVER missed an opportunity to argue with me!"
Sark shook the preoccupying thoughts from his mind. "Oh yeah, yes I'm fine. Just tired." Anna glanced again at her watch. "I am so beyond late. Well, I'll see you soon....Maybe get some rest or something, eh?" She glanced back at him before turning the corner, feeling a twinge of....worry? Sark sat on the bed, the photos still in his hands. He went through them again, focusing on Alison's face; a face he felt like he hadn't seen in forever and just yesterday all at the same time. He knew he hadn't been completely honest with Anna. He should've told her his history with Alison....how they had both worked for the same anti-US organization at 18 and partnered together to take down that very same group.
Sark was also surprised that he didn't feel anything when seeing how chummy Alison looked with his former boss, Arvin Sloane. The one thing he did feel fear for was the CIA, specifically the agents, well, Anna, he supposed, that would have to come up against Alison. She was excellently trained, her skills superior than any other trainee, and she was relatively fearless. Alison would not hesitate to kill whoever stood in her way and Sark wondered whether that was why Alison had been recruited by Sloane. Sloane was known for giving special assignments.....so what was Alison's? Why had the two allowed themselves to be photographed together? It all seemed so planned, as to make it obvious to the CIA.
Sark let the photos slide to the ground, letting his head hit the pillow comfortably. He needed to stop thinking; he couldn't solve everything. Besides, it wasn't his puzzle to solve..........
*****************
"Did you like her? Were you attracted to her?" Alison asked accusingly. "Don't even bother lying. I could see it."
"What, you were watching? Darling, that's a little frightening!" Sark replied calmly, trying to pull her into his arms.
Alison jerked away from him, her chocolately arms folding across her chest. "Don't start. When you said it was over....," she paused, her voice nearly yelling. "I should have known that you would just go and find someone else, someone else stupid enough to fall for your lies! And, ugh, did you even really look at her? So plain, so simple...so boring!" Alison exclaimed hotly. Sark's eyes glinted in the bright lights of the room. "Say what you want about me. But you leave her alone. She has done nothing to you!"
Alison laughed cruelly. "Oh, no! You have *feelings* for her.....again, my stupidity....you always get involved. Do you even know what she is? Do you?"
"CIA. She's CIA," Sark said, his voice greatly lowered.
Alison looked at him incredulously. "And you still give a shit about this chick? She *lied* to you. And I bet the first chance she gets, she'll trick you. She'll get into custody and they'll execute you. That's what the CIA does!"
Sark jumped off the bed, backing Alison into the wall gently. "I told you to stop. She's different than us. Leave her out of this....this is about me and you....not me and Anna."
"Oh, oh, oh! You and Anna? There's a you and Anna? Anna?! You're right in one respect. This is not about me and you and you and her....it's just about her." Alison pushed Sark away from her violently. "She's got to go."
"Don't."
"No, it's been ordered. And since you don't have the balls to do it yourself, I've been assigned to eliminate your precious agent girlfriend," Allison stated, smirking happily.
Sark's blue eyes jumped at this news. "She's not my girlfriend. She's nothing to me. You know the only important person in my life is you, Alison, it's always been you," he said softly, placing his hands on her shoulders emphatically.
Alison reached up, caressing his cheek. "Baby, I wish I could believe that." Alison pulled out her gun, loading it. "But I can't. So I'm doing this for Sloane....and for us." "Julian?" Anna stepped into the light, her brown hair gleaming and her eyes unnaturally bright. "I don't understand. You said you didn't really know her," she said, obviously confused, and pointing at Alison.
Alison stepped forward, nearing Anna, weilding her gun tauntingly. "See, honey, that's what he does, he lies! And unfortunately for you, you are just one more casualty." Sark tried to grab the gun from Alison, but it was like he was now invisible. All he could do was watch Anna die.
*******************
Sark sat up suddenly, struggling to catch his breath and wiping the moisture off his neck. That was it; Alison was going to kill Anna. "Hey, finally!"
Sark spun around to see Anna lounging in a chair with her heels kicked off, still wearing the black dress. For once, she was actually in his cell, not behind the glass. "Anna...wha-what are you doing here?" he questioned, his eyes still frantic.
"What's wrong? Do I look that hideous! You look so....frightened? Aww....did you have a baddy waddy dream?" she kidded, putting aside her magazine.
He ran his hands over his short hair, realizing that he had been dreaming. It was all a dream, he thought, feeling both relieved and anxious at the same moment. "No--it was nothing. You still haven't told me what you're doing in here so late at night....what, couldn't resist?" It was all coming back to him now.
Anna gave him a fake smile. "Yeah, in your dreams....though I guess not....that must have been some dream, you were rolling around a lot and saying things....but I didn't understand any of it." She shrugged, crossing her legs. "Anyway, the reason I'm here is....well, to be honest my date went horribly and I can't go home yet....Francie and Syd set me up and they'll be so disappointed, so I thought what better way to revive my self- confidence then to spend an hour with you!"
"Ha. You're funny. But couldn't you get in some serious CIA trouble?"
"Pssh....it's late, the only ones here are the guards and I've gotten to know them pretty well." Sark nodded in agreement. "If you say so...So what was wrong with your date? He was breathing?"
Anna gave him the evil eye, passing him a box of donuts. "Yeah, I snuck these in. They're my guilty pleasure--no comments, please! Anyway, so this guy...seriously, he looked like Splinter...you know the rat from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?"
"Splinter?" Sark asked, having no idea what she was talking about but smiling at her effort. Anna nearly fell off her chair, laughing. "Oh, come on! The Ninja Turtles!! You have to know who they are....crime fighting super-hero turtles and their master is this like totally kick-ass rat guy named..." She stopped, seeing that Sark was avidly trying to control his laughter. Anna swapped him playfully on the shoulder, taking another bite of her donut. "Ok, so whatever, either way, this guy had this drooling thing going on and the whole time at dinner he kept darting his eyes around, convinced people were watching him eat. So, I ditched him."
Sark leaned his back against the wall, thinking that Anna always had something interesting to say. "Sounds like you made a good decision."
"Yeah, and I'm gonna make another. No more blind dates!" Anna smiled, her expression turning more serious. "I'm finished with the dating scene. It's just too hard, you know?" Her eyes looked faraway. "What do you mean?" Sark asked, his blue eyes inquisitive. And for once, he really did want to know. It wasn't just a question to get information, or a question out of politeness. Sark was really interested.
Her eyes avoided his, staring at her feet. "Dating is just so hard. Especially after you've had that perfect relationship. Once you've been happy, is it possible to feel like that again? Ah, I don't know...."
"Anna, you can tell me....I'm not going anywhere...obviously!"
She laughed softly but it didn't reach her eyes. "I can't believe I'm spilling my guts to you....you're a horrible person!....but, I guess it's the only thing I have right now. You see, I met Sam in my first year of college. He was so great; cute, smart, romantic...God, it was amazing! We fell in love so fast that my head was just spinning the whole time!" Anna's mouth upturned in spite of herself, and Sark smiled at her encouragingly. "And just....everything was great...he made me feel needed...and wanted. My parents had both been dead for a while and I was so used to having no one that it was almost scary how much I loved him. And I was right! I made a mistake by falling in love with him." Tears fell down her cheeks and she made no move to wipe them away. "But then, do you know where I found the body? In the garage....he was building me this incredible bookshelf for Valentine's day....apparently it was a break-in and Sam being there had startled the robbers. So I lost him....in a moment he was gone. And it's been years and I can't escape his memory. Especially now that I've found out that SD-6 was not the CIA. And after what happened to Danny, Sydney's fiance...it just seems too perfect." Anna suddenly became silent, the memories of Sam flooding her mind.
Sark felt a sharp pain in his chest and he didn't understand what it was. He didn't know what to say, how to sympathize. But deep within, he wished there was something that he could say to calm her; to reassure her. He wanted to wipe her tears away and tell her it was ok; that everything was going to be ok. But he couldn't. The only thing he could do was tell her his story.
"I have a story too," he said, watching her wipe the tears quickly from her face. "There's something that you need to know....You asked me about Alison Doren earlier....there were a few details I left out."
Anna's eyebrows furrowed together. "Details?" she asked suspiciously.
"Alison and I....well we worked together for the same organization; we trained together. But it's more than that. We were....well, we had a relationship outside of our business dealings--" "Did you?!" Anna interjected hotly. "Why didn't you tell me--"
"Anna, let me finish. I didn't tell you because I didn't think it was important. We ended things a little while ago...or so I thought. At our first meeting in Marseilles, she was there. Alison witnessed the whole thing under Sloane's orders. When she accosted me at the airport, things...well, heated up again, I suppose you could say. But I had to end whatever it was with her for reasons I don't want nor am willing to discuss. Naturally, Alison is not pleased and so it seems she went scurrying back to Sloane. Before you got me, there was a rumour that she was looking for revenge on me, but of that, I don't know if anything is certain."
Anna bit her lip, trying to process this new information. "So you lied to me...pretended like you barely heard of her!"
"No, I didn't lie....I just neglected to tell you everything."
"Why tell me now? What changed in a few hours?" she interrogated accusingly, her laid-back manner vanished. Sark frowned. "I've had time to think, I guess. I know that Alison operates out of a club in Zurich; that's the centre of everything she does, where all the information is. I'm assuming that you're going there."
Her brown eyes pierced his blue ones, neither pair flinching. "You're right. I leave tomorrow." She started to pick up her things in a rushed manner. Anna lifted her head for a moment. "Everything....everything that we had accomplished...whatever unspoken agreement we had reached is gone. You should've told me everything straight out." She opened the door to his cell. Sark suddenly stood up and was at the door in a second, barring her from leaving. "Don't make me hurt you," she said firmly.
"Anna, listen to me. The reason I told you all this is that Alison knows you. She has seen your face and if she's working with Sloane then she knows everything there is to know about you. I'm telling you that she is good at what she does. She won't hesitate to kill you--"
Her brown eyes flashed. "What, like you tried to?" She bowed out under his arm but he caught it forcefully. Anna spun her head around, prepared to use her training practically.
"Damnit, listen to me. Alison will kill you if you give her the chance. It's not even about you. It's about getting back at me. She *wants* to end your life."
Anna pulled her arm away angrily. "I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself! What do you care for anyway?"
"I'm not interested in getting another agent as the go between!" he said, not telling her the full truth.
Anna rolled her eyes, her anger subsiding. "Oh well that's sweet." She pointed her finger away, walking away backwards. "Don't think you're getting rid of me so easily. I'm the one that put you away and that's how it's going to stay!"
It was Sark's turn to roll his eyes. "Just watch out," he warned seriously.
Anna waved his warning away, turning around the corner. Sark wondered if he would ever see Anna again, knowing of Alison's will to kill and her desire to get back at him. He tried to shrug it off but ended up not sleeping at all for the rest of the night. I'm not going to sleep well until Anna comes back, he realized, feeling disheartened. If she came back.
Anna exhaled deeply, still feeling a smidge of shock herself. "Yeah, tell me about. I mean, when was holding that gun towards me....I thought for sure....that was it! But he actually helped me.....saved me.....without him, I'd be dead," she tried to say matter-of-factly, but her voice quivered with emotion.
Sydney pulled her friend into a comforting hug. "I just wonder....why....as glad as I am to have you safe, why didn't he run?"
"I have no idea," Anna said softly, her brown eyes staring out the window pensively.
Why had he come back for her?
Anna strode through the CIA briskly, heading toward the prison cells and carrying a small bundle. She felt distanced slightly from the sounds of the gates opening, only returning back to earth when she stood in front of the man who had saved her from a most painful death. Anna passed the bundle through the box, neither Sark nor her saying anything. He glanced her over quickly, his eyes flickering as he glimpsed a large purple bruise on her left cheek.
Sark broke the silence. "Anna, your cheek....are you alri--"
She held up her hands to silence him, motioning for him to unwrap the bundle. "Blankets, a pillow. Kendall was impressed and decided you should be rewarded. You didn't tell me you had taken the serum....I thought it was lost to the CIA.....but you got it," Anna swallowed her pride. "Good work," she said simply, turning to leave.
Sark voice hit her like a ton of bricks. "Don't you want to know why?"
She turned back slowly, keeping a fair distance from the glass....a fair distance from the intense blueness of his eyes. But she couldn't keep herself from looking up at his concerned face, his forehead creased in thoughtful wrinkles. Nothing needed to be said.
Anna nodded, understanding their unspoken conversation, and gave a small smile, walking backwards a few paces.
Sark grinned, his smile reaching his sparkling eyes. "Hey, Anna--"
"It's Agent Parker to you," she said, her voice serious but her smile larger.
Sark leaned against the glass window of his cell. "Maybe for our next mission, you could come through on your side, eh?"
"Our next mission? Now, who's getting ahead of themselves....and that's assuming the CIA is gonna put you on another leash!" Anna exclaimed, her eyebrows raised.
"I'm pretty sure I came through on this one...we got the virus and the agent to show for it!"
Anna rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Don't hold your breath on getting out of here." She paused momentarily. "Actually on second thought, give it a whirl."
Sark licked his lips, still smiling. "What and deprive you of this banter? You'd miss me." "Like I miss a bad rash....or my college boyfriend, for that matter."
Sark never missed an opportunity. "Boyfriend....that must be a tough gig!"
"No, what must be tough for you is finding women that actually buy into the whole European, I-have-an-accent, slick thing you got going on.....and that haircut. The Neo-Nazi style's been dead for while. Catch up...do the 80s mullet thing, then maybe try a little 70-30 part for the 90s...see where ya end up!" Anna retorted, feigning sweet helpfulness.
"There's the superagent with the extraordinary people skills I remember!" Anna waved her hand, indicating the conversation was over. She grinned the whole time she walked back into the main office. Things were back to normal.
**************A few weeks later
Anna fidgeted with her black dress, trying to keep the thin straps up as she walked through the open gates. "Hey, hey," she said, greeting Sark in an informal manner. Their relationship as handler and asset had gotten more casual but Anna still made it clear that they were were NOT friends, never had been and never would be. He was, as Jack had perfectly put it, a necessary evil. Sark was still Anna's enemy, no matter how informal their discussions got.
Sark's eyes looked her over appreciatively. "Don't tell me you got all dressed up for me!"
"No, as a matter of fact I have a date tonight that I'm already late for," Anna explained, running her fingers through her long, shiny hair.
"You date? There's a real fun-filled event!" Sark said sarcastically, his eyes watching her every move.
"I can be fun.....it just depends on the company....and yours doesn't bring out the best in me!" Sark threw his head back in defeat. "Ok, ok...so where'd you meet this guy you are allegedly going out with? A street corner?"
Anna looked at him upwardly, carefully putting on lip gloss sans a mirror. "No, you're getting us confused! Besides, he happens to be a very respectable.......well, everyone has said nice....--" Sark interrupted her. "Blind date, huh?"
Anna stood, trying to come up with some witty retort but failed miserably, her mouth open but no sound coming out. "So what?....wait, you're not jealous.....are you?" she asked, her eyes twinkling.
"I don't get jealous. Besides, I've said this before.....you're not my type."
Anna nodded in agreement. "True. What kind of man wants a woman that can totally kick his ass!"
He cocked his head, half-smiling. "As much as I love these interactions....what do you want?"
"Oh, right.....Kendall wants to know if you know anything about....a woman.....named....hold on, I have it right here....ah, there! Alison Doren is her name!" Her eyes looked up from the sheet, seeing Sark's paling complexion and wide eyes. "I take it you know her."
Sark turned from the glass window and walked the length of his cell, running his hands over his face. "One could say that," he said vaguely.
Anna looked at him interestedly. "This is off to a great start. Anything else?"
"Ughhh....well, she's a freelancer, doing jobs here and there for various cells. Trained in Russia, her parents were both KGB."
She took all this information down quickly, checking her watch. "Ok, great, we've got evidence she's been seen with Sloane." Anna slid some photographs through the slot. "Any idea why she might be meeting with him? So far we've come up with no connections between the two. Seems pretty random."
Sark flipped through the pictures absent-mindedly. "Pretty random," he repeated dully.
Anna's chocolate eyes melted through him. "Are you feeling ok? You seem a little off today? Well, I guess no more than usual!" She flashed him a bright smile, waiting for his reply. "Seriously, are you alright? You have NEVER missed an opportunity to argue with me!"
Sark shook the preoccupying thoughts from his mind. "Oh yeah, yes I'm fine. Just tired." Anna glanced again at her watch. "I am so beyond late. Well, I'll see you soon....Maybe get some rest or something, eh?" She glanced back at him before turning the corner, feeling a twinge of....worry? Sark sat on the bed, the photos still in his hands. He went through them again, focusing on Alison's face; a face he felt like he hadn't seen in forever and just yesterday all at the same time. He knew he hadn't been completely honest with Anna. He should've told her his history with Alison....how they had both worked for the same anti-US organization at 18 and partnered together to take down that very same group.
Sark was also surprised that he didn't feel anything when seeing how chummy Alison looked with his former boss, Arvin Sloane. The one thing he did feel fear for was the CIA, specifically the agents, well, Anna, he supposed, that would have to come up against Alison. She was excellently trained, her skills superior than any other trainee, and she was relatively fearless. Alison would not hesitate to kill whoever stood in her way and Sark wondered whether that was why Alison had been recruited by Sloane. Sloane was known for giving special assignments.....so what was Alison's? Why had the two allowed themselves to be photographed together? It all seemed so planned, as to make it obvious to the CIA.
Sark let the photos slide to the ground, letting his head hit the pillow comfortably. He needed to stop thinking; he couldn't solve everything. Besides, it wasn't his puzzle to solve..........
*****************
"Did you like her? Were you attracted to her?" Alison asked accusingly. "Don't even bother lying. I could see it."
"What, you were watching? Darling, that's a little frightening!" Sark replied calmly, trying to pull her into his arms.
Alison jerked away from him, her chocolately arms folding across her chest. "Don't start. When you said it was over....," she paused, her voice nearly yelling. "I should have known that you would just go and find someone else, someone else stupid enough to fall for your lies! And, ugh, did you even really look at her? So plain, so simple...so boring!" Alison exclaimed hotly. Sark's eyes glinted in the bright lights of the room. "Say what you want about me. But you leave her alone. She has done nothing to you!"
Alison laughed cruelly. "Oh, no! You have *feelings* for her.....again, my stupidity....you always get involved. Do you even know what she is? Do you?"
"CIA. She's CIA," Sark said, his voice greatly lowered.
Alison looked at him incredulously. "And you still give a shit about this chick? She *lied* to you. And I bet the first chance she gets, she'll trick you. She'll get into custody and they'll execute you. That's what the CIA does!"
Sark jumped off the bed, backing Alison into the wall gently. "I told you to stop. She's different than us. Leave her out of this....this is about me and you....not me and Anna."
"Oh, oh, oh! You and Anna? There's a you and Anna? Anna?! You're right in one respect. This is not about me and you and you and her....it's just about her." Alison pushed Sark away from her violently. "She's got to go."
"Don't."
"No, it's been ordered. And since you don't have the balls to do it yourself, I've been assigned to eliminate your precious agent girlfriend," Allison stated, smirking happily.
Sark's blue eyes jumped at this news. "She's not my girlfriend. She's nothing to me. You know the only important person in my life is you, Alison, it's always been you," he said softly, placing his hands on her shoulders emphatically.
Alison reached up, caressing his cheek. "Baby, I wish I could believe that." Alison pulled out her gun, loading it. "But I can't. So I'm doing this for Sloane....and for us." "Julian?" Anna stepped into the light, her brown hair gleaming and her eyes unnaturally bright. "I don't understand. You said you didn't really know her," she said, obviously confused, and pointing at Alison.
Alison stepped forward, nearing Anna, weilding her gun tauntingly. "See, honey, that's what he does, he lies! And unfortunately for you, you are just one more casualty." Sark tried to grab the gun from Alison, but it was like he was now invisible. All he could do was watch Anna die.
*******************
Sark sat up suddenly, struggling to catch his breath and wiping the moisture off his neck. That was it; Alison was going to kill Anna. "Hey, finally!"
Sark spun around to see Anna lounging in a chair with her heels kicked off, still wearing the black dress. For once, she was actually in his cell, not behind the glass. "Anna...wha-what are you doing here?" he questioned, his eyes still frantic.
"What's wrong? Do I look that hideous! You look so....frightened? Aww....did you have a baddy waddy dream?" she kidded, putting aside her magazine.
He ran his hands over his short hair, realizing that he had been dreaming. It was all a dream, he thought, feeling both relieved and anxious at the same moment. "No--it was nothing. You still haven't told me what you're doing in here so late at night....what, couldn't resist?" It was all coming back to him now.
Anna gave him a fake smile. "Yeah, in your dreams....though I guess not....that must have been some dream, you were rolling around a lot and saying things....but I didn't understand any of it." She shrugged, crossing her legs. "Anyway, the reason I'm here is....well, to be honest my date went horribly and I can't go home yet....Francie and Syd set me up and they'll be so disappointed, so I thought what better way to revive my self- confidence then to spend an hour with you!"
"Ha. You're funny. But couldn't you get in some serious CIA trouble?"
"Pssh....it's late, the only ones here are the guards and I've gotten to know them pretty well." Sark nodded in agreement. "If you say so...So what was wrong with your date? He was breathing?"
Anna gave him the evil eye, passing him a box of donuts. "Yeah, I snuck these in. They're my guilty pleasure--no comments, please! Anyway, so this guy...seriously, he looked like Splinter...you know the rat from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?"
"Splinter?" Sark asked, having no idea what she was talking about but smiling at her effort. Anna nearly fell off her chair, laughing. "Oh, come on! The Ninja Turtles!! You have to know who they are....crime fighting super-hero turtles and their master is this like totally kick-ass rat guy named..." She stopped, seeing that Sark was avidly trying to control his laughter. Anna swapped him playfully on the shoulder, taking another bite of her donut. "Ok, so whatever, either way, this guy had this drooling thing going on and the whole time at dinner he kept darting his eyes around, convinced people were watching him eat. So, I ditched him."
Sark leaned his back against the wall, thinking that Anna always had something interesting to say. "Sounds like you made a good decision."
"Yeah, and I'm gonna make another. No more blind dates!" Anna smiled, her expression turning more serious. "I'm finished with the dating scene. It's just too hard, you know?" Her eyes looked faraway. "What do you mean?" Sark asked, his blue eyes inquisitive. And for once, he really did want to know. It wasn't just a question to get information, or a question out of politeness. Sark was really interested.
Her eyes avoided his, staring at her feet. "Dating is just so hard. Especially after you've had that perfect relationship. Once you've been happy, is it possible to feel like that again? Ah, I don't know...."
"Anna, you can tell me....I'm not going anywhere...obviously!"
She laughed softly but it didn't reach her eyes. "I can't believe I'm spilling my guts to you....you're a horrible person!....but, I guess it's the only thing I have right now. You see, I met Sam in my first year of college. He was so great; cute, smart, romantic...God, it was amazing! We fell in love so fast that my head was just spinning the whole time!" Anna's mouth upturned in spite of herself, and Sark smiled at her encouragingly. "And just....everything was great...he made me feel needed...and wanted. My parents had both been dead for a while and I was so used to having no one that it was almost scary how much I loved him. And I was right! I made a mistake by falling in love with him." Tears fell down her cheeks and she made no move to wipe them away. "But then, do you know where I found the body? In the garage....he was building me this incredible bookshelf for Valentine's day....apparently it was a break-in and Sam being there had startled the robbers. So I lost him....in a moment he was gone. And it's been years and I can't escape his memory. Especially now that I've found out that SD-6 was not the CIA. And after what happened to Danny, Sydney's fiance...it just seems too perfect." Anna suddenly became silent, the memories of Sam flooding her mind.
Sark felt a sharp pain in his chest and he didn't understand what it was. He didn't know what to say, how to sympathize. But deep within, he wished there was something that he could say to calm her; to reassure her. He wanted to wipe her tears away and tell her it was ok; that everything was going to be ok. But he couldn't. The only thing he could do was tell her his story.
"I have a story too," he said, watching her wipe the tears quickly from her face. "There's something that you need to know....You asked me about Alison Doren earlier....there were a few details I left out."
Anna's eyebrows furrowed together. "Details?" she asked suspiciously.
"Alison and I....well we worked together for the same organization; we trained together. But it's more than that. We were....well, we had a relationship outside of our business dealings--" "Did you?!" Anna interjected hotly. "Why didn't you tell me--"
"Anna, let me finish. I didn't tell you because I didn't think it was important. We ended things a little while ago...or so I thought. At our first meeting in Marseilles, she was there. Alison witnessed the whole thing under Sloane's orders. When she accosted me at the airport, things...well, heated up again, I suppose you could say. But I had to end whatever it was with her for reasons I don't want nor am willing to discuss. Naturally, Alison is not pleased and so it seems she went scurrying back to Sloane. Before you got me, there was a rumour that she was looking for revenge on me, but of that, I don't know if anything is certain."
Anna bit her lip, trying to process this new information. "So you lied to me...pretended like you barely heard of her!"
"No, I didn't lie....I just neglected to tell you everything."
"Why tell me now? What changed in a few hours?" she interrogated accusingly, her laid-back manner vanished. Sark frowned. "I've had time to think, I guess. I know that Alison operates out of a club in Zurich; that's the centre of everything she does, where all the information is. I'm assuming that you're going there."
Her brown eyes pierced his blue ones, neither pair flinching. "You're right. I leave tomorrow." She started to pick up her things in a rushed manner. Anna lifted her head for a moment. "Everything....everything that we had accomplished...whatever unspoken agreement we had reached is gone. You should've told me everything straight out." She opened the door to his cell. Sark suddenly stood up and was at the door in a second, barring her from leaving. "Don't make me hurt you," she said firmly.
"Anna, listen to me. The reason I told you all this is that Alison knows you. She has seen your face and if she's working with Sloane then she knows everything there is to know about you. I'm telling you that she is good at what she does. She won't hesitate to kill you--"
Her brown eyes flashed. "What, like you tried to?" She bowed out under his arm but he caught it forcefully. Anna spun her head around, prepared to use her training practically.
"Damnit, listen to me. Alison will kill you if you give her the chance. It's not even about you. It's about getting back at me. She *wants* to end your life."
Anna pulled her arm away angrily. "I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself! What do you care for anyway?"
"I'm not interested in getting another agent as the go between!" he said, not telling her the full truth.
Anna rolled her eyes, her anger subsiding. "Oh well that's sweet." She pointed her finger away, walking away backwards. "Don't think you're getting rid of me so easily. I'm the one that put you away and that's how it's going to stay!"
It was Sark's turn to roll his eyes. "Just watch out," he warned seriously.
Anna waved his warning away, turning around the corner. Sark wondered if he would ever see Anna again, knowing of Alison's will to kill and her desire to get back at him. He tried to shrug it off but ended up not sleeping at all for the rest of the night. I'm not going to sleep well until Anna comes back, he realized, feeling disheartened. If she came back.