Sark heard the gates open and stood expectantly. "Well, well, well, look
who's--," his voice broke off when he saw a frazzled Sydney Bristow
standing before him. Where was Anna?
Sydney looked at him eye to eye, her own eyes filled with emotion. "She didn't come back."
Sark looked at the ground, not sure what to say. He didn't know what to say because he didn't know how he felt about it. Part of him was perfectly calm, remembering that he had warned Anna that it would be dangerous and that there was nothing he could have done to spare her life. But there was some other part of him that was not as emotionless. Sark felt responsible in a way; he knew what Alison would do. He had let Anna die.
Sydney's quavering voice broke into his confused thoughts. "We have reason to believe that Doren has captured her for information."
Sark's head snapped up, his eyes wide with shock. "She's alive? I thought...."
"I never said she was dead. But we are not certain that Doren has Anna. However, sources indicate that Ann--Agent Parker is still alive," Sydney finished, realizing she was being informal by using her friend's first name.
'Right." Sark tried to process this information, more unknown feelings washing over him. Was this relief?
"Listen, I need your help. The reason Anna was caught was because the information the CIA received on Doren's centre of operations was faulty. Our source usually reliable but this time they were misinformed. The exit which Anna was supposed to leave from did not exist....it was supposed to be on the base floor, in the left wing--"
"There is no exit there," Sark commented, his eyebrows furrowing together.
Sydney's eyes watched Sark's face inquisitively. "So you know this building then? How to get in, out?"
Sark returned her stare just as intently."Yes, I do," he stated simply.
'Will you help her? Will you help Anna?" Sydney ceded to informalities. This was her best friend they were talking about.
Anna blinked profusely as a bright light was turned on in the previous darkened room, her eyes burning. She was uncomfortably restrained to a stiff, metal chair, and hadn't eaten or drank anything in days. She struggled to remember how many days ago she had been captured; it felt like years but Anna knew it could have only been a couple of days. Faulty information. It had been faulty info that had gotten her captured. The mission had been running smoothly. She had made it into the club no problem, then hit the basement and found the adjacent hallway to the house where Alison Doren's operation centre was. Anna had even copied Doren's harddrive to a disk and was trying to exit the building when she realized there was no exit. Security guards had chased her down and she'd been sitting here ever since.
Anna squinted to see who stood before her; all she saw was a figure bathed in darkness. She fixated her eyes on the wall infront of her, prepared to reveal nothing about who she was or who she worked for.
A glass of water was placed a foot infront of her temptingly. "If you tell me what you're doing here, I might let you have a sip," a husky female voice said, laughter tingeing in her tone.
Anna continued to look forward silently as Alison circled her chair, running her hands through Anna's long hair. "You know that this is not just about business, don't you?" Alison sat in a chair opposite Anna, looking her over carefully. "It also has to do with Julian....well, you know him as Sark, don't ya now?" Alison ran her hands through her dark hair, mussing it about. "He doesn't really care about you, you know? I mean, if that's what your thinking. It's just a big game. Everything to him is a game. You're just an obstacle. Once he gets past you, you're gone. You'll be nothing."
Anna did nothing, not even blink, which only incensed Alison's anger. Alison slapped her face, a bright red hand mark imprinted on Anna's fair skin. "Say something!" she hissed. "You're jealous," Anna said softly and evenly, her eyes still staring straight ahead.
Alison balked, her eyes dancing. "Jealous of you?! Are you shitting me? He cares about me more than he will ever care about you!"
"Sark is in CIA custody. The two of you are over."
Alison jumped off the table and moved closer to Anna. "What, and the two of you are just getting started?"
"I don't fraternize with criminals," Anna said, her voice still steady. "And I would never lower myself to mixing my personal and professional life."
Alison punched Anna directly in the face, leaving what would darken to be a purple bruise on her left cheek. She pulled a knife from inside her jacket, making practice slashes in the air. Anna watched her, trying to keep her expression fearless.
Alison inched the gleaming knife closer and closer to Anna's face. "I could kill you right now." "So what, are you waiting for my approval?" Anna asked through clenched teeth.
"When I kill you, you won't see it coming." Alison hid the knife back in her jacket and strode out the door, turning the lights off once again.
The bright light flickered on again and Anna winced, her eyes pained. Someone came closer to her, moving behind her. The warm breath of a man's voice touched her ear.
"Anna, you should cooperate with Alison. Just tell her what she wants to know and you might be spared. I can't help you out of this!" It was Sloane, she realized, feeling a wave of hatred boil inside of her. She tried to stay calm but her body shook slightly with the feelings inside of her. "You bastard," she managed to spit out contemptuously.
Sloane caressed her cheek, sitting opposite her. "You know, when I found out that you now work for the CIA with Sydney, I felt saddened. I was hoping to recruit you for my own organization."
"Hell would freeze over before I would ever work for you."
Sloane smiled icily. "Oh, but you did. For years, you obeyed me, did what I asked. You were an asset to SD-6 and you never betrayed me like the Bristows."
Anna ground her teeth, wanting to kill him. "That's because I didn't know that SD-6 wasn't the CIA. If I had known, I would've done what they did. I would've helped to take you down."
Sloane ran his hands over her hair. "But they didn't, now did they? I'm still very much alive and well and free of the CIA."
"Not for long."
"This hostility, Anna! I don't think you know how it hurts me. But you have been somewhat more distanced, since...what was his name now...Sam, ah yes, Sam's death, haven't you?"
Anna jerked forwards, wanting to attack him but her restraints cut into her skin. "You son of a bitch!!! Don't you ever talk about Sam, EVER!" she screamed.
Sloane moved away from her, placing his hands together. "Anna, you know his death was an accident. I had nothing to do with it."
"Nothing to do with it! Like you had nothing to do with Danny's death, except ORDER IT!" Anna yelled, her eyes blazing.
Sloane looked her in the eyes. "I truly did not kill Sam. That is one truth. And you only get one."
Anna bowed her head, trying to get her emotions under control and breathing deeply. "Get out," she said, her voice low.
"I wish that things had ended differently. We could have done great things together." Sloane patted her on the head and left the room as Alison came back in.
Anna was shaking with fury, which Alison watched with pleasure.
"Since you've decided to say nothing, I've been ordered to take extreme measures. Right now, someone in the opposite end of the building is setting it on fire. I can't have the rest of the God-damned CIA out here, hunting through my house for my files and looking for you now, can I?" Alison stopped, smiling at her words. She turned to leave but spun around at the doorway. "It's too bad, I wanted to kill you myself, when I'd have a chance to really fight you. But I suppose burning to death is just as painful." Alison slammed the door shut and Anna heard the click of a lock.
Not long after Alison had left, smoke started to fill her lungs and she knew that the fire must not be far away. Anna tried to free herself from the metal chair for about the hundredth time since Alison had left but it was no use. Anna sniffed the air, smelling a chemical scent fill the room. It was some sort of gas or chemical. She frantically tried to move her chair but it was stuck to the ground. She was trapped.
The door banged open, smoke billowing into the room. Anna blinked, the smoke burning her eyes, as she tried to see who had entered. Was it Sloane again? Or Alison, come to wish her a jubiliant goodbye?
The masked figure knelt down before her, freeing her legs and then moving around back to free her arms and torso. Anna tried to stand up but nearly collapsed; her legs weak from sitting for so long. Her rescuer scooped her up effortlessly and before Anna could see a face, her thoughts hazed over and her consciousness faded away.
The figure carried her from the burning, chemical-filled basement out into a green yard, assuming that most of the inhabitants would have left the grounds because of the fire. He pulled of his mask and bent over Anna, checking her pulse and listening to her chest. He went to give her mouth-to- mouth, his lips almost on hers when she coughed suddenly, rolling over onto her side.
"This is not a date," she joked weakly, seeing that her rescuer was none other than Sark.
He pulled out a water bottle from his jacket and handed it to her, his eyes clouded with concern. "Don't talk."
She collapsed, exhausted, on the grass, breathing heavily. "Yo--you came...how did...?" Her voice trailed off with the exertion of speaking.
"Shhh," he said, bending over her again and checking her for injuries. Sark was so focused on her that he didn't see a mysterious person come up behind him, dressed all in black and wearing a face mask. The figure pulled out a gun, aiming at the back of his head and moving silently.
Sark heard a shot and spun around, seeing the dark figure drop to their knees and kneel over, blood spreading from their chest. Sark looked back at Anna, half-sitting up and clutching his own gun. "Now, we're even," she said tiredly, laying back down.
Sark took a deep breath, realizing how close he had come to being killed. But he recovered quickly and smiled down at Anna's exhausted face. "We are not. It's two to one, Parker. You know it. You still owe me." He helped her up as she was still weak.
Anna put one of her arms around his shoulders for support and they started walking slowly. "Well, I'll repay you with the pleasure of my company!"
Sark laughed. "You never stop, do you?"
"You'd never want me to stop!" They made their way to an awaiting airplane.
Going up the stairway, Sark realized that they had garnered nothing from this mission. "So I guess this mission was pointless....you got nothing but death threats, bruises, and a near death."
"Yeah, they took the copy!" Anna said, reaching into her shirt.
"Whoa, let's save this for the plane!" Sark said, putting his hands up.
Anna glared at him, pulling something small, round and silver from her shirt. She spun it around so he could get a look at it. "It's a mini-disk that Marshall made...you attach it to the computer and it instantly--"
"Copies the hardrive. You made two copies, " Sark finished, looked impressed.
Anna grinned. "So we win. Well, the CIA wins!"
"You're amazing," he complimented, his expression one of admiration.
Anna limped up the stairs. "I am not amazing."
*******On the Airplane
Anna looked at a pocket mirror, horrified by what she saw. Her face was bruised, bloodied and lightly dusted in soot. Her once shiny dark hair was partially in a ponytail, the other half hanging limply by her face. Anna's tight black sports tank top was ripped and torn at the bottom. "Jesus....I look like a car wreck."
Sitting across from her, Sark took the mirror from her hands and looked at her sincerely. "I don't think I've ever seen you look more beautiful."
Anna smiled but her eyes looked full of emotion. "Shut up. Now, who's being all nice?"
"What's nice?" asked Sark, feigning innocence.
Anna rolled her eyes, changing the subject. "So I don't get it. The CIA just let you come out here alone? No guards, no other agents?" Anna asked, surprise echoing in her voice.
Sark grinned. "They trust me--"
"They so do not trust you! I don't even trust you and you've saved my life twice....thanks, by the way," Anna said sheepishly.
Sark smiled before letting this close moment pass. "So you still don't trust me? Not even a little?"
"Not in the slightest," she said. "I can't sort you out....but maybe you can help me.....why did you come? Why didn't they send Sydney?"
Sark nodded, ready to answer her questions. "Because I knew the Alis-- Doren's operation centre. I was one of the select few to know how to get in and out without being seen. I told Sydney that if anyone else came along, it would be too difficult having to make through the lethal response security system Doren had set up with people who didn't know it. Sydney persuaded the CIA to let me go alone. Naturally, there were agents watching around the perimeter of the club and house and on satellite, ready to nail me if I tried anything."
"Wow....I can't believe the CIA let you go....just to retrieve an agent. They're usually very rules-rigid.
"Well, Sydney was extremely convincing apparently. She told me she was *very* adamant!" Sark explained, his voice light.
Anna laughed. "I can believe that!"
"Lots of people care about you, Anna. And they would've done anything to make sure that you were back safe," Sark added, his blue eyes looking out the window.
"Lots of people...," she repeated, her voice trailing off. She smiled at him, standing up to head to the washroom. He grabbed her hand, still not looking into her eyes.
"I did not see that man behind me," he shook his head, paused for a moment. "You saved my life....and for that I am grateful." He still held onto her hand, their touching skin feeling at home with eachother. Finally, his blue eyes lifted to meet hers and for a few seconds they just looked at eachother, not needing to say anything.
Anna broke away first, feeling conflicted and awkward. "Well, don't think I like you now or anything!" she tried to joke.
"Same for me!" he stated, watching her retreat to the back of the plane.
Now separated, both thought about everything that had happened and realized how complicated their 'relationship' had now become. A life for a life.
Sydney looked at him eye to eye, her own eyes filled with emotion. "She didn't come back."
Sark looked at the ground, not sure what to say. He didn't know what to say because he didn't know how he felt about it. Part of him was perfectly calm, remembering that he had warned Anna that it would be dangerous and that there was nothing he could have done to spare her life. But there was some other part of him that was not as emotionless. Sark felt responsible in a way; he knew what Alison would do. He had let Anna die.
Sydney's quavering voice broke into his confused thoughts. "We have reason to believe that Doren has captured her for information."
Sark's head snapped up, his eyes wide with shock. "She's alive? I thought...."
"I never said she was dead. But we are not certain that Doren has Anna. However, sources indicate that Ann--Agent Parker is still alive," Sydney finished, realizing she was being informal by using her friend's first name.
'Right." Sark tried to process this information, more unknown feelings washing over him. Was this relief?
"Listen, I need your help. The reason Anna was caught was because the information the CIA received on Doren's centre of operations was faulty. Our source usually reliable but this time they were misinformed. The exit which Anna was supposed to leave from did not exist....it was supposed to be on the base floor, in the left wing--"
"There is no exit there," Sark commented, his eyebrows furrowing together.
Sydney's eyes watched Sark's face inquisitively. "So you know this building then? How to get in, out?"
Sark returned her stare just as intently."Yes, I do," he stated simply.
'Will you help her? Will you help Anna?" Sydney ceded to informalities. This was her best friend they were talking about.
Anna blinked profusely as a bright light was turned on in the previous darkened room, her eyes burning. She was uncomfortably restrained to a stiff, metal chair, and hadn't eaten or drank anything in days. She struggled to remember how many days ago she had been captured; it felt like years but Anna knew it could have only been a couple of days. Faulty information. It had been faulty info that had gotten her captured. The mission had been running smoothly. She had made it into the club no problem, then hit the basement and found the adjacent hallway to the house where Alison Doren's operation centre was. Anna had even copied Doren's harddrive to a disk and was trying to exit the building when she realized there was no exit. Security guards had chased her down and she'd been sitting here ever since.
Anna squinted to see who stood before her; all she saw was a figure bathed in darkness. She fixated her eyes on the wall infront of her, prepared to reveal nothing about who she was or who she worked for.
A glass of water was placed a foot infront of her temptingly. "If you tell me what you're doing here, I might let you have a sip," a husky female voice said, laughter tingeing in her tone.
Anna continued to look forward silently as Alison circled her chair, running her hands through Anna's long hair. "You know that this is not just about business, don't you?" Alison sat in a chair opposite Anna, looking her over carefully. "It also has to do with Julian....well, you know him as Sark, don't ya now?" Alison ran her hands through her dark hair, mussing it about. "He doesn't really care about you, you know? I mean, if that's what your thinking. It's just a big game. Everything to him is a game. You're just an obstacle. Once he gets past you, you're gone. You'll be nothing."
Anna did nothing, not even blink, which only incensed Alison's anger. Alison slapped her face, a bright red hand mark imprinted on Anna's fair skin. "Say something!" she hissed. "You're jealous," Anna said softly and evenly, her eyes still staring straight ahead.
Alison balked, her eyes dancing. "Jealous of you?! Are you shitting me? He cares about me more than he will ever care about you!"
"Sark is in CIA custody. The two of you are over."
Alison jumped off the table and moved closer to Anna. "What, and the two of you are just getting started?"
"I don't fraternize with criminals," Anna said, her voice still steady. "And I would never lower myself to mixing my personal and professional life."
Alison punched Anna directly in the face, leaving what would darken to be a purple bruise on her left cheek. She pulled a knife from inside her jacket, making practice slashes in the air. Anna watched her, trying to keep her expression fearless.
Alison inched the gleaming knife closer and closer to Anna's face. "I could kill you right now." "So what, are you waiting for my approval?" Anna asked through clenched teeth.
"When I kill you, you won't see it coming." Alison hid the knife back in her jacket and strode out the door, turning the lights off once again.
The bright light flickered on again and Anna winced, her eyes pained. Someone came closer to her, moving behind her. The warm breath of a man's voice touched her ear.
"Anna, you should cooperate with Alison. Just tell her what she wants to know and you might be spared. I can't help you out of this!" It was Sloane, she realized, feeling a wave of hatred boil inside of her. She tried to stay calm but her body shook slightly with the feelings inside of her. "You bastard," she managed to spit out contemptuously.
Sloane caressed her cheek, sitting opposite her. "You know, when I found out that you now work for the CIA with Sydney, I felt saddened. I was hoping to recruit you for my own organization."
"Hell would freeze over before I would ever work for you."
Sloane smiled icily. "Oh, but you did. For years, you obeyed me, did what I asked. You were an asset to SD-6 and you never betrayed me like the Bristows."
Anna ground her teeth, wanting to kill him. "That's because I didn't know that SD-6 wasn't the CIA. If I had known, I would've done what they did. I would've helped to take you down."
Sloane ran his hands over her hair. "But they didn't, now did they? I'm still very much alive and well and free of the CIA."
"Not for long."
"This hostility, Anna! I don't think you know how it hurts me. But you have been somewhat more distanced, since...what was his name now...Sam, ah yes, Sam's death, haven't you?"
Anna jerked forwards, wanting to attack him but her restraints cut into her skin. "You son of a bitch!!! Don't you ever talk about Sam, EVER!" she screamed.
Sloane moved away from her, placing his hands together. "Anna, you know his death was an accident. I had nothing to do with it."
"Nothing to do with it! Like you had nothing to do with Danny's death, except ORDER IT!" Anna yelled, her eyes blazing.
Sloane looked her in the eyes. "I truly did not kill Sam. That is one truth. And you only get one."
Anna bowed her head, trying to get her emotions under control and breathing deeply. "Get out," she said, her voice low.
"I wish that things had ended differently. We could have done great things together." Sloane patted her on the head and left the room as Alison came back in.
Anna was shaking with fury, which Alison watched with pleasure.
"Since you've decided to say nothing, I've been ordered to take extreme measures. Right now, someone in the opposite end of the building is setting it on fire. I can't have the rest of the God-damned CIA out here, hunting through my house for my files and looking for you now, can I?" Alison stopped, smiling at her words. She turned to leave but spun around at the doorway. "It's too bad, I wanted to kill you myself, when I'd have a chance to really fight you. But I suppose burning to death is just as painful." Alison slammed the door shut and Anna heard the click of a lock.
Not long after Alison had left, smoke started to fill her lungs and she knew that the fire must not be far away. Anna tried to free herself from the metal chair for about the hundredth time since Alison had left but it was no use. Anna sniffed the air, smelling a chemical scent fill the room. It was some sort of gas or chemical. She frantically tried to move her chair but it was stuck to the ground. She was trapped.
The door banged open, smoke billowing into the room. Anna blinked, the smoke burning her eyes, as she tried to see who had entered. Was it Sloane again? Or Alison, come to wish her a jubiliant goodbye?
The masked figure knelt down before her, freeing her legs and then moving around back to free her arms and torso. Anna tried to stand up but nearly collapsed; her legs weak from sitting for so long. Her rescuer scooped her up effortlessly and before Anna could see a face, her thoughts hazed over and her consciousness faded away.
The figure carried her from the burning, chemical-filled basement out into a green yard, assuming that most of the inhabitants would have left the grounds because of the fire. He pulled of his mask and bent over Anna, checking her pulse and listening to her chest. He went to give her mouth-to- mouth, his lips almost on hers when she coughed suddenly, rolling over onto her side.
"This is not a date," she joked weakly, seeing that her rescuer was none other than Sark.
He pulled out a water bottle from his jacket and handed it to her, his eyes clouded with concern. "Don't talk."
She collapsed, exhausted, on the grass, breathing heavily. "Yo--you came...how did...?" Her voice trailed off with the exertion of speaking.
"Shhh," he said, bending over her again and checking her for injuries. Sark was so focused on her that he didn't see a mysterious person come up behind him, dressed all in black and wearing a face mask. The figure pulled out a gun, aiming at the back of his head and moving silently.
Sark heard a shot and spun around, seeing the dark figure drop to their knees and kneel over, blood spreading from their chest. Sark looked back at Anna, half-sitting up and clutching his own gun. "Now, we're even," she said tiredly, laying back down.
Sark took a deep breath, realizing how close he had come to being killed. But he recovered quickly and smiled down at Anna's exhausted face. "We are not. It's two to one, Parker. You know it. You still owe me." He helped her up as she was still weak.
Anna put one of her arms around his shoulders for support and they started walking slowly. "Well, I'll repay you with the pleasure of my company!"
Sark laughed. "You never stop, do you?"
"You'd never want me to stop!" They made their way to an awaiting airplane.
Going up the stairway, Sark realized that they had garnered nothing from this mission. "So I guess this mission was pointless....you got nothing but death threats, bruises, and a near death."
"Yeah, they took the copy!" Anna said, reaching into her shirt.
"Whoa, let's save this for the plane!" Sark said, putting his hands up.
Anna glared at him, pulling something small, round and silver from her shirt. She spun it around so he could get a look at it. "It's a mini-disk that Marshall made...you attach it to the computer and it instantly--"
"Copies the hardrive. You made two copies, " Sark finished, looked impressed.
Anna grinned. "So we win. Well, the CIA wins!"
"You're amazing," he complimented, his expression one of admiration.
Anna limped up the stairs. "I am not amazing."
*******On the Airplane
Anna looked at a pocket mirror, horrified by what she saw. Her face was bruised, bloodied and lightly dusted in soot. Her once shiny dark hair was partially in a ponytail, the other half hanging limply by her face. Anna's tight black sports tank top was ripped and torn at the bottom. "Jesus....I look like a car wreck."
Sitting across from her, Sark took the mirror from her hands and looked at her sincerely. "I don't think I've ever seen you look more beautiful."
Anna smiled but her eyes looked full of emotion. "Shut up. Now, who's being all nice?"
"What's nice?" asked Sark, feigning innocence.
Anna rolled her eyes, changing the subject. "So I don't get it. The CIA just let you come out here alone? No guards, no other agents?" Anna asked, surprise echoing in her voice.
Sark grinned. "They trust me--"
"They so do not trust you! I don't even trust you and you've saved my life twice....thanks, by the way," Anna said sheepishly.
Sark smiled before letting this close moment pass. "So you still don't trust me? Not even a little?"
"Not in the slightest," she said. "I can't sort you out....but maybe you can help me.....why did you come? Why didn't they send Sydney?"
Sark nodded, ready to answer her questions. "Because I knew the Alis-- Doren's operation centre. I was one of the select few to know how to get in and out without being seen. I told Sydney that if anyone else came along, it would be too difficult having to make through the lethal response security system Doren had set up with people who didn't know it. Sydney persuaded the CIA to let me go alone. Naturally, there were agents watching around the perimeter of the club and house and on satellite, ready to nail me if I tried anything."
"Wow....I can't believe the CIA let you go....just to retrieve an agent. They're usually very rules-rigid.
"Well, Sydney was extremely convincing apparently. She told me she was *very* adamant!" Sark explained, his voice light.
Anna laughed. "I can believe that!"
"Lots of people care about you, Anna. And they would've done anything to make sure that you were back safe," Sark added, his blue eyes looking out the window.
"Lots of people...," she repeated, her voice trailing off. She smiled at him, standing up to head to the washroom. He grabbed her hand, still not looking into her eyes.
"I did not see that man behind me," he shook his head, paused for a moment. "You saved my life....and for that I am grateful." He still held onto her hand, their touching skin feeling at home with eachother. Finally, his blue eyes lifted to meet hers and for a few seconds they just looked at eachother, not needing to say anything.
Anna broke away first, feeling conflicted and awkward. "Well, don't think I like you now or anything!" she tried to joke.
"Same for me!" he stated, watching her retreat to the back of the plane.
Now separated, both thought about everything that had happened and realized how complicated their 'relationship' had now become. A life for a life.