"Sydney, Sark... and Irina. What took so long? We've been expecting you."
I froze as the familiar voice rang through the room. There he was, finally, the monster we'd be hunting for. The search had ended at last, but somehow I knew that things were nowhere near over. I strained my eyes, trying to determine his exact position, but it was a worthless endeavor. My next effort was turned to searching for any sign of Vaughn or my father, but that was also in vain.
"What do we do?" I whispered over my shoulder, expecting an answer from my mother. Instead, Sloane fielded the question.
"I'll tell you what you'll do: all three of you will enter the room slowly, drop your guns, and kick them away. Any deviation from this will result in a hail of bullets from the many guards stationed around this room." The deadly words were uttered in a friendly tone that served to emphasize the danger of the situation. I glanced back to my mother, who gave a reluctant nod. I moved into the room, released my guns, and angrily kicked them in Sloane's general direction. Sark and my mother exercised more restraint as they surrendered their weapons. I knew they each had to have some smaller guns still concealed somewhere, but that would never be enough to challenge Sloane's forces.
I briefly entertained the hope that he was unaware of our three agents still standing just outside the door, but that was crushed as he called for them to come in and turn over their weapons as well. Once that had been done, there was a brief shuffling noise, and then the lights in the room unexpectedly came on. I blinked, adjusting to the sudden brightness, and instantly caught sight of Sloane. He was casually leaning against a wall, one hand on the light switch, and the other holding the gun that had been in my possession just moments ago. There was a brief stare down, and a series of shots was suddenly fired.
My mother, Sark, and myself were the only ones left standing on our side, as the three men with us had all fallen. I glanced to Sloane, who shrugged mildly. He then looked down at the gun, and after a quick calculation, I realized there was one shot left. That didn't mean much; he still had the pile of weapons at his feet, and he was sure to have at least one more on him. But I hoped that if he perhaps felt the need to switch guns, it could give us the window of opportunity we needed to take him out. Before I could even complete the thought, the last bullet was expended, ending up lodged in Sark's left leg. He collapsed to the floor, and my mother moved to his side quickly.
"Insurance," Sloane stated mildly. "See, what I gather is that Irina won't leave Sark behind, and Sydney surely wouldn't abandon her mother, even if Irina did leave her all those years ago." That comment earned glares from both my mother and myself, to which Sloane only smirked. It was then that something else occurred to me, and I finally took a careful look around. I could only groan in frustration as I realized that there wasn't a single other person in the room, much less a cadre of guards.
"It's always nice to have the upper hand," Sloane commented.
"Of course it is," I replied dryly. He merely smiled again before indicating the door across from the one we had just came through.
"If you three would be so kind as to exit stage left…" I shot him another glare before taking the lead and walking through the door. My mother, supporting Sark, followed me, and Sloane stayed a safe distance back, gun trained on us. I could hear them whispering in what sounded like Russian, but I couldn't make it out positively. Sark groaned in pain, and as I turned back to see how he was doing, he collapsed again. My mother was next to him instantly, and I also moved to his side. Sark continued groaning, but he briefly made eye contact with me, and I realized it was some kind of ploy. Sloane was obviously suspicious as well; he came no closer, and kept his gun firmly aimed at us. My mother suddenly gasped, and I looked at her worriedly.
"He's dying," she said, quietly at first, then louder. "He's dying, you have to do something!" she shouted, facing Sloane. He gave her a dubious look.
"And why should the fate of young Mr. Sark concern me in the least? He is, after all, working against me, as he has been all along." I looked at Sark carefully, not understanding how a gunshot to the leg could kill him, unless it had managed to hit a vein. But he hadn't lost all that much blood either, which convinced me that this was another part of my mother's plan. I decided to make myself useful, silently hoping that I wouldn't prove to be more of a hindrance.
"Sark? No, please, don't give up! You can't die too!" My outburst had the desired impact, as Sloane's attention was momentarily diverted to me. The opening was all my mother needed to spring a surprise attack. In seconds, she had Sloane pinned against the wall, a gun to his head. I helped Sark to his feet and we walked over to stand beside them. To my surprise, Sloane didn't look at all worried; contrary, he had a superior smirk firmly in place.
"I still have the upper hand," he said smugly.
"You're the one with a bullet just inches from your brain," I pointed out. His eyes shifted to focus on me.
"Yes Sydney, that may be true, but if Irina pulls that trigger, what makes you think you'll have any chance of finding Jack and Agent Vaughn, much less getting out of here alive?" That was enough to stop us from making any rash decisions; it was also enough for Sloane to capitalize on a moment's hesitance and break away from my mother. He ran, briefly turning back to fire a few errant shots to deter us from pursuing him. When it was safe to move again, he had vanished.
"What now?" I whispered.
"Now, we follow him, find your father and Vaughn, and get rid of Sloane once and for all," my mother stated calmly. She then turned her attention to Sark. "Are you all right?" He nodded weakly, though didn't seem anxious to relinquish the support I still offered.
"Let's keep moving."
"Wait." My mother disappeared for a moment, reappearing with most of the weapons we had been forced to drop. She distributed them before taking the lead. We soon stumbled upon four doors, two on either side of the hall. Sark moved to investigate one, but I stopped him.
"Stay out here, rest. We can handle this."
"I'd like to help," he replied through gritted teeth.
"I know, but you'll be helpless if you hurt yourself worse. Wait here, save your strength… we're going to need it." He nodded, realizing the truth of my words, and leaned against the wall, relaxing but simultaneously on alert.
I tentatively tested the first door, and found it stuck. After a struggle, I forced it open and went in. The room was dark, but completely bare. I inspected it closer all the same. Once I was satisfied that it was indeed empty, I walked out and shut the door behind me. I saw my mother had still not managed to open her first door, but adamantly refused to allow Sark to assist her.
"Can I help you?" I asked quietly. She glanced at me briefly before resuming her efforts.
"Finish checking the other two rooms first. If you find nothing, you can help with this." I nodded and moved on to my second room. That door fell open easily, but the room contained only a pile of crates and some broken glass. I opened each crate, finding them all empty. As I shut that door, I saw my mother finally manage to break through and enter the room. Sark stood back, watching her make her way in.
"It was blocked by something," he explained to me. I nodded my understanding and turned to the last room. That door also presented no problem. I had just taken my first steps into what appeared to be another worthless room when I was stopped in my tracks. The sound of my mother's scream reverberating from the next room over made my blood run cold and my heart stop. In my haste to get to her side, I tripped over a rolled up rope sitting on the floor. Blood instantly flooded into my mouth, but I spit it out and hoisted myself up, rushing to the other room.
The first thing I saw was Sark sitting on the floor, holding his head. Then I saw my mother, crumpled on the ground, sobbing. I felt my own face contort as I saw, next to her, a body I recognized all too well. I couldn't hold back the tears as I forced out the word.
"Dad?"
