Sergei and Sydney arrived at Irina's home at 5:00 that evening. Sergei opened the trunk and pulled out Sydney's bag. They walked towards the door. Sergei pulled a key from his pocket and stuck it in the lock.

"You taking the alarm or me?" he asked.

"I'll do it." Sergei pushed the door open and Sydney stepped in and opened a cabinet right inside the doorway. She put in the five-digit code then stood still while the system scanned her bone structure and her eyes. When it was finally satisfied that she was not an assassin, thief, or all around enemy, it shut off with a beep. She headed upstairs to her room. Irina had given it to her that first summer she had forgiven her. She had decorated it for her and it stayed empty unless she was there. She opened the door to find Sergei setting her bag down on her bed. "Thanks Sergei."

"No problem sis."

"I guess you won't tell me what Alexei's asking Julian will you?"

"Of course I will. It's no big secret. Just the basics. Family history, job, financial situation, kids, sex."

"SERGEI!" Sergei grinned.

"What?"

"I don't need my older brothers getting involved in my sex life!"

"The fact that my little sister has a sex life tells me that we definitely need to be involved. Sorry Syd, no room for discussion on this one."

"Just nothing to intrusive okay?"

"I won't ask for details if that's what you're implying." Sydney and Sergei both heard the sound of the front door opening and headed downstairs.

"Sydney, why don't you show Julian to his room," Alexei said. Sydney complied, taking Sark's hand and starting upstairs. As soon as they were out of earshot, Sergei started in.

"How'd it go?"

"Very well I think. He was very understanding and calm. Doesn't scare easily."

"So what's the verdict?"

"Don't know yet. I think we better ask him some more questions. His parents are both dead, no kids, financially stable. He's a freelance agent right now. Used to work for Mom. That's a definite negative. But, he's willing to give it up for her. He wants to marry her Serg. At least we know he's not in it for a good fling. No one's good enough for Syd, but he might be the closest we're gonna come."

Upstairs

"Here it is. I don't care what they say, you're sharing a room with me." Sark laughed.

"Alexei gave me quite the interrogation on the way over here."

"I know. Sergei told me. I'm so sorry Julian."

"Don't worry about it. I'm glad you have brothers like Sergei and Alexei. They'll always take care of you." Sydney smiled.

"I do love them a lot. I'm going to lie down for a while. I don't feel so fabulous right now."

"What's the matter?"

"My stomach feels awful."

"All right. I'll leave you alone and go downstairs. You rest, love."

"All right. I love you."

"I love you to." Sark tucked her into bed, kissed her on the forehead and went downstairs. He found Sergei and Alexei talking where they'd left them.

"Julian, would you mind coming in the living room for a while. There's still some questions we want to ask you," Alexei asked.

"That's fine," he said.

"Where's Syd?" Sergei asked.

"She wasn't feeling to well, so she's lying down for a while." Sergei and Alexei sat down on a sofa, Sark seated across from them.

"Okay, first question. Ever cheated on anyone you were dating?" Sergei asked. Sark thought for a moment.

"Three times. When I was sixteen. Again when I was eighteen and once when I was twenty."

"How old are you now?"

"Twenty-seven"

"Where did you grow up?"

"My early childhood was in Ireland. I attended Hartman's Academy for Boys. After my mother died, my father put me into the care of Irina."

"She talked about a young boy she was working with, but she was always careful to keep us separate from you. I never met you when I was young," Alexei said. "I think there's only one more thing we need to know." He glanced at Sergei. "Have you slept with our sister?" Sark hesitated a moment before answering.

"Yes." He was certain the brothers would not be pleased. He watched as they exchanged a long look. Alexei finally spoke.

"This is the first and final warning you get, Mr. Lazarey. We wouldn't mind killing you. It would not bother us in the least. So lets set down the rules. You hurt Sydney, we kill you. You get Sydney pregnant, we kill you. You put Sydney in any danger whatsoever, we torture you for hours on end, and then we kill you. Clear?"

"Very clear." He suddenly felt the need to go check on Sydney. Somehow he knew. He knew he needed to. "Would you mind if I went to check on Sydney?"

"Of course not, go ahead." He ran up the stairs and into her room, only to find her in the bathroom. He held her head gently and whispered comforting words as she emptied her stomach. Moments later he realized that she had been throwing up blood. He picked her up and took her back to bed, then ran downstairs to get Sergei. He reached the bottom of the stairs just as Irina and Jack were coming through the door.

"Irina! Something's wrong with Sydney!" Irina's eyes got big and Jack gave him an anxious look. Sergei and Alexei heard what he said and came rushing into the front hall.

"What happened, Julian?" Irina asked.

"She told me she didn't feel good about a half hour ago, and she laid down to rest. I went back up a minute ago to check on her and she was throwing up blood." Irina turned pale and Sergei's eyes held a look of shock.

"Oh no," he said.

"What's going on?" Alexei asked.

"Julian, while you were in that house, did anyone ever inject anything into Sydney?"

"Once. She asked the doctor for a birth control shot. She brought it the next day and gave it to her." Irina's face fell. She turned to Sergei.

"You think"

"I hope not. You want me to go give her a blood test?"

"Please." Sergei headed upstairs. "Everyone else in the living room. Something's going on that I need to explain to you." They all headed into the living room and everyone sat down except for Sark. "Julian, you need to sit down." She patted the sofa next to her.

"I'll stand if you don't mind."

"Trust me, you'll want to sit down for this." Sark sat down next to her and Irina started to explain. "I believe Sydney's life is in danger." Jack started to say something but Irina interrupted him. "Please, just let me tell you everything before anyone says anything. The Covenant has developed a biological weapon, which is very dangerous. It's not contagious. You have to be injected with it to be infected, but it's very horrible. Its main uses were probably to be in assassination. The weapon is supposed to be still in testing. Not much is known about it, but I've compiled information on it and Sergei's heard of it through his medical research. This weapon is designed to fool the immune system, making the body of the victim attack itself. It starts with the digestive system. The first symptom is vomiting blood. Then it moves on to the nervous system, invoking intense pain. It attacks the circulatory system, making the victim weak, then it clogs the respiratory system and the victim suffocates to death." Irina saw three looks of horror from around the room. "It can be identified by a quick and simple blood test. On that Sergei is performing right now. We should know for sure in a few minutes."

"Is there an antidote?" Sark asked huskily. "Is there anything we can do?"

"There's an antidote. It has to be customized to Sydney's blood type; much like the antidote to the disease Agent Michael Vaughn was afflicted with some years ago. I don't know where the lab is." Everyone turned as Sergei came into the room. He said two words.

"Its positive."