Alternate Existence

She was just sixteen. She never wanted this. She never wanted any of it. She didn't want to be an agent. She didn't want to even learn to fight. And most of all, she didn't want to learn her mother was a foreign spy.

Chapter 8: The Green-Eyed Suit

Denosivich walked the park for an hour after he met Lina, until he was sure he'd lost all tails again. Then he began to write, his mind still reeling.

Lina Derevko is suspicious. Khasinau murdered her friend. It's all just too convenient--she knows something is wrong. She approached me about it. I have promised to do what I can. I want to bring her to the CIA. To tell her the truth. Her innocence is real, but she won't believe me alone. Not now. --mockingbird 1132984

After she saw Denosivich, Sydney called Jeffrey. Their conversation was short, then "Catch you later."

Sydney used her cell phone to call him two blocks from her apartment house. Then she turned her phone off and jogged, hoping to beat Khasinau's goons--that was how she'd begun to think about the invisible force ruling her life--home. And as far as she could tell, she did.

Jeffrey was waiting when she burst into the basement, clearly worried.

"You just came from outside," he accused in a whisper. "It's two AM. Where have you been?"

Sydney hadn't talked to Jeffrey since the night Jessie had been killed. They'd seen each other, of course, but in that far off, otherworldly kind of way that hadn't promoted much speech.

"Never mind that," she said, also whispering. "We can't meet like this any more, Jeffrey. I can't tell you anything else."

"Syd, what are you…"

"No, just wait. They killed Jessie, Jeffrey." Tears filled her eyes. "I don't know why, but they did. I never know when they're listening."

"But Syd, you never told Jessie." Understanding brightened his eyes, and made the tears clinging in the corners of his eyes even clearer. "You never told her anything, and they got her anyway. That means nobody is safe. Syd, you have to get out of this. Something isn't right."

Sydney nodded.

"I know. But there's one person I trust. I told him I knew about Jessie, and he nearly promised me the truth."

"But if he's part of them, you can't trust him!"

Sydney shook her head slowly.

"No, I trust him. He doesn't believe in the rest of them any more than I do."

The young man from the CIA strolled easily through the park, in no hurry to catch up to the man in front of him. The couple of years he'd spent with the CIA had already taught him patience was a virtue, as cliché as that sounded.

His green eyes were hidden behind shades. That was the easiest feature a person could recognize about him, his eyes. Other than that, he hadn't drawn enough attention to himself yet. That was why he'd been selected as the contact. He stood very little chance of being recognized as CIA.

Finally, Denosivich slowed his pace and suddenly turned to face his green-eyed tail.

"Might I ask why you've been following me?" Denosivich asked pointedly.

"Sure can," he replied, grinning. "Saves me the trouble of small talk."

Denosivich frowned, so the man pulled out CIA identification. Michael Vaughn, it said.

"Very nice, Agent Vaughn," Denosivich said. "Now, cut to the chase. Every second we talk, I risk exposure."

"The director has approved your request for a meeting with the Derevko child," Vaughn said simply.

"Protocol?"

"You meet Lina Derevko at a location of your choice and bring her to safe house 7594. The director, myself, and two other agents in addition to yourself will be there to corroborate the information. We'll also supply her with a discreet wireless bug killer."

"This meeting will have to be late for Lina to sneak out. Irina Derevko is undoubtedly loyal to the KGB," Denosivich said.

"Midnight, then?"

Denosivich stood outside the reach of the street lights for several long moments before deciding he had no choice; he'd have to go in the door. While it was fine for Lina to come down the light pole, there was no way for him to get up it.

He pulled out what he jokingly called his magic pen--a bug killer that would take out any bug in a five mile radius disguised as a pen--and uncapped it, activating it as he entered the front door.

Denosivich snuck up the stairs, paused to pick the lock of the correct apartment's door, and navigated to Lina's room by his knowledge of the location of the streetlight. He moved to her bedside and laid a hand on her shoulder.

Lina bolted upright and he quickly fit his hand over her mouth to stifle her scream.

"It's me, Lina. Don't scream." He moved to where she could see him. "Get dressed, and come with me."

"But…cameras…" she protested sleepily.

"Don't worry about them. Hurry." He moved into the hall and shut the door.

Sydney followed Denosivich quickly and silently after tugging on a pair of jeans and a hooded gray sweatshirt.

As they climbed into Denosivich's car, it occurred to Sydney that she didn't trust the KGB. A KGB agent had broken into her home in the middle of the night. What in the hell was she doing in his car?

"What did you do to the cameras?"

Denosivich pulled out a pen from his pocket and tossed it to her. She looked at it a moment.

"I don't get it."

"It's a bug killer," Denosivich said. "It scrambles the signals, makes them useless."

"Oh," she said simply.

They drove for a while, then Denosivich pulled up in front of a cozy little house in the suburbs. The grass was overgrown, as if no one lived there, and the shutters on two of the windows were crooked. Denosivich pulled carefully into the garage, the rusty old door of which opened surprisingly smoothly.

"What are we doing here?" Sydney asked, surprised at the lack of fear that she felt.

"This is a CIA safe house," Denosivich said softly. "I promised I'd tell you the truth, and I will."

They walked into the kitchen through the garage door and on into the living room, where a tall, authorities man and three suits stood. The lights were dim, but Sydney saw the green eyes of one of the men, and a small smile crept across her face. For a brief moment, their eyes met and a smile started on his face, but only one side of his mouth tilted up in a cute little grin.

The man that appeared to be in charge spoke and broke the spell.

"I understand you're suspicious of the agency your mother works for," he said. "I'm the director of the CIA, dear. And I, along with these three and Denosivich, are here to explain to you the complicated situation in which you find yourself."

Sydney shook her head.

"I just want to know about Jessie."

Denosivich jumped in with a bold warning glance at the director.

"Jessie was killed because Khasinau needed to make sure you'd keep your mouth shut," he said quickly. "And, lucky for you and for us, it backfired."

Tears filled her eyes, but she set her jaw and bit them back.

"But you have to know everything now. You can't know that without knowing the rest."

Sydney nodded reluctantly.

"The KGB," Suit Two began. "Is a Russian terrorist organization. Denosivich is a double agent, a CIA spy inside the KGB."

"My mother…" Sydney began.

"Your mother," Suit One said. "Irina Derevko is a Russian spy.

Silence pervaded the room, until Vaughn couldn't stand it any more. The girl's tears affected him; he couldn't help it.

"We're all very sorry that you've been put in this position, Lina," the Green-eyed Suit said.

Sydney blinked, as if it had just occurred to her that they knew lies as truth too. She shook her head.

"My name isn't Lina. It's Sydney. Sydney Bristow. Lina is just the name I use at the KGB."

Bristow. Jack Bristow's kid? Vaughn wondered.

The director didn't react, he just pulled a silver locket from his pocket.

"Well, Sydney, I have something for you. Did Denosivich tell you about his pen?"

Sydney nodded.

"Well, this locket is like his pen. Inside, there's a switch. Tech guys' best work. This has a two mile range."

"Be careful about using it," Vaughn advised. "KGB will get suspicious if you just happen to disappear every time their surveillance is down, if you use it too often."

As Denosivich led her out half an hour later, Sydney couldn't help but look back at the Green-eyed Suit. She hadn't even gotten his name, and she'd probably never see him again.

Denosivich nearly erased the Green-eyed Suit from Sydney mind as he drove her home. They'd ridden in silence for ten minutes before he spoke.

"You only have two choices now, Lina…Sydney," he said carefully. "You're in too deep already. You can either train to be a double-agent, or leave entirely. Witness protection, or something. Your mother is dangerous, Sydney."

I know you guys are gonna hate me, but I'm going to tell you now that there are only three more chapters after this one, and they're shorter than usual. But the good news is, I'm writing a sequal! I'm going to bring in our beloved Green-eyedSuit, and more Sydney spy action, so I think ya'll will love it!