DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters. I only borrow them so that we can play cops and robbers with real guns and real bullets. Do not worry, they will not be returned dead. Because in Alias, nobody stays dead.

CHAPTER THREE

I found her… but we have a problem.

Sydney woke up in a jolt. She was back in her apartment.

"Do you now know who the Protector is?" Hector asked in a low tone.

Sydney looked at him, angry that she was pulled away from that reality a bit too quick.

"What was that? Why was it so happy?" She asked him, her voice cracking.

"I'm sorry, but if I didn't pull you out as soon as you have found the Protector, you will not want to leave." Hector answered.

"Who wouldn't want to leave there? It was something I've always wanted when I found out that my life is so screwed up!" Sydney replied. She was trying to hold back her temper.

"I am really sorry." Hector said. Sydney was looking at him like he was as evil and despicable as Sloane.

"Sydney, who is the Protector?" Dixon asked. All of them want to know who this 'Protector' is.

She looked at him. All of her visitors were watching her. Sydney took a deep breath and sighed.

"A girl named Ana." She answered.

"How is this girl related to you? I mean, The Passenger is your sister and apparently, Rambaldi is your ancestor… or something." Marshall asked.

"Ana is my sister." Sydney replied and then looked at her father. "Not only do we have the same mother, we also have the same father."

Jack stared at her.

"Excuse me?" her father asked.

"She's a teenager. Like seventeen or something. She looks a lot like mom… like her clone. Well, except for her eyes. They were gray." Sydney said as she looked down. She doesn't know if she should tell her father about the baby. For one thing, the whole parallel reality thing might just be a hoax.

"The people in the world you visited are and once were, part of your life. And the new people you have met there exist in this world too." Hector said.

"You mean… he's real too?" Sydney asked. Hector nodded. "Should I tell him?"

"I think that is up to your mother." Hector said.

"Tell me what?" Jack asked, realizing that they were talking about him.

"Nothing." Sydney replied as she looked at them.

"What will we do?" Vaughn asked Dixon. He shook his head.

"I don't really know what to do at this point. She might be with Irina Derevko or she might not be with her. What do you think, Jack?" Dixon asked.

Jack looked at him, uncertain on what to answer. He doesn't know if Irina deliberately forgot to tell him that he has another child with her or that their daughter was also taken away from her, like Nadia.

"I don't know."

Just as then, Dixon's phone rang.

"Hello?" he greeted as he stood up to go to a more private area.

"So, you have a sister in the other reality…?" Marshall asked.

"Yeah. She was really, really nice." Sydney answered, nodding her head.

"Was I there? Uh… just asking." Marshall asked as he gave a little smile.

"Yeah, you were there. Together with Carrie." Sydney answered as she smiled back. The people in that alternate reality were so much like in this reality. Well, maybe except Sark, Nadia and Sloane. And Lauren wasn't there.

"Was I there?" Vaughn asked her.

"Yeah. You too." Sydney said, a bit sad.

"What happened there? Why did you get angry at Hector when he pulled you out?" Jack asked, concerned.

"Nothing. I just… liked it there." Sydney answered, not looking at him. It was what she wanted. A happy, a little bit normal, family. And Vaughn is her fiancé.

"Damn it." They heard Dixon say. Everybody, including Hector, looked at him.

"The Ambassador of Macedonia was almost assassinated fifteen minutes ago, when he was on his way to his hotel. Langley thinks it's the Covenant." Dixon explained.

"What?!" Vaughn and Marshall exclaimed. They all know that if anybody wants the Ambassador dead, it's the CIA. When the Ambassador of Macedonia loses his status as a diplomat, he will be labeled by the Agency as a terrorist.

"The Covenant?" Hector asked. Without waiting for an answer, he continued. "The pillar of evil is in there."

The agents looked at him. They don't know if he actually know how evil the people behind the Covenant or if Rambaldi prophesized the Covenant.

"We have to bring in Hector for his own safety. We meet back in the rotunda after thirty minutes."

-x-x-x-

"Do we have information about the assassin?" Sydney asked as they sat down on the chairs.

"Just a vague description. According to our informant, the Covenant asked a freelancer to do the job. This… freelancer, has also done jobs for the CIA and for private citizens as well." Dixon answered after they have settled down in their seats.

"What do you mean, private citizens?" Vaughn asked.

"The freelancer can be employed to steal back things that another party stole. For example, the Midnight Ruby, a prized jewel of the Shah of Iran, was stolen a few months ago. Now that was a highly publicized theft and we didn't hear it being returned. But it was retrieved. Retrieved by this freelancer."

"So, he can be a cat burglar and an assassin?" Marshall said.

"And he can be a hacker too." Dixon replied. "We don't know anything about him. His way of being contacted is so tedious; sometimes we just have to make do with our $30 M contract assassins."

"His price is lower?" Weiss asked.

"A measly $5 M compared to ours."

The whole room was filled with silence. How can they apprehend an unknown person with a very colorful background in everything and could probably take down the whole division if he carefully planned for it?

"So, what do we do?" Jack asked.

"I want Sydney, Vaughn and Weiss to track down this freelancer. Make him work for us. Jack, I want you to track down the Protector." Dixon replied.

"You want him to contact Irina Derevko?" Vaughn asked.

"Yes."

"Do NSC and Langley know?" Jack asked.

"They don't need to know." Dixon answered. Dixon's answer to his question seems to surprise Jack more than his mission.

"So, that's everything. Sydney, Vaughn, Rick will be giving you the information we have on this freelancer. Marshall, I need you to check the cameras that were possibly near the hotel. And Jack…" Dixon said as he turned to Jack.

"Contact your ex-wife. Be discreet because I can't promise you that she will not be apprehended nor will you be exonerated if the two of you are caught together."

Jack nodded his head. "What if she refuses to help?"

"Well, we'll have to find another way to locate the Protector." Dixon answered. "What I've ordered Jack to do, will not come out of this room." Dixon ordered to everybody. They all nodded their heads.

"I'll see what I can do." Jack said to Dixon as he looked at Sydney. Sydney just gave a little okay.

-x-x-x-

Katya walked out to the terrace. She has some business to attend to and Irina is one of those businesses. She found her sister sitting on a chair, nursing a dark haired baby. Her eyes are closed.

"Hmm… what brings you here?" Irina said, sensing Katya's presence. She opened her eyes and looked at her older sister.

"Nothing." Katya answered and looked around. "Where's Ana?" She asked.

"She's going to arrive any minute. Why did she do anything?" Irina asked as she looked at her son. A warm, ardent feeling enveloped her when the baby opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Uh, no. she didn't do anything. I'm just surprised she actually left the house without you two." Katya replied.

"She's a teenager. She needs to get out of the house once in a while."

"And what brings you here to Mexico?" Katya asked. She is still standing, still watching Irina breast feed the baby.

"We need to get out once in a while, too." Irina answered.

Silence. Katya looked at her watch. She is waiting for Irina to finish.

"All through, honey?" Irina murmured in Russian when the baby released her nipple. She gently kissed her son's forehead and buttoned up her blouse. She then proceeded to make her baby burp.

A few minutes later, and they were done. Irina stood up and went inside.

"Will you stay for dinner, Katya?" Irina asked. The baby was gurgling and waving his little hands at his mother.

Katya didn't answer her question. Instead she raised a gun behind Irina's head.

Upon hearing the familiar click of the weapon, Irina stiffened and tightened her hold on the baby. Her heart is starting to beat faster and panic is bubbling in her throat.

"Nothing personal, Irisha. Duty calls."

"Duty calls? And what duty is that?" Irina acerbically asked. She is unarmed and afraid. Afraid for the safety of her son and her daughter.

"The Covenant wants Ana. I'm going to deliver her to them."

"So its duty first before family? That's not like you." Irina replied as she slowly turned around to face Katya.

"Family? You stopped being family when you chose him over us!"

"Him? What are you talking about?" Irina asked as she tried to pacify the baby, who seemed to sense the tension between his mother and his aunt.

"I'm talking about the decision you made almost seventeen years ago. The day you chose to bear the daughter of that bastard! The day you betrayed our country for that man!" Katya hissed.

Irina didn't reply and instead looked at her sister. Katya is clearly angry and trying to escape will aggravate her more. Irina perfectly understands that Katya intends to use them as bait, as a source for emotional blackmail. And if she and her son try to run off, Katya will not hesitate to pull the trigger.

They then heard running footsteps coming their way.

"Mom, we have to leave, our position is…" The girl trailed off when she saw her aunt pointing a gun on her mother's head. Her brother seemed to be still in her mother's arms.

"Our position, is what, Arriana?" Katya mockingly asked.

The girl gaped at her. "Aunt Katya? What are you doing?" she asked after finding her voice. She was frozen on her spot. Her mother and her brother are in grave danger.

"Let's just say I let all those men you beat up, inside the house." Katya answered after she noticed the ruffled appearance of her niece.

"I… why?" she chokingly asked. Her Aunt Katya is one of her most favorite persons in her life. And she is betraying them.

"I have orders to take you in. My colleagues found out that you are the thief, and they want me to deliver you to them, dead or alive."

"You're going to deliver me to your colleagues? What am I, pizza? What makes you think I'll go with you that easily?"

Katya gave a sardonic laugh. Ana looked at her mother. She doesn't know what to do.

"You don't want your brother to grow up motherless, do you?" Katya said in an ominous tone.

Ana's head snapped back to look at her. She is now looking at her aunt with a cold, murderous stare that makes people look for the nearest exit. Both Irina and Katya had seen that vicious stare. Ana's father can put on an identical glare and execute the intent. The girl looked at her mother again, and Irina saw that she took Katya's bait.

"I'll go with you if you promise not to hurt my mother and brother."

"That's the plan." Katya replied as she took another gun and trained it at Ana. "Now, turn around slowly and walk out of the room. Don't make any sudden movements or I might make a mistake and accidentally shoot your brother." Katya added and glanced at Irina. She was holding the baby close to her chest.

Katya watched as her niece walked to the door. "Stop there, honey." She said as she walked towards Ana. She then turned to her sister. "Don't worry Irisha, I'll take care of your little girl."

Katya placed a hand on Ana's shoulder and pushed her out.

"Don't try to follow us. I rigged the house with bombs that will detonate if ever you try to leave within thirty minutes after us."

Irina just stared after them. A few minutes later, she heard cars being started and then fading away in the distance. Tears slid down her cheeks. The child she tried hard to protect from this life, from murder and betrayals, is betrayed by her own kin.

She looked down at her son and wiped the tears away. The baby yawned and sleepily looked at her.

"One way or another, we're going to rescue your sister."