Part Six:

The loud techno music thumped around me as I half-danced, half-walked through the surging crowd. I smiled at the approving glances of many of the men, trying to live up to my party girl persona. It helped that I was wearing a long blonde wig and a very short skirt.

Once again, I wasn't so much wearing an outfit...more of an illusion, really. And I loved it. I wouldn't be seen doing something like this or wearing something like this in my life as Sydney Bristow. But during a mission...I was free. And that freedom was what made it so addictive. That and the adrenaline rush. It made me feel so alive.

I scanned the crowd, looking for my target. I spotted him at the bar, talking to another man. Smiling slightly, I sauntered over, before wiping the smile from my face. I ordered a drink – a cocktail – and turned my back on the bar looking bored. I noticed Cortez looking over at me. He finished his conversation and strolled over.

He came to stand next to me and leaned over towards my ear. I could smell the alcohol on his breath and his overpowering cologne. "Having fun?" he asked in my ear.

I thanked my lucky stars that my earpiece was in the other ear. I leaned back from him and raised an eyebrow. According to his file, André Cortez had a weakness for women...especially blondes. It was a fact I was counting on. "No." I replied, as I leaned forward again, making sure I flashed some cleavage in his direction.

"I know something that could be...fun." He said.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. The was drunk – which would make my job easier. "Really?" I asked.

He leaned back and grinned lecherously at me, and took my arm. I smiled seductively back at him as he led me past the guards at the back of the club and into an office. I noticed that glances the guards shot at me, and knew they probably wouldn't 'disturb' us for a while. Which would give me the time I needed.

I looked around at the office, noticing the door slightly hidden at the back. Just where I wanted to be. As soon as the door was shut, dulling the constant thumping from outside, I moved. A quick kick to the gut and a blow to the back of the head, and he was out cold.

I dragged his heavy body behind the desk and fished his security pass from inside his jacket pocket. "This is Mountaineer." I said. "I'm going in."

"Copy that Mountaineer." Vaughn said form LA. "Do you have the pass?"

"Affirmative." I said.

I grinned, feeling the adrenaline surge through my body. Wherever I had been for the past two years, I hadn't lost my edge. And, despite everything, at this moment it felt great to be back. I ran quickly to the door at the back of the room, and found the lock I was expecting. I dug into the small bag I was carrying and grabbed my small powder compact that doubled as an electronic decoder.

I quickly hooked it up to the keypad beside the lock and watched the numbers on its screen. I glanced over my shoulder to make sure Cortez was still unconscious – and to make sure the door was still shut. They were. The compact gave a small beep and I glanced at the eight digit code it now displayed. Marshall was a genius. If it wasn't for him most of our missions would fail. I sent him a quick thanks, before unhooking the decoder. I swiped the security pass and typed in the code. I held my breath for a second, before the light blinked green and the door opened.

I put the decoder back into my bag and drew out my gun, before slipping through the door. It shut behind me as I took the safety off my gun and made sure there was a bullet in the chamber. "I'm through." I said into my earpiece. "Going radio silent until the security system is disabled."

"Copy that Mountaineer." Vaughn replied.

I crept down the corridor, my gun held out in front of me. I thought back to the blueprint I had memorised in Marshall's office. The control room should be the third room on the right if I remembered correctly. When I got to the door, I peered carefully inside, and saw I was right.

The only problem was there were two men in the room. I took a deep breath and hoped the gunshots wouldn't attract any attention, before I darted through the door and fired. One of the men went down with two bullets to the chest. The other man went for his gun, but I was quicker. When he was dead I turned and shut the door, hoping to delay anyone if they came after me.

I moved to a computer and hit a few keys, before digging out my lipstick from my bag. It was another one of Marshall's inventions. I hooked it up to the back of the computer and accessed the security files. While I watched in amazement, the security system shut down as Marshall's virus infiltrated the system. I unhooked the lipstick just as two red words flashed up on the screen in Spanish. 'System Disabled.'

"Security system disabled." I said.

"Confirmed." Vaughn replied. "Strike team entering building."

"Weiss?" I asked. "I'm heading down to the basement now."

"Copy that Mountaineer." Weiss said.

Grabbing my gun from where I had put it down, I crept to the door and peered out. I could see no one coming, so I slipped out into the corridor and headed for the stairs. As I raced down the first flight, I heard the echo of gunfire. It seemed the strike team had been discovered. I raced down another flight of stairs, just as the door above me opened.

Two guards ran began running down the stairs, yelling to each other when they heard my footsteps. Shit. The guards opened fire, forcing me to weave around in order to dodge them. When they stopped to reload, I risked a glance over the railing. The ground wasn't that far away. I needed to get out of the stairwell if I had any hope of getting away from the guards.

So I took a deep breath and jumped over the railing. I hit the ground and rolled, but the impact still jarred my ankles and knees. It didn't help that I was wearing high heeled boots either. I quickly got to my feet and ran through the door to my right. I could hear the fast footsteps of the guards above me.

I burst out into a corridor. I looked each way, but could find no cover to hide behind. Damn it! Then I spotted a small corridor branching of a few feet away. I raced to the corridor and just managed to get around it before the guards burst through the door behind me. Wasting no time, I positioned myself at the edge and fired around the corridor, ducking back when they shot at me again. I managed to shoot one of the guards before my clip ran out. I quickly ejected it and it hit the floor with a clatter. I slipped a fresh clip into the gun and fired again, this time managing to get the second guard.

As I began half-jogging, half-creeping down the corridor, Weiss's voice crackled in my ear. "Mountaineer, where are you?"

"En route." I said. "I'm on the basement level now."

"Copy that." Weiss replied.

I followed the sound of echoing gunfire down the corridor, and about half a minute later, I came upon the strike team. I saw a few glances in my direction, but everyone seemed to recognise me. "Weiss." I said, coming to stand beside him against the wall.

"Hey, Syd." He said.

Then he glanced at Agent Macknezie. "Mac, cover us. I'm taking Sullivan, West and Bristow."

"Yes, sir." Mackenzie said.

Weiss nodded at me, and I followed him as he ran down the corridor, two other agents behind us. Weiss stopped at the fourth door on the left, and turned to me. "Syd." He said.

I nodded. There was a similar lock on this door to the lock back in the office. I grabbed the decoder again, and hooked it up, while Weiss and the two other agents covered my back and kept a lookout. "Got it." I said, when the code flashed up on the screen.

I swiped the security pass and typed in the code. The door opened with a quiet swish. I took in the scene before me in a second and reacted just as quickly. I saw a grey haired man in a doctor's coat leaning over a man on a gurney. I recognised the man on the gurney as our missing agent, Hoffmann. "CIA!" I snapped quickly. "Freeze!" The man took one look at me and went for his gun. I didn't hesitate and shot him once in the chest.

I checked the room for anyone else, but it was empty. Weiss had already moved to the agent and was removing his gag. "Agent Hoffmann, we're from the CIA. You're going to be fine."

"Thank you." Agent Hoffmann said. "Thank you."

"Base ops." Weiss said into his earpiece. "We have the prisoner. He's okay."

As I scanned the room, my eyes rested on the grey haired man for a second. I looked back at him. His features suddenly looked very familiar to me. I could have sworn I'd seen him before. As I watched him, the man raised his head slightly and looked at me with piercing brown eyes.

"You kept your promise." He said in a thick Russian accent. "That you would kill me..." he smiled slightly. "You were always my favourite...you never broke."

I stood there in shock for a second, before rushing forward and grabbing the man. "Who the hell are you?!" I demanded. "What are you talking about? Why did the Covenant take two years of my life?"

But I was too late. As I watched the light spilled out of his eyes as he died. I took a shaky breath and tried to stop the sobs that were threatening. "Syd?" Weiss said softly from behind me. "Are you alright?"

Now was not the time to break down. I had to be strong. "I'm fine." I said as I got up. "Let's get out of here."

"No..." Hoffmann's voice interrupted. "You have to get the disk."

"The disk?" Weiss said, turning to him. "It's here?"

"I hid it in the safe of my office. I was going to hide it somewhere else, but they found me first..." Hoffmann said. "Top floor. Room 42. The code is 435F67G."

Weiss looked at me, and I nodded briefly. "Mac, I'm sending Hoffmann to you. Get out of here. Agent Bristow and I will meet you at the extraction point." He turned back to me. "Let's go."

The two of us ran out of the room and headed for the stairs as West and Sullivan took Hoffmann to where Mackenzie was waiting. I peered into the stairwell, before giving Weiss the all clear. We began running up the stairs, but after two floors, even I was beginning to pant. "How many more?" Weiss asked from behind me, out of breath.

"Don't know." I replied. "Only three, I think."

Unfortunately, it was at that moment that two more guards burst into the stairwell a floor below us. "Go!" Weiss yelled at me. "I'll catch up!"

I nodded and put on a burst of speed up the stairs, even though my legs were beginning to burn. I think the lack of food and sleep were beginning to catch up with me. I heard gunfire behind me, and resisted the urge to look over my shoulder, trusting Weiss to deal with the men.

I finally reached the top floor and began running down the corridor, glancing at room numbers. A guard burst out of a room before me, but I shot him twice in the chest before running on. I spotted 42 and ran inside. Glancing around at the room, I couldn't see a safe. But there were two paintings on the wall behind the desk. I smiled. I wonder...

The safe was behind the second painting. I quickly typed in the code Hoffmann had told me, hoping it hadn't been changed. It hadn't. The door opened with a soft electronic beep. I spotted the disk inside and grabbed it quickly. I shut the safe and replaced the painting. Pivoting, I ran out of the room and back towards the stairs.

Just as I got there, Weiss burst through the door. "Got it!" I called as I ran past.

He nodded to me and spun, following me down the stairs. "Base ops." I said as I ran. "We have the disk and are heading to the extraction point."

"Copy that Mountaineer." Vaughn said.

I kept running down the stairs, leaping over the bodies of the men that had attacked us before. I hit the ground floor out of breath, with Weiss a couple of steps behind me. "Which way?" I asked, having entered through the club. I didn't know where the strike team had entered.

"Left." Weiss panted, and I ran left.

Following the corridor, I saw a flash of moment to my right. I didn't hesitate, and fired at the movement. But whoever they were, they were good. They were gone before I could hit them. I glanced back at Weiss, only to see a man in black jump out at him. "Eric!" I yelled, just as a foot slammed into my chest.

Combined with the strength of the blow and the way I ran straight into it, the air was forced from my lungs, and I dropped my gun as I gasped for breath. When I had finally caught my breath again, and was able to think once more, I glanced up and saw man standing in front of me. He seemed vaguely familiar.

But that was all forgotten when he swung at me with a sharp kick to the head. I did the only thing I could from where I was kneeling on the floor. I threw myself to the side, ducking below the kick and rolled to my feet. The man spun quickly and backhanded me, before punching me in the stomach – or, at least, he tried to. I blocked both the backhand and the punch with ease, letting my years of training and experience in the field take over.

I lashed out with a kick to the knee, followed by breaking his nose with a punch to the face. Before he could get up, I knocked him out with a spinning kick, putting all my frustration and anger I had been feeling over the past weak into it. He slumped to the floor, out cold.

I turned to help Weiss, but was surprised to see Weiss knock his opponent to the floor with a hefty punch to the jaw. Picking up his gun from the floor, Weiss knocked the man out with the butt. He turned and saw me staring at him in surprise. "They upgraded my field rating." He said.

I nodded in sudden understanding, before picking up my own gun. We took off down the corridor once again. It didn't take long for us to get to the back door of the facility. As Weiss and I burst out of the building and into the cool Spanish night, we turned to each other and shared a smile of triumph. We had succeeded in our mission and survived. It was a great feeling.

I looked back at the building once, standing serenely in the dark sky, unlike the chaos that was probably happening inside, and followed Weiss as we walked off into the night, towards the extraction point and home.

I walked through the JTF office, tired and confused. The words of the white coated man still whirling through my mind. I had found another clue to my missing years, but the clue made little sense. The debriefing for the last mission had just finished and I was heading back to my empty apartment. I can't say that I wanted to, but it was better than staying here.

I walked up to my desk to grab my coat and purse, when something caught my eye. My eyes widened when I saw what it was. A hand bound copy of 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'. "It's a third edition." Weiss said softly from where he stood beside me. "I was going to get a first edition, but it was like, 40 thousand dollars."

"Thank you." I said, and felt the tears begin to well in my eyes.

Weiss grinned at me and I leaned over and gave him a big hug. "No problem." He said. "Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah." I replied. "See you tomorrow."

With a much lighter heart and a soft smile on my face, I gathered up my coat and purse and headed back to my apartment. I stifled a yawn as I unlocked the door, and threw my coat and purse over a chair. I noticed how the late afternoon sun poured in through a window and smiled softly to myself. It was the perfect afternoon for a run. And a run was just what I needed to help order my thoughts.

I quickly changed into my sweats and grabbed my sunglasses and keys from beside the door. The beach was beautiful at this time of day – virtually empty and peaceful. I listened to the waves break against the shore as I ran beside it.

My feet pounded the pavement in a steady rhythm, clearing my thoughts and lifting my mood. I realised as I jogged that I would have to tell my father about what the doctor had said. He was connected to my disappearance somehow, that I knew. Dad would help my find out exactly how.

Just as I decided to turn back so I could call my father, I noticed the car following me. As I watched warily out the corner of my eye, the car pulled up beside me. I relaxed the tension in my body when I realised the driver was Dixon.

"Get in." he told me as he reached over and unlocked the passenger door.

I noticed the tension in his voice and did as he asked. We drove in silence up to a lookout further up the coast. When he had switched off the engine, I turned to him in curiosity. "Dixon, what is it?"

He turned to face me, his face both serious and slightly anxious. "Sydney," he began. "I was going to wait until you were more settled in, but I need your help."

"Of course." I said. "Anything." And I meant it.

"This is not going to be easy." Dixon continued. "But you have to hear it."

Dixon swallowed nervously. "Sydney, Sark has been working for the CIA for the past two and a half years. Soon after he was caught two years ago, we engineered his escape and he's been working as a double agent for us against the Covenant since then."

I sat in shock, staring at Dixon. Sark was working for the CIA? That just didn't seem right. Something else was going on.

"That's not all." Dixon added. "Since two and a half years ago, Will Tippin has been his handler, feeding his information back to us. But recently that's been getting to dangerous."

I shut my open mouth with a snap. Will had been his handler? It all seemed surreal. I smiled humourlessly. Just when I had thought I had heard all the surprises. "Where is Will now?" I asked.

"In London, decoding intel." Dixon said.

I sighed. "You want me to become Sark's new handler." I said, rather than asked.

"Yes."

I stared at the deep blue sea beyond the lookout for a moment. "Why couldn't you tell me this back at the office?"

"Because no one's supposed to know." Dixon answered. "Especially the NSC."

"Who else knows about this?"

"Me, Will, Kendall and you." Dixon said. "And you're mother. She's been feeding us odd bits of intel too."

"My mother?" That shocked me.

"I think it was more to protect you than anything else." Dixon said.

There was another moment of silence as I stared out the window. "I need to think about this." I said, feeling my gut churn in turmoil.

"I understand."

The drive back to the beachfront was tense. My mind was whirling. What the hell was I going to do? Could I become Sark's handler? I didn't know...but I was one of the few people who knew what he was like. And how treacherous he could be. But if I didn't do it, who else would? Vaughn? Weiss? My father? No. I was the only one.

Dixon pulled up at the curb where he had picked me up. "I'll do it." I told him.

He nodded and handed me a small silver phone. "Sark will contact you whenever he has intel. You can then pass it on and advise him of counter-missions."

I nodded. I knew how it worked. Silently I got out of the car and watched Dixon drive away. Then I turned and jogged slowly back to my apartment. The sun was setting beautifully over the ocean, but I barely noticed it.

When I opened my door, I found an envelope lying just beyond it. I noticed it was my father's handwriting. I sighed and picked it up. What other surprises was I in store for? The note was short and to the point...sounding just like my father.

Sydney,

There is something you should know. During my digging in Lazarey's past, I discovered that he was a descendant of the Romanov family and heir to the Romanov fortune – around 18 billion dollars.

Money that a Mr. Sark accessed a few days after Lazarey's death. I have reason to believe Mr. Sark is actually the son of Adrian Lazarey.

I love you.

Holy shit! I sank down onto the couch, my knees suddenly weak. Adrian Lazarey has been Sark's father – whom I had killed. Seemingly in cold blood. And now I was Sark's handler. Bloody Hell.

Those same thoughts kept running around and around in my head all night, making me feel somewhat nauseous and unable to sleep. I finally drifted off around 2am, exhausted and drained.

The day down bright and sunny – the complete opposite to my mood. I still didn't know what to think about everything. Particularly, Adrian Lazarey being Sark's father. And what was worse, was that Sark probably knew I was his killer.

What the hell was I going to do?

I sighed. The only thing I could do. Go to work and wait to see what happens.