Chapter Seventeen

The streets of London streamed past the windows of Sark's black BMW, as we drove through the city. Sark and I were back in the car, driving towards the airport. I grinned again as I caught the flash of my new ring on my finger. My engagement ring. I was going to marry the man I loved. And I couldn't help but feel giddy at the whole idea.

Sark's phone rang, breaking into my mushy thoughts. As I still wore his jacket, I fished it out and answered. "Hello?"

"Sydney?" asked my mother, by way of greeting.

"Hi, mom." I said. "Anything wrong?"

"No." Irina replied. "Are you at the airport yet?"

"Not yet." I replied. "We're still on our way."

"Good." Irina sounded pleased. "Because I have a favour to ask of you, Sydney."

I raised an eyebrow in curiosity, even though she couldn't see it. "What do you need?"

"I want you to bring Will Tippin back to Ireland with you." Irina said. "He has some important information about Rambaldi and the Covenant…and I think the Covenant is after him."

"Do you have an address?"

"10 James Street, London." Irina told me.

"We'll bring him in." I replied. "See you in Ireland."

Sark glanced at me as I hung up the phone. "What was that about?"

"My mother would like us to bring Will back with us."

Sark nodded. "He's a good agent." He said softly. "So where are we heading?"

"10 James Street." I told him.

Number 10, James Street, London was a rather small, modest house in a reasonable suburb. Just the sort of place the CIA would set up an operative. I got out the car, suddenly nervous. This would be the first time I had seen Will in over two years. Taking a deep breath, I walked straight up to the front door and knocked.

There was a moment of nervous silence as I waited for Will to answer. Sark was a comforting presence just behind me. I reached behind me for his hand, slipping my fingers between his. It seemed like eternity before Will finally answered the door.

He looked as rumpled as I remembered. He wore a pair of grey sweat pants and nothing else. His chest held a few more scars than I remembered and there was more muscle tone as well. Will blinked sleepy eyes at me in astonishment as he ran a hand through his scruffy blonde hair. "Syd?" he said, as if unable to believe it.

"Hi, Will." I said. "It's so good to see you."

Embarrassed I felt tears begin to gather in my eyes. Despite what everyone had told me, it was a relief to see Will standing alive in front of me. Last time I had seen him, he had been bleeding and as pale as death.

"Sydney? Is it really you?" Will asked.

"Yeah, it's me." I replied.

Suddenly, Will crushed me to him in a fierce hug, which I returned just as hard. "Oh my God, it's good to see you again." He whispered into my hair.

"It's good to see you again, too." I whispered back.

He left me go after a minute, his eyes glancing at the man behind me. "Hello, Julian." He greeted, not friendly, but not hostile either.

"Will." Sark returned, his tone calm.

He took a step back and looked at us. "You'd better come in."

"Thanks." I said, following him into the dark house.

Just like Will, the house was messy and chaotic, but with a strange sense of organisation. It always amazed me how Will always felt at home in mess. "So how are you?" I asked as I found a seat on the old couch.

"Good enough. You?"

"Good." I replied.

We sat for a minute in silence, Julian beside me and Will opposite us. "So why are you here?" Will finally asked bluntly. "I was under the impression that the CIA didn't know about Julian."

"They don't." I said. "It's a long story."

Julian looked levelly at Will. "We want to ask you to come to Ireland with us. To help us finally take down the Covenant." He said. "But I should warn you that we are both wanted by the CIA and this would be against them, for the most part."

"For the most part?" Will asked.

I answered him truthfully. "Only Dixon knows that Julian is really working for the CIA and I'm his new handler. The rest of the CIA believes I've committed treason and murder."

Will looked at me in astonishment, before giving a soft chuckle. He looked straight at Sark. "You broke her out, didn't you?"

"Yes." Julian said, his tone friendly, which surprised me no end. "I did."

It seemed Sark and Will were friendlier than I thought. And there was a lot more to the relationship than just handler and agent.

"And?" Will asked.

"She remembers." Sark replied.

I looked at the two of them, a slight frown on my face. "Would you two mind telling me what you are talking about?" I asked coolly.

"I told Will that you didn't remember. And he read the CIA report." Sark said.

"You could say we developed a kind of friendship." Will said. "Despite everything in the past."

I shook my head in astonishment. "Well, that I didn't expect." I said. "So are you willing to come to Ireland?"

"Of course." Will said. "You know I'd do anything to help you, Syd."

The quiet surprise in his voice, as if he didn't think I would ever doubt his coming to help me, humbled me. Will was willing to risk everything, once again, for me. I smiled at him, before walking over and giving him another hug. "Thank you, Will."

"No problem." He said. "Give me a moment to change and pack?"

"Of course." I replied, as he got up and left the room.

I turned to Sark. "So you and Will are friends?" I asked.

Sark looked back at me. "Will is a giving and stubborn man. He refuses to let this world corrupt him. I can't help but respect that. And slowly, that respect has become friendship and trust. So, yes, I suppose you could call him a friend. One of few."

I smiled, happy that two of the most important men in my life respected and trusted each other. It made me glad to realise that I wasn't going to have to fight so hard to get my family and friends to accept Sark in my life.

"Well, you are kind of lovable in a sociopathic way." Will said from the doorway.

I looked over at him in surprise, just as Sark told him, "So are you."

He laughed and hefted a small duffle bag. "I was already packed." He explained.

Will had thrown on a sweater and T-shirt, and shoved his feet into boots. Grabbing a long coat from the back of a chair, he put it on and looked at us. "Let's go." He said.

The next morning found us all in Ireland, sitting at the large dining table in Sark's house. Sark and I had explained everything to Will on the plane, from my waking up in Hong Kong, to meeting everyone in Ireland. He had quietly accepted all the information, nodding thoughtfully at times. His quiet acceptance and understanding made me grateful to have him in my life. Will really was special.

"So what's the plan for today?" Will asked, tucking into a large plate of bacon and eggs as if he hadn't eaten in weeks.

I just watched him eat with a mild revulsion, before taking another bite of my fruit salad. How anyone could face all that grease in the morning, I never knew. Sark was the same, busy eating his way through a plate of bacon and eggs too. "Plan, I guess, and wait for everyone else to wake up."

"Well, I'm up." Charlie said, walking through the door, a cup of coffee in hand.

She glanced at Will in surprise, before her lips curved into a smile. "Hello." She said. "Who are you?"

Will looked up, and I could see his surprise at the woman standing in front of him. Charlie was wearing sweats and looked as if she had been busy in the gym earlier this morning. "Will." He told her.

Will shot Sark a glance. "You never said you had a sister." He said.

"Half-sister." Sark corrected. "And you never asked."

Charlie looked at me amused. I smiled back. "Will's an old friend of mine." I said. "He also works for the CIA."

Charlie nodded, sitting down opposite Will. "Well, Will. It's nice to meet you." Her lips quirked in an amused smile. "My name's Charlie."

Will nodded, still eating. "Hi." He greeted.

It was at that moment both my parents decided to enter. They were once again arguing, but it didn't sound too heated this time. "Hi dad." I greeted. "Hi mom."

"That's her mother?" Will said as he and Sark shared an amused glance.

"Yes, that's Irina." Sark agreed.

Will turned back to my parents to find Irina staring at him in curiosity and amusement. "Hello Sydney." She greeted briefly, before turning back to him. "So you're Will Tippin."

"Yes I am." Will told her levelly.

"Morning, honey." Dad said softly, kissing my cheek as he sat down beside me.

I smiled at him. "How are you?" I asked.

"Surprisingly good, considering I was alone with your mother for the first time in over 20 years." He said.

"Anything I need to worry about?" I asked.

"No. She's still alive and likely to stay that way." He said.

I chuckled at his words. "Good." I said. "I'd hate to have to spend the morning trying to hide a body."

My father grinned back at me. "I know what you mean."

I turned back to the others, and found my mother staring at me and my father with a frown on her face. "Have you two quite finished?" she asked coolly.

"For now." my father grinned.

Beside me, Sark chuckled softly. It seemed like family life was about as normal as it got around here. "So, what's next?" I asked, breaking the silence that had fallen.

"We've located Arvin Sloane and the machine he has built to procure the knowledge of Rambaldi. I believe if we strike now, we can get rid of all the major heads of the Covenant, leaving it weakened, if not collapsed." Irina said.

"Well, that's blunt enough." Charlie said. "So, what's the plan?"

Irina smiled softly. "Sydney, you and Sark will head to Sloane's villa in Tuscany, along with Will and Charlie. Together, you bring in Sloane and Lindsay." She said. "Your father and I will deal with Cocannon and Mr. Joseph Rhys."

"Infiltration and capture." Charlie said. "My favourite."

Sark looked at her. "You say that about them all." He said dryly.

"True." Charlie agreed. "I'm just gifted, because I love my job."

I smiled at the banter between the two, before turning back to my mother. "How many guards are we looking at?" I asked her.

"No more than fifteen. Probably ten." Irina said. "Sloane won't want a lot of people near him at the moment."

"Easy enough then." I said. "When do we leave?"

"In two hours." She replied.

I nodded at her words, and then sighed. I shot a look at Julian, and he nodded slightly. I guessed, now would be as good a time as any to break our new. I just hope that since we were about to take down the Covenant, bloodshed would be kept to a minimum.

"Mom, Dad," I began. "I have some news."

"Why do I suddenly have a bad feeling in my gut?" Dad asked no one in particular.

"Oh, hush Jack." My mother said absently. "Let's hear what she has to say first."

I shot another glance at Sark, just as his hand gripped mine under the table. I was pleased to notice his palm was slightly damp, as if he was as nervous as me. And, I have to say, admitting I loved a wanted criminal to the CIA was far easier than telling my parents I wanted to marry him. Oh, Lord, what had I gotten myself into?

Sark squeezed my hand reassuringly, just as I caught Will's amused expression. It seemed, since he already knew of my engagement, he was quite happy to sit back and enjoy the fireworks. I glared at him, before turning back to my parents.

I let my breath out slowly. "Julian and I are engaged." I said bluntly.

"Shit." My father said. "When?"

Then he glared at mom, who was sitting back with an amused look on her face. "Did you know about this?" he demanded.

"No more than you did." Irina said. "But I had a suspicion it would happen eventually, just not this soon."

"I know what you mean." Dad replied, sighing.

I narrowed my eyes at the two of them. "You don't sound as surprised as you should." I said. "So what aren't you telling me?"

Irina sighed. "I always thought that the two of you would work well together." She said. "So I am not that surprised that you have chosen to spend your life with him as well."

Now it was my turn to sigh. "Why do parents always know everything?" I asked Sark.

"I have yet to figure that one out myself." He replied dryly.

I looked at the rest of table. Will was still watching everything, an amused smiled on his face. Irina was smiled happily, and my father was nodding, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Congratulations." He said.

Charlie, on the other hand was looking faintly annoyed. "Are you going to show us, or what?" she snapped.

I brought my hand up from under the table and showed her. "Awesome!" she cried.

"Yes." I told her, giving Sark a smile. "It is."

It was late evening before we got to Tuscany. I sat in the helicopter taking us to Sloane's villa, and couldn't help but smile. I was finally going to take Arvin Sloane down – and I couldn't loose this time. The air was mild as it whipped at my hair, and I was dressed in SWAT black and armed to the teeth.

Sark sat close beside me, dressed in the same. He had been quiet for the past hour, as had I, getting ready for what we were about to do. Opposite us, Charlie and Will were in deep conversation. I snuggled closer to Sark and smiled softly as his arms came around me. I treasured the moment of tenderness, because I knew that it would soon be time to us to put our masks back on and become the hard, highly-skilled operatives we were.

I felt a pang of sadness as I thought that, but knew it would be true. But it couldn't be helped. I had learnt a long time ago, that you couldn't show any emotions to your enemies, because they would not hesitate to use them against you. Never let them see you bleed, my father had once told me. The words had always stayed with me, as had the truth behind them.

I sighed, for once in my life, putting the bad guys second. I just wanted to spend another week with Sark, not worrying about the world or the CIA. Just us. As if Sark knew what I felt, his arms tightened around me and he pulled me closer. I turned in his embrace so I was facing him, and gave him a brief kiss. He kissed me back with a gentle tenderness, tinged with a little regret. He knew, that just as I did, we could not show Sloane how much we meant to each other.

"We're here." The pilot's voice yelled over the dull thumping of the rotor blades.

Sark got up and nodded, indicating to the pilot that we were ready to go. Will practiced movements, Sark and I threw out the ropes from the sides of the chopper, before quickly repelling down. It took seconds for us to reach the ground and have our weapons out, watching for anyone on guard.

We saw no one, and heard the dull thud of Will and Charlie hitting the ground behind us. The pilot cut the ropes, and they followed us down, before he left. We were alone now, armed and standing outside the villa of the man I hated most in the world. Time to do what we came here to do.

But before I could do anything, Sark came up to me and grabbed me by the jacket. He gave me a fierce, but brief kiss. "Be careful, Syd." He said.

"You, too, Julian." I replied, briefly cupping his cheek.

Then I turned, my face hardening into a mask of purpose and anger. "Let's go." I said to Will and Charlie. "We have a terrorist to stop."