He can barely breathe, barely get out his next words. "How do you know . . . ?"

"One of our agents intercepted a transmission . . . Her transfer code name was 'Hawk.'" She looks at him, eyes full of compassion. "The CIA lied to you. She's already been transferred to Camp Harris."

"Surely we can do something . . ."

"We'll discuss this when you return," she says, a note of finality in her voice.

And Sark knows it's useless to pursue the subject. He turns and walks away, trying to keep the lingering thought of Allison out of his mind as he makes plans.

CIA OPS CENTER

"Agent Vaughn."


Vaughn spins around, coming face-to-face with Kendall. His face is even more serious than usual.

"You need to come with me." He pauses. "We think we found something."

Vaughn's stomach lurches. Wordlessly, he stands up from his desk and follows Kendall into the briefing room.

When he arrives, he sees an assortment of all of Sydney's friends- and one family member—Jack, Marshall, Dixon, Carrie – even Will- and a dozen other operatives.

No one says a word to him as he sits down next to Will.

"We received intel from a contact in southern Brazil. A hotel was burned down two days ago- the local authorities suspect arson. Among the deceased there was a young woman. She was severely burned, but her description matched that of Agent Sydney Bristow."

Vaughn hears the sharp intake of breath from Will. He takes a short glance at him and sees that his expression is stricken.

He fights to keep down the pain welling up.

"We're in the process of verifying the accuracy of this intel." Kendall puts his hand down on the table, almost too hard, and surveys them all. "We'll keep you posted," he says. "You're free to go."

Jack is the first to leave. He is the only one who doesn't have a shaken look on his or her face. Everyone else's expression mirrors Will's—including Vaughn.

No, his inner voice screams, no, she's not dead, no, she just can't be . . .

*              *              *

The next day, it's been confirmed. Agent Sydney Bristow was killed in an arsonist fire.

The very next day, Agent Michael Vaughn turns in his resignation form to the CIA.

A/N: The promise of Sarkney still looms!! Don't give up on it yet. I'm still deciding on whether they should be related or not (probably not) . . . I'll keep ya posted. We may not have an update for awhile but I'll definitely give out teasers and the like.  Please review, and thank you to those who already have, it's appreciated!!