Chapter Two
Ville Neuve, France
The black helicopter landed as the three agents and informant were exiting the farmhouse, the area was covered in darkness and no moon was out to help them see. They would have to count on Bourrett's knowledge of the area to guide them, understandably that didn't do much to ease any worries they might have had. The rotors gradually stopped and the pilot jumped out; one word from either of them and he would be back in the air to extract them. It would take them half an hour on foot to reach the building, being that it was in the middle of nowhere it would be too much of a risk to chance driving there, they could too easily be spotted. Wordlessly the four began moving away from the farmhouse, Bourrett led with Sydney and Vaughn behind him, while Jack brought up the rear.
"By the time we reach the house the guards will have changed over" Bourrett called back to them in too loud a voice. "I told Sloane I had personal business to take care of in town, he isn't expecting me back in town until tomorrow afternoon at the latest."
He didn't hear Jack walk up behind him and when he heard the hushed voice in his ear, the Frenchman jumped. "He may not expect to see you until tomorrow afternoon but if you speak much louder, he will hear you coming tonight" Bourrett got Jack's point. The poor guy, it looked like he couldn't quite decide whom he should be more afraid of: Arvin Sloane or Jack Bristow?
"Are you positive Sloane didn't have you followed?" Vaughn questioned. They all doubted he trusted Jacque enough to allow the man to walk freely.
Bourrett stopped for a second. "Of this I am certain" he assured them before climbing the rickety old fence that surrounded the farmhouse. At least it wasn't raining again, the grass, though still a little slippery in some places, was no longer so soggy that a person's boots would sink into the mud. The air was warm too and they wished for a breeze to cool them down as they trudged on.
Bourrett was talking again, though in a lower voice, this time about his family. It seemed to calm the man and so Jack reluctantly let him rattle on. "good job they're not locked in a room together" Vaughn broke the silence that had formed at the back of the group.
Sydney, who was glad for the start in conversation, grinned. "If they were, my dad would've throttled him hours ago."
Vaughn glanced in the direction of Bourrett and Jack; the younger man had his arms outstretched as though describing something that was 'really...this big!' "Hell I would've throttled him hours ago, this guy never shuts up" Sydney laughed and her partner shot her a look. "What?"
"You would throttle a guy for talking?" she giggled. They caught snatches of the other conversation, it sounded like Bourrett was talking about a fish he almost caught way back when.
"Talking incessantly" he corrected. "I don't know how we survived the plane ride" Vaughn shook his head as he remembered.
Sydney played along with the exaggeration and looked at him a little deviously. "There's still the flight back," she reminded him.
"That was evil Bristow, don't remind me of that. Maybe we could persuade Dixon to allow us to sedate him on the return journey, get a bit of peace and quiet" altogether, not a bad idea. He was sure Jack would agree.
Sydney nodded her agreement. "That isn't such a bad idea." Before they could speak further they heard a car engine, the sound coming closer. The noise seemed to be too loud in the otherwise quiet area. Vaughn and Sydney crouched low in the bushes and saw Jack pull Bourrett down seconds before the headlights lit up the grass in which they were situated. The engine choked and for a moment they thought the vehicle would break down; an exaggerated sigh of relief came from Bourrett when the car sped up. They slowly stood when it was out of sight.
Vaughn's hand found its way into Sydney's hair, there was now a light breeze that blew it back off her face. "Straw..." he explained. He picked out a few offending pieces. "It just isn't you," he teased and moved his hand away, his arm falling back to his side, the straw floated to the grass.
"Really?" I hear that looks in for spies this summer, scarecrow" she smirked. Vaughn raised his hand again; this time to his own hair where he felt pieces of straw. He brushed them off "am I good?" he checked.
Unfortunately her father, telling them to hurry and move on, effectively stopped a smart retort. She just nodded an okay and the two, walking side by side, caught up to the remaining members of the team.
Once they spotted Sloane they would contact the secondary unit that was waiting nearby, hidden amongst the bushes and trees a few miles from the house; initially it was Sloane that they wanted to capture but if they managed to trap Sark in the process, then that was an added bonus. The team of four could see the house up ahead, the lights inside the guard station dimly lit up the area. Bourrett had told them that Sloane had hired some people from town that had some experience as security guards; they had no clue who he really was though. That part sounded all too familiar. It was for that reason that they also carried tranquillizer guns. Though it would, they thought, be easy to differentiate between the professionals and the hired help. The Frenchman told the agents of a back way into the house, it was largely overgrown and security, he claimed, was virtually non-existent. Neither of them was comfortable that his information was sketchy at best, but they had to make do with what they had. Just because the security guards were amateurs didn't mean they wouldn't shoot first and ask questions later. Five minutes later and that wasn't a problem.
Bourrett opened his mouth to start talking but was stopped by Jack holding up a hand to silence him. "From here on out, no more talking, and definitely no more shouting from one person to the next" to Sydney and Vaughn that was obvious, the warning was for Bourrett's benefit only.
He nodded quickly and rose from his crouched position to continue onwards, it was growing colder and just then Jacque wanted nothing more than to be inside. The bushes around the perimeter fence provided sufficient cover as they hurried round the back of the house. He indicated the door they would be going through; only, unlike what he had told them, there were no overgrown bushes and thistles, the entryway had been cleared.
Three glares were sent his way and the informant shrugged helplessly. A buzzing broke the silence. The door opened a crack and smoke billowed around it, the four watching pair of eyes saw it pass through a laser, evidently Sloane had upped security without Jacque's knowledge. Which wasn't exactly a hard feat.
The smoker made to step outside and then cursed, next came the sound of a bleep and the laser became visible once more before it disengaged. The Bristow's and Vaughn didn't waste time. Sydney shot him with a dart in the shoulder while the remaining two agents slipped inside. Jack held the door open. The smoker dropped heavily to the floor, the cigarette fell from his yellow stained fingers and rolled into some long blades of grass, the embers glowed orange until Sydney stomped it out on her way through the door. Bourrett darted forward and almost tripped over the fallen man's stretched out left arm in his rush to get inside. He stopped himself from falling forward, and then the laser reactivated. It would only be deactivated by a code, and that was one thing they didn't have, their guide would be staying behind.
A light came on automatically. It had been set that way but for a second they thought they had been caught. "Bourrett said this corridor would lead to a hall by the stairs" Vaughn whispered. "But then again, he also said the back entrance was easy access to the house."
"Unfortunate but not entirely unexpected. Sloane must have had Bourrett followed after all, when he found out what he was up to Sloane took the necessary precautions" Jack replied. They moved fast but mostly quiet, but thus far it sounded as though no one was in that part of the house.
They rounded a corner. "Which means he's expecting us" the remaining two agents shared Sydney's frustration. They had been so close. At least it felt like it, but while Bourrett was telling them about the building; Sloane and Sark were probably already making plans to leave. The house was unnaturally quiet.
That is until they heard a familiar British accent. "You may want to check the basement" Sark's voice was heard via speakers that sounded throughout the house. "It's pointless searching for Mr. Sloane or myself, we are far from France now. You're merely wasting time" the speaker crackled and Sark paused. "You can speak quite freely," he added. The trio listened but did not answer; they weren't going to take Sark's word for it. They halted at the foot of the stairs and after checking all was clear began to climb. He spoke again "generally basements are beneath the ground floor so it really is quite pointless going upstairs" it was pretty satisfying hearing the hint of frustration in his voice.
Jack indicated they should split up, he continued on up the stairs while Sydney and Vaughn started off in the direction of the bedrooms and study. "You know this could be a trap, right?" Vaughn checked. At Sydney's wordless nod he grew quiet for a second. "And if it isn't, he is in effect, helping us find something?"
Again she nodded, this time voicing her opinion too. "I'm guessing it's some kind of trap."
"I assure you it isn't, Sydney" Sark disagreed. "If we wanted to capture you we would have done so at the little farmhouse Bourrett took you to, and if we wanted to kill you, you wouldn't be wandering around the house...in the wrong direction I might add." They where currently heading in the direction of the master bedroom.
"Instead of playing little games, Sark, why don't you just tell us where to go? If you do insist on helping us" there was no trace of anger or annoyance in Jack's voice, he wouldn't give Sark the satisfaction. He had reached the top of the stairs and was checking the first of the two doors. It was unlocked. All was clear and so Jack stepped inside, he surveyed the room from the door; the light from the corridor flooded in and lit up the three cells. It was chilly but the cold didn't penetrate the thick material of the clothes he wore.
"You won't find anything in there," Sark announced. "Not anymore, anyway, had you arrived yesterday you would have found our guest; though at that point you would still have been trying to verify Bourrett's story. Good job I was spotted nearby or you wouldn't be here now," he told them innocently.
It was Vaughn that spoke next. He and Sydney had left the master bedroom, which was devoid of anything useful or interesting "just out of interest, why are you helping us?" they moved into the next room. So far they had been met with no opposition but neither agent dropped their guard.
"All will become clear" was all Sark said in reply. He was giving them a little bit at a time, drawing them in and keeping them interested, though none showed it.
Jack had moved farther into the cell room. He took the remaining mattress in the third cell as a sign that it had been occupied. It was impossible to tell how long ago that had been; there was no way to check if Sark had been telling them truth. He moved swiftly towards the next room, the door of which he found locked. It wasn't too difficult to open; it swung back on its hinges after he pushed it. Jack walked inside, there were plug outlets around the wall, desks at the sides, the curtains were closed and the room was otherwise empty. Jack's concentration was interrupted by Sark "you may want to leave there...now, preferably." A few seconds later the room
Alias RP – Jack, Sloane, Sark, Dixon and Will are still available and needed. The first mission will be starting soon.