Casa del Diablo. House of the Devil. What a fitting name. Sydney looked around. People

were everywhere. Many were against the walls, in order to get better leverage. Others were

in the middle of the dance floor, though few seemed to be dancing, at least from what she

could tell. There seemed be a great deal of...writhing going on. The people with more

normal tastes were in between, clustered around the bar, sipping alcoholic beverages and

making small talk. Who the heck went to a bar without the intention of getting laid

anyway?

Sydney just wanted to get in and get out. Their mission was to access Espinosa's personal

files and copy everything available. The files were on a server, and the server was below the

nightclub. Kendall did not want Espinosa apprehended. His orders were strict on that

matter. He wanted to see which direction the Covenant was heading and Anna was going to

lead the way.

"Why don't you distract the guards while I pop downstairs?" suggested Sark.

Sydney considered the guards. "I have a better idea. You distract the guards and I'll pop

downstairs. They wouldn't be interested in me anyway."

He immediately grasped her meaning and arched a blonde eyebrow. "Indeed? How very

convenient for you."

"I like to think so." With that, the faux redhead was gone.

Sark sauntered up to the two guards in front of the stairs.

"¿Habla usted inglés?"

Both men looked at him, but only one nodded.

"So," Sark put his hands in his pockets, "You frequent this joint much?"

After a second, the guard that nodded laughed and put his arm around Sark.

"My name is Emilio and this is Gregorio. American are you?"

The blonde man nodded nervously.

Gregorio commented to his partner, "El chico es mono."

Emilio laughed again. "And just how recently did you, how do you Americans put it, come

out of the closet?"

Sydney couldn't help but quietlysnicker as she made her way down the stairs. Reaching the

bottom, she rounded a corner and smacked into two guards. Luckily, the moderately loud

music upstairs covered their grunts and groans as she skillfully proceeded to knock them

unconscious. Sydney speedily found the server room, extracted a small chip from the heel

of her shoe, plugged it in, and pressed a few buttons on the keyboard. "Download started,

I'll need five minutes," she whispered into her com.

Upstairs, Sark didn't react to the sudden voice in his ear. He simply said, "Can I buy you

gentlemen a drink?"

Emilio smiled, his arm still around Sark. "No, I am afraid not, my friend, we are on guard

duty."

"Guard duty?" Sark asked, looking confused. "Now what could you possibly be guarding

in a place like this?"

Emilio moved his head closer to Sark and whispered in his ear, "A very big, and very

dangerous secret."

Julian turned his head. "And what secret is that?"

Emilio's face was so close, he half expected to be kissed. In fact, Emilio was in the process

of closing the distance when an alarm went off somewhere downstairs. The Spanish man

snapped his head up at the sound. "Stay here, do not follow us," he said to Sark and ran

down the stairs after Gregorio.

Sydney, on the other hand, wasn't fairing so well. The chip had almost completed

downloading the data when the alarm went off. She had no idea why, but grabbed the chip

and ran for the stairwell. Five guards suddenly appeared from out of nowhere. Whirling,

her feet knocked down three, but the other two were drawing their guns. Not wanting to

deal with getting shot, Sydney flew down the corridor and up the stairs so quickly that

Gregorio and Emilio had no chance to stop her. She grabbed Sark by his jacket as she ran

by him and literally towed him toward the entrance. Four armed guards were headed their

way. Stopping short, the two spies looked back. Emilio, Gregorio and the remaining three

guards were just appearing. Without warning, Sark grabbed Sydney and fell to the carpeted

floor. He whispered in her ear, "Make it look convincing." Her hands automatically went

to his neck in a choke hold, while her lips found an ear to nibble on. "Maybe not quite so

convincing," gasped Sark. She loosened her grip just a little while her mouth continued its

work. His hands moved to grasp her sides. "I don't see an exit besides the front door and

the stairs," she said softly into his ear.

"First things first, we can't let Gregorio or Emilio recognize me with you, I'm supposed to

be gay after all."

Her lips moved up to his so her long red hair sheltered his face on both sides. Inspired by

the sudden change of pace, Sark's hands moved up a little farther. Sydney positioned a knee

between his legs in warning. Her faced lifted from his. "Merlin, the entrance is blocked. Is

there any way out downstairs?"

Emilio and another guard walked very near the two spies.

"Um...no. The place is sealed tighter than my grandmother's sock drawer," replied

Marshall.

Crap.

Suddenly, her concentration was broken as she felt Sark's lips on her neck. They moved

slowly, devouring her skin, making her heart pound. Unconsciously, her hands let go of his

neck and moved to his stomach. Her fingers traced every line, every hollow of his physique.

His lips teasingly traveled south, making her gasp lightly. She just wanted him to–

What in the heck?

"Sark," Sydney whispered loudly, "Stop." She pressed her knee down and her hands went

back up to his throat.

He ceased his explorations.

"I am trying to get us out of here alive."

Sark looked up at her. "And what do you propose?"

She looked back down at him. "Why don't we use our newfound talents."

"Emilio!"

He turned to find the blonde man running toward him.

"I told you to stay put. I don't want you to get hurt."

Sark put on his best pained look. "But I saw that woman who ran up the stairs before you."

Emilio was instantly focused on him. "Where?"

"She ran back down the stairs." Sark pointed.

Emilio said something unintelligible into his walkie talkie.

He leaned over and kissed Sark on the cheek. "Thank you, American." Then all but two

of the guards rushed for the stairs.

Sydney appeared beside him. "Let's go," she said with a smirk.