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.
