I stood there in shock for a long time, even after Sark had taken it upon himself to turn the screen away. Eventually I became so light headed that I was forced to either sit down or pass out. Having done the former not to long before this I decided to sit myself on the bed. It wasn't long before I felt a slight sinking in the mattress as Sark situated himself beside me.
"I know that nothing I say makes any difference, but I understand what you're going through. I do know a thing or two about betrayal." I stared at him for a moment. His icy blue eyes searched my brown ones for some sense of acknowledgement from his statement. My mind raced with millions of thoughts at once. There were thousands of reasons to hate this man, thousands of reasons to continue to grieve for Vaughn, but there comes a point during any great loss at which some part of you refuses to listen to reason and prefers to find some unthinkable way of bypassing the pain. For me this was that moment. I leaned in kissing Sark hungrily as I began to block out every one of my thoughts. Just as I was about to completely lose contact with reality he pulled back.
"Sydney…" He began. He looked pained and confused, but not nearly half as confused as myself. "…It isn't that I wouldn't like to, I am a man after all, and I'm not blind, but I do have a sense of decency. I'm not some foolish schoolboy, I know better than to take advantage of someone's grief." I nodded slowly as he removed himself from the bed. He was right, no matter how much I hated to admit it. The pleasures accompanied with sex would have only been a temporary release. I got up slowly and walked to my suitcase. I pulled out a black tank top and a plaid pair of long legged soft flannel pants before heading to the bathroom to change.
The first thing I noticed when I entered the bathroom was just how red and puffy my eyes were.
"God I look awful." I muttered to myself. I turned the sink's faucet on and brought the cool water over my face letting it rinse away what was left of my tears. As I patted my face dry with a nearby towel I took another quick glance into the mirror. I at least looked a little better. I put on my makeshift pajamas and exited. As I returned to the bed I noticed that Sark had gone back to staring nonchalantly at his laptop, which truthfully didn't surprise me. 'At least the bed is comfortable' I thought as I nestled myself beneath the warm blankets.
I lay there for a very long time trying to get to sleep. One of the hardest things about trying to fall asleep is that since your mind has nothing else to occupy itself it tends to delve into that days occurrences. With nothing other than Vaughn's betrayal and a failed attempt at getting laid to plague my mind this was nearly impossible.
"Sark?" I asked tentatively. He looked up from his laptop monitor and replied with a dazed 'hmm?' before I continued. "Would you mind…just lying here with me…at least until I can get to sleep?"
"Of course not." He replied smiling. He turned his laptop off and walked over to the bed before plopping himself down gently. I mumbled a quiet 'thanks' before closing my eyes and finally drifting off to sleep.
The next morning when I woke up I found myself looking into the sleeping face of Sark. He looked oddly sweet and innocent as he slept. Two words that only a couple of days ago I would have burst out laughing had they merely been in the same sentence as Sark's name. In the past few days I had developed an actual respect for Sark and despite my better judgement I was beginning to feel some strange form of bond. After staring for a little while longer I reluctantly removed myself from the bed and got dressed. I chose a pair of loose fitting dark wash jeans and a soft white sweater so if nothing else at least I would be comfortable. After exiting the bathroom I noticed that Sark had woken up and dressed as well.
"Good morning Sydney" He said smiling, no evidence of sleep apparent in his voice. Damn morning people. "Are you ready to go and greet our lovely Mr. Manoir?"
"I suppose." I replied walking towards him. He held his arm out and I locked my arm with his as he opened the door.
"Shall we?" He asked as he took a step forwards and out of the room. I nodded and smiled as we headed off to meet Dante Manoir.
Sark arranged the meeting at 'The Lion's Den' a local pub owned by Manoir himself. It only took a matter of minutes to get to it from our hotel, which was probably why we had been sent to that hotel in the first place. When we arrived inside the pub it was surprisingly easy to spot Manoir. Manoir was a small mousy looking man with an obscenely large mustache and two even larger bodyguards.
"Mr. Manoir I presume." Sark said as he approached the mousy man and extended his hand in greeting. Manoir grasped Sark's hand graciously.
"Ah Mr. Sark, and Ms. Bristow, how nice of you to come." He stood up and gestured for us to follow. "I do all of my negotiations in the back…It is much more private." I looked at Sark uncertainly but refrained from asking any questions and followed Manoir obediently.
Manoir's back room was dimly lit with the strong smell of alcohol and smoke. The whole situation was steadily making me more and more uncomfortable but I kept my mouth shut to keep from offending anyone.
"Did you bring the 60,000 we agreed upon?" Manoir asked his thick French accent sounding almost foolish when placed against Sark's smooth British one.
"Of course. Do you have the chip?" Sark's tone was serious but he did not permit himself to sound hostile. Manoir nodded before producing a small silver metal case from his left jacket pocket. Sark set the briefcase of money on the table and Manoir did the same with the small silver case. At exactly the same moment the two men opened their cases revealing the validity of their goods.
"Very Well." Said Manoir. He closed the silver case and handed it to Sark, at the same time he retrieved the briefcase from the table.
"It's been a pleasure." Sark said to Manoir as he headed for the door. When he got there however Manoir's two bodyguards stopped him. As if on cue Manoir began to laugh.
"You didn't really think I would let you take the chip did you?" At this the guards knocked Sark into the wall prying the silver case from his hands before he fell to the floor. "You see the two of you are going to help me decode the chip…either that or I will send your bodies back to your employer as a message." He began to laugh again. "That is if there is enough of you left to send."
A/N: And the cliffhangers keep on coming. Chapter five is in the works and many great things are still to come. I really hope that everyone likes the story so far. Atleast I know that I'm very pleased with how it's developing. So please keep the reviews coming. I really want to know what everyone thinksthus far.