Title: Dark Revenge
Rating: K, PG-13
A/N: Your reviews make me write…. I hope you got that hint…. For your sake if not mine.
A/N 2: This is AU. It is two years after season 4; assuming Sydney left CIA mid season 4. Lauren was never bad so she is alive and kicking. Irina is alive (and in hiding), and Nadia is there too. All this goes for chapter one too, I just forgot to put it on there, sorry for any confusion. Kate is Simons wife, and Annie is their daughter.
March 28
Taking a deep breath I couldn't summon the courage to ring the bell, to announce my presence. But I didn't need to because after trying the door I found it open, and stepped inside. My hands shook as I locked the door; I clenched them and willed the trembling to leave me.
I hadn't seen his home in over a year, and subtle changes had been made. Children's toys were scattered in the entry hall, and the manor had a lived in feel.
I stood still a slight movement catching my attention, and there she was. She has grown taller since the last time I'd seen her last, she had her fathers jet black hair and his deep brown eyes.
"Annie… Hey, it's me… Aunt Julia… remember?" She looked puzzled and then smiled, showing off her missing two front teeth. "Did you bring all kinds of yummies," she peered around me and a curious expression filled her face, "where is Uncle Julian," she asked in her sing-song voice.
My heart fell at the mention of Julian, but I smiled at the five year old. "He couldn't be here right now." She frowned to hear her favorite uncle wasn't around, but she still came and gave me a warm hug.
My heart convulsed with pain. How many times had Julian and I almost discussed having children, how many times had I seen him starring at Annie with longing to have his own children? Pulling out of the embrace Annie grinned, "Do you want to see my Daddy?"
I nodded and she led me into a large study, then running ahead she collided with sad looking Simon. We exchanged glances, he no doubt already know what had befallen Julian, because he ushered Annie out of the large room.
Closing the door behind him he came to me and enveloped me in his strong arms. This was new to me, Simon didn't usually express his emotions quiet so physically but I still relaxed in his arms. They felt familiar, which put me at ease, one familiar thing in a world of the unfamiliar.
"How are you," he asked in low tones?
"How am I supposed to be?" I slipped out of his arms and put a few feet in between us. I wasn't making this easy on him, but I didn't know how to respond.
He nodded and walked over to his desk, "I took the liberty of gathering the information I thought you'd want."
"How did you know I'd come to you for help…" my voice drifted off as I leaned against a wall for support.
"I thought about what I would do if someone hurt Annie or Kate. Even if you hadn't come I would have made sure this information found you." He was looking at me, trying to figure out how to proceed.
"How is Kate…?" I was stalling trying to prepare myself for the knowledge he offered, and Simon seemed all too happy to pretend this was a normal conversation, where we were two friends discussing our lives. But it was far from it, the information he had was a literal death list and we both knew it.
"She is fine, in Prague collecting information on different arms dealers. She refuses to quit working, keeps saying spying is in her blood or some nonsense…" he trailed off, fingering a picture of his wife and daughter that occupied a corner of his almost bare desk, "… You don't have to do this, you know. Julian wouldn't ask this of you, he would want you to be happy."
"How could I possibly be happy? These people took the one thing that kept me going, I won't sit back and do nothing, and I am going to bury them... all of them."
He nodded, "I just wanted you to know that was an option before we got started. You have a way out, whether you believe it or not."
"Are you going to chastise me, or do you have viable Intel." I sat in the chair across from him and glanced at him, waiting.
"As you know your departure from the CIA gave them a rather bad run of luck. They lost agents and failed more mission than they attempted, which prompted the United States government to rethink their position on that specific task force, but you know this already," I nodded and waited for him to continue.
"To give you a bit of time frame I collected data from different sources as to when these things happened. The Rotunda Task Force, which you were a part of, was dismantled by the Director of the CIA a man," he paused flipping a few pages, and pursing his lip, "or rather, a woman named Gwendolyn Chase, as it would seem. This all happened seven months after you disappeared," he looked up at me and put down the folder.
"As I recall we had a conversation, where you placed a wager that the CIA had something in the oven, which I brazenly brushed off amounting it to your fretful nature. You were right and I was wrong, as per usual. The CIA had relatively big scones baking, scones that weren't ready until four weeks ago, when I was alerted to a new player at the table. You see, unlike you and Julian I never left the game. As a matter of fact I am quiet deep into the game."
"Your telling the CIA was responsible for Julian's death?" Breathing became hard as I tried not to scream.
"Quiet simply… yes." He looked me in the eyes, trying to gage my reaction, but I was cold as the Arctic, the way Julian was during business.
"This new task force is actually quiet good, and as soon as I had the Intel I contacted Julian, which is why he was here last week. You see, this task force is in direct connection to you because of the man who runs it. Someone you are very familiar with, Arvin Sloane."
That name made my head swim, and my blood boil. That son of a bitch, he has already taken so much from me, "Julia, are you alright?" Simon sounded worried and tired; I unclenched my fist and attempted to breathe normally.
"I suppose you have all the information regarding this organization…"
"Yes, they call themselves APO, the organization runs off of CIA money, but it is covered well. The agents are, according to my sources, first class... perhaps people you knew in your previous life..." He stopped and slid the files over to my side, and watched me as I studied the information.
"The task force is made up of thirteen agents, all are field rated which sets them apart from most organizations. These bastards don't have desk men, they are all good agents. As of now they are the only APO cell that exist, though more may be in the works."
"Do you know which of the thirteen pulled the trigger?" I look him dead in the eye and I can see he is taken aback by what he sees in my now dead eyes. Somewhere during the conversation I think I died to hear that a once friend might have killed Julian. All I felt was a bothersome itching in my trigger finger.
Sighing he nodded, and stood coming over to my side of the desk. He turned the monitor to face me. "I have ECHELON footage of his murder… if you feel you can handle it, but first some business."
I feel confused, "I thought this was our business?"
"There are things I need you to know regarding Julian's' wishes…" he sees I am about to say something and silences me with a hand, "I know you don't want to talk about it but I need to get this out of the way first." He glances at me and I nod.
"First I have the account for a gather large nest egg, which now belongs to you. He and I have discussed this before and he made it clear you are to be in charge of that large sum of money." He hands me a folder with account statements and a letter in Julian's hand writing to his attorney.
I put it aside waiting for him to continue, "Next is the homes he has around the world, this file contains all his safe house along with useful facts about them, such as money and weapon stashes. You will find keys to these homes in the envelope." He hands this to me as well and I feel overwhelmed, I don't want these things. I don't want Julian's secrets exposed, but I take it anyway.
Simon looks at me and hands me a black book, "Contacts, numbers, aliases, even bits of blackmail. Basically his operation book, he and I arranged for this situation two years ago when you joined him, so some numbers might be old but most information still applies."
Is this how a widow feels when they hand her items belonging to her late husband… I realize that I am that widow, and these are my husband's belongings.
"What about the burial arrangements" My voice is hallowed and I don't even think before asking. "Could you take care of it…?" He nods and brush my fingers along his hand in thanks.
"Lastly is something he was planning to give you for your anniversary next month, he left it here planning to pick it up later." From inside the desk he pulled a wooden music box with a Van Gough on the lid.
I open it and soft music fills the room, a minuet, inside there is a black velvet case. My fingers brush it and I pull it out opening it. It is a necklace, with a women/ bird on it, Isis.
"I was just starting to learn Egyptian mythology this last month, when we were in Luxor and Alexandria. Isis was my favorite…" I inform Simon who is studying me with hooded eyes.
I straighten, closing the case with a snap and placing it back in the music box. As it closes the room is left in an uncomfortable silence.
Simon takes a deep breath, "Ready?"
"Fire away," the irony of my words are not lost on him and a bit of the ruthless Simon reemerges as he grins.
As he starts the process of finding an access point to ECHELON he informs me of the situation, "I suppose you heard of the theft from the Versailles Palace?"
I nod, "March twenty-second, it was in the news." I try not to look to the music box, I try to focus.
"Yes, that was Julian's doing, apparently something was hidden inside, a Rambaldi artifact." He sees my look of distain at the prophets' name.
"I forgot to mention APO specializes in Covert ops but more importantly Rambaldi." He supplies.
"Great…" I have no tender feelings for the long dead genius.
"Anyway, he contacted me after the operation informing me he would stop here before heading back to you. This footage is the day after the heist, the twenty-third, he was meeting with a contact, and he said he needed to finish some business. His flight was for that evening. When he didn't arrive when he promised he would I knew something was wrong..." He trailed off and focused on the computer.
"Was it your man that contacted me?"
"Yes, I was still checking out leads, Kate thought you should know, even if I wasn't sure... I am sorry it wasn't me that called..." I shake my head, it didn't matter.
The flat screen comes to life as he enters a code and access ECHELON. Coordinates are entered as well as a few more codes and in moments I am starring at the Palace at Versailles, an overhead view, I recognize the green gardens and then my eyes focus on a figure.
Intuitively I know it is Julian, he seems to be waiting and oddly enough he is in tactical gear, but no weapons in site. Where is his Glock or his favored Berretta Cougar? He left the house with them.
My hands fidget as a good minute passes with him glancing at his wristwatch and pacing, I stare at him and for a second I forget he is gone. But I feel Simon's hand on my shoulder and I stiffen.
I see movement from the left side of the screen and simultaneously Julian turns, to face the new arrival. The man drops to his knee and a woman runs on screen, they aim for the unarmed Julian.
"I took the liberty of get the gun models they are..."
"The man has the AK Beta Spetsan, assault rifle," I squint and study the woman, "and she has the Auto Mag 3, standard pistol..." I trail off studying the action.
"I always knew you were good, but, god, you amazing..." he becomes silent as I pull the key board and enter directions to zoom in.
They seem to direct Julian to his knees, and then with no real reason Julian looks to the sky and smirks, as though to make sure I see his face. Then his attention is drawn back the man. "Can I get a different angle; I can't make out the man."
Simon nods and types something, and the screen pauses and action resumes with a different angle, "I still can't see anything..."
"Give it a moment he changes his angle."
The computer frame hold the man and women, and Julian, who I can clearly see. He is saying something, and I stop the action and enter direction for the computer to use the ECHELON Lip/Voice analysis program, action resumes.
For a moment the program can't catch his words but his face moves and the program gives his silent mouthing lips words. In a harsh tone the computer says, "You are far too late, the Rambaldi artifact is gone."
He is smirking again, and I wonder why he doesn't run when the man turns to say something to his partner, "You should have left us alone. I told you not to come after me or my wife."
"What?" I typed the control and ECHELON went back ten seconds, in time me to hear what he said again.
Simon looks confused, "Julia, what do you mean?"
"Julian would never say that. It's a joke between us, we aren't married." I say freezing the frame and taking a closer look at Julian, it's him.
"I don't understand, I was at your wedding in Moscow. You both wear rings, you're as married as Kate and I!" I shake my head, twisting the silver diamond encrusted Claddagh ring that served as my wedding ring, and pulled away from the screen.
"No. We had a ceremony but never got a license, so it was never legalized, because I didn't want to married under an alias and we couldn't use our real names. We used to joke that we were protecting each other by doing so, no one would we were more than lovers..." I turn back to screen and Simon makes a 'huh' noise.
"Perhaps he was playing the agents?" He says and starts the program leaning close to see him say the words.
Then, like he promised the man I couldn't see before is at a perfect angle and I see him, but it is too blurry to make a positive ID. ECHELON puts words to the foreign mouth, "Goodbye Mr. Sark, you have outlived your usefulness."
Though I can't hear the shots I feel them, as though the AK Beta Spetsan has just fired its rounds at me. They hit Julian and his body falls in slow motion, but the bullets still fly. He lies there open eyes starring up to the sky.
Then the shooter turns to his partner and they both become quiet clear.
I am starring at an unfamiliar woman and a very familiar Michael Vaughn.
A/N 3: Don't you love these cliffhangers… I do! FYI: Simon knows Sydney is Sydney but still calls her Julia, old habits die hard. PLEASE review… please… please…. Pretty please….