"Where the hell is he?" shouted Vaughn whilst aiming the gun at the terrified terrorist, Carlos Mestrianos.
"I have no idea, I swear!" Mestrianos blubbered through tears. Vaughn pushed the gun deeper into his neck.
"Tell me now!" he yelled and his finger started to slowly push the trigger. Nadia, realising what he was doing yelled
"Vaughn he doesn't know lets go! Quick the guards are coming!"
Vaughn stared menacingly at Carlos for a split second and pulled the trigger.
She stared at the limp body as Vaughn dumped it in the large hole he had dug outside the city hospital.
"Vaughn-" she started but she was silenced by the look Vaughn had given her. It was a kind of He deserved it so don't get in my way look that Nadia knew she shouldn't disagree with.
She'd had enough of following this rule as soon as she and Vaughn were safely in the black van that would have taken them to Sark's location if Mestrianos had had some reliable intel.
"Vaughn, that behaviour was inappropriate. You should no better!" she shouted at him through clenched teeth. "You should have-"
"What? Arrest him? Is that what you were going to say? Well Nadia here's something for you… Sark was arrested and he broke loose- There is no way I am going to let another son of a bitch loose. He's dead as soon as I see him."
"Is this about Sydney?" Nadia asked before timidly questioning "Or Lauren?"
Paris, FranceShe slowly opened her eyes. She was in a completely different room judging by the baby blue coloured ceiling. She didn't remember anything from last night.
Other than I'm going to die sometime today and there's nothing I can do about it.
She felt the tears reappearing in her eyes as she slowly got up to see Sark sitting in a near by futon with his head resting on his hands looking in Sydney's direction.
"So you're finally awake" he said gently coming over to her. "Sydney, I'm sorry."
"Sark-" she whispered soothingly but Sark cut her off by putting a finger up to her mouth.
"Please Sydney, let me finish." She relaxed and wiped her eyes. She could feel the thumping in her head.
Shows I was drunk"Sydney, I'm sorry you found out this way but I truly didn't think as I was signing the papers-"
"What papers?"
"Papers to have you killed at noon. But I now realise that I was wrong, I never should have done that." His pace quickened. "I realise how nice you are and you're worth more to me than all that money. Can you forgive me?"
She was silent for a few minutes and didn't move.
"Sydney?"
"Where are we?" she finally asked avoiding the question.
"Paris." He said bluntly as he admired the way Sydney's eyes lit up. "But only for the time being. We move to Poland later today." He didn't expect this kind of reaction.
"Is that where they're going to-" she broke off and motioned with her finger her head being chopped off before breaking down into tears once more.
"Sydney- no," he said, tenderly placing a hand on her shoulder. He pulled her in close to his chest. "I thought I made it clear that I wouldn't, Sydney…" he ended faintly as she cried into his shirt.
"How do I know I can trust you now?"
"I honestly don't know."
She broke away and looked up at him. He brushed the long glossy hair out of her face and whispered
"But I promise you that I will never let anything hurt you. And I can truthfully tell you that I am a Man of my Word."
She smiled as she sat on the bed.
"So are you keeping me safe?"
"Always and forever."
So when will you kiss me? - "So when do we leave?""Now."
Sydney quickly sped into the bathroom and put on the clothes Sark had handed to her. In France she was to be a German tourist and in Germany a French tourist on her way to visit Poland. She pulled on the flowery summer dress and hat and threw on a cardigan and sandals. She reappeared in the doorway seconds later.
"How do I look?" she asked giving Sark a twirl.
"As fabulous as usual" Sark replied with a rare twinkle in his eye. Sydney beamed but still didn't know whether to count on this British man.
He is a wanted terrorist you know.
But the little voice inside of her replied
But he's taken care of you so well. It shows he cares about you.
Somewhere in France
She was sitting in silence as the Volkswagen slowly raced along the French motorway. She couldn't take it anymore- she was going to scream. She pushed the button on the radio and tuned it to a near by French station.
Finally.
She sighed, grateful that the music was filling her ears and unclogging her senses. She looked over at Sark who smiled and turned the radio up louder.
"This is my favourite song," he laughed before singing along to the words to the French version of Bonnie Tyler- Total Eclipse of the Heart. He sung it perfectly allowing Sydney to sing along with him.
"Retourne-toi, de temps en temps je me sens delaissee et tu ne passes meme plus" they sang, occasionally looking over at each other to see whether they were having as much fun as the other. The song slowly came to a halt and Sydney looked into Sark's eyes.
"That can't be your favourite song"
"Can't it? Why not?"
"Coz I stole it the moment it was released- it was my favourite first."
"No seriously?"
"Seriously" they laughed. "Bonnie Tyler is my favourite."
"I guess its another thing we have in common."
The earlier awkwardness reappeared and they didn't speak again till they were in Düsselldorf.
"Sark, why are you doing this?" she asked unexpectedly.
"Because you don't deserve this." He said quickly with a didn't I make this clear earlier- don't make me repeat it kind of face.
"Why don't I?" Sydney asked tuning out his expression.
"Because… Because you see through the person I pretend to be. I act all hard and tough. But you… you see through this murderer and see the real Julian Lazarey. I feel it."
"She leaned back in the passenger seat and smiled.
"I guess that's slightly true."
He smiled genuinely. "We'll be in Poland in a matter of hours. I've booked a hotel for us in Poznań, you should get some sleep."
You're gorgeous when you sleep.
She rested her head against the hard, grey headrest and closed her eyes. She had given up memorising the route- surely if Sark was planning on killing her he would have done it earlier.
That seems about right.
Poznań, Poland
He pulled up to the dingy hotel where an elderly woman at the glass window greeted him. He rolled down the window.
"Dzień Dobry," he said in fluent polish, asking for a room under the name of Myśliwski.
Sydney was lying beside him, breathing silently as he parked the car. He opened her door and lifted her off the seat, slowly shut the door and carried her to the room, slid the key card using one finger, careful not to drop his Sleeping Beauty, and gently placed her on the fluffy bed.
He stood there for a moment, watching the way her chest went in and out as she inhaled and the way her hair was arranged around her face.
It's a total eclipse of the heartHe lay down on the floor beside the bed and gazed for a few seconds more before closing his eyes, his brain becoming filled with dreams of Sydney.
The car veered out of control to the side of the road. She heard the crash as the car collided with a tree, the car with Sark inside. She should be happy now, so why did she feel like crying and shooting herself. It was her fault after all. She had tried escaping. He had kept her safe, and she had hurt him.
She ran to the smouldering car and prised open the crushed door to reveal Sark's bloody body. He was bruised and she was sure most of his bones were broken. She stared into his eyes. He wasn't breathing. She felt for a pulse.
She screamed.
She jumped up, tears brimming in her eye s once more. She rubbed her head and looked around. She found Sark's body lying on the floor. He looked so angelic and peaceful asleep- she wouldn't have believed he was a terrorist if she had found him there looking the way he did.
She picked up her pillow and gently placed it under his head, careful not to wake him then grabbed the blankets that were covering her and placed them on him. She crept to the bathroom and took a refreshing shower to clean off the residue left by her terrifying nightmare.
Sark won't leave me. He won't
She reassured herself as she slowly wrapped the towel around her wet body and exited the bathroom. She found Sark sitting on the bed. She didn't mind that he was staring at her in her wetness. She smiled.
"How are you?" he asked his gaze moving slowly up.
"Great, and yourself?"
"Great as well- thank you for the pillow."
"Don't mention it." She stared at the clock. Sark to checked the time.
"You want to get breakfast?"
"Looking like this?"
"Well Miss Bristow I did say that you look fabulous in anything," he paused and smiled at the towel. "Even that beautiful ensample."
She laughed.
"Oh you like it do you?" she asked giving him a little twirl.
"Its not really my style but it suits you perfectly." He smiled.
"Was that you flirting with me?" she asked playfully.
"It might have been. We do make a perfect couple don't we?"
"Maybe" she said blushing.
If only we were a couple.