A special thanks to Karone Evertree, Anders122, gymnastkozy, truglasgowgal,

Aleja21, SuP3R G1R, and southern cross for the reviews. Southerncross, was the

site you were asking about Allalias . com? If so, then yes, I am posting there as

well. And now, on to the story...

Sydney walked briskly down the familiar hallway, afraid that if she didn't hurry, she might

change her mind. She brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face and checked to make

sure she still had her bag. The tiny black purse hung casually off her shoulder, its contents

concealed from the world. That bag would prove to be very important.

Sark's expression was one of pure disbelief when he saw Sydney arrive at his cell. It had

been nearly eight hours since their last conversation and Sark had never expected to see

her again. He noticed that she wasn't smiling as the guard opened the doors to let her in,

and she still wasn't smiling as the guard locked the cell and walked away.

They stood there in silence, neither knowing quite what to say. Sark decided that it was up

to him to make the first move. He leaned casually against the wall and smirked. "You just

can't get enough of me, can you Bristow?" He knew it was cocky and would probably get

him into even deeper trouble, but anything was better than silence.

To his surprise, Sydney ignored the remark. Something else seemed to be troubling her.

She glanced around at the ceiling as though searching for something. 'Camera's perhaps?'

thought Sark. When she was done, Sydney took a deep breath and walked over to where

he was standing. They were so close that he could smell the light scent of lavender on

Sydney's skin. A part of him wanted to reach out and touch her, to breathe her in, yet his

instincts told him that something was wrong with this situation. Very wrong.

Finally Sydney spoke. "Do you trust me?" Her words were merely a whisper yet the

intensity of them filled the room. Sark was unsure of many things but of this he was

certain.

"Yes Sydney. I trust you."

That was enough. Without another word, Sydney leaned forward and kissed him. Shock

and alarm soon turned to pleasure as Sark pulled her close to deepen the kiss. He could

feel her, taste her. For that one moment everything was right with the world. As her lips

brushed against his, his heart began to race with excitement. His entire body felt like it was

on fire.

Sark withdrew for a moment to catch his breath but learned all too quickly that he

couldn't. Struggling desperately for air, he locked eyes with Sydney. That's when he

knew. He saw the guilt and pain written all over her face. He knew then, without a doubt,

that she had poisoned him.

Sark fell to the floor and grabbed onto the metal leg of his cot. He tried to pull himself

back up but found that he hadn't the strength. As the room started spinning and his

eyesight began to blur, Sark looked up at Sydney.

"Why?" That was the only word he could manage. He could fight no more. His body

grew limp and his head hit the floor, a dull thud that sent shivers down Sydney's spine.

She stared at the lifeless body before her, a single tear trailing down her cheek.

"Guards!" she shouted, trying her best to sound alarmed. She watched as they came

running and waited patiently until they reached the cell. "He fell and he's not moving. I

think he's had a heart attack!"

The guards quickly undid the lock and Sydney stepped back so they could do their job.

After a few minutes of trying to revive the prisoner, one of the guards rose to his feet and

shook his head.

"It's no use. He's long gone." He turned to Sydney and placed a concerned hand on her

shoulder. "I'm sorry you had to witness that Ma'am. It couldn't have been pleasant."

Sydney did her best to smile. She didn't trust her voice so she merely nodded in

response.

One guard led Sydney to the exit as the rest waited for the inevitable body bag to arrive.

As soon as she was out of sight, Sydney stopped and wiped a stray tear from her face.

That had been harder than she'd thought. She carefully peeled the thin strip of plastic from

off her lips and discarded the poisoned film in a trash container. "Betrayed with a kiss,"

she muttered to herself. "That's pretty low Sydney." Glancing down at her tiny black bag,

she sighed deeply. It was almost time for stage two of her plan.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

It didn't take long for Sydney to break into the prison's morgue. Since the prison

personnel were already acquainted with her, they weren't the least bit suspicious when

Sydney returned an hour later, insisting that she'd left something of value in the bathroom.

When she was sure that no one was following her, Sydney headed to the stairwell and

made her way to the bottom level. As expected, the morgue wasn't heavily guarded.

Security had more important things to do than protect dead bodies.

The morgue consisted of several rooms and Sydney had to guess as to which one housed

Sark. She tried the first door and found it unlocked. Inside, it was quite dark but Sydney

didn't dare search for a light switch. There was an eerie stillness about the room. A pile of

empty body bags lay in one corner and several gurneys were lined up against the back

wall. Only one gurney appeared to be occupied, making Sydney's job much easier. She

wasted no time in reaching the gurney and unzipping the body bag that lay on top.

Sydney braced herself for the worst but was still startled at Sark's appearance. His face

and hands were white and dark circles lay under his eyes. The classic smirk was gone

from his lips, now a shade of pinkish-blue. His hair, usually styled to perfection was now

tangled and a mess. Sydney touched a lock of his hair and felt the coolness of his skin

against her warm fingers. 'I did this to him,' she thought with a hint of remorse. 'But now

I'm going to undo it.'

She reached for her black bag and undid the tiny clasp. Inside laid a syringe and a vial of

milky fluid. After filling the syringe, Sydney reached for Sark's arm and plunged the

needle into the largest vein she could find. She then placed the syringe back into her bag

and waited for the drug to work its magic.

It didn't take long. Within seconds the color returned to Sark's face and his lips and

fingernails lost their purplish hue. His eyes shot open and he started gasping for breath.

Sydney waited for his breathing to steady before she spoke.

"I thought I lost you there for a minute."

Sark turned quickly to face her, aware for the first time that he wasn't alone. It took him a

moment to make sense of his surroundings. When he did, he was more than a little

surprised.

"We're in a morgue," he exclaimed, his breathing still slightly labored. "You killed me!"

"Guilty as charged," said Sydney, a small smile playing about her lips. "Although you

weren't really dead. The poison just slowed your pulse rate and your breathing so that

they were practically imperceptible. Although, if I hadn't arrived in time with the antidote,

you would have died eventually."

"That's oh so comforting to hear," he replied with a frown. "So what? You just decided

that it would be fun to play a round of kill-the-Sark? Or do you have a better explanation?"

Sark attempted to get down from the gurney but was still a bit wobbly from the poison.

Sydney offered a hand to help him, and to her surprise, he accepted.

"It was the only way I could help you escape," she said with sincerity. Sark was now

standing but neither moved to break contact. "I believe now what you said about my

father. I think you were on to something Sark, and because you were getting close to the

truth, somebody made sure that you wouldn't remember any of it." She took a deep

breath before continuing. "I think that together, we can get your memory back. We can

find the truth."

Sark thought about this for a moment. He saw the earnestness in her face. She was scared

yet certain. Worried yet calm. So many emotions lay hidden behind those beautiful brown

eyes. Sark swore then that he would do everything he could to help her.

"Alright then, Agent Bristow," he said, gently squeezing her hand. "Where do you suggest

we start?"

Sydney smiled warmly, her eyes reflecting the gratitude she felt in her heart.

"Follow me."

Come on. Did you really think I was going to kill Sark? ;-) Next chapter, Sydney

and Sark have to put aside their differences and learn to work together. Don't

forget to review!