"The Maldives are located southwest of India, in the Arabian Sea," Irina trailed off, looking over the documents. We had each had time to read them before we boarded the plane, and she was now summarizing the most important aspects.
"The population is estimated to be around 321,000. English is spoken by most government officials, but not by many in the general public." She paused again.
"So what language is spoken?" I asked, sensing that that wasn't one of the things she was going to reiterate. I had read it, but it had slipped my mind by that point.
"Maldivian Dhivehi, a dialect of Sinhala, which is a script derived from Arabic."
"Maldivian Dhivehi… do any of us speak this language?" Irina shook her head, and I admit to being somewhat surprised. She was always the one with all the answers, and the fact that she didn't have that one was a bit unsettling.
"I know enough to, hopefully, get us where we need to go… wherever that may be," Jack said. I ran a hand through my hair; somehow, that still wasn't quite comforting.
"I speak it." All eyes turned to Sark, who gave us each a coolly detached look of superiority.
"Fluently?" I questioned.
"Quite." His cold eyes begged me to challenge. I didn't, but I was almost happy to see this side of him returning. It was a personality I knew how to handle, whereas the troubled, doubtful Sark I'd seen in Naxos was beyond my understanding.
"Where'd you pick up this skill?" Irina questioned.
"Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa," Sark replied. I quickly flipped through the papers I held.
"So you've been to the Maldives before?" Jack asked.
"Yes. Specifically, the Addu Atoll." It was then that I found what I had been looking for: a piece of information confirming that, as I had thought, Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa was the local long form of the countries name.
"Good. That should prove useful," Jack noted.
"One would certainly hope," Sark said dryly. Irina pulled out a folder, digging through it until she produced one piece of paper. She scanned it quickly.
"Here's the plan: once we reach Male, we need to find a man named Rikishi Maivia. He works for President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, so he shouldn't be too difficult to locate. He knows we're coming, which will help to speed things up. We don't know why, exactly, we're meeting Rikishi. He may be just another contact on a long line of them, or he may produce more immediate results. Either way, we need to be careful. He may not be entirely trustworthy."
"I'd say that's a foregone conclusion," Sark stated. I again recalled his distrust of 'Suit and Glasses,' and wondered what had brought that on. Irina gave him a warning look, and a million things seemed to have been said, as Sark quieted down and stared out the window, still keeping an ear on the conversation.
"We still have a long flight ahead of us- I'd guess we're over Egypt right now- so I strongly suggest that everyone take the opportunity to get some sleep," Jack said. He appeared to be taking his own advice, as he stood and walked away a moment later. Being Irina's private plane, I knew there had to be a decent bed somewhere, and I guessed that was where he was headed.
"I'll be in my office if you need anything." She also stood and left the area. I stared after her and Jack dubiously for a moment before getting comfortable on the spacious black leather couch. Sark suddenly sighed in aggravation, and I opened one eye to watch him as he entered the cockpit. I was suddenly alone for the first time in days.
I shifted my position, making myself more comfortable, before dropping my head back down and allowing my eyes to drift shut. I was fast approaching a deep sleep when images started filtering unbidden through my mind. It came as no surprise; decent sleep had become a thing of the past. I had grown accustomed to the endlessly dark procession of thoughts and memories, hopes and fears.
What did come as a surprise was how much darker than usual these were. The theme, as always, was Sydney, but that day, the recurring image was of Lithuania… Sydney running from me, the fear in her eyes, the pain on her face, was as vivid in my mind as it had been that day. It was unbearable.
But it went beyond that, to visions of Sydney's death. Those visions were brutally haunting, and possessed more detail than I had previously thought myself capable of conjuring. They kept me bordering on the fine line between sleep and awareness. They were living torture, and frightened me more than anything in my life ever had.
Finally, those images faded, allowing me to slip into unconsciousness. The reprieve didn't last long; my mind soon found itself conversing with Sydney in dreams. I felt the pull of reality, trying to draw me out before I slipped too far.
Reality lost, and I became fully submerged in a nightmare world.
"Vaughn." She spoke softly, sounding strained.
"Syd… so much blood… what happened?"
"They killed me," she said simply.
"Who did?" I asked, my throat clenching.
"They did. They killed me because you didn't stop them." My chest tightened, and I could feel the tears beginning.
"Syd, I don't understand… what do you mean? Who didn't I stop?"
"Them. You didn't stop them. Why Vaughn? Why'd you let them do it?"
"No, Syd, no. I didn't let them… I didn't mean to…"
"But you did. You let them kill me. Why? Why didn't you stop them Vaughn?"
"I don't know! I'm sorry… Syd, I'm so sorry… I couldn't. There was nothing I could do…"
"Yes there was. You could have stopped them. You could have saved me. But the time is gone to act now. Why?"
"If I had known then whatever I know now… but Syd, I don't. I don't know why."
"You left me Vaughn. Please, don't leave me again. If you do, they'll kill me all over again."
"Syd, I would die before I would let that happen. You know that!" She looked straight at me, her tears piercing my soul.
"No. You're leaving me now Vaughn."
"Syd… no, I'm not going anywhere. Here I am. Sydney, here I am!"
"Promise me Vaughn. Promise."
"I swear Sydney, nothing will stop me. As long as I'm alive, I will find you."
"Vaughn." I struggled, trying to remain within sight of Sydney. It was no use… she was gone.
"Vaughn." My eyes flew open, and I instantly saw Irina standing near me. Neither Jack nor Sark were in sight. Her dark eyes held a look of concern.
"You were talking in your sleep."
"Here I am, and I'm still living…" Irina frowned.
"What?" I met her eyes finally.
"I won't let it happen."
"Won't let what happen?" Her confusion was evident.
"We have to stop them… they won't do it again." Everything Sydney had said in my dream was still fresh in my mind. To me, it wasn't just nonsensical ramblings… it was real.
We had to save Sydney. It was the only way.
SAG: That was two weeks ago… so I have no idea which av that was. I've probably changed it 50 times since then… lol. Yeah, can't be finished by the 18th… first of all, no time, and second… well, I've been threatened if I end it by then, so… it's in my own best interests…
Ryanne: Spoiler free is fun… if you're at SD-1 (I think I've seen you… or maybe not…) you could drop by the Save Me From Spoilers Support Group… it's a lot of fun. Thanks for the review!
Jade: Demanding aren't you? ;) Gee… you want shipperness, you want ScaredAsABunnyWill… let's see if I can deliver at least one of those…