"So, Marcus… you've got a lot of explaining to do. I might suggest you start talking- right now."

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Chapter 40

"An SD-6 mission," Dixon began. "I was scheduled to go- alone- to Innsbruck, Austria, where I was supposed to meet someone and exchange information. Halfway there, I was informed that my plane was being rerouted, and not long after that, a message was passed along to me. I didn't know who it was from, and in fact I still don't, but it was simple and quite clear." He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a slip of paper, promptly passing it to Jack, who scanned it briefly before reading it aloud.

"Munich; connect with four associates re: S. Bristow."

"That's all you got?" I questioned. Dixon nodded and was about to speak again when Sark cut him off.

"And you chose to take it at face value?" he asked suspiciously.

"Under normal conditions, I certainly wouldn't have. However, with the name 'S. Bristow' attached, how could I possibly do anything else?"

"Thank you," Irina said quietly. Dixon looked surprised, but gave her a brief nod before continuing.

"When I got off the plane, I assumed I must be looking for you, but I had no idea when I'd see you, or where you'd be. I decided waiting at the airport was the best idea, so I picked the most noticeable place I could find and stayed there- for three hours, I might add- looking for you. After the first hour, someone bumped into me quite blatantly, and as I checked to be sure nothing was missing, I found this." He then produced, from the same pocket he'd pulled the paper from, a small silver object, which took me a moment to identify as a cell phone. Jack raised a dubious eyebrow, but motioned for him to continue.

"I inspected it of course, looked through everything on it, but I still don't know what it's for." He handed it over to Jack, who glanced at it before pocketing it.

"You're not going to search it?" Sark asked.

"I trust Marcus," was Jack's only reply. Sark frowned, but said no more.

"Was there anything else?" I directed my question to Dixon.

"No. After that it was just more waiting until you finally showed up." He glanced to Jack, who gave him a nod before speaking.

"We can only assume that someone intends to make contact with us, via this phone. I'll keep it with me until they choose to initiate, and we'll play it from there. Until then, make yourselves comfortable. Down that hallway you'll find a restroom as well as a refrigerator. Don't go into any of the other rooms." With those words, Jack seated himself at the desk and turned on the computer. Irina pulled up a chair next to him, and they began talking in hushed tones. Sark slipped out and headed down the hall Jack had indicated, while Dixon settled in next to me.

"How have you been?" I asked quickly, hoping to keep the conversation focused on him instead of me.

"I've been all right, but I admit, I was beginning to worry about you- all of you. Sark hasn't put in an appearance at SD-6 in quite some time, and I don't believe I've spoken to you or Jack since…" his voice trailed off and he looked vaguely uncertain.

"Since we lost Syd in Vilnius," I supplied quietly. He nodded, looking regretful.

"We've been… a bit on the busy side," I noted after a silent moment.

"I can only imagine," Dixon said sympathetically, his intense but friendly eyes drilling a hole into me. "Michael- do you mind if I call you that?" I shook my head.

"No, don't mind at all."

"Ok. Listen, I know we aren't very familiar with one another yet, and I know we're not in quite the same position where Sydney is concerned, but I want you to know that if I can ever do anything for you, anything at all, all you have to do is ask." I offered him a genuine smile.

"Thanks, that means a lot to me." Just then the door slid open and Sark re-entered, a small glass of milk in hand. "I somehow didn't figure you for a milk drinker," I commented wryly. He gave me a sideways glance as he took a seat well away from the rest of us.

"But it does a body good," he replied in the same tone. I couldn't help the slight chuckle that escaped at his comment. He merely smirked. Shortly thereafter, he seemed to realize he was sitting directly under the air conditioner; with a light, aggrieved sigh, he stood and relocated himself to my right. I glanced up to catch Jack's gaze focused on me. He held my eyes for a long moment before turning back to the computer. I checked to see if either Sark or Dixon had caught that; it appeared neither of them had, as Dixon had picked up some magazine and Sark looked to be falling asleep. I turned back to Jack, but he was concentrating strictly on the computer. After a brief hesitation, I cleared my throat and spoke up.

"Am I allowed to ask what it is you're doing on the computer?" he glanced towards me, as did Irina. Sark cracked one eye open, awaiting the response, and Dixon lowered his magazine.

"Playing Solitaire," Jack said dryly. Dixon, Irina, and Sark all looked at him in a mixture of confusion and astonishment while I tried to hold back a laugh. Jack allowed a flash of humor into his eyes before quickly wiping it away and turning serious again.

"As I'm sure you're all aware, we don't know much about what's going on here. As such, Irina and I are… taking some precautionary measures."

"Such as?" pressed Sark, who was now giving Jack and Irina his full attention.

"Such as anything we feel is necessary," Irina replied, a warning note in her voice.

"I just love being left in the dark," I grumbled.

"Much better than ever having a straight answer," Sark agreed, obviously annoyed.

"You are acting like children!" Irina snapped. I sat up straighter, while Sark's eyes darkened in anger. Obviously sensing the oncoming war of words, Dixon quickly jumped to his feet to play mediator.

"I'm going to get a drink, would anyone like anything? Or something to eat, perhaps?"

"No. Thank you," Irina said curtly. Jack shook his head before looking back to the computer, while Sark crossed his arms and turned away, closing his eyes again.

"Michael?"

"Nothing, thanks." Dixon nodded and opened the door, exiting quietly into the hallway. The room lapsed into a slightly tense silence with the exception of Jack typing and an occasional whispered word from either him or Irina. I eventually settled with staring up through the skylight, the only viewing port in the room that had been left uncovered. The small bit of cloud I could see through the small space seemed to change shape, but was still something unidentifiable. A moment later the silence was suddenly broken, and my concentration along with it.

"Jack!" Irina said harshly, causing him to glare at her.

"Just trust me," he returned briefly. After a tense moment, they each turned back to the computer and the silence came flooding back. I glanced over to see that Sark hadn't opened his eyes, but I could tell he was paying close attention.

With a light sigh, I sat back and continued staring through the skylight, ignoring Jack, who'd begun drumming his fingers- a nervous habit he'd picked up only recently. I soon felt myself nodding off; after a few weak attempts to blink it away, I allowed my eyes to close and my head to lean back further, giving in to the summons of sleep. Just as it was about to overtake me, I was startled back into awareness by the ringing of the phone that Dixon had given Jack.

I sat up to find Sark was already staring at him, fully alert. Jack ignored both of us, answering quickly and quietly. A moment later, his fingers stopped moving, and the rest of his body went still as well. For a brief second, it even appeared as though he had ceased breathing.

Then, with one smooth fluid motion, he rose from his seat and disappeared down the hallway, Irina at his side. Sark and I exchanged confused glances and quickly followed them. We tracked Jack to a different room, but as we opened the door, Irina barred our entrance. She ushered us back out to the hallway, shutting the door behind her.

"I don't know who it is, but it appears to be important. Jack will tell us when he can, and until then we need to leave him be," she whispered.

"Is it… is it about Syd?" I asked quietly and more than a little nervously.

"I honestly don't know the answer to that. I can safely assume that he told me no more than he told you."

"Meaning absolutely nothing," Sark put in. She nodded briefly. We remained standing there, waiting in silence; Dixon came upon us a moment later, looking confused.

"What's going on?" he asked worriedly.

"The phone rang," I replied tensely. His eyes widened slightly, and the unopened bottle of water in his hands was forgotten as he stood with us, anxiously awaiting the news.

Jack slowly emerged a short time later, the phone clutched tightly in his right hand and an almost uncertain expression on his face. He looked at each of us in turn before taking a breath, but didn't begin to speak as I'd expected.

"Well?" I finally prodded.

"It was Sloane," he said simply. There was an anxious, tension filled silence until he ultimately continued. "He somehow knows the truth about Sydney and I being double agents- has known for a while, even before her disappearance. But more importantly, he believes he may have some information regarding her captors…" he paused briefly, seemingly debating whether or not he should finish the sentence. Finally, he did. "…and perhaps may even have knowledge of her present whereabouts."