Covenant's Fall

Summary: Sydney and Vaughn head off to find Irina, but old enemies haunt their steps. Alternate Season 4.

Rating: PG-13 at the moment.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything included in this story except the occasional concept.

Chapter Two

Back in their new, or rather old, offices, Dixon had begun to brief Sydney on what little they knew for sure about the whereabouts of Irina Derevko. Jack Bristow sat in the background, his face even more expressionless than ever, as Dixon elaborated on how best to go about capturing his wife. Vaughn merely looked thoughtful, his gaze fixed squarely on the wall about three inches above Dixon's head, and a little to the left.

"Sydney." Dixon's voice recalled her attention from where it had started to wander. "We have pictures of Derevko meeting with various terrorists, and known members of the Covenant. The most recent was Gerard Cuvee, former head of the People's Revolutionary Front. He is now believed to be the head of the Covenant cell in southern Asia."

Sydney was already shaking her head even before he had finished speaking. "Mum would not do that – she loathes Cuvee. She was also responsible for his loss of the Rambaldi artefact in Kashmir. They would never work together. Sloane is lying – providing false information."

Dixon sighed. "I wish that were true Syd, I really do, but we have independent confirmation of her meeting with Cuvee. Then, two days before the attack, there was a sighting of her just south of the border. And she was accompanied by the same number of men as attacked us. I am sorry, but unless you can come up with substantial evidence for another conclusion, the mission continues as planned. You will go to her last known whereabouts in Germany, find her, and bring her back for interrogation."

He stood up. "That's all." The others stood as well, and began to file out of the room. As Sydney made to follow them, Dixon grabbed her arm. "And Syd. Be careful."

Outside, Vaughn caught Sydney's eye. "We need to talk."

The Omnifam Building, Zurich:

Arvin Sloane stood at the window of his office, gazing out at the city below him. He enjoyed the feeling that he was above the bulk of the populace, that somehow, up here, he was closer to God. Over a quarter of a century spent in the pursuit of Rambaldi, over half his life and he still did not know everything that there was to know about the elusive figure. He was still in possession of far more knowledge than the CIA, even if they still held all of the artefacts formerly in his possession.

A knock on the door distracted him from his thoughts. "Yes?"

His daughter entered, and the pride that he always felt at the sight of her swept through him again, driving all thoughts of ancient prophets from his head for a brief moment. "Nadia, my dear, what can I do for you?"

Nadia had a grim look on her face. "Agents Bristow, Bristow and Vaughn are here. And they demanded to see you." Concern began to appear on her face. "None of them look forgiving. What do you want me to do?"

Arvin frowned. "Bring them up here. My dear, if they were here to arrest me, they would not be asking nicely. No, the attack on the Rotunda has stirred them all up. It is like kicking a wasps' nest – the inhabitants swarm. In a few days, they will have settled down again."

Nadia looked slightly relieved, but not entirely satisfied, as she left to fetch the CIA agents. A few moments later, they entered his inner sanctum, Jack flanking Sydney on the right, Agent Vaughn on the left. Sloane idly wondered what would happen when the two of them realised that there were only two chairs in front of his desk. Sydney would take one, of course, but who would take the other one? Jack steadfastly refused to look at Nadia who lurked behind the three of them, and Vaughn stared determinedly out of the window. Smirking, Sloane sat at his desk, and peered at them over steepled fingers.

"Well, what can I do for you today?"

"We need all the intel you have on Irina Derevko."

So Jack had been elected as the spokesman for the merry band. Sydney probably had decided that she was far too likely to try and kill him, and Agent Vaughn was still not entirely over the incident with his wife. Sloane had a certain amount of admiration for the regrettably deceased Lauren Reed, as managing to exist as a mole under Jack Bristow's nose for any amount of time was a worthy achievement, but to also get between Michael Vaughn and Sydney Bristow, well, even he himself and the Alliance had not been able to achieve that. It was a shame that he had never had the opportunity to congratulate her, and now he never would. Pity.

"I gave all of the information I had on her to the CIA Jack. Can you say the same? After all, you were the last person to have contact with her."

"I have not spoken or contacted Derevko for several months. Nor do I intend to do so again. We need to know where she is Arvin. I know that you know."

"As far as I know, she was seen entering Germany three days ago, and has not left. In particular, she was seen in Dresden, so I suggest that you try there." At this point the telephone rang. He glanced at the number displayed. "I am sorry Jack, but I need to take this call. Nadia, if you would be so kind as to show our guests out?"

Nadia nodded. "Of course."

As she shepherded the three out of his office, Sloane picked up the receiver. "Hello. Ah yes. Of course. Well, in that case, you chose the correct time to call, considering who just left my office."

Dresden:

With the name of the city with which to aid their search, it did not take long to narrow down the location the CIA had been searching for. Dixon sent Agents Michael Vaughn and Sydney Bristow to retrieve the target. Jack had argued at great length for his own participation, but Dixon had decided against it, officially because he felt Jack's talents would be better used in the field. No one openly spoke about the other possibility, or at least, not where Jack could hear.

In Dresden, Sydney and Vaughn made their way quietly towards the compound believed to be occupied by Irina. Sydney was the first to break the silence.

"I was thinking that maybe, when we get back, we could go and get a drink or something. After all, there isn't anything stopping us."

Vaughn stopped. He rubbed at his face and sighed. "Syd, I'd love to, really I would, but I can't." He saw the look on her face and hastened to quantify the statement. "There are some mornings, when I wake up and I see Lauren sitting opposite me, and…" His voice trailed off and he looked dejectedly at the ground.

A moment later, he looked back up. "I need to exorcise my ghosts before we can be like that again."

Sydney shook her head. "And how do you plan to do that?"

His voice was a whisper. "I wish I knew."

Lost in their own thoughts, they proceeded without further conversation. After a few minutes, they came to the entrance to the compound, which was small, with a central building, two stories high, surrounded by a thick wall. The gate loomed open before them, half torn from one hinge. Both agents snapped their guns up at the sound behind them, but there was nothing there.

They stood, tense, for a moment, before first Sydney then Vaughn lowered their guns. "Just a rat." Neither was sure whom the muttered comment was intended to reassure.

Inside the compound, there were no further signs of battle, no blood and no bodies. Only the battered gate gave mute testament to what they thought had happened there. Cautiously, they moved forward, towards the central building, before a throat being cleared behind them stopped them in their tracks.

"Agent Bristow and Mr. Vaughn. The pleasure, as always, is all mine."

Sark. Standing in the gateway, dressed as ever in one of his trademark Armani suits, and wearing his look of cool arrogance.

"I would suggest that you drop your guns."

Sydney stared at him. "Why should we?"

Sark did not answer in words, but merely gestured up, at the wall. The CIA agents followed his movement, and immediately wished that they had not. At least ten mercenaries levelled their guns at them, and the sound of more weapons being cocked echoed from the other sides of the compound. Resigned, Sydney dropped her weapon, and a moment later, Vaughn followed suit.

Moments later, they were bound, and dragged to a van, where Sark and three of his operatives watched them.

Sydney's curiosity got the better of her. "Where are you taking us Sark?"

"To meet with my employer. She regrets that she could not be here in person and looks forward to meeting you." He glanced at Vaughn. "Again."

"So you are working with my mother." Sydney slumped against the floor.

Sark only smirked, and ignored her. "We will be there soon Sydney. Time for you to rest."

Before either could protest, needles were stabbed into their necks and the world went black.

A/N: And the next chapter may be a little delayed due to outside complications. However, it will explain some of the mystery of the attack on the CIA, and reveal, for those who have not already guessed, Sark's current employer. With any luck, it will be up sometime next week, possibly in the middle. Thanks for reading.