Chapter 2

We arrived at the bar (which was actually a club called Espiro Bar) about 30 minutes after leaving the hotel. Before I got out of the limo, I called McKenas to let him know I'd made it.

"Cole." He answered.

"You really need a new greeting." I said.

"Ah, my dear Julia. Where have you been all my life?"

"Cute." I said sarcastically, "I'm at Espiro. I just wanted to call for luck."

"Well then, good luck and hurry your hiney up and get in there. Mr. Sark's expecting you…5 minutes ago."

"Thanks for the support."

"Anytime. I'll see you when you get back."

"Not if I-"

"See me first? I know. You should get a new closing."

"Ha ha. I'll see you when I get back to Rome."

"Goodbye."

"Bye." I quickly snapped my phone closed, signaling the driver to let me out.

He opened my door and offered a hand to help me out. A few guys were staring at me as I walked up to the doorman.

"Nombre." He said very businesslike. ("Name.")

"Julia Thorne. Estoy aquí hablar con Mr. Sark." ("Julia Thorne. I'm here to speak with Mr. Sark.")

"Entra por favor, Miss Thorne." ("Please come in, Miss Thorne.")

He led me through a throng of dancers to a private room. There, I saw a blonde-haired, blue-eyed man in his mid-20's, wearing an impeccable black designer suit. He was quite fetching and I found myself wanting to thank McKenas for suggesting me for this meeting.

The doorman whispered something in his ear and he quickly shot a look at me over his shoulder. He then nodded and the doorman left. He stood from his chair, giving me a once-over before speaking to me.

"Sydney?" he asked with an awed look on his face.

"I'm sorry, what did you just call me?" I replied with a look of disgust.

"I called you by your name. Sydney Bristow."

"Not even close honey. My name is Julia Thorne. I came with a proposal for you."

"Forgive me for mistaking you, but you look almost exactly like another woman I used to know."

"Okay. Now that we've got that confusion out of the way, why don't we talk over a glass of wine?"

"A woman after my own heart."

"That's not all I'm after." I replied, eyeing him very slowly.

"I'm quite flattered, but I believe in business first."

"Well then, I have a great business proposition for you."

"Yes, you've mentioned that already."

"I know. I'm just checking to see if you're following me."

"I assure you, I would have no problem following you."

"Good." I said, "Here's the deal: I'm one of the best freelancers The Covenant has since Simon Walker was killed, but they're treating me like a page boy. So I say we form a partnership and use our collective intelligence to start up our own organization and take out the competition."

"Your offer sounds very tempting, but somewhat contrived."

"You'd sound contrived if you just flew from a boring meeting with McKenas Cole telling you to go get some old artifact that doesn't mean anything to anyone."

"I see your point."

"So, you in?" He sat for a moment, seemingly deep in thought.

"You have a deal." He replied, "Under one condition."

"And what's that?"

"We both spend the evening someplace better than this."

"I suppose I'm dressed for the occasion."

"Absolutely." He replied, looking me up and down once again.

"Then lead the way." I said, getting up from my chair.

He had a car waiting and told his driver to take us to an address I'd never heard before. Something like Calle de la Rosa and Calle de Palmero. I just sat back and enjoyed the ride.

We arrived at another club about 10 minutes later, called Absolute. It was full of wealthy elitists and captains of industry. They were, as someone once said, "the kind of people you'd like to drop kick," but I often envisioned much worse fates for these types.

However, Mr. Sark pulled me into the thick of the rich bastards for a dance. I immediately tensed up when his hand protectively wrapped around my waist. It sent me back to a dance I once shared with Simon in a ritzy club in Cologne. I felt tears begin to form in my eyes, but I quickly blinked them away as I tried to relax in Sark's arms.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing." I replied.

"I hardly believe that." He said.

"Believe what you want." I snapped, pulling away from him.

I began to walk off the dance floor when he grabbed my arm. I stopped for a moment and he pulled me back to him. I realized I had to keep this little game up if I wanted the plan to work.

The longer we danced, the more I thought about the infamous plan. I knew deviating from it would be a deviation from The Covenant and they'd have my head. But as I looked up into those blue eyes, I saw a passion that made me realise exactly what I had to do.

I looked even deeper into his eyes until I felt his lips against mine. Part of my brain was telling me to pull away and think of Simon, but the ruling part made me close my eyes and hold on tight until my lungs begged for air. We broke after a few moments and I looked at him breathlessly. I was about to suggest a visit to my hotel room when my phone vibrated in my purse.

"Excuse me." I said, rushing off to a quiet corner. I answered the phone quickly, seeing McKenas's name on the ID.

"Julia." I answered.

"What's the verdict?" he asked.

"Not sure yet." I replied.

"You've been working on him for almost an hour. There has to be an agreement already."

"He's been playing hardball most of the night. We're still ironing out a few things."

"Julia, you know this is a big deal to The Man. Make the right choice so you don't end up like Simon."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"We'll talk about it when you get back."

"No, you bastard! What happened to Simon!"

"Let's just say it wasn't the CIA." He replied, "Now get the job done and get back." I snapped my phone shut angrily and felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned and saw it was Sark.

"Sorry about that. It was my older brother." I said. He gently touched my cheek, wiping away a fresh tear.

"I know what happened to Mr. Walker." He said. I stayed silent.

"I assumed you knew, but now I believe I should reconsider that." Another few tears ran down my cheeks.

"He was set to defect from The Covenant and take you to Paris, but your 'older brother,' McKenas Cole, had him killed before he had the chance."

"How do you know about this?" I asked, more tears falling.

"Because I turned down the hit. I couldn't hurt you like that, Sydney."

"Why do you keep calling me that? My name is Julia!" I yelled, breaking down right in front of him. Tears were running down my face rapidly and Sark just pulled me to his chest, letting me cry.

I never thought such a cold-hearted assassin could understand something like un-admitted love, but then again, I understood it perfectly.