A/N: Reviews, reviews, they leave me in a muse. Reviews, reviews, I must thank you! Hehehehe. I think it's time to update and thank all my reviewers!
Mallory (x4), Piscean, Maggie (x2), SunnE1, Immortally****Alias (x3), serendipity112233 (x9), jennycraig10 (x4), Jinet (x5), Kiki (x2), Stephi (x4), speed, Total Vaughn Lover (x3), donnatellaMarks (x2), midnightqueen6 (x4), Mary Kate 113 (x3), anonymous (x2), star16 (x8), spinach, Agent Katy, Brynne, Delordra (x2), Star Mage1, Alicia, Kristal, sallene (x3), Elora-18, leo's l'il sista, Haley, Agent Elektra (x3), neptunestar (x2), I heart ALIAS, supergirl14, SlonessIZtheWAYtoGO*89, Chaosti, American Rhapsody, J.Dy, Ms.MV (x2), Terin, Coffee Crazy, liz, knX3571, Collen, kat, Lady Prongs of Rohan, Natalie, Ms. Vaughn (x2), Fair Cate, oOspuffy4ever)Oo, Kris, and Roonie.
Roonie: Thank you so much! You know, I haven't reviewed very much on your story, Torn (WHICH EVERYONE SHOULD READ BY THE WAY) but I love it! I absolutely love it!
Cate: "unused potential" eh? I think I like that definition! :)
Star16: Yes, I will reveal who Jack was talking to eventually, and I also think that you'll be surprised at who the leader of the Covenant is, but of no secrets I will divulge!
Serendipity112233: Yes, everyone is working for someone else, but doesn't it seem like the way it goes on the show? I mean Kendall works for the FBI, Lauren works for the NSA, the CIA, and the Covenant. Sydney worked with SD-6 and the CIA. And there ain't anything more confusing then the whole Jack, Irina, Sydney, and Vaughn love square! Hehehe.
Chapter 12
Assured by her father that the non-incriminating evidence had been put in place Sydney walked into the office on Tuesday morning with a smile plastered on her face and an air of confidence. Jay spotted her almost immediately and excused herself from the agent she was talking with.
"Sydney, it's great to see you!" Jay said taking her in an informal hug. Sydney looked over Jay's shoulder and caught a wink from Anita who was sitting standing at the coffee machine, a steaming cup in hand. "Anita told me what happened. I'm so glad to see you back safe," Jay said pulling away. Wow, Sydney thought. She's really good, but then again, so am I. Sydney hid her surprise and silently thanked Anita for her help.
"Thank you. I'm glad to be back," Sydney answered.
"We'll be meeting in twenty-minutes to discuss the latest events. We've had a break through since you're capture."
"Great, I'll be there," Sydney kept her smile in place until Jay walked away. The moment that Jay was out of sight, Sydney made her way over to Anita.
'So, what fabulous rescue attempt did you conjure up that satisfied our boss?" Sydney asked with an honest grin.
"Oh you know, a little of this, and a little of that, and she completed the whole shebang." They both laughed easily. "No, but seriously, I told her that our contact took you hostage and I rescued you."
"Thanks, I appreciate it."
"No problem, but I'm curious to know if she really got the whole story," Anita coded.
Sydney shrugged. "Probably, but if she hasn't she will soon. It will be interesting to see what new information she has to divulge at our next meeting."
Anita nodded. "Speaking of the meeting, we should probably get to it."
Sydney followed Anita down the now familiar corridors to the conference room where several other agents already sat; some of which she recognized, and some that she didn't. Anita and Sydney sat in silence until Jay strode into the room with her high heels clicking briskly.
"Okay, before we begin, I want to welcome back Agent Bristow and Agent Porter. Our contact in Paris turned out to be a setup, and I'm relieved that they both returned safely," she flashed a smile to them both. "However, while they were gone, we've discovered an agent within the Covenant, namely Sark, to be more active within the last couple days. We have reports showing Sark to have arrived in Switzerland last night. We believe he's meeting with this man, Diamin Hendriki. Hendriki was involved in the black market in Poland producing arms to sell to the Russians during the Cold War."
"Why would Russia want arms from Poland? Its armory was hardly developed at that time."
"You're correct, but though Poland's research was behind in the development of nuclear weapons they excelled in one category; the production of this weapon," Joe said as she changed the screen to a photo that resembled that of a single barrel rifle. "It's a weapon of Hendriki's own invention nicknamed: The Black Death. What was so advanced about this weapon is it took the newly discovered poison, bitomide, and encased it around every bullet. So even if the bullet was touched by human skin, the victim would die. Now, this sort of weapon is old news nowadays, and Hendriki has since been exiled from Poland, but the CIA has reports the he has designed a new weapon, one that the Covenant is apparently interested in. We're not sure what it is or the amount of damage it can cause, but we're determined to keep it out of the hands of the Covenant. Agent Bristow, Agent Porter, I know both of you just got back, but you two are my first choice for this mission," she let her indirect question hang in the air.
"We'll go," Sydney nodded.
"Great. Your jobs are to spy on their conversation and find out what they're up to, and as always, come home safely."
* * *
Sydney strode into the LA office a few hours later as she looked around the office for any sign of her father. Unfortunately her eyes met with Vaughn first. He was on the phone and the moment he saw her his eyes pleaded with her to stay where she was, as his mouth kept moving faster and faster as if trying to end the conversation. Sydney gave him a few seconds to finish his phone call before she started walking. She was still angry that he hadn't trusted her judgment before, and did seem to be keeping some sort of secret from her.
"Syd, wait up," Vaughn said as he ran to her side. "What's going on?"
"I need to talk to my father. I have suspicions about the latest mission Jay's sending me on."
"Jay's sending you on another mission? Sydney, please tell me you said no," Vaughn pleaded.
"Of course I didn't say no. I've never turned down a mission and I'm not going to start now. I just need to come up with a safety net in case Joe has something planned."
"Sydney, this is crazy," Vaughn said pulling her shoulder to a stop so she'd face him. "That woman works for the Covenant. You cannot allow yourself to be put at her will. Plan or no plan, it's not safe."
Sydney shrugged away from him. "I understand the situation, Vaughn, and I don't like being treated like a five year old. I am capable of defending myself and thinking on my own accord, as my plan for the NSA proved well enough—"
"That's not the point, Syd. You're risking yourself unnecessarily. Whatever mission you're going on, most likely anyone else can go, so you have to think, why did Jay choose you?"
"She didn't choose me, Vaughn. She gave me the option and I said yes. Now I'm going to prepare for this mission in the consideration that this is a trap, but the point is, I'm going. I'm done sitting on the sidelines, Vaughn, and no timeout is going to convince me otherwise."
Sydney walked away and Vaughn felt himself angrily reeling at Sydney's stubbornness. She was setting herself up to be killed and she didn't care. He did however, find it curious that Jay had asked Sydney whether or not she wanted to take the mission. It was in all actuality, scary, because it proved how well Joe actually knew Sydney. Damn it, Sydney! Why are you so stubborn? But even as he sat down in his desk chair, he knew he wouldn't ask her to be any other way.
* * *
"I've confirmed it, Sydney Bristow knows."
"I see. Than our asset better hope Switzerland goes smoothly."
"Indeed, she also believes that Agent Porter may pose a problem."
"And why is that?"
"She's a double, sir. Our asset believes possibly for the FBI, but it's not confirmed."
"Shit, how long has this been know and why wasn't it contained?"
"Not very long. Our asset believes that France was confirmation. She is being sent to Switzerland with Bristow."
"Excellent. We can kill two birds with one stone. Contact me when you hear more."
"Of course."
* * *
SWITZERLAND
"Can you hear me?"
"Copy that Mountaineer," Anita replied back.
"Base-Ops?"
"Loud and clear." Sydney adjusted both of her coms in her ears and then let her hands fall to her sides. As part of her father's plan, both Anita and LA would monitor her in case one connection failed. Currently, she and Anita were residing in a small covet in the top balcony of the hotel where the meeting was to take place. As part of their cover, they were an ad agency that was interested in publicizing the new hotel and wanted to film the inside of it. The location was perfect. They had an incredible view of everything below them.
"Hendriki has just arrived," Anita murmured into the com.
"Copy that, I'm going in." Sydney came out from a doorway not far from the waitress's entrance to the kitchen with a candle in her hand. Her blonde hair was French braided down her back and she was equipped in the standard black tux that decorated every other waiter and waitress within the hotel.
She waited until Hendriki's waitress stepped away from the table before making her way towards it. She had to be quick to make sure she made the switch before Sark arrived, otherwise she'd be recognized. Hendriki himself was a short, overweight man, in his early fifties with a thin, long mustache. He had himself decked out in a yellow suit with a matching tie, and two cigars rested in a nearby pocket.
"Excuse me, Sir," she said in German, "but I must refill this candle," she said glad the oil in the candle was indeed low.
"But of course!" he answered her in German that did not completely hide his Polish accent. She blew out the candle and replaced it with the one in her hand. Then she removed a lighter from her pocket and relit it.
"Thank you," she said giving him a bright smile before walking away. She set the old candle on table near the waitress station and headed back upstairs to where Anita was sitting.
"Bug's in place," Sydney said. The waterproof bug was a compliment of Swift Field's tech guy, Brian Davis, and even though the bug was contained in a liquid-filled chamber, the bug provided as clear of a sound as if it were outside the container.
Within minutes, Sark had arrived and Anita turned up the volume on their conversations.
"Mr. Sark, good to finally meet you," Hendriki greeted.
"Likewise I'm sure," Sark replied cordially. "I trust that you've brought the plans."
"Of course. But we shall not discuss such business without the pleasure of dinner," Hendriki dismissed.
"Agreed," Sark answered. At that moment, the waitress materialized on cue, took their orders, and left.
"I trust your employer is well?" Hendriki asked making conversation.
"I assume so."
"You don't know?" Hendriki asked with a hint of surprise.
"I haven't been in contact with him in several days. I assume he's in the same condition as he was when I left him," Sark answered while Sydney slumped back against the wall of their hiding place hoping that this conversation wasn't going to advance in some way. She never knew that a conversation between to known terrorists could be so boring, unless of course they were purposely stalling. The idea was totally possible, and not one that had been far from her mind.
"No reason to be sarcastic, Mr. Sark," Hendriki spoke up.
"I apologize, but I'm rather eager to get to business."
Hendriki took a sip of his wine and grinned. "I guess that comes with the youth in your age, I think, Mr. Sark."
Sark kept his face expressionless. "Actually, it comes more on the consequences of our line of business, Mr. Hendriki. I would think that of all people who would understand consequences it would be you." Hendriki's smile literally drained out of his face. Apparently his exile from Poland was still a sore spot in his history, but before he could reply to Sark's jab, something at Sark's belt caught in his attention, assumedly a beeper.
"Excuse me for a moment, I must answer this page," Sark said as he stood up and left the table.
"I'll follow him," Sydney whispered to Anita as she removed the headphones she had been wearing to listen to their conversation.
She left the room and stayed on the balcony until she caught sight of Sark's figure coming up the stairs. Sydney stayed behind a large concrete pillar as she watched Sark make a right and head towards a line of pay phones. She watched him dial and was surprised to see him dial only nine numbers.
"Base-Ops, can you give me the name of any country that uses a nine digit phone number?"
"Just a second, Mountaineer." Sydney watched Sark's mouth move a few times but she couldn't make out what he was saying. The man on the other end seemed to be doing most of the talking anyway.
"Sorry, Mountaineer, but there's no record of any country holding a nine digit number." Sydney felt uneasy. She hoped that she had just counted the numbers wrong, but she very much doubted that that was the case because the only other explanation was that this was a setup.
Suddenly a gunshot echoed throughout the building and streams of anxious customers began to make their way to the door.
"Anita? Anita, are you there?" There was no answer and Sydney filled with dread.
"Base-Ops, this is Mountaineer. Gunshots have been fired. Get the extraction team ready now!" Sydney looked back at the phones for Sark, but he was gone. Damn it! Why didn't she listen to her intuition earlier? She ran back to their observation room and she nearly reared back in horror. Anita lay slumped across their recording material, blood oozing from a gunshot wound at her temple. She was dead.
"Syd, we will be there in—" Through her watering eyes she heard her father's voice slowly fall out so that it was finally replaced with pure static. Sydney reached into her coat and pulled out her gun as she struggled to get her emotions under control and assess the situation.
She knew Sark was still here. He had to be. He had told her before that the Covenant needed her, and if that was true then he wasn't going to leave without her. She walked across the back wall of the balcony with her back touching the wall at all times, but she soon found it to be no good. The power abruptly shut off and the room became black as night, except for the few candles that lit the tables on the first floor.
As she impatiently waited for her eyes to adjust she kept her eyes round her and watched for the flickering of candle light on the first floor for signs of motion. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in the side of her arm. She quickly reached over and pulled it out, but by the feel of it, she could tell it was a tranquilizer dart. As she felt her eyelids start to fall she lifted her gun with all the energy she possessed and shot around the room blindly, but just before she lost cautiousness, she felt another tranquilizer hit the same arm, but she was out cold before she could make any movement to pull it out.
* * *
Jack Bristow arrived at the scene feeling unnerved. After Sydney hadn't made any confirmation about the extraction point, he knew that their connection had been severed. All the hotel lights were out, except for a few odd glowing lights from the bottom floor. It also seemed as if every single occupant that had been inside the restaurant was now anxiously standing and talking outside. As he and the team left the vehicle, he heard people make mention of hearing the gunshots which confirmed Sydney's last transmission.
"Weiss, take Miller and find the fuse box. The rest of you come with me." Jack led the armed team through a side glass door that he immediately broke through so that he wouldn't have to worry about getting through the crowds.
Needless to say, it was dark inside. It was very hard to see anything at all; this concerned Jack. There wasn't a sound or a voice to be heard in the whole place.
Suddenly the room filled with light. Overturned chairs and tables lined the first floor and would have proven to be treacherous obstacles had they attempted to make their way upstairs in the dark. Jack led half the team upstairs and left the other half to search the downstairs.
He walked along the balcony with his gun raised hoping that Sydney or Anita would give him some sort of sign. He attempted his com link once again and he heard his voice being echoed somewhere close by. He continued talking into it until he came to an open door. There he found Anita. She was obviously dead.
"Agent Bristow, over here!" One of the other agents called him over. Jack retraced his steps to find another agent squatting near the edge of the back wall looking at something. With gloved hands he held up what he'd found between two fingers. Jack recognized it immediately; it was a tranq. Also in pieces on the floor, he noticed two broken com links that were in such a state that the parts of one earpiece to another were interchangeable. Sydney Bristow was gone.
* * *
To: #1
From: S
Mission successful.