Killer Instinct:

Chapter 2: Alone

Sydney sat on the end of the bed, her head in her hands as she tried to control her sobs. As soon as she thought she had them under control another sob would escape from her throat. The tears still fell down her cheeks. She desperately wanted to stop crying, to stop giving in to her emotions but the harder she tried to gain control the more her body gave in. She wasn't coping. She wasn't even sure what she was coping with, that's what scared her even more. The headache from before had dulled down to a faint throb that no longer bothered her. Whatever drug they had given her had practically worn off, and her memories were returning. Flashes of images that were strangely familiar to her clouded her mind as she continued to try and gain control over her body and emotions.

You keep crying, crying, crying
Till you cannot see at all
You keep crying, crying, crying
Till you cannot breathe at all
What do you do when you're alone?

What had become of her life? It barely felt likes anymore. Syd wasn't in control, and she hated it. Slowly she lay back onto the bed and stared at the roof above her. Light was quickly fleeting from the room as the sun set outside the window. She kept her gaze on the roof as her breathing began to calm down, and the time between each sob became longer and longer, until they had completely died down. She tightly closed her eyes, trying to picture the memories that were returning, trying to piece back together her life. She desperately wanted to know who was responsible for this, who was in charge of whatever this was, who purposely made her forget ...Her thoughts trailed off as she tried to focus on the clearer images, the memories which were most clear and fresh in her mind. She traced back to the first time she had heard of Simon, right through to the last time she remembered Simon when she had spoke with him on the phone about the job they had lined up.

Picking up the pieces of a life you've broken
Stitching it together with the seams wide open

Syd opened her eyes to find the room in complete darkness. She stared up at the roof once. She felt as though things were becoming clearer as she retraced them, but she still had a gap in her memory, a blank patch between that phone conversation and the moment she awoke in that very room. It made no sense to her, but she was determined to remember, determined to find out whether she had discovered anything about her lost years, or whether or not she still needed to find out what had happened. She rolled onto her side as she noticed a thin line of light entering beneath the doorway to her 'cell'. She could hear the faint sound of a television whirring, and wondered if it was Vaughn out there babysitting her. She contemplated an escape, it seemed pretty simple. But she wanted to co-operate, just until she knew exactly why she was there and what she had done, if she had done anything at all. She slowly allowed her eyes to close, and soon she was dreaming.

Dream

Sydney grabbed her suitcase and headed towards the front of the airport. This was her chance to find out everything she could from Simon, and she wasn't going to let anything get in her way. She smoothed her hair away from her face as she scanned the crowd, searching for Simon. She continued through the crowded airport, keeping her eyes open for that familiar face that she longed to see. Despair began to set in when a firm hand grabbed her arm and spun her around. She found herself looking into his face, and the despair disappeared. She smiled.

"Hello sweetheart," he said as he put his arm around her and squeezed, before guiding her towards the car park.

They crossed the airport and made their way to his car. He opened the door for her as she noticed Javier andAvery in the backseat. She smiled politely at them, and waited for a response from either of them. She knew she wasn't going to get one. She turned back to Simon as he sat beside her and started the engine. Javier and Avery didn't trust her, and she wasn't so sure that Simon did either. Simon noticed her eyes upon him and knew what she was thinking.

"Are you ready?" He asked. Syd gripped the suitcase that rested in her lap and nodded in reply. The car pulled away from the curb and headed towards their destination.

The car ride was silent, so silent that it was deafening. She was temped to start a conversation, but her thoughts kept her occupied. Occasionally Simon looked over at her, and she wondered what he was thinking. She kept her eyes forward watching the road before them. She knew what awaited them, and was beginning to doubt the plan. What if something went wrong? And they couldn't get what they wanted? Should they still go to the warehouse? She turned her attention to the passenger window and the passing scenery as she continued to question their motives, and her own. For some reason she couldn't let them go through with this, she knew what awaited them and needed to stop it.

"Turn around, " Syd said almost as a whisper, breaking the silence within the vehicle.

"Are you completely out of your mind?" Simon asked as he glanced at her before returning his attention to driving.

"It isn't safe, they know we're coming. We have to turn back." She said firmly and more confidently. She focused on Simon as she realised what she was doing. How was she going to explain this?

"Who knows we're coming?" Simon asked, "Julia?"

"Interpol, one of my sources confirmed that it wouldn't be safe to enter the warehouse today."

Javier leaned forward and gripped the side of Sydney's chair as he looked from Simon then to Sydney, "Your source...the CIA." He said accusingly as he pulled his gun on her.

"Hey!" Simon yelled as he swung his arm out at Javier. "Are you sure that we've been compromised?" He asked, completely ignoring Javier, who was now arguing withAvery in the backseat.

"Yes, I'm sure. We just need to wait a few days." She said, pleading with him. She wondered how convincing she sounded.

"She can't be trusted!" Javier exclaimed, "You know it Simon, you just can't ..."

Simon shot a glare back at Javier that shut him up straight away. Sydney's thoughts were overwhelming her, was he defending her? Or was he just playing along until they had evidence that she was lying?

Simon pulled over to the side of the road, his hands firmly grasping the wheel. He could still hear Javier arguing with Avery behind him. Somehow he knew he was going to regret this. He shook his head, he didn't need this. He already didn't completely trust her. He maintained focus on the road in front of him. They were so close to their drop off point, so close to thelarge amount of moneythey would receive for this job, but if it was a trap then it wasn't worth a cent. He could feel her eyes upon him, watching his facial expression, waiting for him to make a decision. He spun the wheel and turned the car around.

"You can't be serious!"

"If you want to continue on ahead, then go. Julia thinks that we've been compromised, then I believe her. We'll head to the safehouse and wait, if nothing happens then we'll continue on with the job. Alright?"

Javier and Avery shook their heads in disagreement, but reluctantly agreed with Simon. Sydney's thoughts continued to plague her. She felt both relief and fear, her life was on the line and she knew it.

Syd awoke to the sudden sound of thunder clapping, and rolled over as the widow pane shook with its force. She quickly fell back to sleep as her dream continued to show her the memories she had hidden within her mind.

Sydney entered the safehouse, and found the three men standing in the next room. She stood in the doorway as she caught the end of their conversation, discussing her loyalty. She felt a pang in her stomach. She left the doorway, hoping that they hadn't registered her presence. She took a seat on the couch, she felt jet lagged from her flight. She heard the sound of footsteps approaching her, she wondered whether to feel threatened, but she stayed relaxed as Simon joined her on the couch. He slid closer to her, and reached over her for the remote. She changed her position to rest her head on his shoulder, she could feel sleep approaching.

"Let's see what's on the telly" he said as he flicked it on.

He surfed through the channels, searching for something that sparked his interest. He stopped on the news channel as a familiar location appeared on screen. Syd's battle with sleep ended as the television made sure that she was fully awake. She felt Simon's shoulder stiffen as the images played across the screen.

"Javier, Avery ..."

They entered the room as a reporter recounted what had happened just hours ago at the warehouse they would have been in. Simon let out a breath, half in disbelief, half in relief. Interpol had raided the warehouse searching for terrorists. She was right, she had saved their lives. She was telling the truth, and it was the second time that he had doubted her since she had returned to him. Javier snorted and left the room, closely followed by Avery. This didn't change anything, he still didn't trust her.

"You were right," he said as he began to stroke her hair.

Her need for sleep was quickly returning. She murmured in response to his words, as she slowly gave in to sleep. She felt comforted by his presence beside her. She felt safe, even if her life was in danger just by being near him. Simon felt the full weight of her head on his shoulder as she slowly began to slide down.

"Julia?" He softly asked

"Simon?" Sydney replied as she slowly began to awake. She heard him call for her. She opened her eyes and scanned the room to find that she was alone. It was just a dream. But was it? Sydney frowned, she was sure that her dream was reality, at least at some point in her time. She was regaining her memory through dreams... At least these dreams were more comforting than those nightmares she was having when she first woke up after her two year absence. She wondered what happened next, she needed to know more and hoped to find more soon.

Is there anyone out there?
Is there anyone now?
All I need are the details
Just to find a way out