Killer Instinct

Chapter 9: The End Part Two

Simon unpacked his equipment on the table in the center of the vault. He removed his mask and breathed in a deep breath, relishing the fresh air in his lungs. He hated breathing through material, it was so constricting. He glanced over as she removed her mask and couldn't help but smile at how its removal had messed her hair. She set down the case on the table and looked down at it as it opened. He felt a wave of guilt as she turned her cheek and a flash of deep purple showed itself.

"I'm sorry..." He apologized. He'd hit her harder than he'd meant to.

She smiled and winced as her facial muscles beneath the bruise stretched, causing a bolt of pain. "I'm fine, it doesn't matter." She said as she looked down at the plutonium that rested carefully within the case.

It had been easy for her to get out of her restraints thanks to the handcuff key he'd given her earlier. It took her a moment to regain consciousness and free herself. Then all she had to do was wait for one of the men from the other van to check on her, as Simon had ordered them to do. She then took his place and brought herself back into the operation completely undetected. She still didn't understand fully why he'd helped her. He was risking so much by helping her. Simon opened one of his cases and pulled out a replicate of the plutonium. Carefully they switched the potentially dangerous form for the harmless form. They then set up the rest of the equipment in a way that would prevent anyone from knowing the difference, and readied themselves for the more difficult part of their plan.

They both put their masks back on and exited the vault. They headed back through the winding corridors towards the foyer. Simon gripped the case containing the true plutonium in his hand. It felt like a weight, much heavier than its material mass. What he held in his hand had the potential to end so many lives, but he now had the chance to save just as many. They entered the foyer to find the other men still in position surrounding the civilians.

"We're good to go," Simon said, causing them all to relax their stances and slightly lower their guns.

The two of them seized this opportunity. Simon slid the case behind the counter before shooting out the surveillance cameras as Sydney opened fire on the men, catching them all by surprise and taking them out faster than they could respond to. Within seconds the men lay dead on the floor and the civilians were in a panic. Syd and Simon grabbed the case and headed towards the exit, and towards the freedom that they both needed from the Covenant, from that lifestyle.

They were within meters from the door when the sound of footsteps could be heard growing louder and louder.

The men charged towards the entrance after the sound of gunfire rang throughout the streets. It only meant one thing...

They rounded the corner and spread out in one of the formations they'd been taught in defensive training. They all paused in the doorway as they found Simon and Sydney standing no further than a meter from the entrance. Simon held her close to him, with one arm tightly wrapped around her neck and the other aiming a gun at her head. Sydney fought against his grip but it made no difference.

The team leader lowered his weapon. The situation was under control. He glanced around the room at the sight before him. All of the other men lay dead in pools of blood across the marble floor while the civilians huddled together in a panicked mass.

"Everything's set into place, we need to clear the area before the blast." Simon said as he took a step towards the exit.

"We'll take her from here Walker."

The situation had just gotten ten times more difficult. These men obviously didn't trust him, which meant they either simply carrying out their strict orders or they knew that he had a part in this. He didn't know which it was, but at that point in time he could do nothing more than cooperate.

The CIA van sped along the city streets as it navigated its way through the afternoon traffic. Vaughn, Jack, and two other agents sat in the back of the van, all remaining silent. Vaughn couldn't help but entertain some level of hope...that maybe it was Sydney who had tipped them off. Who else could it be? It had to be her. And yet his mind was still filled with the images of those she had killed, the innocent lives...If they could prevent this attack, she'd be responsible for saving so many lives. Would that make up for what she'd done in the past? For what Julia had done?

Jack sat beside Vaughn. Unlike Vaughn, Jack entertained no trace of hope. He knew it was Sydney who had sent the email, and he knew that his daughter was proving herself, showing that she is the loyal CIA agent that she'd always been. He couldn't wait to get his hands on Simon, to make him pay for all that he had done to his daughter's life. He wanted to get everything he could out of Simon before causing him hours and hours of pain to avenge his daughter.

The van began to slow as it turned onto the same street as the bank. The local authorities had not been contacted yet as there was no real proof of any kind of attack. That's what they were there for. Another car trailed them, ready to back up the other agents if required. The bank was no further than a block away and soon came into vision. The towering building was still standing...that was a good sign. The van slowed as it parked one hundred meters from the bank. If there were Covenant members inside, they didn't want to alert them of their presence...at least not yet anyway. They weren't idle long before there was movement outside the bank. A group of men all wearing black exited the building as sirens began to sound from a few blocks away. They quickly moved towards the van, coaxed by the sounds of the approaching sirens.

"Sydney!" Vaughn exclaimed as they watched the men push her into the back of the van before driving off.

"Follow the van." Jack ordered.

Sark paced across the diameter of the room, eagerly waiting any kind of news from his men. Since the surveillance had been shot out he'd been completely in the dark. All that he knew was what he'd been told during a brief conversation with the third team leader...Sydney had escaped...and that was all. Surprisingly that wasn't what angered him most about the entire situation. It was the thought of being betrayed that ate at him the most. There were two people who exited the vault, two people who entered the foyer, and two people who had probably killed his men. It was the one who had shot the cameras that had stuck in his mind. There were only two possibilities...and if Simon had been a part of it all, he would pay for undermining Sark's authority, and the orders from the Covenant.

Sark's cell phone began to ring, causing him to pause mid-stride and angrily snap open his phone.

"Where is Sydney?"

"We have her here, she escaped, got into the bank. They're all dead Mr Sark. Everyone else is dead except for us and Simon."

"Where are you?"

"We're headed towards you now, we should be there in a couple of minutes."

"Good, and what about the plutonium?"

"Everything's ready for detonation."

Sark opened the door to find the five men and Simon with Sydney in front of them. He smiled as he let them enter. They secured her to a chair and awaited their next orders.

"Leave us," Sark ordered as the men filed out of the room, leaving Simon and himself alone with their prisoner. "Now, Simon, you know your end of the deal..." He trailed off with a smirk on his face.

Simon nodded, "I was getting to that." He turned to Sydney, taking his time as he slowly walked towards her and took a seat across from her. "I'm sorry sweetheart, but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do," he said with a grin as he pulled out his gun and aimed it directly at her head. "Now we had fun, didn't we? Playing those little games, killing those men...You were one of us Julia, but you've changed. You aren't that cold blooded killer that we used to know and love...'I can't do this anymore, I don't want to kill people, please help me...' You're pathetic."

The killer instinct tells her to be aware of evil men.

She pulled her face away from his hand, from his touch. She couldn't bare to have him touching her now. She desperately tried to hold back her tears. She didn't want to see how he affected her, how his words hurt her and how his betrayal cut her.

"Oh come on, is that anyway to be treating me? I'm not the traitor here babe...you are. You betrayed me, you betrayed Mr Sark here, and you betrayed the Covenant...and for that, you have to pay love. Sorry." He stood beside her and pressed the gun into her temple.

She slammed her eyes shut. The metal was cold against her face, which contrasted to the burning tears that ran down her face and the pang of pain from her cheek. She still couldn't bring herself to say anything. She just sat in silence, waiting for the squeeze of the trigger.

"Wait..." Sark said, causing Simon to pull the gun back from Sydney's head. "You wanted to stop us, to stop this from happening. The least we could do is show you how badly you've failed. All those people in there, surely by now the police are inside, news crews, bystanders...the innocent people you've helped us to kill" Sark said with a smug smile. He enjoyed this too much. It was the greatest torture possible, one of the things that would affect Sydney the most...

He turned as he picked up the remote detonator. The three of them faced the screen as he held the detonator in his hand, letting it all sink into Sydney's mind. She couldn't control the tears any longer. She'd failed. She didn't even know what was happening anymore. Simon must've switched the plutonium without her knowing, meaning that the real plutonium was still in the vault. It had to be why Simon had wanted to finish installing the equipment. She couldn't believe her stupidity. After all that she'd been through...to place her trust in a man like him.

"Ready?" Sark asked.

Sydney took one last look at the man that had betrayed her, his gaze fixed on the screen awaiting his moment. She shut her eyes. She didn't want to see this. Seconds passed as she braced herself for the sound of the blast. It seemed like almost an eternity, and then a sudden sound. She jumped in her restraints, the adrenalin coursed through her veins as her heartbeat raced and her ears rang out in response to the sound...but it wasn't the sound of a bomb...it was the sound of a gun. For a second she wondered if she had been shot, but upon feeling no kind of pain besides the pain in her cheek, she slowly opened her eyes.

Sydney opened her eyes to find Sark on the floor, a pool of blood forming beneath him, and Simon, standing across from her, his back facing her.

"Simon?" She struggled to find her voice. The tears continued to flow. Her mind raced as she tried to understand what had just taken place...at what had happened over the last few hours.

He forced a smile. He'd contemplated this moment for days, but he couldn't imagine the feeling afterwards...the feeling of knowing your fate, the fate he had sealed himself after promising to help her, after pulling the trigger...

"You...but I thought..."

"I promised you."

The door slammed open. Simon spun around, expecting to find Sark's men at the door ready to kill him for what he had done. But before he could react, before he could respond, a gun fired and a bullet sailed through the air, hitting him in the chest. Simon fell to the floor, his surroundings became a blur, and all he could hear were Sydney's screams as the agents flooded the room.

He soon felt her hands on him, placing pressure on his wounds, touching his face...He could barely see her but he knew she was there. He wondered if he was dying, if everything was leading up to this...up to the end. But maybe it wasn't the end for him, he could survive it, it was just a bullet wound, he'd had them before...It was the end for many things. Most importantly...this was the end of them, of Simon and Julia...the end for Sydney's life as Julia...his Julia...

Y'all have probably given up on this story...and I wouldn't blame you. This took a lot longer than I expected, but I guess things always pop up when you least expect it. I decided to split the last part into two coz it was pretty long and I could update faster that way. Sorry about the ending. The one I had planned seemed a little more lame to me when I was typing. I hope this one was ok. Thank y'all for reading, I hope you liked it. / Britt