Disclaimer: See previous chapters
A/N: Thanks so much for the great reviews!
Armani cologne
Chapter 4- Persuasive methods
---Sark's POV---
"Bloody hell woman, I was talking about your resistance level! Since when did this conversation take a turn to discussing if I was incompetent?" I yelled.
Sydney smiled, attempting to hide her laughing.
"And your laughing? Come with me. We're gonna get something to eat." I declared, standing up and extending out my hand to Sydney. She stood up quickly and accompanied me out of the room to go eat.
---Sydney's POV---
"Hey Sark, why do you do that?" I asked after we had left the gym and were heading down a hallway to get lunch.
"Do what?" he asked, opening a door.
"You know, act differently around me. I mean you're a complete asshole in front of my dad-" I started.
"Ya well, your dad scares me." Sark admitted as we walked through some kitchen.
"It's not just him, Vaughn, Weiss, everyone, everyone except me. Why do you act differently around me? I mean, ya your cocky around me, but you act different. If I told my father how you've been acting since I've been here he wouldn't believe me at all. So why do you do it?" I persisted walking through some restaurant.
Sark pulled out a chair for me before sitting in his own. I crossed my arms. "Like that? I mean, you would never done it for Vaughn."
"I don't do that for guys." Sark told me.
"That's not what I mean, if he had been here, you would have like tried to attack me or something." I informed him.
"Then again if he had been here, you wouldn't be dining with me either." Sark pointed out.
The restaurant was surprisingly bright. The tables were all circular but varied greatly in size. Some were fitted for a huge group and some for small groups. The table cloths were a fine pink fabric with 2 candles on every table. The chairs were a rich black and also varied in size. Themes form different countries lined the walls of the restaurant and 2 fans were hung from the ceilings in every section. The restaurant were lit as if it were a classroom.
"What with the candles?" I avoided replying.
"Tradition I guess." Sark replied lazily.
"They would question my loyalties." I answered is previous statement.
"What?" Sark asked.
"That's why I wouldn't be dining with you." I finished.
"So much for the land of the free; you can't even eat with who you want to." Sark retorted.
"Don't, so what's your reason. I answered yours. Don't beat around the bush and I don't want any bull." I told him.
"Ok, " he started.
"Mr. Sark. This just came from you." a waiter greeted, placing an envelope on the table in front of Sark.
Sark waited until the waiter left before he opened it.
"It's from Jack." Sark told me. "He says that he did what you told him to do and they promoted him back. They went on a mission and he intercepted some information. He received the Intel in this envelope but he currently doesn't know what it means. He will use his sources to figure it out."
"Do you know anything about it?" I asked.
"Ya, it looks like codes to something. Most likely how they keep in touch with each other. If that's the case then they're scared and they're planning something. Congratulations, training's over. Let's go." Sark told me.
But, we didn't eat." I protested, my stomach growling.
"Fine. You stay here and order something. I'll be back when your finished." he told me, getting up and walking away.
I wanted to ask how he would know when I was finished, but I shut my mouth and ordered some food.
An hour later
---Sark's POV---
I ran a hand through my hair and looked at myself in the mirror. I had showered and changed my clothes. I was now in the usual suit. I walked through the restaurant where Sydney sat, finished with her food.
"Hello Sark." she stared up at me. "If you'll excuse me, I'll be right back."
I sat down, watching her leave the table, heading to the bathroom.
---Sydney's POV---I opened the wooden door with a sign surrounded by gold that displayed the word "women" on it. It swung close behind me as I hurried to peer underneath the doors of the stall to check for people in them,. After that I pushed open the door for one last check before I whipped out my phone. The doors to the stall were a dark peach color with the walls a rather light peach and the sinks a light shade of pink. The tiled floor was a pale shade of pink as well. The room was fairly cold and lifeless. It was kept in great condition as well.
I dialed a number on my phone.
"Hello, yes dad? Yea, I got the information form Sark. Yea, he does trust me. We need his trust if the plan we went over is going to work. I, I think he's starting to openly display his feelings for me." I admitted in a whisper.
"Good, use that to your advantage. We need Sark to take down this new group and if that is true he'll be more open about information. Make sure he fills you in on everything. If he doesn't, find more persuasive methods." Jack informed me.
"But, dad, I can't, I can't use him dad. I can't just screw around with his feelings. He's human, just like all of us." I argued.
"You have to ask yourself what you are concerned about more; the safety of the US or his feelings. You need to stay emotionally detached. What happens if he turns on you? Think about that. Use your head." Jack warned.
"I can't believe you of all people are suggesting this. Ok. I'll do my best. It just, it feels wrong. But, if I have to, I'll do it. Bye, love you." I answered.
"Love you too." Jack echoed, hanging up the phone.
I hung up my phone and deposited it back in my pants pocket. I hurried out of the bathroom and back to the table.
"Welcome back Miss Bristow." Sark greeted as I walked up to the table.
"Hello Sark. So, it's back to suits. Are we going on a mission?" I whispered.
Sark motioned for me to follow him out of the restaurant.
---Sark's POV---
"So, you never answered me. On why you act different around me." Sydney persisted as we walked through the halls. I continued walking ignoring Sydney. She quickened her pace and fell into step beside me.
"Sark." she persisted.
I drowned out her voice walking steadily.
"Sark." Sydney called again.
I opened the door at the end of the hallway. The door was painted a pink color. I walked inside failing to hold the door for her. Inside the room was dark, so I waited a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the darkness.
"Sark!" Sydney yelled spinning me around. "Why won't you answer me? I just want an answer." she searched in my eyes for an emotion that I failed to display for her.
"It's because you're me. I see it in your eyes and in your actions. Because I can see a future for you and me after this is all over. I feel like I can trust you and that's scary because in this life you can't trust anyone." I answered, licking my lips and turning away to one of the computer screens. Sydney stood there behind me, silent.
I sat down at the computer and began typing in the codes I had received form Jack. I punched in one of my codes and clicked on a link on the computer. I typed in another code and I waited for the computer to process it all.
"The Circumstance, the codes we received from your father were not codes for communication. It's the codes to open a Rambaldi artifact. I don't know where it is yet, but I suppose Jack will find that out for us on his next mission. So, we wait for now. The next mission will mot likely be to go retrieve that artifact. If not that mission then a mission not long after it. I can use my resources to track it down, but there's no guarantee they'll find it in time. When we do have the location, you and me are going in to retrieve it. Understand?" I briefed her. I turned around when she didn't answer me. I noticed that the computer screen reflected on her guilty face as well as the white walls.
"Bloody hell!" I yelled, running my hand through my hair. "It's already in the history books. Get over it."
"What's in the history books?" she asked.
"It's a bloody expression!" I yelled.
"Interesting." she noted, her tone changing. "Look Sark, I didn't know. I'm sorry. I mean, you drive me insane. Half the time I wanna knock you unconscious… and the other half, I just, I wanna make out with you."
I smirked as she sat down in a folding chair beside the chair I was occupying.
Save for the sound of me typing on the computer the room was filled with a deafening silence.
"Hey Sark, if you could go back and have a normal childhood, would you want to?" she asked.
"Maybe." I answered, not taking my eyes off the screen.
"How do you manage to always be so aloof. I mean, did you like take some secret bad guy class where you learned to act that way. I mean, when do you ever just go hang with your friends. You know, go bowling or miniature golfing or something." she questioned.
I muttered something I doubted that she could hear properly.
"What did you say?" she questioned.
I sighed and turned to face her. "When you live the life I live, you don't have time for people that will just be used as a bait for you. I don't have time to be looking over my shoulder every minute wondering if the place I'm in is going to blow up. I don't want to feel bad about lying to the people who care about me. I don't want them dying because of me."
"So, no?" Sydney clarified.
"Ya, that's a no. It's just easier that way." I told her truthfully.
"But, don't you get lonely? I mean, don't you want somebody? Even a significant other?" she probed, extending her hand out touching my face.
"In case you didn't notice, they never last." he answered, standing up and walking over to a printer as paper shot out of it.
---Sydney's POV---
I pushed a strand of hair from my face as I wondered how I could break the heart of a lonely man.
He has no one. How can I lie to him and do exactly what mom did to my father? I remember the pained look on Jack's face when he described what Irina had put him through.
I closed my eyes and blocked this out as I continued what I had started.
Suddenly I knew what I was going to do. "Sark, I'll be back soon." I hurried out of the room and headed towards my room.
30 minutes later
I has showered and was now dressed in jean shorts and a red shirt. I wore Nike sneakers and socks. I grabbed a few items from the room right in front of the gym and threw them into a duffel bag. It was then that I hurried back into the room I had been in with Sark and demanded that he change into normal clothes. He looked at me confused before heading off to change. I waited outside of his room while he changed muttering random things. As soon as the door was cracked open, I pulled him outside and checked out his outfit.
He was wearing jeans and a light blue baggy shirt.
"No. Do you have shorts?" I asked.
"Yea." he replied slowly.
"Good, bring them and I guess if you really want to wear long pants you can go wear khakis. But no suits." I persisted, pushing him back into his room and slamming the door shut. "And pack a regular shirt!"
Sark stepped out of his room wearing a blue dress shirt and khakis. He reluctantly held a duffel bag, most likely containing extra clothes.
"Ok, follow me. We're going to go play." I informed him, exiting out of the building.
"Play?" Sark asked, uncertain, ready to go back inside the building.
I turned around grabbing his arm and pulling him away form the building. "Yes play, We're going to go play golf or miniature golf. And then we're going to go play soccer. Later on we're going to go play on a play ground and on the jungle gym." I smiled walking to Sark's red viper.
"Bloody hell! I'm not 10 years old!" Sark protested.
"Yea, but I'm giving you the fun you missed out on when you were little. You said it yourself, we have time to kill while we wait for Jack to get sent on that mission. Don't fight me Sark, I will drag your ass there if I have to." I told him, giving him a kiss before I walked over to my side of the car and getting in. "Now the next words out of your mouth better be 'Thank you Sydney.' Ok?"
"I still-" Sark started.
"No, that doesn't sound like 'Thank you Sydney to me.'" I argued.
Sark looked at me. He looked different, changed somehow. That's when I noticed it. His smirk was gone, replaced by a genuine smile.
"Thank you Sydney. Now, hurry up and get us there so I can kick your ass in all those sports." Sark joked.
"Really? Well bring it on." I joked, driving the car. "Are you wearing cologne?"
"Yea, why?" he questioned.
"It smells like axe." I answered, my eyes still on the road.
"That's because it is axe." he told me.
"Wow, can you imagine that, Sark not spending thousands of dollars on his outfit and accessories." I joked.
"Well you said normal." he protested.
"Ya well, here's a tip. I may not a be a guy, but they don't normally wear cologne to play sports." I enlightened him.
"Ok, I'll give you that. Can I ask you a favor, Sydney?" Sark asked seriously.
"Sure." I answered stopping at a red light.
Sark gently grabbed my chin so that my face was facing his. "Call me Julian." He pleaded with a kiss.
A/N: So review? No review no update. That's a promise. Plus, if you review, you can have a cookie. And everyone loves cookies.