A/N- Hey guys! Here's the next chapter. Let me know what you think of this one. And thanks so much for reviewing! I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. Please keep them coming.

Chapter 4: Secrets

Sydney was frantic, Nigel was abducted three days ago and she was just starting to look for him. There was no telling what kinds of catastrophes had befallen her assistant since they last met. Her mind would not stop going over worst case scenarios long enough to look for a solution to the problem at hand. As she watched trees, houses and street lamps race by from the window of Derek's car, she wondered how long it would be tills she found him again, and if she would ever be able to tell him about her new found feelings. She wanted so desporately to hold him in her arms and feel the warmth of those tender but strong arms. She wanted to gaze into his hazel eyes and lose herself as she often did. How she longed for her Nigel's smile, that one shy and unasuming smile that washed away all her worries so easliy. She even missed his aggitated rambling, he was such a cute rambler. No one ranted quite as sweetly in life and death situations as Nigel did. Sometimes she thought he only did it for her amusement. When it came to her safety, Nigel flung himself into danger without a second thought. The thought of danger brought a pang of fear into Sydney once again. He had to be okay, there was no other exception.

Looking up, she noticed from the corner of her eyes that Derek was giving her nervous side ways glances. "What?" She asked, getting self conscious.

"You tell me? "

"Huh?" Sydney asked, confused by the response

"What are you thinking about? Haven't said a word since we left the police station."

"I was just wondering about Nigel." Sydney said quietly,

"Yea, me too." Derek eyes went soft as he said that. He was worried about his friend as well. Nigel was the only real friend he had ever earned. Some how Nigel understood Derek and always tried to be there whenever he could, without asking for anything in return. It was hard for Derek to feel comfortable enough to lean on other people. but that was not the case with Nigel. So many times Derek found himself, calling his friend just to talk and not be judged for the kind of work he did. Even Sydney, as perceptive as he always is, never looses her undertone of mistrust with him, but Nigel was always supportive and trusting. Some would call Nigel naïve, but Derek knew that wasn't true, Nigel could be more skeptical than even Sydney when he wanted to be. No, he was not naïve, but instead a man who at least tried to see the good in people, before writing them off. So, when a guy like him, trusted you, you needed to live up to that trust, because otherwise it meant, you had lost the ounce of goodness that made you human.

"We'll find him Syd, and he's going to be just fine.

"Yea, if I have to go to hell and back, I'm going to make sure we find him." Said Sydney, suddenly finding her resolve after hearing the determination in Derek's voice.

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Trinity University

"Ok Claudia, I want you to find everything there is to know about the Alchemists. What they're known for, where there last sighting was. Use all of the files Derek gave us and any other source you can find."

"Sure."

"Where are we going?" Asked Derek, noting Sydney grab her Sachet.

"To see if we can find a lead on Nigel."

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Sydney and Derek walked into the noisy sports bar.

"What is this place?" Derek asked, feeling very at in the atmosphere. Loud rock music played in the backgroud, while burley men crouded around tables playing cards and drinking beer. Smell of smoke and sweat assalted thier nostrils as they descended the staircase. It was exactly the kind of place where Derek liked to hang out at after a hard mission, only minus the filthy, muscle clad drunken men that made up the majority of the otherwise well maintained bar.

"It's a relic hunter's bar. I have a friend here who might be able to help us."

"Right." Derek nodded. Sydney always had reliable sources.

Walking towards the bar, Sydney leaned on the counter.

"Not aged a day I see," Sydney exclaimed, with a sultry voice.

"Sydney! Still as beautiful as ever." Replied the old yet handsome bartender. Quickly leaning over to give her an awkward hug.

"It's good to see you Jake!"

"You too my love. What brings you here?"

"I was wondering if you know anything about the Alchemists."

Suddenly Jake's friendly demeanor changed to one of caution. He looked around the bar, making sure that no one was listening. "Not here, meet me in the back room." He whispered, and then resumed to pour a drink for another costumer.

With a few minutes Jake joined Sydney and Jake in a small room behind the bar.

"Why are you looking for the Alchemists Sydney?" Jake asked, sounding both worried and suspicious.

"They have Nigel!" Sydney replied

"What! Oh dear. That's real unlucky,"

"Why, what do you know?" Asked Derek, edging closer to the old man in anticipation.

"I heard that they had tried to bring in a new expert into their ranks but that he wasn't cooperating. I never thought it could be Nigel." Remembering the young and friendly Englishmen from Sydney's last few visits.

"Do you know where they've taken him?" Sydney asked, even more worried now than she was before.

"I'm not sure. I heard they were looking for Asclepios's elixir of life. My guess is Greece. At least that's where I heard one of their operatives was going, the only one that my source is in contact with."

"Ok can you give me more info on this guy?"

"Yea let me write it down for you." Grabbing a piece of paper and a pen from on the desk behind him, Jake scribbled a few lines and handed it to Sydney.

"Thanks Jake!" Sydney said, hugging the older man.

"I did owe you one. Good luck! Bring him back safely "

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"You fools! How could you let her go?" Coppole screamed on the phone.

"I don't care if an intelligence officer as involved! Your job was to keep her there! You'll have much more to worry about than your measly job now; you can count on that much." With that he slammed the receiver shut.

"Sir, if I may, why did we need the geek, after all Sydney Fox is the real relic hunter."

"She's more trouble than she's worth. That woman is as tough as nails. Her record for getting her way is pretty consistent. She wouldn't have done what we wanted, and even if she had, she'd find a way to take the relic back with her. No, she's too much trouble. We can't afford to call that kind of attention to ourselves. "

"The boy isn't giving in either. What are we going to do with him?"

"I think we'll let the boss take care of him."

Rafeek nodded, already feeling sorry for the dweeb. They hadn't done half the damage his boss was going to do.

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Nigel woke up with a start. He wasn't sure what had woken him, but he sure regretted taking the bait. Every inch of his body screamed for attention. He realized, slowly that he was still hanging off the shackles, but was half lying on the floor, completely unable to carry his own weight. As his senses slowly woke up, he finally heard a voice talking to him. Looking up, he could make out a blurred figure sitting in front of him. He was sure he had never seen this person before. He had silver grey hair, a pale completion and weary eyes. Those were the only features that stuck out to Nigel's tired eyes.

"Hello Nigel." Nigel didn't respond. Trying to decide how to deal with the stranger.

"I'm Markus Bright. I see that my men have introduced themselves to you."

"Not really. I don't think I know any of their names yet. You might want to teach them some basic manners. Like not beating up a guest to an inch of his life."

The old man chuckled. "I must admit, I never realized you were so spirited."

"We can't always be right, now can we?" Nigel was sure, that he had lost his mind. They must have really knocked his head; his mouth was escaping him, without his permission. The truth was, he was afraid, deathly tired and worried about Sydney. But it seemed that despite all that, he couldn't help but mouth off to these goons. Perhaps he was spending too much time with Sydney. Nah, there was no such thing as too much time with his beautiful employer, a whole lifetime seemed too short. Even though, that "too short" bit was going to be true soon enough.

"I'm only going to ask you once. Are you going to help us translate this scroll or not? "

"Are you letting Sydney go?" Nigel asked, just as calmly as the man before him. However, the slur in his voice clearly betrayed the pain he was in. There was a pause n the part of the man before him. Nigel could not clearly make out the expression on the Markus' face, but it was clear that something was wrong. Fear instantly gripped him as his heart skipped a beat. In the space of that one beat, Nigel saw the million ways in which Sydney could be harmed.

"What did you do to her? Where is she? I won't tell you a single thing till I see her."

"Have it your way then." With that, the man got up and pulled out something from his jacket pocket. Nigel couldn't make out what the object was at first, but as Markus brought it closer, Nigel realized that it was a syringe.

"What's that?"

"You'll find out soon enough." With that, the man stabbed the needle into Nigel's neck, right above his right shoulder blade. An involuntary cry rose from Nigel's lips. Pulling the needle out once again, the older man smirked, before making his way out once more.

Nigel could feel liquid coursing through his veins. A burning sensation rose through his chest as though someone had lit his insides on fire, and then dropped molten lava, to add to the heat. He gasped in pain, while struggling with his bonds, trying desperately to escape from his own body. Clenching his teeth, he tried to ride the pain out, but the longer he waited, the more it grew. His breath was coming in small gasps as his whole body shook with pain. So far he had been kidnapped, beaten, blackmailed and now he was being cooked from the inside. To think that all he ever wanted was a nice teaching job. If he wasn't in so much pain, he probably would have laughed at the irony. The pain reached an all time high, causing Nigel to pull his knees up to his chest as much as possible, before the feeling died down all together. Unable to deal with the sudden change, Nigel collapsed to the ground, as far as his bonds would allow him. His eyes began to droop as he began to loose consciousness once again; however, the sound of the door opening forced him to stay awake.

"Well Nigel, I trust you are now familiar with the agony that our little friend here can cause." Said Markus, pointing to a vale that contained blue liquid in his hand. "This little bugger is called Chimera, a wonderful Greek poison." At this, Nigel's eyes went wide, not so much surprised but terrified at having his worst realization come true.

"Why are you doing this? What are you getting out of killing me?"

"Nothing actually. But we will get something if you manage to save yourself."

"What do you mean?"

"You see, this particular poison was said to be made out of Aclepios' stash of potions and medicines. It can only be cured by the elixir of life. Ever since we found this, our suspicions of the elixir being real have been confirmed. So now, if you want to live, find the elixir."

"What about Sydney?"

"We had no use for her."

"Where is she?" Nigel asked, now out of control with worry

"You'll find that she doesn't need to be rescored anymore." With that, Markus rose from his feet and turned to leave.

"We start first thing in the morning. Rest now, you'll need to live long enough to find the Elixir."

"Wait. I won't do anything till I know where Sydney…'

"She's Dead." Yelled Markus, before turning around and leaving.

Nigel couldn't breathe. Sydney was dead? How could this be? How was he going to live without her? His beautiful, amazing and wonderful Sydney couldn't be dead. He refused to believe it. But even as he told himself his, tears began to spill from his eyes, unchecked. Flashes of Sydney smiling at him, teasing him, playfully glaring at him and or putting ran through his memory. There was no one in the world as beautiful as her, in every way possible. She had taught him how to live, to break away from his shell and become confident enough to go gallivanting around the world with her by his side. Though he would never admit it out loud, Sydney had made him fall in love with relic hunting. The thought of Sydney not being alive tore Nigel's heart up much more painfully than any poison ever could. God, don't do this to me! I can't live without her. We're partners, we're supposed to live and die together. Or better yet, let me take her place. Don't take her away from me please.

A/N- Sorry for being so mean to Nigel. Things will look up for him, really. Just not right now. But when they do, I promise it will be good. Please Review!