Trust
by Ann, for Mer
She could hear his cell phone ringing in the background. Man oh man, they drank way too much tequila the night before. Sydney rolls over onto her back and looks around her bedroom, not quite sure if she put herself to bed or if he did. "Weiss, your phone is ringing." She stumbles over to the table where the phone is chirping away. Who has "eye of the tiger" as their ring tone anyway?
Gently shaking the man sleeping on her couch, she hears him mumble, "Just five more minutes, huh ma."
Sydney then shakes him harder. "Weiss, it's your phone, it might be important. ERIC, wake up!"
He sits up at that moment, knocking their foreheads together. "Ouch, sorry Syd." As they both rub theirs hands just above their eyebrows. Eric then reaches for his phone, "Weiss, what's up?" He looks up at Sydney then stands up to walk away from her. "Now really isn't the best time for me to talk. Listen, I'll call you later, bye." Weiss then turns around to look at Sydney. She is sunk against the couch, her hands over her eyes looking like the world could swallow her up, and she would be just fine with it. "Listen Syd, I should get out of here. Thanks for letting me crash on your couch. I'll see you later?" As Weiss heads for the door he picks up his jacket from the chair and waves in goodbye.
"Bye Weiss, call me later if you want to go to that movie." After he leaves she heads into the bathroom. A nice long hot shower should make her feel much better.
Meanwhile Weiss walks into his apartment, dialing his phone. He throws his jacket onto the couch as he waits for the other end to pick up. "What in the hell is your problem? I am not to be contacted at any time by you. You know all this, so what was so important you almost blew it for all of us?"
"Mr. Weiss, I know our arrangement quite well. I simply needed to inform you that the schedule has been moved up. With the recent revelations that Miss Bristow has come across, my employers would like her in attendance by the end of the weekend." The mystery voice on the other end answers briskly.
Pure fury crosses Weiss's face as he stands in his kitchen. "God dammit, I could have had this taken care of last night had I known. I'll let you know as soon as I come up with something."
"Very well Mr. Weiss, I will be awaiting your call." As the mystery caller begins to hang up he stops at the urgent noise from the other end of the phone, "was there something else, Mr. Weiss?"
"Yeah. Sark, don't ever call me again." And with that Eric hangs up the phone, throwing it onto the couch as he heads for the shower.
Later that evening:
Sydney and Eric are walking along the sidewalk eating ice cream cones. "Weiss, I can't believe you didn't like that movie. It was great, the way the two lead characters reunited in the end. True love conquers all, and all that jazz." She playfully hits his arm as he gives her a look like he is going to fall asleep again. She still couldn't believe he fell asleep during the movie.
"Sydney, do I look like the kind of guy that goes for all that romantic drivel? The heroine believing that the dastardly villain really has a heart of gold and her love will convince him to leave his evil ways? Get real, Syd, doesn't happen in real life." He leans down to open the car door for Sydney, and as she slips into the passenger seat, Weiss sticks a hypodermic needle into her neck. She passes out and Weiss adjusts her into the seat belt making it look as if she is simply sleeping.
2 hours later:
Weiss pulls up outside an old carnival site. The rides are rusted out and all of the buildings except the house of mirrors are boarded up. He lifts Sydney out of the car and carries her into the one open building. "Sark, are you here?" Eric calls out to the hushed hallway, his voice echoing through and around the building. He sets Sydney down against the wall, propping her up next to a mirror that doubles all of the images in its path.
"Mr. Weiss, so lovely to see you again. I just wanted to tell you I appreciated all your help with my escape, and especially your failure to tell me that I wouldn't be killed."
Eric spins around to face the voice as he watches Sark come around the corner, "Orders, Sark, plus it was kinda nice watching you look all scared that the bad men were gonna hurt you." Both men circle each other warily, waiting for the first sign that either was going to make a move.
Sark turns to look at Sydney, noting the paleness of her skin in the lowlight of the room. "You can go now, I have it under control. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter." Sark watches as Eric leaves, waiting until his car is out of sight before picking Sydney up and carrying her to his car. Sark fastens her into the passenger side, making sure she was as comfortable as possible before getting in the car and pulling away.
2 hours later:
She was moving, that much she could tell. As she became more aware of her surroundings, Sydney could discern that she was in a car, belted in, traveling at a steady pace while-was that Green Day playing on the radio...
Nice guys finish last
You're running out of gas
Your sympathy will get you left behind
Sometimes you're at your best
When you feel the worst
Do you feel washed up like piss going down the drain?
Sydney opens one eye, seeing Sark staring resolutely out the windshield tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. He turns his head just in time to see Sydney snap her eye shut.
"Sydney, welcome back. Did you have a good rest?" Sark leans closer to her. "I know you're awake. Nice try, though."
"What did you do to Agent Weiss? Why the hell do you have me and what is happening?" Sydney sits up closer to Sark as she says all this, barely controlling her temper. "I swear, Sark, if you've hurt Eric..."
Sydney and Sark just stare at each other. Locked in a battle of wills, they sit neither willing to let the other win. Finally he breaks the moment by turning his eyes back to the road, and speaking slowly, almost carefully. "Ms. Bristow, I hate to be the one to inform you of this, but Agent Weiss handed you over to me. He works for the Covenant. Why do you think he has survived when many others would not?"
Disbelief crosses her face; moments of laughter and fun run through her head, "No, not Eric, he was a friend. He was always so carefree, oh my god." She sits there for a moment, absorbing what Sark is telling her. "NO, I DON"T BELIEVE YOU! Weiss would never do that; he would never betray me, his country, all of his friends." Sydney tries to release the door and jump out even though the car was speeding down the freeway.
Sark grabs her arm, and swerves the car to the right stopping Sydney from jumping. When she's back under control he slows the car down bringing it to a halt on the side of the road. Sydney takes the opportunity to break the hold that Sark has on her arm and bolt from the car. Running into the desert, looking for any means of escape, she is tackled by Sark. They fall to the ground, Sark holding her down. "Look, Sydney, I know that this is hard to believe but it's true. Weiss is a mole for the Covenant, and not the only one. Your CIA is completely infiltrated and they want whatever information you still have in your head, from when you were Julia Thorne." His breathing labored he gasps for a bit of air before continuing. "I'm not going to hurt you Sydney, but you're going to have to trust me." He turns to release her, now that he is sure she understands him. Sydney sits for a moment, pulling herself to a sitting position. She wraps her arms around her legs and rests her forehead onto her knees. Sark hovers a few feet away. He attempts to give her some measure of privacy without aiding her escape. He watches her closely only able to see part of her face. Emotion crosses her features; he can identify only sadness for a time. He can see that she is accepting what he has told her. She compartmentalizes everything rapidly. Finally she speaks to him.
"How long?"
"How long what, Sydney?" he replies as he moves next to her in the sand.
"Agent Weiss, how long has he worked with the Covenant?" She can no longer refer to him as Eric or Weiss. Not after this betrayal.
"From what intel I have gathered, eleven and a half months. You worked with him as Julia Thorne." He sits waiting for her response to that bit of news.
"I suppose you have proof of his activities, and Julia's."
"I was unable to obtain mission specs from the Covenant. But if you would like I can play back the tape I made from my conversation with Mr. Weiss."
She looks at him dully for a moment before returning her head to her knees, sitting there for a full five minutes before any reaction to his words. He notices the fine tremor in her hands first. The shallow breathing comes next. It turns into a full heaving motion. He watches as her body is racked with sobs, not knowing what to do he reaches over to her. Rubbing his hand along her shoulder blades, the comforting motion completely foreign to him, he does what little he can. Eventually she meets his eyes, and at that moment he realizes that she wasn't crying. Laughter still bubbles from her lips. It was perhaps a bit on the hysterical side but laughter none the less. He pulls his hand away as she speaks to him again.
"Did you know, Sark, that you are the only person in my life that hasn't betrayed me? No really, it's true. Of course, it may be because you've never promised me anything either." With that she rises to her feet, dusts of her hands and begins a slow walk back to the car. Sark, not knowing what else to do, follows her back and continues their journey. The irony of her statement is not lost on him, for he also knows that she is the only person that has never betrayed him either.
They ride in complete silence. Eventually Sydney turns to Sark. "What is your offer?"
"It is quite simple really, I keep you out of the Covenants hands and you help me destroy them."
She studies him for a minute, trying to see all of the angles. Why would he want to bring down the Covenant? What's in it for him?
Seemingly reading her thoughts he speaks. "It is all about the money Sydney, my 800 million dollar inheritance." She accepts that answer and turns to stare out the window, contemplating her answer.
60 minutes later:
Sark pulls into the driveway of a small bungalow in the suburbs outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. "We can rest here for a few days. No one knows about this place," he says as he opens the front door. "Take any room upstairs." Sark heads for the kitchen and pulls a bottle of water from the fridge. The bottle halfway to his lips, he pauses and out of the corner of his eye sees Sydney standing at the entrance to the room. "Yes Ms. Bristow?"
"I um, well, god, this is hard to say..." She tucks her hair around her ear, as she looks at the floor. Looking back up into Sark's blue eyes, she can see he is waiting for whatever she has to say, the bottle in mid ascent to his mouth. Moments pass. Sark finally turns to Sydney in full, lowering the bottle as he waits for her to continue. Summoning her courage, she quietly mumbles "I believe you. I believe that the CIA is full of moles. I don't trust you though. I just want you to understand. I will help you take them down. After that all bets are off. I just thought I should tell you that before we went much further."
"Fair enough Ms. Bristow, I appreciate that. You might want to go upstairs and get some sleep I'm not sure how long it will be safe to remain here."
Sydney turns and goes up the stairs, certain in her knowledge that whatever happens from here, she is not alone. Sark will not turn on her until the Covenant is destroyed.
~Fin~
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