I hope you guys like this next part, I'm glad that you're enjoying it so far.
PART 10
As soon as Sydney left the SD6 offices, she initiated the CIA protocol so that they would know that the camera was ready to be retrieved. She received the message back that it was okay to proceed to the customary meeting point at the self-storage warehouse. When she got there, Vaughn had already arrived. He stood when he spotted her. “Hey.”
“Hey.” Sydney said with a small smile before handing over the camera and the disk that contained her report of the mission. “There are two exposures for every page, I wanted to make sure that we got at least one decent image of each one.”
“I’m sure it will be fine.” Vaughn assured her. “How did the mission go overall? Any problems with the new partner becoming suspicious?”
Sydney shook her head. “Not that I know of. Since the surveillance cameras’ coverage didn’t extend that far I didn’t have to worry about her catching sight of the camera and it was a large vault so the extra time I spent inside was warranted. Liz didn’t suspect a thing.”
“Good, we don’t need any suspicions.” Vaughn said then noticed that Sydney was holding something back. “There’s something else.”
Sydney shook her head again. “It’s nothing.”
“Come on, I can tell that something is wrong. Tell me.” Vaughn urged.
“When we finally eliminate SD6, what does the CIA plan on doing with the operatives that SD 6 currently employs?” Sydney asked. She didn’t know why she had never thought to ask before; perhaps it was because she knew that her continued employment with the CIA was secure.
“It depends. Many of them will be informed of SD6s true nature and then dismissed. But a handful of them will be briefed and brought into the agency. Your father has already submitted a list of SD6 employees that he thinks would be of help.” Vaughn explained. “Why?”
“I want to put in request for Liz to be added to the list.” Sydney stated.
Vaughn’s brow furrowed. “Sydney, you’ve only know this woman for a week.”
“I know, it’s just…I have this feeling about her. She’s a good person and she’s a good agent. I think that she’d be an asset.” Sydney explained.
Vaughn nodded. “I’ll talk to your father and Kendall about it.”
“Thank you.” Sydney said gratefully. She looked at her watch. “I better go, I told Francie around the time my flight was arriving so she’ll be expecting me. I don’t want to put Will in the position that he has to cover for me.”
“Right. Good idea.” Vaughn acknowledged. “Will you be coming to the Rotunda soon? Um…to visit your mother or speak with Kendall?”
“I had planned on making a visit tomorrow while Francie and Will are at the restaurant. Sloane gave us a day off to recover from the mission.” Sydney explained.
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Sydney gave him a small smile, “See you then.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Before leaving the building, Sark stopped the car at the garage’s office. Liz informed the parking guards about her car and her need for the tow truck and left them her keys then climbed back in the car. When she did, she told Sark her apartment’s address and they were off.
Liz noticed that Sark had a smirk on his face. “What?”
“I find it amusing that you doubted that I would not already be aware of your address.” Sark clarified.
“I didn’t. After all, you told me previously that you had read my file therefore you would have already had seen it. Otherwise, I might simply have lied to you and given you a false address to throw you off so you would not know where I lived.” Liz stated matter of factly. “I was merely being polite.”
Sark nodded. “I retract my previous statement then.”
“You never did give me a response.” Liz stated.
“I don’t recall you asking a question.” Sark retorted.
Liz rolled her eyes. “The night in the restaurant, I mentioned that it was not fair that you knew my first name yet I do not know yours. We were interrupted before the conversation could continue.”
Sark looked at her, right eyebrow raised in question. “Is that an offer to remedy the situation?”
“No, I wasn’t asking you out to dinner.” Liz stated. “I simply meant that my pager conveniently went off, for you at least before I could be granted an answer.”
“And you think that if we had not been interrupted that I would have furnished you with one?” Sark asked. “Very arrogant of you to assume that when no one has been able to.”
“Perhaps,” Liz said. “As you said, we are colleagues, we should at least know each other’s first names.”
Sark had to admit that her retort was skillful, using his own words to try and achieve her goal. But he was better at it and felt the need to prove it. “But our being colleagues has nothing to do with why you are so curious as to my name and we both are aware of that.”
“Is that so? It appears that I should have Mr. Sloane add telepathy to your list of skills.” Liz said mockingly. Her comment made her think briefly of Isabel and her dreamwalking ability. It would be interesting to have that power at the moment, the temptation to
be able to see into Sark’s subconscious, while what she would see could be disturbing, was appealing. But unfortunately, she was only human and did not possess that ability.
“Really Elizabeth, the spitefulness in your voice really doesn’t suit you.” Sark commented.
“Since you appear to have so much insight into my thoughts why don’t you tell me why you believe I have some ulterior reason for knowing your name?” Liz asked switching the subject back to the original topic.
“Control.” Sark answered.
“Control? Why would I want to control you?”
“Not me per say but the circumstances surrounding us whenever we meet.” Sark elaborated. “Like many people in our line of work, you like to be in control of what is going on around you. Most of the time that control blossoms from knowledge. The data of a room’s layout, the background of people you are dealing with, etc.”
“Now when you converse with me, you don’t feel you have the upper hand. While you know a few details of my record, there are far more that I know about your history. You are aware of the fact that I have perused your file and know many details about you, intimate details if you wish. By finding out my name and other personal information, you feel that it will level the playing field. Correct?” Sark asked as he shifted the Mercedes into a lower gear and slowing the car for the reason that traffic laws dictated. He used the opportunity to look at her and saw that he had left her speechless. The fact amused him.
Liz tried to think of a retort to argue his point but found herself tongue-tied. Damn him for besting her. What was worse was that he knew it. She could tell by the way he was smirking. They were stopped at a light and it gave him the opportunity to look at her without the risk of wrecking his expensive car. While giving her an unobstructed few of him. She had to admit that he was the epitome of well dressed. His black Armani suit contrasting with his ice blue shirt, which complimented his blue eyes.
To her dismay, Liz found herself becoming lost in the depths of his impossibly blue eyes. Despite the fact that he went to great lengths to masked his thoughts, she caught a glimpse of what lay under the mask. The intensity behind his gaze was so overwhelming that Liz couldn’t help but shiver from the thought of such intensity focused on her.
A Thin Line (Alias,XO,ADULT,UC) [Complete]
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LittleBit
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LittleBit
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Hey guys, I've got a new part for you.
BTW, about Sark's name. I am going to have Liz find out what it is but it won't be for awhile. And since this takes place before it was revealed on the show, I'm not sure if I'm going to go with there's or one of my own.
PART 11
Sark saw Liz’s body shudder slightly and although he knew that the motion had nothing to do with the temperature, he asked. “Cold?”
“What?” Liz asked then realized that he had seen her shiver. “Oh, uh no.”
“Are you positive? I can raise the top if you like.” Sark offered. The light turned green so he shifted the car again and they continued their drive.
“No, thank you. I’m comfortable.” Liz said, surprised at the gentlemanly gesture. She would not have expected it to come from Sark. That he would be so concerned about her comfort.
Granted he did not know that the temperature had not what initiated her shivering. The thought of why her body had reacted the way that it had made her feel like she was going to blush so she tried to get her mind off the subject and to safer grounds. “Besides, it’s a warm night. After the last few years in New York and Paris, it’s nice to be back in an area that has warm climate year round. I like to take advantage of it.”
“Surely Paris’s beauty and refinement compensated for your discontent.” Sark commented. “I think the Opera Bastille alone would be worthwhile.”
“Oh, by no means do I regret my time in Paris or would I wish to change anything about it. I loved going to Saint Michelle to shop or to sit in one of the cafes and pubs. Or lay around the Jardin du Luxemburg with a book and just relax. But when you spend the first seventeen years of your life in the desert, it is nice to have consistent warm temperatures again.” Liz explained before tilting the conversation away from her and back to the enigmatic man next to her. It was like playing chess. “So you’ve spent some time in Paris?”
“Yes, my interests delivered me there a time or two.” Sark answered. “In fact on one of those occasions, I had the pleasure of encountering your partner at a nightclub.”
“Sydney?” Liz asked surprised.
“Do you have another partner that I am not aware of?” Sark inquired.
“What were you doing that you ran into Sydney?” Liz asked ignoring his question. “I can’t see the two of you visiting the same establishments. I just don’t see your tastes running so parallel.”
“Agent Bristow wasn’t a patron, she was the main attraction on stage that night.” Sark explained with a smirk. “She was impersonating the singer that was supposed to be performing that night as part of a cover. Alexander Kasinov owned the nightclub at the time and she was retrieving a Rambaldi document among other things from his custody. Left the club in quite the chaotic state.”
“I think I remember reading that mission testimony but I don’t remember any mention of anything happening after Sydney and Dixon retrieved the page.” Liz stated. “They weren’t able to rendezvous and had to meet at the extraction point later but that was it.”
“Really, funny…I remember something quite differently. But it is of no matter.” Sark commented. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that his statement in regards to Sydney’s time in Paris had sparked some interest in Liz. A few more carefully laid references and he would see where she would take it.
Liz stared at Sark’s profile for a moment. What had that mention about inconsistencies in Sydney’s mission been about? He had mentioned that Sydney had retrieved the document among other things. Had Sydney taken something else? What? And why wouldn’t it have been in her mission briefing?
Liz was so caught up in her musings over what the information could mean that she didn’t hear Sark’s question. “I’m sorry. What did you ask?”
“I inquired as to why you left the desert if you took so much pleasure in living there?” Sark asked. “Although how someone could be partial to such a harsh climate is beyond me.”
Liz smiled. Sark always gave off the sense that he was quickly flexible when it came to any situation and it was nice to see that there were situations and environments that made him uncomfortable. “The desert can be beautiful if you look at it for it’s individuality and not compare it to other countryside. The fact that so much life can survive there in such abrasive elements should be enough to admire it.”
“And yet you left.” Sark said directing the conversation back to the original question.
Liz adverted her eyes back to the road in front of them. “Sometimes it is necessary to leave what you know to keep from suffocating.”
Liz caught herself then and mentally slapped herself. She shouldn’t have let such a personal comment, regardless of how vague slip out to Sark. Men like Sark used little things like that against you if they found the need to. Time to do damage control. “The town I grew up in was small, you know everyone knows everyone. I couldn’t cut my hair without having every person I came into contact with thinking that they had to give me their opinion since they knew my parents or me.”
“Sounds dreadful.” Sark stated sincerely. The idea of living in such a small town atmosphere instead of a city did not appeal to him. Living on the borders or within a short drive of a metropolis area was much more his taste. Of course there were always exceptions to that, like a week in a chalet in France or a mountain lodge in Switzerland for a holiday. He had spent too long in the countryside with nothing for miles in his youth.
Liz saw the distaste on his face and couldn’t help but laugh. “It wasn’t that bad. Just restrictive for someone who wanted something more than what was obtainable.”
Liz hoped that Sark would take her last statement to suggest educational as well as career ambition and not that she had left town for more personal reasons. Sure she had always planned to go away from Roswell for college, just not necessarily so early or for so long after.
“And it would have been such a waste for such a compelling and appealing woman such as yourself to stay there.” Sark commented brazenly.
Liz’s eyebrows shot up in unchecked reaction to his declaration “Really? How are you able to say that when you have never seen my work in the field? I do not believe that you would just arrive at that conclusion just by studying my file and my past mission logs.”
“You are correct.” Sark confirmed.
“Then how can you make such a comment?” Liz asked.
“I’m an excellent judge of character and talent.” Sark commented. “And perhaps soon I’ll just have to validate your proficiency at some point.”
“You can’t be serious?” Liz asked. “We can’t go into the field together.”
Sark grinned. “Why?”
“Why?!” Liz asked practically shouting. “Why do you think? Besides the obvious reason that you’re only breathing free air because of a leniency agreement for your cooperation and any information that you have given, I’m partnered with Sydney. It’d be out of the question.”
“Nothing is ever an impossibility. Particularly if I have any say in the matter.” Sark stated. He pulled the car over to the nearest available parking spot and stopped the car. “I believe this is your destination.”
Liz looked up and was surprised to see that they were indeed in front of her apartment. The time had passed so quickly that it seemed as if they had only just left the Credit Dauphine building and not enough time had passed for them to have made the drive. But here they were. Her and Sark’s dialogue and bantering had thrown her off and she had lost bearings. She didn’t like, such confusion could get her killed.
Sark extended his good manners to her and opened the door for her. Liz gathered her things and climbed out of the car. “Um…thanks again for the ride.”
“What? No invitation for a nightcap?” Sark inquired dryly.
“That would be a no.” Liz recognized the taunt but didn’t rise to the bait. She passed by him and started up to her apartment. “See you at the office.”
Sark watched her stroll up the walk towards her apartment as he climbed back into his car. While he hadn’t learned much, he had seen through her pretense about why she had left her hometown. Bit by bit he was chipping away to what lay beneath.
BTW, about Sark's name. I am going to have Liz find out what it is but it won't be for awhile. And since this takes place before it was revealed on the show, I'm not sure if I'm going to go with there's or one of my own.
PART 11
Sark saw Liz’s body shudder slightly and although he knew that the motion had nothing to do with the temperature, he asked. “Cold?”
“What?” Liz asked then realized that he had seen her shiver. “Oh, uh no.”
“Are you positive? I can raise the top if you like.” Sark offered. The light turned green so he shifted the car again and they continued their drive.
“No, thank you. I’m comfortable.” Liz said, surprised at the gentlemanly gesture. She would not have expected it to come from Sark. That he would be so concerned about her comfort.
Granted he did not know that the temperature had not what initiated her shivering. The thought of why her body had reacted the way that it had made her feel like she was going to blush so she tried to get her mind off the subject and to safer grounds. “Besides, it’s a warm night. After the last few years in New York and Paris, it’s nice to be back in an area that has warm climate year round. I like to take advantage of it.”
“Surely Paris’s beauty and refinement compensated for your discontent.” Sark commented. “I think the Opera Bastille alone would be worthwhile.”
“Oh, by no means do I regret my time in Paris or would I wish to change anything about it. I loved going to Saint Michelle to shop or to sit in one of the cafes and pubs. Or lay around the Jardin du Luxemburg with a book and just relax. But when you spend the first seventeen years of your life in the desert, it is nice to have consistent warm temperatures again.” Liz explained before tilting the conversation away from her and back to the enigmatic man next to her. It was like playing chess. “So you’ve spent some time in Paris?”
“Yes, my interests delivered me there a time or two.” Sark answered. “In fact on one of those occasions, I had the pleasure of encountering your partner at a nightclub.”
“Sydney?” Liz asked surprised.
“Do you have another partner that I am not aware of?” Sark inquired.
“What were you doing that you ran into Sydney?” Liz asked ignoring his question. “I can’t see the two of you visiting the same establishments. I just don’t see your tastes running so parallel.”
“Agent Bristow wasn’t a patron, she was the main attraction on stage that night.” Sark explained with a smirk. “She was impersonating the singer that was supposed to be performing that night as part of a cover. Alexander Kasinov owned the nightclub at the time and she was retrieving a Rambaldi document among other things from his custody. Left the club in quite the chaotic state.”
“I think I remember reading that mission testimony but I don’t remember any mention of anything happening after Sydney and Dixon retrieved the page.” Liz stated. “They weren’t able to rendezvous and had to meet at the extraction point later but that was it.”
“Really, funny…I remember something quite differently. But it is of no matter.” Sark commented. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that his statement in regards to Sydney’s time in Paris had sparked some interest in Liz. A few more carefully laid references and he would see where she would take it.
Liz stared at Sark’s profile for a moment. What had that mention about inconsistencies in Sydney’s mission been about? He had mentioned that Sydney had retrieved the document among other things. Had Sydney taken something else? What? And why wouldn’t it have been in her mission briefing?
Liz was so caught up in her musings over what the information could mean that she didn’t hear Sark’s question. “I’m sorry. What did you ask?”
“I inquired as to why you left the desert if you took so much pleasure in living there?” Sark asked. “Although how someone could be partial to such a harsh climate is beyond me.”
Liz smiled. Sark always gave off the sense that he was quickly flexible when it came to any situation and it was nice to see that there were situations and environments that made him uncomfortable. “The desert can be beautiful if you look at it for it’s individuality and not compare it to other countryside. The fact that so much life can survive there in such abrasive elements should be enough to admire it.”
“And yet you left.” Sark said directing the conversation back to the original question.
Liz adverted her eyes back to the road in front of them. “Sometimes it is necessary to leave what you know to keep from suffocating.”
Liz caught herself then and mentally slapped herself. She shouldn’t have let such a personal comment, regardless of how vague slip out to Sark. Men like Sark used little things like that against you if they found the need to. Time to do damage control. “The town I grew up in was small, you know everyone knows everyone. I couldn’t cut my hair without having every person I came into contact with thinking that they had to give me their opinion since they knew my parents or me.”
“Sounds dreadful.” Sark stated sincerely. The idea of living in such a small town atmosphere instead of a city did not appeal to him. Living on the borders or within a short drive of a metropolis area was much more his taste. Of course there were always exceptions to that, like a week in a chalet in France or a mountain lodge in Switzerland for a holiday. He had spent too long in the countryside with nothing for miles in his youth.
Liz saw the distaste on his face and couldn’t help but laugh. “It wasn’t that bad. Just restrictive for someone who wanted something more than what was obtainable.”
Liz hoped that Sark would take her last statement to suggest educational as well as career ambition and not that she had left town for more personal reasons. Sure she had always planned to go away from Roswell for college, just not necessarily so early or for so long after.
“And it would have been such a waste for such a compelling and appealing woman such as yourself to stay there.” Sark commented brazenly.
Liz’s eyebrows shot up in unchecked reaction to his declaration “Really? How are you able to say that when you have never seen my work in the field? I do not believe that you would just arrive at that conclusion just by studying my file and my past mission logs.”
“You are correct.” Sark confirmed.
“Then how can you make such a comment?” Liz asked.
“I’m an excellent judge of character and talent.” Sark commented. “And perhaps soon I’ll just have to validate your proficiency at some point.”
“You can’t be serious?” Liz asked. “We can’t go into the field together.”
Sark grinned. “Why?”
“Why?!” Liz asked practically shouting. “Why do you think? Besides the obvious reason that you’re only breathing free air because of a leniency agreement for your cooperation and any information that you have given, I’m partnered with Sydney. It’d be out of the question.”
“Nothing is ever an impossibility. Particularly if I have any say in the matter.” Sark stated. He pulled the car over to the nearest available parking spot and stopped the car. “I believe this is your destination.”
Liz looked up and was surprised to see that they were indeed in front of her apartment. The time had passed so quickly that it seemed as if they had only just left the Credit Dauphine building and not enough time had passed for them to have made the drive. But here they were. Her and Sark’s dialogue and bantering had thrown her off and she had lost bearings. She didn’t like, such confusion could get her killed.
Sark extended his good manners to her and opened the door for her. Liz gathered her things and climbed out of the car. “Um…thanks again for the ride.”
“What? No invitation for a nightcap?” Sark inquired dryly.
“That would be a no.” Liz recognized the taunt but didn’t rise to the bait. She passed by him and started up to her apartment. “See you at the office.”
Sark watched her stroll up the walk towards her apartment as he climbed back into his car. While he hadn’t learned much, he had seen through her pretense about why she had left her hometown. Bit by bit he was chipping away to what lay beneath.
If you like Liz and Dean, check out this community on lj:
Drifter Love
Like my stories and want to hear more about ideas? Visit me here: My LJ
Drifter Love
Like my stories and want to hear more about ideas? Visit me here: My LJ
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LittleBit
- Addicted Roswellian
- Posts: 347
- Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2001 5:03 am
- Location: My Imagination
- Contact:
I was going to update this yesterday but then got busy at work because I had to leave for the dentist. Sorry for the delay.
I think many of you will be happy with the next part, it includes an appearance by one of my favorite Roswellians, and the only one to actually make an appearance in this story. As I said before, the Roswell gang make more of an appearance in the sequel.
PART 12
Liz didn’t look back as she approached her apartment, she didn’t want to give Sark the satisfaction. She waited until she was inside, her security system disengaged, and the door was closed before she looked out the window next to the door. There was a window in the door but she wanted to make sure that he wouldn’t be able to see her. He was already in the car when she looked out. She watched him start the car and pull away, not even glancing back at her building as he did. Liz found herself slightly let down by the action, or lack there of.
“Get a hold of yourself girl.” Liz chastised as she walked away from the door, kicking her heels off as she did. They weren’t the most comfortable things to travel in but they coordinated with her business suit. And they made her lack of height compared to Sydney a little more bearable. Besides, it wasn’t like she wasn’t use to them; she’d even carried out missions in them although they weren’t her preferred footwear.
As she padded through her apartment, Liz spotted the blinking light on her answering machine. There were three messages and she guessed that at least one of them was Maria. Maria had called her just as they had been about to board the flight to Italy. Liz had quickly lied and said that the bank was sending her to Boston and that she would call her when she got back then hung up before Maria could say much. And so Maria had left several messages on her voice mail and probably at least one on her answering machine saying she needed to talk to her as soon as possible.
Liz hit the play button and listened. “Liz, it’s Maria. I know you said that you wouldn’t be back until sometime tonight and that your flight might be delayed but I have to talk to you immediately. Call me.”
Liz shook her head, she wondered what could be so important and if it was really important. Maria could be such a drama queen at times. Well Maria would have to wait, Liz thought as she pushed the button to go to the next message. A male voice, laced with a heavy French accent replaced Maria’s voice. “Liz, I haven’t heard from you since you left. Are they working you hard over there in the states? Call me.”
Liz smiled. The voice was from her former partner at SD9, Javier. He was a great guy who had been with the agency for almost ten years. He was a Paris native and had shown her all around the city when she had arrived, the little things that tourists didn’t usually see. She looked at her watch and saw that with the time difference now would not be the best time to call him so he would have to wait until tomorrow.
She pushed the button again so that the last message would play. “Liz, it’s me Alex. Hey, work is sending me to do a consult at a firm in LA for the next couple of days and I thought I could swing by. Maria told me that you had to go to Boston for work but that you should be back tonight so call me on my cellphone as soon as you can. I should be coming in around eight or so. Bye.”
Liz picked up her house phone and quickly dialed Alex’s number. It was only just after seven o’clock so she should be able to catch him in his car. It rang a few times before Alex picked up. “This is Alex.”
“Alex, it’s Liz. I just got in and got your message. Are you really on your way to LA?” Liz asked.
“Yes, I am.” Alex responded. “I know you just got home from a trip and are probably bushed but I’d love to see you. Is it okay if I come by?”
“I’d never forgive you if you didn’t. How long are you in town?” Liz said.
“Two days, technically. I wasn’t supposed to leave until tomorrow morning and the clients aren’t expecting me until noon.” Alex explained. “I’m about an hour out.”
“Then I’ve got plenty of time to take a bath before you get here.” Liz stated. “And when you get here we can figure out something to do with dinner.”
“See you soon Lizzie.” Alex said before hanging up.
Liz disconnected the phone and put it back on the cradle. She couldn’t help the smile on her face. Alex was coming to visit her. And what made it better was that she had the next day off from SD6 and would be able to spend part of it with him. As she headed towards her bedroom, she thought solely about her best friend coming to visit and not about broken down cars or blonde haired confusing men.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Just over an hour later, Liz’s doorbell rang and she hurried to open the door. On the other side of it was Alex’s smiling face. She smiled back before grabbing him for a hug. “Hey, I’m going to have to drive down here more often if this is the response I’m going to get.”
“I’m so glad you’re here. Come in.” Liz said as she pulled him into the apartment.
“Hey, be careful with my arm. You’re stronger than you look and I need my arm if I’m going to justify coming to LA to work.” Alex teased. He looked around the apartment and whistled. “Nice place. And very you.”
“Thanks, I think.” Liz said. “Come in the kitchen. I ordered dinner from this Mexican restaurant a few blocks from here. The food just got here and I was in the middle of dishing it out when you rang the bell.”
“Food? I knew there was a reason that I loved you.” Alex said.
“Thanks a lot.” Liz said rolling her eyes. While she finished spooning out the food onto plates she nodded towards the refrigerator. “I ordered a six pack of Mexican beer with the food, grab us a few bottles to go with dinner.”
Alex did what Liz asked and the two settled down at the small two seat dining table that Liz had. As they ate, Alex explained the job that he was doing in LA. When he was done, Liz noticed that Alex was getting fidgety. “All right Alex, something’s on your mind so you better spill.”
Alex looked at her with a look of dismay before it turned to resignation. “Have you talked to Maria?”
“Not since I’ve been back, she left me a ton of messages but I haven’t gotten a chance to call her back. Why? Did something happen?” Liz asked. Nothing had happened on the alien front in years but that didn’t mean that something couldn’t happen.
“Well something happened but not what you’re thinking. Everyone’s safe.” Alex said. “She just wanted to tell you that Max and Tess are getting married.”
“Oh.” Liz mumbled. She reached over, picked up her bottle and took a long drink out of it.
Alex watched Liz as she studied the contents of her bottle, appearing to be deep in thought. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I am.” Liz said, it was mostly the truth. She had prepared herself for something like this for years, probably since the night that Future Max disappeared from her balcony. And while she felt that she had moved past what her and Max had, as well as felt happy that things were going well for him and Tess, it still stung.
Liz saw Alex looking at her questioningly. “Really, I am. It’s not like it’s a bolt from the blue Alex. They’ve been together for years, I’m surprised that they waited this long.”
“Are you ever going to tell me what really happened between the two of you?” Alex asked. Despite Liz’s assurances that she had slept with Kyle that night in October, Alex and Maria both knew better. If they had slept together that night, then why had things been so weird months later when they did it again?
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You know what happened, he couldn’t forgive me for being with Kyle. So he ended up with Tess and now they are getting married.” Liz declared taking another drink from her bottle. “I guess I should probably call Maria and let her know that I know.”
Alex knew that although she had been the one to push Max away and that it had been years ago, Liz still cared about him. But he also saw that she was dealing, just like Liz always dealt with things. There were times when his friend walked around like she had the world on her shoulders. He wished that there was something he could do to help her with that. But maybe there was a little something he could do to help her relax that night.
Alex got up and pulled two more bottles out of the fridge, “Tell you what, how about you put off calling Maria for tonight. I’ll stay here and we can finish up the rest of this beer?”
Liz smiled. “Thanks to the fact that I just got back from a trip, I just happen to have tomorrow off so you’re on.”
Alex picked up his bottle before taking a long swig. “So tell me about the new job.”
“Not tonight. I don’t want to think about work, or Czechoslovakians or anything like that okay?”
“Okay.” Alex agreed before clicking his bottle to hers.
I think many of you will be happy with the next part, it includes an appearance by one of my favorite Roswellians, and the only one to actually make an appearance in this story. As I said before, the Roswell gang make more of an appearance in the sequel.
PART 12
Liz didn’t look back as she approached her apartment, she didn’t want to give Sark the satisfaction. She waited until she was inside, her security system disengaged, and the door was closed before she looked out the window next to the door. There was a window in the door but she wanted to make sure that he wouldn’t be able to see her. He was already in the car when she looked out. She watched him start the car and pull away, not even glancing back at her building as he did. Liz found herself slightly let down by the action, or lack there of.
“Get a hold of yourself girl.” Liz chastised as she walked away from the door, kicking her heels off as she did. They weren’t the most comfortable things to travel in but they coordinated with her business suit. And they made her lack of height compared to Sydney a little more bearable. Besides, it wasn’t like she wasn’t use to them; she’d even carried out missions in them although they weren’t her preferred footwear.
As she padded through her apartment, Liz spotted the blinking light on her answering machine. There were three messages and she guessed that at least one of them was Maria. Maria had called her just as they had been about to board the flight to Italy. Liz had quickly lied and said that the bank was sending her to Boston and that she would call her when she got back then hung up before Maria could say much. And so Maria had left several messages on her voice mail and probably at least one on her answering machine saying she needed to talk to her as soon as possible.
Liz hit the play button and listened. “Liz, it’s Maria. I know you said that you wouldn’t be back until sometime tonight and that your flight might be delayed but I have to talk to you immediately. Call me.”
Liz shook her head, she wondered what could be so important and if it was really important. Maria could be such a drama queen at times. Well Maria would have to wait, Liz thought as she pushed the button to go to the next message. A male voice, laced with a heavy French accent replaced Maria’s voice. “Liz, I haven’t heard from you since you left. Are they working you hard over there in the states? Call me.”
Liz smiled. The voice was from her former partner at SD9, Javier. He was a great guy who had been with the agency for almost ten years. He was a Paris native and had shown her all around the city when she had arrived, the little things that tourists didn’t usually see. She looked at her watch and saw that with the time difference now would not be the best time to call him so he would have to wait until tomorrow.
She pushed the button again so that the last message would play. “Liz, it’s me Alex. Hey, work is sending me to do a consult at a firm in LA for the next couple of days and I thought I could swing by. Maria told me that you had to go to Boston for work but that you should be back tonight so call me on my cellphone as soon as you can. I should be coming in around eight or so. Bye.”
Liz picked up her house phone and quickly dialed Alex’s number. It was only just after seven o’clock so she should be able to catch him in his car. It rang a few times before Alex picked up. “This is Alex.”
“Alex, it’s Liz. I just got in and got your message. Are you really on your way to LA?” Liz asked.
“Yes, I am.” Alex responded. “I know you just got home from a trip and are probably bushed but I’d love to see you. Is it okay if I come by?”
“I’d never forgive you if you didn’t. How long are you in town?” Liz said.
“Two days, technically. I wasn’t supposed to leave until tomorrow morning and the clients aren’t expecting me until noon.” Alex explained. “I’m about an hour out.”
“Then I’ve got plenty of time to take a bath before you get here.” Liz stated. “And when you get here we can figure out something to do with dinner.”
“See you soon Lizzie.” Alex said before hanging up.
Liz disconnected the phone and put it back on the cradle. She couldn’t help the smile on her face. Alex was coming to visit her. And what made it better was that she had the next day off from SD6 and would be able to spend part of it with him. As she headed towards her bedroom, she thought solely about her best friend coming to visit and not about broken down cars or blonde haired confusing men.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Just over an hour later, Liz’s doorbell rang and she hurried to open the door. On the other side of it was Alex’s smiling face. She smiled back before grabbing him for a hug. “Hey, I’m going to have to drive down here more often if this is the response I’m going to get.”
“I’m so glad you’re here. Come in.” Liz said as she pulled him into the apartment.
“Hey, be careful with my arm. You’re stronger than you look and I need my arm if I’m going to justify coming to LA to work.” Alex teased. He looked around the apartment and whistled. “Nice place. And very you.”
“Thanks, I think.” Liz said. “Come in the kitchen. I ordered dinner from this Mexican restaurant a few blocks from here. The food just got here and I was in the middle of dishing it out when you rang the bell.”
“Food? I knew there was a reason that I loved you.” Alex said.
“Thanks a lot.” Liz said rolling her eyes. While she finished spooning out the food onto plates she nodded towards the refrigerator. “I ordered a six pack of Mexican beer with the food, grab us a few bottles to go with dinner.”
Alex did what Liz asked and the two settled down at the small two seat dining table that Liz had. As they ate, Alex explained the job that he was doing in LA. When he was done, Liz noticed that Alex was getting fidgety. “All right Alex, something’s on your mind so you better spill.”
Alex looked at her with a look of dismay before it turned to resignation. “Have you talked to Maria?”
“Not since I’ve been back, she left me a ton of messages but I haven’t gotten a chance to call her back. Why? Did something happen?” Liz asked. Nothing had happened on the alien front in years but that didn’t mean that something couldn’t happen.
“Well something happened but not what you’re thinking. Everyone’s safe.” Alex said. “She just wanted to tell you that Max and Tess are getting married.”
“Oh.” Liz mumbled. She reached over, picked up her bottle and took a long drink out of it.
Alex watched Liz as she studied the contents of her bottle, appearing to be deep in thought. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I am.” Liz said, it was mostly the truth. She had prepared herself for something like this for years, probably since the night that Future Max disappeared from her balcony. And while she felt that she had moved past what her and Max had, as well as felt happy that things were going well for him and Tess, it still stung.
Liz saw Alex looking at her questioningly. “Really, I am. It’s not like it’s a bolt from the blue Alex. They’ve been together for years, I’m surprised that they waited this long.”
“Are you ever going to tell me what really happened between the two of you?” Alex asked. Despite Liz’s assurances that she had slept with Kyle that night in October, Alex and Maria both knew better. If they had slept together that night, then why had things been so weird months later when they did it again?
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You know what happened, he couldn’t forgive me for being with Kyle. So he ended up with Tess and now they are getting married.” Liz declared taking another drink from her bottle. “I guess I should probably call Maria and let her know that I know.”
Alex knew that although she had been the one to push Max away and that it had been years ago, Liz still cared about him. But he also saw that she was dealing, just like Liz always dealt with things. There were times when his friend walked around like she had the world on her shoulders. He wished that there was something he could do to help her with that. But maybe there was a little something he could do to help her relax that night.
Alex got up and pulled two more bottles out of the fridge, “Tell you what, how about you put off calling Maria for tonight. I’ll stay here and we can finish up the rest of this beer?”
Liz smiled. “Thanks to the fact that I just got back from a trip, I just happen to have tomorrow off so you’re on.”
Alex picked up his bottle before taking a long swig. “So tell me about the new job.”
“Not tonight. I don’t want to think about work, or Czechoslovakians or anything like that okay?”
“Okay.” Alex agreed before clicking his bottle to hers.
If you like Liz and Dean, check out this community on lj:
Drifter Love
Like my stories and want to hear more about ideas? Visit me here: My LJ
Drifter Love
Like my stories and want to hear more about ideas? Visit me here: My LJ
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LittleBit
- Addicted Roswellian
- Posts: 347
- Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2001 5:03 am
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I'm glad you all seem to be glad that Alex is there. I wanted either him or Maria to visit and Alex was the easier of the two.
BTW guys, this story is going to be long. I just finished up part 45 and I've got about another ten parts to go.
lovalien; creative nickname: I don't like Max & Tess together either, but for the story, I had to have them together. Luckily we won't see anything of them in this story and not much in the next.
lovalien; creative nickname; Elf: Not only to I have a sequel in mind but I have the plotline completely figured out and a couple pages worth of notes. So as soon as I finish this one, I'll get to working on the sequel.
pandas2001:Yes, Liz still has feelings for Max, but not active ones. It's more residual feelings. She knows that nothing will ever happen between them but he was her first love so she doesn't forget him.
You guys have no idea what a relief it is that you all like this story. I wasn't sure what people would think about Sark/Liz. Sark is not always a favored Alias character, I think he's an acquired taste. I have another idea for a story that would be completely separate from this one and it's sequel but it's really really different. Much darker. If anyone wants to hear about it, let me know.
PART 13
Sydney spent most of her day off at the university; she had quite of bit of business to deal with to bring to a close her educational career. She didn’t have a clue what she wanted to do with the degree once she got it. The dream of becoming a teacher and having a normal life seemed died along with Danny. So much had changed and she had found out so much since his death that Sydney couldn’t help but think that her life could never be normal. But she would still finish school and accept her degree, she was not a quitter.
After she finished at the university, Sydney came home and changed into her running clothes. But while she was going to go for a run, it wasn’t her only purpose. She planned on stopping by the JTF building and see if there was any news on the pictures of the manuscript she had taken. But once she got there, she found out that they were still being examined and analyzed. So she decided to go see her mother.
Sydney hated the way sound echoed through the austere and sterile hallway and was thankful she wore running shoes so that her heels didn’t add to the resonance. But that didn’t stop the clanging of the bars as the gates were lifted to allow her to pass through then lowered when she cleared them. The noise of the gates worked like a signal, informing her mother that she had a visitor so she was already looking up when Sydney reached the glass. Her eyes studied Sydney in the disconcerting way they always did. “Hello Sydney.”
“Hello.” Sydney said. She noticed a few extras in her mother’s cell that had not been there before the trip to Kashmir. “It appears that your requests have been accepted.”
“Yes, it appears that since I did not try to escape in Kashmir, I have been allowed some small luxuries.” Irina stated. “Your father tells me that Sloane has assigned you a new partner at SD6.”
Sydney was surprised that her mother knew about that bit of information and that her father of all people had been the one to tell her. “Yes, her name in Liz. We’ve already been on one successful mission.”
“Your father was curious to know if I was acquainted with her, to corroborate his findings that she was only loyal to the Alliance under the guise of the CIA.” Irina explained.
“That supports what I have learned too.” Sydney agreed. “Which is a relief.”
Irina’s eyes gazed at her daughter for a moment before voicing her opinion of her appraisal. “You are fond of her, your new partner.”
“Yes, I appreciate her skills when we are out in the field.” Sydney stated.
“No, there’s more.” Irina reasoned. “From the little I learned while speaking to your father, you and she have had a somewhat similar life. Both highly intelligent women who were recruited young. It is only natural that you relate yourself to her, something that makes it difficult to lie to her about SD6s true nature.”
“Yes, it is.” Sydney agreed although awkwardly. It still unnerved her that her mother could just look at her and seem to know what she was thinking. She looked at her watch and saw that her time was up, if it wasn’t mission related, Kendall limited her mother’s visitations to fifteen minutes. “I should be going.”
Her mother nodded in understanding before Sydney turned and called for the guard to raise the gates. As she walked down the hall, she felt her mother’s eyes following her the whole way.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After returning from her run and taking a shower, Sydney decided to take advantage of the quiet night and have dinner with Francie and Will at Francie’s restaurant. Will called Francie and when they arrived, she was able to take a break. They had just finished up the main course when Sydney saw a familiar face at the entrance. “Liz!”
Liz looked in the direction she heard her name being called and saw Sydney waving to her. She waved back before she grabbed Alex’s arm and pulled him over to go with her to talk to her partner. They had opted to go out to dinner on Alex’s last night in town and Liz had decided to finally try Sydney’s friend’s restaurant.
The combination of jet lag and alcohol had granted Liz a night of dreamless sleep. Something she was grateful for. She didn’t want to have dreams of her past. Her and Alex had stayed up late talking about nothing, just talking and Liz had loved it. It was nice to just take it easy and forget the world outside. It was past mid morning by the time Liz woke up, just in time to set things up with Alex before he left to meet with his client. The rest of the day she had spent cleaning her apartment and other household things as well as finally called Maria. She had reacted just as Liz predicted, and was upset that Liz wasn’t more upset. But she calmed down and they talked for quite a bit. Alex had gotten done at a decent time so he had taken her to retrieve her car from the garage before they headed out to dinner. So here they were.
As they approached the table, Liz looked over the people who were sitting with Sydney. From what she had heard from Sydney, Liz felt it was safe to assume that the two people were her friends Will and Francie. She smiled at them as well as Sydney. “See I told you I’d make it here eventually.”
“And you did.” Sydney said with a smile before making introductions. “This is Liz Parker. She just transferred to the bank from one of our overseas branches and we’ve been working together. Liz, these are my friends Will and Francie.”
“I’ve heard a lot about both of you.” Liz said as she took each of their hands, she couldn’t help but notice something strange pass over Will’s face when Sydney had mentioned them working for the bank. She had read the reports stating that Will had probed into Danny’s death and had a feeling that perhaps he knew more than he should.
But Liz was sure that Mr. Sloane was aware of the predicament so she pushed it aside as she addressed Francie. “And this restaurant is magnificent. It smells wonderful in here, I can’t wait to taste the food.”
“Thank you.” Francie said with a smile as she looked around. “I’m proud of it.”
“You should be. Sydney told me about it the first day we met and I’ve been dying to try it. When we were trying to figure out where we wanted to go to dinner I thought I’d finally do it.” Liz said then realized her manners. “Oh, I’m being rude. This is one of my closest friends, Alex. He’s in town on business and decided to come visit me on company time.”
“Someone had to come to check up on you.” Alex chided her.
“You act like I get into trouble or something.” Liz joked trying not to think how truthful her statement really was. “Alex, this is Sydney Bristow and her friends Will and Francie.”
Alex shook hands with everyone and they all exchanged small talk until Alex and Liz excused themselves to go and get a table. When they did, Francie stood up as well. “I’m going to have a little talk with my hostess and make sure that she gets the two of you a good table.”
“Thank you.” Liz said with a smile as she followed the other woman back to the front of the restaurant.
Once they were out of earshot, Will glanced over at Sydney. “So that’s your new partner, she seems nice. Which is totally weird since I know that she works for the bad guys.”
“Yeah.” Sydney nodded as she twirled her drink stirrer around in her drink.
Will looked over to make sure Francie was still busy. She had made sure that Alex and Liz had a table and was now talking to the bartender. By her body language he could tell she was going to be a while. “Syd, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing, everything.” Sydney exclaimed but keeping her voice down. “It’s just my life. I’ve been working on bringing down with SD6 for over a year and it doesn’t seem like it’s getting me anywhere. Vaughn says we have but Sloane is still in his office, sending agents, like Liz and Dixon, who think they are doing good for there country instead of doing the dirty work of a spineless mercenary. It’s not fair.”
Will could see the frustration in Sydney’s face and wished that there were something he could do for her. “I know it doesn’t seem like it but…”
Will didn’t get a chance to finish his pep talk because Sydney pager went off just then. As she slipped it from her waistband, she saw Liz checking her as well. Although she knew what it would say, she looked at the display. SLOANE 911. “I’m sorry Will but I’ve…”
“Got to go. I understand. Go on, I’ll make excuses to Francie.” Will said, Sydney leaned over and kissed him on the cheek before leaving, making a detour by Liz’s table.
Liz checked her pager then looked apologetically at Alex. “Alex, I am so sorry but it’s work. I’m going to have to go into the office.”
Alex waved her off. “It’s okay, I understand.”
Sydney appeared at her arm then. “Hey, I got paged to and thought you might need a ride.”
“Since Alex and I came together, I could use it.” Liz said accepting before looking at Alex. “I’ll see you back at my apartment?”
“Yep, I’ll be waiting.” Alex said.
Liz said goodbye before following Sydney out to her truck and heading to SD6.
BTW guys, this story is going to be long. I just finished up part 45 and I've got about another ten parts to go.
lovalien; creative nickname: I don't like Max & Tess together either, but for the story, I had to have them together. Luckily we won't see anything of them in this story and not much in the next.
lovalien; creative nickname; Elf: Not only to I have a sequel in mind but I have the plotline completely figured out and a couple pages worth of notes. So as soon as I finish this one, I'll get to working on the sequel.
pandas2001:Yes, Liz still has feelings for Max, but not active ones. It's more residual feelings. She knows that nothing will ever happen between them but he was her first love so she doesn't forget him.
You guys have no idea what a relief it is that you all like this story. I wasn't sure what people would think about Sark/Liz. Sark is not always a favored Alias character, I think he's an acquired taste. I have another idea for a story that would be completely separate from this one and it's sequel but it's really really different. Much darker. If anyone wants to hear about it, let me know.
PART 13
Sydney spent most of her day off at the university; she had quite of bit of business to deal with to bring to a close her educational career. She didn’t have a clue what she wanted to do with the degree once she got it. The dream of becoming a teacher and having a normal life seemed died along with Danny. So much had changed and she had found out so much since his death that Sydney couldn’t help but think that her life could never be normal. But she would still finish school and accept her degree, she was not a quitter.
After she finished at the university, Sydney came home and changed into her running clothes. But while she was going to go for a run, it wasn’t her only purpose. She planned on stopping by the JTF building and see if there was any news on the pictures of the manuscript she had taken. But once she got there, she found out that they were still being examined and analyzed. So she decided to go see her mother.
Sydney hated the way sound echoed through the austere and sterile hallway and was thankful she wore running shoes so that her heels didn’t add to the resonance. But that didn’t stop the clanging of the bars as the gates were lifted to allow her to pass through then lowered when she cleared them. The noise of the gates worked like a signal, informing her mother that she had a visitor so she was already looking up when Sydney reached the glass. Her eyes studied Sydney in the disconcerting way they always did. “Hello Sydney.”
“Hello.” Sydney said. She noticed a few extras in her mother’s cell that had not been there before the trip to Kashmir. “It appears that your requests have been accepted.”
“Yes, it appears that since I did not try to escape in Kashmir, I have been allowed some small luxuries.” Irina stated. “Your father tells me that Sloane has assigned you a new partner at SD6.”
Sydney was surprised that her mother knew about that bit of information and that her father of all people had been the one to tell her. “Yes, her name in Liz. We’ve already been on one successful mission.”
“Your father was curious to know if I was acquainted with her, to corroborate his findings that she was only loyal to the Alliance under the guise of the CIA.” Irina explained.
“That supports what I have learned too.” Sydney agreed. “Which is a relief.”
Irina’s eyes gazed at her daughter for a moment before voicing her opinion of her appraisal. “You are fond of her, your new partner.”
“Yes, I appreciate her skills when we are out in the field.” Sydney stated.
“No, there’s more.” Irina reasoned. “From the little I learned while speaking to your father, you and she have had a somewhat similar life. Both highly intelligent women who were recruited young. It is only natural that you relate yourself to her, something that makes it difficult to lie to her about SD6s true nature.”
“Yes, it is.” Sydney agreed although awkwardly. It still unnerved her that her mother could just look at her and seem to know what she was thinking. She looked at her watch and saw that her time was up, if it wasn’t mission related, Kendall limited her mother’s visitations to fifteen minutes. “I should be going.”
Her mother nodded in understanding before Sydney turned and called for the guard to raise the gates. As she walked down the hall, she felt her mother’s eyes following her the whole way.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After returning from her run and taking a shower, Sydney decided to take advantage of the quiet night and have dinner with Francie and Will at Francie’s restaurant. Will called Francie and when they arrived, she was able to take a break. They had just finished up the main course when Sydney saw a familiar face at the entrance. “Liz!”
Liz looked in the direction she heard her name being called and saw Sydney waving to her. She waved back before she grabbed Alex’s arm and pulled him over to go with her to talk to her partner. They had opted to go out to dinner on Alex’s last night in town and Liz had decided to finally try Sydney’s friend’s restaurant.
The combination of jet lag and alcohol had granted Liz a night of dreamless sleep. Something she was grateful for. She didn’t want to have dreams of her past. Her and Alex had stayed up late talking about nothing, just talking and Liz had loved it. It was nice to just take it easy and forget the world outside. It was past mid morning by the time Liz woke up, just in time to set things up with Alex before he left to meet with his client. The rest of the day she had spent cleaning her apartment and other household things as well as finally called Maria. She had reacted just as Liz predicted, and was upset that Liz wasn’t more upset. But she calmed down and they talked for quite a bit. Alex had gotten done at a decent time so he had taken her to retrieve her car from the garage before they headed out to dinner. So here they were.
As they approached the table, Liz looked over the people who were sitting with Sydney. From what she had heard from Sydney, Liz felt it was safe to assume that the two people were her friends Will and Francie. She smiled at them as well as Sydney. “See I told you I’d make it here eventually.”
“And you did.” Sydney said with a smile before making introductions. “This is Liz Parker. She just transferred to the bank from one of our overseas branches and we’ve been working together. Liz, these are my friends Will and Francie.”
“I’ve heard a lot about both of you.” Liz said as she took each of their hands, she couldn’t help but notice something strange pass over Will’s face when Sydney had mentioned them working for the bank. She had read the reports stating that Will had probed into Danny’s death and had a feeling that perhaps he knew more than he should.
But Liz was sure that Mr. Sloane was aware of the predicament so she pushed it aside as she addressed Francie. “And this restaurant is magnificent. It smells wonderful in here, I can’t wait to taste the food.”
“Thank you.” Francie said with a smile as she looked around. “I’m proud of it.”
“You should be. Sydney told me about it the first day we met and I’ve been dying to try it. When we were trying to figure out where we wanted to go to dinner I thought I’d finally do it.” Liz said then realized her manners. “Oh, I’m being rude. This is one of my closest friends, Alex. He’s in town on business and decided to come visit me on company time.”
“Someone had to come to check up on you.” Alex chided her.
“You act like I get into trouble or something.” Liz joked trying not to think how truthful her statement really was. “Alex, this is Sydney Bristow and her friends Will and Francie.”
Alex shook hands with everyone and they all exchanged small talk until Alex and Liz excused themselves to go and get a table. When they did, Francie stood up as well. “I’m going to have a little talk with my hostess and make sure that she gets the two of you a good table.”
“Thank you.” Liz said with a smile as she followed the other woman back to the front of the restaurant.
Once they were out of earshot, Will glanced over at Sydney. “So that’s your new partner, she seems nice. Which is totally weird since I know that she works for the bad guys.”
“Yeah.” Sydney nodded as she twirled her drink stirrer around in her drink.
Will looked over to make sure Francie was still busy. She had made sure that Alex and Liz had a table and was now talking to the bartender. By her body language he could tell she was going to be a while. “Syd, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing, everything.” Sydney exclaimed but keeping her voice down. “It’s just my life. I’ve been working on bringing down with SD6 for over a year and it doesn’t seem like it’s getting me anywhere. Vaughn says we have but Sloane is still in his office, sending agents, like Liz and Dixon, who think they are doing good for there country instead of doing the dirty work of a spineless mercenary. It’s not fair.”
Will could see the frustration in Sydney’s face and wished that there were something he could do for her. “I know it doesn’t seem like it but…”
Will didn’t get a chance to finish his pep talk because Sydney pager went off just then. As she slipped it from her waistband, she saw Liz checking her as well. Although she knew what it would say, she looked at the display. SLOANE 911. “I’m sorry Will but I’ve…”
“Got to go. I understand. Go on, I’ll make excuses to Francie.” Will said, Sydney leaned over and kissed him on the cheek before leaving, making a detour by Liz’s table.
Liz checked her pager then looked apologetically at Alex. “Alex, I am so sorry but it’s work. I’m going to have to go into the office.”
Alex waved her off. “It’s okay, I understand.”
Sydney appeared at her arm then. “Hey, I got paged to and thought you might need a ride.”
“Since Alex and I came together, I could use it.” Liz said accepting before looking at Alex. “I’ll see you back at my apartment?”
“Yep, I’ll be waiting.” Alex said.
Liz said goodbye before following Sydney out to her truck and heading to SD6.
Last edited by LittleBit on Thu Mar 18, 2004 12:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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LittleBit
- Addicted Roswellian
- Posts: 347
- Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2001 5:03 am
- Location: My Imagination
- Contact:
Here's a new part for you guys. I'm within ten parts or less of finishing this story so as soon as I finish it, I'll probably start posting more often.
PART 14
This time when Liz and Sydney went to the conference room for what they knew was going to be a mission briefing, they found Mr. Sloane was in the company of Sark. They both sat at the conference table conferring quietly. Liz had not expected him to be there but it appeared that he would be consulting on whatever mission they were being sent on. She kept her eyes from meeting his as she entered the room, still feeling somewhat unnerved from their ride the night before. But as she felt his eyes scrutinizing her, she felt strangely naked despite the fact that she was wearing clothes.
Sloane directed them to take their seats and when they did, he spoke. “I’m aware of the fact that you are both supposed be off duty but an assignment has come up that needs your immediate attention.” Sloane declared.
Before Sloane could go any further with the briefing, the doors behind them opened and Marshall hurried in. “Sorry I’m late, I was...”
“It’s fine Marshall, just sit down and we can continue.” Sloane stated. He waited until Marshall had taken his seat before clicking a button on the remote in his hand. A picture appeared on the large and desktop screens, one that showed an aged looking drawing with notes that looked to be in Italian.
“This is a copy of a page within the Rambaldi manuscript you recovered from Marsala. It shows diagrams of an artifact that Rambaldi designed and created. Unfortunately the motivation behind its creation and its functions are unknown at this current time. The pages that contained that information are severely damaged and need to be studied and reconstructed before their information can be interpreted.” Sloane described. “However, we have been able to track down the location of the artifact thanks to some new intelligence Mr. Sark has been able to locate. Mr. Sark?”
Sark nodded before speaking. “After the existence of the artifact became known, I began to circulate reports that I was interested in acquiring any knowledge of its location. During my employment with Derevko, I became acquainted with individuals and groups that were either collectors themselves or merchants who dealt in Rambaldi artifacts. Because of that association, I quickly learned the identity of the present owner and where he is currently residing.”
“So what is our mission?” Sydney asked getting tired of the subterfuge and wanting to get on with it.
Sloane smirked before clicking the remote again. A picture of a man popped up, “Lawrence Bowen is a black market dealer and the current owner of the artifact but it appears that he has become aware of both the demand for the Rambaldi relics and the extent of what certain individuals will go to to acquire them. As a consequence of that, he has made arrangements to have it stowed away in a secure location. If that occurs, it will be more difficult to acquire it after we are able to decipher its use.”
“Bowen has made arrangements for a security team to meet with him for transference to their facility. However we have not been able to pinpoint exactly when the meeting is to occur. We only know that it will happen during a five-day interval, the first being two days from now at the Novotel at Brighton beach outside of Sydney, Australia. Your mission is to run surveillance on Bowen and recover the artifact at the first feasible opportunity. We’ve arranged a room for the two of you in the hotel so that you will be close at hand and Marshall has come up with the op tech that you will need. Marshall.”
“Okay, from what I’ve found out about the hotel each room is outfitted with surveillance cameras…but because people don’t like the idea that the hotel is watching they aren’t usually on and the person inside don’t know they’re there. I don’t know about you, but I’d never change my clothes if I thought people were watching…that’s why I make sure that I take a RF Scrambler with me wherever I go…in a dressing room…”
“Marshall…” Sloane stated in a warning tone.
“Right. Now the cameras are usually inactive but I’ve written a program and installed it into a laptop for you to use that will allow you to hack into the camera’s operational program. All you have to do is hook up the computer’s modem to the hotel’s hard line and the program will do all the work. Just set it for the room that you want and it’ll activate that camera allowing you to watch and he’ll be none the wiser.” Marshall said smiling before going on. He described several other surveillance gadgets that he had created that they could plant if they needed it to keep track of Bowen if he was outside of his room.
Once Marshall had given his directions, Sloane gave one more last minute directive. “You leave at 0700 in the morning. That is all until you return.”
Sydney and Liz stood up after being dismissed and went with Marshall to collect their tech gear and aliases. Again, they had to wear wigs but their clothes and such were much more relaxed. After all they were supposed to be two twenty something girls out for vacation and had to look the part. When they were finished, Liz realized that she had left her mission specs in the conference room and after excusing herself, she went to retrieve them. She had just picked them up off the table when she heard a now familiar voice behind her. “Forget something?”
“Nice to see that your observation skills are as stellar as I’ve always heard.” Liz said as she turned to face Sark. His blue eyes stared at her intently and she remembered the tension the night before when he had looked at her in such away. But she gave no indication of her thoughts and instead asked, “And what are you doing in here? The briefing is over.”
“That it is, but I caught sight of you returning and wanted to offer my services if you have need of them.” Sark declared. In truth, he had seen the opportunity to speak to her for a moment before she would be leaving for her mission. This would be the last opening he would have for perhaps a week if the mission took the full amount of time allotted for it.
“Excuse me?” Liz asked taken aback by his question. After the concentrated manner that she had felt him staring at her, her mind instantly going to less than chaste insinuations. Sark could not have been offering what she thought he was, could he? And why did her skin suddenly feel warm at the possibility?
Sark saw the faint blush creep over Liz’s cheeks and he smirked. “I was inquiring to if you required another ride home but it seems you had other thoughts in mind Elizabeth.”
“I believe that there is not enough room in here for you, me and your ego.” Liz retorted. “And thank you for the offer but Sydney will be driving home. We happened to be in the same restaurant when Sloane paged us.”
“Dining alone again?” Sark inquired. “I would think an attractive woman such as yourself would not be lack for male companionship.”
“I did not say I was eating alone.” Liz grinned.
Sark looked over her attire once again and concluded that while she was dressed to go out, it had not been with romantic intention. She wore a pair of slim cream-colored slacks with a sleeveless brown top with her hair piled on top of her head. The look was very casual and complimented her beautifully. “No, you did not. It is a pity your date had to be interrupted with work. Such is the nuisances of our lives.”
“Well I should be going.” Liz said before stepping forward. But as she past him he did not move out of the way and she felt her body brush up against his. She felt the warmth from it and stopped in her tracks, peering up at those intense blue eyes and felt locked in place. She only broke out of the trance when Sydney walked up and asked her if she was ready. “Yeah, I have what I came back for.”
“Good, let’s go.” Sydney stated. As Liz moved past Sark, Sydney saw his gaze linger for a second too long on Liz before pulling it away. His customary smirk then fell into place and he said, “Good luck.”
“I’ve told you before, I don’t need you to wish me luck.” Sydney said before turning on her heel and walking off with Liz, leaving Sark grinning after them at his ability to rile either woman in uniquely different ways.
PART 14
This time when Liz and Sydney went to the conference room for what they knew was going to be a mission briefing, they found Mr. Sloane was in the company of Sark. They both sat at the conference table conferring quietly. Liz had not expected him to be there but it appeared that he would be consulting on whatever mission they were being sent on. She kept her eyes from meeting his as she entered the room, still feeling somewhat unnerved from their ride the night before. But as she felt his eyes scrutinizing her, she felt strangely naked despite the fact that she was wearing clothes.
Sloane directed them to take their seats and when they did, he spoke. “I’m aware of the fact that you are both supposed be off duty but an assignment has come up that needs your immediate attention.” Sloane declared.
Before Sloane could go any further with the briefing, the doors behind them opened and Marshall hurried in. “Sorry I’m late, I was...”
“It’s fine Marshall, just sit down and we can continue.” Sloane stated. He waited until Marshall had taken his seat before clicking a button on the remote in his hand. A picture appeared on the large and desktop screens, one that showed an aged looking drawing with notes that looked to be in Italian.
“This is a copy of a page within the Rambaldi manuscript you recovered from Marsala. It shows diagrams of an artifact that Rambaldi designed and created. Unfortunately the motivation behind its creation and its functions are unknown at this current time. The pages that contained that information are severely damaged and need to be studied and reconstructed before their information can be interpreted.” Sloane described. “However, we have been able to track down the location of the artifact thanks to some new intelligence Mr. Sark has been able to locate. Mr. Sark?”
Sark nodded before speaking. “After the existence of the artifact became known, I began to circulate reports that I was interested in acquiring any knowledge of its location. During my employment with Derevko, I became acquainted with individuals and groups that were either collectors themselves or merchants who dealt in Rambaldi artifacts. Because of that association, I quickly learned the identity of the present owner and where he is currently residing.”
“So what is our mission?” Sydney asked getting tired of the subterfuge and wanting to get on with it.
Sloane smirked before clicking the remote again. A picture of a man popped up, “Lawrence Bowen is a black market dealer and the current owner of the artifact but it appears that he has become aware of both the demand for the Rambaldi relics and the extent of what certain individuals will go to to acquire them. As a consequence of that, he has made arrangements to have it stowed away in a secure location. If that occurs, it will be more difficult to acquire it after we are able to decipher its use.”
“Bowen has made arrangements for a security team to meet with him for transference to their facility. However we have not been able to pinpoint exactly when the meeting is to occur. We only know that it will happen during a five-day interval, the first being two days from now at the Novotel at Brighton beach outside of Sydney, Australia. Your mission is to run surveillance on Bowen and recover the artifact at the first feasible opportunity. We’ve arranged a room for the two of you in the hotel so that you will be close at hand and Marshall has come up with the op tech that you will need. Marshall.”
“Okay, from what I’ve found out about the hotel each room is outfitted with surveillance cameras…but because people don’t like the idea that the hotel is watching they aren’t usually on and the person inside don’t know they’re there. I don’t know about you, but I’d never change my clothes if I thought people were watching…that’s why I make sure that I take a RF Scrambler with me wherever I go…in a dressing room…”
“Marshall…” Sloane stated in a warning tone.
“Right. Now the cameras are usually inactive but I’ve written a program and installed it into a laptop for you to use that will allow you to hack into the camera’s operational program. All you have to do is hook up the computer’s modem to the hotel’s hard line and the program will do all the work. Just set it for the room that you want and it’ll activate that camera allowing you to watch and he’ll be none the wiser.” Marshall said smiling before going on. He described several other surveillance gadgets that he had created that they could plant if they needed it to keep track of Bowen if he was outside of his room.
Once Marshall had given his directions, Sloane gave one more last minute directive. “You leave at 0700 in the morning. That is all until you return.”
Sydney and Liz stood up after being dismissed and went with Marshall to collect their tech gear and aliases. Again, they had to wear wigs but their clothes and such were much more relaxed. After all they were supposed to be two twenty something girls out for vacation and had to look the part. When they were finished, Liz realized that she had left her mission specs in the conference room and after excusing herself, she went to retrieve them. She had just picked them up off the table when she heard a now familiar voice behind her. “Forget something?”
“Nice to see that your observation skills are as stellar as I’ve always heard.” Liz said as she turned to face Sark. His blue eyes stared at her intently and she remembered the tension the night before when he had looked at her in such away. But she gave no indication of her thoughts and instead asked, “And what are you doing in here? The briefing is over.”
“That it is, but I caught sight of you returning and wanted to offer my services if you have need of them.” Sark declared. In truth, he had seen the opportunity to speak to her for a moment before she would be leaving for her mission. This would be the last opening he would have for perhaps a week if the mission took the full amount of time allotted for it.
“Excuse me?” Liz asked taken aback by his question. After the concentrated manner that she had felt him staring at her, her mind instantly going to less than chaste insinuations. Sark could not have been offering what she thought he was, could he? And why did her skin suddenly feel warm at the possibility?
Sark saw the faint blush creep over Liz’s cheeks and he smirked. “I was inquiring to if you required another ride home but it seems you had other thoughts in mind Elizabeth.”
“I believe that there is not enough room in here for you, me and your ego.” Liz retorted. “And thank you for the offer but Sydney will be driving home. We happened to be in the same restaurant when Sloane paged us.”
“Dining alone again?” Sark inquired. “I would think an attractive woman such as yourself would not be lack for male companionship.”
“I did not say I was eating alone.” Liz grinned.
Sark looked over her attire once again and concluded that while she was dressed to go out, it had not been with romantic intention. She wore a pair of slim cream-colored slacks with a sleeveless brown top with her hair piled on top of her head. The look was very casual and complimented her beautifully. “No, you did not. It is a pity your date had to be interrupted with work. Such is the nuisances of our lives.”
“Well I should be going.” Liz said before stepping forward. But as she past him he did not move out of the way and she felt her body brush up against his. She felt the warmth from it and stopped in her tracks, peering up at those intense blue eyes and felt locked in place. She only broke out of the trance when Sydney walked up and asked her if she was ready. “Yeah, I have what I came back for.”
“Good, let’s go.” Sydney stated. As Liz moved past Sark, Sydney saw his gaze linger for a second too long on Liz before pulling it away. His customary smirk then fell into place and he said, “Good luck.”
“I’ve told you before, I don’t need you to wish me luck.” Sydney said before turning on her heel and walking off with Liz, leaving Sark grinning after them at his ability to rile either woman in uniquely different ways.
If you like Liz and Dean, check out this community on lj:
Drifter Love
Like my stories and want to hear more about ideas? Visit me here: My LJ
Drifter Love
Like my stories and want to hear more about ideas? Visit me here: My LJ
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LittleBit
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I want to thank Roswell Slayer (Sara) for her help with this next part. She helped scout out the location and offered all information to help it be authentic.
BTW anything in parathesis and italics is a phone conversation while anything in bold is Liz and Sydney talking over their comms.
So here's the next part, and you get to see Agent Liz in action.
PART 15
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
As assignments went, Liz had to admit that this was one of the most relax one she’d been on in a long time. It was damn near close to a vacation. The hotel was luxurious and they had a large suite where they could track the movements of their target whose room was two floors above them.
So far Lawrence Bowen had not strayed from the hotel, enjoying it’s many amenities. They had become aware of the artifact’s location almost as soon as they had arrived; it was in a briefcase that more often than not was handcuffed to his wrist. The only time that it wasn’t was when he was alone in his room at which he felt safe enough to release it. They had been watching him for two days, ever since they had arrived and calculated their best line of attack. So far, there had not been a good opening yet to make retrieval.
When Bowen was out of his room, one of them always tailed him while the other one stayed back in the room, keeping surveillance on his vacated room for when he returned. At the moment he was in his room while Sydney and Liz were watching. All the while Liz was talking on her cellphone with Maria. “Maria, I told you the other day I’ve been expecting this of the two of them and I’m fine with it.”
(I know you did, and I believe you. But I wanted to run this last development by you before I decided.) Maria’s voice said through the phone and across the ocean.
“Maria, you and Max have been good friends for years and it’s only natural that he and Tess want you in the wedding. You’re not going to hurt my feelings by agreeing to it.” Liz argued.
(Well if you’re sure. Then I guess I’ll call Tess and let her know.) Maria said. (So where did they send you now? You sound really far away?)
“Miami.” Liz answered with a lie. She glanced over at the monitor and saw that Bowen was on the move. “Maria, I really need to go. I’ll call you when I get home.”
Liz ended the phone call a moment later and glanced over at Sydney before smiling. “Maria tends to be…dramatic about certain things and always assumes that others react the same way.”
“It sounded as if something was going on.” Sydney stated. “Anything that you want to talk about?”
“No, it’s nothing.” Liz said shrugging it off although it wasn’t completed true. “An old boyfriend of mine is getting married. Maria’s boyfriend is the guy’s brother and they’re close. His fiancée asked her to be in the wedding and wanted to make sure that she wasn’t betraying me by agreeing.”
“That had to be awkward for her.” Sydney said.
“Yeah, she’s been caught between us for years. Not to mention I think she always hoped that me and Max would somehow get back together even though she knew that we’ve moved on.” Liz explained.
“It was nice of her to ask.” Sydney said.
“Yeah.” Liz agreed as she glanced at the monitor again. When she did, she saw that Bowen was leaving his room. “He’s on the move.”
Sydney hopped up, volunteering to follow him. She wanted to be the one to obtain the artifact so that she could make the switch and hand over the real one to the CIA while delivering a fake one to SD6. Before Liz could raise an argument, Sydney was at the door and moving to intercept Bowen. She had stick close otherwise she would risk the possibility of loosing him on the off chance that he ventured outside of the hotel.
When she reached the elevator she pushed the button and after a few moments the doors opened, revealing their target. Sydney showed no hint of recognition, only got into slid in next to Bowen and his bodyguards and played the role as any other tourist while studying him. As she did, she noticed something missing.
The elevator reached the ground floor the occupants all exited the elevator while Sydney hung back and activated her comm. “Liz, Bowen isn’t carrying the case. I repeat Bowen isn’t carrying the case.”
“I read you.” Liz answered her mind already running the scenario of where the case would have to be. “He must have left it in his room. Keep on him while I go search for it.”
“No, I’ll go.” Sydney argued.
“Sydney, that’s ridiculous. I can get there faster and we’ll waste time altering out positions.” Liz said into her comm. link while hacking into another one of the hotel’s computer system. It ate up a minute or two of precious time but the tactic would help her gain access to the room without raising any eyebrows.
As soon as she was done Liz was on her feet and heading for the door, grabbing what she would need on the way. “Maintain visual and let me know if he’s coming.”
Sydney knew that if she argued anymore that her actions would appear too suspicions. “Roger.”
Liz rejected the elevator and took the emergency stairs up the two floors until she reached Bowen’s floor and exited. She looked up and down the hall.
The only person in the hallway was a maid who was on a housekeeping call just as Liz had arranged. Before the maid could make out that Liz had come from the elevator, she ducked into the nearby refreshment alcove only to reappear a minute later. She strolled up to the maid just as she reached the door Liz was heading for.
Liz put on her most innocent smile before saying. “Oh great. The towels I asked for. Thank you so much, we made such a mess after going to the pool.”
Liz shifted the ice bucket she had brought with her from her own room and reached to take the towels. The maid was convinced that Liz was the guest who ordered them so she handed them over without difficulty. Liz nodded her head in thanks before turning to the door. “Oh, silly me. With both of my hands full, I can’t reach my key. Um…I don’t suppose you could do me a favor and open it for me?”
“Of course ma’am.” The maid said as she used her master key to open the door. The maid held it open for her and Liz slipped inside.
“Thank you so much. I’ll have to make sure that we leave a good tip when we settle our bill.” Liz said before bumping the door with her hips to swing it close. The door had barely clicked shut when Liz got to work. She set down the towels and the ice bucket and started to search room.
Sydney watched Bowen’s movements while waiting to hear from Liz that she had found the artifact. She noticed two men approach Bowen at his table in the hotel bar and join him. Sydney marked them as the security team Bowen had set to meet with and pick up the artifact.
“Liz, the security firm’s pick up team just arrived and rendezvoused with Bowen. Two men, one six feet two hundred pounds, the other is shorter, possibly five nine and a hundred and eighty. Both look to be carrying at least a nine millimeter in a shoulder harness.”
“Are they headed up?” Liz asked.
Sydney watched as the security team and Bowen spoke briefly before rising from the table. “Most likely. Have you found the artifact yet?”
“No, not…hold on I think I’ve found it.” Liz acknowledged as she found a false bottom in one of the drawers. Under it she saw the familiar metal case. “Sydney, I’ve found the case. I’m going to crack the lock and verify that’s its inside before I risk leaving the room.”
“Hurry, they’re almost in the elevator.” Sydney said attempting to follow the men without being found out. She couldn’t take the same elevator cab as them and couldn’t risk taking another one so she headed for the stairs. “They’re on their way and I’m in the stairs heading up too.”
“I’m working on it.” Liz said as she started picking the locks. There were several, an electronic code one that you had to figure out the code sequence as well as a state-of-the-art bolt lock that she had to pick. She used one of Marshall’s gadgets to get past the electronic lock and began to work her lock picks on the bolt, wishing she had his skeleton key from their last mission. “Sydney, what’s their ETA?”
Sydney ducked out of the stairwell and confirmed on what floor the elevator had reached. “They’re one floor below you and on the way.”
“Roger.” Liz said just as she popped the bolt. She quickly pushed on the tabs and opened the lid. Nestled inside was the artifact. She couldn’t help but stare at it for a minute, the fact that it was four hundred years fascinated her. She continued to stare at it as she spoke to her partner. “Sydney, I’ve got it.”
“Then clear out, they should have almost reached your position.” Sydney stated.
“I’m on my way, I’ll meet you at the rendezvous point in an hour.” Liz said signing off. She knew that Sydney would now go to their room, retrieve their belongings and then leave to meet with her as soon as she was able to.
Liz made it to the door but as she approached it, she heard the telltale sound of the men coming down the hall and towards her. They cut off her exit and she was going to have to find another one. She headed straight for the terrace and opened the door. As she stepped out, she looked around for a probable getaway yet none presented themselves. She was a good dozen stories up and there were balconies close by that she could use to climb down but the bulk of the case would hinder her proficiency as a climber and without climbing equipment she could fall.
Liz backed off the balcony and receded into the hotel room. She was going to have to go out the way she came, and that meant dealing with the men that would stand in her way. She knew two had guns and they would have to take them out first. At just that moment, she heard the door handle jiggle and quickly hid behind the closet’s protruding wall. She’d just flattened herself against the wall when the door opened.
The men were oblivious to her presence as they walked into the room, the security team were recounting their security measures and policies. But Liz knew that she only had a minute at best before they would be. She held her breath and waited. The moment she saw the first of the men, she made her move.
With all of her strength, Liz swung the metal case around and whacked the first guy right in the face. His nose shattered and blood spurted out, drenching his face and chest but he was unaware of it because the blow had also knocked him unconscious. He fell backwards, into his associate buying Liz several seconds. She took advantage of the preoccupation by grabbing his shoulders before head butting him.
The hit had dazed the man but it did not finish him off. He responded with a backhanded punch across her face. Liz felt her lip split but she ignored it as he grabbed her arm that did not hold the case and twisted it behind her back. Before he could follow through with the maneuver and break the arm, Liz jerked her leg up and over her shoulder, kicking him in the face. He lessened his hold, allowing Liz to then sent a sharp elbow jab to his stomach then another to his face. He stumbled back, hitting the wall before passing out. Now only Bowen stood in her way.
But as she turned to face him, Liz found herself looking down the barrel of a gun. Bowen had had a small firearm hidden on him that she had not known about. She held her hands up as if to surrender so he didn’t start shooting.
“Put the case down and slide it to me.” Bowen ordered.
Liz did as she was instructed but instead of letting it go, she leapt forward and grabbed the hand that held the gun. She twisted it as hard as she could, feeling the bones crunch under her grip, until he was pitched forward. She delivered a roundhouse kick to his face before whipping her leg out and in to land a crescent kick to the back of his head. She released her grip on his wrist at the same moment and he fell forward onto the ground.
Liz didn’t linger to see what might happen next instead turning and ran to the hotel room door. She made it there without incident, grabbing the door and slamming it shut behind her. She ran down the hallway, which was thankfully empty. The three men did not follow, as she ran. She bypassed the elevator and went straight into the stairwell.
Liz reached the bottom of the staircase in record time without breaking a sweat. She paused for a minute to wipe the blood off of her split lip, it wouldn’t do to have someone see her bleeding. She cautiously exited the stairwell and looked around. Everything appeared normal. No security alerts had been issued so no guards were blocking the doors. But Liz did not let her defense down while she made her way through the lobby and out the door. The doorman offered to call her a cab but she refused and strolled down the drive until it reached the street. From there she proceeded to the rendezvous point and the meet with Sydney.
Just over three hours later, Liz and Sydney boarded the first flight to the United States with another successful mission completed for the new partners.
BTW anything in parathesis and italics is a phone conversation while anything in bold is Liz and Sydney talking over their comms.
So here's the next part, and you get to see Agent Liz in action.
PART 15
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
As assignments went, Liz had to admit that this was one of the most relax one she’d been on in a long time. It was damn near close to a vacation. The hotel was luxurious and they had a large suite where they could track the movements of their target whose room was two floors above them.
So far Lawrence Bowen had not strayed from the hotel, enjoying it’s many amenities. They had become aware of the artifact’s location almost as soon as they had arrived; it was in a briefcase that more often than not was handcuffed to his wrist. The only time that it wasn’t was when he was alone in his room at which he felt safe enough to release it. They had been watching him for two days, ever since they had arrived and calculated their best line of attack. So far, there had not been a good opening yet to make retrieval.
When Bowen was out of his room, one of them always tailed him while the other one stayed back in the room, keeping surveillance on his vacated room for when he returned. At the moment he was in his room while Sydney and Liz were watching. All the while Liz was talking on her cellphone with Maria. “Maria, I told you the other day I’ve been expecting this of the two of them and I’m fine with it.”
(I know you did, and I believe you. But I wanted to run this last development by you before I decided.) Maria’s voice said through the phone and across the ocean.
“Maria, you and Max have been good friends for years and it’s only natural that he and Tess want you in the wedding. You’re not going to hurt my feelings by agreeing to it.” Liz argued.
(Well if you’re sure. Then I guess I’ll call Tess and let her know.) Maria said. (So where did they send you now? You sound really far away?)
“Miami.” Liz answered with a lie. She glanced over at the monitor and saw that Bowen was on the move. “Maria, I really need to go. I’ll call you when I get home.”
Liz ended the phone call a moment later and glanced over at Sydney before smiling. “Maria tends to be…dramatic about certain things and always assumes that others react the same way.”
“It sounded as if something was going on.” Sydney stated. “Anything that you want to talk about?”
“No, it’s nothing.” Liz said shrugging it off although it wasn’t completed true. “An old boyfriend of mine is getting married. Maria’s boyfriend is the guy’s brother and they’re close. His fiancée asked her to be in the wedding and wanted to make sure that she wasn’t betraying me by agreeing.”
“That had to be awkward for her.” Sydney said.
“Yeah, she’s been caught between us for years. Not to mention I think she always hoped that me and Max would somehow get back together even though she knew that we’ve moved on.” Liz explained.
“It was nice of her to ask.” Sydney said.
“Yeah.” Liz agreed as she glanced at the monitor again. When she did, she saw that Bowen was leaving his room. “He’s on the move.”
Sydney hopped up, volunteering to follow him. She wanted to be the one to obtain the artifact so that she could make the switch and hand over the real one to the CIA while delivering a fake one to SD6. Before Liz could raise an argument, Sydney was at the door and moving to intercept Bowen. She had stick close otherwise she would risk the possibility of loosing him on the off chance that he ventured outside of the hotel.
When she reached the elevator she pushed the button and after a few moments the doors opened, revealing their target. Sydney showed no hint of recognition, only got into slid in next to Bowen and his bodyguards and played the role as any other tourist while studying him. As she did, she noticed something missing.
The elevator reached the ground floor the occupants all exited the elevator while Sydney hung back and activated her comm. “Liz, Bowen isn’t carrying the case. I repeat Bowen isn’t carrying the case.”
“I read you.” Liz answered her mind already running the scenario of where the case would have to be. “He must have left it in his room. Keep on him while I go search for it.”
“No, I’ll go.” Sydney argued.
“Sydney, that’s ridiculous. I can get there faster and we’ll waste time altering out positions.” Liz said into her comm. link while hacking into another one of the hotel’s computer system. It ate up a minute or two of precious time but the tactic would help her gain access to the room without raising any eyebrows.
As soon as she was done Liz was on her feet and heading for the door, grabbing what she would need on the way. “Maintain visual and let me know if he’s coming.”
Sydney knew that if she argued anymore that her actions would appear too suspicions. “Roger.”
Liz rejected the elevator and took the emergency stairs up the two floors until she reached Bowen’s floor and exited. She looked up and down the hall.
The only person in the hallway was a maid who was on a housekeeping call just as Liz had arranged. Before the maid could make out that Liz had come from the elevator, she ducked into the nearby refreshment alcove only to reappear a minute later. She strolled up to the maid just as she reached the door Liz was heading for.
Liz put on her most innocent smile before saying. “Oh great. The towels I asked for. Thank you so much, we made such a mess after going to the pool.”
Liz shifted the ice bucket she had brought with her from her own room and reached to take the towels. The maid was convinced that Liz was the guest who ordered them so she handed them over without difficulty. Liz nodded her head in thanks before turning to the door. “Oh, silly me. With both of my hands full, I can’t reach my key. Um…I don’t suppose you could do me a favor and open it for me?”
“Of course ma’am.” The maid said as she used her master key to open the door. The maid held it open for her and Liz slipped inside.
“Thank you so much. I’ll have to make sure that we leave a good tip when we settle our bill.” Liz said before bumping the door with her hips to swing it close. The door had barely clicked shut when Liz got to work. She set down the towels and the ice bucket and started to search room.
Sydney watched Bowen’s movements while waiting to hear from Liz that she had found the artifact. She noticed two men approach Bowen at his table in the hotel bar and join him. Sydney marked them as the security team Bowen had set to meet with and pick up the artifact.
“Liz, the security firm’s pick up team just arrived and rendezvoused with Bowen. Two men, one six feet two hundred pounds, the other is shorter, possibly five nine and a hundred and eighty. Both look to be carrying at least a nine millimeter in a shoulder harness.”
“Are they headed up?” Liz asked.
Sydney watched as the security team and Bowen spoke briefly before rising from the table. “Most likely. Have you found the artifact yet?”
“No, not…hold on I think I’ve found it.” Liz acknowledged as she found a false bottom in one of the drawers. Under it she saw the familiar metal case. “Sydney, I’ve found the case. I’m going to crack the lock and verify that’s its inside before I risk leaving the room.”
“Hurry, they’re almost in the elevator.” Sydney said attempting to follow the men without being found out. She couldn’t take the same elevator cab as them and couldn’t risk taking another one so she headed for the stairs. “They’re on their way and I’m in the stairs heading up too.”
“I’m working on it.” Liz said as she started picking the locks. There were several, an electronic code one that you had to figure out the code sequence as well as a state-of-the-art bolt lock that she had to pick. She used one of Marshall’s gadgets to get past the electronic lock and began to work her lock picks on the bolt, wishing she had his skeleton key from their last mission. “Sydney, what’s their ETA?”
Sydney ducked out of the stairwell and confirmed on what floor the elevator had reached. “They’re one floor below you and on the way.”
“Roger.” Liz said just as she popped the bolt. She quickly pushed on the tabs and opened the lid. Nestled inside was the artifact. She couldn’t help but stare at it for a minute, the fact that it was four hundred years fascinated her. She continued to stare at it as she spoke to her partner. “Sydney, I’ve got it.”
“Then clear out, they should have almost reached your position.” Sydney stated.
“I’m on my way, I’ll meet you at the rendezvous point in an hour.” Liz said signing off. She knew that Sydney would now go to their room, retrieve their belongings and then leave to meet with her as soon as she was able to.
Liz made it to the door but as she approached it, she heard the telltale sound of the men coming down the hall and towards her. They cut off her exit and she was going to have to find another one. She headed straight for the terrace and opened the door. As she stepped out, she looked around for a probable getaway yet none presented themselves. She was a good dozen stories up and there were balconies close by that she could use to climb down but the bulk of the case would hinder her proficiency as a climber and without climbing equipment she could fall.
Liz backed off the balcony and receded into the hotel room. She was going to have to go out the way she came, and that meant dealing with the men that would stand in her way. She knew two had guns and they would have to take them out first. At just that moment, she heard the door handle jiggle and quickly hid behind the closet’s protruding wall. She’d just flattened herself against the wall when the door opened.
The men were oblivious to her presence as they walked into the room, the security team were recounting their security measures and policies. But Liz knew that she only had a minute at best before they would be. She held her breath and waited. The moment she saw the first of the men, she made her move.
With all of her strength, Liz swung the metal case around and whacked the first guy right in the face. His nose shattered and blood spurted out, drenching his face and chest but he was unaware of it because the blow had also knocked him unconscious. He fell backwards, into his associate buying Liz several seconds. She took advantage of the preoccupation by grabbing his shoulders before head butting him.
The hit had dazed the man but it did not finish him off. He responded with a backhanded punch across her face. Liz felt her lip split but she ignored it as he grabbed her arm that did not hold the case and twisted it behind her back. Before he could follow through with the maneuver and break the arm, Liz jerked her leg up and over her shoulder, kicking him in the face. He lessened his hold, allowing Liz to then sent a sharp elbow jab to his stomach then another to his face. He stumbled back, hitting the wall before passing out. Now only Bowen stood in her way.
But as she turned to face him, Liz found herself looking down the barrel of a gun. Bowen had had a small firearm hidden on him that she had not known about. She held her hands up as if to surrender so he didn’t start shooting.
“Put the case down and slide it to me.” Bowen ordered.
Liz did as she was instructed but instead of letting it go, she leapt forward and grabbed the hand that held the gun. She twisted it as hard as she could, feeling the bones crunch under her grip, until he was pitched forward. She delivered a roundhouse kick to his face before whipping her leg out and in to land a crescent kick to the back of his head. She released her grip on his wrist at the same moment and he fell forward onto the ground.
Liz didn’t linger to see what might happen next instead turning and ran to the hotel room door. She made it there without incident, grabbing the door and slamming it shut behind her. She ran down the hallway, which was thankfully empty. The three men did not follow, as she ran. She bypassed the elevator and went straight into the stairwell.
Liz reached the bottom of the staircase in record time without breaking a sweat. She paused for a minute to wipe the blood off of her split lip, it wouldn’t do to have someone see her bleeding. She cautiously exited the stairwell and looked around. Everything appeared normal. No security alerts had been issued so no guards were blocking the doors. But Liz did not let her defense down while she made her way through the lobby and out the door. The doorman offered to call her a cab but she refused and strolled down the drive until it reached the street. From there she proceeded to the rendezvous point and the meet with Sydney.
Just over three hours later, Liz and Sydney boarded the first flight to the United States with another successful mission completed for the new partners.
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LittleBit
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I'm glad that everyone liked the action scene, there will be more of them, including a little one on one fight with Liz and a certain blonde, which will be coming up soon. This next part is mostly ALias realm but I hope you enjoy, one of my favorite characters appears.
PART 16
Despite many tries, Sydney was unable to get the artifact away from Liz. Before they had met at the rendezvous point, Liz had dumped the metal case and moved the artifact into her black leather messenger bag. The case was too recognizable therefore it had to go thus making Sydney’s job of swapping the real artifact for the fake one that much harder.
Had Liz not been her partner and therefore reporting back to Sloane, Sydney would have simply filched it from her bag and Liz would have thought it had been stolen. However, since it could get back to Sloane and therefore cause suspicions Sydney did not feel like the risks from exchanging the two artifacts was acceptable so she did not attempt it. All the same Kendall did not share that belief when she gave her report at the Joint Task Force Rotunda.
“Let me get this straight, you had the artifact within your grasp and let it slip away from you and into the possession of SD6?” Kendal stated.
“No, I did not just let it slip away. I attempted to obtain the artifact directing from the source but was unsuccessful. If I would have tried to retrieve from Liz but if I had, it would have raised suspicions.” Sydney argued. “I made the best decision I could given the circumstance I was in.”
“You went against your mission instructions by doing so.” Kendall stated.
“I’m not partial to the fact that I had to watch the artifact being given to Sloane but it was one I had to make if I didn’t want to raise doubts about my trustworthiness again. Unless you’d like to go in and do this yourself?”
“You knew what the dangers were when you walked into the CIA offices and made the decision to become a double agent.” Kendal reminded her.
“And I made that judgment on the basis that it would put an end to SD6 and the Alliance that killed my fiancée. But that objective has not come happened yet despite the CIA and the other agencies working with them supposed intention to do so.” Sydney reasoned.
“So you believe that the Joint Task Force is not doing everything that is within our capabilities to take apart the Alliance?” Kendall questioned.
But Sydney didn’t get a chance to answer because just then one of Kendall’s aids walked up and interrupted their discussion. She handed him a memo that he scanned over. “This meeting is over. I want to be informed the moment you are able to acquire SD6s analysis report on the artifact.”
Kendall turned then and headed in the direction of his office while Sydney watched on. She still did not completely trust Kendall since he was directly responsible for her incarceration and that came out in her exchanges with him. It did not help her to deal with the stresses in her life. She wished her father would have been there at the moment to deflect some of Kendall’s wrath but he was busy handling something for Sloane so he had not been able to join them.
With the report to Kendall completed, Sydney strolled out to the hub of the Rotunda where she saw Vaughn talking to someone. As Sydney grew closer, she recognized the agent. It was Weiss. When they both looked up at her, Sydney gave them a huge smile and a hug to Weiss. “Hey, you’re back. You look great.”
“Thanks,” Weiss said hugging back. “Eating through a tube for months is better than any diet book you can find although I don’t recommend it.”
“Well we missed you.” Sydney said.
“It’s good to feel the love from someone.” Weiss stated giving Vaughn a mock glare.
Vaughn just shook his head at his friend before looking back at Sydney. “How did the meeting with Kendall go? He didn’t seem to pleased when I gave him your report.”
“He wasn’t. He’s upset that I was unable to acquire the artifact and thought I should have risked exposing myself to Liz by swiping the artifact from her bag.” Sydney explained.
“From what you told me and your written report the amount of risk would have been too high and such a move would have directly put you on Liz’s radar. Then she would have reported you.” Vaughn agreed.
“Wait a minute, care to catch up a guy whose been laid up in the hospital and has no idea what you guys are talking about? Who is Liz?” Weiss asked.
“Liz Parker.” Sydney clarified. “She’s an agent that Sloane assigned to be my partner after she transferred from one of the other SD cells.”
“So you’ve got a new partner, that’s gotta be weird after working with Dixon for so long. What’s she like? ” Weiss asked with interest.
“Liz is the perfect example of every Alliance agent who doesn’t know that they are working for the Alliance and not the CIA. She’s been well trained and is good at what she does. ” Sydney stated.
“You sound like you like her.” Weiss remarked.
“I do. We have a lot in common. We were both recruited out of college and have almost no social life outside of our jobs except for a few close friends. We’re within a few years of each other in age and we have quite a few of the same interests.” Sydney said giving details.
“So what does she look like? Tall and athlete like you?”
“No, Liz is shorter and more petite. She’s in shape; she runs or rides a mountain bike.”
“Is she cute?” Weiss asked.
“She’s pretty if that’s what you mean. She’s got long dark brown hair, and brown eyes...” Sydney said trailing off not sure what else Weiss wanted to know.
“Sounds like a girl I wouldn’t mind meeting.” Weiss commented with a smile. “What do you say Syd? You could set me up, or we could accidentally meet up somewhere.”
“Yeah, well there would be a problem with that since you’re CIA and she thinks she is.” Vaughn observed, speaking for the first time since the conversation began.
“Well I could just tell her I work for the State Department, she wouldn’t know that I’m with the actual CIA.” Weiss explained with a shrug of his shoulders.
“I don’t think that would work.” Sydney mentioned. “If you were seen together security section would do a check on you and find out everything about you.”
“Including where you really work.” Vaughn pointed out. “Then when it was found out that Sydney was the one to introduce, it would cause a lot of problems.”
“You always have to rain on my parade with little things like logic.” Weiss stated. “So what were you saying about Kendall being upset?”
“Yes. On Liz’s and mine last mission we were sent to retrieve a Rambaldi artifact. The target was a man who was arranging to have the artifact deposited in a security firm’s vault. SD6 did not have any Intel on when the drop would take place so we ran surveillance. When the time came, Liz was in a better position than I was to get the artifact. I tried to intervene and cut her off but I was unable to convince her that I could get it. Then after we met up at the rendezvous point, Liz had already stashed it in her bag. Kendall thinks I should have lifted it out of her bag rather than give it to SD6.”
“Don’t worry about Kendall. Once you or your father gets the analysis report on the artifact that SD6 will write, he’ll calm down.” Vaughn said trying to play peacekeeper. “Don’t worry about it.”
Sydney gave him a small smile at his attempt to make her feel better, not seeing Weiss roll his eyes from his position to the side of them and said. “Well I better go. I’ve got class in an hour.”
Sydney gave Weiss another hug. “It’s good to have you back, Eric. See you two later.”
Weiss watched Vaughn stare after Sydney as she left and couldn’t help mumbling. “Something’s never change.”
PART 16
Despite many tries, Sydney was unable to get the artifact away from Liz. Before they had met at the rendezvous point, Liz had dumped the metal case and moved the artifact into her black leather messenger bag. The case was too recognizable therefore it had to go thus making Sydney’s job of swapping the real artifact for the fake one that much harder.
Had Liz not been her partner and therefore reporting back to Sloane, Sydney would have simply filched it from her bag and Liz would have thought it had been stolen. However, since it could get back to Sloane and therefore cause suspicions Sydney did not feel like the risks from exchanging the two artifacts was acceptable so she did not attempt it. All the same Kendall did not share that belief when she gave her report at the Joint Task Force Rotunda.
“Let me get this straight, you had the artifact within your grasp and let it slip away from you and into the possession of SD6?” Kendal stated.
“No, I did not just let it slip away. I attempted to obtain the artifact directing from the source but was unsuccessful. If I would have tried to retrieve from Liz but if I had, it would have raised suspicions.” Sydney argued. “I made the best decision I could given the circumstance I was in.”
“You went against your mission instructions by doing so.” Kendall stated.
“I’m not partial to the fact that I had to watch the artifact being given to Sloane but it was one I had to make if I didn’t want to raise doubts about my trustworthiness again. Unless you’d like to go in and do this yourself?”
“You knew what the dangers were when you walked into the CIA offices and made the decision to become a double agent.” Kendal reminded her.
“And I made that judgment on the basis that it would put an end to SD6 and the Alliance that killed my fiancée. But that objective has not come happened yet despite the CIA and the other agencies working with them supposed intention to do so.” Sydney reasoned.
“So you believe that the Joint Task Force is not doing everything that is within our capabilities to take apart the Alliance?” Kendall questioned.
But Sydney didn’t get a chance to answer because just then one of Kendall’s aids walked up and interrupted their discussion. She handed him a memo that he scanned over. “This meeting is over. I want to be informed the moment you are able to acquire SD6s analysis report on the artifact.”
Kendall turned then and headed in the direction of his office while Sydney watched on. She still did not completely trust Kendall since he was directly responsible for her incarceration and that came out in her exchanges with him. It did not help her to deal with the stresses in her life. She wished her father would have been there at the moment to deflect some of Kendall’s wrath but he was busy handling something for Sloane so he had not been able to join them.
With the report to Kendall completed, Sydney strolled out to the hub of the Rotunda where she saw Vaughn talking to someone. As Sydney grew closer, she recognized the agent. It was Weiss. When they both looked up at her, Sydney gave them a huge smile and a hug to Weiss. “Hey, you’re back. You look great.”
“Thanks,” Weiss said hugging back. “Eating through a tube for months is better than any diet book you can find although I don’t recommend it.”
“Well we missed you.” Sydney said.
“It’s good to feel the love from someone.” Weiss stated giving Vaughn a mock glare.
Vaughn just shook his head at his friend before looking back at Sydney. “How did the meeting with Kendall go? He didn’t seem to pleased when I gave him your report.”
“He wasn’t. He’s upset that I was unable to acquire the artifact and thought I should have risked exposing myself to Liz by swiping the artifact from her bag.” Sydney explained.
“From what you told me and your written report the amount of risk would have been too high and such a move would have directly put you on Liz’s radar. Then she would have reported you.” Vaughn agreed.
“Wait a minute, care to catch up a guy whose been laid up in the hospital and has no idea what you guys are talking about? Who is Liz?” Weiss asked.
“Liz Parker.” Sydney clarified. “She’s an agent that Sloane assigned to be my partner after she transferred from one of the other SD cells.”
“So you’ve got a new partner, that’s gotta be weird after working with Dixon for so long. What’s she like? ” Weiss asked with interest.
“Liz is the perfect example of every Alliance agent who doesn’t know that they are working for the Alliance and not the CIA. She’s been well trained and is good at what she does. ” Sydney stated.
“You sound like you like her.” Weiss remarked.
“I do. We have a lot in common. We were both recruited out of college and have almost no social life outside of our jobs except for a few close friends. We’re within a few years of each other in age and we have quite a few of the same interests.” Sydney said giving details.
“So what does she look like? Tall and athlete like you?”
“No, Liz is shorter and more petite. She’s in shape; she runs or rides a mountain bike.”
“Is she cute?” Weiss asked.
“She’s pretty if that’s what you mean. She’s got long dark brown hair, and brown eyes...” Sydney said trailing off not sure what else Weiss wanted to know.
“Sounds like a girl I wouldn’t mind meeting.” Weiss commented with a smile. “What do you say Syd? You could set me up, or we could accidentally meet up somewhere.”
“Yeah, well there would be a problem with that since you’re CIA and she thinks she is.” Vaughn observed, speaking for the first time since the conversation began.
“Well I could just tell her I work for the State Department, she wouldn’t know that I’m with the actual CIA.” Weiss explained with a shrug of his shoulders.
“I don’t think that would work.” Sydney mentioned. “If you were seen together security section would do a check on you and find out everything about you.”
“Including where you really work.” Vaughn pointed out. “Then when it was found out that Sydney was the one to introduce, it would cause a lot of problems.”
“You always have to rain on my parade with little things like logic.” Weiss stated. “So what were you saying about Kendall being upset?”
“Yes. On Liz’s and mine last mission we were sent to retrieve a Rambaldi artifact. The target was a man who was arranging to have the artifact deposited in a security firm’s vault. SD6 did not have any Intel on when the drop would take place so we ran surveillance. When the time came, Liz was in a better position than I was to get the artifact. I tried to intervene and cut her off but I was unable to convince her that I could get it. Then after we met up at the rendezvous point, Liz had already stashed it in her bag. Kendall thinks I should have lifted it out of her bag rather than give it to SD6.”
“Don’t worry about Kendall. Once you or your father gets the analysis report on the artifact that SD6 will write, he’ll calm down.” Vaughn said trying to play peacekeeper. “Don’t worry about it.”
Sydney gave him a small smile at his attempt to make her feel better, not seeing Weiss roll his eyes from his position to the side of them and said. “Well I better go. I’ve got class in an hour.”
Sydney gave Weiss another hug. “It’s good to have you back, Eric. See you two later.”
Weiss watched Vaughn stare after Sydney as she left and couldn’t help mumbling. “Something’s never change.”
If you like Liz and Dean, check out this community on lj:
Drifter Love
Like my stories and want to hear more about ideas? Visit me here: My LJ
Drifter Love
Like my stories and want to hear more about ideas? Visit me here: My LJ
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LittleBit
- Addicted Roswellian
- Posts: 347
- Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2001 5:03 am
- Location: My Imagination
- Contact:
Yep, Weiss is one of my favorites. He's funny in a way that isn't annoying and he's cute in his own way. And I love how he's been there for Sydney this season. I wish I could do more with him in this story but it just didn't fit. Maybe in my other story.
Here's a new part for you, for those who liked seeing Liz fight, you're in for a treat.
PART 17
Over the next week, Sloane did not assign any new mission for Liz and Sydney so they were able to do catch up work such as paper and computer work. Analysis completed their examination of the Rambaldi artifact that they had retrieved from Australia, but it was inconclusive until they could decipher the text on the manuscript page.
Although she was used to working with injuries, the down time allowed Liz’s split lip, bruises and sore shoulder to heal. She made use of the well-equipped gym at SD6 to work the shoulder so that it wouldn’t tighten up on her. She didn’t hold back on the exercises, she used free weights and machines, as well as the mats to do some practice kicks and tumbling. She couldn’t allow her body to get soft; in her life if you got soft you were killed.
From his spot in the entryway, Sark watched Elizabeth, completely unnoticed as she continued to workout. He had arrived just moments before but had yet to announce his presence. Instead he took the opportunity to observe her movements and technique. They were impressive. She used her small stature to achieve optimal results. But this he already knew and had seen the evidence with his own eyes.
After Elizabeth and Sydney had returned, he had acquired a copy of the footage they had recorded while surveilling Lawrence Bowen’s hotel room. He had no interest in the man but he did study the portion of the recording that contained Elizabeth’s procedure while searching the room. She was methodical and careful to make sure that she left it so it wouldn’t look disturbed. The footage also contained her confrontation with Bowen and his men, Sydney had said that she had kept it running so to ensure that her partner did not need her help.
After studying the recording, Sark could see that her record was accurate and that she was a skilled fighter. After he started to prepare something he had been considering and had only now completed all the necessary arrangements, save one. One that he was about to take care of.
Liz decided it was time for her to wrap up her workout and time to cool down. She sat down and did some stretches. She reached out and touched her toes. She held the stretch for a moment before rolling backwards and up onto her hands flowing into a handstand. She hovered in the air before nudging her feet to land. As soon as her feet hit the floor she sprung into several back flips before twisting mid flip so that she landed facing the opposite direction. When she did she saw that she had an audience. “You know, it is considered rude to not announce your presence.”
“I did not want to interrupt and throw off your concentration. You might have fallen and injured yourself, we wouldn’t want that to happen.” Sark explained.
“It would have taken more than that to throw me off.” Liz answered trying to extinguish the mirth in his blue eyes. She felt oddly naked despite the fact that she was dressed. Maybe it was because he was currently dressed in a full black pinstripe suit with a crisp white dress shirt while she was only in a tanktop and shorts. She stepped over to where she had left her things and picked up her towel trying not to show her uneasiness.
As she began to dry off Liz looked back over at Sark and asked, “Are you here with a purpose or were you bored and decided to bother me?”
“Is that how you see me? As a common pest?” Sark asked.
“No.” Liz shook her head, “I don’t think there is anything about you that is common.”
Sark was slightly taken aback by Liz’s comment. He wasn’t sure how she meant him to take it. Was it a dig or was she being flirtatious? “Really?”
Liz nodded to show she was serious. “However I don’t know much about you so I can only go with what I know and speculate about the rest.”
Sark eyed the wall before plucking two medium staffs off the rack. He tossed one to Liz as he said, “Perhaps I can prove myself, you are familiar with these weapons, correct?”
With a flick Liz twirled the staff efficiently up and around her head before bringing it down in a fighting position. “Yeah, you could say I’m pretty familiar with them. But I’m not going to fight you.”
“And why is that?”
“Because there is no point.” Liz stated.
“Ah, but there is.” Sark argued. “Consider this an assessment of skill for me and a means to learn additional information regarding me.”
Liz watched as Sark started to circle and knew there was no way of getting out of it. And in a way she was thrilled to have a chance to compete against Sark without the possibility of getting herself killed, at least she hoped. She took a defensive stance just in time to block Sark’s first strike.
Sark rotated his staff to deliver a blow from below that Elizabeth again blocked before doing a spin kick that landed firmly against his ribs, propelling him backwards before whipping her staff up and delivering a solid blow to Sark’s left leg. He countered with a kick of his own before slamming the staff down again. They continued this exercise for several minutes, meeting each other’s blows and fending off the other’s attacks.
Sark decided it was time to bring the battle to a close. He doled out a hard blow from above before whipping it quickly down. The maneuver allowed him to sweep his opponent’s feet out from under her. He stood over her and brought his staff down then to deliver a mock final blow. However Elizabeth was able to bring her staff up to block him and the staffs smashed together. Sark added pressure on his end, to try and overtake her.
Liz whirled her leg around, locking it where the staffs met and kicked against it. It broke the two staffs apart and pushed Sark away. Liz took the opportunity to roll to the side and rise to her feet, bring her staff up with her. However her grip was not tight enough and Sark slammed his staff up and under hers. The move knocked the staff out of her hands and sent it flying to the other side of the room. Her weapon maybe gone, but Liz didn’t give up yet.
Liz ducked several swings from Sark’s staff before vaulting forward. She locked her grip around the staff, trying to wrench it away from Sark. The two struggled over the staff for a moment before Sark yanked his staff upwards, twisted his body and pulled Elizabeth over his shoulder. She flew forwards before crashing to the floor on her back.
The move knocked the wind out of her and she didn’t get up. Instead lying there as Sark stood above her, aiming the end of his staff at her, “Do you concede?”
Liz hated to do it but she knew that he had won so she nodded her head. “Yes.”
Sark lowered the staff and presented his hand to help her up. “You fought well, however I believe I have more knowledge and practice.”
“Something you care to tell me about?” Liz stated, thinking that she might possibly get a small bit of information out of him. Sark shook his head as she reached up and took the offered hand.
As she did, Liz felt a spark of electricity and a sudden rush of warmth that flowed from their joined hands to her body. It was a highly arousing sensation but also a disconcerting one. Liz pulled her hand out of Sark’s grip as if it was a pit of hot coals. “Uh…thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Sark declared. He was curious as to Elizabeth’s reaction to his touch, it appeared that it had an effect on her, one that she was not found of. Sark however found it pleasing.
“You know you never told me what you’re doing down here?” Liz asked.
“Mr. Sloane paged you for a mission briefing some time ago that you did not answer. When we discovered that you were in the building, I came to locate you and inform you of the briefing until I was distracted.” Sark explained. He normally wouldn’t play the messenger but in this instance, he made an exception.
“You are the one who challenged me.” Liz said as a pitiful excuse. She was mad at herself for not remembering to bring her pager with her out onto the floor.
“True. However despite the distraction I believe you have an adequate amount of time to clean up. I shall go upstairs and tell Mr. Sloane that you will be along shortly.” Sark stated.
“I assume you are consulting on another mission?” Liz asked.
“You might say that.”
“Then I’ll see you upstairs.” Liz said before heading towards the locker room while Sark set off to prepare for the briefing.
Here's a new part for you, for those who liked seeing Liz fight, you're in for a treat.
PART 17
Over the next week, Sloane did not assign any new mission for Liz and Sydney so they were able to do catch up work such as paper and computer work. Analysis completed their examination of the Rambaldi artifact that they had retrieved from Australia, but it was inconclusive until they could decipher the text on the manuscript page.
Although she was used to working with injuries, the down time allowed Liz’s split lip, bruises and sore shoulder to heal. She made use of the well-equipped gym at SD6 to work the shoulder so that it wouldn’t tighten up on her. She didn’t hold back on the exercises, she used free weights and machines, as well as the mats to do some practice kicks and tumbling. She couldn’t allow her body to get soft; in her life if you got soft you were killed.
From his spot in the entryway, Sark watched Elizabeth, completely unnoticed as she continued to workout. He had arrived just moments before but had yet to announce his presence. Instead he took the opportunity to observe her movements and technique. They were impressive. She used her small stature to achieve optimal results. But this he already knew and had seen the evidence with his own eyes.
After Elizabeth and Sydney had returned, he had acquired a copy of the footage they had recorded while surveilling Lawrence Bowen’s hotel room. He had no interest in the man but he did study the portion of the recording that contained Elizabeth’s procedure while searching the room. She was methodical and careful to make sure that she left it so it wouldn’t look disturbed. The footage also contained her confrontation with Bowen and his men, Sydney had said that she had kept it running so to ensure that her partner did not need her help.
After studying the recording, Sark could see that her record was accurate and that she was a skilled fighter. After he started to prepare something he had been considering and had only now completed all the necessary arrangements, save one. One that he was about to take care of.
Liz decided it was time for her to wrap up her workout and time to cool down. She sat down and did some stretches. She reached out and touched her toes. She held the stretch for a moment before rolling backwards and up onto her hands flowing into a handstand. She hovered in the air before nudging her feet to land. As soon as her feet hit the floor she sprung into several back flips before twisting mid flip so that she landed facing the opposite direction. When she did she saw that she had an audience. “You know, it is considered rude to not announce your presence.”
“I did not want to interrupt and throw off your concentration. You might have fallen and injured yourself, we wouldn’t want that to happen.” Sark explained.
“It would have taken more than that to throw me off.” Liz answered trying to extinguish the mirth in his blue eyes. She felt oddly naked despite the fact that she was dressed. Maybe it was because he was currently dressed in a full black pinstripe suit with a crisp white dress shirt while she was only in a tanktop and shorts. She stepped over to where she had left her things and picked up her towel trying not to show her uneasiness.
As she began to dry off Liz looked back over at Sark and asked, “Are you here with a purpose or were you bored and decided to bother me?”
“Is that how you see me? As a common pest?” Sark asked.
“No.” Liz shook her head, “I don’t think there is anything about you that is common.”
Sark was slightly taken aback by Liz’s comment. He wasn’t sure how she meant him to take it. Was it a dig or was she being flirtatious? “Really?”
Liz nodded to show she was serious. “However I don’t know much about you so I can only go with what I know and speculate about the rest.”
Sark eyed the wall before plucking two medium staffs off the rack. He tossed one to Liz as he said, “Perhaps I can prove myself, you are familiar with these weapons, correct?”
With a flick Liz twirled the staff efficiently up and around her head before bringing it down in a fighting position. “Yeah, you could say I’m pretty familiar with them. But I’m not going to fight you.”
“And why is that?”
“Because there is no point.” Liz stated.
“Ah, but there is.” Sark argued. “Consider this an assessment of skill for me and a means to learn additional information regarding me.”
Liz watched as Sark started to circle and knew there was no way of getting out of it. And in a way she was thrilled to have a chance to compete against Sark without the possibility of getting herself killed, at least she hoped. She took a defensive stance just in time to block Sark’s first strike.
Sark rotated his staff to deliver a blow from below that Elizabeth again blocked before doing a spin kick that landed firmly against his ribs, propelling him backwards before whipping her staff up and delivering a solid blow to Sark’s left leg. He countered with a kick of his own before slamming the staff down again. They continued this exercise for several minutes, meeting each other’s blows and fending off the other’s attacks.
Sark decided it was time to bring the battle to a close. He doled out a hard blow from above before whipping it quickly down. The maneuver allowed him to sweep his opponent’s feet out from under her. He stood over her and brought his staff down then to deliver a mock final blow. However Elizabeth was able to bring her staff up to block him and the staffs smashed together. Sark added pressure on his end, to try and overtake her.
Liz whirled her leg around, locking it where the staffs met and kicked against it. It broke the two staffs apart and pushed Sark away. Liz took the opportunity to roll to the side and rise to her feet, bring her staff up with her. However her grip was not tight enough and Sark slammed his staff up and under hers. The move knocked the staff out of her hands and sent it flying to the other side of the room. Her weapon maybe gone, but Liz didn’t give up yet.
Liz ducked several swings from Sark’s staff before vaulting forward. She locked her grip around the staff, trying to wrench it away from Sark. The two struggled over the staff for a moment before Sark yanked his staff upwards, twisted his body and pulled Elizabeth over his shoulder. She flew forwards before crashing to the floor on her back.
The move knocked the wind out of her and she didn’t get up. Instead lying there as Sark stood above her, aiming the end of his staff at her, “Do you concede?”
Liz hated to do it but she knew that he had won so she nodded her head. “Yes.”
Sark lowered the staff and presented his hand to help her up. “You fought well, however I believe I have more knowledge and practice.”
“Something you care to tell me about?” Liz stated, thinking that she might possibly get a small bit of information out of him. Sark shook his head as she reached up and took the offered hand.
As she did, Liz felt a spark of electricity and a sudden rush of warmth that flowed from their joined hands to her body. It was a highly arousing sensation but also a disconcerting one. Liz pulled her hand out of Sark’s grip as if it was a pit of hot coals. “Uh…thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Sark declared. He was curious as to Elizabeth’s reaction to his touch, it appeared that it had an effect on her, one that she was not found of. Sark however found it pleasing.
“You know you never told me what you’re doing down here?” Liz asked.
“Mr. Sloane paged you for a mission briefing some time ago that you did not answer. When we discovered that you were in the building, I came to locate you and inform you of the briefing until I was distracted.” Sark explained. He normally wouldn’t play the messenger but in this instance, he made an exception.
“You are the one who challenged me.” Liz said as a pitiful excuse. She was mad at herself for not remembering to bring her pager with her out onto the floor.
“True. However despite the distraction I believe you have an adequate amount of time to clean up. I shall go upstairs and tell Mr. Sloane that you will be along shortly.” Sark stated.
“I assume you are consulting on another mission?” Liz asked.
“You might say that.”
“Then I’ll see you upstairs.” Liz said before heading towards the locker room while Sark set off to prepare for the briefing.
-
LittleBit
- Addicted Roswellian
- Posts: 347
- Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2001 5:03 am
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PART 18
After a quick shower, Liz rushed to dress back into her suit before heading to the office level. Once out of the elevator she spotted Sydney sitting at her desk, working on the computer. “Hey, sorry I took so long, I was working out and didn’t hear my pager when it went off.”
Sydney looked at her as if at a loss for a moment before responding. “Liz, I came into the office to wrap up something, not because I was called in. I didn’t get paged.”
“But Sark sought me out at the gym and told me that Mr. Sloane wanted me for a mission briefing.” Liz stated. She looked around the office to find Sark to see if she could find out what was going on but instead she caught sight of Mr. Sloane walking towards them.
“Good Liz, you’re here. Mr. Sark told me that you would be along shortly.” Mr. Sloane said before looking at Sydney. “And Sydney, I had planned to brief you later but since you are here, we can do it at this time.”
“Mr. Sloane I’m confused. Sark mentioned that you paged me to come in for a mission briefing yet Sydney said that she wasn’t paged.” Liz stated. “Am I going on a solo mission?”
“No, you will have a partner however it will not be Sydney this time. You will be accompanying Mr. Sark on a mission.” Sloane explained. “Sydney will be staying here in Los Angeles.”
“Can I ask why?” Sydney asked surprised that she wasn’t being included on a mission, especially one that involved her partner. What was going on and why was she having a bad feeling about it?
“Mr. Sark is going to be meeting with an associate that he has dealt with as Derevko’s representative. If you were to go, you would be recognized therefore connecting him to SD6. If that were to happen, we would loose much of the benefits of our agreement with Mr. Sark. So to prevent that, I’m assigning Liz to go along with him.” Sloane explained.
Sloane then turned his attention to Liz. “Now Liz, Mr. Sark and Marshall are waiting in the conference room for the complete briefing.”
Liz followed Mr. Sloane to the conference room but not before looking back at Sydney. It wasn’t unusual for partners to be assigned separate missions; but it had just been a surprise. Sydney seemed to be in the same stated of surprise as well as possibly irritation. She looked at Liz for a second before heading in the direction of her father’s office but Sydney reached it before Liz reached the conference room.
Liz went inside the conference room and saw Marshall sitting uncomfortably on one side of the table with Sark sitting across from him. They both looked up at her arrival and Liz couldn’t help but want to glare at the smirk she saw on Sark’s face. He had made good on his words to her in his car; they were going to be working together. And to add to his amusement, Mr. Sloane motioned for her to take the seat next to Sark. She took the seat, but ignored Sark as she did.
Mr. Sloane took his seat at the head of the conference table. “As you know part of the terms of Mr. Sark’s agreement with SD6 consist of conceding a list of contacts and associates. Since his surrender, I have reviewed the list extensively, endeavoring to make a decision as how best to use the list. However, an opportunity has beaten me to it. Mr. Sark.”
“Several days ago, a former acquaintance of mine, Dominick Maier made contact with me. As you may or not be aware, Dominick Maier is one of the most successful arms dealer in Austria as well as most of Eastern Europe.” Sark explained, seeing Elizabeth nodding in acknowledgement that she knew who Dominick Maier was.
“Dominick contacted me with the objective to sell Derevko and her organization a large supply of weapons that he has recently appropriated. It seems that Dominick launched an assault on an unidentified armory and seized the contents and now he wants to get rid of them as quickly as possible.”
“A desire we cannot let him fulfill otherwise it could arm many of our enemies.” Sloane commented.
“So what does the mission entail?” Liz asked.
“Tomorrow night, I will go in as Derevko’s representative and meet with Maier as he expects at his club, Nachtschicht, in Vienna. The club is a front so that he can launder the money he nets from the arms deals. The club has three levels the first one is the main dance floor, while the second and third ones contained more theme oriented floors. Maier has a private room that has a view over the first floor; this is where he generally meets with customers and associates. However it is not his office. His office is located on two floors above the third level.” Sark explained.
“While Mr. Sark meets with Maier, you will gain access to the office and download all of his files concerning his stock. When that is done, Sark will simply state that Derevko and her organization are not interested in the transaction and they will part company amicably. You will know when the meeting has began because both you and Mr. Sark will be connected through COM links.” Sloane informed her.
“Excuse me for interrupting, but would it not be easier to have Sark proceed with the buy and let Maier lead us to his warehouses?” Liz asked. She had no problem with the mission; she was merely curious why they were going with this option when there was an easier one available. And one that she wouldn’t have to travel anywhere with Sark.
“It would be but then we would risk the possibility of not learning as much as possible about Maier’s operations. Seeing as you will have full access to his files, you will not only download his inventory but anything that you find that is of value to us. We must take out this dealer before he can arm anymore enemies of this country.” Sloane stated. “Now Marshall has arranged OpTech for you that will allow you to access his hard drive.”
Marshall stood up then to start his presentation. “Now the office is above the club…which you know…so the best way for you to blend is going to be to look like a customer. According to the information that Mr. Sloane gave me…the club floor is a typical techno one; you know…not that I know what that is like since I’ve never been to one. You see I can’t dance…I tried once but…” Marshall cut off his chatter when he got a glare from Sloane so he halted his rambling and picked up one of the objects that he had brought with him.
“Okay, this looks like just any other cell phone…” Marshall said displaying the small red cellphone. “Well it was just a cell phone until I got a hold of it and modified it. When it is linked up with this…”
Marshall showed them a small black box with a retractable wire attached to it. “It works as a mini processor that will download and store the information. Once connected to the hard drive of the computer, it will open automatically so once you find the files you want, just click on the program and it’ll save into the processor. Now of course you can’t just walk around with this in your pocket or purse so I came up with this so that it is undetectable if you are searched.”
Liz was surprised to see Marshall pull a woman’s black leather thigh high boot out from under the table and set it on the table. She watched as he took the small black box and slip into a cutout in the heel. It fit perfectly and once it was completely in, there was no evidence that it was nothing but a solid piece. Marshall looked up then at Liz and smiled. “I wasn’t sure what you planned to wear but I thought that these would go with just about any kind of club clothes.”
“They’re fine. Thank you.” Liz smiled back. “How do I access the office? What about security?”
“While there is a public stairwell for the patrons to use to reach the top two floors of the club, it does not grant access to the higher floors. There is another flight of stairs that is linked to a corridor used by the staff. The door can only be opened with a key card, one that is changed nightly. As a result you will have to ‘appropriate’ a card from one of the employees to get through the door.” Sark explained. He was enjoying the whole meeting, reading Elizabeth’s reactions. He could tell that the mission did not please her yet she did not speak up. But he also saw the flare in her eyes when he mentioned the little challenge in his plan and knew that she was ready to rise to it. If only to prove that she could.
“What other security is there?” Liz asked as blueprints of the building popped up on the monitor in front of her. She memorized the floor plan despite the fact that a copy of it would be available for her to take with her on the mission. It was a straightforward layout and would be easy to get to the office once inside the private area.
“Once you are pass the door you will not encounter anymore security. Dominick is a very arrogant man who has too much confidence in his employees. He relies on them to make certain that no one gains access to the outer areas.” Sark explained. “Maier only allows surveillance cameras to watch over the club, not the back areas. That way none of his nefarious activities can be recorded.”
“The two of you will be traveling to Vienna separating so not to link the two of you, Sark in a private jet and Liz on a commercial flight. But seeing as you will want to depart the area as quickly as possible, you’ll both travel back to Los Angeles in the jet.” Sloane said giving details before standing and addressing Liz. “You leave in four hours.”
“Yes, sir.” Liz responded.
Sloane exited the conference room then and after handing over her OpTech, Marshall followed him out leaving Liz with Sark. She pushed the button to shut the doors. As soon as they did, Liz whirled around and snapped. “You son of a bitch you set this whole thing up.”
“Why Elizabeth? Whatever do you mean?” Sark asked his voice laced with sarcasm.
“You know exactly what I mean. After all weren’t you the one that told me that ‘nothing is ever an impossibility. Particularly if you have any say in the matter.” Liz exclaimed. “Tell me, have you been planning this since you drove me home that night? Is that why you pulled the little stunt in the exercise room?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about. Dominick Maier contacted me.” Sark stated.
“Convenient.” Liz retorted. “But you took advantage of it.”
“I agree that the situation is extremely advantageous for me but not in the manner you are almost certainly imagining. Going along with this mission shows my continuing willingness to abide by my agreement with SD6.” Sark declared spinning the truth to fit his needs. True, he did hand over the arrangement with Maier to prove his allegiance to Sloane but the main reason was to use the task to have him assign him Elizabeth to aid him.
“Whether I believe you or not is not the issue, Mr. Sloane has ordered me to go with you to Vienna so that I will do.” Liz said before hitting the remote to open the doors before heading for them. Before exiting she glanced over her shoulder. “See you in Vienna.”
Sark stared after her, a faint smirk on his face. It was going to be an interesting trip.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
WHILE THE BRIEFING IS TAKING PLACE:
Sydney knocked on the door of her father’s office before entering. He looked up but did not seem fazed by her arrival. “Sydney, what can I do for you?”
“Can we talk? Privately?” Sydney asked.
Jack nodded before pulling a pen out of his pocket and pulling the top off, initiating the bug disrupter. Once he did, Sydney said. “Did you know about Sloane assigning Liz to a mission without me?”
Jack nodded. “He just informed me of that piece of information. I was coming out to inform you but halted when I saw you speaking with him.”
“Do you have any idea what Sloane is up to?” Sydney asked.
“No, he did not share the plans for the actual mission, just the bare essentials of what he was going to be doing.” Jack explained.
Sydney nodded. “He told me the same thing except that he thought I would be recognized so he only assigned Liz to accompany Sark but I can’t help but think there is something more.”
“That would be a fair assumption however it was not Sloane who set up the mission but Sark. He came to Sloane with the proposal for the mission as well as the insistence that Liz be the only agent who be assigned to the mission. So the more accurate question would be what is Sark up to?” Jack asked.
“Normally I would say that he had an agenda of his own and that whatever he is doing, he doesn’t want anyone to know about. But then why insist Liz go? She had voiced the fact that she is aware of his prior crimes so we know that she would be suspicious of anything he does.” Sydney stated.
“Unless they are working together.” Jack declared.
“But she’s been cleared of working with anyone outside of the SD cells.” Sydney acknowledged.
“That does not exonerate her completely, she could have allied herself with Sark at any point in time since Sloane introduced her to him.” Jack commented.
“No, she seemed just as surprised as I was that I was not going on the mission. This was all Sark’s doing but why?” Sydney asked as she looked out the door of her dad’s office and to the closed screens of the conference room.
After a quick shower, Liz rushed to dress back into her suit before heading to the office level. Once out of the elevator she spotted Sydney sitting at her desk, working on the computer. “Hey, sorry I took so long, I was working out and didn’t hear my pager when it went off.”
Sydney looked at her as if at a loss for a moment before responding. “Liz, I came into the office to wrap up something, not because I was called in. I didn’t get paged.”
“But Sark sought me out at the gym and told me that Mr. Sloane wanted me for a mission briefing.” Liz stated. She looked around the office to find Sark to see if she could find out what was going on but instead she caught sight of Mr. Sloane walking towards them.
“Good Liz, you’re here. Mr. Sark told me that you would be along shortly.” Mr. Sloane said before looking at Sydney. “And Sydney, I had planned to brief you later but since you are here, we can do it at this time.”
“Mr. Sloane I’m confused. Sark mentioned that you paged me to come in for a mission briefing yet Sydney said that she wasn’t paged.” Liz stated. “Am I going on a solo mission?”
“No, you will have a partner however it will not be Sydney this time. You will be accompanying Mr. Sark on a mission.” Sloane explained. “Sydney will be staying here in Los Angeles.”
“Can I ask why?” Sydney asked surprised that she wasn’t being included on a mission, especially one that involved her partner. What was going on and why was she having a bad feeling about it?
“Mr. Sark is going to be meeting with an associate that he has dealt with as Derevko’s representative. If you were to go, you would be recognized therefore connecting him to SD6. If that were to happen, we would loose much of the benefits of our agreement with Mr. Sark. So to prevent that, I’m assigning Liz to go along with him.” Sloane explained.
Sloane then turned his attention to Liz. “Now Liz, Mr. Sark and Marshall are waiting in the conference room for the complete briefing.”
Liz followed Mr. Sloane to the conference room but not before looking back at Sydney. It wasn’t unusual for partners to be assigned separate missions; but it had just been a surprise. Sydney seemed to be in the same stated of surprise as well as possibly irritation. She looked at Liz for a second before heading in the direction of her father’s office but Sydney reached it before Liz reached the conference room.
Liz went inside the conference room and saw Marshall sitting uncomfortably on one side of the table with Sark sitting across from him. They both looked up at her arrival and Liz couldn’t help but want to glare at the smirk she saw on Sark’s face. He had made good on his words to her in his car; they were going to be working together. And to add to his amusement, Mr. Sloane motioned for her to take the seat next to Sark. She took the seat, but ignored Sark as she did.
Mr. Sloane took his seat at the head of the conference table. “As you know part of the terms of Mr. Sark’s agreement with SD6 consist of conceding a list of contacts and associates. Since his surrender, I have reviewed the list extensively, endeavoring to make a decision as how best to use the list. However, an opportunity has beaten me to it. Mr. Sark.”
“Several days ago, a former acquaintance of mine, Dominick Maier made contact with me. As you may or not be aware, Dominick Maier is one of the most successful arms dealer in Austria as well as most of Eastern Europe.” Sark explained, seeing Elizabeth nodding in acknowledgement that she knew who Dominick Maier was.
“Dominick contacted me with the objective to sell Derevko and her organization a large supply of weapons that he has recently appropriated. It seems that Dominick launched an assault on an unidentified armory and seized the contents and now he wants to get rid of them as quickly as possible.”
“A desire we cannot let him fulfill otherwise it could arm many of our enemies.” Sloane commented.
“So what does the mission entail?” Liz asked.
“Tomorrow night, I will go in as Derevko’s representative and meet with Maier as he expects at his club, Nachtschicht, in Vienna. The club is a front so that he can launder the money he nets from the arms deals. The club has three levels the first one is the main dance floor, while the second and third ones contained more theme oriented floors. Maier has a private room that has a view over the first floor; this is where he generally meets with customers and associates. However it is not his office. His office is located on two floors above the third level.” Sark explained.
“While Mr. Sark meets with Maier, you will gain access to the office and download all of his files concerning his stock. When that is done, Sark will simply state that Derevko and her organization are not interested in the transaction and they will part company amicably. You will know when the meeting has began because both you and Mr. Sark will be connected through COM links.” Sloane informed her.
“Excuse me for interrupting, but would it not be easier to have Sark proceed with the buy and let Maier lead us to his warehouses?” Liz asked. She had no problem with the mission; she was merely curious why they were going with this option when there was an easier one available. And one that she wouldn’t have to travel anywhere with Sark.
“It would be but then we would risk the possibility of not learning as much as possible about Maier’s operations. Seeing as you will have full access to his files, you will not only download his inventory but anything that you find that is of value to us. We must take out this dealer before he can arm anymore enemies of this country.” Sloane stated. “Now Marshall has arranged OpTech for you that will allow you to access his hard drive.”
Marshall stood up then to start his presentation. “Now the office is above the club…which you know…so the best way for you to blend is going to be to look like a customer. According to the information that Mr. Sloane gave me…the club floor is a typical techno one; you know…not that I know what that is like since I’ve never been to one. You see I can’t dance…I tried once but…” Marshall cut off his chatter when he got a glare from Sloane so he halted his rambling and picked up one of the objects that he had brought with him.
“Okay, this looks like just any other cell phone…” Marshall said displaying the small red cellphone. “Well it was just a cell phone until I got a hold of it and modified it. When it is linked up with this…”
Marshall showed them a small black box with a retractable wire attached to it. “It works as a mini processor that will download and store the information. Once connected to the hard drive of the computer, it will open automatically so once you find the files you want, just click on the program and it’ll save into the processor. Now of course you can’t just walk around with this in your pocket or purse so I came up with this so that it is undetectable if you are searched.”
Liz was surprised to see Marshall pull a woman’s black leather thigh high boot out from under the table and set it on the table. She watched as he took the small black box and slip into a cutout in the heel. It fit perfectly and once it was completely in, there was no evidence that it was nothing but a solid piece. Marshall looked up then at Liz and smiled. “I wasn’t sure what you planned to wear but I thought that these would go with just about any kind of club clothes.”
“They’re fine. Thank you.” Liz smiled back. “How do I access the office? What about security?”
“While there is a public stairwell for the patrons to use to reach the top two floors of the club, it does not grant access to the higher floors. There is another flight of stairs that is linked to a corridor used by the staff. The door can only be opened with a key card, one that is changed nightly. As a result you will have to ‘appropriate’ a card from one of the employees to get through the door.” Sark explained. He was enjoying the whole meeting, reading Elizabeth’s reactions. He could tell that the mission did not please her yet she did not speak up. But he also saw the flare in her eyes when he mentioned the little challenge in his plan and knew that she was ready to rise to it. If only to prove that she could.
“What other security is there?” Liz asked as blueprints of the building popped up on the monitor in front of her. She memorized the floor plan despite the fact that a copy of it would be available for her to take with her on the mission. It was a straightforward layout and would be easy to get to the office once inside the private area.
“Once you are pass the door you will not encounter anymore security. Dominick is a very arrogant man who has too much confidence in his employees. He relies on them to make certain that no one gains access to the outer areas.” Sark explained. “Maier only allows surveillance cameras to watch over the club, not the back areas. That way none of his nefarious activities can be recorded.”
“The two of you will be traveling to Vienna separating so not to link the two of you, Sark in a private jet and Liz on a commercial flight. But seeing as you will want to depart the area as quickly as possible, you’ll both travel back to Los Angeles in the jet.” Sloane said giving details before standing and addressing Liz. “You leave in four hours.”
“Yes, sir.” Liz responded.
Sloane exited the conference room then and after handing over her OpTech, Marshall followed him out leaving Liz with Sark. She pushed the button to shut the doors. As soon as they did, Liz whirled around and snapped. “You son of a bitch you set this whole thing up.”
“Why Elizabeth? Whatever do you mean?” Sark asked his voice laced with sarcasm.
“You know exactly what I mean. After all weren’t you the one that told me that ‘nothing is ever an impossibility. Particularly if you have any say in the matter.” Liz exclaimed. “Tell me, have you been planning this since you drove me home that night? Is that why you pulled the little stunt in the exercise room?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about. Dominick Maier contacted me.” Sark stated.
“Convenient.” Liz retorted. “But you took advantage of it.”
“I agree that the situation is extremely advantageous for me but not in the manner you are almost certainly imagining. Going along with this mission shows my continuing willingness to abide by my agreement with SD6.” Sark declared spinning the truth to fit his needs. True, he did hand over the arrangement with Maier to prove his allegiance to Sloane but the main reason was to use the task to have him assign him Elizabeth to aid him.
“Whether I believe you or not is not the issue, Mr. Sloane has ordered me to go with you to Vienna so that I will do.” Liz said before hitting the remote to open the doors before heading for them. Before exiting she glanced over her shoulder. “See you in Vienna.”
Sark stared after her, a faint smirk on his face. It was going to be an interesting trip.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
WHILE THE BRIEFING IS TAKING PLACE:
Sydney knocked on the door of her father’s office before entering. He looked up but did not seem fazed by her arrival. “Sydney, what can I do for you?”
“Can we talk? Privately?” Sydney asked.
Jack nodded before pulling a pen out of his pocket and pulling the top off, initiating the bug disrupter. Once he did, Sydney said. “Did you know about Sloane assigning Liz to a mission without me?”
Jack nodded. “He just informed me of that piece of information. I was coming out to inform you but halted when I saw you speaking with him.”
“Do you have any idea what Sloane is up to?” Sydney asked.
“No, he did not share the plans for the actual mission, just the bare essentials of what he was going to be doing.” Jack explained.
Sydney nodded. “He told me the same thing except that he thought I would be recognized so he only assigned Liz to accompany Sark but I can’t help but think there is something more.”
“That would be a fair assumption however it was not Sloane who set up the mission but Sark. He came to Sloane with the proposal for the mission as well as the insistence that Liz be the only agent who be assigned to the mission. So the more accurate question would be what is Sark up to?” Jack asked.
“Normally I would say that he had an agenda of his own and that whatever he is doing, he doesn’t want anyone to know about. But then why insist Liz go? She had voiced the fact that she is aware of his prior crimes so we know that she would be suspicious of anything he does.” Sydney stated.
“Unless they are working together.” Jack declared.
“But she’s been cleared of working with anyone outside of the SD cells.” Sydney acknowledged.
“That does not exonerate her completely, she could have allied herself with Sark at any point in time since Sloane introduced her to him.” Jack commented.
“No, she seemed just as surprised as I was that I was not going on the mission. This was all Sark’s doing but why?” Sydney asked as she looked out the door of her dad’s office and to the closed screens of the conference room.
-
LittleBit
- Addicted Roswellian
- Posts: 347
- Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2001 5:03 am
- Location: My Imagination
- Contact:
I want to give a big thank you to Calinia for her help with the next few parts. She gave me all the information on the club Nachtschicht (Nightshift) and did all of the translating as well. She's been a huge help to me to make this authentic.
Anything in bold print is supposed to be conversation through comm links.
PART 19
All of the arrangements that Sark had set up to secure his arrival in Vienna went off flawlessly and he arrived at Nachtschicht at the appointed time. He dismissed the hired driver, telling him that he would phone when he required his service. Sark would have driven himself but he knew that Maier would expect him to be chauffeured and he had to play into that. He bypassed the line of people who were waiting to enter the club and went straight to the doormen, announcing his arrival. It only took a minute before one of the doormen led him inside and up to the top floor then to the door he had told Elizabeth about.
On the other side, another man awaited them; Sark instantly sized him up to be one of the security guards. He was to be Sark’s escort. But before he led him any farther inside, the guard waved an electronic sensor over Sark, checking him for bugs and the like. He had anticipated the security search that was why he had not activated his Com link to Elizabeth. When the device did not go off, the guard was satisfied that Sark was not wired and led him down the hall. However the device only searched for electronic devices and guard had not checked to see if Sark was armed, which he was. They proceeded up the staircase at the end of the hall one flight until the doorman opened a side door that led to the private meeting room.
As Sark entered, he instantly observed that the room was empty. He had expected it; Maier was always one to make an entrance. But he took the opportunity to give the room a once over. It was a lavish room, with thick carpeting and plush chairs and sofas. There was a full bar along one wall, the glasses and bottles flickered from the overhead lights. The opposing wall consisted of the one-way mirror that spanned the width of the wall giving a superb view of the dance floor below. Sark strolled over to the mirror and gazed down at the crowd of dancers below.
Despite the fact that he knew that Elizabeth was among the mass of dancers, it took him several minutes to pick her out. He had not seen her since leaving Los Angeles and had not been privy to her disguise choice. She had done well in disguising herself, she blended perfect with the surrounding crowd right down to the black leather boots that Marshall had furnished. The tops of the boots reached mid thigh yet still feel several inches short of the bottom of her black skirt, leaving her creamy flesh exposed.
The show of skin continued with her top, a dark red halter-top that left her shoulders, back and midriff bare. She topped off the look with a shorthaired black one wig with highlights that matched her shirt. While it was not a style Sark typically cared for he found it strangely sexy.
Sark knew that Maier would be joining him soon so he nonchalantly crossed his arms at the wrists, pushing the button on his watch that activated his Com link. The watch worked as the transmitter so that Elizabeth would overhear while a small piece in his ear worked as the receiver so she could transmit to him if needed. As it turned on, the music that pounded below exploded into his ear but then tapered off as the receiver adjusted. Then with minimal movement of his lips, he said. “I must say Elizabeth, your aptitude for disguise is first rate.”
“So happy you approve.” Elizabeth responded. Sark saw her discreetly glancing up in his direction. “I’m guessing that you are in position?”
“Yes, awaiting the arrival of my host.” Sark answered.
“Hopefully he will arrive shortly. I’m ready to get out of here.” Elizabeth replied just as a nearby male dancer grabbed her from behind.
Sark watched and listened in amusement as she dealt with the vulgar transgressor. “Hey, finger weg.” [Hey, watch your hands.]
“Du schaust aus wie ein Maedchen dass gern ein bißchen Spass hat.” [You look like a girl who would be up for a little fun.] The man said, his speech slurred from alcohol. He reached for Elizabeth again but she was quicker, her knee shot up with lightening speed striking its intended target. The blow to the crotch dropped the drunk instantly and he withered on the floor. Elizabeth looked down and said, “Ich weiss nicht wie es dir geht aber ich hab das spassig gefunden.” [I don’t know about you but I think that was fun.
Liz stepped around the fallen guy and held back the urge to kick him. What a jerk thinking that he could molest her and she wouldn’t care. And what the hell did he mean about her outfit? She was dressed like all the other girls in the club, she had made sure of that even though it was a little too chilly out for what she was wearing. But she liked the look, even the wig. The length varied throughout giving it a tousled look. It was way shorter than she had ever worn her hair. The disguises were probably her favorite part of missions, you could make yourself look anyway you wanted.
“It seems I am not the only one who enjoys your outfit.” Liz heard Sark comment through the comm. in the earring in her left ear. The voice piece was in her right one, sensitive enough to pick up her voice.
“Oh, shut up. This comm. is not for you to be making little snide comments.” Liz retorted. “Maier will be showing up at any time so cut the chatter unless it’s needed.”
Surprisingly, Sark accepted what she said and the music was all she heard as Liz proceeded across the floor of the club. She wanted to be as close to the door to the stairwell as possible when she heard the meeting between Sark and Maier begin. That way she could get in and out as quickly as possible. But first she had to get the key card off one of the employees. She had already watched several of the staff and saw that they kept the key cards in the front pocket of their uniform shirts.
When Liz reached the edge of the floor, she saw a nearby bouncer surveying the crowd and figured he’d be as good a mark as any. She stumbled over to him, crashing into him as if she had had too much to drink. The bouncer was obviously used to people stumbling about and helped her to her feet. “Vielleicht waere es besser wenn Sie sich hinsetzen.” [Perhaps it would be better if you sat down.]
“Danke, aber es geht mir gut. Da ist allerdings ein junger Mann auf der Tanzflaeche der ausschaut als ob er ein bisschen Hilfe gebrauchen koennte. Er liegt am Boden und haelt sich den Bauch, ich glaub er muss sich übergeben.” [Thanks, but I’m fine. There was a guy out on the floor though that looks like he could use some help. He’s on the floor holding his stomach, I think he’s going to puke].
The possibility of having to deal with a mess on the dance floor overrode his concern for her unsteady feet and he disappeared into the crowd. At the same time, Liz left her spot and headed for the stairs. She reached the public stairs and headed for the second floor. When she reached the second floor landing, she looked around and cringed at the décor.
The room was decked out with leopard printed furniture and if she wasn’t mistaken, it looked like a go go dancer was performing in the middle. But she quickly forgot the dancer as she heard Maier’s arrival through the comm.
“Ah, Herr Sark. Wie nett Sie hier in meinem Club begruessen zu duerfen. .” [Ah, Mr. Sark. How nice it is to have you here in my club.]
“Mit dem Angebot dass Sie mir gemacht haben konnte ich nicht widerstehen.” [With the offer you made, I could not resist.] Liz heard Sark respond. She quickened her pace as she listened to Maier ask Sark if he wanted something to drink. Soon she reached the top floor and headed for the door she knew would lead her to the above floors. Although she knew he couldn’t respond, she said. “Sark, I’m at the access door and about to go in.”
Liz reached down into the top part of her boot and slipped out the key card that she had swiped off the guard. She fleetingly thought of what Sheriff Valenti would think if he knew how capable a pickpocket she could be if she needed to be. Although he had done his fair share of breaking the law when he thought he was doing the right thing. That’s what Liz was doing, working to protect the public from the likes of Maier.
Liz quickly inserted the key into the lock and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the light go from red to green. She turned the knob and shoved the door open, sliding inside quickly and shutting the door behind her. The hallway was clear, all of the employees busy seeing to the needs of their customers down below.
Liz advanced to the end of the hall to where the other staircase began, coming across the room that Sark and Maier were currently meeting in. She could hear them discussing Sark’s trip to Vienna through her comm. but no sound passed through the door. She took the stairs two at a time, a feat that wasn’t easy with the heel height of her boots, and soon found herself on the correct floor.
Maier’s office was the only room on the floor and she entered it quickly, but cautiously. Maier could have left guards or others in his office in case he suspected Sark of double crossing him. However he hadn’t and the office was clean. She sat down at the desk chair, pulling off the cell phone from where it was clipped to her hip before taking out the heel of her boot. She connected the two before linking it up to the hard drive. Once that was done, she got to work exploring the files.
Anything in bold print is supposed to be conversation through comm links.
PART 19
All of the arrangements that Sark had set up to secure his arrival in Vienna went off flawlessly and he arrived at Nachtschicht at the appointed time. He dismissed the hired driver, telling him that he would phone when he required his service. Sark would have driven himself but he knew that Maier would expect him to be chauffeured and he had to play into that. He bypassed the line of people who were waiting to enter the club and went straight to the doormen, announcing his arrival. It only took a minute before one of the doormen led him inside and up to the top floor then to the door he had told Elizabeth about.
On the other side, another man awaited them; Sark instantly sized him up to be one of the security guards. He was to be Sark’s escort. But before he led him any farther inside, the guard waved an electronic sensor over Sark, checking him for bugs and the like. He had anticipated the security search that was why he had not activated his Com link to Elizabeth. When the device did not go off, the guard was satisfied that Sark was not wired and led him down the hall. However the device only searched for electronic devices and guard had not checked to see if Sark was armed, which he was. They proceeded up the staircase at the end of the hall one flight until the doorman opened a side door that led to the private meeting room.
As Sark entered, he instantly observed that the room was empty. He had expected it; Maier was always one to make an entrance. But he took the opportunity to give the room a once over. It was a lavish room, with thick carpeting and plush chairs and sofas. There was a full bar along one wall, the glasses and bottles flickered from the overhead lights. The opposing wall consisted of the one-way mirror that spanned the width of the wall giving a superb view of the dance floor below. Sark strolled over to the mirror and gazed down at the crowd of dancers below.
Despite the fact that he knew that Elizabeth was among the mass of dancers, it took him several minutes to pick her out. He had not seen her since leaving Los Angeles and had not been privy to her disguise choice. She had done well in disguising herself, she blended perfect with the surrounding crowd right down to the black leather boots that Marshall had furnished. The tops of the boots reached mid thigh yet still feel several inches short of the bottom of her black skirt, leaving her creamy flesh exposed.
The show of skin continued with her top, a dark red halter-top that left her shoulders, back and midriff bare. She topped off the look with a shorthaired black one wig with highlights that matched her shirt. While it was not a style Sark typically cared for he found it strangely sexy.
Sark knew that Maier would be joining him soon so he nonchalantly crossed his arms at the wrists, pushing the button on his watch that activated his Com link. The watch worked as the transmitter so that Elizabeth would overhear while a small piece in his ear worked as the receiver so she could transmit to him if needed. As it turned on, the music that pounded below exploded into his ear but then tapered off as the receiver adjusted. Then with minimal movement of his lips, he said. “I must say Elizabeth, your aptitude for disguise is first rate.”
“So happy you approve.” Elizabeth responded. Sark saw her discreetly glancing up in his direction. “I’m guessing that you are in position?”
“Yes, awaiting the arrival of my host.” Sark answered.
“Hopefully he will arrive shortly. I’m ready to get out of here.” Elizabeth replied just as a nearby male dancer grabbed her from behind.
Sark watched and listened in amusement as she dealt with the vulgar transgressor. “Hey, finger weg.” [Hey, watch your hands.]
“Du schaust aus wie ein Maedchen dass gern ein bißchen Spass hat.” [You look like a girl who would be up for a little fun.] The man said, his speech slurred from alcohol. He reached for Elizabeth again but she was quicker, her knee shot up with lightening speed striking its intended target. The blow to the crotch dropped the drunk instantly and he withered on the floor. Elizabeth looked down and said, “Ich weiss nicht wie es dir geht aber ich hab das spassig gefunden.” [I don’t know about you but I think that was fun.
Liz stepped around the fallen guy and held back the urge to kick him. What a jerk thinking that he could molest her and she wouldn’t care. And what the hell did he mean about her outfit? She was dressed like all the other girls in the club, she had made sure of that even though it was a little too chilly out for what she was wearing. But she liked the look, even the wig. The length varied throughout giving it a tousled look. It was way shorter than she had ever worn her hair. The disguises were probably her favorite part of missions, you could make yourself look anyway you wanted.
“It seems I am not the only one who enjoys your outfit.” Liz heard Sark comment through the comm. in the earring in her left ear. The voice piece was in her right one, sensitive enough to pick up her voice.
“Oh, shut up. This comm. is not for you to be making little snide comments.” Liz retorted. “Maier will be showing up at any time so cut the chatter unless it’s needed.”
Surprisingly, Sark accepted what she said and the music was all she heard as Liz proceeded across the floor of the club. She wanted to be as close to the door to the stairwell as possible when she heard the meeting between Sark and Maier begin. That way she could get in and out as quickly as possible. But first she had to get the key card off one of the employees. She had already watched several of the staff and saw that they kept the key cards in the front pocket of their uniform shirts.
When Liz reached the edge of the floor, she saw a nearby bouncer surveying the crowd and figured he’d be as good a mark as any. She stumbled over to him, crashing into him as if she had had too much to drink. The bouncer was obviously used to people stumbling about and helped her to her feet. “Vielleicht waere es besser wenn Sie sich hinsetzen.” [Perhaps it would be better if you sat down.]
“Danke, aber es geht mir gut. Da ist allerdings ein junger Mann auf der Tanzflaeche der ausschaut als ob er ein bisschen Hilfe gebrauchen koennte. Er liegt am Boden und haelt sich den Bauch, ich glaub er muss sich übergeben.” [Thanks, but I’m fine. There was a guy out on the floor though that looks like he could use some help. He’s on the floor holding his stomach, I think he’s going to puke].
The possibility of having to deal with a mess on the dance floor overrode his concern for her unsteady feet and he disappeared into the crowd. At the same time, Liz left her spot and headed for the stairs. She reached the public stairs and headed for the second floor. When she reached the second floor landing, she looked around and cringed at the décor.
The room was decked out with leopard printed furniture and if she wasn’t mistaken, it looked like a go go dancer was performing in the middle. But she quickly forgot the dancer as she heard Maier’s arrival through the comm.
“Ah, Herr Sark. Wie nett Sie hier in meinem Club begruessen zu duerfen. .” [Ah, Mr. Sark. How nice it is to have you here in my club.]
“Mit dem Angebot dass Sie mir gemacht haben konnte ich nicht widerstehen.” [With the offer you made, I could not resist.] Liz heard Sark respond. She quickened her pace as she listened to Maier ask Sark if he wanted something to drink. Soon she reached the top floor and headed for the door she knew would lead her to the above floors. Although she knew he couldn’t respond, she said. “Sark, I’m at the access door and about to go in.”
Liz reached down into the top part of her boot and slipped out the key card that she had swiped off the guard. She fleetingly thought of what Sheriff Valenti would think if he knew how capable a pickpocket she could be if she needed to be. Although he had done his fair share of breaking the law when he thought he was doing the right thing. That’s what Liz was doing, working to protect the public from the likes of Maier.
Liz quickly inserted the key into the lock and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the light go from red to green. She turned the knob and shoved the door open, sliding inside quickly and shutting the door behind her. The hallway was clear, all of the employees busy seeing to the needs of their customers down below.
Liz advanced to the end of the hall to where the other staircase began, coming across the room that Sark and Maier were currently meeting in. She could hear them discussing Sark’s trip to Vienna through her comm. but no sound passed through the door. She took the stairs two at a time, a feat that wasn’t easy with the heel height of her boots, and soon found herself on the correct floor.
Maier’s office was the only room on the floor and she entered it quickly, but cautiously. Maier could have left guards or others in his office in case he suspected Sark of double crossing him. However he hadn’t and the office was clean. She sat down at the desk chair, pulling off the cell phone from where it was clipped to her hip before taking out the heel of her boot. She connected the two before linking it up to the hard drive. Once that was done, she got to work exploring the files.