Friend or Foe (Seq,Alias,XO,UC,ADULT) {Complete} 10/15

[LittleBit]

PART 21

It was dark when the caravan reached the fringes of Roswell, a detail that helped cloak their movements. The seating arrangements inside the vehicles changed again, Michael back in his and Maria’s car with Liz back in the rental. But before they headed into town, Liz gave some last minute instructions about vehicle approaches and arrangements and handed out some necessary comm. equipment so that they could stay in contact.

Once they actually entered the city limits, they used the side streets and alleys until the jeep holding the fugitives were in the alley behind the Crashdown. They had decided that the best point of entry into the apartment above the Crashdown was through Liz’s old fire escape. So Liz pulled the jeep up as close as possible to the ladder before shifting into Park.

As they had drove into town, Sark had gathered all of the gear that he and Elizabeth would be able to carry so that as soon as the vehicle had halted, he could hand off her portion and they could exit the jeep as quick as possible. Hence when she parked the car, Sark began passing her pack to her while she spoke to Alex.

“I want you to take this jeep to Michael and Maria’s and stow it in the garage. The CIA will investigate any vehicles they see around my friends, they won’t be able to track down whose it is, but the obscurity will be like a neon sign. Then after it’s locked down, Maria’s got a room ready for you.”

“What?” Alex asked surprised. “Not that I don’t love the idea of spending some time with Maria but why? I should be here with you guys in case something happens.”

“Something happening is why I don’t want you here.” Liz stated. “The CIA have still not connected you with us so if things get heated, you can walk away.”

“That risk has always been there.” Alex argued.

“Yes, it has but you were always hidden some place safely away that would give you a chance to escape if you needed to. Now, that contingency is not there. I’m not cutting you out completely or forever, just making sure that you are distanced from us at the moment.” Liz explained. “We’ve still got our comms and phones so we can be in constant communication and you can relay any information you find out.”

“No.” Alex stated firmly as he reached for the door handle. “I’m sticking. If you don’t like it, then I guess you’ll just have to do something like shoot me to stop me.”

Sark watched the stand off between the two friends to see who would win. He knew that Elizabeth would never typically harm Alex, unless she considered it to be for his own good. Something she might be willing to do at the present time if she considered his sister and her team a sufficient threat.

So to avoid Elizabeth doing something that she would later feel guilty about, Sark spoke up to try to mediate. “Elizabeth, it is his decision.”

Liz switched her gaze from Alex to Sark, glaring at her lover for not siding with her, and worse for being right in what he said. “Hey, you never know, maybe if we’re lucky, he can be in an adjoining cell.”

Alex realized that Liz’s sarcastic remark was her way of conceding to his demands. He tired not to look like he was gloating as he packed up his laptop quickly and stuffed it in his pack. As he did, he heard a gruff voice through the comm. “What’s taking you guys so long?”

“There’s been a change of plans,” Liz said to answer Michael’s inquiry. “Alex’s not going with you, instead he’s going to bunk with Sark and I at the café.”

“What about the jeep? Are we still hiding it?” Maria asked.

“You can park it over at the UFO museum. There’s the old loading dock that Brody hasn’t used in more than a year, you can pull it right in. He’s gone for a week.” Max said interrupting.

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll drive it over now, and then sneak back over. Is the coast clear?” Liz answered as Sark and Alex finished removing the gear from the jeep. She put her hand over her comm. microphone and spoke to Alex. “Get up the ladder and into my old room. I’ll be up in a minute.”

Alex nodded as Michael spoke in her ear again. “The only activity is at the other end of Main Street.”

“Then I’m coming out.” Liz said as she started the jeep again, and pulled out of the alley. Liz immediately spotted both Max’s jeep and Michael’s car; parked at different positions so to best watch the street. Main Street was indeed empty on this end so it wasn’t too hard to cross the road without being spotted.

It had been years but Liz remembered the dock that Max had pointed out. When she had worked with her parents at the café and they had catered different events at the UFO Center, the dock was where they had delivered the food. So she quickly pulled up to it and climbed out. She tugged on the handle to open it and naturally found it locked.

After they had seen Liz cross the street, Max had pulled his and Tess’s jeep out of its spot to follow. He knew that the loading doors would be locked and Liz wouldn’t be able to get them open to park her car inside. By the time they caught up with Liz, she was already out of her vehicle and standing in front of the door. And the next thing he knew, she was yanking on the door handle and it slide up effortlessly.

Max and Tess got out of the car, meeting Liz as she reached her jeep. Max looked at the door puzzled, “The door was locked, how did you get it open?”

“I have my ways.” Liz said with a sly smile before displaying something in her hand. Tess and Max recognized that it was a small set of tools, and they figured out that they were lock-picking tools. Despite everything they had learned, it came as a surprise but Liz just smiled. “I needed to get in, it was locked.”

“That’s why we came over, Max was going to unlock it.” Tess informed Liz.

“Well now he doesn’t have.” Liz responded as she climbed into her jeep and drove it inside.

With all their gear with Alex and Sark, Liz had nothing to carry except for her pack so she didn’t linger in the garage. Instead she hopped out quickly and once she was outside, helped Max to pull the door shut. A quick pass of his hand and the door found itself locked again. “Well now that this is all locked up tight, I better get across the street.”

“I’ll go with you,” Tess offered. “Well not all the way with you. I’ll stay on this side of the street and make sure that you aren’t seen.”

Liz was about to argue that she could slip across the street easily without either alien’s help but changed her mind. She knew that Tess was just trying to help; she had been doing nothing but since their talk at the dome, so she went along with her. When they reached the end of the alleyway that emptied into Main Street, Liz scanned the street. It appeared to be empty, so she nodded goodbye to Tess and darted across the street. She had short legs, but she had learned along time ago how to run fast.

In under a minute, she was across the street and she slowed her pace back to a walk. She turned and waved backed to Tess while speaking into her comm. “We are all set for the night here.”

“We’ll be back for you tomorrow.” Maria confirmed. The plan was for her to borrow her mom’s delivery van and come pick them up the next morning to drive to the funeral. Max would also be driving; he and ‘Tess’ would ride in their vehicle while Maria, Michael, Alex would ride in the van, with Sark and the real Tess hidden in the back. Not the best of plans according to Liz but a workable one. “Be careful.”

“Of course.” Liz replied before continuing around the building and down the alley.

Liz found her steps dragging as she approached the ladder that lead to what was once her balcony. While the logical side of her mind told her that staying at the café was the best strategic location to stay at, her heart said something else to her. This was the building where so many changes in her life had occurred. She had been healed here, Future Max had come with him damning knowledge to pull the rug out from under her life, and most importantly her father had been killed there. She had face a lot of things in her life but she wasn’t sure if she could do this.

Liz reached the top of the ladder and climbed over the low wall onto the balcony. But instead of looking around, she headed straight for her old window. As she reached it, she took a deep breath before climbing through.

[LittleBit]

PART 22

The first thing Liz noticed when she entered the room was how empty it appeared. Most of her old furniture like her bed, dresser and desk were still there but so much other stuff was missing. Like all of the bits and pieces that made the room her own. She didn’t know why she was surprised; it had been years since she had actually lived in the room. As a matter of fact the last time she had been in her room, when she had come back to Roswell after her father died, she had taken the last of her stuff that she had wanted and told her mom to do what she wanted with the rest. But it was quite different to see it all absent.

Her approach must have been loud because Liz had only been in her room a minute before Sark appeared in the doorway. She turned to face him as she said, “So is it what you expected after hearing me talk about it?”

Sark nodded. “More or less. Is the jeep secured?”

“Yes. I locked it down, as long as Max’s boss stays out of town and away from the area, it should be safe.” Liz explained. “Where’s Alex?”

“In the living room, he believes that he is close to locating the signal the CIA is utilizing and wanted to set up. He appeared to be familiar with the layout of the apartment so I left him to himself.”

“He knows it almost as well as I do.” Liz commented. “Or did anyways. It has been years since either of us has stepped into this building.”

Sark noticed how Elizabeth had wrapped her arms around herself, not because she was cold but for comfort. This trip back to her hometown of Roswell had been exhausted her emotionally and he had a feeling that it would be getting worse before it would get better. And despite all of his own experience, he had never undergone anything close to what Elizabeth was going though so he was not certain of what to do to help her. So he gave her space for the moment until he could see what she wanted. “Perhaps it would be better to find another secure location.”

“No.” Liz said shaking her head. “No, I’ll be fine. I want to check out the rest of the building and make sure that everything is locked.”

Sark followed Elizabeth out of the bedroom and towards the main room of the apartment. The rest of the apartment was in a similar state as the bedroom, bare but not empty. But she did not stop in the main room but continued on to a large door. On the other side was a staircase, leading down to what Sark assumed was the restaurant. Elizabeth had described enough of the building during their time together that he was familiar with it and could place the details easily.

If Liz thought being in her old room was unpleasant, then being in the café was dreadful. A thousand memories haunted her like ghosts, good and bad. She pointed to the area by the waitresses’ station. “That’s where I was standing when I got shot, Maria and I had just gotten done talking…”

Liz’s words trailed off when she caught sight of the cash register. That was where her mom had found her dad lying in a pool of his own blood. When he had died, Liz had felt an enormous amount of guilt that she had survived her shooting when her father had not. Why couldn’t Max have been there when her dad was shot too? Or if she had been there instead of away at college could she have done something to stop it from happening? She didn’t know. And at the moment, the walls of the café seemed to be closing in on her and she couldn’t breathe. She needed a reprieve and she wasn’t going to get it if she stayed here. “I can’t be here. I’ve got to get out.”

Elizabeth moved to rush out the door but before she got out, Sark stepped in front of her to stop her. However one look into her pleading eyes told him that he had to let her go. So he leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss on her lips. “Be mindful of what is around you.”

Liz nodded before she went through the kitchen, out the back door and into the alley.

~*~*~*~*~*

As she wandered the streets of Roswell, Liz felt an odd sense of déjà vu. Well actually two of them for the reason that it stemmed from two separate memories. Memories of other times when she had felt at risk in the town she’d grown up in. The first one was the night her journal had gone missing. That was the first night she had ever felt as if the shadows had eyes and she had never looked at the darkness the same way again.

The second incident that fluttered through her memory was when the Skins had attacked the town. She knew it was naiveté but she had never expected their enemies to attack in broad daylight. She had thought that they would want to work under cover of night. So it had been extremely disconcerting to come back into town to find everyone gone.

The skins had known what they were doing when they had set off the time dimensional device, they had wanted to separate the hybrids from the shelter that the townspeople gave them without even knowing it. The occupants of the town provided a crowd to hide in and with them gone; they were an easy target. Liz wondered if things would have gone differently if she had already had had the training and experience she had now. But that was something she would only have to imagine because it wasn’t as if it would ever happen.

Liz heard a faint noise a head of her and it caused her to stop in her tracks. She was on the opposite end of town from the café, in the more resident and local shops versus the tourist district and the shops were closed. Despite the late hour, someone was out and about and something inside her caused Liz to reach into the small of her back withdraw her weapon.

Only a minute went by before Liz saw who it was as a shadow emerged from the other end of sidewalk she was on. “Hey Sydney, it’s been a while.”

“That it has been, almost a year and a half, longer since we spoke.” Sydney said, surprised as much as Liz at their run in. She had told Vaughn, Weiss and the rest of their team that she was merely going to take a walk around to get some air, she had not anticipated actually running into Liz. But here they were in the middle of the town, fifty feet away from each other at a stand off with weapons aimed at each other. “You seem surprised to see me but not that I’m here.”

“We figured that the CIA would send someone after they heard my mom had died.” Liz explained, she didn’t wanted to reveal that they had already known exactly who they had sent or any of the other Intel they had acquired. It would give away the advantages that they had.

“It wasn’t my idea.” Sydney blurted out. “I’m sorry to hear about your mom. I don’t like taking advantage of your grief to capture you, or Julian. He is after all here with you isn’t he?”

“Do you think I would answer that regardless of whether he was here or not? That wouldn’t be very smart of me would it?” Liz answered.

“In all seriousness,” Sydney began, “how is he?”

Liz saw the concern in Sydney’s eyes and knew that she was genuinely interested in Sark’s well being. “He’s fine but you know him, he’s always fine.”

“And you?” Sydney inquired.

“I’m as good as to be expected, I might not have been too close to my mom but I miss her.” Liz admitted. “And you know that if you aren’t happy about the circumstances of your assignment, you could always let me go and leave Roswell.”

“I have my orders, my team and I have to stay in Roswell until either the funeral is concluded or we have you and/or Sark in custody.” Sydney stated. “Something that could have been avoided if my brother would have kept to the arrangement he agreed on and you had not gone with him.”

“Tell me something Sydney, if positions had been reversed and it had been you who had to choose to flee with your Agent Vaughn or stay around, what would you have done?” Liz asked although she was already certain of the answer. And it was confirmed when Sydney failed to answer. “That’s what I thought.”

“We aren’t talking about me, Vaughn would have done what he said he was going to and gone to prison instead of tranqing you and leaving.” Sydney declared.

Liz chewed on her lip for a minute before saying, “I didn’t get a chance to say anything last time but I am sorry about doing that, I had no choice. You would have done something extreme to keep Julian in Los Angeles and I had to stop you. It could have been worse.”

“True.” Sydney acknowledged. “And I accept your apology.”

“But you’re asking yourself what I am willing to do to get myself out of my current situation.” Liz speculated. “Am I willing to shoot you to keep from going to prison?”

“The thought had crossed my mind.” Sydney admitted.

“Well I’m not going to, shoot you that is. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to shoot something else.” Liz said as she quickly snapped her gun so that it was above Sydney’s head and squeezed the trigger of her gun twice.

The bullets hit their mark and the sign that was above Sydney came crashing down. With her honed reflexes Sydney had no difficulty dodging the fallen debris but it caused enough distraction that Liz was able to escape. She reversed her course, going back the way she had come but only as far as the next break between the buildings. As she ducked into the alley, she heard Sydney pursuing her but Liz was confident that she would loose her shortly. Downtown Roswell was a maze of alleys and side streets and although it had been awhile, Liz was familiar with all of them while Sydney wasn’t. And as she ran, Liz couldn’t help but remember last and only time her and Sark had ran into Sydney since they had left Los Angeles.

[LittleBit]

Here is the flashback from when Sydney ran into Liz and Sark. It's probably not as confrontational as some would like but I hope you like.

PART 23

PRAGUE-EIGHTEEN MONTHS BEFORE

The ballroom looked like a scene out of a nineteenth century novel. The room was filled with beautiful tapestries, antique furniture, and lighting fixtures that looked like oil lamps. Of course the fact that the building was even older than the nineteenth century helped the ambience of the party. It was in fact a palace, commonly referred to as the Belvedere, in Prague and was presently overflowing with the revelry of a masque. Everywhere one looked, there were people dressed in formal clothes, their faces adorned with glittering masks to concealing their faces.

Despite the fact that for her and Sark were attending this event for business purposes, Liz was very much enjoying herself. Like the other attendees, Liz was dressed in formal wear and mask. Her floor length gown was black silk and was fitted and molded to her curves perfectly. Straps that were only an inch thick held it up. The neckline plunged down, displaying both her diamond necklace and the cleavage of the bodice without being indecent.

There was a slit up the right side of the skirt, which allowed Liz to show off some leg as well was her two inch ________ heels. The dress itself was a Donna Karen. Her mask had been acquired to complement her gown and hid the top part of her face and her hair was piled around her neck and shoulders in thick curls.

Liz’s attention was pulled from her people watching to gaze at her lover who was making his way back to their table with two flutes of champagne. Sark was dressed in a black Armani tuxedo, with a full coat and vest. The tuxedo was a classic cut, complete with black tie. While Liz was accustomed to see him dressed in suits, it was the first time she had seen him dressed in a tux and she found she had to stop herself from drooling. She smiled seductively as she took the flute from him. “I don’t suppose it would be appropriate for us to sneak out now would it?”

“No, I think our host would frown upon a premature exit and that could hinder our prospects of doing business with him.” Sark explained.

“Too bad because I was just contemplating what sexually devious thing I could do to you.” Liz said as she took a sip of from her glass.

“While the offer is extremely tempting, I must decline.” Sark stated, sounding reluctant. “But can I tempt you with a dance as an alternative?”

“I guess it’ll have to do.” Liz said with a pout as she placed her hand in his and allowed him to lead her to the dance floor. On their third waltz, Liz spotted a disguised but familiar figure at the edge of the floor close to the tables. It set off an inner warning bell that caused her to scan the room for any others that were there as well and spotted one other person.

Liz knew that her body had tensed instinctively at the spotting and that Sark had noticed when she heard his voice whisper in her ear. “Elizabeth?”

“Don’t turn around.” Liz declared. While he heeded her advice, he did pull back far enough so that they were face to face. She frowned slightly as she explained, “If you turn around you’ll see that Sydney and Vaughn are crashing the party and then our night will be ruined.”

Sark smirked at her before leaning forward to kiss her briefly. “Do not worry, I doubt that they are here for us. No trail exists to lead them to us here. It is most likely that they are here to for another reason, there are after all several people here of questionable affiliations.”

Liz nodded in reply, she knew that he was most likely correct that Sydney was here for another purpose other then them. She knew that their host was a dealer in ‘acquired’ intelligence and several of the guests were buyers not to mention businessmen of another sort. That was why her and Sark were there, to set up relations and enlarge their list of contacts for their own enterprise. “We ought to keep an eye on them to see what they are doing. That way we are aware of who they may be watching and if we are doing business with them.”

“I agree.” Sark stated.

“I’ll take Sydney, you follow Vaughn. Stay in contact.” Liz said as she pulled out of his arms and left the dance floor. She moved around the crowd, talking to the people casually as she moved toward Sydney’s position. She had to admit that Sydney’s costume was good, and most people would not recognize her at first or even a second glance but Liz had. However Liz knew she had to be careful, the familiarity that she had of Sydney could also work against her if Sydney was able to do the same thing.

It seemed that she waited forever before Sydney finally made her move. Liz had to excuse herself from the conversation she was partaking in and follow her to stairs leading to the second floor. She had to lag behind so not to be spotted but it wasn’t difficult keeping track of the bright red of Sydney’s dress.

Sydney stopped at the second floor instead of going to the top floor, and into one of the private suites there. These suites were used for some of the guests at the party, that way they didn’t have to travel somewhere at the end of the party when they wanted to crash. Sark and her had been offered one but had declined it. They had chosen to select their own accommodations so to assure themselves of their security.

Liz waited until Sydney entered the suite she guessed she was looking for before she herself approached the door. She didn’t want to alert Sydney to her presence and didn’t have any surveillance equipment on her so she had to rely on an old school method, she pressed her ear to the door. She could hear faint noises through the door but not much else, so she decided to see how Sark was doing. She activated the small comm. that she had on her, “Julian?”

Surprisingly Liz received no response on the other end, causing uneasiness within her. Enough so that she pulled away from the door and backtracked a little until she reached the end of the hall. “Julian, answer me.”

A faint static came through her ear pierce before the sound of a struggle could be heard, and what sounded like two men grunting. It was enough of a signal to tell Liz that Sark was in some kind of struggle. Which could only mean that he had been spotted, something that was confirmed a minute later. “Our location has been compromised, get out Elizabeth!”

Liz turned to leave when she heard the doorway at the other end of the hall open and she saw Sydney come out the door, Liz had no doubt that she too had been alerted to what was going on. So Liz did the first thing that she could think of, she brought her leg up and kicked as hard as she could on the glass shielding a nearby fire alarm. Once that was done, she reached through the shattered glass and rested her hand on the switch before turning to look at Sydney who was still down the hall. Liz gave her a big smile as she yanked on down on the switch, triggering the alarm.

A loud siren blasted through the corridors as Liz ran down the staircase and joined the mass below. It was chaotic but she had planned on it that was why she had pulled the alarm. It would create adequate pandemonium to allow her and Sark to slip out. As she exited the palace, she lost sight of Sydney but kept herself wary of who could be around. She didn’t see anyone from the CIA but she did see Sark, his tux disheveled and scrap on his cheek. “What happened to you?”

“It seems that my sister’s lover and I had a difference of opinion, he thought I should go willingly into custody and I did not. A struggle ensued but broke up when the alarm was sounded.” Sark answered as he looked back at the building, “I believe we have worn out our welcome, let us leave.”

“Looks like I’ll be getting you out of the tux almost as soon as I wanted.” Liz said as she smiled slyly as they left.

Liz crisscrossed and backtracked around the streets of Roswell until she was sure that neither Sydney nor anyone else was behind her. Then she worked her way back to the café, even going so far as to climb up one of the fire escapes and moving from roof to roof for a few buildings before climbing down again. When she finally made it to the café, she found Sark on her balcony, lying in her old lounger. It was obvious that he was waiting for her. “You were gone longer than I anticipated. I was being to worry.”

“Sorry, but your sister kind of held me up.” Liz answered.

Sark’s eyebrow raised up like a question mark “And how was your visit?”

“More advantageous then the last one, we at least spoke in this one.” Liz replied as she sat down next to him. “Talked about what happened, I apologized, talked about you.”

“And I’m sure she sent her love.” Sark remarked.

“Yes, and no.” Liz stated as she reclined against his chest

“Are you still planning on attending the funeral tomorrow?” Sark asked.

“Yes, I’m not letting this stop me. We knew that the CIA was most likely going to be there and the only difference now is that we know for sure.” Liz declared.

“Alex was able to get a trace on the comm. signal so we sill be able to eavesdrop on their movements tomorrow.” Sark stated as he began to run his hand through her hair. They stayed like that for several hours before retreating inside.

[LittleBit]

Sorry that I was late with the update today but Christmas came early for us. I know you'll all thinking that I'm insane but let me explain. Most of you know that my husband, son and me moved recently across country from our families. One of my uncles decided he wanted to make sure that we could be home for Christmas without having to pay huge fees to the airlines for waiting until now to make our reservations.(I just got clearance from my doctor to travel despite my pregnancy but only by the skin of my teeth).

Anyway, my uncle cashed in all of his frequent flyer miles and sent us vouchers for tickets. They came in the mail today and since I could only use them at the ticket desk, I had to go to the airport to get them not that it bugged me at all but it did take some time. Hence why I'm late getting this posted.

Okay, now I'll shut up and let you read.

PART 24

After they were both inside the window and inside of her old room, Liz knew that she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep anytime soon. The combination of adrenaline, tension, anticipation and regret was taking a toll on her. Usually she wouldn’t like that but right now it was a good thing that she wasn’t sleepy because what she wanted more then anything at the moment was the comfort of Sark’s body. She turned around to face him and ran her hands up his chest before wrapping her arms around his neck to pull his head down to kiss him.

At the feeling of her lips, Sark slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her close up against his body. The harder she kissed him, the more his grip tightened as he tried to pull their bodies even closer together. She grinned as she began to suck on his lower lip, eliciting a deep moan radiating from his chest. Liz pulled back as much as she could to breathe, but Sark refused to loosen his hold on her. He swiftly pulled her lips to his again and backed her toward the bed.

Liz felt his fingers tracing along the line of the waistband of her pants. She nodded wordlessly in agreement and felt him undo them and begin to work them over her hips. She wriggled a little to help him; brushing against his rather prominent hardness. Free of her trousers Liz took a step backwards, finding the back of her legs against the bed. Sark followed her backwards, lifting her shirt off of her in one smooth motion before starting to kiss her again.

They stayed locked together as they lowered to the bed. But when they were completely stretched out on the bed, Sark took his lips away from hers to slowly began kissing his way over her neck and then down to her breast. He took one nipple in his mouth and rolled the other between his finger and thumb. She arched her back as heat swept through her and when she did, her bare chest came into contact with Sark’s clothed one.

Liz reached down and seized a hold of his shirt to pull him back up to her mouth. She ran her tongue slowly over his lips as they kissed even as her fingers found their way to his shirt, pulling it up towards his head. Her hands were suddenly covered by Sark’s and he pushed them down to her sides on the mattress. He sat back on his legs and quickly pulled the shirt off of him then laid his body down on hers. Liz took no time in wrapping her legs around his hips, pushing their sexes together and silently cursing the fact that his trousers and her panties were still in the way as she thrust her lower body against him.

After unwrapping her legs from around waist, Sark quickly pulling her underwear down her legs. Liz felt him pushed her thighs apart slightly making room for his hand and then his fingers where pressing lightly against her flesh. The side of his hand rubbed against her, sliding up and down the wet opening and occasionally dipping inside. The slight teasing friction swept through Liz and she attempted to wriggle down and increase the contact. But his firm hands kept her from doing so.

Liz felt herself starting to tremble, desperate to rub her thighs together and yet finding the action impossible as Sark scooted down her body. Liz arched her back, knowing what was about to happen next and still shivering in delight as she felt him make the first sweep with his tongue. Her stomach tensed with the shudder of pleasure and Liz bucked her hips slightly.

Sark dipped his head against her thighs and she felt him take hold of her hips, holding them firmly against the bed as his tongue made the first of several pushes inside of her. He built up a peculiar unpredictable rhythm of pushing inside her, sliding against her walls and then drawing out and circling the sensitive sides, teasing her with tiny flicking movements against her clit that sent Liz into a delirium.

Her eyes rolled back in her head and she barely noticed when Sark’s fingers left her hips until they were pushed inside of her in a deep thrust. She began to shake, deep groans coming from low inside her chest intermittently spaced by the sound of her letting out breathy little pleading noises. He brought her to the edge again and again, drawing back each time just before she came until Liz honestly believed she might be going mad from it.

Sark crawled his way back up her body and settled himself between her legs. When Liz started moving her hips rhythmically against him for friction he brought his mouth to hers again. He took a hold of her hips to steady her and lifting them as he shifted himself forwards until she could feel him pressing lightly against her wet folds.

His hands pushed her legs further apart until Liz groaned at the dull ache in her hips. Sark moved forward slipping inside her and stretching her, making Liz moan as well as himself. He balanced himself on his forearms as they moved together. She arched her hips to meet his thrusts and they both breathed heavily as the sweat glistened on their bodies.

Sark drew his head back, then moving forwards to nibble her lower lip. His lips quickly covered hers and Liz found herself darting her tongue out eagerly to stroke his in an effort to draw more of the taste that was uniquely his. But he eventually abandoned her lips entirely as he moved to her jaw and then down to the sensitive flesh of her neck even as he braced himself with one hand and slowly drew out of her.

Tiny pinpricks of pleasure resonated inside of Liz as he did so and the successive sensation was no less amazing as he applied some pressure to her clit as he pressed himself back inside. She felt his teeth, blunt against her neck and he bit down lightly making Liz swallow deeply in order to suppress her cry. Her lower body bucked against his as she attempted to encourage him and within seconds Liz felt him begin to deepen his thrusts, putting more of his strength behind them.

Sark’s lips left her neck as he began to move quicker and stole short, vicious little kisses from her lips as Liz raised her neck in an effort to take them back. Her nails dug into him as her body shook, the pleasure encompassing her being. Her walls clasped around him, which brought him to his release as well. After she milked him for all he had, he collapsed on top of her, burying his head in her neck.

They laid like that for several minutes, Liz enjoying the weight of his body on top of her. His arms were under her back, caressing the flesh while she felt his soft breath on her chest. A part of her felt like she never wanted to leave the room, just wanted to lay there in her lover’s arms forever. But she knew she couldn’t. She had to face the next day, she had to face burying her mother and becoming an orphan.

[LittleBit]

PART 25

Liz barely slept despite the lethargy she felt after making love to Sark. So it wasn’t a surprise that she was up early the next morning almost from the time that the sun came up. She had to keep herself from going nuts as she waited for the others to show up so that she could begin getting ready for the funeral.

Maria watched from the side as Liz opened a large tube of makeup and began to rub it on face. The makeup was pale in color and quickly lightened Liz’s tanned skin significantly. As she applied it, Maria couldn’t help but notice how easily and swiftly she was able to do and couldn’t help but ask, “So do you do this a lot? Dress up like other people?”

Liz continued to look in the direction of the mirror but used its reflection to look back at Maria. “When it’s necessary. In the circles of our work, Sark is very recognizable so I typically am the one to go under alias when it is needed. I still do it less than when I was with SD6. However it’s not often that I’m a blonde, my features don’t match up well so I usually go with black or red or even just brown but with a completely different hair style like a bob.”

“I can’t imagine doing that all of the time.” Maria stated honestly.

Liz finished her facial makeup and worked on her arms, she would hold off on her hands until the end. She didn’t want to get make up on her clothes and it would make putting in the blue contacts she had to wear that much harder. She had brought some of her alias costume supplies with her but had not had the exact shade that she needed. Thanks to alien powers, she now had the perfect shade. And Isabel and Tess were working on a corresponding wig that would look like Tess’s hair.

Liz shrugged. “It’s something you get used to, it’s just a part of the job. You have to blend in, if you don’t then you risk the possibility of being recognized and blowing the whole mission.”

Liz stood then with the intention of getting dressed and took off her robe, leaving her in just her black bra and panties. Maria’s eyes grew wide when she did; it wasn’t that she had never seen Liz get dressed before. No, what shocked her was the large pink scar that ran along her right ribs. It didn’t look brand new but it did look relatively recent and Maria knew she had not seen it before. “My God Liz, what happened?”

Liz looked to see what Maria was talking about and saw that her friend was eyeing her scar. “That’s what happens when you’re recognized. I was undercover on a mission but was recognized by one of the men in the group I was trying to infiltrate. He knew that I was an intelligence operative and informed the others in his group. I was interrogated to find out what I was doing there and who I worked for.”

“Interrogated? It looks like someone tried to cut you in half.” Maria commented before seeing Liz flinch, and she realized she had stuck her foot in her mouth. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay, you didn’t know.” Liz explained as she pulled the dress over her head. It was a simple black shift that would be worn under dress suit coat. “The scar is actually smaller than the original damage, the doctor who treated me in Switzerland did a really good job with making sure that it would heal well.”

“Switzerland?” Maria repeated with wide eyes.

“Because of my situation with the CIA and other intelligence agencies and the nature of my wounds at that time, I couldn’t go to just any hospital. The clinic in Switzerland makes its funds because it gives its patients complete confidentiality. I was there for a month and a half recovering before I forced Julian and Alex to take me home. I was going nuts and stir crazy.”

“You talk about it so casually. How can you be so laid-back about being tortured?” Maria stated

“I have to if I want to stay sane. It’s called compartmentalizing; it’s one of the first things you learn to do in this line of work. So much goes on in your life that you have to organize it all, when you’re on a mission you can’t just play a part, you have to act the part. And even when you are home, you have to remember who you told what lie to.” Liz answered.

Maria was about to comment that it didn’t sound like a very pleasant way to live when there was a knock on the door. Liz was finishing zipping up her dress as she yelled, “Come in.”

The door opened and Isabel and Tess walked in, Isabel holding the wig in her left hand. “Here it is, I check and rechecked everything on it. Length, color, curl…”

“Isabel, it’s fine. It’s perfect even.” Liz said reassuringly. She knew that Isabel was a perfectionist and would drive herself and all of them in the room nuts if Liz didn’t reinforce how great it looked. She took the wig from Isabel and placed it on the dummy head while she arranging her hair in the skullcap. Once she knew it was fixed firmly, she grabbed the wig and slipped it over her scalp. With the help of a few pins and adjustments, and the wig was secure and looked as it was her natural hair. “Well guys, how do I look?”

“It’s unbelievable.” Isabel exclaimed.

“She’s right, you look completely different.” Maria commented.

“Not an exact match but it’s a good resemblance.” Tess stated comparing herself in the mirror to Liz.

“Sark will give me the final approval before we go just to be on the safe side.” Liz remarked. “But I have one more thing I have to add.”

Isabel, Maria, and Tess all watched as Liz plucked a pair of diamond earrings off of the table and stuck them through her ears. It didn’t escape any of the women’s attention the beauty of the earrings.

“Liz, those are absolutely gorgeous.” Maria exclaimed.

“Thank you, they were a gift.” Liz smiled softly, “Sark gave them to me the day we left Los Angeles, they are a miniature comm. unit. They’ll allow Sark and me to stay in communication throughout the funeral.”

As Liz fixed the earpiece inside her ear, another knock came at the door. However the visitor did not wait for an invitation but strolled in. Liz smiled at him before asking, “Well how do I look?”

Sark studied her closely, analyzing every detail. It was why Liz had put the final say on his opinion; he knew what to look for. He knew what she would need to pass the test. To give him the full effect, she slipped on the wide round dark sunglasses she had brought. She had the blue contacts in but she’d rather hide her face behind the glasses, it would make it harder to recognize her. “There is one thing missing.”

“What?” Liz asked.

“A wedding ring, Tess’s to be more precise.” Sark stated.

“He’s right.” Tess agreed, she rivaled through Liz’s cosmetic case and found a few pieces of costume jewelry. She closed her hand over it and used her powers to duplicate her ring. When the glow faded from her hand, she opened it and handed the ring to Liz who slipped it on.

After she did, Sark finally nodded his approval “The disguise looks satisfactory, I do not believe anyone should recognize you although I do not suggest getting too close to Sydney. While the costume is brilliant, she will be expecting you to be camouflaged in some fashion.”

Liz nodded before reaching into her bag for one last thing, a thigh holster for her gun. She pulled it on quickly then slipped her handgun into the holster before tugging her dress back down into place.

“Wow, you can’t even see it.” Maria commented.

“That’s kind of the point.” Liz declared. “Well we should be going. The service starts in under an hour.”

The others nodded and headed out of the room and Liz took a deep breath before she followed them. She only hoped she could keep herself together during the funeral, she could break down later in Sark’s arms when they were safe.

[LittleBit]

Sorry it took me so long but I've been having computer problems. I think I have it under control and I hope to post again tomorrow.

PART 26

As she emerged out of the room, Max, Michael and Alex focused their attention on Liz. Well to be more correct, Liz and Tess for they stood side by side, looking very much like twins. Michael was the first to speak, “Damn Liz, you two look identical. Like you came from the same pod.”

“That’s what I was thinking Spaceboy.” Maria said as she joined her husband on the couch. “It’s like they are some kind of freaky duplicates or something.”

“Liz is like a chameleon, I’m never sure what she is going to look like when I see her.” Alex commented.

“Have you ever gotten into costume Alex?” Maria inquired.

“Nope, the closest I’ve came is having a different name for the same old face.” Alex stated. “I have to admit this is one of your best yet Lizzie.”

“Thanks Alex.” Liz remarked as she smoothed out her dress and looked to Max. “Well Max, what do you think? You’re the leading expert on what Tess looks like, do I pass the test?”

Max gazed at Liz intently for a few seconds before glancing at Tess then back to Liz again. The similarities were remarkable, they did look very much like twins however there were small things that Max noticed that a common observer would not. But those small things were not important. “No one will know the difference.”

“Then let’s get this show on the road.” Liz ordered.

As everyone started to move out of the apartment, Liz saw Max lingering. “What is it Max?”

“It’s just…this is…isn’t this weird for you?” Max asked. “I mean after everything we’ve been to each other, you’re pretending to be my wife.”

“Believe it or not Max, no this isn’t weird for me. I’m playing a part, like a role in a play. Sure that role is that of Tess who happens to be your wife but it’s not like the role is to convince people we are married. I don’t have to kiss you or be overly physical with you in any way. And if I did, I would deal with it and not let it interfere.”

“And what about Sark? Would he be as accepting?” Max asked.

“Yes, he would. Sark’s been in similar positions of subterfuge before, he knows what has to be done.” Liz explained.

“So he’d pimp you out if he thought it was necessary for your ‘missions’?” Max asked.

Liz couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped her before she shook her head. “And here I thought you were actually starting to get it. But I should have known that you weren’t going to change your mind once you had it set. Sark’s bad and that’s all you see. Well don’t worry Max, soon Sark and I will be gone and you can go back to your black and white world where evil is black and good is white and there is no gray.”

“Liz…” Max grumbled, he was about to grab her arm to stop her but the previous confrontation kept him back. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Yes, it is Max. You’ve always seen things in black and white, either we were with you or against you. Michael, Isabel, me. But there are many shades of gray.” Liz stated.

“Is that what you tell yourself when it comes to Sark?”

“No. Because I don’t feel any reason to justify my relationship, to anyone especially not to you. I told you before that it’s my life and my decision and that’s all that matters.” Liz stated.

“But if you would just listen…” Max interrupted.

“What? You think if I was around you guys that you could talk me out of being with Sark.” Liz inquired. “Because I’ll tell you right now that there is a fat chance in hell that that will ever happen. And I’m not going to dignify this with an argument any more, just accept that what is is and you cannot change it.”

As Max took in the firm set of her body and the determined look in her eyes, which was not weakened by the blue contacts, he finally realized that what Liz said was true. She was not going to give up on the love she felt for Sark despite anything he said. Not that he had ever had that influence over her in the first place. Liz always did what she wanted. And most of the time those decisions were based on intelligent reasoning.

Thinking of what Tess had told him before at Atherton’s, Max knew she was right and he needed to let things go. Everyone was not his responsibility. And now Liz needed a friend to help her say good bye to her mother, not the leader of her friends and ex-boyfriend and he would do that. He followed her out of the apartment, seeing Tess when he did and before they headed out where people could see him, gave her a kiss to show her that he had no question who his wife was.

[LittleBit]

PART 27

As the cemetery began to fill with mourners, Liz recognized many of them from her father’s funeral. They were friends, acquaintances, and business associates not to mention her aunt. She saw that her aunt was hurting as much as herself and she wanted to go and ease her suffering by at least letting her know of her presence by Liz knew she could not do that. It could tip people off that they didn’t want to know.

They parked the van and their cars at the edges of the cemetery property for two reasons. One so that Sark and Tess could keep an eye on the funeral and two so that they had an easy out if they had to leave in a hurry. Alex had set up his laptop in the back of the vehicle with many wires running about. One went to the camera that was mounted on the roof, and several others hooked into different gadgets that allowed him to monitor the CIA’s comm. signal. Thanks to that they knew exactly where the agents disguised as mourners were.

It did not surprise Liz nor Sark that they had not spotted Sydney or Vaughn in the crowd. They would not be stupid and make themselves be easily visible so they had to keep a sharp eye. The day was warm, but not overly hot with the sun shining brightly. That helped Liz since it explained why she kept the dark glasses on. Relying on her disguise to protect her true identity, Liz gave the okay to the others for them to join the other mourners.

Liz took one more look at Sark before she climbed out of the van. When she did she found Max waiting for her. After all since she was pretending to be Tess, it was fitting that they arrive together. And worse yet, to be friendly with each other. Which mean that when Max held out his hand that she had to take it.

It had been a long time since she had touched Max save for the incident at the dome and Liz was glad that the one-time connection that they had shared no longer flared up between them when they touched. As a matter of fact, Liz felt no warmth what so ever from Max’s touch, it was as if she was touching a mannequin. But she endured as the two of them, Maria, Michael, Alex, and Isabel began to walk. That was when she heard a voice in her ear. “I wish I could be the one beside you Elizabeth.”

“I do too, but that is not a risk I am willing to take.” Liz answered in a whisper. “I need you out in that van keeping me out of a CIA cell.”

“You do not have to worry about that, I intend to have you sunning yourself in our garden soon rather then becoming washed out behind bars.” Sark declared.

“I’ll hold you to that, count on it.” Liz murmured back. She cut off her hushed conversation, as they grew closer to the crowd of people.

Liz stayed silent as they made their way through the crowds until they ran smack dab into Maria’s mom Amy. It of course had been years since Liz had seen the woman who had been like a second mother to her but she looked very much the same, except for the somber look that graced her usual cheery face. As she embraced her daughter, Liz found herself shying away, trying to keep out of Amy’s line of sight.

But it didn’t work because right after Amy got done greeting Maria and Michael, she turned to Liz and Max. “Max, Tess, it’s good of you to be here. I know you weren’t close too Nancy but I know that Liz would appreciate it. Wherever she is.”

“I’m sure she would.” Max agreed.

“And I’m sure that she would be happy that you were here being such a good friend Amy.” Liz added keeping her voice at the same pitch and tenor that Tess used. She had had a lot of linguistics training during her time with SD6 so it was easy to imitate Tess’s voice.

But as she finished her words, Liz noticed Amy looking at her strangely. That was when she heard Sark’s voice in her ear again; “Tess just informed me that she never refers to Maria’s mother by her first name.”

Before she could stop her, Amy reached up and pulled Liz’s glasses down slightly so that she could look at Liz’s eyes. As she did, she whispered almost inaudibly, “Liz?”

Liz seized Amy’s hand before she could take off the classes completely and pushed them back up her nose. “I don’t know what you’re talking about Ms. Deluca. I’m Tess.”

Amy looked around as if she just became conscious of the fact that people surrounded them. Granted, no one was paying attention to them but that didn’t mean people weren’t there. Amy’s stance straighten as she looked back at Liz, seeming to understand that something was going on and it was best to play along. “Of course, I am sorry about that, Tess. My mind isn’t exactly here at the moment.”

“It’s understandable.” Liz said in agreement.

“Well it looks like the minister is ready, we should be getting to our seats.” Maria piped in trying to break up the exchange before her mom completely blew the work that Liz had put into her disguise. She could already imagine the conversation that would go on after the funeral when she had to explain to her mom.

Everyone nodded and moved to sit down. Amy had already cordoned off the second row of chairs for them to sit in so it wasn’t difficult to find seats. Liz saw her aunt at the opposite end of the row in front of her and again she wanted to go sit with her but knew that would give herself away. She’d already had a close call with Amy; and she didn’t need to do anything else that would send Sydney and her team after her.

As the crowd quieted, the minister began his oration. He began with a prayer before turning more personal and began to talk about Nancy Parker herself. But within ten minutes of his opening, Liz’s mind began to drift as she began to recall various memories of her mother from when she was a child.

Momma had said that Daddy was gone for a few days for the café so it was girls only. She had told Lizzie that they could have popcorn and watch a movie in her and Daddy’s room. Momma was in the kitchen making the popcorn while six-year-old Lizzie waited on the bed watching cartoons. But cartoons were boring so Lizzie looked for something else to do.

One of Lizzie’s favorite things to do was play dress up and being able to play in Momma’s clothes was even more fun. Lizzie liked to pretend that she was older, just like her Momma. It was kind of hard to get to them because they were way up in the closet with Daddy’s clothes but after tugging and pulling a chair over, it was easy to climb to the top and get the clothes. She tried on a bunch of clothes and looked at herself in the mirror.

After she put all the clothes on and tied them so that they would stay on, Lizzie decided that if she was going to look like Momma, she needed to wear makeup like her too. First the eye stuff, then the lip color before covering her face with powder and as the dust cleared from the powder, Lizzie saw her Momma standing at the door. She smiled her biggest smile and asked. “Do I look good Momma?”

Her mom had her hand over her mouth but it couldn’t keep the laughter in. “Yes, sweetie. You look adorable. But why are you my clothes, don’t you like your own?”

“Yeah, but dressing up like other people is fun too.” Lizzie answered.

Her mom laughed again, “I guess it is. Let’s see what other stuff we can come up with.”

Liz couldn’t keep her lips from turning up just a little in a smile at the memory. If only her mom had known at the time how much Liz was going to play ‘dress up’ in her adult life. She wished she had been honest with her mother, maybe even taken her to Italy with her and Sark. Her mom would have been upset when Liz had confessed everything, but she was sure that eventually things would have worked themselves out.

Maybe then they would have fixed their relationship that had begun to splinter when she had hit her teens, when she had first begun to dream about leaving Roswell. While her dad had been supportive, her mom had not. She wanted the best for Liz, but not if she had to leave Roswell.

That of course had caused major conflict between Liz and her mother as well as her parents. Liz had always counted it against her and had shut herself off from her mom. Then a few years later the shooting happened and she had distanced herself from both of her parents. That was of course followed by the coldness from the aliens that sent her to live with her aunt in Florida and down the road to where she was now.

“I’m sorry Mom, but I love you. I hope you can forgive me.”

[LittleBit]

Here's a new part for you, less Liz and more sibling conversation.

PART 28

Sydney Bristow watched the funeral services proceed through the surveillance monitors. She would have preferred to been closer to the services, instead of in a van parked just outside the cemetery. The van was decked out to look like a flower delivery truck, a common sight at a cemetery, and her, Vaughn and two of the agents from the Las Cruces office were keeping watch inside. Weiss and another agent were parked in a car not far away and they had various other agents mixed into the mourners.

But despite all of the security, their targets had yet to be spotted. Sydney had watched Liz’s friends arrive including her friend Alex who her father had linked to working with Liz and Sark. Alex was the closest thing to proof that Sark and Liz were still in Roswell well that is if he had traveled with them. After all as far as the CIA knew, Alex did not work with them and Liz and Sark could have left after her and Sydney’s encounter the night before.

While Weiss and Vaughn had both agreed that it was plausible after Sydney had relayed the events, Sydney was skeptical. She knew that Liz had not left, would not have left until after the funeral. Which made Sydney curious as to why they had not see hide nor hair of either one of them. It was as if they knew their every step as they made it.

The thought had no sooner crossed her mind when Sydney figured out that it was indeed the reality of the situation, they did know what the CIA was doing, and she was pretty sure how. She placed her hand over her microphone before saying. “Vaughn, are we still broadcasting on the same signal as we have been since we arrived in Roswell?”

Vaughn nodded. “Yes.’

“Can we isolate that frequency to only my headset while transferring the others to the alternate frequency?” Sydney asked almost positive she already knew the answer.

Vaughn looked at her confused for a minute but answered. “It’ll take a few minutes, but yeah.”

“Then do it.” Sydney ordered not offering an explanation, because she knew that if she did Vaughn would oppose it. While in the past, he had stepped outside the lines to help her, and she was sure he would again, Michael generally was a by the book kind of guy and would agree with her next step.

Vaughn tapped a few keys before nodding to Sydney that it was done. Sydney nodded back before turning away and faced the monitor again. “Sark? Come in Sark.”

Her call earned no response so she decided to take a more…abrasive with her request. “Julian, I know you are on here. Answer me now…”

“Or what? You will tell our parents? Surely you would not resort to such childish devices.” The cocky British voice asked through her comm. “Especially considering our relationship has never been a typical sibling one.”

“But that doesn’t mean that you still don’t listen to your older sister.” Sydney said smugly. In spite of what he said, Sark did answer her so it showed that she had some kind of influence on him, if only minimal. “Turn yourself in now and come back to Los Angeles with me.”

“I am sorry, we are going to have to postpone the family reunion.” Sark responded to her smugness with some of his own. “Besides I think that if you truly wanted me in custody that you would have done more to apprehend Elizabeth last night. Although I doubt that she had or would make it simple.”

“No, that she did not.” Sydney admitted although she had not been trying too hard to capture Liz. She had been happy to merely talk to Liz for a few minutes, to try and extract some personal information out of her that Sydney had wanted to know. “She was a good agent and I’m sure that with your tutelage, her skills at being sneaky and underhanded have been developed. At least according from the reports I’ve seen.”

“Elizabeth’s skills for trickery were present long before we met. That’s not to say that they have not improved since our collaboration.” Sark stated. “And I am certain that if you have read those reports you speak of, then you know that my work has changed slightly since that moment.”

“Yes, you have done some good work these past two years. You and Liz have taken apart several dangerous groups and handed them to the CIA.” Sydney answered. “Although I must admit that I never figured you would give up being a mercenary and acting like a whipped puppy.”

“Careful, I might actually think that was pride I hear in your voice.” Sark replied. “As for acting like a whipped puppy, I believe you are mistaking me for your Agent Vaughn.”

Sydney couldn’t stop herself from glancing over at Vaughn sitting a foot away from her. “I think Vaughn would be offended if he heard you.”

“A thought that will haunt me always.” Sark responded mockingly. “Besides, is it not customary of a brother to dislike his sister’s boyfriend?”

“As much as it typical of a brother to date his sister’s friend and partner in espionage. Just your typical dysfunctional family.” Sydney declared. “Speaking of which, our father says hello.”

“I am sure he does. And Irina?”

“Shouldn’t you be answering that for me? After all the two of you have been in contact recently haven’t you?” Sydney asked not holding back the little bit of information she had gathered from their mother during her last visit. She wanted to throw Sark off, maybe make him take Liz and get out of Roswell. Because the more she reflected on it, the more that Sydney knew she didn’t really want to take the two of them off to prison. It didn’t mean that she wouldn’t do it, it was her job after all, but that didn’t mean she wanted to.

“I have no idea what you are talking about. Having contact with a wanted terrorist would be against Irina’s arrangement with the CIA for her immunity. And I would not want to endanger that.” Sark answered. “Then we might find ourselves in adjacent cells in the JTF headquarters.”

“Fine, if you don’t want to talk about your communication with our mother, perhaps we should switch to another subject entirely.” Sydney acknowledged.

“And what would that be?” Sark asked.

“Miltenberg.”

“It is a small town in Germany, what is your interest in it?” Sark asked

Nothing in Sark’s tone gave anything away so Sydney decided to push a little farther. She knew that Sark was a part of what had happened in Miltenberg but she wanted to hear the story from him. Since she had seen the report on the incident and found that both Liz and Sark had been on the scene she had had a bad feeling in her stomach. The brutality of the report spoke volumes about what happened there and there was only a few reasons why Liz would allow it to happen.

“Nine months ago, local authorities were notified that the remains of a prostitute smuggling ring could be found in a compound several kilometers the town. When they arrived on the scene, most of the men were dead, killed by automatic rifle and handgun fire. Only three survived, but just barely and they professed to see a man meeting your description, several times including once carrying a dark haired woman into a helicopter.” Sydney stated.

“That is an interesting story.” Sark commented.

“It’s not a story, it is fact. You were there Sark. So was Liz, she was the one you were witnessed carrying out. After that event, the two of you disappeared for months. I think that Liz was injured and she had to recover. But I want you to tell me what happened?” Sydney asked.

“It seems that you have all of the information on the subject that you need to draw your own conclusions without any help from me.” Sark declared.

Sydney could barely make out the rage that was just below the surface of Sark’s normally cool facade. “But there is still some blanks that need to be filled in. Like how did Liz get injured? Was she part of the team that went in and got shot? Or did something else happen? Did Liz penetrate the ring undercover and they got to her before you did?”

However instead of an answer, Sydney heard nothing but silence. “Sark?…Sark?”

Needing a way to release the irritation she was feeling at the moment, Sydney slammed her fist on the counter. “Damn…damn it! I lost him.”

“There was nothing you could have done, Sark most likely thought we were trying to track and disconnected before he was on too long.” Vaughn said trying to reassure her.

“No, I pushed him too far.” Sydney said, gritting her teeth as she did. “But I think I got the confirmation I was looking for.”

[LittleBit]

PART 29

When the services were over and Nancy Parker’s coffin was in the ground, the mourners hung around a little paying their last respects before leaving. Liz took a few minutes but couldn’t take as long as she had wanted because it could cause suspicions. So she went back to where the van and cars were parked. Tess and Sark were of course still inside and when Liz opened the door; Sark held his hand to help her inside, knowing that she needed his touch.

Michael and Maria climbed into the front of the van to drive but Alex chose to ride with Isabel. He had plans to go visit his parents and she volunteered to drop him off. They were leaving for their return trip to Italy the next day so his time was limited. The trip back was a quiet one and after making sure that they weren’t followed, they returned to the café and Liz went upstairs.

As she entered the bedroom, Liz pulled the wig and scull cap off before running her fingers through her hair and shaking it out. Next she shrugged out of her suit coat and tossed it onto the nearby chair and stepped out of her shoes. Now all she had to do was wash the makeup off and peel off the contacts and she would be back to herself. Something she really wanted at the moment, to simply be Liz Parker.

Sark watched as Elizabeth undressed before practically collapsing on the end of the bed. He could tell that she was still very saddened from the funeral and decided that perhaps once they left Roswell, they should take a lengthy vacation. Somewhere warm and tropical perhaps where they could rest, and make love on the beach. But for the moment, he sat down behind her and slid his hands up her back to her shoulders. The instant Liz felt Sark’s hands tighten around her shoulders as in massage, she leaned back into him. It felt wonderful; Sark was very good with his hands and not just sex related. He knew exactly what to do to get her to loosen up.

Within ten minutes, she was so relaxed that she couldn’t stop herself from uttering. “I’m tired.”

“It is understandable after the day you have endured.” Sark stated.

“That’s not what I meant, well not completely anyway.” Liz declared. “I meant that I’m tired of all of this, the subterfuge, the tricks, worrying that if we make a wrong move that one of us could get captured or killed. I mean, I can’t even go to my own mother’s funeral without having to dress up as another person and sneak into it like I had no right to be there.”

“So you regret everything about your life?” Sark asked, not a hint of anger or annoyance in his voice, only curiosity.

“No.” Liz answered firmly. “I do not regret us, I regret the circumstances that led us to this point in our lives. I don’t blame you; I started this whole thing when I picked up that tranq gun and shot Sydney and Vaughn. Maybe it began even before that on that night that I showed up at your condo to return that robe. A part of me knew that going there was going into the lion’s den but I went anyway. All I know is that things have done a one hundred and eighty degree turn from where I was then in my life. Am I making any sense?”

But before Sark could answer, Liz spoke, effectively cutting off him off from saying anything. “Forget it, just forget what I said. I’m just rambling incessantly, it’s been a long day.”

“Elizabeth, if these are your true feelings then we should discuss it more.” Sark stated.

“If I am serious, then what? It’s not as if we can simply walk away now. Too many people are looking for us, and they’re not going to stop if we do. And what if I’m the only one who chooses to stop? Where does that leave us?” Liz asked. She wouldn’t allow it to show but she was honestly scared that if she decided to leave her life of espionage, she would loose Julian as well and that was the last thing she wanted. Especially if this thought of quitting was simply a phase or a thought brought on by grief and she decided in a few months to get back in it.

“Exactly where we are now, apart from the fact that we will only be lovers instead of partners.” Sark declared simply. “What we do for a living does not control how we live.”

Liz leaned forward and ran a hand through her hair. “I’m probably just freaking out over nothing. In a few weeks, I’ll be bored out of my mind and begging to go back in the field.”

“Perhaps.” Sark agreed. “Perhaps not. I have seen the best agents, including my mother; decide to retire while they are at their peak. I expect Sydney to do the same some day.”

“What about you?” Liz asked him. “I mean this is not something we’ve ever talked about but don’t you ever think of quitting? Just getting out and living a normal life?”

“That is a hard question to answer for the reason that I have never had a normal life. Since my earliest days, espionage is all I’ve known, first in training then in practice. These last two years I’ve spent with you are the most ordinary I’ve ever had despite the work we do.” Sark admitted. “So to answer your question, no I haven’t, for the most part because it didn’t seem to be an option unless I was too injured to continue.”

Thinking of the institute he was raised in and how he was raised, Liz instantly understood why Sark had never considered settling down. At least not soon, she knew that the nest egg they had built had been amassed for a reason more then lavish spending. After all they lived in luxury but had not yet made a dent in the nest eggs, or eggs would be a better description. They had several numbered accounts spread out through the world. It was safer.

Waiting a minute before saying anything, Liz asked. “And would you consider it an option now?”

“Conceivably. Despite what is wildly believed, I do not enjoy being hunted. Well most of the time.” Sark said with a sly smirk causing Liz to roll her eyes. She knew that he enjoyed the adrenaline rush that they got from the missions, just like Liz did. But that was different then being hunted to the point that if they wanted to go simply on vacation that they had to worry about being spotted and captured. That was the type of hunted Sark did not like.

Liz pondered on the subject for a few minutes before she asked. “For years, you worked under your mother but no one knew of your existence. It wasn’t until you were killed Quan Li that you allowed yourself to be seen. How did you do remain a mystery yet still rise to the rank that you did without using the fact that Irina was your mother as leverage?”

Sark pondered his words for some time before answering. “It is difficult to explain. Many of the missions that I was assigned in the beginning were rudimentary things where I worked in an area that I would not run into someone unless I was unable to disconnect the appropriate alarm. Then as I moved up, I was given assignments that required that I not be seen, sniper work, bomb placement etc. By the time I was to go into the field for more visual work, I simply made assurances that I would either not be seen, not be recorded or there was no one left to identify me. Why do you ask?”

“Just curious. Trying to figure out a way to stay out of the limelight I guess.” Liz answered.

“I believe we are both past that point at the moment.” Sark commented. But his mind started to form an idea. He understood Elizabeth’s line of thought at the moment, despite the excitement of their jobs, it did at times become tiresome. Perhaps he could do something her desires.

Before anymore could be said, the distinctive chirp of Liz’s cell phone chimed though out the room. It took her a minute to find where she had left it but she looked as fast as she could. Her number was not something that was given out easily, only a few contacts, Sark, and Alex had the number and there was only one person she could think of out of those who would be calling her. And that made her stomach cringe as she flipped it open. “This is Liz.”

“It’s me.” Alex’s voice greeted, but his voice sounded anything but genial.

“Hey, what’s up?” Liz asked.

“I think we’ve got trouble.” Alex stated. “I’m at my parents’ now, Isabel and I just got here and I think we were followed.”

“You think or you know?” Liz asked.

“Pretty certain. A black Chevy Impala with two agent looking people inside appeared several times in the mirrors of the car. They didn’t stay with us continuously but they are now parked down the street.” Alex explained.

“Did you spot Sydney?” Liz asked.

“No, and I didn’t recognize either of the guys, they must be some of the local agents she brought in.” Alex stated.

“Are your parents suspicious?” Liz asked.

“Liz please, I think by now I know how to lie well enough that they don’t have a clue.” Alex declared.

“Well sit tight, don’t come back to the café. We’ll figure out something and update you as soon as we’ve got something.” Liz said before hanging up and turning to explain what was going on to Sark.

[LittleBit]

To further explain the thing with Alex, you'll read in this part that the CIA is following all of Liz's friends. So it wasn't Jack and Sydney's prior knowledge of him that lead them into the situation that they are in.

PART 30

Several hours later

Despite the reassurances that he had given Liz on the phone hours ago, Alex knew that his parents were starting to get suspicious. He knew that it wasn’t anything specific that he or Isabel had done, perhaps it was just the uneasiness they picked up on but Alex knew it was there. They kept looking at each other out of the corners of their eyes then back at Alex and Isabel.

Alex wondered if maybe Isabel’s mere presence was adding to their wariness. After all, the two of them had broken up years ago and while the idea of her driving him over to his parents wasn’t completely weird, the fact that she was sticking around was. Alex knew he should have sent her away but he didn’t want the agents to follow Isabel and lead them to the Café. He hoped that Liz and Sark would come up with something soon to get them out of this.

As if Liz was listening to his thoughts, Alex heard the ringing of his cell phone. He glanced briefly at the caller ID to confirm who it was before flipping it open. “Liz, tell me you’ve got good news for me.”

Alex listened closely as Liz informed him of what was going on. He listened intently until she was finished then disconnected the call. He looked over at Isabel said, “They’re on their way.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sydney tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear in frustration. She had just gotten done contacting Kendall to update him on their mission and it had not gone well. Even through the phone she could hear the irritation in his voice when she had informed him that while they knew Sark and Liz were in the area, they had yet to apprehend them.

Kendall had demanded to know what steps were being taken to ensure that it was only a temporary situation. She had explained how they were following up on the only leads they had which were Liz’s former friends. She had two agents watching Alex Whitman and others searching town for her other friends the Guerins’ and Evans’ who they had lost after the funeral.

That information seemed to pacify Kendall for the moment and she was able to end the call with the promise to keep him updated. So now she took a breather before deciding what the next step would be. However it was a breather that she didn’t get a chance to take because just then her comm. came alive.

“Both subjects have been spotted, they just drove past our position and are heading northbound on Orion Road. Do I have authorization to pursue?”

Before Sydney could open her mouth to authorize their next move, Vaughn spoke up into his own comm. to the agents. “Affirmative…”

“Follow them but keep a safe distance. Are they alone?” Sydney said interrupting him.

“Yes, the female is driving while the male is riding in the passenger seat. They are in a new model black jeep and have made no aggressive maneuvers.”

“Continue to track but do not engage them, I repeat do not engage them. And give us exact coordinates to your location.” Sydney ordered them before directing other teams to other positions.

The coordinates were given and Weiss, who was in the driver’s seat, cranked the engine of the van and they were off. Sydney would have preferred to have a smaller vehicle but there wasn’t time to get a hold of one if they were going to catch up to Sark and Liz. Within a few minutes of winding around the residential streets of Roswell, they spotted the vehicle with the local agents and the other one that they were following.

It was then that Sydney realized that they were heading out of town and into the desert. Sydney looked around to see if the others were as uneasy about this as she was. She didn’t like this, they weren’t familiar with the desert and Liz was, at least she used to be. That gave them the advantage. One that Liz seemed to realize to because at that moment, the jeep she was driving leapt forward with a burst of speed. They’d been spotted; Liz and Sark knew that they were being followed.

“All teams, the target is aware of our presence. I want teams two and three to set up a road block at…Vaughn where the hell are we heading?”

Sydney turned around to look at the monitor that showed their position on the GPS network. They were on a desert highway, heading toward the town of Gallinis. And it looked like there was a prime spot about ten miles up the road for a roadblock. “Teams, ten miles up the highway intersects with Horse Shoe Road, I want full barricades and fortification. We will encircle the targets and secure them.”

Her plan seemed to be working, Liz and Sark continued down the highway with the agents pursuing and headed straight for the roadblock with Sydney and the others close to three quarters of a mile behind. Without realizing that she was even opening her mouth, she found herself muttering. “This is too easy.”

Vaughn heard her and asked, “What?”

“This is too easy.” Sydney repeated. “Something’s not right.”

Sydney was about to send out a warning when Weiss yelled back, “We’ve got problems.”

Sydney looked through the front windshield and saw what Weiss talking about; Liz had turned off the highway onto a smaller road, one that Sydney had missed on the map. She could tell it was a calculated move by the way that Liz handled the jeep but the agents were not expecting it and fishtailed as they made the turn. The driver then made the mistake of gunning the accelerated, which caused them to jet forward.

To make the turn without adverse affects, Liz had slowed the jeep down and was in the process of gathering speed but didn’t do it fast enough. That mixed with the agents increase in speed caused them to overlap and the agent’s car slammed into the back of the jeep. The jeep swerved momentarily from the impact and moved ahead but at the last moment, Liz seemed to take inspiration from the agent’s mishap and utilize it to the best of her advantage. She slammed on the brakes, causing the car behind her to rear-end her once again.

The impact did not inhibit the jeep, but it did slow down the chasing car so that Liz and Sark gained a lot of ground putting almost a mile ahead. Sydney could see that the road was becoming less straight to compensate for the terrain turning away from the flat desert to more rocky hills. She yelled into her comm. for the teams that were stationed at the roadblock to break position and assist them in the chase just as she saw Liz and Sark disappear around one of the bends in the road.

“Weiss, we’re going to loose them if we don’t get more speed.” Sydney yelled.

“I know I know, but it’s not like this van is meant for speed.” Weiss yelled back as he steered the van around the tight turns. He was being extra cautious since the other car with the agents was still ahead of them.

They were still loosing site of their target every time they had to go around a jutting outcrop of rocks. After the fourth curve, the length of time they were out of sight lengthened by several minutes but when they did get a glimpse of them again, they had gained a significant of distance over Liz and Sark. Something that the agents in front of them decided to take it as a sign to open fire on the vehicle.

“Agents, I did not give the go-ahead to open fire!” Sydney yelled into her comm. She didn’t want to run the chance of anyone, including Liz and Sark to get shot.

But the hail of gunfire stifled her words and she watched as Sark emerge from the passenger window to return fire to the agents behind them. Bullets and gunfire saturated the air between the two cars, glass littering the ground as the bullets struck and shattered the windows. They were fast approaching a small bridge that crossed a ravine when one or more of the bullets hit the front tire on the driver’s side.

The impact of the bullets shredded the tire. It was a damaging blow that caused Liz to loose control making the jeep to veer off the road. Sydney watched as the jeep swerved back and forth although it was evident that the jeep wasn’t obeying its driver and the momentum from the speed they’d been traveling at before was propelling them towards the ravine.

Helplessly Sydney watched as the jeep flew over the rock barrier that bordered the ravine and the jeep sailed down into the ravine below. But before it hit the water, the front end struck the boulders along side them and caused the vehicle to flip. It tumbled several times until it finally came to rest on in the middle of the stream.

As the van reached the bridge, Weiss slammed on the brakes and Sydney was out of the van before it even stopped moving, yelling into her comm. “Call an ambulance and get an emergency medical team out here!”

Sydney began climbing down the rocks of the ravine towards the wrecked jeep. She didn’t see any movement inside but she had to get to Liz and Sark. After a crash like that, they would be hurt. She felt Vaughn climbing right beside her and they were about halfway down when he grabbed her and pulled her down. A moment later, the jeep exploded into a large fireball.