Vengeance (Alias,XO,ADULT,UC) Part 38 6/4/09 [WIP]

[LittleBit]

I'm here with a Christmas present for all of you who have stuck through this with me for what seems like forever. Hope you all enjoy and have a good couple of weeks.


For those of you who were wondering what Sark has been up to and how he’s reacting to Liza’s capture, you’ll have to wait a few parts. I took forever to post the last part because I was trying very hard to write a part that was from Sark and Irina’s POV but nothing was coming. I would type a few lines, erase, type a few more, erase, you get the point. So I decided to go with my original plan which will show Sark’s reaction in a few chapters.

PART 36

Despite the limited movement her shackles allowed her, Liza kept a steady pace with her guards. They were lead through several corridors by AD Kendall. Liza could tell that they were secondary passages for the reason that they did not encounter any other people on their journey. It did not come as a surprise; it wasn’t protocol to have a prisoner fraternizing in classified areas.

The group continued for several more minutes, probably to confuse Liza in case she escaped, before coming to a large door with two more armed agents flanking it. As they approached, one broke from his position to open the door before moving back allowing them to enter. Although she was shorter then her guards, Liza could easily see the room and it’s contents between them. Three people, one woman and two men dressed in medical garb stood on the other side of a large chair, one that looked very much like a large dentist chair but with restraints.

Around them was various medical equipment that revealed to Liza that this was going to be more then a simple interrogation. They were going to conduct a standard medical exam, most likely to make sure she was in good health so that whatever drugs they injected into her would not kill her.

While she was not scared, it did make Liza uneasy to think that the CIA was so self-doubting about their own protocol. Her surrounding guards urged Liza towards the chair with more force then was necessary. Several held her down while the others strapped her in. Once she was secure, the doctors moved in.

Sydney joined the other people in the observation area and took a seat. The room was quite full, AD Kendall, her father, herself, not to mention Lauren Reed and a few other of the higher ups. She ignored the blonde as the doctors went about both examining Liza and preparing her for the interrogation. After they performed the physical exam and were satisfied with the result, they began attaching electrodes to her. They placed several on her chest and various appendages but focused a majority of them on her head to scrutinize her brain wave activity. At that time they turned to Kendall for his permission to begin.

Once Kendall nodded his consent, the doctor in charge moved forward and sterilized the inside of Liza’s right arm before injecting the drug. Liza’s eyes drooped slightly before closing as the drugs took effect, making her appear to be very lethargic. They waited a few minutes, to insure that the drugs were working before Vaughn stepped forward. Kendall had given him the assignment of being the interrogator since he had a lot of history with the Derevko operation. He waited for the signal from Kendall to start and then began his questions.

“Who are you?” He asked, starting with a basic but important question. While they knew that Liza worked for Irina and had a list of her crimes, they had no idea who she actually was.

Liza kept her eyes closed as she answered. “I am who I choose to be.”

Vaughn realized he had not been direct enough with his wording and modified his words. “What is your name?”

This time, Liza opened her eyes and stared directly at him. “I have gone by many.”

Confused by her resistance to answer directly, Vaughn turned his gaze to the one sided mirror. The new drug they were using didn’t seem to be working, at least not correctly. It was supposed to strip the subject of the resistance to answer but it appeared that Liza was able to repel the effects somewhat. He looked to Kendall for direction but the Assistant Director just signaled him to continue with the questions.

“Is Liza your real name?”

“No, it is a nickname.”

Pleased that he was able to get a clear answer, Vaughn asked. “What is your real name?”

Liza paused for a moment, as if she was unsure how to reply, “When I was born I was given the name Yelizaveta Elena Derevko.”

Sydney felt her breath catch at hearing Liza’s answer. She had not been expecting it, could it be that they were related in someway? Could she be a cousin? A daughter from one of her mother’s sisters? She saw that she was not the only one caught off guard as Vaughn looked up again up at Kendall with complete mystification before turning back to his subject.

“Yelizaveta Derevko?” Vaughn repeated. “As in Irina Derevko?”

“Yes.”

“What is your relationship with her?” Vaughn prodded.

“She is my employer.” She answered simply.

“Is that the extent of your relationship with her?”

“No.”

“What other associations do you have with her?” Vaughn prompted.

“She is the woman that gave birth to me.” Liza replied.

As those words left Liza’s mouth, the first thought in Sydney’s mind was that she was lying. There was no possibility that it was the truth for the reason that her mother could not have another child, another daughter. Not without her knowing about it. It was true that her mother and her were not as close as possible and that there were a lot of things that were unsaid between them but she would not keep that away from her. So either Liza was really just related to her as a cousin, convinced that Irina was her mother and not just a mentor, or she was simply lying. But as Sydney looked away from the glass and to her father, she knew that she was deluding herself.

Jack Bristow was a master of concealing his expressions and emotions from his face, something Sydney had experienced numerous times but this one time he couldn’t hide anything from her. The look in his eyes as he probed her reaction, the tautness of his body as he waited told her volumes. He knew that Liza was telling the truth and he had known it before she had told them. It was why he didn’t want Sydney to have any contact with the prisoner before and why he had attended the questioning. She could tell that he had been watching her the entire time. But before Sydney could say anything to him, Vaughn continued his questions. “Who is your father?”

Liza’s relaxed face twisted into one of uncertainty. She didn’t speak for several minutes as if thinking about her answer, something that those in the room that knew about the serum she had been given knew shouldn’t happen. Since the serum stripped a person of their freewill, the answers come quickly, but not with Liza. When she finally answered, she said. “That answer is not a simple one.”

“Who is the man who is your biological father?” Vaughn clarified.

“Alexander Khasinau.”

This time the answer caused a rippling of chatter throughout the room. The audience had gotten over the shock of learning that Liza was Irina Derevko’s daughter, but after learning that it wasn’t much of a surprise that Khasinau was involved as well. Kendall looked to be relieved that she wasn’t Jack’s daughter as well.

“Are you connected to anyone else in Derevko’s organization?” Vaughn asked.

When the question was met by silence, Vaughn repeated it. He was about to rephrase it when Liza answered. “Yes.”

“Who?”

“Sark.”

Vaughn glanced at the viewing room when he heard the familiar name before asking. “And what is your connection with him?”

Again, Liza’s face tensed in concentration, like she was fighting herself to stop from answering. But if she was, she lost the fight. “We are coworkers as well as lovers.”

Sydney couldn’t even absorb this last bit of information because she was too busy watching Kendall’s reaction to Liza’s answer. He looked as if someone had just handed him the brass ring of his career. And the agents that had done just that when they caught Liza, someone who could give them all the information to hand Irina Derevko and Sark to him. The only thing that would have made it better for him was if she had information on Sloane as well. Kendall spoke into the headset that connected him to Vaughn’s earpiece, clearly informing him of what questions to ask next.

Once he got the course of action, Vaughn asked, “What is the current location of Irina Derevko’s operation headquarters?”

For the second time, Liza appeared to be fighting what the chemicals in her body were trying to make her do. Her body with rigid, her eyes closed and her brow crinkled in focus. “I won’t tell you.”

Vaughn could see that she was trying hard not to give in and to try to break through her barrier; Vaughn began barraging her with questions. “Where is Derevko? Where is Sark? What can you tell us about Irina’s operations?”

But Liza didn’t give in, although it took a lot from her to fight the drug’s effects. Her body tensed, her hands curled into fists as her eyes remained closed. A minute later, the machines monitoring her vitals around her exploded in noise. Sydney watched as the doctors jumped to attention, trying to figure out what was going on. The lead doctor started barking out orders for a crash cart and Sydney knew what the meant, Liza’s heart was arresting. She was dying. Something had gone wrong, seriously wrong.

As she watched the doctors’ tend to Liza, she barely heard Lauren Reed ask Kendall what was going on. Kendall looked as shocked as the rest of them and surprisingly, it was her own father who answered. “It’s a reaction to the drug protocol. She’s fighting the effects of it by refusing to answer our questions.”

Finding his voice, Kendall said, “I thought Research and Development said that wasn’t possible.”

“It’s not supposed to be; in every test including the human testing it was proved to be impossible.” Jack answered.

“Then how the hell is she doing it?” Kendall demanded.

But Jack didn’t answer as the outburst of noise suddenly stopped, replaced with the steady beep of the heart monitor. Sydney listened with half an ear as the doctor gave his report of Liza’s condition, she was stable but unconscious. They were going to give her a complete medical exam and a battery of tests to ensure that there were no more ill effects as well as possibly figure out what had went wrong. After that she would need to be in observation. Kendall balked at this suggestion but eventually agreed when arrangements could be made for her before she was put back into her cell.

Sydney remained in the observation room until the agents had removed Liza to take her back to her cell. Once they were gone, she turned to leave, running into Vaughn as she left. He looked at her sympathetically. “Syd, I’m sorry about what happened in there…if I had known who she was…”

“None of us knew, except...” Sydney said as she shook her head, catching sight of her father as she did. “Look Vaughn, I can’t talk to you right now. I’ve got to go.”

Vaughn stood and watched as she hurried away, brushing past Weiss and hurrying after her father. Weiss looked at him for an answer but Vaughn merely shrugged his shoulders.

[LittleBit]

AN: I hope to post a new part within a week or so. I have the part written, I just have one little part that I'm trying to fix before I post.

[LittleBit]

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hey guys, it's me. I thought I had the next part ready, and I pretty much do but there is a part that isn't reading right. Now that things have calmed down a bit, I hope to work on it shortly.

[LittleBit]

Your eyes are not playing tricks on you, I am actually updating. I hope you like it, hopefully your feedback will inspire me to write. Regardless, Feedback is like air.

PART 37

While she had long athletic legs, Sydney had to practically break into a run to catch up with her father’s long strides. She knew that he was walking quickly as a way to avoid speaking to her but she was not going to allow that. He had held back from her for too long. She caught up with him just as the door to his office was shutting behind him. She slipped inside before pulling it securely behind her.

“Sydney now is not the time.” Her father said without even turning around to face her.

“No, now is the perfect time.” Sydney stated, her jaw set firmly as well as her gaze to show her father that she was serious. “Why Dad? Why did you not tell me who she was?”

“I did not…”

“Don’t deny that you knew, I saw your eyes when she admitted to be Mom’s daughter. Why did you not tell me? Why did you let me find out like everyone else?” Sydney demanded.

“I did not intend for you to find out at all.” Jack admitted. “I had hoped that Liza’s connection to your mother would not come out. The odds were not favorable but I had to attempt to shield you.”

“Why?”

“Because you have been through so much since your reappearance. Not only have you have had to learn to live with the knowledge that you have no memory of the last two years but also adjust to the fact that time has passed for your loved ones. You did not need anymore stress.”

“Stress?!” Sydney exclaimed. “You act as if I was just told an assignment request had been denied. We are talking about my having a sister!”

“A half sister.” Jack corrected. “One that has been under the tutelage of your mother and therefore will undoubtedly has dubious morals. Her crimes against this agency are proof of that, and I do not want you associating with her.”

“I remember a similar conversation when Mom was in custody.” Sydney stated.

“And I would think you would have learned from that experience to listen to my advice.” Jack acknowledged.

“If I recall correctly, I am not the only one who puts unwise trust into my relationship with my mother. As for Liza, I do intend to visit her again. I have no preconceived notions of what will happen but I cannot just sit by after finding out who she is. I have to speak to her again.” Sydney fired back. And with that Sydney turned on her heels and walked out of before Jack was able to offer a follow up.

As she left her father’s office, Sydney planned to go straight to the cellblock to see Liza but stopped when she saw Kendall conversing with one of the doctor’s who had been watching over Liza during her interrogation. She knew if the doctor was reporting, they had completed their exam. She waited until they were done before approaching the director. “Sir, I was wondering what the current medical status of the prisoner is?”

“I’m sure you are, Agent Bristow.” Kendall remarked. “There has been no change, Liza Derevko is stable but has not regained consciousness.”

“Did the doctors’ find any cause for her reaction to the serum?” Sydney asked.

“No, nothing yet.” Kendall answered before he quickly walked away from Sydney. Years of studying body language told Sydney all she needed to know. Kendall was holding something back from her. And the only thing it could be was the doctors’ report on the post-interrogation exam on Liza. They had found something but Sydney was not privy to it. Whether it was because of her connection to Liza or her down graded field status, Sydney didn’t know. But she did know that there were other ways to gain information in the office without going though Kendall or Father. She had friends in the office that would help her, Marshall, Weiss or Will but she had to be careful. She didn’t want to get them into trouble. But first, she needed to visit the cellblock.

As she approached the first security gate, Sydney gave a brief thought to the possibility that her access to Liza might have been revoked. It was probably the smart thing to do, however when the gates started to raise, Sydney knew that Kendall had most likely chosen against it for the simple fact that if Sydney was allowed to visit her sister, perhaps more would be learned. This could be true, although that was not why she was going. She wanted to talk to the woman who was her mother’s other daughter.

When Sydney reached the cell, she saw Liza lying serenely on the hospital bed. It would look as if she was simply sleeping if there wasn’t an IV stand next to her or various electrodes still connected to her to monitor her vitals. They beeped steadily, showing brain activity and a strong heartbeat. Although she had work to do, Sydney couldn’t pull herself away. She located a chair left by a guard and moved it closer to the window.

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

Several hours later, Liza finally started to stir. Sydney had spent her time there studying Liza, memorizing every feature, as if they would give her the answers that she was looking for. Instead she found herself comparing the features that they shared with their mother as well as the hints of Khasinau’s DNA contribution.

It was interesting to watch Liza regain consciousness. Sydney could see easily the exact second that awareness replaced the disorientation from the drugs by the way her body tensed. Her eyes popped open as she slowly sat up. Sydney could see that sitting up was strenuous for Liza as her body absorbed the soreness from the damage done by the electric shocks that the doctors used to restart her heart.

Not wanting to startle her, Sydney spoke quietly but loud enough for her to hear. “You’re feeling the aftereffects of the defibuelator. You went into cardiac arrest and the doctors’ had to defliberate your heart.”

“I’m surprised they believed that I had one.” Liza stated the sarcasm dripping in her voice before looking at Sydney. “I assume since you are here that you found my interrogation… enlightening?”

“That would be an understatement.” Sydney confessed. She hated voicing any type of weakness, such as lack of knowledge. And in this case, Liza did hold all of the cards. Sydney knew there was more behind her brown eyes then she had told already and that made Sydney uneasy. Whether it was genetic or learned, Liza had the same penetrating gaze that their mother had. The one that said she could look right through you and if she didn’t already know everything about you, she would soon.

“And you have questions.” Liza replied. “Questions that you know I am the only one at present who can give you the answers. And you don’t like that fact.”

“For the reason that I’m not sure the answers I would be given are truth or constructions used to better your position.” Sydney admitted. “You are after all, Irina’s daughter.”

“As are you.” Liza snapped back.

“True, however I was not raised by her. I can only assume that you were groomed since birth in her likeness to be just as ruthless. You are after all an assassin.” Sydney stated. This conversation was not going exactly as she had planned. She had not planned to attack Liza’s character; she had only wanted to learn more.

“It’s interesting that you mention assassin. After all, if I were the one with two years of my memories missing, I would not be so quick to dismiss the possibility that I could have stepped over the line and become exactly what I abhorred.” Liza acknowledged, changing the direction of the conversation back to Sydney and away from her origins.

Air left Sydney’s body as quickly as if she had been punched. Liza had hit right on the sore spot that had been festering since her father had showed her the surveillance feed of her killing Adrian Lazarey. She stared at Liza for a moment and saw that Liza had known exactly what she was doing. Liza knew something about how she had spent the last two years. Sydney was not surprised considering that her father told her that he had worked with her mother to search for her. So she assumed that he had shared the footage with her and therefore Liza did know what Sydney had done.

Liza could see that she had peaked Sydney’s interest and she couldn’t help the small smile that twitched at the corner of her lip. “You must be going mad with all of the questions in your head.”

“One question I have is that if you knew we were related, why did you attack me with a knife?” Sydney asked. Ever since she had discovered it, the scar had been a constant reminder of the mystery surrounding her two missing years. Now that she had a chance to find out even a little bit, she was going to take it.

“As I told you, we…bumped into each other at a facility in South Korea. I thought you were there for the same objective, and I couldn’t allow that.” Liza explained.

“So you made sure to get by any means necessary. Even if it meant killing me.”

“In my defense, you were wearing a mask and just as intent on killing me.” Liza clarified. “It was when I cut you that I was able to unmask you. You took advantage of my surprise to hit me with a length of pipe before taking off. I would not have harmed you if I had known it was you. I would not intentionally hurt you, you are my sister and I have been doing whatever I could to help find you.”

Sydney could hear the honesty in her voice and knew that she was not lying. Although that did not mean that she was not still attempting to manipulate her. “And how was killing Rance DeNeige, his men or the agents in Paris beneficial in locating me?”

“The agents in Paris were attempting to capture us, Sark and I, while we were following a lead on a sighting of you. As for Rance, that was business conducted on behalf of our mother.” Liza rationalized.

“Why? You’re obviously a highly intelligent woman, you could be anything…” Sydney asked.

“Such as an agent of the CIA?” Liza finished before laughing. “The CIA could not offer me the same…benefits as Irina.”

“So you kill only for money?” Sydney inquired.

“Everyone has their price and it doesn’t necessarily have to be money.” Liza declared. “Sydney, you of all people should know that not everything is as it seems.”

Sydney could swear that for a moment, Liza’s features softened before they slipped back into their previous mask. “What is your price?”

Liza’s eyes flicked to various spots where Sydney knew there were surveillance cameras. “I believe I have entertained your bosses enough for now. I hope you will come visit me again.”

Sydney knew that there was no point in pushing the subject, Liza had effectively sealed her mouth and would not say more on the subject until she wanted to. “Perhaps.”

“Sweet Dreams Sydney.” Liza said before she turned and walked to her bunk, leaving Sydney staring after her before turning to leave the cellblock. Sydney was not sure what to think of the meeting with her ‘sister’ especially the way that it ended. Something about it was just odd, and Sydney couldn’t shake the feeling that it was significant.

[LittleBit]

PART 38

After the enlightening and strenuous day of work, Sydney wanted nothing more then to go home and relax. She wanted it so much so that the thought of going to her new apartment didn’t bother her as much as usual. Sure the apartment was nice enough; it was right next to Eric, and close to the beach and the park. But it wasn’t home yet. Sydney still thought of the apartment that she had shared with Francie and Will as ‘home’. Now Will lived in another apartment of his own not far from Danny’s old place while Sydney rambled around her own.

Despite the fact that she was hungry and had not eaten since lunch, Sydney couldn’t bring herself to go to her kitchen and cook something. She was too drained to deal with the task. She changed her clothes before lying on the couch, where she promptly fell asleep.

As she looked around, Sydney found herself in her old apartment. It was a mess and somehow her dream self knew it was because of the fight with Allison Doran although at the moment, the woman was not present. Sydney cautiously explored the apartment but found nothing until she reached her bedroom. Frozen in place, Sydney could only watch the flames as they destroyed everything inside.

Suddenly the flames seemed to double in intensity, causing Sydney to close her eyes to shield them. When she was able to open them, she saw that she was no longer in her room or even her apartment. Instead she found herself in front of a burning building, more accurately a blazing inferno. She looked around quickly, trying to get her bearings. She saw that she was in the middle of some type of town, in the desert if she was correct, and considering that the sky was pitch black it had to be nighttime. There was no activity around her, except for the blaze before her.

It was two stories tall, and looked like some type of business. Before she understood her feet were moving, Sydney moved towards the flames. She didn’t know why or how but she knew that she was supposed to get closer. It was difficult because of the heat but she was able to get a bit closer. And when she did, she was able to make out something burning in the flames.

Sydney could hardly believe what she saw at first. It appeared to be a flying saucer. Something she thought was ridiculous until she saw that it was part of a sign. A sign that read ‘Crashdown Café’.

As Sydney felt herself starting to wake up, she felt something brush then wrap around her right leg. When she looked down, she saw that it was a newspaper. Still curious to know where she was, Sydney pulled it from her leg and there on the front page gave her the answer. It was the Roswell Gazette, dated May 28, 2002.


Sydney sat upright as she jolted awake. It took her a minute to realize it was the doorbell that woke her. She wasn’t expecting anyone but figured that it was most likely her father coming to try and talk to her. However when Sydney opened the door, she was relieved to find only Eric Weiss holding what looked to be a large pizza and a large brown paper bag.

“Figured after the day you’ve had, you might be hungry.”

“Thanks Eric, you read my mind.” Sydney said with a smile before pushing the door farther open to allow him to come in. “I just wanted to think of nothing and veg for the night.”

“I figured that too.” Weiss stated as he set his bounty down on the kitchen counter and opened the bag. “That’s why I brought this.”

At the sight of the large bottle of tequila, Sydney’s smile blossomed wider. “Got any lemons?”

“Of course, how else do you expect me to get my vitamin C?” Weiss joked.

Dining together had become such a common occurrence between the two of them that they easily moved around Sydney’s kitchen, gathering plates, napkins, etc. before settling down in her living room. Sydney started eating while Weiss multitasked, eating his first slice while setting up a round of shots.

“So, it was a crazy day at work today. I jammed the copier again and almost fried my computer with my coffee…how about you?” Weiss asked after they both downed the shots and he started pouring again.

Sydney looked up from where she was picking at a pepperoni, “It’s hard to explain how I feel about it. In some ways, I’m completely taken aback by what happened today. I found out that our highly dangerous new prisoner is my half sister from my mother, who is on several dozen countries’ most wanted lists, and her former KGB commanding officer.”

“But on the other side, it’s just an another incident to add to the pile of things I’ve learned since my mother’s escape before I disappeared.” Sydney explained before looking directly at Weiss. “When did I become so jaded and detached?”

Weiss moved so that he was sitting right next to Sydney before putting his arm around her. “You’re not jaded, and you’re definitely not detached. You care too much about everything and everyone around you for that. I think that it is one of your biggest resources. I think at the moment, you’ve just taken so many hits that your brain has to rest to catch up.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

“Everyone’s family life is complicated,” Eric said trying to soothe her more. “They fight, they keep secrets.”

“Considering that the people in my family shoot each other and hides whole identities, I’d say it’s a little more complicated then most.” Sydney reminded him.

“True, yours happens to be magnified by a hundred.” Eric stated feeling somewhat stupid for making it sound as if her life was ordinary when her family consisted of some of the most dangerous people in the world. A fact he was very much aware. “But the sentiment is still there.”

Sydney nodded in agreement. The two of them did another round of shots before Eric finally asked the question that had been on his mind. “So what do you plan to do when you go back into the office tomorrow?”

Furrowing her brow in confusion, Sydney asked. “What do you mean?”

“With your sister? I know you Sid, and I know that you have to be curious about her. I would be if I were in your situation.” Eric prompted. “But of course there’s not a lot of possibility that my long lost sibling would be an enemy of the state.”

“After my mom died, I used to daydream what my life would be like if she had lived. I would picture her leading my girl scout troop or taking me shopping, things that mothers and daughters do.” Sydney declared wistfully. “But when I sat in the conference room and learned the truth about her, and later saw her for who she truly was all of those dreams were shattered. And I won’t allow fantasies of long lost family to hurt me like that again.”

Eric nodded in understanding although he recognized that she had not actually answered his question. And he really needed to know the answer. After all, if he was going to help with anything shady, he liked to know up front. “But that isn’t going to stop you from visiting her is it?”

Sydney wanted to say yes, but found herself admitting the truth. “No.”

A small smile twitched at the corner of Eric’s lips. “I knew it.”

“My curiousity just won’t let it go.” Sydney stated. “When Will used to talk about his sister Amy, he was always so exasperated. He said she was a flake. He told me I was lucky to be an only child, but I knew he was lying. You could see it when they were together. He loved her. I always wondered what they had. I have a sister, and despite what she is, I feel that there is something hidden underneath. Something that will show that she’s not completely heartless, forget it. I know, I’m not making much sense.”

“No, I think I understand.” Eric assured her. “You know that if you need me, I’m here. Whether to sit here and drink with you, or give a shoulder to cry on, I’m here.”

“Yeah Eric, I know. I don’t know what I would do without you.” Sydney said graciously.

“It’s a scary thought.” Eric joked before turning serious. “Syd, when I said anything, I mean, at work too. To…keep anyone busy so that you can see her if you want to.”

Syd couldn’t help but smile at him. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Eric replied. “Now how about a movie? A cheesy comedy to perk you up?”

“That’d be great.” Sydney agreed, thinking it was a great way to veg out for the evening.