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CHAPTER SIX
Nigel bolted awake, he’d been having those awful dreams again that had been filled with screaming and suffering and the smell of death. It took him a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness and the hardness of the rock that he had fallen asleep against. “ Sydney !” he called out, scrambling to his feet as he realized that darkness had fallen and they were still in the mouth of the great Buddha. “ Sydney !” Cate stepped forward and shined her flashlight at him. “Nigel? What’s wrong?” “Where’s Sydney ?” “She went with Lloyd, they thought they heard something in the forest.” She frowned concerned. “Are you okay?” Nigel pushed past her and moved toward the opening of the Buddha. “Why didn’t you wake me, Cate? Why did you let her go?” “ Sydney can take care of herself, Nigel and Lloyd’s with her. She told me to stay here with you and Karen to…” “Protect me, I know!” Nigel snapped, furious as he grabbed his pack and rummaged for his flashlight. “Damn it, why does she do this?” Cate watched him, puzzled. She’d never seen him so agitated. She touched his shoulder. “Nigel, what…” A gunshot sounded in the distance and they both froze. Cate pulled out her weapon and moved back towards the entrance, waving a frightened Karen back inside. “Stay back,” she ordered the secretary as Nigel joined her and they peered out into the darkness. “Can you see anything?” he demanded in a hushed voice, trying to swallow his fear that Sydney had been shot and having little luck. Cate shook her head as they stared out at the darkness. “Nothing,” she whispered back. She didn’t want to flash her light out there in case it gave away their friend’s position. Nigel jumped as the sound of a machine gun firing multiple times broke the heavy silence, and he could see the sparks of the weapon far below in the forest. “Syd!” he whispered, panicked. He turned, grabbed his pack and shrugged it onto his back then started to climb out. “Nigel, we have to stay here!” Cate hissed, trying to pull him back. “ Sydney said to stay here!” “I’m not going to leave her to them, Cate! She could be hurt!” “It could also be a trap, Nigel! They could be waiting for you.” Nigel knew that, he wasn’t stupid, but he couldn’t take the chance. He had to find Sydney , had to know that she was okay. He slid sideways onto the ledge. “Take care of Karen, okay?” Cate stared after him, helpless. She wanted to go, but she did have Karen to worry about. She tossed him her spare gun. “Take this with you at least.” Nigel caught it and slipped it into the pocket of his jacket, zipping it closed. “Thanks, Cate.” “Nigel…” She caught him and kissed him on the mouth. “Be careful.” Nigel nodded and started making his way down the Buddha. His heart was in his throat the entire time, because he knew he was an open target while he was on the ledge, there was nowhere to hide from an assailant or a bullet. Finally he dropped down to the floor of the forest and moved forward, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness instead of using his light; he was used to doing that anyway. He didn’t want to give away his position either. He moved in the direction of where he thought he had seen the machinegun fire, wishing that he had Sydney’s stealth, but at least he had speed; fear gave him that much anyway. He moved quietly through the trees, stopping now and then to listen for anyone around him. He heard a snap and froze, suddenly realizing that Sydney had set traps and he had not seen where she had put them. A distinct whoosh came from the left and Nigel felt a hard shove from behind as the spring trap released a large log that could have smashed him to pieces if he had remained in that spot. The body lying atop him started to move and Nigel elbowed the person, desperate to get out from under them. “Watch it!” Derek hissed, rolling over and releasing his hold on Nigel. “It’s me.” Nigel stared at him for a long moment, relieved, and then demanded. “Where’s Sydney ?” “I don’t know we got separated.” Nigel glared at him, alarmed. “Separated!” he hissed. “You’re supposed to be protecting her! How could you let that happen?” “Hey, you know how she is, she likes to do her own thing,” Derek reminded as he offered Nigel a hand up. “We got busy fighting some goons and I looked around and she was chasing one of them. I haven’t been able to find her again.” “Aren’t you supposed to be some great tracker?” Nigel demanded angrily. “Isn’t that what you do?” Derek scowled. “Look, I…” He held up his hand and pulled Nigel down into the brush at the sounds of someone coming toward them. “Mr. Bailey!” a heavily accented voice called from the darkness as a gunman dressed in camouflage gear moved into their view; although he wasn’t the one talking. “I know you are out here, so let’s make this easy, shall we?” Nigel knew that voice, why did he know that voice? “I have Sydney Fox and I will kill her if you don’t show yourself immediately.” Sydney ! Nigel automatically started to rise, but was pulled down again by Derek, who shook his head. “You disappoint me Mr. Bailey, I was assured that you would do anything for the good Professor, including risk your own life. What a shame you shall never have to prove it. Oh well, so be it. Kill her.” “Nigel!” Nigel shoved Derek away and bolted to his feet. “ Sydney !” Even as he did it, he realized that Sydney Fox would never cry out, no matter what was being done to her, but his fear had closed his mind to that thought. Derek had crawled back into the brush as two men appeared and grabbed Nigel. Lights started moving towards them and a moment later, men in black surrounded Nigel and their leader was stepping forward, a large brutish man with a metal hook in place of where his hand should be. “Kafka!” Nigel swallowed, worried. He knew that this man was Sydney ’s sworn enemy because he blamed her for losing his hand. He’d thought the unscrupulous Relic Hunter had died in a fall down a pit while they had been looking for The Light of Truth for Prince Shareem. “Ah, very good, Mr. Bailey.” The German smiled. “You remember me.” He stepped forward and touched his hook to Nigel’s chest. “I remember you, too. I remember that you and Sydney Fox left me to die in that pit, and now you must pay for it.” Nigel struggled against his captors. “Where’s Sydney ?” “She’s here somewhere,” Kafka assured, caressing his hook deliberately. “Now that we have you, she’ll be easier to catch I am sure.” He squeezed his real hand into a fist. “And when I get her, she will pay for what she has done to me.” It had been a trick, damn it! Nigel avoided looking toward Derek, who he was sure was only a few feet away, waiting to strike. He couldn’t let them use him to get Sydney , especially not Kafka, who was bent on killing her. “I’m sure your employer wouldn’t like that,” he stated, pretending a bravado that he did not feel, Kafka terrified him. “I’m sure he’d rather kill us himself.” The man was a muscled bound giant bent on revenge against Sydney and Nigel was more afraid of what would happen if Kafka managed to get to his friend; she’d barely survived the last round with him. He couldn’t believe that Kafka had organized all this. The man wasn’t stupid, but he couldn’t possibly have the resources to plant bombs and follow them across the globe; which meant he was working for someone else Kafka smiled, menacingly. “I don’t have to kill you, Mr. Bailey. The human body can withstand much suffering before it gives out.” He leaned closer, his face inches from Nigel’s, as he prodded the Englishman’s stomach with his hook. “Do you know how painful it is to have your hand cut off? Sydney Fox will know. She will know and I will revel in her screams.” Nigel swallowed and turned his head away; the man’s breath was a painful as his steel hook. “It…wasn’t her fault…” His breath was knocked out of him as Kafka delivered a meaty fist to his midsection, and then grabbed him by the collar. “She lost me my hand!” Kafka tossed Nigel against the men that held him and stepped back. “But, don’t worry, Mr. Bailey, I won’t hurt you. You, I’ll leave for the others.” Nigel coughed and dropped to his knees as he tried to suck his breath back in, grateful only that Kafka had used his hand and not his hook, which would have gutted him like a fish. “And…w…who might that be?” Please tell me, he screamed silently. They had to know who was after them. If Sydney was listening, she’d know who she faced. Kafka smirked and wagged his hook at him. “Ah, ah, Mr. Bailey. No fair giving away the ending.” He called out into the darkness, suddenly. “We have your assistant, Sydney.” He sneered down at the weakened Englishman. “Such as he is.” Nigel didn’t even have the energy to glare at him, his stomach was on fire and the men that had been holding, disgusted by his weakness, released their hold and left him to kneel on the ground, gasping. “Show yourself or I will skewer him and you will listen to his screams as he dies a very painful death.” The men with Kafka had large flashlights and offered Nigel the opportunity to notice that Kafka was standing in front of a ledge that led to a deep ravine; he’d almost fallen over it the last time he was here with Sydney searching for the Buddha’s bowl. He couldn’t let Sydney come forward; he couldn’t let Kafka get her. “Come, Sydney ,” Kafka called again bored. “I do not wish to hurt your little friend further, but I will and you know how vicious I can be, Sydney .” Nigel shook his head, sending out a silent prayer that Sydney would not come forward. “ Sydney ’s too smart for that, Kafka,” he wheezed painfully. “She’s miles away by now.” Kafka frowned, slightly. “She would not leave you.” “I left her, I’m a…” He grimaced in pain, each breath was painful; Kafka must have broken his rib. “Decoy, she…she’s not here you stupid oaf!” Kafka stepped forward, enraged and punched Nigel across the face, knocking the Englishman the rest of the way to the ground. “Shut up! She would not leave you.” He called out again. “Last chance, Sydney . Show yourself or he dies!” Nigel heard a sound in the bushes and knew that it was Sydney , she was about to show herself and he couldn’t allow that. He pretended defeat, not difficult after that wicked punch from Kafka and the men beside him immediately let down their guard, assured he was no longer a threat. He understood that they wouldn’t think that skinny; fumbling Nigel Bailey would be much of a chore to hold on to and that after only a couple of punches, he was too much of a wimp to try anything else. Nigel slowly rolled to his knees, holding his stomach. “You can’t have her,” he said suddenly, filled with a sudden burst of bravery as he bolted to his feet and launched himself at Kafka, throwing them both over the side. Nigel lost all sense of direction as he tumbled down the side of the ravine, now and then catching a glimpse of Kafka, who was also falling and cursing as he spun out of control. Nigel tried to control his fall by curling his knees into his chest, God knew he had plenty of experience in such matters after so many hunts with Sydney , but he had gained too much momentum to do so properly. His head hit something hard and darkness followed. Sydney watched in horror from where she was hiding, intending to show herself after Kafka’s last warning, she couldn’t let Nigel be beaten, but just as she rose up she heard Nigel speak and then lunge at the other man throwing the two of them over the side. No! Her heart constricted in her chest and she started to surge forward, but a hand grabbed her and pulled her back. Derek! He put hand over her mouth to keep her from crying out, as the men scrambled to find a safe way down the ravine to their leader. When they had moved off, Sydney started to move forward again, but Derek pulled her back a second time and shook his head. “Nigel!” she whispered, desperately, trying to shake him off. Derek shook his head again, his expression pained. His heart had dropped into his stomach when he’d watched the Englishman throw himself at the leader, even as his respect for the TA skyrocketed. He understood the desperation behind Nigel’s actions, but honestly hadn’t expected the usually timid man to follow through. Nor, did he believe that Nigel realize that the ravine was deeper than it appeared. “He’s gone, Syd. It’s over a fifty foot drop down the mountain.” “No, he’s okay, he…” “Syd, he couldn’t have survived it. No one could.” It pained Derek to have to force her to see the truth, because as much as he pretended otherwise, he had become very fond of Nigel and had considered him a good and trusted friend; something Derek Lloyd had few of in his line of work. “It’s all rock and trees…” Sydney knew what he was saying; the fall would probably crush every bone in Nigel’s fragile body. Her mind could understand what she was telling her, but her heart refused to accept it. “I can’t leave him…” Derek nodded. “We won’t, but we have to get rid of these other guys first. Their leader’s gone, so it shouldn’t be hard.” He swallowed. “Then we’ll go find Nigel, okay?” Sydney blinked at the sudden moisture in her eyes and again looked toward the ravine. Finally she nodded. She rose and followed him back through the woods, her fury mounting with each step. For the second time in her life, Sydney Fox was inspired to kill and when she found out who was behind all of this, they would wish they had never been born. It took less time than expected to round up and dispatch the remaining assailants, but then, no one had expected what a savage Sydney Fox could do when motivated by anger and revenge. Even Derek had been startled by the ferocity of her attacks on each of the men. All of them subjected quickly to her questioning, insisting that they were only working for Kafka, and that they didn’t know who had hired him. Derek and Sydney tied each of the men up and left them in a safe place, intending to send someone for them later. They searched the ravine for Nigel, careful not to lose their footing and fall to their deaths. They immediately found Kafka, or what was left of him. His hooked hand was dangling from a tree, his body smashed between two large boulders several feet down, his body twisted and broken in a bizarre cartoonist fashion. Sydney stared at him for a long time, before finally moving away; she only regretted that she wouldn’t be able to kill him herself. Derek and Sydney called out for Nigel and searched for several hours in the darkness, but all they found was the TA’s knapsack, which had been practically shredded from the fall, and his wallet by the riverbed. Sydney stood holding the items, her gaze following the flowing current. Had he been carried off? Nigel wasn’t a very good swimmer, he had inner ear syndrome and tended to stay away from such a sport. She tried to insist that he could still be alive and that they just needed to follow the river. Derek indicated the knapsack, the condition it was in, and that if Nigel had survived the fall, he would never have had the strength to keep his head above the water as the river carried him away. He managed to convince Sydney to head back by reminding her that they weren’t out of the woods yet. Kafka had been working for someone, and it would be better to leave for a different location, knowing they’d gained some extra time at least. They returned to the Buddha. “Thank God!” Cate cried, relieved. “We were so worried.” She frowned and focused on Sydney ’s expression. “Where’s Nigel?” Sydney stared at her for a long time; her arms were still wrapped around Nigel’s knapsack. Finally, she shook her head and moved away, further into the belly of the Buddha. Cate turned to Derek. “Where is Nigel? What happened?” Derek quietly told her what happened. “No!” Karen cried and started for the entrance. “He has to be okay, he can’t…” Derek caught her and held her back. “He’s gone, honey. There’s no way he could have survived the fall. I’m sorry.” Karen started to cry and he held her in his arms as he glanced over her shoulder to Cate. The Interpol agent had looked like she had been kicked in the stomach and was leaning against the wall for support. She was staring at the ground, numb. Sydney could hear Karen crying as she moved further into the temple, uncaring about the cockroaches that littered the floor, the possible traps, or anything else but the need to get away from everyone else and be alone. She was assailed with visions of her last time here, her and Nigel racing Stewie for the relic they were after. Nigel had been so innocent, so green to the field and yet he followed her unquestioningly into danger. She looked up and found herself facing the chamber that had held Siddhartha’s bowl; the first Buddha. She remembered how they had almost died, been buried alive, and how frightened Nigel had been. All I wanted was a quiet little teaching job. His desperate words haunted her and now she wished that he had found that assignment he craved, instead of following her from one danger to the next. She should have listened to her instincts from the beginning, and just left him to grading papers. But she couldn’t, he’d proven invaluable in the field and she’d felt an instant connection with him. His intelligence was by far his biggest attraction, at least for Sydney . It was so nice to have someone that could hold a conversation and knew what he was talking about; Nigel was not just another pretty face, as her father had referred to her last assistant. And she had been lonely, incredibly lonely for so long because the only people that she could share her true passion with were rival relic hunters, most of which were ex lovers and would betray her in an instant for a good relic. Nigel had become her assistant, her partner, her playmate and her very best friend. She had been selfish in wanting him with her always, because she was lonely without him. So she kept dragging him along with her on the hunts, ignoring his inexperience and his uncertainty and putting them both in constant danger. They’d escaped the sand trap of the Buddha’s temple, as they escaped all the other traps that followed over the years, and when they had the bowl, it had given Nigel what he thought he’d needed, his watch back, but he had realized that he hadn’t needed the item after all. She wished for the bowl now, wished that it could give her back what she most needed, her friend and partner. How ironic it was that here, in the place where their partnership began, so it was their partnership was ended. She couldn’t help but feel responsible, for bringing him into her field of work, for not protecting him. And yet, the idea of not having had him with her the last three years was too horrifying to contemplate. She had come to depend on him so much. She moved toward the three pillars where the bowl had been kept and knelt before it. She closed her eyes and prayed to Siddhartha, pleading with him to show her the way, to give her back what she most needed, her friend, her colleague, and her love. She offered to give up relic hunting and stick to just teaching, she promised to never put Nigel in danger again if he would only come back to her. “ Sydney ?” Cate asked from behind her. “Go away, Cate,” Sydney requested, quietly. She couldn’t deal with anyone right now; she didn’t have the patience to be strong and supportive for Cate. “I loved him too, Syd.” Sydney turned as she rose and witnessed the tears in Cate’s eyes. “I know,” she said. Cate stepped forward and Sydney dropped Nigel’s bag to open her arms. “I can’t believe he’s gone.” Sydney shook her head. “It’s all my fault,” she heard herself saying. Cate pulled back to look at her. “No, Syd. No. Nigel wouldn’t want you to blame yourself. He knew the dangers he…” “He never should have been out there!” Sydney suddenly snapped, pushing Cate away. “You were supposed to be watching him. I told you to stay here and protect him!” Cate blinked furiously. “ Sydney , I tried! He heard the shots and…He was worried. We both know that there was nothing short of knocking him out that would have kept him here when he thought you were in danger!” “Then you should have knocked him out! You should have tied him up or…or…” Sydney ’s voice broke and she turned away, frightened. No, she couldn’t do this now, not yet. She wasn’t ready to grieve for him; she refused to grieve for Nigel. He couldn’t be dead! Until she saw his body he wasn’t dead! She was back in Egypt again, feeling that fear and total despair and yet… Something pulled at her to keep hope. Something told her that Nigel wasn’t dead. She’d thought he was dead in Egypt and he had survived. They hadn’t found his body, so there was still hope that he was okay, that he’d find his way back to her. She couldn’t give up; she didn’t want to give up. Nigel wouldn’t give up on her. She’d go back, as soon as it was light, she’d go back and search for him With great difficulty, she managed to pull herself together and turned back to the horrified agent. “I…I didn’t mean that, Cate. I’m sorry.” Cate nodded. “I know.” Sydney took a deep breath and picked up Nigel’s pack. “We’d better get our things together, we don’t have much time.” Cate nodded and followed her back to the outer parts of the temple.
Nigel awoke slowly, his pain becoming more intense as he struggled to regain full consciousness and he was tempted to just go back to sleep. He was wet, cold, and in more pain than he had ever thought possible. He forced his eyes open and blinked at the brightness of the sun. Where was he? What had happened? His lower extremities were freezing and it took him a minute or two to realize that he was lying in the water, having crawled up on a portion of the shore to keep from being swept away by the current. He started to roll over onto his back and lightening quick pain raced up the right side of his body. Oh, yeah, broken arm, that hurts. He closed his eyes, again wishing he could just fall back into that peaceful, pain free darkness, but then he remembered why he was battered and bruised and lying in a riverbed. Sydney ! Had they caught her, was she okay? Derek had been there, he was sure that if anyone could save Sydney , it would be him. He opened his eyes again, wishing the sun were a lamp that he could switch off, and slowly tried to move again. He hadn’t realized how deep the ravine had been, if he had he might not have taken the same action. Then again, if he hadn’t done what he did, he and Sydney might be dead. Pain raced through him again as he struggled into a sitting position and pulled his legs out of the water. He might be better off dead at that. “Oh God, Syd,” he moaned, fighting the urge to pass out as he tried to figure out where he was. How far down the river had he been pulled? What had he been thinking throwing himself over that bloody cliff? When had he decided to get delusions of grandeur? “I’m such an idiot.” He tried not to move his arm too much as he used a large rock to lever himself to his feet. He gasped. Oh, ribs…couple of rips broken too. Bloody fantastic! He wasn’t sure if that was left over from Kafka’s punch or of they had been damaged further by his fall. He swayed, feeling like he had been through one of Hepset’s death traps. “Okay,” he breathed, trying to gather his strength as he cradled his right arm with his left and leaned against the boulder. “First rule of survival…” He drew a blank. Sydney was his only rule of survival; she always knew what to do. No, that wouldn’t do. He’d been doing this for three years now, and had been in much worse situations. He couldn’t think of any worse than this at the moment, but he was sure there had been a few. “Come on, get it together, old man.” He raised his gaze to the cliffs above. He’d never make the climb back to the top, not in his condition. So, where did that leave him? The sun rose in the west and set in the east, he knew that the village was Northeast from the giant Budda. The sun was high in the sky, but probably hadn’t been up that long, and the river was flowing north. So, away from the sun and follow the river, it should bring him back to the village. Would he make it that far though? His legs were numb from the cold water and every movement caused him more pain. Blood trickled down from a cut over his left eye and he wiped at it so that he could see, and then took a deep breath and started forward, each step was excruciating, each breath more painfully shallow than the first. He stumbled on, trying to think of anything but the pain, and how incredibly thirsty he was. He didn’t know how far he walked, crawled, stumbled, or even if he had moved at all from his original position; perhaps he had only thought he had been walking, but soon he was lying on the hard ground beside the river, once again and the sounds of vultures circling above made him cringe. I’m not dead yet, he thought defiantly. He closed his eyes against the intensity of the sun because it was so incredibly blinding, and faces swam in front of his shuttered lids. Words formed with the faces, jumbled voices from his past; Preston , Claudia, Karen, Cate, Randal and even himself. Just think, if you’d gotten that job at the museum, you’d never have met me.... He’s a great kisser…. In terms of attraction I guess I have to feel the man is my equal, both mentally as well as physically…. What exactly are your intentions towards my daughter... What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger…. He goes, or I don’t go…. You’re the best, Nigel. I couldn’t do it without you. The last voice was Sydney ’s and as her beautiful face appeared before him, he opened his eyes and reached for her, calling her name. He wouldn’t make it. He was delirious, and injured and too far from civilization. And he was alone; he didn’t have Sydney to help him. He realized, not for the first time, that despite three years of relic hunting, he was still horribly out of his element. Without Sydney to encourage him, to rescue him, he was back to being plain, ordinary, bungling Nigel Bailey; he was doomed. He’d never felt so frightened in his life. I’m so happy to see you. Likewise. Tsarlov told me you were dead. Likewise Nigel groaned and forced himself to stand. It’s a tight fit. It always is, Syd. He had to try; he couldn’t just lay here and wait for the vultures to nibble away at his flesh. I love you, Syd. I love you too, Nigel. It took all his strength to pull himself upright and surge forward. Have to keep going, have to get to the village. Sydney would look for him there; she would know where he was. He had to warn her, had to save her. He stumbled on a rock and fell painfully to his knees. He was dying, really and truly this time. There was no way out, there was no secret passageway to lead them to safety and no one knew where he was. He heard a voice carried on the air and tried to discern where it was coming from, but everything was spinning and his mind was so jumbled and confused he was lucky to know up from down. He fell onto his back and his breath left him. The sky is blue, so that way must be up. Nigel Nigel tried to cover his eyes against the glare of the sun with his good arm as a form appeared, blurry and out of shape, like staring across a desert through a wave of heat. “Who…who’s there?” His lips were parched, he was dehydrated and he could feel the ominous pounding of his heart throughout his entire body. It was painful and distracting but he was so frightened of when it would stop, then he would be dead. Nigel “Who are you?” he croaked as the form moved closer. His eyes widened as a face took shape, a woman bending toward him, a smile on her face as she reached out her hand for him. “Mum!”
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Sydney was exhausted, they’d been running for two days and none of them had managed much sleep. It seemed everywhere they went, they were becoming out numbered and out matched. She didn’t know who the hell it was that was after them, but they definitely had deep pockets and unlimited resources. She wanted to stand and fight, running away wasn’t her style, but she had Cate and Karen to consider. She couldn’t stand to lose another friend, not like she had lost Nigel. She was still furious at Derek for drugging her water and preventing her from returning to the ravine to look for Nigel again. She woke up and they were in a hotel in Paris , compliments again of Derek Lloyd. She’d almost killed him when she realized what he had done and had to be restrained by Karen and Cate, who insisted that he had done it to save their lives. The enemy had already regrouped and was ready to attack; there would have been no way to search for Nigel and remain alive. Now, they were traipsing through the woods south of a small village in Vienna to meet a contact of Derek’s, who supposedly would offer them information of whoever was after them. She was keeping a sharp eye on Derek, listening in on his phone conversations, watching whenever he tried to wander off for what he might be doing Eventually, Sydney realized the truth of their situation, but she was still angry and she hardly spoke to Derek. Cate was struggling with her own grief, despite being ready for action whenever Sydney requested it, and was doing her part with the contacts she had through Interpol. Sydney noticed that over the last few days, Cate and Derek had become closer, perhaps not friends, but there was definitely a softening toward each other. Derek knew that all the women were missing Nigel and he was trying to be supportive. Sydney could see that Cate was torn between her loyalty to Nigel’s memory and her growing attraction to Derek Lloyd. Sydney understood that as well, she’d fought against the same attraction herself, finally letting her mistrust of Lloyd win out over her hormones. Karen was holding up remarkably well, considering the circumstances, but she had taken an instant dislike to the CIA agent, perhaps blaming him for Nigel’s death, and Sydney certainly shared the secretary’s animosity. Karen had also developed a mistrust of Derek after he had drugged Sydney; the secretary could be remarkably protective of her at times, and it seemed that she was doing her best to take care of Sydney in Nigel’s stead; making sure she ate, drank, tormented her to rest when they could and generally keeping a sharp eye on her boss. Sydney had to admit, the blond must have studied Nigel and hers relationship very well, because it really helped to have someone to lean on, as she would have with Nigel. She felt the loss of Nigel most during the nights, when they were settled somewhere and she was alone with her thoughts. While they were fighting or trying to outwit their enemies, she could remain focused, but once the adrenalin wore off and her mind was forced to settle, she felt that deep familiar ache inside her. She had hoped to never feel that way again after Egypt , she’d promised herself that she would be more open and honest in her feelings toward him after almost loosing him; see where that got her. They had been separated again and it was killing her not knowing where he was and if he was okay. She still refused to believe that Nigel was dead and in her heart she sensed he was out there, looking for her. She was trying to leave him some kind of trail, clues that only he would be able to understand, but it was getting harder to come up with ideas and Derek had set a horrendous pace between each destination. It was at night, while the others were sleeping, that she thought the most about Nigel. She always offered to take first watch, knowing she would never be able to sleep. Every small sound she heard, her heart soared with the hope it would be Nigel, and then sank when it was a bird, or some animal, or worse a henchman that had found them and she had to go on the attack. She missed having Nigel to talk to, confide in and to work out her problems and concerns. He was her sounding board and he always gave her the truth, even when she didn’t want to hear it. “Syd?” Karen whispered, moving up to walk beside her; Derek was in the lead and Cate was bringing up the rear, since she was other trained agent in the field. “Yeah?” Sydney whispered back. “I’m scared, Syd. Are we going to be on the run forever?” Sydney offered her a supportive look. “No. It will be over soon.” One way or the other. She frowned. “I’m sorry we pulled you into this, Karen.” Karen shook her head and crossed her arms across her chest, hugging herself. “No, I made the decision. Besides, I’d be going nuts if I was back home and didn’t know where you and Nigel…” Her voice broke and she put her hand over her mouth. Sydney reached around and rubbed Karen’s back, encouragingly. “It’s okay.” Karen composed herself by clearing her throat several times. Her eyes narrowed on Derek ahead of them. “We can’t trust him, can we, Syd?” Sydney shrugged. “I haven’t decided,” she admitted. Derek was many things, not the least of which was a giant pain in her butt with all his ‘need to know’ crap, but at the same time, every scheme that he had gotten her into, he always did his best to get her out. He was dishonest and secretive and always had his own agenda, but he did try to take care of the people in his charge; she’d give him that. This wasn’t one of his schemes, they were running for their lives and he was trying to protect them. Sydney had never seen him so driven, even when they were searching for the lost tribe of Kai Nomata, and she wondered if he was feeling guilty about Nigel and trying to make up for it. “Let me know when you do?” Karen requested as she glanced back at Cate, who offered her a small smile. The Interpol agent was in the same boat as the rest of them, exhausted, confused, and hurting, but still she pressed on. Karen turned back to Sydney . “You know, I never cared for Cate,” she admitted quietly. “I guess because I knew how Nigel felt about her, but…” “But?” Sydney encouraged. “She’s okay I guess. I mean, she certainly is serious about helping us anyway.” Sydney nodded. “Cate has been a good friend to me and to Nigel, Karen.” Karen shrugged. “I guess. I just…I didn’t care for her because of her relationship with Nigel, and the way she seemed to treat him, but now that he’s…” She paused and regrouped. “Now I see how she looks at Lloyd and it makes me even angrier.” Sydney nodded. It was hard watching Cate and Derek become closer; especially knowing how Nigel felt about Cate. It felt like she was betraying the Englishman, but everyone dealt with grief in their own way and sometimes, moving on was the only way to keep your sanity. Sydney knew that Nigel loved her now, so she tried to see Cate’s side of things. “Cate is missing Nigel as much as we are, Karen, but their relationship has been over for awhile and we can’t begrudge her for wanting to put the past behind her, even if it is with Derek Lloyd.” Karen regarded her quietly. “What about you, Syd? I can see there’s chemistry between you and him.” Sydney flushed and looked away; she did not want to think about her quick, affair with Derek. “I burned my bridges with that, Karen,” she said softly as she thought of Nigel again. “Lloyd can be charming and he is handsome, but I know better than to get involved with him.” Nigel had taught her that she needed to step back from such impulsive attractions to men that were bad for her and she had finally learned her lesson. “Syd?” “Yeah?” “Can I ask you…you don’t have to answer but…” Karen offered Sydney a shy, hopeful look. She’d been watching Sydney closely over the past several days, remembered how furious she was that they had left Nepal without searching for Nigel again and she realized that her boss was still holding out hope for their favorite Englishman. “Syd…do you really think he’s…” “Yes.” “But how. Derek said…” “Derek can blow it out his ass,” Sydney huffed angrily, and then she grinned and leaned closer to Karen. “Besides, we both know how Nigel is, he wouldn’t dare do anything without my permission, especially not die.” Karen smiled and nodded, that was certainly true enough. Sydney was elated at having gotten a smile out of the sullen secretary; of course none of them had much to smile about lately, but it was nice to see. She leaned even closer. “And since I’ve let you in on the secret, maybe you can start helping me.” Karen nodded and whispered back. “Tell me how.” Sydney smiled.
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