Sydney is at a conference somewhere in North America. Nigel and Cate are in Lisbon. The next time Sydney is informed about their location is when she is on a plane, having left from the North American conference, and is calling to Karen. Karen connects her to Cate, who is on Malta with Nigel, and informs Sydney of it. Nigel has just been taken captive and Cate has called her Interpol colleagues for back up. Somehow, Sydney gets to Malta and to the town of Valletta before the back up arrives - *and* in a time so short that during it Nigel is only taken to an upper floor and asked a couple of questions.
When Nigel gave Cate's description to the desk clerk, he described her as a "pretty brunette" even though she is clearly blonde. At most it could be argued that her hair looks dirty blonde in dimmer lighting, but not brunette.