The Kate Vartan
Cadet
This is my first fan fiction, so I hope you like it. Please give feed back.
Chapter One
Sydney and Francie’s apartment
Sydney’s POV
It’s 6:30 AM. As I roll out of bed, I can’t believe that it’s already morning. Last night, Francie, Will and I went out the Francie’s restaurant for dinner and then we helped her close up. I was having so much fun with them that I completely forgot about my morning meeting with Sloane.
I groggily walk around my bedroom looking for my clothes. I stumble over one of my shoes that I didn’t put away last night. Finally I manage to pull on my work clothes and proceed into the bathroom. As I am brushing my teeth I can’t help but wonder how I ever got myself into this double life. I look back to when I was first starting at UCLA and then SD-6 recruited me. I was so excited that the United States government wanted me! In contrast to present situation, that time seems like bliss to me. For a moment I wonder what it would be like if I never found out that SD-6 was not a black ops division of the CIA as it claimed to be. I finish brushing my teeth and quickly put my hair up in a French twist.
I walk into the kitchen and press the start button on the coffee maker. I walk outside to get the newspaper and notice an old woman walking her dog. She looks so peaceful and content. Now why can’t I be more like that? Then the little voice in the back of my head pops up and tells me to be happy with who I am and what I do. If I hadn’t been recruited to SD-6 then I wouldn’t have been recruited to the CIA. And if I hadn’t been recruited to the CIA I would have been blindly working against my country and would never have met Vaughn. As my mind drifts off into dreamland, I am snapped back into reality at the sound of my neighbor leaving for work, so I grab the newspaper and go inside and get a cup of coffee.
As I sit down at the kitchen table, I try to drink my coffee and read the paper, but I can’t focus. My mind keeps meandering back to images of Vaughn. He is my life. He is my reason to get up every morning. Without him, I probably wouldn’t be working at the CIA anymore. But, my thoughts are interrupted by a big looming image of Alice, Vaughn’s “girlfriend”. Why did she have to be in the picture? I know that she must be a nice person if Vaughn was dating her, but I can’t get over my jealousy of their relationship. One of the most infuriating things about working for the CIA is protocol, so even if Alice was out of the picture, I could never share my feelings for him. I wanted to explode with jealousy when Vaughn and Alice walked into the bar where Will and I were talking. My first thought was what is she doing her and then oh my god! The security cameras! Naturally, I couldn’t just ignore them when they came in, so I had to greet them. At first, I was worried that Will wouldn’t catch on and slip up by calling me Sydney or mentioning the CIA. But my anxiety was unfounded. He played along like a good sport. I couldn’t help but feel bad for him because I could tell that he can sense my feelings for Vaughn are beyond a professional relationship. Speaking of a professional relationship, it has been very hard to contain my feelings for him when I’m around him. I feel intoxicated by his very presence. I know that I will never be able to and never will act on these feelings towards him because I’m sure that he doesn’t feel the same way. Someone that amazing would never fall for someone like me.
All of a sudden I was brought back to reality as Francie walked sleepily into the kitchen in her pajamas. I glanced hurriedly at the clock. It’s 7:10.
“Francie, I’ve got to go to the bank for an early morning meeting with some east coast clients. I’ll see you later. Bye!”
“Bye Syd!” replied Francie.
Francie’s POV
Wow. I can’t believe Sydney. She’s absolutely amazing. No matter how late she stays out, she’s always ready and raring to go the next morning. I can’t image where she gets all of her energy. On top of that, she’s such a sweet and kind person. In fact, she is probably the nicest and sweetest person on the planet. Although she is all of those things, her life must be pretty hard. She works long hours and goes on numerous business trips. Rarely does she get to enjoy herself as she did last night and afterwards, she probably regrets going out because she’d be tired for work the next day. I really hope that the bank gives her a break some time soon of she’s gonna to get with all the stress in her hectic life.
At SD-6
Sydney’s POV
I walk into the bank building and head towards the elevator. I get inside and push B6. As the elevator takes me down to the SD-6 headquarters, I can’t help but wonder what Francie must think about my job at Credit Dauphine. After all, I’ve had this job since I entered UCLA and banking can’t be that exciting. Oh well. At least it’s a pretty average job so it doesn’t really draw attention to itself.
The elevator stopped at B6 and I got out. Before going to my meeting, I stopped by my desk to deposit my handbag and then continued on to the conference room for my meeting.
Sloane and Sark were already seated as Jack, Marshall and I entered. Everyone took their seats and Sloane began detailing the mission.
“We’ve recently gotten some new intelligence from Mr. Sark about a clue leading to a Rambaldi device is located in Shanghai. Sydney, you and Mr. Sark will got to Shanghai infiltrate the warehouse where the device is hidden and bring it back to SD-6 so we can examine it. The plane leaves in three hours. Are there any questions? No? Okay, this meeting is dismissed, but Jack will you stay behind?”
Jack’s POV
I wonder what he wants to talk about? Probably something confidential. Then Sloane began to speak.
“As you know, I ended Emily’s suffering a few months ago and now someone is blackmailing me. The party in question is threatening to give out information about the Alliance, which would prove damaging to all parties involved. So, I have hired Ariana Kane, counter-intelligence for the Alliance, to investigate and hopefully solve this problem. From what I have heard, she is an excellent game strategist like you and I have full confidence in her capabilities. I understand that she has been questioning you and I would like to know how that is going.”
I took that statement as an implied question so I answered. “I believe that she trusts your judgement on the subject of my innocence, but she still continues to question me. Just the other day, I believe she and I reached an understanding regarding such questioning. She asked about my private life and I immediately could tell that she was insulting my intelligence and trying to see the kind of person that I was by backhandedly doing so. I called her on her behavior and we both reached the conclusion that I would rather be tortured and she would rather do the torturing than have me questioned in such a stupid manner. With that meeting, I believe that she has begun to trust me. She is one of the best game strategist that I have ever met and have full confidence in her ability. I sincerely hope that we will get to the bottom of this matter as soon as possible.”
“That’s just as I expected. I’m glad that your experiences and my beliefs are the same. That is all.”
“Oh, before I leave, I have one question for you. Why do you continue to work with Sark when his intel has not proved helpful to SD-6 and the Alliance?”
“Oh Jack, that’s a complicated one. Over the years that we have been working together, I have been trying to become a full partner in the Alliance. Now that I finally have, I need to bring even more progress to that council in order to keep my value and continue to be trusted and useful to them. If I do not, then they may as well assume that my whole division is corrupt and cheating them and that would seriously jeopardize everyone in this agency. My hope is that this next mission will be successful and my partnership with Sark will be proved worthwhile, but for now, we’ll just have to wait and see. I would hate to have to terminate him. It would be so unsatisfactory. Sometimes it seems as if some other force is working against us.”
That last sentence really caught my attention. But my practice reflexes saved me from showing any sign of heightened emotion. “Thank you Sloane. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye.”
As I left Sloane’s office, I wondered whether he was really suspicious about another agency or if it was just a casual remark. Either way, I can’t take any chances, so the next time I see Sydney I’ll be sure to tell her to be on her guard.
Syd’s POV
I wonder what Sloane wanted to talk to Dad about? Oh well, I’d better go over to the CIA and get my counter mission so I’ll have to time to get ready and pack.
I took to the elevator back upstairs and got into my car. I need to call Kendall to tell him that I had received a mission from SD-6 and needed my counter mission. Kendall answers the phone.
“Agent Kendall here.”
“This is Agent Bristow. Request for a counter mission.”
“All right. I’ll send Agent Vaughn to meet you at the Warehouse in 20 minutes.”
At the mention of Vaughn’s name, an involuntary shiver ran down my spine. I couldn’t help it. Whenever people talked about him or even just mentioned his name, I got butterflies in my stomach. I can’t quite put my finger on why. I know that I have feelings towards him, but that doesn’t explain my crazy symptoms. Or does it? Either way, I need to stop thinking about him and prepare myself for the meeting. If my head is still off in dreamland when I get to the Warehouse, I’m in for some trouble. For the rest of the car ride, I listen to the radio to distract myself.
Vaughn’s POV
I’d better answer the phone. “Agent Vaughn.”
“This is Kendall. Agent Bristow has just received a new mission from SD-6. Meet her at the Warehouse in 20 minutes.”
As I hang up the phone, my first reaction is ‘yes’! I get to see Sydney. Then I realize that I need to calm down and put on my façade or else I might give myself away. If only protocol wasn’t such a big deal I would give way to my emotions and tell her how I feel, but of course, I can’t do that. Also, I don’t want to damage our friendship. I am the only person that she trusts completely. If I tell her that I have loved her since the day we met, she might feel embarrassed and uncomfortable and I can’t risk that. I know that in my heart, eventually I’ll be able to tell her how I feel, but for now, I need to keep my emotions in check and just be there as her friend and faithful CIA contact.
At the Warehouse
Syd’s POV
As I pass the Warehouse to make sure no one is following me and then I turn around and go park in a hidden location. I get out of the car and carefully enter the Warehouse. I continue on until I get to our meeting place and as usual, Vaughn has managed to beat me there. Keep calm. Just smile and pay attention. Here it goes.
“Hey.”
“Hi Sydney. Kendall called and told me to meet you her to give you your counter mission. So shoot.”
“Okay. Sloane is sending Sark and me to Shanghai to retrieve some information that will help SD-6 find another Rambaldi device. We are supposed to infiltrate the building where the information is hidden and bring it back to SD-6 so they can examine it.”
“Did Sloane give you any details on what you where looking for?”
“No, but I’m assuming that it’s probably a file on a computer because Marshall gave me some a hair pin embedded with hacking equipment and a disk to put the info on.”
“All right. Since Sark is going with you, we can’t very well give them a fake disk because he’ll probably know the difference, so I’ll get the CIA to give you another disk so that we can have a copy too.”
“Thanks. By the way, did the agent you sent to the bar retrieve the disk?”
“Yes and I’ve made sure that it’s been destroyed. So there is no need to worry.”
“Good. I’ll call you when I get back from the mission.”
I turn around and started walking out, when Vaughn called me back.
“Hey Syd…”
“Yeah?” I eagerly walked back.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure. Go ahead.”
“Let’s say that you really like this girl, but you don’t know how to tell her and you’re not sure that you want to because she might not feel the same way. What you should do?”
“Umm…let’s say that you were the guy and I was the girl, hypothetically of course. I would want to hear what you had to say even if you weren’t sure how I felt because it’s always nice to be admired. And I’d probably feels the same way about you, but you’ll never know until you take the risk. Does that help?”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
As I turn around to leave again, he calls me back one more time.
“Uh, Sydney?”
“Yes,” I say stepping closer to him.
“Umm….Good luck on your mission. Be careful.”
“I will. Bye.”
“Bye.”
As I walk to my car, I feel more and more sad and let down. At first, when he asked me how he would tell a girl how he felt about her, I thought that maybe, just maybe I was that girl. But sadly, as our parting confirmed, I wasn’t that person. I got into the car almost in tears and drove home to pack for my trip.
More soon!
Chapter One
Sydney and Francie’s apartment
Sydney’s POV
It’s 6:30 AM. As I roll out of bed, I can’t believe that it’s already morning. Last night, Francie, Will and I went out the Francie’s restaurant for dinner and then we helped her close up. I was having so much fun with them that I completely forgot about my morning meeting with Sloane.
I groggily walk around my bedroom looking for my clothes. I stumble over one of my shoes that I didn’t put away last night. Finally I manage to pull on my work clothes and proceed into the bathroom. As I am brushing my teeth I can’t help but wonder how I ever got myself into this double life. I look back to when I was first starting at UCLA and then SD-6 recruited me. I was so excited that the United States government wanted me! In contrast to present situation, that time seems like bliss to me. For a moment I wonder what it would be like if I never found out that SD-6 was not a black ops division of the CIA as it claimed to be. I finish brushing my teeth and quickly put my hair up in a French twist.
I walk into the kitchen and press the start button on the coffee maker. I walk outside to get the newspaper and notice an old woman walking her dog. She looks so peaceful and content. Now why can’t I be more like that? Then the little voice in the back of my head pops up and tells me to be happy with who I am and what I do. If I hadn’t been recruited to SD-6 then I wouldn’t have been recruited to the CIA. And if I hadn’t been recruited to the CIA I would have been blindly working against my country and would never have met Vaughn. As my mind drifts off into dreamland, I am snapped back into reality at the sound of my neighbor leaving for work, so I grab the newspaper and go inside and get a cup of coffee.
As I sit down at the kitchen table, I try to drink my coffee and read the paper, but I can’t focus. My mind keeps meandering back to images of Vaughn. He is my life. He is my reason to get up every morning. Without him, I probably wouldn’t be working at the CIA anymore. But, my thoughts are interrupted by a big looming image of Alice, Vaughn’s “girlfriend”. Why did she have to be in the picture? I know that she must be a nice person if Vaughn was dating her, but I can’t get over my jealousy of their relationship. One of the most infuriating things about working for the CIA is protocol, so even if Alice was out of the picture, I could never share my feelings for him. I wanted to explode with jealousy when Vaughn and Alice walked into the bar where Will and I were talking. My first thought was what is she doing her and then oh my god! The security cameras! Naturally, I couldn’t just ignore them when they came in, so I had to greet them. At first, I was worried that Will wouldn’t catch on and slip up by calling me Sydney or mentioning the CIA. But my anxiety was unfounded. He played along like a good sport. I couldn’t help but feel bad for him because I could tell that he can sense my feelings for Vaughn are beyond a professional relationship. Speaking of a professional relationship, it has been very hard to contain my feelings for him when I’m around him. I feel intoxicated by his very presence. I know that I will never be able to and never will act on these feelings towards him because I’m sure that he doesn’t feel the same way. Someone that amazing would never fall for someone like me.
All of a sudden I was brought back to reality as Francie walked sleepily into the kitchen in her pajamas. I glanced hurriedly at the clock. It’s 7:10.
“Francie, I’ve got to go to the bank for an early morning meeting with some east coast clients. I’ll see you later. Bye!”
“Bye Syd!” replied Francie.
Francie’s POV
Wow. I can’t believe Sydney. She’s absolutely amazing. No matter how late she stays out, she’s always ready and raring to go the next morning. I can’t image where she gets all of her energy. On top of that, she’s such a sweet and kind person. In fact, she is probably the nicest and sweetest person on the planet. Although she is all of those things, her life must be pretty hard. She works long hours and goes on numerous business trips. Rarely does she get to enjoy herself as she did last night and afterwards, she probably regrets going out because she’d be tired for work the next day. I really hope that the bank gives her a break some time soon of she’s gonna to get with all the stress in her hectic life.
At SD-6
Sydney’s POV
I walk into the bank building and head towards the elevator. I get inside and push B6. As the elevator takes me down to the SD-6 headquarters, I can’t help but wonder what Francie must think about my job at Credit Dauphine. After all, I’ve had this job since I entered UCLA and banking can’t be that exciting. Oh well. At least it’s a pretty average job so it doesn’t really draw attention to itself.
The elevator stopped at B6 and I got out. Before going to my meeting, I stopped by my desk to deposit my handbag and then continued on to the conference room for my meeting.
Sloane and Sark were already seated as Jack, Marshall and I entered. Everyone took their seats and Sloane began detailing the mission.
“We’ve recently gotten some new intelligence from Mr. Sark about a clue leading to a Rambaldi device is located in Shanghai. Sydney, you and Mr. Sark will got to Shanghai infiltrate the warehouse where the device is hidden and bring it back to SD-6 so we can examine it. The plane leaves in three hours. Are there any questions? No? Okay, this meeting is dismissed, but Jack will you stay behind?”
Jack’s POV
I wonder what he wants to talk about? Probably something confidential. Then Sloane began to speak.
“As you know, I ended Emily’s suffering a few months ago and now someone is blackmailing me. The party in question is threatening to give out information about the Alliance, which would prove damaging to all parties involved. So, I have hired Ariana Kane, counter-intelligence for the Alliance, to investigate and hopefully solve this problem. From what I have heard, she is an excellent game strategist like you and I have full confidence in her capabilities. I understand that she has been questioning you and I would like to know how that is going.”
I took that statement as an implied question so I answered. “I believe that she trusts your judgement on the subject of my innocence, but she still continues to question me. Just the other day, I believe she and I reached an understanding regarding such questioning. She asked about my private life and I immediately could tell that she was insulting my intelligence and trying to see the kind of person that I was by backhandedly doing so. I called her on her behavior and we both reached the conclusion that I would rather be tortured and she would rather do the torturing than have me questioned in such a stupid manner. With that meeting, I believe that she has begun to trust me. She is one of the best game strategist that I have ever met and have full confidence in her ability. I sincerely hope that we will get to the bottom of this matter as soon as possible.”
“That’s just as I expected. I’m glad that your experiences and my beliefs are the same. That is all.”
“Oh, before I leave, I have one question for you. Why do you continue to work with Sark when his intel has not proved helpful to SD-6 and the Alliance?”
“Oh Jack, that’s a complicated one. Over the years that we have been working together, I have been trying to become a full partner in the Alliance. Now that I finally have, I need to bring even more progress to that council in order to keep my value and continue to be trusted and useful to them. If I do not, then they may as well assume that my whole division is corrupt and cheating them and that would seriously jeopardize everyone in this agency. My hope is that this next mission will be successful and my partnership with Sark will be proved worthwhile, but for now, we’ll just have to wait and see. I would hate to have to terminate him. It would be so unsatisfactory. Sometimes it seems as if some other force is working against us.”
That last sentence really caught my attention. But my practice reflexes saved me from showing any sign of heightened emotion. “Thank you Sloane. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye.”
As I left Sloane’s office, I wondered whether he was really suspicious about another agency or if it was just a casual remark. Either way, I can’t take any chances, so the next time I see Sydney I’ll be sure to tell her to be on her guard.
Syd’s POV
I wonder what Sloane wanted to talk to Dad about? Oh well, I’d better go over to the CIA and get my counter mission so I’ll have to time to get ready and pack.
I took to the elevator back upstairs and got into my car. I need to call Kendall to tell him that I had received a mission from SD-6 and needed my counter mission. Kendall answers the phone.
“Agent Kendall here.”
“This is Agent Bristow. Request for a counter mission.”
“All right. I’ll send Agent Vaughn to meet you at the Warehouse in 20 minutes.”
At the mention of Vaughn’s name, an involuntary shiver ran down my spine. I couldn’t help it. Whenever people talked about him or even just mentioned his name, I got butterflies in my stomach. I can’t quite put my finger on why. I know that I have feelings towards him, but that doesn’t explain my crazy symptoms. Or does it? Either way, I need to stop thinking about him and prepare myself for the meeting. If my head is still off in dreamland when I get to the Warehouse, I’m in for some trouble. For the rest of the car ride, I listen to the radio to distract myself.
Vaughn’s POV
I’d better answer the phone. “Agent Vaughn.”
“This is Kendall. Agent Bristow has just received a new mission from SD-6. Meet her at the Warehouse in 20 minutes.”
As I hang up the phone, my first reaction is ‘yes’! I get to see Sydney. Then I realize that I need to calm down and put on my façade or else I might give myself away. If only protocol wasn’t such a big deal I would give way to my emotions and tell her how I feel, but of course, I can’t do that. Also, I don’t want to damage our friendship. I am the only person that she trusts completely. If I tell her that I have loved her since the day we met, she might feel embarrassed and uncomfortable and I can’t risk that. I know that in my heart, eventually I’ll be able to tell her how I feel, but for now, I need to keep my emotions in check and just be there as her friend and faithful CIA contact.
At the Warehouse
Syd’s POV
As I pass the Warehouse to make sure no one is following me and then I turn around and go park in a hidden location. I get out of the car and carefully enter the Warehouse. I continue on until I get to our meeting place and as usual, Vaughn has managed to beat me there. Keep calm. Just smile and pay attention. Here it goes.
“Hey.”
“Hi Sydney. Kendall called and told me to meet you her to give you your counter mission. So shoot.”
“Okay. Sloane is sending Sark and me to Shanghai to retrieve some information that will help SD-6 find another Rambaldi device. We are supposed to infiltrate the building where the information is hidden and bring it back to SD-6 so they can examine it.”
“Did Sloane give you any details on what you where looking for?”
“No, but I’m assuming that it’s probably a file on a computer because Marshall gave me some a hair pin embedded with hacking equipment and a disk to put the info on.”
“All right. Since Sark is going with you, we can’t very well give them a fake disk because he’ll probably know the difference, so I’ll get the CIA to give you another disk so that we can have a copy too.”
“Thanks. By the way, did the agent you sent to the bar retrieve the disk?”
“Yes and I’ve made sure that it’s been destroyed. So there is no need to worry.”
“Good. I’ll call you when I get back from the mission.”
I turn around and started walking out, when Vaughn called me back.
“Hey Syd…”
“Yeah?” I eagerly walked back.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure. Go ahead.”
“Let’s say that you really like this girl, but you don’t know how to tell her and you’re not sure that you want to because she might not feel the same way. What you should do?”
“Umm…let’s say that you were the guy and I was the girl, hypothetically of course. I would want to hear what you had to say even if you weren’t sure how I felt because it’s always nice to be admired. And I’d probably feels the same way about you, but you’ll never know until you take the risk. Does that help?”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
As I turn around to leave again, he calls me back one more time.
“Uh, Sydney?”
“Yes,” I say stepping closer to him.
“Umm….Good luck on your mission. Be careful.”
“I will. Bye.”
“Bye.”
As I walk to my car, I feel more and more sad and let down. At first, when he asked me how he would tell a girl how he felt about her, I thought that maybe, just maybe I was that girl. But sadly, as our parting confirmed, I wasn’t that person. I got into the car almost in tears and drove home to pack for my trip.
More soon!
It's really a good story.