Sloane Ranger
Cadet
A/N: This is my first Alias fanfic. Faced with a summer without new episodes I thought I would try my hand at writing one myself. Any feedback will be gratefully received. If people like it, I will try to do further chapters. I’m British, so although I’ve tried to make this as authentic as possible, I have probably not completely succeeded. If any US readers think that something isn’t quite right, please send me a PM suggesting an alternative and I’ll amend the offending part.
Summary: This takes place after “Before the Flood”. It assumes that the crash took place some months after the rest of the events depicted in the episode. Jack is in charge of APO, Sloane has been exonerated of any wrongdoing, mainly on the testimony of Sydney and Jack. He continues to work at APO but as a consultant, outside of the line management chain. Dixon is almost fully recovered and is back at work and Nadia is also cured, thanks to the efforts of Dr. Liddell (“Mirage”) but is still recuperating at home.
Disclaimer: The rights to Alias, its related characters and items belong to JJ Abrams, ABC, Touchstone Television, Bad Robot and Buena Vista. I do not own anything related to Alias. I have, however, created a number of my own characters; I think you’ll probably recognise them when they appear.
<span style='font-size:21pt;line-height:100%'>JIGSAW PUZZLE</span>
Chapter 1
The gurney crashed through the swing doors of A & E. The duty intern hurried forward, “What have we got?” she asked the paramedic.
“Car crash victim. She’s unconscious, has a simple fracture of the right tibia, several cracked ribs, various minor cuts and contusions but is otherwise stable.” he responded.
“OK, take her to examining room 3; I’ll look at her there. Is that her purse?” When the paramedic nodded, the doctor picked it up and put it on the counter. “Nurse, see if there’s any identification in here and try to get in touch with her folks.”
She then followed the gurney into the examining room leaving the nurse to open the purse and begin checking its contents.
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Arvin Sloane sipped his coffee. “That was a great lunch, honey. Do you need a hand with the washing up?”
“No thanks Dad. That’s what dishwashers are for” Nadia replied.
Sloane was just about to say something else when he was interrupted by the phone.
“I wonder who that could be?” Nadia asked as she went over to answer it.
“Weiss, asking you out for an evening at the Magic Castle?” her father teased.
“More likely Sydney. She and Vaughn should have reached Santa Barbara by now.” Nadia waved her hand to indicate the room, congratulations cards decorated every surface and engagement presents and wedding shower gifts were neatly stacked in corners. “She’s probably ringing to say she forgot to cancel an appointment with the wedding planner and wants me to do it.”
She picked up the phone “Hello? Yes this is the residence of Sydney Bristow …. I’m her sister.” Nadia tensed “How is she? What about Vaughn… her fiancé … they left together …. I see …. I’ll be there as soon as I can!” Nadia put down the phone and turned to her father who was looking at her intently. “That was the Santa Barbara General Hospital. Sydney was involved in an accident. She’s injured and unconscious. I’m going there now!”
Sloane flipped open his cell, “I’ll let Jack know. Then I’ll drive you. You’re still recovering from your ordeal. “Jack? Sydney’s been in an accident …. no, I don’t know how bad it is …. she’s unconscious …. she’s at the Santa Barbara General …. they must have found her address in her purse …. I’m driving Nadia there …. we’ll see you at the hospital.”
He turned to Nadia “What was that about Vaughn?”
“Sydney was brought in alone. They have no record of him as a patient.” she replied, picking up her purse and making for the door.
“I see.” Sloane said, as her followed her out. “Well, it’s too early to draw any conclusions from that. He could have been taken to another hospital or, maybe he wasn’t badly hurt and is being questioned by the police.”
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Sloane pulled his car into the parking lot of the hospital, recognising, as he did so, Jack Bristow’s back climbing the steps to the entrance. He’d driven at the maximum allowed by the speed limit all the way there, breaking it when he felt safe to do so. He knew that Jack must have driven hell for leather to get there before them. That didn’t surprise him in the least. He and Nadia entered the hospital’s reception area to find Jack in conversation with a doctor. He turned to acknowledge their presence.
“Sydney has a broken leg and a couple of cracked ribs. She got a bang on the head and she’s been unconscious since they brought her in, but Doctor Milos assures me she has not suffered any brain damage. He says we can sit with her”. Jack gave Sloane a hard stare as he moved forward, “Family only”, he added.
For a moment Sloane felt hurt and disappointment, he pushed it down, hoping it hadn’t showed in his expression. He’d expected relations between himself and Jack to have improved since he’s saved Sydney’s life but, despite the fact that Jack had testified for him at his hearing, he seemed, if anything, even more antagonistic. His relationship with Sydney was currently better than the one he had with Jack. “Well,” he said, with a slight smile, “in that case, I’ll see if I can ascertain the whereabouts of Mr. Vaughn… He was unaccounted for when the hospital phoned us earlier.” he explained in response to Jack’s questioning look.
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Sydney Bristow felt herself slowly drifting back to consciousness. As she did so, she became aware of a dull ache throughout her body and a feeling of foreboding. Something unexpected and horrible had happened, but what? If only she could remember! Finally, reluctantly, she opened her eyes, “Dad, Nadia?”
“Hi, sweetheart.” her father said as he tenderly smoothed back a strand of hair that had fallen over her forehead. Her sister smiled back at her in relief. “How are you feeling?”
“I’ve felt better.” she replied, “but I’ve also felt a lot worse. Could I have a drink of water please? What happened? The last thing I remember is driving to Santa Barbara with Vaughn.”
Her father and sister exchanged a worried look and turned to the nurse who was in the room with them.
“Short term memory loss.” she said, “It’s very common with head trauma injuries and doesn’t indicate any underlying problem. Miss Bristow may begin remembering the events immediately before the crash in time, but even if she doesn’t, it’s nothing for you to worry about.”
“We were in a car crash?” asked Sydney, “what about Vaughn is he alright?”
She saw the glance exchanged between her father and sister, just before Jack turned away to pour her a glass of water from the carafe by her bedside. “What’s happened to Vaughn … is he …dead?”
Her sister moved to place a soothing hand on her arm, “Vaughn wasn’t with you when you were brought in. We don’t know what’s happened to him yet. My father drove me here and he’s outside now making enquiries. You mustn’t worry; he was probably taken to another hospital.”
Sydney felt a droplet of water hit her arm as her father leant over her with the glass of water, “Sorry honey,” he apologised, as the nurse raised the bed so she could sip it.
There was a knock on the door and Arvin Sloane walked in. “I’m glad to see you are awake Sydney” he said. Sydney nodded her acknowledgement of the greeting. He turned to her father, “Jack, we need to talk.”
“If this is about Vaughn, you can tell me now. I want to know.” Sydney said, firmly.
With a glance at Jack, he did so, “No person by the name of Michael Vaughn, or anyone matching his description, has been admitted to any hospital in Santa Barbara or the surrounding locality. I’ve spoken to the paramedics and Sydney was the only person in the car when they arrived on the scene. The Highway Patrol have checked the area around the crash site in case he was somehow thrown clear but with no success. They are hypothesising that the driver fled the scene for some reason. We know that that would not happen. Michael Vaughn, therefore, seems to have disappeared.”
The sense of foreboding she had felt earlier came back to Sydney, she turned to her father “Dad, when I came to, I felt that something terrible had happened but I couldn’t remember what. I’m sure that it somehow relates to Vaughn and his disappearance.” She turned away and began sobbing.
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The man commonly known as Michael Vaughn awoke to realise that every part of his body was sending messages of pain to his brain. His forehead felt wet and sticky, he went to move his hand to wipe it and found he couldn’t. He tried to move his other limbs and found them equally unresponsive. Opening his eyes slowly and moving his head as gently as he could, he looked down to find that his wrists had been restrained by leather straps secured to the sides of the cot on which he was laying. He assumed that his feet had been treated similarly.
He began to assess his surroundings. He was in a dimly lit room, natural light entering from a small window high on one wall. It appeared to be quite large because the other walls were in shadow. He heard the rumble and squeak of tyres moving over a concrete surface and turned in the direction of the noise. A familiar, bespectacled man emerged from the shadows, propelling himself in a wheelchair.
“Good evening, Ulysses,” said Dr. Jong Lee, “I have been retained to treat your physical injuries. Later on, if you do not co-operate with my employers, I may be required to perform other treatments upon you. May I say that I hope that you do not co-operate, because, although I have always taken pride in my work, in your case it will also give me the greatest pleasure.”
Summary: This takes place after “Before the Flood”. It assumes that the crash took place some months after the rest of the events depicted in the episode. Jack is in charge of APO, Sloane has been exonerated of any wrongdoing, mainly on the testimony of Sydney and Jack. He continues to work at APO but as a consultant, outside of the line management chain. Dixon is almost fully recovered and is back at work and Nadia is also cured, thanks to the efforts of Dr. Liddell (“Mirage”) but is still recuperating at home.
Disclaimer: The rights to Alias, its related characters and items belong to JJ Abrams, ABC, Touchstone Television, Bad Robot and Buena Vista. I do not own anything related to Alias. I have, however, created a number of my own characters; I think you’ll probably recognise them when they appear.
<span style='font-size:21pt;line-height:100%'>JIGSAW PUZZLE</span>
Chapter 1
The gurney crashed through the swing doors of A & E. The duty intern hurried forward, “What have we got?” she asked the paramedic.
“Car crash victim. She’s unconscious, has a simple fracture of the right tibia, several cracked ribs, various minor cuts and contusions but is otherwise stable.” he responded.
“OK, take her to examining room 3; I’ll look at her there. Is that her purse?” When the paramedic nodded, the doctor picked it up and put it on the counter. “Nurse, see if there’s any identification in here and try to get in touch with her folks.”
She then followed the gurney into the examining room leaving the nurse to open the purse and begin checking its contents.
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Arvin Sloane sipped his coffee. “That was a great lunch, honey. Do you need a hand with the washing up?”
“No thanks Dad. That’s what dishwashers are for” Nadia replied.
Sloane was just about to say something else when he was interrupted by the phone.
“I wonder who that could be?” Nadia asked as she went over to answer it.
“Weiss, asking you out for an evening at the Magic Castle?” her father teased.
“More likely Sydney. She and Vaughn should have reached Santa Barbara by now.” Nadia waved her hand to indicate the room, congratulations cards decorated every surface and engagement presents and wedding shower gifts were neatly stacked in corners. “She’s probably ringing to say she forgot to cancel an appointment with the wedding planner and wants me to do it.”
She picked up the phone “Hello? Yes this is the residence of Sydney Bristow …. I’m her sister.” Nadia tensed “How is she? What about Vaughn… her fiancé … they left together …. I see …. I’ll be there as soon as I can!” Nadia put down the phone and turned to her father who was looking at her intently. “That was the Santa Barbara General Hospital. Sydney was involved in an accident. She’s injured and unconscious. I’m going there now!”
Sloane flipped open his cell, “I’ll let Jack know. Then I’ll drive you. You’re still recovering from your ordeal. “Jack? Sydney’s been in an accident …. no, I don’t know how bad it is …. she’s unconscious …. she’s at the Santa Barbara General …. they must have found her address in her purse …. I’m driving Nadia there …. we’ll see you at the hospital.”
He turned to Nadia “What was that about Vaughn?”
“Sydney was brought in alone. They have no record of him as a patient.” she replied, picking up her purse and making for the door.
“I see.” Sloane said, as her followed her out. “Well, it’s too early to draw any conclusions from that. He could have been taken to another hospital or, maybe he wasn’t badly hurt and is being questioned by the police.”
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Sloane pulled his car into the parking lot of the hospital, recognising, as he did so, Jack Bristow’s back climbing the steps to the entrance. He’d driven at the maximum allowed by the speed limit all the way there, breaking it when he felt safe to do so. He knew that Jack must have driven hell for leather to get there before them. That didn’t surprise him in the least. He and Nadia entered the hospital’s reception area to find Jack in conversation with a doctor. He turned to acknowledge their presence.
“Sydney has a broken leg and a couple of cracked ribs. She got a bang on the head and she’s been unconscious since they brought her in, but Doctor Milos assures me she has not suffered any brain damage. He says we can sit with her”. Jack gave Sloane a hard stare as he moved forward, “Family only”, he added.
For a moment Sloane felt hurt and disappointment, he pushed it down, hoping it hadn’t showed in his expression. He’d expected relations between himself and Jack to have improved since he’s saved Sydney’s life but, despite the fact that Jack had testified for him at his hearing, he seemed, if anything, even more antagonistic. His relationship with Sydney was currently better than the one he had with Jack. “Well,” he said, with a slight smile, “in that case, I’ll see if I can ascertain the whereabouts of Mr. Vaughn… He was unaccounted for when the hospital phoned us earlier.” he explained in response to Jack’s questioning look.
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Sydney Bristow felt herself slowly drifting back to consciousness. As she did so, she became aware of a dull ache throughout her body and a feeling of foreboding. Something unexpected and horrible had happened, but what? If only she could remember! Finally, reluctantly, she opened her eyes, “Dad, Nadia?”
“Hi, sweetheart.” her father said as he tenderly smoothed back a strand of hair that had fallen over her forehead. Her sister smiled back at her in relief. “How are you feeling?”
“I’ve felt better.” she replied, “but I’ve also felt a lot worse. Could I have a drink of water please? What happened? The last thing I remember is driving to Santa Barbara with Vaughn.”
Her father and sister exchanged a worried look and turned to the nurse who was in the room with them.
“Short term memory loss.” she said, “It’s very common with head trauma injuries and doesn’t indicate any underlying problem. Miss Bristow may begin remembering the events immediately before the crash in time, but even if she doesn’t, it’s nothing for you to worry about.”
“We were in a car crash?” asked Sydney, “what about Vaughn is he alright?”
She saw the glance exchanged between her father and sister, just before Jack turned away to pour her a glass of water from the carafe by her bedside. “What’s happened to Vaughn … is he …dead?”
Her sister moved to place a soothing hand on her arm, “Vaughn wasn’t with you when you were brought in. We don’t know what’s happened to him yet. My father drove me here and he’s outside now making enquiries. You mustn’t worry; he was probably taken to another hospital.”
Sydney felt a droplet of water hit her arm as her father leant over her with the glass of water, “Sorry honey,” he apologised, as the nurse raised the bed so she could sip it.
There was a knock on the door and Arvin Sloane walked in. “I’m glad to see you are awake Sydney” he said. Sydney nodded her acknowledgement of the greeting. He turned to her father, “Jack, we need to talk.”
“If this is about Vaughn, you can tell me now. I want to know.” Sydney said, firmly.
With a glance at Jack, he did so, “No person by the name of Michael Vaughn, or anyone matching his description, has been admitted to any hospital in Santa Barbara or the surrounding locality. I’ve spoken to the paramedics and Sydney was the only person in the car when they arrived on the scene. The Highway Patrol have checked the area around the crash site in case he was somehow thrown clear but with no success. They are hypothesising that the driver fled the scene for some reason. We know that that would not happen. Michael Vaughn, therefore, seems to have disappeared.”
The sense of foreboding she had felt earlier came back to Sydney, she turned to her father “Dad, when I came to, I felt that something terrible had happened but I couldn’t remember what. I’m sure that it somehow relates to Vaughn and his disappearance.” She turned away and began sobbing.
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The man commonly known as Michael Vaughn awoke to realise that every part of his body was sending messages of pain to his brain. His forehead felt wet and sticky, he went to move his hand to wipe it and found he couldn’t. He tried to move his other limbs and found them equally unresponsive. Opening his eyes slowly and moving his head as gently as he could, he looked down to find that his wrists had been restrained by leather straps secured to the sides of the cot on which he was laying. He assumed that his feet had been treated similarly.
He began to assess his surroundings. He was in a dimly lit room, natural light entering from a small window high on one wall. It appeared to be quite large because the other walls were in shadow. He heard the rumble and squeak of tyres moving over a concrete surface and turned in the direction of the noise. A familiar, bespectacled man emerged from the shadows, propelling himself in a wheelchair.
“Good evening, Ulysses,” said Dr. Jong Lee, “I have been retained to treat your physical injuries. Later on, if you do not co-operate with my employers, I may be required to perform other treatments upon you. May I say that I hope that you do not co-operate, because, although I have always taken pride in my work, in your case it will also give me the greatest pleasure.”