Eee! People are still reading! I thank all of you for your kind reviews. I hope to have Little Lies wrapped up here by the end of the month so I can move into posting my epic here.
Part Nine: To Believe in You
But I couldn't find a way
So I'll settle for one day
To believe in you
(Tell me, tell me, tell me lies)
To his mild surprise, Weiss led Vaughn not to the conference room, but to Dixon's office. After a few moments of thought, Vaughn decided that it made more sense, considering the debrief should only consist of Sydney, Dixon, and himself. As Weiss opened the office door, however, Vaughn felt astonishment yet again. On one of Dixon's couches, Jack sat next to Sydney.
Vaughn quickly schooled his features to mask his surprise, and any other emotion that might lurk across his face. He knew Jack possessed an impressive ability to read most people, and that certainly included him. He wondered if Jack already picked up anything from Syd, and sincerely hoped not.
Dixon nodded at Weiss, who nodded back, then reversed himself out the door, shutting it behind him. Dixon gestured to Vaughn.
“Please, have a seat.” Vaughn surveyed the available seats in the room, and chose the couch placed perpendicular to one holding Syd and Jack. He seated himself in the corner of the couch farthest away from the Bristows, not wanting to betray anything with his body language. He made sure he faced Dixon, and gave the director his full attention, barely glancing anywhere else.
“Agent Vaughn, Sydney gave us her debrief on the op. Now would you please give us yours?” As directed, Vaughn recited the events of the previous night, from their arrival, to their departure. Leaving out a few “minor” details, of course. He never took his eyes off Dixon, and concluded with a question.
“Sir, I assume Sydney told you about her suspicions?” Dixon nodded slightly.
“Yes, she said that we may have been deliberately fed false intel.” Vaughn glanced at Sydney, long enough to notice that she kept her face carefully neutral.
“I concur with that. Is there anything else?” To Vaughn’s dismay, Jack spoke up.
“We apologize for having to leave you in Vienna overnight. We should’ve made contingency plans, including procuring a larger hotel room. How did you manage?” Vaughn felt speechless, and even worse, a betraying blush began to creep up his cheeks. Fortunately, Syd saved him.
“We did okay. We ended up drawing straws for the bed. Vaughn got the floor.”
Vaughn felt shocked at how easily the lie rolled off Syd’s tongue. She even managed to keep her expression blasé, until the end, when she shot him a triumphant smirk. It was a show, designed to hide their true actions, and explain away his blush.
“I see,” Jack replied drolly. “Then you will be grateful to go back to your bed tonight.”
Vaughn couldn’t help rolling his eyes, and made no attempt to hide his disgust. The one thing that he absolutely hated about Jack was that the older man decided to bait him at the worst possible times. Dixon strategically chose that moment to clear his throat discreetly, bringing the attention back to himself.
“Agent Vaughn, I want to extend my personal gratitude for accepting your current assignment. It must be terribly difficult, and you are acting with utmost professionalism.” Dixon glanced over to Sydney. “And I commend both of you for putting your differences behind you to work towards this common goal. I know you two have a complicated history, which has caused a few minor disruptions, but we need to work together seamlessly now. Especially since we have a pronounced weakness that we must leave undisturbed, for the time being.”
Both Syd and Vaughn cast their eyes down at Dixon’s mention of “disruptions.” They felt their guilt keenly at that moment, Vaughn regretting the horrible manner in which he handled his relationship with Sydney, she thinking of her rash actions, screaming matches in the conference room sitting topmost in her mind. Dixon turned his attention solely to Sydney, making her squirm.
“And Sydney, I realize this must be a particularly difficult time for you as well. The objective seems to be in sight, but patience is still needed.” Syd blushed and looked down. She wanted to believe that Dixon meant the Covenant, and how discovering the Passenger may yield more information about the Covenant's motives and her missing time. However, she couldn’t help but think Dixon meant the situation with Vaughn as well.
She detested how everyone in the office knew about her feelings for Vaughn, a married man. Most of them understood, given her unique circumstances, but it didn’t make her feel one iota better. She raised her head back up to look at Dixon, and cut him off before he could unknowingly rub more salt in her wounds.
“Dixon, I’m fine.” Another thing untouched by her missing time was Syd’s familiarity with the director. Dixon generously let her retain that familiarity, hesitant to rob her of anything else from her previous life.
Syd flashed a brilliant smile to Dixon, reinforcing her statement. She turned the smile to Vaughn, then to her father. Though each of the three men possessed their own distinctive feelings towards this woman, none of them could resist responding to her with a smile their own. Dixon spoke again.
“Very good. Well, this should all be over soon anyway. Once we do obtain the necessary intel on the Passenger, if not intercepting the person herself, we will be able to end this.” This statement forced Sydney and Vaughn to gaze at each other for a few long seconds. Neither Jack nor Dixon missed the silent interchange between them, ending when Vaughn turned back to Dixon.
“Sir, that may not be the end of it. For me, anyway.” Dixon gave the young agent a puzzled look.
“What do you mean, Agent Vaughn?” Vaughn shifted in his seat nervously.
“Well, even though we know that,” he paused to force the name out of his mouth. “Lauren works for the Covenant, we don’t know for how long.” His eyes shifted to Jack momentarily. “She may have been ordered to, um, find me, for whatever reason. We don’t know those reasons. But the fact is that I’m a confirmed Covenant asset, so to speak. If we take Lauren into custody now, it may jeopardize my life.” Vaughn looked over to Sydney, needing her reassurance, and not caring what the other two men might infer from it. She gave him a small, grim smile, and sympathy filled her eyes. She thought him brave to share what they talked about earlier, even though it needed to be consideration anyway. Vaughn moved his eyes slightly to see the rarest of occurrences: Jack looking at him with a measure of respect.
“That could certainly be true,” Jack conceded. “We may have been short-sighted to not think of that. Though we certainly want this ordeal to be over for you as soon as possible.” Vaughn watched Jack’s eyes turn oh-so-briefly to Syd, and wondered if he saw a trace of sadness. It wouldn’t be terribly surprising, almost everything Jack did was for Sydney. Whether or not he approved, Jack knew where his daughter’s heart lay. Vaughn inclined his head to Jack and smiled ruefully.
“I appreciate that, but it’s about more than what I want.” Jack smiled back at him.
“You’ve had quite a change of heart since we last discussed this matter.” Vaughn looked down.
“I’ve had time to think about what’s at stake.”
Before either man could say anymore, Dixon rose from his desk.
“Gentlemen, Sydney. I apologize, but I have an appointment shortly. If there are no other thoughts on the mission, I would like to conclude.” He looked once at Syd, and once at Vaughn. "I will expect your reports tomorrow afternoon." They both acknowledged his reminder with a nod. Wordlessly, they stood up, as did Jack, and filed out the office door. Together, they walked away from Dixon’s office
After several steps, Jack paused, and turned to look at the two younger agents, who'd stopped with him.
"Mr. Vaughn, I want you to know that I am not unsympathetic to your position." Jack's eyes darkened with old pain at his statement, and Vaughn quickly glanced at Syd, who looked slightly troubled as well. "The expectations of you are very high, and you are under a lot of pressure, both professional," Jack paused, his eyes darting quickly to Sydney and then back to Vaughn. "And personal. But you will endure." With that, the elder Bristow smiled at his daughter, turned, and walked away, now intent on his own business.
Vaughn looked at Syd with a quizzical expression.
"What was that all about? Did he mean that?" Syd shook her head and placed her hand on Vaughn's shoulder.
"I have no idea. He could've just been saying that for your benefit." She smiled then. "Or mine. But I believe it. You will endure. We will endure."
~*~
Next up: The ending, in which I recaptured the angst vibe. Full force. You have been warned.
The one-parter accompanying this fic is Lost in Memory.
Happy reading! ^_^
Part Nine: To Believe in You
But I couldn't find a way
So I'll settle for one day
To believe in you
(Tell me, tell me, tell me lies)
To his mild surprise, Weiss led Vaughn not to the conference room, but to Dixon's office. After a few moments of thought, Vaughn decided that it made more sense, considering the debrief should only consist of Sydney, Dixon, and himself. As Weiss opened the office door, however, Vaughn felt astonishment yet again. On one of Dixon's couches, Jack sat next to Sydney.
Vaughn quickly schooled his features to mask his surprise, and any other emotion that might lurk across his face. He knew Jack possessed an impressive ability to read most people, and that certainly included him. He wondered if Jack already picked up anything from Syd, and sincerely hoped not.
Dixon nodded at Weiss, who nodded back, then reversed himself out the door, shutting it behind him. Dixon gestured to Vaughn.
“Please, have a seat.” Vaughn surveyed the available seats in the room, and chose the couch placed perpendicular to one holding Syd and Jack. He seated himself in the corner of the couch farthest away from the Bristows, not wanting to betray anything with his body language. He made sure he faced Dixon, and gave the director his full attention, barely glancing anywhere else.
“Agent Vaughn, Sydney gave us her debrief on the op. Now would you please give us yours?” As directed, Vaughn recited the events of the previous night, from their arrival, to their departure. Leaving out a few “minor” details, of course. He never took his eyes off Dixon, and concluded with a question.
“Sir, I assume Sydney told you about her suspicions?” Dixon nodded slightly.
“Yes, she said that we may have been deliberately fed false intel.” Vaughn glanced at Sydney, long enough to notice that she kept her face carefully neutral.
“I concur with that. Is there anything else?” To Vaughn’s dismay, Jack spoke up.
“We apologize for having to leave you in Vienna overnight. We should’ve made contingency plans, including procuring a larger hotel room. How did you manage?” Vaughn felt speechless, and even worse, a betraying blush began to creep up his cheeks. Fortunately, Syd saved him.
“We did okay. We ended up drawing straws for the bed. Vaughn got the floor.”
Vaughn felt shocked at how easily the lie rolled off Syd’s tongue. She even managed to keep her expression blasé, until the end, when she shot him a triumphant smirk. It was a show, designed to hide their true actions, and explain away his blush.
“I see,” Jack replied drolly. “Then you will be grateful to go back to your bed tonight.”
Vaughn couldn’t help rolling his eyes, and made no attempt to hide his disgust. The one thing that he absolutely hated about Jack was that the older man decided to bait him at the worst possible times. Dixon strategically chose that moment to clear his throat discreetly, bringing the attention back to himself.
“Agent Vaughn, I want to extend my personal gratitude for accepting your current assignment. It must be terribly difficult, and you are acting with utmost professionalism.” Dixon glanced over to Sydney. “And I commend both of you for putting your differences behind you to work towards this common goal. I know you two have a complicated history, which has caused a few minor disruptions, but we need to work together seamlessly now. Especially since we have a pronounced weakness that we must leave undisturbed, for the time being.”
Both Syd and Vaughn cast their eyes down at Dixon’s mention of “disruptions.” They felt their guilt keenly at that moment, Vaughn regretting the horrible manner in which he handled his relationship with Sydney, she thinking of her rash actions, screaming matches in the conference room sitting topmost in her mind. Dixon turned his attention solely to Sydney, making her squirm.
“And Sydney, I realize this must be a particularly difficult time for you as well. The objective seems to be in sight, but patience is still needed.” Syd blushed and looked down. She wanted to believe that Dixon meant the Covenant, and how discovering the Passenger may yield more information about the Covenant's motives and her missing time. However, she couldn’t help but think Dixon meant the situation with Vaughn as well.
She detested how everyone in the office knew about her feelings for Vaughn, a married man. Most of them understood, given her unique circumstances, but it didn’t make her feel one iota better. She raised her head back up to look at Dixon, and cut him off before he could unknowingly rub more salt in her wounds.
“Dixon, I’m fine.” Another thing untouched by her missing time was Syd’s familiarity with the director. Dixon generously let her retain that familiarity, hesitant to rob her of anything else from her previous life.
Syd flashed a brilliant smile to Dixon, reinforcing her statement. She turned the smile to Vaughn, then to her father. Though each of the three men possessed their own distinctive feelings towards this woman, none of them could resist responding to her with a smile their own. Dixon spoke again.
“Very good. Well, this should all be over soon anyway. Once we do obtain the necessary intel on the Passenger, if not intercepting the person herself, we will be able to end this.” This statement forced Sydney and Vaughn to gaze at each other for a few long seconds. Neither Jack nor Dixon missed the silent interchange between them, ending when Vaughn turned back to Dixon.
“Sir, that may not be the end of it. For me, anyway.” Dixon gave the young agent a puzzled look.
“What do you mean, Agent Vaughn?” Vaughn shifted in his seat nervously.
“Well, even though we know that,” he paused to force the name out of his mouth. “Lauren works for the Covenant, we don’t know for how long.” His eyes shifted to Jack momentarily. “She may have been ordered to, um, find me, for whatever reason. We don’t know those reasons. But the fact is that I’m a confirmed Covenant asset, so to speak. If we take Lauren into custody now, it may jeopardize my life.” Vaughn looked over to Sydney, needing her reassurance, and not caring what the other two men might infer from it. She gave him a small, grim smile, and sympathy filled her eyes. She thought him brave to share what they talked about earlier, even though it needed to be consideration anyway. Vaughn moved his eyes slightly to see the rarest of occurrences: Jack looking at him with a measure of respect.
“That could certainly be true,” Jack conceded. “We may have been short-sighted to not think of that. Though we certainly want this ordeal to be over for you as soon as possible.” Vaughn watched Jack’s eyes turn oh-so-briefly to Syd, and wondered if he saw a trace of sadness. It wouldn’t be terribly surprising, almost everything Jack did was for Sydney. Whether or not he approved, Jack knew where his daughter’s heart lay. Vaughn inclined his head to Jack and smiled ruefully.
“I appreciate that, but it’s about more than what I want.” Jack smiled back at him.
“You’ve had quite a change of heart since we last discussed this matter.” Vaughn looked down.
“I’ve had time to think about what’s at stake.”
Before either man could say anymore, Dixon rose from his desk.
“Gentlemen, Sydney. I apologize, but I have an appointment shortly. If there are no other thoughts on the mission, I would like to conclude.” He looked once at Syd, and once at Vaughn. "I will expect your reports tomorrow afternoon." They both acknowledged his reminder with a nod. Wordlessly, they stood up, as did Jack, and filed out the office door. Together, they walked away from Dixon’s office
After several steps, Jack paused, and turned to look at the two younger agents, who'd stopped with him.
"Mr. Vaughn, I want you to know that I am not unsympathetic to your position." Jack's eyes darkened with old pain at his statement, and Vaughn quickly glanced at Syd, who looked slightly troubled as well. "The expectations of you are very high, and you are under a lot of pressure, both professional," Jack paused, his eyes darting quickly to Sydney and then back to Vaughn. "And personal. But you will endure." With that, the elder Bristow smiled at his daughter, turned, and walked away, now intent on his own business.
Vaughn looked at Syd with a quizzical expression.
"What was that all about? Did he mean that?" Syd shook her head and placed her hand on Vaughn's shoulder.
"I have no idea. He could've just been saying that for your benefit." She smiled then. "Or mine. But I believe it. You will endure. We will endure."
~*~
Next up: The ending, in which I recaptured the angst vibe. Full force. You have been warned.
The one-parter accompanying this fic is Lost in Memory.
Happy reading! ^_^
Thanks for the great update!