Redemption

spyprof

Cadet
Well, some of you may have read this over at SD-1 and it hasn't changed. I loved this little fic. I hadn't seen it in quite a while, then saw it whilst going through my files. I missed it and missed people reading it so I though I would bring it over here!

Summary: Yup season 3 complete with Lauren and Syd's missing too years. However, in my universe Vaughn rediscovers his inner point guy. I like my little world and I hope you do too.

Chapter One:

All the Kings' horses and all the Kings' men…..

Vaughn sighed as he leaned his forehead against the doorframe outside of his apartment. He had seen Lauren's car when he got back from taking Donovan for a run in the park.

"How did I get here? I don't want to go into my own home because I know my wife is there"

He banged his forehead lightly on the doorframe. Although his marriage had never been a fairytale (he had canceled his belief in fairy tales along with those hotel reservations in Santa Barbara), it was comfortable and he did love his wife…….didn't he? A line from a Don Francisco song kept running through his head "love is not a feeling it's an act of your will".

Well Vaughn thought, he was the king of will power, but it was becoming increasingly hard. He could blame it on Sydney's return, but if he was honest with himself, things had started going south before Sydney's return from the dead. He couldn't really put his finger on it, but it was as if he and Lauren were 2 mediocre actors attempting to make the play "Loving Marriage" seem believable.

Vaughn was startled out of his reverie by Donovan's whine.

"Sorry boy, guess we should go in huh?"

Donovan whined again, lay down, and put his paws over his nose.

"My sentiments exactly"

With a deep breath he opened the door calling out cheerily "hey, we're home"
There was no response from the dark apartment.

"Lauren, are you home?"

A light turned on revealing Lauren sitting on the couch with a stony look on her face.
Vaughn groaned inwardly "What's wrong?"

"Oh, now you care about me?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about and please get that dog out of the living room; he will get dirt all over the carpet."

Vaughn went to put Donovan behind the gate in the laundry room remembering when they were first together, Lauren would try and make friends with Donovan, bringing him treats. Donovan never would touch those treats….
Vaughn took a few deep breaths to steel himself to go back into the living room and laughed wryly as he realized he was again leaning his head against yet another doorframe. Well, maybe he would smooth out a few "plowed furrows of repressed emotions" Weiss was always teasing him about.

Vaughn walked back into the living room with the mantra "love is an act of my will, love is an act of my will" running through his head.

"Please tell me what's wrong"

Lauren crossed her arms over her chest.
"Where were you?"

"You weren't here when I got home so I took Donovan for a run in the park. I've been neglecting him lately"

"That's so like you Michael to worry more about that dog than you do about your wife. You were meeting HER weren't you?"

"Who"

Lauren snorted sarcastically

"You know who. Poor tortured Sydney, your 'soul mate'"

Exasperated, Vaughn said "No I did not meet Sydney in the Park".
Well, that WAS the truth. He had, however, called her under the pretense of checking on a file, just to hear her voice. He then banged his head (he has got to stop that) against a tree in guilt and frustration

"Sydney is my coworker with whom I once had a relationship. You are my wife. We have been THROUGH ALL THIS."

"We haven't been through this!"

Lauren threw an envelope in his lap. He opened it to find a picture of him and Sydney kissing in their cell in North Korea.

"Lauren, I already told you…." Vaughn was interrupted by his pager going off. It read; "Dixon's office – Alone – Stat".
"I have to go"

"Did Sydney demand you attend her royal presence?'

"No, the Central Intelligence Agency of the United Sates Government did. As your pager did not go off, it's safe to say you are not needed at this meeting."
Vaughn grabbed his jacket and slammed his door on the way out.



Let me know what you think!
 
Chapter 2

“There Once Was a Guy Named Crackle”

“Arrrrrrrrgh”

Vaughn sat in his car and banged his head on the steering wheel. If nothing else, this marriage would end up giving him a concussion.

As Vaughn drove toward the JTF……OP center, whatever it was called, he thought about Lauren. He just did not understand her reaction to Sydney. One of the reasons he had fallen in love with and married Lauren was actually because of Sydney. He had met Lauren during the Irina Derivco debriefing

Flashback

It was less than a year after Sydney’s death and Vaughn was desperately trying to regain a semblance of sanity and sobriety. He and Weiss were standing in the corridor at JTF waiting for the debriefing to start. Eric was on a personal quest not to leave him alone. Vaughn couldn’t really blame him. Weiss had dragged him out of countless bars and dumped countless gallons of coffee down his throat. He had made Vaughn’s return to life his personal quest. Eric was his best friend and Vaughn owed him a lot. It was just Eric’s current method of distraction was off color limericks and impressions of cereal box characters. He was currently trying to combine the two with a limerick about the Rice Krispi guys. Weiss was currently having difficulty coming up with something that rhymed with “crackle”.

Weiss was muttering “crackle, spackle, tackle” when a blonde woman brushed passed them to enter the briefing room.

“Excuse me gentlemen”

“I can’t quite place that accent” Vaughn said in puzzlement

“That’s because it was from “I want to sleep with Eric Weiss Island”.

Vaughn snorted as they went into the briefing room
“That's a deserted island right?”

He was surprised to discover the mystery woman was Lauren Reed form NSC, who was conducting the interviews. She was young and fairly attractive he guessed if you went for that type. He didn’t. His type was more like…well Sydney.

He somehow made it through the interview and as he and Weiss were leaving, Lauren stopped them.
“Excuse me Agent Vaughn, might I speak with you a moment?”

“Ahhh sure”

“I was wondering if you would care to join me in a cup of coffee.”

Vaughn just stood there with his mouth hanging open. Weiss elbowed him in the ribs.
“Oh yea, sure” he stuttered out.

“I have a few notes to finish up. I’ll just meet you at Café Kara in one hour shall I?”

“OK”

Lauren disappeared down the hall.

“Why do you think she wants to have coffee with me?”

“Maybe she works for a Botox company and needs a poster boy”

Vaughn punched him in the shoulder
“Hey man you find something to rhyme with snap yet?”

Weiss groaned, but then turned serious
“Listen man. She is good looking, fairly intelligent, and reminds me nothing of Sydney. For some reason she wants to go to with you. Go; get back on the hoss cowboy”

Vaughn sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.
“Yea, you’re probably right”

He met Lauren at the café. She smiled warmly at him as he nervously sat down.

“Thank you for meeting me Agent Vaughn”

“Call me Michael”

Lauren smiled again and leaned her chin on her open hand

“Tell me all about Sydney Bristow”

End Flashback

That’s how it all started. Lauren had explained that while doing research on Irina, she had become intrigued with Sydney; her resilience, resourcefulness. Every person she had interviewed talked about Sydney’s amazing abilities and vitality. The more Lauren had heard the more she came to admire Sydney. Lauren had placed her hand over his and looked softly into his eyes as she asked that if it wasn’t too painful she wanted to hear about Sydney form the person who was closest to her.

At that point in time Vaughn had yet to be able to talk to anyone about Sydney; not Weiss, not her father, not even Barnett. For some reason he had been able to talk to Lauren, even though she was so unlike Sydney and had never even met her.

Vaughn braked suddenly as the car in front in him stopped quickly at a red light.
Maybe that was why he could talk to Lauren about Syd he thought. Everyone else had known Sydney, either personally or professionally, but they hadn’t known her the way Vaughn had. He could describe Sydney to Lauren as HE saw her. He found himself telling her the whole story. Well, not the whole story exactly. There were some things he could not share with anyone. They were close to his heart…hell they were the patches holding his heart together. Verbalizing them would open wounds and make his heart bleed. He wasn’t sure he could recover from that. The Pier, his father’s watch, grasshoppers, frosting the pie, smirking when anyone said “point guy”. Those were the things he held close and secret that he didn’t let anyone else touch.

It was so easy to be with Lauren after that. She started out just listening, sympathizing, and telling him how hard this must be for him to do alone. She told him about her college love who had died of leukemia and how she still felt numb to this day. Slowly they started spending more time together. Walking Donovan in the park, watching hockey, having dinner. Eventually he was even able to watch the Zamboni with her. He found she gave him strength, telling him she would be there for him. Lauren was so unlike Sydney he could be with her without it being a constant reminder of what he had lost. Vaughn remembered the night he had gone to pick her up and found her in a black negligee waiting for him. Vaughn could still remember what she said.

“Michael, I know we’re not soul mates, but I think we can give each other what we need.”

He had moved into her arms thinking how much he had missed this closeness. Maybe that was it he thought. Closeness and affection. That was the only kind of love they were both capable of. It would be good not to be alone anymore.

They were married three months later.

Vaughn was a few blocks away from his destination when he tried to pinpoint exactly when he realized things with Lauren were strained. He had a sudden revelation like a cartoon light bulb going off over his head. Everything had been fine until he had told Lauren he was taking the teaching job instead of going back to the CIA. She had spent the months of their courtship assuring him of her support as he worked through his grief. When Vaughn told her about the teaching job she had been livid. She tried to convince him returning to the CIA was the only way he could be whole. It seemed at odds with her previous stance that he was still fragile and needed love and support. After that, distance crept between them slowly, but surely. Fewer walks, Donovan was relegated to the laundry room, and Lauren always had an excuse not to watch hockey.

When Sydney had returned Lauren had been understandably apprehensive, but supportive. After he returned to the CIA she had made an effort to be attentive, but it seemed forced. He was torn with his feelings for Sydney, but committed to his marriage. He was a stand up guy right? In an effort to be honest and communicate, he had told Lauren about the kiss in North Korea. He had told her Sydney had kissed him and he kissed her back in goodbye as they though they were about to die. He had skipped his attempt to reveal his true emotions. Sydney knew he wanted to make his marriage work. After Lauren had returned from a business trip a few weeks ago she had started in about him and Sydney. There was nary a civil conversation to be had. He didn’t know what to do. Then there was today and that picture.

Vaughn braked suddenly as he pulled into the garage.

“Where had Lauren gotten that picture?”
 
Sorry, it's cannon in that way so Lauren is working for the covenant. You do hear a bit about what made her that way, however.

Cool, are you S/V shipper? If you are, could you possibly maybe hook Lauren up with Sark in the end? (I'm the worlds biggest Lark-shipper and I'd love to read about them.)

BTW, I really like this story already... :smiley:
 
There is some Slark, but i'm afraid I'm kinder to Sark than to Lauren :blush:

It's definetly a SV cannon shippery fic. What can I say, deep down I'm a romantic at heart.
 
I love this story!!!

I hate that we never got to see anyone else's side of those 2 years!! That flashback was great!!!
(Not, the whole Lauren and Vaughn part, I hate them being together, but you know what I mean)

Please pm me when you update!!!
 
Ooh. . .Love this. . .
That whole poster boy line had me giggling lol. :D
Can i please get a pm?

:hug: Zoe

Ooh. . .Love this. . .
That whole poster boy line had me giggling lol. :D
Can i please get a pm?

:hug: Zoe
 
Glad everyone is enjoying!

Chapter 3:

The Elephant In the Living Room

Vaughn quickly parked his car and walked through the almost deserted parking garage. He was prevented from continuing his train of thought by the appearance of Jack Bristow

(Internal groan and head bang)

“Good evening Jack”

“Good evening Agent Vaughn”

(Somehow when Jack called him “Agent” it always sounded slightly sarcastic)

“I assume as you left mere hours ago you have been summoned to a meeting as well”

“Yes, I received a page from Dixon, but Lauren did not”

“Have you spoken with Sydney?”

Vaughn threw up his hands and shouted like a pressure cooker releasing steam.

“How come everyone thinks I continually speak to Sydney?”

Jack just arched one eyebrow and said nothing. He and Vaughn continued through the security check points in silence. They entered the briefing room to find Dixon, Sydney, and Marshal already there.

Vaughn glanced at Sydney and quickly glanced away

Sydney glanced at Vaughn and quickly glanced away

Jack glared at Vaughn glancing at Sydney and looked away

Dixon glanced at Jack glaring at Vaughn glancing at Sydney glancing at Vaughn and
looked away


Marshall looked around and said “Am I missing something”

Sydney and Vaughn both said “NO” a little too quickly

“This would be amusing if it wasn’t about me” Vaughn thought ruefully.

It was like that story about the elephant in the living room no one would talk about. This particular elephant was immense and had a big ole heart with MV+SB scrawled in red lipstick. Vaughn was decorating the heart with an arrow when Dixon’s words brought him back to the meeting.

“We have new Intel concerning the covenant. It seems two covenant operatives were behind the recent assassination of the covenant cell leaders. These two operatives have now been elevated to the co chair of the North American Cell. We have discovered they are setting up temporary headquarters at the Times Square Suites in Vancouver. We have received video confirmation of the identity of one of the leaders”.

Dixon turned and pressed play on a remote control. On the display screen appeared a black and white video of a trim man dressed in a long leather coat and wearing leather gloves. The man was facing away from the camera speaking animatedly on a cell phone. The man turned to face the camera and the image froze on the screen.

A chorus of “SARK” filled the room in different tones from annoyance to hatred.

“Yes” confirmed Dixon “it seems Mr. Sark has resurfaced. Now that Irina Direvco is MIA (he looked pointedly at Jack who stared back without a change in expression) Mr. Sark has aligned himself with the covenant. We have little information regarding his co chair. The registration at Time Square is under Mr. and Mrs. Brian Hold, so we are tentatively assuming that the co chair is a female. At this time, Mr. Sark is alone. We do not know when his partner will be making an appearance, so at this point we are regarding this as a long term cover assignment. Agents Jack and Sydney Bristow and Agent Vaughn will comprise our team. “

Dixon paused and looked at each person around the table

“I am sure I do not need to stress how important this is. We have obtained an apartment across from Times Square which Marshall assures us is within range for any surveillance transmissions”.

Dixon tossed identity packets in front of the three of them

“Sydney and Vaughn you are newlyweds Jordan and Ben Shore. Ben is enrolled as a graduate student at Regents College of Vancouver. Sydney, you will be teaching English as a Second Language at the Vancouver community Center, which is located two blocks away from base”.

Dixon smiled sadly at Sydney and said “I thought you might enjoy teaching”

“Ok” he continued “Jack, you are Sydney’s father, a Software Consultant visiting your daughter and her husband and checking on new contacts.”

Dixon paused “any comments, concerns”?

He looked at Sydney and Vaughn

A thousand concerns were exploding in both Sydney and Vaughn’s heads, but they both had almost a year to perfect their game face (although Vaughn was sure he could feel a new furrow sprouting. All that time with Weiss was starting to go to his head….literally).

“I’m good” said Sydney

Vaughn nodded emphatically. If he had been able to sort out his emotions enough to verbalize anything it would have been

“The Elephant is back in the living room and it just knocked over the lamp”~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~
 
Yes!!! First!!! lol

Vaughn glanced at Sydney and quickly glanced away

Sydney glanced at Vaughn and quickly glanced away

Jack glared at Vaughn glancing at Sydney and looked away

Dixon glanced at Jack glaring at Vaughn glancing at Sydney glancing at Vaughn and
looked away


Marshall looked around and said “Am I missing something”

Oh, man this part cracked me up...
anyways, great update.
can't wait to see what happens when Syd and Vaughn have to pretend to be married...
update again soon!!!

~Kay ^_^
 
Lol this is going to be fantastic!
Newly weds. . .Hmm and im really wondering how all of them will react when the Sark/Lauren relationship comes out. . .
And Jack as usual . . Sarcastic as ever. . . :lol: but i still like him lol. :D

Lol this is going to be fantastic!
Newly weds. . .Hmm and im really wondering how all of them will react when the Sark/Lauren relationship comes out. . .
And Jack as usual . . Sarcastic as ever. . . :lol: but i still like him lol. :D
 
Ooooo, newlyweds!! That is great!!!

These are the best type of stories!!! I can feel all the pent up passion that is going to take place!!

Thanks for the pm!! Update soon!!!
 
Chapter 4

“Marshall, you’re up”

Dixon sat back down and gave Marshall the floor.

“Ok, hi everyone. Are you sure nothing was going on earlier, because it seemed… “

(He was met by stony glares from all around the table).

“Well, ok, it could just be me. I mean all this lack of sleep and liters of coffee has made me you know, a little paranoid.”

Marshall darted his eyes back and forth dramatically.

“Ok, Ok, get this. You know, now that I’ve been out in the field a few times”,

(Marshall gave a little swaggering head shake and struck a pose a la Charlie’s Angels)

“well I figured I needed to practice my martial arts…… Hey get it MARSHALL ARTS! Ha... so yesterday I was in my office and I thought I heard someone sneaking behind me so I turned to the right and Hiya “

(Marshall did a quick turn and executed a karate chop that would have been perfectly at home in a Pink Panther movie)

“There was no one there, but then I heard it again….. Hiya!”

(He turned quickly to his left and almost knocked himself out with a uppercut)

“There was still no one there, but well lets just say my inflatable Barca lounger won’t be attacking anyone anytime soon”

(Marshall stuck out his finger as if it were a gun, blew the imaginary smoke from the imaginary barrel and put it back in its imaginary holster).

Dixon sat back in his chair, rubbed his eyes, and then made a pyramid with his finger tips.

“Marshall, do you have anything to say concerning the mission”?

Marshall scrambled around with the papers and paraphernalia on the table

“OK, today for your spying pleasure. Of course every one knows I usually use ultra wideband spread spectrum technology right? Well, I figured these two Covenant chairs are probably in super spy category. I mean one of them is Mr. Sark, who has been in our custody how many times, but then POOF he’s gone and the head of yet another terrorist organization. So we know he will be sweeping for bugs. So I was up late one night with Mitchell watching Battle Star Galactica on cable, man do I miss that show and I was noticing the static and suddenly I thought THAT’S IT!”

Marshall looked at everyone expectantly.

Everyone looked back just as expectantly.

“What no one else gets it?

Marshal looks surprise.

“Well, what do all hotels and apartments have? Appliances! TVS, Hair Dryers, irons, clocks. They all have microprocessors that are accurate approximately 10 parts per billion. So sometimes it is a few picoseconds fast then a few picoseconds slow, then slow, then fast, slow slow, fast, fast, slow.”

“MARSHALL” Dixon interrupted “you’re dithering”

“Exactly!” said Marshall “Clock Dithering! We put our own microprocessors in the appliances and I can control the dithering. We can then pick up the data from microprocessors as any changes in the pattern can carry data.”

Marshall beamed at everyone.

Sydney looked perplexed and said “That sounds great Marshall, but what exactly does that mean”?

“We will be able to transport MPEG4 video and CD quality audio at up to 10 megabits per second to our base across the street which will be completely undetectable! They can scan for bugs for days on end, but all they will see are noisy appliances”.

Now everyone in the rooms looks suitably impressed. Marshall sat down with a large grin on his face and once again shot his imaginary gun, blew away the smoke and put it in his imaginary holster.

“Finally people” Dixon intoned in a voice serious enough to have the undivided attention of everyone in the room

“There is every indication that a covenant mole has infiltrated the CIA”

There were startled exclamations and wild looks from everyone in the room

“Therefore” Dixon continued “this operation is considered classified. You are to discuss it with no one, not even your spouse, not even if your spouse has clearance”

Dixon looked at Vaughn, then at Marshall, then finally at Jack.

“Don’t look at me” Jack quipped, “somehow I don’t think my wife has clearance…does she”?

Vaughn was getting a little tired of the omniscient, omnipotent Jack Bristow. Jack had sneered at what he considered to be Vaughn’s continual weakness, his drunken grief, his marriage to Lauren, and his continual feelings for Sydney. Vaughn had been unable to call Jack on it for quite some time. Maybe because part of him agreed with Jack. Things had improved when he and Jack had been in Federal custody together, but had deteriorated again after he and Sydney had returned from North Korea. Kinda made him wonder just what Jack knew or thought he knew. Maybe Irina had fed him some line.

Speaking of Irina… A thought started to form in Vaughn’s head when the realization of what Dixon had said hit him. He could not tell his wife. He would have to lie to Lauren about where he was going and why Sydney was going as well.

Everyone began filing out of the room as Vaughn continued to stay in his seat. He was still trying to sort out his emotions. He and Sydney would be able to pull off this cover flawlessly. There would be no problem holding hands and laughing with their heads together on the plane. He would be completely believable as a smitten new husband watching his wife from across the room as if he is a lion and she is prey. In away it would be a relief. There cover would give them the freedom to be who they wanted to be with each other. But that was the problem. It was just a cover. He was married and was madly in love with his wife (if he said it enough times, would it be true?).

He had done covers like this before with other agents. They pretended to be happily married and publicly affectionate, but were able to turn it off whenever they were off duty. He had sincere doubts, however, about his and Sydney’s ability to shut off the happy couple persona.

His last thought was that no story he could come up with would keep Lauren from going ballistic. He banged his forehead against the table just as Jack Bristow walked back into the room.

“Agent Vaughn, I have often wanted to knock some sense into that head of yours, but I’m afraid you will have to bang it quite a bit harder.”

That was it. The Vaughn/Sydney elephant morphed into the snide Jack Bristow camel and that final comment had severed its’ spine. In one fluid movement, Vaughn was out of his chair and had pinned Jack against the wall.

“Enough Jack. You think I am a lousy agent? How about you recall all of the times I saved your sorry self, as well as the countless times I kept your highly skilled, but occasionally reckless daughter alive?

We are about to go on one of the most important missions of our careers and I WILL NOT have you jeopardize my or Sydney’s lives by continually second guessing me.

You think it was weak to try and drink my grief away? Well, it probably was. Grief has the tendency to do that. Was it any weaker than being so stricken with grief that the only way you can cope is to emotionally cut yourself off from everyone that once loved alone; to live alone and isolated for over 20 years because you cannot stand the thought of loving someone and losing them again.

You think it was weak of me to marry Lauren? Any weaker than still being in love with your wife, even though she faked her death, killed people, and abandoned her own daughter to be the head of an international terrorist organization?

Why have you never divorced her Jack? You still think of her as your wife, even now. How do you think the CIA would feel about your continued correspondence with Irina?

Jack looked suddenly surprised, a look Vaughn did not think he had ever seen let alone caused.

“Yes, Jack I know all about your clandestine electronic correspondence and no, to answer your next question, Sydney said nothing. I know every word that passed between the two of you. I know when. I even know what font size you used.

You see Jack, I know more than you ever thought I did, because I am a better agent than you ever knew. So I suggest you get it together Jack. Spend your energies on the game plan instead of baiting me”

Vaughn released Jack suddenly, spun on one heel and walked out the door. He had just pinned JACK BRISTOW to the wall and put him in his place. Man, he had not felt this good in months.

His cell phone suddenly vibrated indicating a new voice mail message. He keyed in his access code and winced when he heard Lauren’s voice. His demeanor changed, however, when he heard the message. Lauren’s clipped voice informed him that she had been called to DC for a meeting, after which she was going to visit with some friends in Virginia. She would be gone for at least a week. Vaughn found himself going down the hall with the Skippy happy dance that was formerly reserved solely for grade school snow days and the ice cream truck.

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

Vaughn shook his head as he went back to his desk. Because this was potentially a long term mission, he had to finish up some briefs and transfer some cases. He was completing a case summary when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Agent Vaughn…. Michael”

Vaughn looked up. He could not recall Marshall calling him or any other agent for that matter by their first name.

“Umm, well I was down in requisitioning picking up some of the stuff for you and Agent Bristow and I noticed Dixon had requisitioned one for her, but not one for you. I guess because you already have one…”

Marshal was shifting from foot to foot even more nervously than usual.

“I might be completely off here, the sleep depravation thing again, but well… I just figured you might want a different one for your mission, you know, with Agent Bristow. Anyway, here”.

Vaughn had no idea what he was talking about until Marshall put out his hand. On Marshall’s palm was a simple platinum band. It was a man’s wedding ring. Marshall set it down on the desk in front of Vaughn.

“Thank you” Vaughn said quietly.

Marshall nodded and walked away.

Vaughn sat for a moment looking at the ring on the table. He then looked at the one Lauren had placed on his finger on their wedding day. He slowly took it off his finger and placed it next to the one Marshall had given him on his desk. Vaughn just looked at them for awhile, as if he was willing them to speak and answer his unvoiced question.

Gold and platinum. Different as the two women they represented. Lauren had made sure their rings were gold and top of the line. She had actually dragged him to about 10 stores before she found ones that fit her criteria. It had always seemed unusually heavy to Vaughn.

The one Marshall had picked out for his marriage with Jordan (Sydney) was understated, elegant, and shone like moonlight. It was also deceptive as platinum was actually quite a precious metal. It actually reminded him a lot of Sydney herself.

Vaughn stared both rings a moment longer. He picked up the platinum ring and held it up to the light, watching the reflection. He slid it on his ring finger and looked at it again. It felt cool and light; again like moonlight.

Vaughn hesitated briefly then quietly slid open his desk drawer set the gold ring gently inside and closed the door. Without a backward look he put on his suit jacket, grabbed his briefcase and walked out the door.
 
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