Hey everybody!! You asked for more, you get more! Thanks for being patient - I finally finished Ch. 8!! YAY!!
I like it quite a bit, myself, and I hope you do too! And about that scene I wrote that I really liked - that won't come until next chapter, at the end. Sorry to keep you waiting, but it had to be done! Anyway, here it is - ch. 8:
Chapter 8
Sloane POV
Swirling my glass of bourbon, I sigh heavily. As much as I hate to admit it, Sark and Ms. Kane have shaken me. Everything has been going wrong lately, and Emily’s disappearance has me constantly looking over my shoulder. I
know her kidnappers have ulterior motives – it is not only about money, I am sure of it. Someone wants me out of the Alliance. Though, at our last meeting, I denied the belief that the culprit is an Alliance member, those thoughts have crossed my mind frequently. If only Marshall’s tracer had worked – this wouldn’t be a problem anymore. Wait a minute…
Sark accused Marshall of being a mole, a traitor. Is that possible? Though I don’t trust in Sark’s word alone, many other factors point to that conclusion. After all, it was Marshall’s tracer that failed, he ‘couldn’t’ foresee Echelon’s erasing itself, and after cracking Echelon’s polymorphic algorithms, he has conveniently ‘disappeared.’ I somehow believe Sark is in on this, too, though. Is it possible that they are in league together? S***, where is Jack? I ordered him to find Marshall nearly a day and half ago…
I pick up the phone angrily. “Yes, Mr. Sloane?” the operator begins pleasantly.
Gruffly, I answer, “Get me Jack Bristow – NOW!”
“Yes, sir.” I hang up the phone violently and lean back in my chair, brooding.
---
Vaughn POV
While jogging back to the warehouse, I called Syd and scheduled a meeting, using the usual “Joey’s Pizza?” routine. As I wait for her, I pace back and forth, organizing my thoughts and going through the dialogue we will likely have. I am positive she’ll resist hearing about Alice and me, but this time, I’m not going to let her leave without knowing the truth. I’m still angry at myself for waiting so long, but some of that emotion has been replaced with nervousness – and fear.
I am ripped from my thoughts as I hear the telltale opening of the fence. Syd strides in, looking beautiful, as always. My palms begin sweating, and I realize how dumb I must look – I just went running, for Pete’s sake. I’m a disgusting, sweaty mess. D*** it, who cares? Stop being such a wuss and focus on the task at hand!
“Hey, what’s up?” Syd looks at me with a mix of seriousness and curiosity.
“Hey, uh, it’s nothing really…There’s just something that I thought you should know…”
Not speaking, she shoots me a glance that said, “Yeah…continue…” and smiles slightly, her eyes showing a small glint of laughter at my being tongue-tied.
I take a deep breath. ‘Okay, you can do this. It’s not like you’re declaring your love for her.’
“It’s about Alice and me.”
Syd’s face instantly changes from playful interest to that detached look her father has mastered so well. She crosses her arms stubbornly. “Vaughn, you know that I don’t need to know about that. In fact, I don’t wa-“
I cut her off mid-sentence. “I realize that you don’t especially care to know, but for some reason, I feel the need to tell you. So I would appreciate it if you let
me open up to
you for once.” I give her a small reassuring smile.
She stalls a few moments, probably debating whether to hear me out or just bolt from the warehouse altogether. Coughing quietly, she grumbles, “Well, I guess that would be alright. I mean, I do owe it to you to at least listen, after all the personal stuff I’ve told you…”
I continue smiling and look down at my hands sheepishly. Even though Syd
needs to know this, I still feel uncomfortable talking about it with her. Running a hand through my hair, I begin, “Right, well, um. Okay, we met again at this party two and a half months ago, and Alice wanted to give ‘us’ another try. I agreed, and it worked out for a few weeks, but then we remembered all the reasons why we separated in the first place…So we decided to just be friends. That was working out well, and then her dad died. I felt really guilty, so for the last week or so, I’ve just been a helping hand and a shoulder for her to cry on.” I look back up at her and end with, “That’s it,” and a shrug of my shoulders.
---
Sydney POV
I was so sure that there was something more between them, and I had braced myself for the worst. But wait a minute…
“What about when you had the virus? Alice was your emergency contact and she claimed to be your girlfriend.” Though hearing they’re not together is great news, I’m still skeptical.
“Yeah, about that…Well, we had broken up a couple weeks before that, but with all the things you were going through with Project Christmas and Madagascar, I was preoccupied. I didn’t have time to change my emergency contact, so she was called in. And as for Alice claiming to be my girlfriend, she was in denial for a little while there. We had continued to see each other through mutual friends quite a bit, but she always called herself ‘Michael’s girlfriend.’ Needless to say, it annoyed me – A LOT – and I talked to her about it. So, I think she’s finally figured out that we aren’t together anymore.”
I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Man, I’m probably grinning like a fool. But I’m acting like a lovesick teenager. This doesn’t change anything – we still can’t be together.
“Well, there you have it. I know you didn’t want to hear about us, but I thought you should know.” His face flushes slight red. Is he
embarrassed?
“I’m glad you-“
Our pagers beep unexpectedly, cutting me off. I look at it, “Kendall?”
“Yeah.” Vaughn unclips his pager and throws it lightly on the table, sighing. “He can wait for a couple extra minutes. What were you going to say?”
“Nothing important. Just that I’m glad you told me.” I try to take the emotion out of my voice and I sincerely hope it’s working. I act distracted, “It’s a Sunday – so what do you think Kendall wants?”
“I dunno…there’s always something…” Vaughn seems a little bit disappointed. What did he expect? For me to give him a huge hug and say, “Yay, you’re not with Alice, so we can be together?” As much as I would like to, that is just not possible.
“We should probably go. I didn’t see your car. How are you going to get there?”
“I live nearby. I’ll just jog home. I have to change into a suit anyway. I guess I’ll see you there.”
“Yeah, see you there,” I echo. I walk out, leaving Vaughn looking abashed and slightly confused. I get in my car and think. Knowing there is nothing between him and Alice changes a lot. For all this time, I have been denying my feelings not only because of protocol, but mostly because I ‘knew’ he was with Alice. I was able to restrain myself because I thought he didn’t look at me
that way. But after our meetings the past few days, I have been getting the feeling he does look at me
that way, and now the only thing restraining me is protocol. And let’s be honest, protocol doesn’t seem to be a very effective deterrent for me.
I am so screwed.
---
Vaughn POV
I arrive at FBI headquarters to find that our meeting is not where it usually is. I go to check Kendall’s office and discover Syd, Jack, and Kendall. The meeting began a couple minutes ago, I slip in as quietly as possible. Kendall looks at me.
“Glad to see you could find the time to make it, Mr. Vaughn. Please take a seat.”
“I apologize, sir. So what have I missed?”
“Jack, will you please repeat what you said?” Kendall is annoyed, as always.
Jack shoots me an irritated look and begins. “Marshall completed Echelon about a half hour ago. We had some CIA operatives check it out right away. Millions of dollars have been transferred from SD-6 and other groups around the world to a town near Cancun, Mexico. We had it checked out, and the transfers have been to a man named Felipe Cortez. Using intel from Derevko, we found that Cortez is a big player with SD-6 and anyone else who is willing to pay big money for information; though he’s not a Rambaldi expert, he has contacts all over the world who are. We believe that if he personally does not have information on the flower we acquired, he has a contact who does. We need to obtain his list of contacts. We believe it will be in the form of a computer disk – either a CD or floppy.”
Sydney cut in, looking from Jack to Kendall. “So you’re sending me to Cancun to retrieve the disk?”
Kendall replies, “Yes. This, however, may be harder than it seems. Cortez is an extremely wealthy man who is well-respected throughout Mexico for his political activities. Because of his fame, his home near Cancun is open for public tours when he is staying elsewhere. During this time of the year, he stays in that house, but we have received information that he will be leaving for a business meeting in Brazil. He will be taking a two-week vacation there, as well, so his home will be open for tourists during that time. It may seem straightforward, but Cortez is a very paranoid man. His home is full of undercover guards, and many times, at least one of them poses as a visitor and goes on the tour. Also, the guide is one of Cortez’s most trusted associates. Because of the heavy protection, we need two agents to complete this mission. Under the circumstances, we feel that you, Agent Vaughn and Agent Bristow, should pose as a married couple. Jack, fill them in on the rest.”
For a split second, I feel happiness and hope wash over me. Then I come crashing back to reality, remembering protocol and seeing Jack glaring at me.
“I would like to say, for the record, that I do not approve of this setup. However, I realize the gravity of this mission, and understand that two agents are required. So I ac-”
Kendall cuts in, exasperated. “Jack, we’ve already been through all this. Please, let’s hear about their aliases and mission.”
Jack is nearly livid, but continues. “You will pose as Michael and Sydney Pearson. You are from Minneapolis, MN, but were visiting old college friends in L.A. before proceeding to Cancun. You have a twenty-six-month-old son, Jonathan William.” He slides a picture over the table. I feel a strange, content peace seeing that photo. The little boy actually looks as though he could be my – no, our – son. I discreetly look over at Syd. Her face is contorted in a starched seriousness, but her eyes – they reveal a different emotion. I see the pain, the regret of choosing this life, the thoughts of what
could have been. But there is something else:
hope. I, too, regret this life sometimes. But seeing Syd can make that all fall away. I look away with remorse, and tune back in to what Jack is saying.
“You are taking a short vacation from the struggles of parenting a two-year-old. To avoid suspicion, you will stay in Cancun two days before taking the tour. You are to keep to yourself, mostly, while ‘having a good time.’ After obtaining the disk, you will quickly return to the hotel. We will have a CIA chauffer and car waiting outside for you, who will then take you to your private flight back to L.A. That’s it.” Jack’s face has not lost its angry red flush, and he characteristically tightens his lips together firmly, as if to prevent himself from shouting expletives at me for being a part of this mission.
I instinctively draw back and break Jack’s gaze by looking at Kendall. “So, when do we leave?”
“Tonight.”
I glance again at Sydney and nod solemnly. This mission will be tough, in more ways than one.
So there it is!!! How was it?
Ooooohhh I can't wait for the next chapter - I've written the last half, and I have most of the first half in mind already. Let me say, I have a feeling it will be LOOOOOONG! But hey, the more, the better, right? hehe
Ok, then, I'm done for now! Adios!
~Laura
