1 An End to All Things
Part I – In The Beginning
1.1 It's just one of those days you don't want to wake up…
It was a rare day when Sydney overslept. She had always been one of those monsters of society known as a morning person. It had annoyed everyone she'd ever lived with, starting with her father, ending with Francie. She'd be up and ready to go, starting on her second cup of coffee as everyone else in the house was just rolling out of bed.
But weeks and weeks of stress, missions and counter-missions, not to mention the text book reading that she was falling severely behind on had built up at once. When Sydney's alarm clock had finally broken through the deep sleep she'd been in, she was already ten minutes late for a meeting with Sloane. Even if she'd gone in her pajamas she would have been at least thirty minutes late. As it was, she managed to make it only forty minutes late, looking like hell, and getting stares from the rest of the agents in the room as she took a seat.
"Thank you for joining us, Miss Bristow," Sloane murmured with an icy glare. "Now that the we're almost done."
Sydney tapped her fingers lightly against her leg to keep herself from fidgeting more openly. She had no idea what was going on, obviously something new now that the Rimbaldi case was coming to a close. New names and faces, new information that was absolutely meaningless to her, at least till she could borrow Dixon's notes. The last thing she wanted, nor needed, was for Sloane to start hassling her.
Oversleeping really sucked.
The meeting was over less than five minutes after her arrival, Sloane still glaring at her. Dixon smiled warmly at her as he stood to leave. Sydney smiled back when he quietly dropped a slim pile of papers into her open briefcase. "Thank you." She mouthed subtly.
Sloane didn't say a word, but Sydney remained in her seat after the room had emptied, an unspoken request, which she reluctantly followed. Excuses were on the tip of her tongue, but she bit them back. "You've always been punctual, Miss Bristow, and I hope this was only a single occurrence." Sloane said slowly.
Sydney inclined her head slightly in acknowledgment, but kept her face impassive. "I apologize." She said simply. "I'll get caught up on the case details before I leave for class."
Sloane's face relaxed, small lines around his eyes appearing as his mouth turned up into a kind smile. "I expect that you will, but that's not why I needed to talk to you."
Sloane stared at her, long and hard, as if awaiting a response from her. Something in his stare just made her skin crawl, and she tapped her pen against the edge of the table. "So, what's the problem?" She asked when he still didn't speak.
"As you know, we've had several security breeches this year. More, in fact, then we've had in the last decade. Last night, we found out where our enemies have been getting information about us. They've been getting it from you, Sydney."
"Are we back to this, again?" Sydney snapped. "Haven't we been through this, like eight times?"
"Ah, you always did have a flair for dramatics, Sydney, but you are right. You've proven your loyalty to SD6 several times now. Unfortunately, the leak has been traced back to you in an obscure way." Sloane picked put a thick gray file and sat down next to her.
"What does that mean?" Sydney asked suspiciously.
"When we began monitoring your activities after your return from your…extended leave, it was because we were suspicious of you. Then, after you proved your loyalty to us, we continued monitoring you. The security section noticed a man, who they believe to be an agent, following you and reporting your movements to KDirectorate."
"There is no way." Sydney said adamantly. "I would have noticed if someone was tailing me. I knew I had your security team following me the week that it started."
Sloane slid the file in front of her silently. Sydney flipped the cover open with the slightest trace of annoyance before her hand froze.
It wasn't the unknown KDirectorate agent she expected. "His name is Michael Vaughn." Sloane began. "We're not exactly sure why he's following you, but if you'll look through the rest of the pictures there…" He made a vague hand gesture. "I think the facts will become clear."
Sydney looked at the next picture and her stomach start to churn. She saw herself, back to the camera, flipping through a rack of CDs. A few feet to her left, Vaughn stood, leaning against a wall and flipping through a magazine. She remembered the meeting clearly.
Vaughn had congratulated her on the productivity of her counter-mission. Sydney had asked when she was going to get her employee of the month pin. He'd risked looking up to make eye contact, shooting her an impish grin. He dropped the magazine back in its slot then made his exit, brushing close enough to her for her to have briefly felt him breath on the back of her neck. She'd left the store with a similar smile on her face.
She saw the exact scene replayed in countless pictures. She watched Vaughn walk away and out of the store in dreadfully slow motion as she flipped through the pictures.
There were more, way to many more. Her and Vaughn at the Florist's shop. Vaughn sitting behind her at the cyber café. One set of pictures was particularly surprising. Vaughn sitting in non-descript black car in front of her house. "How can this be?" She muttered, her face going pale when the implications of these pictures began swimming through her mind.
"Don't worry about it, Sydney." Sloane stood behind her and rubbed her shoulders. Something akin to fear, but not quite, ran down her spine like a drop of ice cold water on overheated skin. "It took Security a long time to realize it too." He patted the back of her neck one last time before moving away to walk across the room.
"What's happening to him?" Sydney asked. She forced herself to beat back the wave of panic rising in her throat. "That is, how is the situation being handled?"
"He's being dealt with this morning." Sloane said. "Don't let it worry you at all. By lunchtime this will all have been over with. I wouldn't have told you at all, but I want you to be on higher guard than normal. If you didn't notice one person, there might be more. Whoever sent this Vaughn man could very well send another."
"I'd prefer to handle this situation myself. I'd like to take care of this on my own, since it was me he was following."
"No." He said firmly. "He's been tailing you, he'd recognize you in a second. Not to mention, I've already made the appropriate arrangements."
"Arrangements." Sydney repeated and felt her stomach knot.
Sloane studied her face. "You look upset."
"Well, I just found out that I've been being tailed for at least the last month, since I haven't been to that shop for at least that long." She snapped, running a hand through her hair, her mind whirling. She began to tap her foot with impatience.
"Sydney, do not let this bother you. Don't let it set you back." Sloane ordered. "Go catch up on what you missed this morning, go to your Lit class, and forget about this."
Sydney nodded, standing to gather the files and slip them into her bag. "Do you mind if I take this?" She asked, holding up the files containing Vaughn's pictures. "I want to study them so this doesn't happen again."
"Sure." Sloane said, the odd smile still playing across his face.
Sydney quickly exited, her heels clicking loudly on the floor as she strode down the hallway. Someone said her name, but she ignored him as she headed for the exit. It was hard, but she managed to look relatively normal, not portraying the thousands of conflicting thoughts rushing through her head.
She never panicked. Not even when she'd first found out the truth about SD6, she'd still remained relatively calm.
But right now she was very close to breaking out in a run, she was already sweating,
"Sydney!" She didn't stop when Dixon caught up to her, sparing him barely a glace. 'Act natural' she reminded herself.
"Yes?" She slowed her pace slightly, but kept moving.
"Everything alright? First your late, now you're practically running out of here again."
"I'm fine, I just have to get to class. I left my research paper at home, so I need to get all the way back there first."
"Okay." Dixon said, staring bewilderedly as she sped up again. "Do you want to get together later to get updated on the Boldari case?"
"I'll call you!" Sydney called, pushing out the doors and into the main bank. She pushed out of the doors and onto the sidewalk, from dim florescent lighting into bright sunlight. Soon as she was clear from the door, she broke off into a run, nearly knocking over a man carrying a large bouquet of flowers. She muttered an apology, but never slowed as she grabbed her cell phone from her bag. She dialed as she unlocked her car. "I need to speak to Agent Michael Vaughn." She shouted into the phone.
"I'm sorry, he's not here right now." The bewildered receptionist replied mechanically, and Sydney felt the urge to scream. "May I take a message?"
"Listen to me, I need to know where he is. It's an emergency."
"I can not give you that information. Can I direct your call to someone who can help you?"
"Damn it." Sydney hit her steering wheel with the palm of her hand. "Get me Devlin. Tell him Sydney Bristow is on the phone and that SD6 has IDed Vaughn."
There was a muffled noise, presumably the phone hitting the desk. Sydney, without waiting for Devlin, ended the call and dialed again.
"Hello, you've reached Michael Vaughn. I can not take your call right now, please leave a message."
Sydney debated the safety of leaving a message. If his phones were tapped, they'd both be screwed. If she had to chose between saving his life and risking exposure to SD6…
"Vaughn, this is Syd, SD6's has made you. Get the hell out of LA, they've put a hit out on you." She paused. "Please be careful." She added on an afterthought.
She disconnected, swearing again. It wasn't more than thirty seconds before her phone rang again. "Hello?"
"This is Devlin, I just got a message that they've--"
Sydney cut him off, falling back on training. She rattled off the important facts with cool control. "I need Vaughn's home address."
"No, if SD6 is monitoring him, they'll see you in a second. I've sent a team of agents to his house already."
"But I'm already on route, I know he lives just outside--"
"No, Agent Bristow, and that's an order." Devlin interjected. "If there is a hit on Vaughn, the last thing will help him is you showing up. Maintain normalcy, we'll be in touch."
"You want me to act normal?!" It took Sydney a moment to realize that the line had gone dead. "You've got to be kidding me." Sydney executed a quick U turn, breaking several traffic laws, and headed towards her house.
She might have just saved Vaughn's life. Or she might have just gotten him killed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*
"Come on, please?" Alice pleaded. "I could have it back here in like, I don't know, a half hour."
"I need to get into work." Michael said as he buttoned his dress shirt. "And you suck at driving stick, I'm not going to have you drop my transmission two blocks down the street."
Alice narrowed her eyes. "That was a long time ago. Quit holding it against me."
"That was two months ago, and you're not borrowing my car." Despite himself, Michael grinned at her. "If I had time to go with you, to monitor you, then maybe I'd let you drive it."
"That would be so great, really." Alice threw her hands over her head with frustration. "When using a car to pick up a guy, the last thing I want is my stalker ex-boyfriend sitting in the passenger seat reminding me to put it in first."
"First off, you should have never told the guy at the coffee shop that you had a vintage T-bird when you don't. And second, why am I the stalker ex- boyfriend when you're the one over here all the time trying to steal my stuff?"
"Because it gets me sympathy." Alice said with a sweet smile. "I use it to pick up guys at bars. But that's not the point. If you'd just let me go now, I could have it back by the time you leave." She hissed, narrowing her eyes when he shook his head again. "Mikey." She said in a low voice, causing him to wince at the horrible nickname. She only used it when she was about to break out the blackmail. "Remember my friend Carrie, the one whose number you've been bugging me for? I bet she'd find that story about you hitting on that transvestite to be pretty funny."
"Hey, it was dark, I was drunk. And he was really convincing. Did I mention I was drunk?" He said quickly.
"Everything time any one brings it up." Alice said with a smirk. "But I always forget those little details."
"You *so* wouldn't." Michael paused, the tie dangling off the end of his fingers as he thought about it. "Okay, never mind. You would." He pulled the tie around his neck and began to knot it. "Go ahead, it's not worth you burning out my clutch."
Alice let out a short screech. Vaughn sighed when the pillow hit him on the back. In the two years that he and Alice had dated before their break up three months ago, he'd learnt the stages of her temper quite well. When she started throwing things, it wasn't good. At least, since she had been sitting on his bed, the closest thing to her had been a pillow. Once, he'd ended up with six stitches when they'd been arguing in the kitchen. She'd felt really bad afterwards, but it was safe to say she won most of their fights after that. She liked to blame it on the Irish side of her family, saying she couldn't help a genetic tendency for violence. He had agreed with her that it was genetic, but blamed it on her mother, who was just as insane as she was. Then she threw a shoe at him, and he shut up.
"Yo voy a castrarle a menos que usted me deje pedir prestado su coche." She muttered, she stood, crossing her arms, and walked out of the room.
Michael winced once again. "I speak Spanish too, Alice." He reminded.
"I know." She called back sweetly.
Michael finished knotting his tie, then grabbed a jacket out of his closet and tossed it over his arm. It still surprised him how close Alice and he had remained. The old "Let's just be friends" cliché was the most pathetic way of breaking up. They hadn't gone that route, themselves, it was more or less an all out screaming match, two weeks of hurt feelings, then Alice had just shown up and wanted a favor. She claimed to be a chef to her latest conquest, and she hadn't made so much as a cookie since she'd burnt down her kitchen when she was fourteen trying to do so. Alice had a little problem with exaggerations.
He wasn't surprised to find her sitting on his kitchen counter with a mug of coffee in one hand. She pointed to a second mug next to the coffee machine. "Maybe if you get some caffeine, you'll stop being such a brat."
"Look, Al, I'm sorry, I need to get to work." Michael sipped slowly and nearly wept with gratitude. The four hours of sleep he'd gotten hadn't been the most restful, so he knew he'd be living off it by the end of the workday.
"News flash, you have two cars. And you don't even take your T-bird to work, so just give me the keys, and you'll never even know it was gone."
Michael felt himself giving in.
"Please, Mike, please please please please please?!" Alice begged hopefully.
Michael swore under his breath. He turned on his heel, walking back in his room to grab a set of keys. "You break it, you bought it." He said before tossing her the keys.
Her squeal of sheer feminine delight was enough to make a dog's ears bleed.
She hopped off the counted, bounding across the room. "Thank you!" She threw her arms around his neck and gave him a loud kiss on the cheek. "Thank you so much! I owe you big time!"
"You always do." He said uncomfortably. "Just don't wreck it or anything, please."
"I wont, I swear." She squealed again. "Now Travis will have no chance of resisting me."
Michael rolled his eyes and picked up his keys. Last week it had been Mark the car salesman. Now it was Travis the Starbucks guy. He was just waiting for Bubba the biker or George the rich old guy. Then she'd want him to teach her how to ride a motorcycle or help her understand stock reports.
Alice was still babbling about how great Travis was when she bounded down his stairs. Vaughn nodded, pretending to listen as he turned on his cell phone. "Call me tonight and let me know how it goes." He called.
He dialed his voicemail as Alice opened the driver's door and climbed in. He had a half a second to wonder why Sydney Bristow had risked calling his cell phone before he absorbed her words.
1.2 "Vaughn, this is Syd, SD6 has made you…'
He didn't know what it was, instinct or what, but his blood turned to ice. "Alice!" He called, jogging down the stairs. "Alice! Get out of the car!"
He watched in slow motion as Alice pulled her seatbelt on, then turned and waved with one hand, reaching for the ignition.
The force of the explosion knocked him backwards. The back of his head slapped against the railing on his fall. The bright, blinding blue of the morning sky registered in his head a moment before he blacked out.
Part I – In The Beginning
1.1 It's just one of those days you don't want to wake up…
It was a rare day when Sydney overslept. She had always been one of those monsters of society known as a morning person. It had annoyed everyone she'd ever lived with, starting with her father, ending with Francie. She'd be up and ready to go, starting on her second cup of coffee as everyone else in the house was just rolling out of bed.
But weeks and weeks of stress, missions and counter-missions, not to mention the text book reading that she was falling severely behind on had built up at once. When Sydney's alarm clock had finally broken through the deep sleep she'd been in, she was already ten minutes late for a meeting with Sloane. Even if she'd gone in her pajamas she would have been at least thirty minutes late. As it was, she managed to make it only forty minutes late, looking like hell, and getting stares from the rest of the agents in the room as she took a seat.
"Thank you for joining us, Miss Bristow," Sloane murmured with an icy glare. "Now that the we're almost done."
Sydney tapped her fingers lightly against her leg to keep herself from fidgeting more openly. She had no idea what was going on, obviously something new now that the Rimbaldi case was coming to a close. New names and faces, new information that was absolutely meaningless to her, at least till she could borrow Dixon's notes. The last thing she wanted, nor needed, was for Sloane to start hassling her.
Oversleeping really sucked.
The meeting was over less than five minutes after her arrival, Sloane still glaring at her. Dixon smiled warmly at her as he stood to leave. Sydney smiled back when he quietly dropped a slim pile of papers into her open briefcase. "Thank you." She mouthed subtly.
Sloane didn't say a word, but Sydney remained in her seat after the room had emptied, an unspoken request, which she reluctantly followed. Excuses were on the tip of her tongue, but she bit them back. "You've always been punctual, Miss Bristow, and I hope this was only a single occurrence." Sloane said slowly.
Sydney inclined her head slightly in acknowledgment, but kept her face impassive. "I apologize." She said simply. "I'll get caught up on the case details before I leave for class."
Sloane's face relaxed, small lines around his eyes appearing as his mouth turned up into a kind smile. "I expect that you will, but that's not why I needed to talk to you."
Sloane stared at her, long and hard, as if awaiting a response from her. Something in his stare just made her skin crawl, and she tapped her pen against the edge of the table. "So, what's the problem?" She asked when he still didn't speak.
"As you know, we've had several security breeches this year. More, in fact, then we've had in the last decade. Last night, we found out where our enemies have been getting information about us. They've been getting it from you, Sydney."
"Are we back to this, again?" Sydney snapped. "Haven't we been through this, like eight times?"
"Ah, you always did have a flair for dramatics, Sydney, but you are right. You've proven your loyalty to SD6 several times now. Unfortunately, the leak has been traced back to you in an obscure way." Sloane picked put a thick gray file and sat down next to her.
"What does that mean?" Sydney asked suspiciously.
"When we began monitoring your activities after your return from your…extended leave, it was because we were suspicious of you. Then, after you proved your loyalty to us, we continued monitoring you. The security section noticed a man, who they believe to be an agent, following you and reporting your movements to KDirectorate."
"There is no way." Sydney said adamantly. "I would have noticed if someone was tailing me. I knew I had your security team following me the week that it started."
Sloane slid the file in front of her silently. Sydney flipped the cover open with the slightest trace of annoyance before her hand froze.
It wasn't the unknown KDirectorate agent she expected. "His name is Michael Vaughn." Sloane began. "We're not exactly sure why he's following you, but if you'll look through the rest of the pictures there…" He made a vague hand gesture. "I think the facts will become clear."
Sydney looked at the next picture and her stomach start to churn. She saw herself, back to the camera, flipping through a rack of CDs. A few feet to her left, Vaughn stood, leaning against a wall and flipping through a magazine. She remembered the meeting clearly.
Vaughn had congratulated her on the productivity of her counter-mission. Sydney had asked when she was going to get her employee of the month pin. He'd risked looking up to make eye contact, shooting her an impish grin. He dropped the magazine back in its slot then made his exit, brushing close enough to her for her to have briefly felt him breath on the back of her neck. She'd left the store with a similar smile on her face.
She saw the exact scene replayed in countless pictures. She watched Vaughn walk away and out of the store in dreadfully slow motion as she flipped through the pictures.
There were more, way to many more. Her and Vaughn at the Florist's shop. Vaughn sitting behind her at the cyber café. One set of pictures was particularly surprising. Vaughn sitting in non-descript black car in front of her house. "How can this be?" She muttered, her face going pale when the implications of these pictures began swimming through her mind.
"Don't worry about it, Sydney." Sloane stood behind her and rubbed her shoulders. Something akin to fear, but not quite, ran down her spine like a drop of ice cold water on overheated skin. "It took Security a long time to realize it too." He patted the back of her neck one last time before moving away to walk across the room.
"What's happening to him?" Sydney asked. She forced herself to beat back the wave of panic rising in her throat. "That is, how is the situation being handled?"
"He's being dealt with this morning." Sloane said. "Don't let it worry you at all. By lunchtime this will all have been over with. I wouldn't have told you at all, but I want you to be on higher guard than normal. If you didn't notice one person, there might be more. Whoever sent this Vaughn man could very well send another."
"I'd prefer to handle this situation myself. I'd like to take care of this on my own, since it was me he was following."
"No." He said firmly. "He's been tailing you, he'd recognize you in a second. Not to mention, I've already made the appropriate arrangements."
"Arrangements." Sydney repeated and felt her stomach knot.
Sloane studied her face. "You look upset."
"Well, I just found out that I've been being tailed for at least the last month, since I haven't been to that shop for at least that long." She snapped, running a hand through her hair, her mind whirling. She began to tap her foot with impatience.
"Sydney, do not let this bother you. Don't let it set you back." Sloane ordered. "Go catch up on what you missed this morning, go to your Lit class, and forget about this."
Sydney nodded, standing to gather the files and slip them into her bag. "Do you mind if I take this?" She asked, holding up the files containing Vaughn's pictures. "I want to study them so this doesn't happen again."
"Sure." Sloane said, the odd smile still playing across his face.
Sydney quickly exited, her heels clicking loudly on the floor as she strode down the hallway. Someone said her name, but she ignored him as she headed for the exit. It was hard, but she managed to look relatively normal, not portraying the thousands of conflicting thoughts rushing through her head.
She never panicked. Not even when she'd first found out the truth about SD6, she'd still remained relatively calm.
But right now she was very close to breaking out in a run, she was already sweating,
"Sydney!" She didn't stop when Dixon caught up to her, sparing him barely a glace. 'Act natural' she reminded herself.
"Yes?" She slowed her pace slightly, but kept moving.
"Everything alright? First your late, now you're practically running out of here again."
"I'm fine, I just have to get to class. I left my research paper at home, so I need to get all the way back there first."
"Okay." Dixon said, staring bewilderedly as she sped up again. "Do you want to get together later to get updated on the Boldari case?"
"I'll call you!" Sydney called, pushing out the doors and into the main bank. She pushed out of the doors and onto the sidewalk, from dim florescent lighting into bright sunlight. Soon as she was clear from the door, she broke off into a run, nearly knocking over a man carrying a large bouquet of flowers. She muttered an apology, but never slowed as she grabbed her cell phone from her bag. She dialed as she unlocked her car. "I need to speak to Agent Michael Vaughn." She shouted into the phone.
"I'm sorry, he's not here right now." The bewildered receptionist replied mechanically, and Sydney felt the urge to scream. "May I take a message?"
"Listen to me, I need to know where he is. It's an emergency."
"I can not give you that information. Can I direct your call to someone who can help you?"
"Damn it." Sydney hit her steering wheel with the palm of her hand. "Get me Devlin. Tell him Sydney Bristow is on the phone and that SD6 has IDed Vaughn."
There was a muffled noise, presumably the phone hitting the desk. Sydney, without waiting for Devlin, ended the call and dialed again.
"Hello, you've reached Michael Vaughn. I can not take your call right now, please leave a message."
Sydney debated the safety of leaving a message. If his phones were tapped, they'd both be screwed. If she had to chose between saving his life and risking exposure to SD6…
"Vaughn, this is Syd, SD6's has made you. Get the hell out of LA, they've put a hit out on you." She paused. "Please be careful." She added on an afterthought.
She disconnected, swearing again. It wasn't more than thirty seconds before her phone rang again. "Hello?"
"This is Devlin, I just got a message that they've--"
Sydney cut him off, falling back on training. She rattled off the important facts with cool control. "I need Vaughn's home address."
"No, if SD6 is monitoring him, they'll see you in a second. I've sent a team of agents to his house already."
"But I'm already on route, I know he lives just outside--"
"No, Agent Bristow, and that's an order." Devlin interjected. "If there is a hit on Vaughn, the last thing will help him is you showing up. Maintain normalcy, we'll be in touch."
"You want me to act normal?!" It took Sydney a moment to realize that the line had gone dead. "You've got to be kidding me." Sydney executed a quick U turn, breaking several traffic laws, and headed towards her house.
She might have just saved Vaughn's life. Or she might have just gotten him killed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*
"Come on, please?" Alice pleaded. "I could have it back here in like, I don't know, a half hour."
"I need to get into work." Michael said as he buttoned his dress shirt. "And you suck at driving stick, I'm not going to have you drop my transmission two blocks down the street."
Alice narrowed her eyes. "That was a long time ago. Quit holding it against me."
"That was two months ago, and you're not borrowing my car." Despite himself, Michael grinned at her. "If I had time to go with you, to monitor you, then maybe I'd let you drive it."
"That would be so great, really." Alice threw her hands over her head with frustration. "When using a car to pick up a guy, the last thing I want is my stalker ex-boyfriend sitting in the passenger seat reminding me to put it in first."
"First off, you should have never told the guy at the coffee shop that you had a vintage T-bird when you don't. And second, why am I the stalker ex- boyfriend when you're the one over here all the time trying to steal my stuff?"
"Because it gets me sympathy." Alice said with a sweet smile. "I use it to pick up guys at bars. But that's not the point. If you'd just let me go now, I could have it back by the time you leave." She hissed, narrowing her eyes when he shook his head again. "Mikey." She said in a low voice, causing him to wince at the horrible nickname. She only used it when she was about to break out the blackmail. "Remember my friend Carrie, the one whose number you've been bugging me for? I bet she'd find that story about you hitting on that transvestite to be pretty funny."
"Hey, it was dark, I was drunk. And he was really convincing. Did I mention I was drunk?" He said quickly.
"Everything time any one brings it up." Alice said with a smirk. "But I always forget those little details."
"You *so* wouldn't." Michael paused, the tie dangling off the end of his fingers as he thought about it. "Okay, never mind. You would." He pulled the tie around his neck and began to knot it. "Go ahead, it's not worth you burning out my clutch."
Alice let out a short screech. Vaughn sighed when the pillow hit him on the back. In the two years that he and Alice had dated before their break up three months ago, he'd learnt the stages of her temper quite well. When she started throwing things, it wasn't good. At least, since she had been sitting on his bed, the closest thing to her had been a pillow. Once, he'd ended up with six stitches when they'd been arguing in the kitchen. She'd felt really bad afterwards, but it was safe to say she won most of their fights after that. She liked to blame it on the Irish side of her family, saying she couldn't help a genetic tendency for violence. He had agreed with her that it was genetic, but blamed it on her mother, who was just as insane as she was. Then she threw a shoe at him, and he shut up.
"Yo voy a castrarle a menos que usted me deje pedir prestado su coche." She muttered, she stood, crossing her arms, and walked out of the room.
Michael winced once again. "I speak Spanish too, Alice." He reminded.
"I know." She called back sweetly.
Michael finished knotting his tie, then grabbed a jacket out of his closet and tossed it over his arm. It still surprised him how close Alice and he had remained. The old "Let's just be friends" cliché was the most pathetic way of breaking up. They hadn't gone that route, themselves, it was more or less an all out screaming match, two weeks of hurt feelings, then Alice had just shown up and wanted a favor. She claimed to be a chef to her latest conquest, and she hadn't made so much as a cookie since she'd burnt down her kitchen when she was fourteen trying to do so. Alice had a little problem with exaggerations.
He wasn't surprised to find her sitting on his kitchen counter with a mug of coffee in one hand. She pointed to a second mug next to the coffee machine. "Maybe if you get some caffeine, you'll stop being such a brat."
"Look, Al, I'm sorry, I need to get to work." Michael sipped slowly and nearly wept with gratitude. The four hours of sleep he'd gotten hadn't been the most restful, so he knew he'd be living off it by the end of the workday.
"News flash, you have two cars. And you don't even take your T-bird to work, so just give me the keys, and you'll never even know it was gone."
Michael felt himself giving in.
"Please, Mike, please please please please please?!" Alice begged hopefully.
Michael swore under his breath. He turned on his heel, walking back in his room to grab a set of keys. "You break it, you bought it." He said before tossing her the keys.
Her squeal of sheer feminine delight was enough to make a dog's ears bleed.
She hopped off the counted, bounding across the room. "Thank you!" She threw her arms around his neck and gave him a loud kiss on the cheek. "Thank you so much! I owe you big time!"
"You always do." He said uncomfortably. "Just don't wreck it or anything, please."
"I wont, I swear." She squealed again. "Now Travis will have no chance of resisting me."
Michael rolled his eyes and picked up his keys. Last week it had been Mark the car salesman. Now it was Travis the Starbucks guy. He was just waiting for Bubba the biker or George the rich old guy. Then she'd want him to teach her how to ride a motorcycle or help her understand stock reports.
Alice was still babbling about how great Travis was when she bounded down his stairs. Vaughn nodded, pretending to listen as he turned on his cell phone. "Call me tonight and let me know how it goes." He called.
He dialed his voicemail as Alice opened the driver's door and climbed in. He had a half a second to wonder why Sydney Bristow had risked calling his cell phone before he absorbed her words.
1.2 "Vaughn, this is Syd, SD6 has made you…'
He didn't know what it was, instinct or what, but his blood turned to ice. "Alice!" He called, jogging down the stairs. "Alice! Get out of the car!"
He watched in slow motion as Alice pulled her seatbelt on, then turned and waved with one hand, reaching for the ignition.
The force of the explosion knocked him backwards. The back of his head slapped against the railing on his fall. The bright, blinding blue of the morning sky registered in his head a moment before he blacked out.
