Title: "Blood Ties: Tangier"
Author: AquarianLady/Waterdancer
Email: jch0578@yahoo.com
Feedback: Yes. Constructive crit or positive feedback.
Archival: Cover Me, Alias fanfiction list, anyone else please ask first.
Rating: PG/PG-13 for language
Classification: AU, Action/Adventure
Summary: The first jump is always the hardest. Continuation of the Blood Ties series
Disclaimer: Alias and all its elements are owned by ABC and Touchstone Television. It is the creation of JJ Abrams and Bad Robot Productions. You want to sue me? Do you? It's not worth it.
A/N: Please read in this order "Blood Ties" http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=963016 and then read "Blood Ties: Mirror Image" by icyfire http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=974272
Robin, the ball is now in your court. Heh. Have fun with it. Thanks for the beta services.
Karen for staying on my back to finish this and for the beta. Thanks to everyone else who has supported all Alias fanfic writers in one way or another.
******
"Again!" Peter shouts as he tosses your kickboxing gloves back at you. "When we spar, you need to remember that I'm not your trainer, Francesca; I am the enemy and you need to treat me as such."
You glare at him as you lace up your gloves. "I don't see why we have to do this. It's not like I'm going on any missions." Then you remember the pictures of Anna, pictures of your once beautiful sister lying with twisted neck on a concrete floor. "Let's go," you say, determination showing in your voice.
A slow smile spreads across his face. "Yes, let's." He comes at you with a right jab. You duck to the left, and hit him with an elbow strike. He falls to the ground with a loud grunt.
"Told you that I'm a fast learner," you tell him, your arms dropping to your sides. You hold your hand out to help him up.
"That may be so, Francesca," he says, as he reaches for your hand and stands up. He brings a knee to your midsection and flips you over. You hit the mat with a loud grunt that matches his earlier one. "But you must always be prepared for a surprise," he says as he offers you his hand. You hesitate and he offers again. "Come on, get up."
You take his hand and stand up to face him. "You still haven't told me why I'm in training like this. I thought I was just going to report Sydney's—I mean Agent Bristow's movements."
"You were, Francesca. But now you're going on a mission."
"Are you serious, Peter?" You try to hide the small smile that appears on your face. "A mission? Where? When? Why?"
He chuckles as he unlaces your gloves. "You're just like a child on Christmas morning. I've talked with Mikhail, and we both think that you're ready and you have a natural talent for this, Francesca. We think we should use it for more than simple surveillance. You've passed all your tests with ease, and your physical training is coming along at a rapid speed." He directs you to the bench off to the side. "Have a seat. I'll get us some water and the dossiers."
"Thanks," you mumble as you shuffle over to the bench. Sitting down, you raise your arms over your head to stretch them out. You wince as you hear your bones crack.
"Here," Peter says, handing you a black folder and a bottle of water. He sits down next to you and waits for your response.
As you quickly scan over the information of the file, your eyes stop at a strange Italian name. "Who's Rambaldi?"
"Rambaldi was a 15th century scientist who some believed was able to see the future. Anna was involved in retrieving some of his artifacts over the past year."
"Wait a minute--you're giving me something that my sister was working on? I'm--I'm not sure I can handle this. This was Anna's." You try to push down the feeling of excitement as you continue to look over the dossier. You are following in your sister's footsteps. You think she'd be proud. You ignore the voice in your head—her voice—pleading with you to promise to never become involved in this life.
"And that's precisely why I know you can handle it, Francesca. You and Anna are a lot alike: determined, strong-willed, and skillful. You'll do fine." He takes your hand and pats it softly.
"Will I have to go alone?" You feel the fear twisting your stomach at the thought of trying to do this by yourself.
"No, I'll be there to watch your back. We don't want any surprises to appear."
Like Sydney.
"Will I be able to see you?" You have to admit when you are around Peter, this spy training isn't as bad as you thought it was going to be. You feel comfortable with him around.
"No, but you'll be able to hear me." He pulls out a small velvet box from the bag on the bench and hands it to you. "Go on, open it."
"What is it? Are you asking me to marry you?" you say with a small smile.
He tries to hide the blush that appears on his face. "Very funny, Francesca," he says with a chuckle as you open in the box. Inside is a pair of diamond earrings.
"These are beautiful," you gasp. "But I don't see how these will help."
He takes one earring out of your hand and turns it over. "They are tiny mics; small enough to escape the casual eye, but big enough for you to hear me and vice versa."
You nod in response, place the velvet box in your bag, and wait for him to continue. "In your dossier, you will find travel arrangements and your alias. There is also a layout of the building where the reception will take place and of the room where the artifact is hidden. Do you have any questions?"
"Are there any face recognition cameras I should know about?" That seminar in surveillance last weekend helped. Peter looks pleased with your question.
"There's only one, Francesca." He traces a path to a room on the fifth floor and points at the corner. "It's very small but can pick up any person coming into the room. You'll need to cover your face before you go in. There are also two, possibly three security cameras in the hallway. I'll take care of that on my end, and I'll supply your hotel room with all the necessary equipment that you'll need. Is there anything else?"
You look over all the information, memorizing it as you go along. "No, I think that's it." Standing up, you turn to face him. "I'll see you in Tangier."
****
"Mademoiselle?" You look up from your book. The hotel attendant points to a phone by the outdoor bar. "You have a phone call."
With a brief nod, you stand and walk over to the phone. "Hello."
"How are your accommodations?"
A small smile plays on your face, and you go into your act. "Darling! I didn't think you'd have time to call."
"Is everything according to spec?"
You think back to the parachute in your room. "Yes, darling, everything is the way it's supposed to be." Looking around, you try to locate Peter. "Just where are you? At the airport?"
He chuckles softly in response. "I'm closer than you think. Just remember what I told you about this mission, and you should be fine. Do you see that man to your left sitting at the bar?"
Your eyes scan sparse crowd and land on a young man with clear blue sunglasses. "Yes, I do."
"Good. That's Bryan McKiernan, a local archaeologist. He's the one that you need to make contact with. Give him a sob story about your boyfriend who is standing you up for the reception at the museum tonight, and that he has the invitation you need to get into the event. As I'm hanging up the phone, I need you to create a scene. Yell to get everyone's attention. Call me a bastard and slam the phone down. Ready?"
"You sorry bastard!" you shout. "I bloody came all the way here, and now you're telling me that you can't make it. Yeah? Well, fuck you!" Slamming the phone down, you look up and see Bryan eyeing you with interest.
You walk towards the bar with an exasperated look on your face. You slide next to Bryan who is still looking at you. "Men giving you problems, love?" he says with what sounds like an Irish accent.
You put your sunglasses back on and look over at him. "You can say that," you respond. "Elizabeth Lewis," you say, holding your hand out.
"Bryan McKiernan. You seem a tad stressed out; you probably need a drink. What's your poison?"
"Mineral water, please. Can't lose the girlish figure," you smile shyly at him.
"No, of course not." He pays for his drink and your water. "Now tell me what's going on?"
***
You smile to yourself as you think about the note that Peter left for you.
Moved bags to checkout. Be ready for your arrival at 11:00.
"Always the stickler for time," you murmur as you look at your reflection in the mirror. You've placed your hair on top of your head, and the 'diamond' earrings that Peter gave you are shining brightly in your ear.
Hearing someone knock at your door, you snap the clasp on your bracelet shut. "I'm coming," you say as you walk out of the bathroom. As you reach the door, you turn the skirt part of your dress around to hide the pants underneath.
*****
"You look spectacular, Lizzie," Bryan says as you walk into the reception area. "The best looking woman here."
"Thank you, Bryan. You flatter me." You touch his arm. "So, tell me what is it that you do for the museum?"
"I work in their ancient artifacts department. We've been able to acquire some rare documents from the medieval period as well as the Crusades. We've also been able to get our hands on some artifacts from Milo Rambaldi."
"Rambaldi?"
"Rambaldi was a 15th century scientist who some thought was able to tell the future," he says looking at you like you couldn't tell the color yellow from blue. You decide that you hate know-it-alls.
"Sounds a bit like Nostradamus." You continue to play the clueless date.
"Actually, a lot like him, but I don't subscribe to that notion."
"Why not?"
"If I believed in that type of thing, I would have never met you," he smiles as he pulls you into his arms. You respond with a false smile.
"Well, I don't believe it!" Bryan says as he lets you go. "My old college chum is here." He kisses you on the cheek. "I'll be right back, Liz."
"And I'll be right here," you say with a wink, relieved that he's leaving you alone.
You nearly jump out of your skin as Peter's voice comes across your earpiece. "It seems that our Mr. McKiernan is smitten with you." You can hear a smile in his voice.
"Very funny. How long before I'm able to go after the Rambaldi piece?"
"Give me ten minutes, and I'll be able to loop an image of the empty hallway to the security cameras. You'll tell him that you aren't feeling well, and you need to step out. Make your way to the fifth floor library; the book will be listed as an automotive book, because the cover has been doctored. Mr. McKiernan knew what he had in his possession and changed the cover until he was able to sell it to someone. You'll have eight minutes."
"Just eight!" you hiss. "I thought I had ten."
"Part of this game is that you must improvise when needed. Gryphon out."
You mutter a curse word just as Bryan walks up behind you. "Is everything okay, Liz? You seem a bit perturbed."
Immediately, you place another false smile on your face as you look up at him. "No, everything is fine. We should eat; this food looks delicious."
***
As the elevator stops at the fifth floor, you press yourself flat against the wall. "Gryphon, this is Pegasus, am I clear?"
"Yes, everything is clear. Remember eight minutes."
"Copy," you say quietly as you set your watch. "Is everything else in place in case I need to leave suddenly?"
"Yes, it's on the roof like we discussed. Going radio silent. Good luck."
"Thanks," you mumble as you pull the facemask down and start to race down the hallway. Reaching the heavy oak door, you pull out the laser lock pick that Peter provided.
"Dammit," you grumble as you push your way into the library. "There must be over 1,000 books here."
You walk quickly over to the books on the shelf behind the librarian's desk. Your eyes scan the titles of the books, and they stop at a slightly worn cover. You run your nail over the binding and it reveals a circle between two carrot signs. You place the book in your bag and look at your watch. Five minutes. "Gryphon," you say quietly as you reach the door. "I've got it."
"Copy that. See you in Los Angeles. Great job." He sounds pleased with your work, and you can't help but wonder if Anna would have been proud, too.
As you open the door, you hear his voice come across urgently through your earpiece. "Francesca! Get out of there! Sydney Bristow and her partner are here."
"What? We had no intel of SD-6 even knowing about this. Are you sure?" You're not ready to confront Sydney. Not yet.
"You're wasting time! Get out of there, now!"
You yank open the door, go into the hallway, making sure your face is still covered.
"Hey!" A familiar female voice calls out. You turn and see Sydney sprinting down the long hallway towards you. You stop in your tracks, feeling like a deer caught in headlight. You hear the elevator at the end of the hallway open and see Peter step out.
"Go!" he shouts at you in Russian. You hesitate to leave him. "Go!" he shouts again.
You turn and sprint towards the emergency exit to the roof. You look at your watch as you hit the emergency door, setting off the alarm. Three minutes. Sydney is right on your tail.
As you race up the stairs, you say a silent thank you to Peter making you run those wind sprints at UCLA's football stadium. You still hear Sydney behind you as you kick the top floor door open and run out onto the roof. Running over to the south corner, you run your hands underneath the ledge and find the black parachute that Peter has left there for you.
You quickly put the parachute on, tugging at the clasps hard to make sure everything is secure. You look over the edge, and it hits you that you are ten stories up. Seeing Sydney racing towards you, you get up on the top ledge, and jump. Unhooking the parachute as you land, you look up and see Sydney glaring at you. You salute her and run down the dark alley. You can't wait to make sure if Peter is okay.