A/N: I really love reading fanfics which have Sydney and Vaughn posing as married couples, and I absolutely loved the episode Welcome to Liberty Village. So I wanted to do the married alias thing, but put a little twist into it. I hope that you all enjoy it.
Summary: An undercover mission for Sydney and Vaughn turns personal when they have to confront not only a new enemy but the demons surrounding their own relationship. Set early season four.
Chapter One:
A New Assignment
Sydney stopped and took one last look in the mirror. Everything appeared to look respectable and so she grabbed her jacket off her bed and headed out of the room. Nadia was already up and sitting at the kitchen bench, with a coffee and the daily newspaper in front of her.
"Morning," Sydney said.
"Hey," Nadia looked up from the paper. She pointed to her mug. "I just made a fresh pot if you want one."
"Thanks." Sydney headed over to the kitchen. "Did you want a lift into work?"
Nadia nodded. "That would be great," she said, flipping a page of the paper. "So, what did you and Vaughn end up doing last night?"
"We just hit the movies," Sydney replied, sitting down next to her sister. "And then we called it an early night."
Even to her own ears that sounded boring, but she knew that she and Vaughn were doing the right thing, taking things slow. Sure, there had been a slight relapse with that plan, but Sydney was sticking to guns. They had been through a lot, and she wasn't sure if she was willing to open herself up completely at this point.
"Oh, ok." Nadia stood. "I'm just going to get my bag. I'm ready to go when you are."
When Sydney and Nadia arrived at APO, they both headed towards their own desks. Dumping her bag, Sydney unshouldered her jacket and was about to sit down when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning, she found herself looking into the familiar green eyes of Michael Vaughn.
"Hey," she smiled. "How are you?"
"Fine. You?"
"Not bad."
"Hey Syd, Vaughn." Weiss came barrelling up to them. "Sloane wants us in the conference room. Apparently there's a bad guy out there and we need to catch them."
"Surprise, surprise," Vaughn said. "I wonder what they have got for us today?"
"Karl and Eva Basra," Sloane said as a picture of a couple flashed up on the screen behind him. "Both born from a long line of career criminals. After marrying young, they decided to keep up the tradition. They started in the small time, but have worked their way up, proving to be extremely sophisticated in their chosen fields."
"What exactly is it that they do?" Sydney asked.
"They are believed to be the heads of an anonymous crime syndicate, which has established an international arms dealing ring. As well as that, they specialise in contract killings and helping those who need help 'disappearing' from the law. They change their identities, get them out of the country- for a considerable fee, of course."
"Why is this coming to us?" Vaughn asked. "Why can't the CIA take this on themselves? Why do they need black ops- these two sound like any other bad guy out there."
"They may sound that way, but if the rumours circulate are correct- that their organization is expanding at an extraordinary rate, then we have to consider them a real threat. We believe that at least three people on the CIA's most wanted list have been 'disappeared' by the two." Sloane paused. "And due to the nature of the assignment Chase believed that it would suit APO."
"You sending somebody in deep cover?" Weiss questioned.
Sloane nodded and then turned to Sydney, giving her a smile, which made her stomach churn. It repulsed her that he was standing before them, giving orders. He deserved to be behind bars, or even worse.
"What?" she asked him.
"Congratulations Sydney and Vaughn," Sloane placed a folder in front of each of them. "You just got married."
Sydney glanced at Vaughn, before opening her folder. "What are you talking about?"
Sloane pressed another button and the image of Karl and Eva was replaced by one of several rustic looking cabins, surrounded by trees. A glistening lake could be seen in the background.
"This is Perdita Place."
"That's where we are going?" Vaughn asked.
"Yes."
"It looks like a camp ground," Sydney commented.
"Almost," Sloane replied, "but not quite. It's a retreat, for couple's whose marriages are in trouble."
Sydney coughed. "Excuse me?"
"It's a place where couple's go to salvage their relationship, to rekindle whatever brought them together in the first place. There's counselling, activities designed to create trust…things like that," Sloane explained. "You and Vaughn will be one of the couples."
Sydney stared at him. She could not believe this. She and Vaughn were working at re-establishing their own relationship and here they were, being sent to the place where couples made a pit stop before calling it quits.
"But why?" Vaughn was asking. "What does a marriage retreat have to do with the Basra's?"
"Because Perdita's is the central cover establishment for their organization."
Weiss let out a snort of laughter. "A marriage retreat?"
"Yes. It's probable that some of the staff are members of the criminal syndicate."
"But why a place like that?" Sydney asked feeling completely baffled.
"Who would ever suspect a marriage retreat as being a cover for criminal activities?"
"Well, why are we suspecting it?" Sydney pressed.
"Because somebody within the Basra's organization has leaked the info," Sloane replied. "Now, you and Vaughn—"
"Hang on a second," Sydney cut him off. "We're going in as civilians, right?" Sloane nodded. "So people, regular people, actually go to this place for help? How do these crooks keep up the pretence of being counsellors?"
"Eva Basra has a Masters in Psychology. She would be able to arm them with whatever they need."
"Ok then, we know how," Vaughn said. "But surely a running a business like that would distract from what they really want to do. I just don't get it."
Sloane shrugged. "Again, who would ever suspect a place like that? It's reclusive, quiet- if the whistle blower hadn't have spoken, we would have never even become aware of its existence. It is a perfect cover," he said. "And from the financial records that Marshall pulled, it is an incredibly lucrative business. People are willing to pay up big to salvage their relationship. So, for the Basra's, it is a nice way to fund their true organization."
"This is crazy," Sydney muttered."
"Not really," Sloane said. "Think of some of the other situations that you have been placed in. a criminal group posing as a marriage retreat is nothing."
Sydney did not reply, and instead looked at Vaughn. He gave her a small shrug and she sighed. She and Vaughn, at a marriage retreat? Sloane was wrong. She had been in some wild situations before, but this was definitely one of the craziest.
"So, what is our mission?" Vaughn asked, his voice interrupting Sydney's thoughts.
"To begin, simple reconnaissance. Gathering any information you can. Specking out the retreat, background on employees- anything. Also, we do not know who the whistle blower is. Try and identify them if you can. Then, if it becomes viable, we will move in and take Karl and Eva into custody," Sloane said and then pointed to the folders in front of them. "Your aliases are in there. Marshall is waiting in Op-Tech to supply you with the necessary equipment. Wheels are up in one hour."
Sydney averted her gaze from out the window and looked at her watch. They hadn't been in the air for all that long, but some reason it like forever. This mission, she wasn't exactly looking forward to it.
"So," Vaughn spoke up from beside her. "I guess we need to come up with some reasons why we're going to Perdita's."
Sydney gave him a small smile. "How about…you always hog the remote?"
Vaughn grinned. "And I always leave the toilet seat up?"
"Yeah, and you snore."
"Why is this all on me…how about you never pick up after yourself?"
"Hmm, and I never put petrol in the car. I always run it empty."
Vaughn chuckled. "Well isn't that just a picture of domestic bliss that we have created?"
"Just a bit."
"But, we still need to do this seriously. We can't just show up and have no reason for being there."
Sydney paused, a pensive look on her face. "What about a children issue. You don't want to have kids?"
Vaughn nodded. "I can work with that."
"And I can play the role of the workaholic spouse…to a tee. It's not that far from the truth anyway."
"Right," Vaughn smiled. "We are on a role. What other dramas can we cram into this relationship before we land?"
"This is so weird," Sydney muttered as she and Vaughn climbed out of the car. Perdita's looked incredible. It was beautiful and tranquil, and she could not comprehend what was really going on under the surface.
"Tell me about it," Vaughn replied grabbing their bags out of the boot and then stopping to glance around. "Maybe we have been grossly misinformed about this place."
Sydney grimaced. "I wish."
"Hmm…so, you ready?"
Sydney nodded as the two of them headed towards the administration cabin. Sydney Bristow and Michael Vaughn were about to become distant memories, replaced by a married couple on the brink of collapse.
This was going to be interesting.
