Will's Girl

Disclaimer: Everything Alias is the property of JJ Abrams, Bad Robot Productions, ABC, and Touchstone.  Please consider this a humble tribute to the genius of the Alias characters and plotlines.  I claim rights only to Jess Anderson.  No harm intended.

Rating: PG for mild language.

Feedback: Make my day – leave me a review.

Author's Note: I have no knowledge of what CIA training is like, and I haven't done any research on it.  Please pardon any misinformation.  One important assumption that I'm making is that all CIA operatives and officers have a cover –they cannot tell anybody the truth about their employer.

Can you believe that it took 14 chapters to get Will into the story? And, I recently changed Jess' cover name from Adrienne Steadman to Rory McAllister. I think I got all the changes, but if you see Adrienne, just read Rory.  Thanks for sticking with me!

Guys, I don't know what is going on with the site, but the only way I could get my new chapters uploaded was to create a new story. So, I'll be adding new chapters here to avoid frustration.

Chapter Fourteen – The Set Up

Will was waiting in Vaughn's office when he got into work that Friday.  "What good is an office if you don't hang anything on the walls, man?" he asked Vaughn with a smile.

"Are you after my job or something?" Vaughn asked with a laugh.  He reached out his hand to Will.  "Good to see you, Will."

"You too," Will said as they shook hands.

Vaughn grabbed Will's CIA badge that was hanging around his neck on a lanyard.  "Look at you, all CIA official," Vaughn said.  Will smiled nervously.  "How does it feel?"  Vaughn moved around behind his desk, sat down, and motioned for Will to have a seat as well.

"Honestly? A little scary."

"A little scary?" Vaughn repeated.

"Okay, I'm terrified."

Vaughn smiled sympathetically.  "Nothing wrong with that, Will.  You will probably never be totally rid of that particular emotion."

"Thanks for putting me at ease on my first day, man," Will said sarcastically.

Vaughn smiled again.  "Honestly, Will, you're going to be a great operative."  Vaughn logged onto his computer, pulled up Will's file, and used his decryption key to make the file readable.  "I mean, your training was text book.  Top of your class in shooting and on written exams… in the top five in physical endurance… every training mission successful…" Vaughn looked away from the computer and looked at Will.  "You missed your calling the first time.  Now you're home."

Will relaxed a little for the first time in weeks. 

After a brief silence, Vaughn got up, walked to his office door and closed it.  He returned to his chair and pulled an expandable file folder from a drawer.  He looked at Will, "So, how did your training cover go?"

"Good.  I emailed the story installments each week and I called my editor every other," Will said.

"Yes, I've been following your series on bike riding through Europe.  It's just fascinating.  I can't wait to see how it ends," Vaughn said with a sly smile.

"Me too," Will said with the same sly smile.

Vaughn reached into the file folder, pulled out a document, and slid it across the desk to Will.  "Here's the last installment in the series.  Take it and re-write it to be yours just like you did with the others."  Will nodded.

Vaughn gave Will another, much larger, document.  "These are notes on all the places that you 'visited'.  Facts that should help you answer any questions that your co-workers, friends, or family might have."  Will nodded again as he took the document.

"And," Vaughn said as he reached into a drawer and pulled out a sack, "Here are the photos you took.  You should get familiar with these too."

"So, there goes my weekend," Will said.

Vaughn chuckled, "You'll need to get used to that."

"I know," Will sighed, "It's more than just a job."

"Yeah it is.  And you really need to keep that in mind.  We have arranged for you to return to your previous life, so it might be difficult for you to separate what your life used to be and what it is now.

"Above all, Will, you're a CIA agent.  Your life depends on you maintaining your cover.  We know that SD-6 was monitoring you before, and they will probably continue as long as you are in Sydney's life."  Will nodded. 

"Now that you've dropped your investigation of SD-6, they shouldn't be nearly as interested in you.  But if they ever suspected that you were working for us . . . well . . ."

"Got it," Will said not wanting to hear Vaughn say the words.

"Now, Irina and her boys, Sark and Khasinea, that's a different story.  We have no idea of their whereabouts or their plans.  They're still after Sydney, so that puts you at risk just by association," Vaughn said.

"Swell," Will said.

"Knowing these specific threats and the more general threats that come with the job, are you sure that you want to continue with this?"  Vaughn asked.

Will didn't hesitate, "Yes, I'm sure."

Vaughn smiled, "Good."  He reached into the expandable folder again and pulled out a cell phone.  "This is your new cell phone.  It's secure and totally untraceable.  You have a new number, and you should restrict the number of people you give it to.  And don't list it anywhere."  Will took the phone and looked it over.  "This is how I will contact you; and if you ever want out, for whatever reason, you should use this phone to call me.  You have my cell number memorized, right?"  Will nodded.

After a pause, Vaughn continued, "Do you have any concerns about me being your handler?"

"No," Will replied.

"Good.  Now, we've nearly got your cover in place.  Your boss is expecting you to arrive at LAX this afternoon.  Sydney will meet you at the airport. 

"It is very important that you never speak to Sydney about the CIA or SD-6 unless you're certain that you are in a secured environment.  Not at her house, not at your place.  Definitely not in public."

"Understood," Will said.

"We'll be meeting as a team at least once a week in a secure location.  You can discuss anything you need to there.  I will call you the day of the meeting to let you know the time.  We'll be meeting in a room above a bar called 'The Office'.  There's access to the room from a back alley.  I'll show you the location on our way to the airport this afternoon.

"In addition, if there is a reason to meet in between the weekly briefings, I'll contact you, and if you need to meet, you call me.  Okay?" Vaughn asked.  Will nodded.

"Back to today," Vaughn continued.  "Sydney will take you to your apartment.  You guys should do whatever you would have done prior to all this – act like nothing has changed.  The same goes for the rest of the weekend.  We did a sweep of your apartment, and it's clean… for the time being at least.  You can relax there."

"Good," Will said.

"Your boss expects you in the office on Monday with the final installment from Europe.  We have another agent undercover at the paper to watch your back during the day," Vaughn said.

"Ugh.  What a boring assignment that would be," Will said.

"What are you talking about?  You have that same assignment," Vaughn said.  Will smiled.  Vaughn continued, "We're also setting up an undercover agent as your girlfriend."

"What?" Will was genuinely surprised.

"We're putting an agent in place as your girlfriend," Vaughn repeated.  "Her function will be two-fold.  She'll be able to protect you pretty much anytime you're not at the paper, and she will mentor you.  You need to spend as much time as possible with her."

"Another boring assignment," Will joked.

"Actually, Agent Anderson is looking forward to this boring assignment.  She just returned from an extremely dangerous two-year op.  She's our top female agent and has the most undercover experience.  You'll learn a lot from her."

Vaughn took a moment to study Will.  He had no idea what he was in for.  "Were you ever in any plays in high school or college?" Vaughn asked.

"I did a few in high school," Will said clearly confused at the direction of the conversation.

"Good.  Going undercover is a lot like acting.  When you're in public with Agent Anderson, you have to act like you are dating.  Hold hands.  Hug.  Kiss.  The whole thing."  Vaughn was having trouble proceeding with the conversation.  He could not believe he was actually telling another man to kiss his girlfriend.  "You have to make it seem like the two of you are crazy for each other. 

"And in the beginning, you two need to be seen together in public a lot.  You need to establish for everyone out there that your relationship is real.  If anybody is still watching you, they will increase their efforts when you first start seeing her…  that's standard surveillance procedure."

Will suddenly had an image of one of his hand-to-hand combat instructors… a substantial woman who possessed more testosterone than most men he knew.  He imagined what it would be like to kiss her.  With a small shudder, Will banished the image from his mind.  "I'll do my best," he said meekly.

"This undercover op will be different from most in the fact that you will not have to maintain the cover 24-7.  We're setting Agent Anderson up in a CIA house, complete with the best surveillance equipment we've got.  If anybody suddenly becomes interested in you two, we'll know about it.

"So, whenever you and Jess, uh, Agent Anderson are at the house, you can be yourself.  Truly yourself."  Will considered the significance of that statement.

Vaughn pulled Will out of his thoughts, "We've never really addressed the question of whether you're interested in active duty outside of your old life," Vaughn said.  Will wrinkled his brow a little confused again.  "I mean, are you interested in participating in missions that don't have any relation to the paper or SD-6?"

Will was back to being nervous, "Yes, I would like to try.  I'm not sure if I can really handle it though.  I mean, it's a huge leap from reporter to active CIA agent."

"I understand, Will.  But, if you have the interest in working small missions, I support you.  Between your performance in training and our trip to Taipei, I believe that you have what it takes to run successful missions. 

"But, you really do have to want to do it.  You have to be passionate about your job… your mission.  If not, someone is likely to get hurt," Vaughn cautioned.

Will was quite for a moment as he thought about what he had been through in Taipei and how angry he was that SD-6 had stolen the most important things in his life.  "Yes, I want to be an active agent," Will said resolutely.

"Excellent," Vaughn said with a reserved smile.  "I'm going to give you some time to get settled undercover with Agent Anderson, and then I'll look for some short missions for the two of you."

Will nodded comforted by the fact that this Agent Anderson was supposedly so experienced.

"So, are you ready to meet her?" Vaughn asked.

"Who?" Will asked a wave of panic prickling through his body.

"Agent Anderson."

"I guess so," Will said.

Vaughn picked up the phone and dialed an number.  "We're ready," he said into the receiver and then hung up.

Vaughn could see that Will was nervous.  "Relax, Will.  You'll enjoy working with Anderson… she'll take care of you." 

Will did his best to smile.  Nothing in training had prepared him for this.

*****

There was a knock on the door and it immediately opened, not waiting for a response from Vaughn.  Weiss walked in to the office followed by Jess.  Vaughn stood up, and Will followed suit.

Vaughn took care of the introductions, "Will, you remember Weiss . . ."  Will nodded and shook his hand.  "And, this is Agent Jessica Anderson.  Jess, meet Agent Will Tippin."

Will was momentarily speechless as he looked at Jess.  She certainly wasn't anything like his instructor.  He looked her up and down as discretely as possible.  He reached out to shake her hand.  "Wow," Will said and then quickly corrected himself.  "I mean, hi."  Will's cheeks were flooded with pink as Weiss and Vaughn smiled.

Jess smiled, "It's nice to meet you, Will."

Vaughn and Weiss headed to the small table near the window.  Jess closed the door, went to the table and sat down next to Weiss.  Will followed, still at a loss for words.

"So," Vaughn addressed Weiss and Jess, "How did the audition go?"

Jess nodded her head, "I've pretty much got the gig.  The owner just wants me to do a set on Sunday night to see if his customers take to me."

"So, guess what we're all doing on Sunday night?" Weiss looked around at Vaughn and Will.

Vaughn filled Will in on Anderson's cover.  They already had her identity established.  Her name would be Rory McAllister.  She had inherited a significant amount of money when her husband died.  While she didn't really need to work, she would be working days at a mom and pop music store just three blocks from the Times building. 

A friend of Weiss' had tipped them on an opening for a female singer at a small club, named 'Downtown'.  Knowing that Jess enjoyed singing and had minors in piano and voice from Georgetown, Weiss arranged for an audition.  The job, working three or four nights a week, would make the operation more enjoyable for her and would also create the perfect situation for Will and her to connect.

Will did the best he could to concentrate on what Vaughn was saying, but he was totally distracted by Jess.  He kept sneaking peeks at her out of the corner of his eye.  Her long, auburn hair was pulled back in a thick, lustrous ponytail.  Her green eyes sparkled.  When she smiled, Will's breath caught in his throat.  She was wearing a brown, form-fitting suit with a delicate, ivory colored blouse.  Occasionally Jess would meet his gaze and smile; Will would smile politely and quickly look away.  Besides Sydney, he had never been so immediately attracted to a woman.

"So, we'll all go to the club on Sunday," Weiss said pulling Will back into the conversation at hand, "And make sure that the other customers enjoy Jess' performance."

"And you should invite as many people as you can," Vaughn said to Will.  "We want the people in your life to witness your burgeoning relationship."

"It is very important that you connect with Jess Sunday night at the club," Weiss said, "Just incase she doesn't get the job."

Will felt a little embarrassed, "How am I supposed to, uh, connect?"

Weiss smiled knowingly at Jess, "How would you normally hit on a woman?  Do that… do whatever comes naturally."

"See, there's the problem.  Usually when I hit on a woman I end up striking out," Will said with a sheepish smile.

Weiss chuckled, "Well, I can guarantee you that Jess, uh, I mean Rory, will not play hard to get."

Vaughn was getting tired of the good-natured teasing centered around his girlfriend.  "You two need to . . ." Once Jess made eye contact with Vaughn, he was unable to complete his sentence.

Weiss quickly picked up for him, "You two need to get cozy quickly, and Will needs to move into the house ASAP."

"Speaking of the house," Jess said, "Are you sure it's a good idea to set this up in a house next to you?" she asked Vaughn.

"Actually," Vaughn said defensively, "I think it's a great idea.  No one knows I'm CIA.  We will be able to keep in contact with casual neighborly activities, and if anything serious goes down, I'll be right there."

Will watched Jess; her face was skeptical.  "And Devlin is aware of this?  He's approved it?" she asked.

"He actually convinced Devlin that we couldn't do this op any other way," Weiss laughed.  "Balls of steel."

As Jess smiled at first Weiss then Vaughn, Will realized that he was an outsider on an inside joke.  The thought crossed his mind that he just might be an outsider in more ways than one.