Story: Beyond All Limits
Author: Steph (stephanie406@juno.com)
Disclaimer: Don't own Alias, or any characters thus portrayed. It all belongs to JJ Abrams, Bad Robot Productions, ABC, etc.
Rating: PG-13 (for now)
Spoilers/Summary : post "After Thirty Years"; Vaughn's alive, and Sydney's been captured
Surprisingly, he didn't feel cold. The water wasn't warm, per say, but it was at least comfortable. Comfortable enough to die in.
This wasn't at all like he'd imagined he'd die. He'd thought about car accidents resulting from a high-speed chase. Or a bomb going off. Being shot, or even stabbed. Never had he really ever entertained the idea of death by drowning.
A direct result of his love for her, if anything. He'd always put her safety ahead of everything else, although more often than not it got him into some sort of trouble. Just like now. He'd risked everything he had for her.
His job. His security. A pristine agent's file with no little tell tale notes marking "inappropriate" behavior that they'd deemed were "against agent/handler protocol". And mostly, well he'd risked his life.
Every single time they laid eyes on each other was a threat to his life. But Sydney was worth that to him. Whether he'd ever admit it or not, he knew he loved her. And for that, all the risks in the world were worth it to him.
But maybe this time the plan had backfired on him.
"Ya think?" the voice in his head asked him sarcastically.
On the other side of the door, he watched as Sydney put all her weight behind that fire extinguisher, trying with all her might to free him from what was soon to become his watery grave.
He wanted to tell her he loved her.
Instead, he mouthed for her to leave. How much longer could he last? Not long. His lungs were burning for air as he watched someone launch at Sydney.
Vaughn desperately pushed off the hallway floor in search of air. His hands brushed against something solid. The ceiling. He was relieved to discover a few inches of air still lingered in the hallway above the water. He floated on the surface, gasping for air, grateful for each breath. And that's when what he was looking at registered.
An air vent.
Of course! Why hadn't that occurred to him earlier? It was his single saving grace in this hallway that had cement floors, walls, and ceilings all but where the holes had been made for the ventilation system. Although, one tug confirmed his suspicion that they were screwed in.
All that remained to be done was to get that grate off, and then he could crawl out of this damned building through the air ducts. Sydney had done so on more than one occasion, hadn't she?
Now that he had a way out, all he could do was pray that she'd somehow gotten out safely. And that he didn't get lost in the maze that was the ventilation system.
Taking a deep breath, he ducked underwater. Sydney was no longer on the other side of the door. Vaughn pondered this quickly. This could be good. Maybe she'd gotten out after all. But this could be bad too. What if she'd gotten caught?
'No time to worry', he told himself. Sydney was very capable at taking care of herself, after all. What he needed to worry about now was getting himself out alive.
Determined to do just that, he swam back towards his exit, and set to work.
