Chapter 4: 19 days, 16 hours, 22 minutes, and 37 seconds

"Some things...arrive on their own mysterious hour, on their own terms and not yours, to be seized or relinquished forever." – Gail Godwin


"MOM?"

"Sydney, you have to listen to me. If you want Vaughn back you must listen to me now, I don't have much time."

Sydney was silent for a moment and then replied, "How do I know this isn't a trick? How do I know you haven't all ready killed Vaughn and that this is a trap for me?"

Irina was silent a moment as well and then said in an even tone, "You don't…but you'll have to trust me if you want Vaughn alive. I told you Sydney, truth takes time. I meant that…"

"What does that mean? How am I ever supposed to trust you again? You've betrayed me more times than I can count, and that's just me. I mean–"

"Sydney!" Irina yelled. "You must believe me. Do you want Vaughn or not?"

There was no moment of hesitation this time, "Yes."

"All right, here's what you do…"

Less than an hour later, Sydney and a team that included Weiss, Jack and Dixon were on a plane bound for coordinates Irina had given them. Sydney sat nervously, hoping against hope that this wasn't another one of her mother's games, that this was real and Vaughn would be with her in a few short hours. Jack looked over at his daughter and could read what she was thinking. He gave her a small smile and a reassuring glance as they careened their way to their destination. When the plane landed, they set off for the warehouse that Irina had instructed them was holding Vaughn.

They entered through the side door by cover of darkness and made their way down the narrow pathway that Irina had described. They encountered the exact number of guards she had said and Sydney's hope started to grow.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, they reached the door that Irina had said Vaughn was behind. The agents got into position and in five…four…three…two…one…they burst through the door. No one, least of all Sydney, was prepared for what they found behind that fateful door. 19 days, 16 hours, 22 minutes, and 37 seconds had passed since Sydney had last seen Vaughn.

The man she encountered was not the man she had known.

Sydney gasped at the figure that lay on the cold, hard, cement floor. She flung herself down next to him and cradled his head. If she wouldn't have noticed the shallow and labored breathing, she would have thought that they were too late, and that he was dead. To say that he was a mess, that he was hurt, was understating every law known to man. Tears flowed freely as she said his name over and over and over. Other disjointed sentences held remnants of apologies and 'what have they done to you's.' The other agents were sympathetic to her situation but also realized they were in hostile territory. Jack and Weiss went over to the couple and tried to explain to Sydney that they needed to leave. Whether she understood or not, Jack, Weiss, Dixon and another agent gently lifted Vaughn's limp form off the floor as Sydney held his battered hand and walked alongside them. Other agents flanked them on all ends and they made their way back through the labyrinth of corridors that would lead them to safety. They weaved through the maze trying not to damage Vaughn any further and reached the surface just as their extraction vehicle was ready to leave. They eased Vaughn inside and left the horrors of the warehouse behind. What they didn't know was that the horrors were far from over and would follow them all the way back to Los Angeles.