A/N: Thanks for all the reviews kids!!! I love it when what I write is
enjoyed :) -- s t e o r r a, thanks for the French bit :) I can't speak
French -- hell, I struggle with English :) but thanks for pointing it out
dude :). And, to mudpie 7386..hehe, I was hoping it to just kinda blend
in..hehe, coz at the time, I just needed to get the files into the field.it
was mid-night and really couldn't think of a plausible way for it to
happen..so I just threw it in -- much like passions -- It was just put in,
with the hope it would stay unquestioned :). Ok.It's 10 at night, and the
footy show (Sydney one..) is one.Ok..lets just say that they were in
storage -- that Hagarity ordered them out and filed. Sydney (or was it
her.?? Mmmmm.[I havn't decided yet..:)].) sent it to the CIA office in LA.
Oh, BTW, is all CIA referred to as 'Langley' or is it just the LA office?
Coz I love that word, and in this chapter, just the LA office is Langley -
not all of the CIA, and will remain unless advised otherwise :) God I get
sidetracked so easily! Anyway someone sent the file, Sydney's file that
disappeared in the take-over in 2003, to the CIA. When it arrived, the
incompetent morons that handle the incoming mail and such, even though it
was addressed to Vaughn, opened it. Thinking it was simply a personnel
file, they sent it up to the tools that handle all the filing and they just
threw it in box of pre-take-over employees. Basically, my whole scenario is
based on stupid imbeciles that cannot perform the basic of tasks. Hey, the
work for the Government. It's totally possible. Even probable. Ok.I'm
starting now. Thanks for the reviews again!
~*~
Pure Morning. Phase 2 -- Morning View.
Memories are just where you laid them
Dragging the waters till the depths give up their dead
What did you expect to find?
Was it something you left behind?
Don't you remember anything I said when I said
-- Fuel, "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)"
~*~
"Vaughn, you can't do this!" Weiss pleaded, "It could be a set up! Vaughn. STOP! Listen to me. How do you know it's her?"
"I just do" Vaughn snapped, grabbing his gun out of his draw, "Names. Places. Only she knew. Only her"
"Listen to yourself, Vaughn. Your letting emotion take you over! You can't just go gallivanting round the countryside, because you received a note. Vaughn. Think out it. Is there any real likelihood she is alive?" Weiss continued, following Vaughn further into the storage facility, "Even if she is. 10 years? We don't know who has been holding her. What kind of state she'd be in. Vaughn, please. I want her to be alive and well as much as you do. But you need to see it logically. If she is alive, she's been held against her will. She won't be the Sydney we remember. Mike.." It had been the first time in years Weiss had addressed Vaughn by his christen name.
Vaughn turned his back to Weiss, slamming his gun against the metal locker, "I want her to be alive, Eric. I need her to be" He paused for a moment, "I am having the nightmares again. From Taipei, when I found her" he turned to face Weiss again. And while emotion dripped off his every word, his face let nothing slip. His face remained cold and void, "she changed after Taipei, Eric. You remember her after we returned. I helped her to get back to her old self. We almost got there, and she diapered again. I know she's alive Eric. And I am going to find her. We didn't work that hard to bring her back, only to have her snatched away again. I loved" he stopped, replacing his choice of words, "I love her"
"If she is out there, Vaughn. We will find her. I promise." He assured Vaughn, rubbing his shoulder. He hated seeing Vaughn like this -- with emotion. He was vulnerable, and so different to the personality of the man he'd become, "We have a briefing to attended. Lets get this mission out of the way, and we'll start the search when we get back. Deal?"
"Yeah..lets get this over with. I hate Morgan's briefs." Vaughn mumbled.
"Really? I didn't notice. You know, with your biting his head off every time you run into him and all. You keep it so. Sealed." Weiss joked.
"He is an incompetent jackass. It's not my fault he does not know how to run a mission." Vaughn responded flatly.
"I know. It's funny how you manage to have every agent at Langley scared of you. Even the ones above you" Weiss said, walking into the 4th floor of Langley.
"That's because all the agents senior to me have all been paper pushing desk jockeys their whole career. Granted I was up until the little Denpassar op, even if many were not approved missions, I have seen a lot more than they will ever imagine." Vaughn explained. His voice was cold.
"If Jack where here, you two would run this.." Weiss started, but was cut off by Vaughn.
"If Jack where still here, we would have found his daughter and we would not be having this conversation because he would the director" Vaughn snapped as he entered the conference room.
Harry Morgan was just beginning to outline the mission when the two entered the room. It was obvious Vaughn intimidated him. He tried hiding it, but he was so transparent. Vaughn and Weiss took their seats. Only three other agents sat in the room - Erin Fallon and Thomas Andrews, along with Owen Huges, their op tech guy. "Ok.as I was saying.." Harry resumed, trying to avoid any eye contact with Vaughn, "this is a simple recon mission, and the four.."
".Wait. Simple recon, and your sending four agents? Why waste manpower. It's stupid and I think Fallon and Andrews can do it by themselves" Vaughn interrupted.
"Well, Mr. Vaughn, had you heard the total op, you would see" Harry answered, "The recon mission seems straight forward, however, we have Intel suggesting that the Shierkvo Inter-Union has sent up running it's business from Australia" Harry explained.
"Shierkvo? They went down 5 years ago." George Kurtis, a senior agent on his way up informed everyone, as he entered the room.
"Obviously not.." Thomas retorted, "As our Intel states, they are alive and active"
"I was there for the take-down, Mr. Andrews. I assure you, the Inter-Union went down" Kurtis smirked, taking a seat. Thomas rolled his eyes, "Do you have a problem, Mr. Andrews?" Thomas just sat back, knowing that the man before him could break his career with a phone call, "So why are we sending four agents, Harry? The Union went down 5 years ago?"
"No they didn't" Vaughn told the room, leaning back in his chair.
"And what would you know?" Kurtis shot.
"Obviously a lot more than you, Mr. Kurtis. You may have been present for the take down of one of the Inter-Union cells, however, the Union never collapsed" Vaughn informed Kurtis, as a smile came across Thomas and Erin's faces. "Several sub-divisions survived the CIA's attempts to take down the Union's cells. They were only tiny, however, with the aid of other intelligence organizations that had collapsed, and some splinter groups of terrorist organizations created the new Inter-Union. We never destroyed them, Kurtis. The Alliance of Twelve? K-Directorate? These names ring any bells? They should. The Alliance was destroyed over a decade ago, however Intel shows that a few key players on the board of directors escaped prosecution and turned to the Union. K-Directorate is collapsing, has been for years. The two groups have joined forces. They are a serious threat" His face remained neutral, and did not in the slightest give away the feelings inside him when he spoke of the Alliance of Twelve - and some of the directors still being around. With power.
Kurtis was a little taken back by Vaughn's explanation. Kurtis was pompous and arrogant and a little stupid. The two had an on-going war, "and how is it you have so much knowledge of rouge intelligence agencies?"
"I believe, being an intelligence officer and working in counter- intelligence, requires keeping up to date with the groups we are against." Vaughn replied, not moving and his voice never faltering, "That and I have been in Langley my whole CIA career. Our office did focus on counter- intelligence. Remember?" He knew that Kurtis resented the fact that Vaughn had spent his entire career in Langley. While nobody knew much of his career pre-2003, just the fact he had spent it in LA meant he had an advantage over Kurtis, "Now, if you don't have any other questions on the current affairs of counter-intelligence, I believe we have a mission to prepare for."
~*~
Erin watched as the Qantas Boeing 747 jumped a little as the wheels hit the ground of the East-West runway of Sydney international airport, water to both sides of her - Botany Bay to one side, the Pacific ocean to the other. The mission was simple enough - it was just recon. The numbers where sent for safety. With Inter-Union running it's business out of the southern suburb of Lucas Heights, the ex-nuclear reactor, it was impetrative. Their mission was in the city centre - Martin Place.
The four departed the plane, getting their luggage first, and headed to the shuttle service.
"Why can't we stay somewhere nice? Like the Hilton or something?" Weiss whined.
"Because they only had one in Sydney and it was blown up last year" Vaughn stated.
"Oh" was all Weiss could say.
"We are staying in some hotel in a suburb called Sutherland. It's about an 45 minutes from here" Vaughn informed.
"Sir? Why are we staying so far away?" Erin questioned.
"That's not for you to know" was all Vaughn would tell her.
As the shuttle bus pulled up outside Sutherland railway station, the four departed, carrying one suitcase each.
"Ah shit!" Weiss yelled as a young girl, maybe about 8 or 9, ran passed him, knocking him off his feet.
"Oh, I'm sorry mister. Please, I'm sorry" The little girl's face was full of fear.
"It's ok" Erin said, coming upto her, noticing this. But the girl backed off. Vaughn couldn't stop staring at her.
"Wait!" he called, stopping her running off, "Whats your name?"
The girl looked at Vaughn strangely, "Jacqueline" she answered shyly. Normally, she would never talk to strangers, but she felt she could trust this man.
"Wow.she trusts him. What a big mistake.."Thomas laughed.
"Weiss, come here" Vaughn ordered. Weiss picked himself up, walking over to Vaughn and Jacqueline.
"Oh my god.." was all he could say up on seeing the girl, then lowered his voice so the other two could not over hear them, "It looks so much like her. Apart from those green eyes, hell, it very well could be Sydney.."
~*~
Pure Morning. Phase 2 -- Morning View.
Memories are just where you laid them
Dragging the waters till the depths give up their dead
What did you expect to find?
Was it something you left behind?
Don't you remember anything I said when I said
-- Fuel, "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)"
~*~
"Vaughn, you can't do this!" Weiss pleaded, "It could be a set up! Vaughn. STOP! Listen to me. How do you know it's her?"
"I just do" Vaughn snapped, grabbing his gun out of his draw, "Names. Places. Only she knew. Only her"
"Listen to yourself, Vaughn. Your letting emotion take you over! You can't just go gallivanting round the countryside, because you received a note. Vaughn. Think out it. Is there any real likelihood she is alive?" Weiss continued, following Vaughn further into the storage facility, "Even if she is. 10 years? We don't know who has been holding her. What kind of state she'd be in. Vaughn, please. I want her to be alive and well as much as you do. But you need to see it logically. If she is alive, she's been held against her will. She won't be the Sydney we remember. Mike.." It had been the first time in years Weiss had addressed Vaughn by his christen name.
Vaughn turned his back to Weiss, slamming his gun against the metal locker, "I want her to be alive, Eric. I need her to be" He paused for a moment, "I am having the nightmares again. From Taipei, when I found her" he turned to face Weiss again. And while emotion dripped off his every word, his face let nothing slip. His face remained cold and void, "she changed after Taipei, Eric. You remember her after we returned. I helped her to get back to her old self. We almost got there, and she diapered again. I know she's alive Eric. And I am going to find her. We didn't work that hard to bring her back, only to have her snatched away again. I loved" he stopped, replacing his choice of words, "I love her"
"If she is out there, Vaughn. We will find her. I promise." He assured Vaughn, rubbing his shoulder. He hated seeing Vaughn like this -- with emotion. He was vulnerable, and so different to the personality of the man he'd become, "We have a briefing to attended. Lets get this mission out of the way, and we'll start the search when we get back. Deal?"
"Yeah..lets get this over with. I hate Morgan's briefs." Vaughn mumbled.
"Really? I didn't notice. You know, with your biting his head off every time you run into him and all. You keep it so. Sealed." Weiss joked.
"He is an incompetent jackass. It's not my fault he does not know how to run a mission." Vaughn responded flatly.
"I know. It's funny how you manage to have every agent at Langley scared of you. Even the ones above you" Weiss said, walking into the 4th floor of Langley.
"That's because all the agents senior to me have all been paper pushing desk jockeys their whole career. Granted I was up until the little Denpassar op, even if many were not approved missions, I have seen a lot more than they will ever imagine." Vaughn explained. His voice was cold.
"If Jack where here, you two would run this.." Weiss started, but was cut off by Vaughn.
"If Jack where still here, we would have found his daughter and we would not be having this conversation because he would the director" Vaughn snapped as he entered the conference room.
Harry Morgan was just beginning to outline the mission when the two entered the room. It was obvious Vaughn intimidated him. He tried hiding it, but he was so transparent. Vaughn and Weiss took their seats. Only three other agents sat in the room - Erin Fallon and Thomas Andrews, along with Owen Huges, their op tech guy. "Ok.as I was saying.." Harry resumed, trying to avoid any eye contact with Vaughn, "this is a simple recon mission, and the four.."
".Wait. Simple recon, and your sending four agents? Why waste manpower. It's stupid and I think Fallon and Andrews can do it by themselves" Vaughn interrupted.
"Well, Mr. Vaughn, had you heard the total op, you would see" Harry answered, "The recon mission seems straight forward, however, we have Intel suggesting that the Shierkvo Inter-Union has sent up running it's business from Australia" Harry explained.
"Shierkvo? They went down 5 years ago." George Kurtis, a senior agent on his way up informed everyone, as he entered the room.
"Obviously not.." Thomas retorted, "As our Intel states, they are alive and active"
"I was there for the take-down, Mr. Andrews. I assure you, the Inter-Union went down" Kurtis smirked, taking a seat. Thomas rolled his eyes, "Do you have a problem, Mr. Andrews?" Thomas just sat back, knowing that the man before him could break his career with a phone call, "So why are we sending four agents, Harry? The Union went down 5 years ago?"
"No they didn't" Vaughn told the room, leaning back in his chair.
"And what would you know?" Kurtis shot.
"Obviously a lot more than you, Mr. Kurtis. You may have been present for the take down of one of the Inter-Union cells, however, the Union never collapsed" Vaughn informed Kurtis, as a smile came across Thomas and Erin's faces. "Several sub-divisions survived the CIA's attempts to take down the Union's cells. They were only tiny, however, with the aid of other intelligence organizations that had collapsed, and some splinter groups of terrorist organizations created the new Inter-Union. We never destroyed them, Kurtis. The Alliance of Twelve? K-Directorate? These names ring any bells? They should. The Alliance was destroyed over a decade ago, however Intel shows that a few key players on the board of directors escaped prosecution and turned to the Union. K-Directorate is collapsing, has been for years. The two groups have joined forces. They are a serious threat" His face remained neutral, and did not in the slightest give away the feelings inside him when he spoke of the Alliance of Twelve - and some of the directors still being around. With power.
Kurtis was a little taken back by Vaughn's explanation. Kurtis was pompous and arrogant and a little stupid. The two had an on-going war, "and how is it you have so much knowledge of rouge intelligence agencies?"
"I believe, being an intelligence officer and working in counter- intelligence, requires keeping up to date with the groups we are against." Vaughn replied, not moving and his voice never faltering, "That and I have been in Langley my whole CIA career. Our office did focus on counter- intelligence. Remember?" He knew that Kurtis resented the fact that Vaughn had spent his entire career in Langley. While nobody knew much of his career pre-2003, just the fact he had spent it in LA meant he had an advantage over Kurtis, "Now, if you don't have any other questions on the current affairs of counter-intelligence, I believe we have a mission to prepare for."
~*~
Erin watched as the Qantas Boeing 747 jumped a little as the wheels hit the ground of the East-West runway of Sydney international airport, water to both sides of her - Botany Bay to one side, the Pacific ocean to the other. The mission was simple enough - it was just recon. The numbers where sent for safety. With Inter-Union running it's business out of the southern suburb of Lucas Heights, the ex-nuclear reactor, it was impetrative. Their mission was in the city centre - Martin Place.
The four departed the plane, getting their luggage first, and headed to the shuttle service.
"Why can't we stay somewhere nice? Like the Hilton or something?" Weiss whined.
"Because they only had one in Sydney and it was blown up last year" Vaughn stated.
"Oh" was all Weiss could say.
"We are staying in some hotel in a suburb called Sutherland. It's about an 45 minutes from here" Vaughn informed.
"Sir? Why are we staying so far away?" Erin questioned.
"That's not for you to know" was all Vaughn would tell her.
As the shuttle bus pulled up outside Sutherland railway station, the four departed, carrying one suitcase each.
"Ah shit!" Weiss yelled as a young girl, maybe about 8 or 9, ran passed him, knocking him off his feet.
"Oh, I'm sorry mister. Please, I'm sorry" The little girl's face was full of fear.
"It's ok" Erin said, coming upto her, noticing this. But the girl backed off. Vaughn couldn't stop staring at her.
"Wait!" he called, stopping her running off, "Whats your name?"
The girl looked at Vaughn strangely, "Jacqueline" she answered shyly. Normally, she would never talk to strangers, but she felt she could trust this man.
"Wow.she trusts him. What a big mistake.."Thomas laughed.
"Weiss, come here" Vaughn ordered. Weiss picked himself up, walking over to Vaughn and Jacqueline.
"Oh my god.." was all he could say up on seeing the girl, then lowered his voice so the other two could not over hear them, "It looks so much like her. Apart from those green eyes, hell, it very well could be Sydney.."