Chapter 8:
Jack spent all morning putting together the plans to move Sydney to a new safe house. He wanted to kill Eric Weiss for letting Vaughn see her. Jack knew that Sydney was no where near ready to see Vaughn yet. He wanted to give her a few days to settle into her new life before dredging up her old one. Now, Jack had to assume that Vaughn's visit left a trail to Sydney. She must be moved as soon as possible.
Jack flew up the stairs of the safe house and burst thru the door. Weiss jumped up from the couch, no doubt startled by the intrusion.
"Good morn…….."Weiss started to say, but Jack pushed him to the wall, slamming up against him, crushing his throat with his forearm.
"You stupid Fuck!… Did you really think that I wouldn't find out about last night? Do you know what you've done by letting him come here?" Jack tried to control the volume at which he was yelling. He failed miserably.
Sydney heard the door burst open to the cabin and the familiar sound of her father's voice. She hurried out of the bedroom, where she had just finished dressing, and ran over to the two men struggling the living room. She grabbed a hold of Jack's arm and pulled him of Weiss. Weiss bent over coughing and gasping for air. Sydney looked at her dad in disbelief.
"Dad what are doing?!" She asked wide eyed. Jack never took his eyes off of Weiss, who was now rubbing his throat and still struggling to catch his breath.
"Why did you attack Weiss?" She asked as she stepped between them, facing her father. She forced Jack to look at her. His face was red with anger and he spat as the words erupted from him again.
"Because of this idiot's big mouth, I've spent the better part of the morning arranging for you to be moved again." Jack started for Weiss again. Sydney placed a hand on her father's chest to stop him. Jack backed off a little.
"I will not have you risking my daughter's life just because you have some romantic notion of reuniting her with a past love." Jack said to Weiss. He had managed to stop yelling.
When Weiss was sure that Jack had regained control and wasn't going to come after him again, he pushed past Sydney and Jack and walked over to the couch and plopped down.
"That was never my intention when I called Vaughn about Sydney" Weiss paused for a moment and the continued.
"I would never do anything to put Sydney's life at risk. I called Vaughn to protect her." Weiss stopped when he saw Jack roll his eyes.
"I know that sounds crazy, but just hear me out. I knew that Sydney would have found a way to slip out in the night to go to Vaughn." Weiss looked over at Sydney for a sign of agreement. She avoided his eyes and looked down.
"You know you would have. I figured that it would be safer for both of them if Vaughn came here. It was better than having Sydney wondering around looking for him or showing up on his doorstep only to have his wife answer the door."
The moment he said it, he wished he could've taken it back. Weiss looked over at Sydney just in time to see her flinch at those words. His Wife. Jack must have noticed the impact those words had on Sydney as well. He moved closer to her and placed a hand on her cheek. Sydney tilted her head into his touch and closed her eyes. A tear fell silently down her face leaving a salty trail. After a few seconds she opened her eyes and gave Jack a little smile. Jack's expression spoke to Sydney without words. She answered.
"I'm Ok." She whispered, blinking away any remaining tears and looked back at Weiss. Jack turned to him as well and sighed.
"Weiss is right, Dad. I would have slipped out last night to find Vaughn. It was better that he came here considering the circumstances. Weiss made the right call." Sydney gave Weiss a nod. He smiled his thank you.
"Yes, under the circumstances, it was better that Vaughn came here. But I thought I had made myself clear that no one was to know about you being alive. Even Vaughn. At least until we find out more about where you were or who you were with." Jack said insistently.
"I'm sorry Jack. I didn't mean to put Sydney or anybody in any more danger. I really was trying to avoid that very thing." Weiss said.
"I know that Agent Weiss. We just need to use extreme caution from now on." Jack warned.
"Dad, I know you probably don't want to talk about this now, but what about Vaughn? What kind of danger is he in now that he knows I'm alive? Sydney asked.
"I don't honestly know. If whoever took you knows about your relationship with him, it is possible that they would be watching him to see if he would lead them to you. We have to assume that's the case which is why you need to be ready to leave in one hour." Jack ordered as he walked to the front door. As he opened the door Jack looked back at Sydney, who had a worried look on her face.
"Don't worry sweetheart, I've taken every precaution to get you safely to the new safe house. Just be ready when I come back." And with that, Jack walked out the door and closed it tightly behind him.
Sydney turned to Weiss, who was still sitting on the couch. She walked over and sat down next to him so that she could inspect his neck. Weiss assured her that he was going to be fine and playfully swatted her away. Sydney giggled and stopped fussing over him. She sat back against the couch a waited a few minutes before speaking.
"Do you think that Vaughn is in danger?" Sydney asked.
"Yes. Knowing that you are alive does put Vaughn in danger but he was in danger before he found out about you. Just a different kind." Weiss said somberly.
"What do you mean?" Sydney was confused by what Weiss meant.
"Sydney, I hate that I put Vaughn's life at risk by telling him that you were alive. I hate it more that I might have put yours in greater risk, but I couldn't let my best friend go around thinking that the love of his life was dead when she wasn't." Weiss stood up and started to pack up the house. Sydney just sat and watched him, waiting for more of an explanation. Weiss continued.
"Vaughn was a danger to himself. He was devastated when you died and a part of him died with you. He would slip into these black moods and become unrecognizable, like I didn't even know who he was. His marriage has helped him to move on with what was left of his life and has improved his moods, but he still isn't the same. I miss my friend. Last night, when he saw you for the first, even if was for a fleeting moment, I saw my old friend truly happy for the first time in two years." Weiss choked back the tears.
Sydney stood up, walked over to Weiss and hugged him. He squeezed her back hard. She pulled back and looked at him.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize until now how hard it must have been to see your best go through that. Thank you for caring so much about Vaughn or me for that matter." Sydney looked pleased to see that she had made Weiss blush.
"I'll help you pack."
End of Chapter 8