Title: The Charade
Author: Steph (ILUVNYYANK@aol.com)
Category: Action/Romance/Drama/Comedy
Pairings: Sydney/Vaughn
Summary: Vaughn worries about Sydney's new mission and suggests that another agent do it instead. When she refuses to step aside, he takes things into his own hands.
Rating: PG
Archive: Sure, just let me know where.
Spoilers: Nope.
Disclaimer: Alias and its characters do not belong tome. I do this out of a love for the show and no infringement is intended.
Note : Okay, slight change in plans. I finished writing chapter 3 (which was supposed to be the last chapter) and then realized that the chapter was too long and too much was happening in it for it to be only one chapter. So, this is now the second to last chapter and Chapter 4 (the last chapter) will be posted in a day or so. Hope no one minds! ~Steph
* * * The Charade: Chapter 3* * *
There were a few moments of silence between them before Sydney whispered, "Okay, let's go."
Sydney slowly opened the door and peered outside. The coast was clear, so she waved at Vaughn to follow her. Sydney took a left, then a right, then a left before seeing the stairway leading to the second floor. There were no guards in sight.
Sydney and Vaughn slowly climbed the stairs and then turned left. Vaughn whispered, "Fourth door on the right," to Sydney.
They continued down the hall, walking as closely to the wall as possible. They stopped when they reached the office door.
They could hear Camancha's angry voice, "I don't care! Either you get me a list of names in 30 minutes or you're fired!"
His was the only voice they could hear, so they assumed he was on the phone.
Vaughn turned to Sydney and whispered, "How do you want to do this?"
She rolled her eyes and responded sarcastically, "Well, I guess I could pretend to be a Girl Scout and ask him if he wants to buy some cookies."
Vaughn raised his brow, "I don't really think you can pass as a Girl Scout."
"Too tall?"
Vaughn's eyes scanned the curves of her body, which were nicely accentuated in the skin-tight dress she was wearing.
He responded with a slight grin, but refused to meet her eyes. "Not exactly."
He then cleared his throat and said, "I repeat. How do you want to do this?"
Sydney shook her head in annoyance. "This is what you get for being a desk jockey. There is only ONE way to do this."
With that, Sydney lifted her right leg up and kicked the door in.
Vaughn's eyes widened at the bold move and he muttered, "Damn, that was sexy."
Sydney barged into the room. Camancha whirled around at the sound of the door being kicked in and was now staring at her, the phone a few inches from his ear. "What....Who the hell are you?! What do you want?!"
By now, Vaughn had entered the room and assumed a position close to the door. He was sensing that Sydney didn't want or need his help.
Sydney walked up to him and stopped a mere foot away. Her lips curled into a smile as she spoke, "Oh, I think you know what I want."
"The Small Pox strain?" he asked with a smug grin. "What did you think you could do? Come in here, bat your pretty little eyes and I'd just hand it over to you? I don't think so, sweetie."
Vaughn stood there with an amused expression, his arms folded across his chest.
His mouth formed an "O" when Camancha called Sydney sweetie. 'Bad move, man', he thought.
Sydney moved so quickly that Vaughn barely saw her. Before he knew it, she had placed her hand around Camancha's throat and pushed him back onto the desk.
"I am not your sweetie," she replied in a harsh whisper, her breath hot on his face.
Camancha managed to choke out a few words, "You'll never get the strain. It's protected by an immense amount of security."
Sydney grinned, "Now that's where you're wrong. I can and will get the strain. I just need one more thing." Sydney brought her hand up to the chain of his locket, fingered it for a moment and then yanked it off of his neck.
She offered him a wide smile before removing her hold on his throat and saying sweetly, "Thank you."
Sydney was just about to deliver a blow to the side of his head to knock him unconscious when Camancha managed to say, "Not so fast."
Sydney's fist hung in mid-air, as she eyed him suspiciously. "What?"
"You might want to take a look behind you," he said in a raspy voice, as he rubbed at his neck.
Sydney hesitantly turned around and her eyes widened at what she saw. A guard had a gun pointed directly at Vaughn's head.
Sydney had no idea where he had come from. Vaughn had closed the door behind her, since the force of her kick wasn't strong enough to knock it off its hinges. The guard must have been hidden somewhere in room, maybe a corner, and she had missed him when she came in and quickly scanned her surroundings.
She felt like kicking herself. Stupid, careless mistake. And now Vaughn was paying the price for it.
Camancha now stood next to her. "You have a choice to make, Miss...I'm sorry, I never caught your real name."
Sydney turned to him, her tone biting, "Well, my friends call me Sarah. But you can just call me Girl Who's Gonna Kick Your Ass."
Camancha let out a throaty, almost villain-like laugh. "Humor. I like that in a woman. However, I don't really know that you're in any position to be issuing threats."
Sydney ignored him and caught Vaughn's eye. She could tell he was trying to put up a brave front, but there was a fear in his eyes that she had never seen before.
Camancha continued, "Like I was saying, Miss whatever your name is. You have a choice to make. Either give up the code and allow yourself to be taken into custody or your male companion will breathe his last breath."
Sydney tightened her jaw. "I don't care what you do to him. Kill him right now, for all I care. I have no attachment to him. We were forced to work together," Sydney hoped that her tone was cold and unfeeling. God knows she couldn't have felt more different.
Camancha eyed her for a moment before speaking, "Reverse psychology. Very nice. I guess your employer taught you something. If only he had taught you how to make your words match the look in your eye." He paused and added, "You care very deeply for this man. So, I'll give you your options again. Surrender or he will die."
Sydney briefly closed her eyes, as images of Vaughn's lifeless, bloody body flashed through her mind. When she opened them again, her gaze fell upon Vaughn.
Vaughn spoke softly, his eyes piercing hers, "Do what he says. You know what's most important."
Sydney looked at him and nodded...He was right. She did know what was most important.
He was.
Sydney couldn't help herself. She knew what her decision should be, she knew that the interests of the agency, national security and a nation's safety were to always come first. But she couldn't do it. She couldn't send Vaughn to his death. Not as long as she had a choice. She just couldn't bear the thought of losing him.
And, it was in that moment that she realized this, right here, is why you aren't supposed to become emotionally attached to your handler.
This is why you aren't supposed to fall in love with your superior.
Sydney slowly turned to Camancha and held the locket up to him.
"No!" Vaughn yelled, but was quickly silenced by a blow to the head.
Sydney winced, as she watched Vaughn's body nearly buckle from the blow. His balance wavered and he almost fell over, but somehow managed to steady himself.
Sydney looked at Vaughn and then back at Camancha. There was something in his eyes that told her he planned on killing Vaughn no matter what choice she made.
It came to her so fast and she just did it. She didn't think it through and she prayed that it wouldn't cost her dearly. She just didn't think she had a choice at that point.
She whipped the locket at the guard holding the gun to Vaughn's head. The guard was shocked enough not to pull the trigger right away. This allowed the quick-thinking Vaughn to knock the gun out of his hand and then deliver an elbow to his chin, which sent him flying to the floor.
Immediately after Sydney released the locket, she brought her hand back and whacked Camancha across the face. This stunned him enough to allow her to knee him in the stomach and then deliver a blow to the back of his head that left him unconscious.
Sydney's chest was heaving and her heart was beating wildly as she turned around to face Vaughn, who stood over the body of the guard.
She walked over to him. "You think he'll be out for a while?"
"Long enough," he responded, meeting her eyes. "How about yours?"
"He'll be out for a while," she replied, as she bent down to pick up the locket.
She made a motion to leave, when Vaughn touched her arm. She slowly turned back around to face him. "What?"
"Thanks," he said softly."
She smiled, "Just doing my job."
Vaughn shook his head and lowered his voice, "No, you weren't doing your job, Sydney. Doing your job would have meant letting me die, but you were determined not to let that happen. Now, should I be scolding you for disobeying my orders and going against the interests of the agency? Yeah, I should. But, truth be told, I'm just incredibly happy to be alive right now and I have you to thank."
Sydney shrugged and offered him a grin, as she tried to lighten the moment. "I didn't want to be responsible for a handler dying on my watch, Vaughn. It was really more of an ego thing."
Vaughn smiled knowingly at her, before leading the way out of the room.
* * * *
Sydney and Vaughn walked down the second floor hallway until the guards at the third floor stairway were in sight.
Vaughn turned to her and said, "Do your thing."
With that, Sydney bent at the waist and placed a hand to her stomach. She began to howl in pain as they approached the guards.
"Ow! Oh, God, I think I'm dying! My stomach feels like it's going to explode! I'm going to be sick!"
The guards eyed them suspiciously, as Vaughn and Sydney came to stand before them.
"My wife is very sick. Could you please tell us where the bathroom is?"
One of the guards pointed down the hall and was just about to respond, when Sydney fell to the floor.
The guard closest to Sydney reacted quickly, immediately bending over to check on her. The other guard leaned forward to get a better look. It was at that moment that Vaughn kneed him in the stomach, causing him to double over in pain. Sydney used the closeness the situation provided to grab the guard by the neck and headbutt him. The guard fell backwards and landed on his partner. Sydney and Vaughn each dealt a final blow to the guards that left them unconscious.
They exchanged excited, adrenalin-induced smiles, before running up the stairs.
They approached the guards at the hallway entrance slowly. The guards immediately tensed and placed their hands on their guns. They walked towards Sydney and Vaughn until they were standing only a few feet away.
"What are you doing on this floor? This floor is restricted access only."
Vaughn played dumb. "Oh, really? See, we didn't know that. There weren't any guards at the stairs. Maybe they were on break or maybe their shift ended and their replacements haven't come yet." Vaughn paused and snaked his arm around Sydney's waist. He spoke in a lower voice, "My girlfriend and I were just looking for a little privacy, if you know what I mean."
The guards continued to eye them suspiciously. It was obvious that they didn't believe a word of their story. At the moment that one reached for his gun and the other reached for his walkie talkie, Sydney and Vaughn reacted. Sydney swept her left foot across the floor until it came in contact with the guard's feet and knocked him down like a bowling ball. Vaughn preferred the more conventional method of a right jab to the jaw, which sent the guard flying to the floor. As they had done before, Sydney and Vaughn delivered blows to the head that would incapacitate the guards for some time.
They barely took time to control their breathing, before Sydney pressed the red emergency button. They each took their position at opposite sides of the double doors. In moments, the doors swung open and two guards appeared, guns drawn. However, they didn't see Sydney and Vaughn, each with one arm outstretched and forming what amounted to a closeline. Their arms connected with the guards' throats and sent them flying onto their backs. Sydney and Vaughn then proceeded to knock them out.
By now, they were both drenched in sweat. Vaughn's shirt had huge circles of perspiration under his arms and a big oval spot on his back. Sydney was a little more fortunate because her black dress hid the sweat well, but beads of perspiration has gathered around her face, plastering some stray hairs to her forehead. Her neck and chest glistened with sweat.
Sydney and Vaughn hurried down the hallway and stopped at Camancha's bedroom door. Sydney handed the locket to Vaughn and then removed the gloves Marshall had given her from her purse. She then placed them on, while Vaughn removed the code from the locket. Sydney pressed the palms of her hands, to make sure the latex adhered to them. Then she removed the gloves and turned to Vaughn.
"On three." He nodded, his hand poised above the keypad.
"One, two, three!"
With that, Vaughn punched in the four digit code and Sydney pressed her palm to the scanner. A moment later, a red light above the door changed to green and they heard the door click open.
Sydney and Vaughn exchanged proud smiles, before entering the room. They quickly scanned the massive bedroom and noticed a painting above one of his bureaus. Sydney was over there in a flash and removed the painting. Behind the painting, was a large steel door with a keypad on it.
"Behind a painting. How original," Sydney commented, as she placed the painting on the floor.
"Code," Sydney demanded from Vaughn, who promptly handed her the second piece of paper.
She quickly punched in the four digit code and smiled as the keypad's light went from red to green and the door swung open.
Her delight, however, was short-lived, as she looked at the ticking bomb staring back at her.
Sydney and Vaughn's eyes widened. The bomb had been triggered by the door opening. Apparently, it could be deactivated by another code, one that they did not have. To make matters worse, there was no way to retrieve the strain without deactivating the bomb. The bomb was strapped to the case containing the strain and could only be released by deactivating the bomb. The only other way to deactivate the bomb was to choose the right wire. The problem was there were five choices: a red, white, green, blue and yellow wire.
Sydney's eyes were glued to the number ticking away. They now had 2:00 minutes.
She turned to Vaughn, "What the hell is this?! You didn't tell me about this!"
Vaughn shrugged, clearly as surprised as she was. "It's not like it slipped my mind, Sydney! We didn't know anything about this! He must have just had it installed. I mean, like today."
"What are we going to do?! We don't have the code!"
"Okay, okay, just stop yelling and let me think!"
"Let you think?! Let you think?! This isn't a game show, Vaughn!"
"Sydney!" he roared.
She snapped her mouth shut. But only a moment passed before she spoke again, "1 minute and 30 seconds."
"Okay, um, cut the yellow wire."
"'Okay, um, cut the yellow wire'?! Damn it, Vaughn! Where's Marshall when you need him?!" Sydney stopped and her eyes brightened, "Marshall!"
Sydney rummaged through her purse, pulling item after item out and dropping them to the floor. She reached the bottom of her purse and turned it upside down.
"Where's my cell?!"
"You're telling me you have everything and the kitchen sink in that purse, but you forgot your cell?!"
"Do you have yours?"
Vaughn shook his head, "It was in my jacket, which I left in the utility closet."
"Damn it!" Sydney yelled.
1:00.
"We have to do something," Vaughn said quietly.
She rolled her eyes at him, "Well, thank you so much for that brilliant assessment, Agent Vaughn. What would I do without you?"
"Look, just cut the yellow wire."
"Why the yellow wire?"
"I don't know...I just have a hunch, I guess," he replied with a small smile.
"A hunch?!"
"Yes, an instinct, a feeling, an intuition," he responded, using her exact words from earlier.
Sydney's eyes narrowed at him, "Okay, this is not the time to get cute."
"Look, we have to cut one of the wires and my hunch is as good as anything else we have to go on."
"Is it based on anything?"
Vaughn shrugged, looking around the room that was decorated in a garish gold. The walls were painted gold and every accessory was done in gold. It was truly hideous. It looked like Fort Knox threw up in there.
"Camancha's favorite color is yellow?"
Sydney groaned. "Your hunch is based on an unconfirmed, quite possibly untrue fact."
"Just cut the yellow, Sydney," he replied in an annoyed tone.
"Fine," she grumbled under her breath.
She then bent down to the ground to find her wire cutters. She stood up, took a deep breath and placed the cutters above the yellow wire.
"You're sure?" she asked.
"No, I'm not sure. If I were sure, then we wouldn't be having this discussion. Just cut the yellow wire."
Sydney swallowed around the lump in her throat and then squeezed the handle at the same moment that she shut her eyes. The wire split into two and Sydney slowly opened her eyes.
The clock had stopped at 5 seconds.
"Oh my God," she said in an exhale. "I really, really hate bombs."
Vaughn smiled and patted her on the back, "You did great."
She returned the smile, "Hey, it was your hunch."
Sydney and Vaughn then proceeded to remove the strain from the bomb. Sydney placed the small case in her purse. The contents of her purse, except for a few small items she deemed necessary, would have to stay behind.
A moment later, they were ready to go. Sydney was the first one out the door, but her movement was soon halted by an arm grabbing her around the neck and placing a knife to her throat.
Vaughn stopped a few feet away from Sydney and the man who held her hostage: Camancha.
* * *
TBC . . .Hope you enjoyed it and please let me know what you thought! Last chapter soon! ~Steph
Author: Steph (ILUVNYYANK@aol.com)
Category: Action/Romance/Drama/Comedy
Pairings: Sydney/Vaughn
Summary: Vaughn worries about Sydney's new mission and suggests that another agent do it instead. When she refuses to step aside, he takes things into his own hands.
Rating: PG
Archive: Sure, just let me know where.
Spoilers: Nope.
Disclaimer: Alias and its characters do not belong tome. I do this out of a love for the show and no infringement is intended.
Note : Okay, slight change in plans. I finished writing chapter 3 (which was supposed to be the last chapter) and then realized that the chapter was too long and too much was happening in it for it to be only one chapter. So, this is now the second to last chapter and Chapter 4 (the last chapter) will be posted in a day or so. Hope no one minds! ~Steph
* * * The Charade: Chapter 3* * *
There were a few moments of silence between them before Sydney whispered, "Okay, let's go."
Sydney slowly opened the door and peered outside. The coast was clear, so she waved at Vaughn to follow her. Sydney took a left, then a right, then a left before seeing the stairway leading to the second floor. There were no guards in sight.
Sydney and Vaughn slowly climbed the stairs and then turned left. Vaughn whispered, "Fourth door on the right," to Sydney.
They continued down the hall, walking as closely to the wall as possible. They stopped when they reached the office door.
They could hear Camancha's angry voice, "I don't care! Either you get me a list of names in 30 minutes or you're fired!"
His was the only voice they could hear, so they assumed he was on the phone.
Vaughn turned to Sydney and whispered, "How do you want to do this?"
She rolled her eyes and responded sarcastically, "Well, I guess I could pretend to be a Girl Scout and ask him if he wants to buy some cookies."
Vaughn raised his brow, "I don't really think you can pass as a Girl Scout."
"Too tall?"
Vaughn's eyes scanned the curves of her body, which were nicely accentuated in the skin-tight dress she was wearing.
He responded with a slight grin, but refused to meet her eyes. "Not exactly."
He then cleared his throat and said, "I repeat. How do you want to do this?"
Sydney shook her head in annoyance. "This is what you get for being a desk jockey. There is only ONE way to do this."
With that, Sydney lifted her right leg up and kicked the door in.
Vaughn's eyes widened at the bold move and he muttered, "Damn, that was sexy."
Sydney barged into the room. Camancha whirled around at the sound of the door being kicked in and was now staring at her, the phone a few inches from his ear. "What....Who the hell are you?! What do you want?!"
By now, Vaughn had entered the room and assumed a position close to the door. He was sensing that Sydney didn't want or need his help.
Sydney walked up to him and stopped a mere foot away. Her lips curled into a smile as she spoke, "Oh, I think you know what I want."
"The Small Pox strain?" he asked with a smug grin. "What did you think you could do? Come in here, bat your pretty little eyes and I'd just hand it over to you? I don't think so, sweetie."
Vaughn stood there with an amused expression, his arms folded across his chest.
His mouth formed an "O" when Camancha called Sydney sweetie. 'Bad move, man', he thought.
Sydney moved so quickly that Vaughn barely saw her. Before he knew it, she had placed her hand around Camancha's throat and pushed him back onto the desk.
"I am not your sweetie," she replied in a harsh whisper, her breath hot on his face.
Camancha managed to choke out a few words, "You'll never get the strain. It's protected by an immense amount of security."
Sydney grinned, "Now that's where you're wrong. I can and will get the strain. I just need one more thing." Sydney brought her hand up to the chain of his locket, fingered it for a moment and then yanked it off of his neck.
She offered him a wide smile before removing her hold on his throat and saying sweetly, "Thank you."
Sydney was just about to deliver a blow to the side of his head to knock him unconscious when Camancha managed to say, "Not so fast."
Sydney's fist hung in mid-air, as she eyed him suspiciously. "What?"
"You might want to take a look behind you," he said in a raspy voice, as he rubbed at his neck.
Sydney hesitantly turned around and her eyes widened at what she saw. A guard had a gun pointed directly at Vaughn's head.
Sydney had no idea where he had come from. Vaughn had closed the door behind her, since the force of her kick wasn't strong enough to knock it off its hinges. The guard must have been hidden somewhere in room, maybe a corner, and she had missed him when she came in and quickly scanned her surroundings.
She felt like kicking herself. Stupid, careless mistake. And now Vaughn was paying the price for it.
Camancha now stood next to her. "You have a choice to make, Miss...I'm sorry, I never caught your real name."
Sydney turned to him, her tone biting, "Well, my friends call me Sarah. But you can just call me Girl Who's Gonna Kick Your Ass."
Camancha let out a throaty, almost villain-like laugh. "Humor. I like that in a woman. However, I don't really know that you're in any position to be issuing threats."
Sydney ignored him and caught Vaughn's eye. She could tell he was trying to put up a brave front, but there was a fear in his eyes that she had never seen before.
Camancha continued, "Like I was saying, Miss whatever your name is. You have a choice to make. Either give up the code and allow yourself to be taken into custody or your male companion will breathe his last breath."
Sydney tightened her jaw. "I don't care what you do to him. Kill him right now, for all I care. I have no attachment to him. We were forced to work together," Sydney hoped that her tone was cold and unfeeling. God knows she couldn't have felt more different.
Camancha eyed her for a moment before speaking, "Reverse psychology. Very nice. I guess your employer taught you something. If only he had taught you how to make your words match the look in your eye." He paused and added, "You care very deeply for this man. So, I'll give you your options again. Surrender or he will die."
Sydney briefly closed her eyes, as images of Vaughn's lifeless, bloody body flashed through her mind. When she opened them again, her gaze fell upon Vaughn.
Vaughn spoke softly, his eyes piercing hers, "Do what he says. You know what's most important."
Sydney looked at him and nodded...He was right. She did know what was most important.
He was.
Sydney couldn't help herself. She knew what her decision should be, she knew that the interests of the agency, national security and a nation's safety were to always come first. But she couldn't do it. She couldn't send Vaughn to his death. Not as long as she had a choice. She just couldn't bear the thought of losing him.
And, it was in that moment that she realized this, right here, is why you aren't supposed to become emotionally attached to your handler.
This is why you aren't supposed to fall in love with your superior.
Sydney slowly turned to Camancha and held the locket up to him.
"No!" Vaughn yelled, but was quickly silenced by a blow to the head.
Sydney winced, as she watched Vaughn's body nearly buckle from the blow. His balance wavered and he almost fell over, but somehow managed to steady himself.
Sydney looked at Vaughn and then back at Camancha. There was something in his eyes that told her he planned on killing Vaughn no matter what choice she made.
It came to her so fast and she just did it. She didn't think it through and she prayed that it wouldn't cost her dearly. She just didn't think she had a choice at that point.
She whipped the locket at the guard holding the gun to Vaughn's head. The guard was shocked enough not to pull the trigger right away. This allowed the quick-thinking Vaughn to knock the gun out of his hand and then deliver an elbow to his chin, which sent him flying to the floor.
Immediately after Sydney released the locket, she brought her hand back and whacked Camancha across the face. This stunned him enough to allow her to knee him in the stomach and then deliver a blow to the back of his head that left him unconscious.
Sydney's chest was heaving and her heart was beating wildly as she turned around to face Vaughn, who stood over the body of the guard.
She walked over to him. "You think he'll be out for a while?"
"Long enough," he responded, meeting her eyes. "How about yours?"
"He'll be out for a while," she replied, as she bent down to pick up the locket.
She made a motion to leave, when Vaughn touched her arm. She slowly turned back around to face him. "What?"
"Thanks," he said softly."
She smiled, "Just doing my job."
Vaughn shook his head and lowered his voice, "No, you weren't doing your job, Sydney. Doing your job would have meant letting me die, but you were determined not to let that happen. Now, should I be scolding you for disobeying my orders and going against the interests of the agency? Yeah, I should. But, truth be told, I'm just incredibly happy to be alive right now and I have you to thank."
Sydney shrugged and offered him a grin, as she tried to lighten the moment. "I didn't want to be responsible for a handler dying on my watch, Vaughn. It was really more of an ego thing."
Vaughn smiled knowingly at her, before leading the way out of the room.
* * * *
Sydney and Vaughn walked down the second floor hallway until the guards at the third floor stairway were in sight.
Vaughn turned to her and said, "Do your thing."
With that, Sydney bent at the waist and placed a hand to her stomach. She began to howl in pain as they approached the guards.
"Ow! Oh, God, I think I'm dying! My stomach feels like it's going to explode! I'm going to be sick!"
The guards eyed them suspiciously, as Vaughn and Sydney came to stand before them.
"My wife is very sick. Could you please tell us where the bathroom is?"
One of the guards pointed down the hall and was just about to respond, when Sydney fell to the floor.
The guard closest to Sydney reacted quickly, immediately bending over to check on her. The other guard leaned forward to get a better look. It was at that moment that Vaughn kneed him in the stomach, causing him to double over in pain. Sydney used the closeness the situation provided to grab the guard by the neck and headbutt him. The guard fell backwards and landed on his partner. Sydney and Vaughn each dealt a final blow to the guards that left them unconscious.
They exchanged excited, adrenalin-induced smiles, before running up the stairs.
They approached the guards at the hallway entrance slowly. The guards immediately tensed and placed their hands on their guns. They walked towards Sydney and Vaughn until they were standing only a few feet away.
"What are you doing on this floor? This floor is restricted access only."
Vaughn played dumb. "Oh, really? See, we didn't know that. There weren't any guards at the stairs. Maybe they were on break or maybe their shift ended and their replacements haven't come yet." Vaughn paused and snaked his arm around Sydney's waist. He spoke in a lower voice, "My girlfriend and I were just looking for a little privacy, if you know what I mean."
The guards continued to eye them suspiciously. It was obvious that they didn't believe a word of their story. At the moment that one reached for his gun and the other reached for his walkie talkie, Sydney and Vaughn reacted. Sydney swept her left foot across the floor until it came in contact with the guard's feet and knocked him down like a bowling ball. Vaughn preferred the more conventional method of a right jab to the jaw, which sent the guard flying to the floor. As they had done before, Sydney and Vaughn delivered blows to the head that would incapacitate the guards for some time.
They barely took time to control their breathing, before Sydney pressed the red emergency button. They each took their position at opposite sides of the double doors. In moments, the doors swung open and two guards appeared, guns drawn. However, they didn't see Sydney and Vaughn, each with one arm outstretched and forming what amounted to a closeline. Their arms connected with the guards' throats and sent them flying onto their backs. Sydney and Vaughn then proceeded to knock them out.
By now, they were both drenched in sweat. Vaughn's shirt had huge circles of perspiration under his arms and a big oval spot on his back. Sydney was a little more fortunate because her black dress hid the sweat well, but beads of perspiration has gathered around her face, plastering some stray hairs to her forehead. Her neck and chest glistened with sweat.
Sydney and Vaughn hurried down the hallway and stopped at Camancha's bedroom door. Sydney handed the locket to Vaughn and then removed the gloves Marshall had given her from her purse. She then placed them on, while Vaughn removed the code from the locket. Sydney pressed the palms of her hands, to make sure the latex adhered to them. Then she removed the gloves and turned to Vaughn.
"On three." He nodded, his hand poised above the keypad.
"One, two, three!"
With that, Vaughn punched in the four digit code and Sydney pressed her palm to the scanner. A moment later, a red light above the door changed to green and they heard the door click open.
Sydney and Vaughn exchanged proud smiles, before entering the room. They quickly scanned the massive bedroom and noticed a painting above one of his bureaus. Sydney was over there in a flash and removed the painting. Behind the painting, was a large steel door with a keypad on it.
"Behind a painting. How original," Sydney commented, as she placed the painting on the floor.
"Code," Sydney demanded from Vaughn, who promptly handed her the second piece of paper.
She quickly punched in the four digit code and smiled as the keypad's light went from red to green and the door swung open.
Her delight, however, was short-lived, as she looked at the ticking bomb staring back at her.
Sydney and Vaughn's eyes widened. The bomb had been triggered by the door opening. Apparently, it could be deactivated by another code, one that they did not have. To make matters worse, there was no way to retrieve the strain without deactivating the bomb. The bomb was strapped to the case containing the strain and could only be released by deactivating the bomb. The only other way to deactivate the bomb was to choose the right wire. The problem was there were five choices: a red, white, green, blue and yellow wire.
Sydney's eyes were glued to the number ticking away. They now had 2:00 minutes.
She turned to Vaughn, "What the hell is this?! You didn't tell me about this!"
Vaughn shrugged, clearly as surprised as she was. "It's not like it slipped my mind, Sydney! We didn't know anything about this! He must have just had it installed. I mean, like today."
"What are we going to do?! We don't have the code!"
"Okay, okay, just stop yelling and let me think!"
"Let you think?! Let you think?! This isn't a game show, Vaughn!"
"Sydney!" he roared.
She snapped her mouth shut. But only a moment passed before she spoke again, "1 minute and 30 seconds."
"Okay, um, cut the yellow wire."
"'Okay, um, cut the yellow wire'?! Damn it, Vaughn! Where's Marshall when you need him?!" Sydney stopped and her eyes brightened, "Marshall!"
Sydney rummaged through her purse, pulling item after item out and dropping them to the floor. She reached the bottom of her purse and turned it upside down.
"Where's my cell?!"
"You're telling me you have everything and the kitchen sink in that purse, but you forgot your cell?!"
"Do you have yours?"
Vaughn shook his head, "It was in my jacket, which I left in the utility closet."
"Damn it!" Sydney yelled.
1:00.
"We have to do something," Vaughn said quietly.
She rolled her eyes at him, "Well, thank you so much for that brilliant assessment, Agent Vaughn. What would I do without you?"
"Look, just cut the yellow wire."
"Why the yellow wire?"
"I don't know...I just have a hunch, I guess," he replied with a small smile.
"A hunch?!"
"Yes, an instinct, a feeling, an intuition," he responded, using her exact words from earlier.
Sydney's eyes narrowed at him, "Okay, this is not the time to get cute."
"Look, we have to cut one of the wires and my hunch is as good as anything else we have to go on."
"Is it based on anything?"
Vaughn shrugged, looking around the room that was decorated in a garish gold. The walls were painted gold and every accessory was done in gold. It was truly hideous. It looked like Fort Knox threw up in there.
"Camancha's favorite color is yellow?"
Sydney groaned. "Your hunch is based on an unconfirmed, quite possibly untrue fact."
"Just cut the yellow, Sydney," he replied in an annoyed tone.
"Fine," she grumbled under her breath.
She then bent down to the ground to find her wire cutters. She stood up, took a deep breath and placed the cutters above the yellow wire.
"You're sure?" she asked.
"No, I'm not sure. If I were sure, then we wouldn't be having this discussion. Just cut the yellow wire."
Sydney swallowed around the lump in her throat and then squeezed the handle at the same moment that she shut her eyes. The wire split into two and Sydney slowly opened her eyes.
The clock had stopped at 5 seconds.
"Oh my God," she said in an exhale. "I really, really hate bombs."
Vaughn smiled and patted her on the back, "You did great."
She returned the smile, "Hey, it was your hunch."
Sydney and Vaughn then proceeded to remove the strain from the bomb. Sydney placed the small case in her purse. The contents of her purse, except for a few small items she deemed necessary, would have to stay behind.
A moment later, they were ready to go. Sydney was the first one out the door, but her movement was soon halted by an arm grabbing her around the neck and placing a knife to her throat.
Vaughn stopped a few feet away from Sydney and the man who held her hostage: Camancha.
* * *
TBC . . .Hope you enjoyed it and please let me know what you thought! Last chapter soon! ~Steph
