Say perchance that:
The moon was in PISCES; Sydney and Michael step off the plane separately at the Lisbon airport, night swiftly falling.
you meet up with her outside the restrooms near GATE 15. 4:55 pm. K Directorate has had over twenty four hours already. you were determined to remain focused, diverting your attention from the way Sydney walked as she approached you. irresistible. "You look nice". diversion. you start walking with her. "We need to get to a fishing village near Sesimbra. Sources say it's where Anna Espinosa went after leaving the Banco Finatia. We can take a cab."
it's nice to be with him; peculiar, seeing him outside a suit. handsome, nonetheless. you begin walking towards where shuttles and taxis wait; you follow his lead. he hails one, throws your bag in, his bag, you get in after him, closing the door behind you.
"Sesimbra, por favor." uncomfortable silence looms within the backseat, you both stare out opposite windows. you think how spectacular the Portuguese coast is; dusk beginning to turn to dark. how nice it is that she is here with you, how you wanted to say so much more in that drugstore back in L.A., but just couldn't, how you'd noticed her clever joke as she arrived about the mouthwash, how you pretended to ignore it.
you arrive at the first dock outside a fish house in Sesimbra. he wastes no time in getting out. "Espera aqui, por favor?" Wait here, please? you join Vaughn outside, he directs you to another smaller house with several boats docked near the rear. the tiny houses are low enough to the ground as to allow you to climb on the roof. he lifts you up, initiating the planned scenario you read while on the plane. go over to the opened vents near the center, peer down inside, and signal back to Vaughn with a simple wave in the air. there she is. Anna Espinosa, talking to three other men, huddled around a wooden table; you can't make out what they're saying. no matter.
around front, you look inside. two more than you expected. you trust Sydney has already discovered this. give the door a forceful knock twice, then duck behind it to remain hidden from whomever opened it.
you watch as the four of them gather what they are doing; Anna slipping something into a black bag, one walking over towards the door, the other two following Anna outside a back exit onto the deck. c'mon c'mon…
the door opens. a large man, middle eastern descent, gun in hand, steps outside the frame and looks around behind the door. you crack his nose immediately, throwing him to the ground. shake it off. you kick him, again, a blow to the face, rendering him unconscious, grab his gun, run inside; Sydney falls from the vent above, directly in front of Anna and her accomplices.
you make eye contact with Anna; she always seems to smile in your presence. the thrill of it all. she immediately heads towards one of the boats, while the two men rush you and Vaughn. you kick the gun from his hand, it flies next to a stack of empty crates, a side kick to his diaphragm, causes him to lunge forward, you knee him in the chin as he begins to fall.
you notice Anna trying slip out near the dock. you raise your gun, Sydney is preoccupied, the other man hurls his fist into your side, you loose the gun. you quickly rebound a thrust punch into his stomach and throw back your elbow into the side of his skull. grab the gun. you pick it up by the barrel, drilling the handle into the back of your assailants head. "Sydney! Anna!" she takes off towards her, you continue, finishing off her attacker.
Anna jumps into the boat, the engine starts, revs, she keeps her head turned back watching you approach. you reach the edge of the dock, it begins to move away, you leap into where Anna is standing; you see the black bag. you drift further away from shore as you pull yourself up from the fall. she kicks you back down, takes control of the boat; it speeds up, water everywhere. get up, Sydney. you grab hold of two brass beams, trying to keep balance as you thrash against the waves. she turns sharp to the right; you fly across the deck to the left, almost thrown out. she's trying to throw you out. you remain close to the floor, crawling, making your way towards her, as she kicks at you, still steering the craft on its turbulent course. you grab her foot as she tries to pin you down with her heel, pulling her away from the controls; the boat slows down, nearly halts, several hundred feet from shore. you rise up as she jumps on top of you, securing your fists with her thighs. she knocks you in the right jaw, the left jaw. nothing. right jaw, left jaw. nothing. right jaw, left jaw. taste of blood. you relax to distract her. she gets off you and heads toward the bag. you quickly get up, grab onto her from behind and attempt to throw her out; she's caught on the brass beaming. you straddle above her, elbowing her temple, upper-cutting her with your fist. she opens her eyes, and with a quaint smile you wrap your fingers around the top of her ankle, tossing her overboard, into the water. you take control of the boat, steering it back to shore. pulling up to the dock, you reach over to get the bag, jump off just as the boat rams into the poorly constructed tiny house. Vaughn is waiting, eager, anticipating. "I got it. C'mon."
the two of you run back towards the taxi. she throws the bag inside from her door, you both get in. as the taxi pulls away, you look over at her, her breathing heavy, yours too.
there is a limited number of remaining flights back to the states the same night, forcing you to take two separate planes. 8:20 pm. she left twenty-six minutes ago, you don't leave for another forty-two. you sit, waiting in a stiff metal chair in Lisbon, GATE 12. think about those flowers sitting atop your dresser at home, dead; you should get some fresh ones for her…maybe you will.
~END~
A/N : footnotes, in case you missed it: ARIES: Sydney was listening to "Universal Mother" by Sinead O'Connor, GEMINI: Marshall's internal symphony was Eric Carmen's "All By Myself", LIBRA: Canadian Jazz refers to Jack's homeland, and PISCES: I am very aware that J.J. Abrams made Will Tippin a Pisces, and for good reason, however, right, ok, so there. Thanks to my beautiful and talented beta, Hillary. Without her, I wouldn't even write fic.