**Some spoilers and speculations ahead. Don't read on if you want to be
surprised. Read these chapters after Q&A has aired.**
Vaughn stood in front of the window, watching anxiously. Sydney was being questioned on the other side. Vaughn had tried to be with her in the room, but Carson Evans, the DSR agent, had denied him the privilege. Agent Evans was polite, but firm. Vaughn could see that it would only hurt Sydney if he persisted too much, so he had opted to stand outside watching and hearing everything, but unable to do much.
Vaughn turned around at the sound of the door being opened, to reveal Jack Bristow. He was his usual stoic self, until his eyes fell on Vaughn. He straightened up to his full height, and nodded in Vaughn's direction.
"How's it going in there?" Jack got out at last.
"Brutal. They've been at it for about two hours now," Vaughn returned. "What are you doing here?"
"I told Sloane that Sydney needed to be with her friend."
"Yeah, but why are you here?"
"I don't understand your question, Mr. Vaughn. Nor do I appreciate it. She's my daughter. The better question is why are you?"
"She's my agent," Vaughn replied tersely.
Jack held his eyes for a long moment. "It occurs to me, Mr. Vaughn, that you put my daughter in harms way, only to save her at the last moment. Do you like her?"
"Hey! Since when are you so concerned for your daughter, Mr. Bristow? You were willing to let her get shot at Donato Park. Someone has to look out for her, because it occurs to me, Mr. Bristow, you never did," Vaughn bit out. "I'm getting her out of there. It's been too long."
Vaughn quickly made his way to the interrogation room. Sydney looked relieved to see him. Agent Evans wasn't amused.
"I'm taking her out of here," Vaughn said. "This is been going on for long now."
"Not yet, Agent Vaughn," interrupted Evans. "We need some tissue samples from her."
"Tissue samples?" Sydney jumped in. "Why?"
"Classified information," came the reply from Agent Evans.
"Fine. Then I'm getting her out of here," Vaughn answered, ignoring Sydney's glare. He was glad that she didn't choose this moment to argue with him. He'll make it up to her later.
Sydney lay on the cold table, waiting for the lab technician to begin her work. She didn't want to be here. She hated the dress she had to wear. She felt so naked, and vulnerable. She raised her eyes to look out through the window, searching for Vaughn. When she finally located him, she noticed that his forehead was puckered with worry lines again.
Some of her ire at him over being so authoritative went out of her. He was probably doing what he thought was best for her. Truth be told, she had been glad to see him walk in to the interrogation room. Agent Evans was very vague in his questions, but very thorough. As time wore on, he was beginning to give her a headache.
She felt a prick on her back, near her right hip. She winced slightly at the discomfort.
C'mon Syd. You've put up with more pain than this.
She looked up at Vaughn again, and smiled at him. She held his gaze until the needle was out of her body.
Vaughn sat waiting patiently for Sydney to come out. The tests were over, and she was getting dressed in to her usual clothes.
It was over. For now atleast.
"We need to talk."
Vaughn looked up, straight at Jack. He had almost forgotten that he was here.
"About what?"
"Not here. Take Sydney to your office. I'll be there with Devlin."
Devlin?
"Can you tell me what this is about?" Vaughn put on his least annoying voice.
"Your office. Half an hour." With that, Jack had turned around to walk away.
Sydney walked beside Vaughn to his office, both holding a Slusho each. He was adamant about it, and she couldn't refuse the offer. She took a gulp of her Slusho. They were definitely good.
She threw a quick glance at Vaughn. He had been silent on the drive from the lab. The only words he uttered had been over the Slusho.
"What's going on," She asked.
"I don't know. Your father called this meeting," he said. "If Devlin is going to come to my office, it's got to be big."
"Oh," she tore her gaze away, took another sip of her Slusho, and threw it in the trashcan as she walked on.
She took a deep breath when she spied several people in Vaughn's office. After the grilling she had just been with the FBI, she didn't want to go through another.
"Hey, it's going to be ok," Vaughn whispered to her. "You ready?"
She nodded her head, and walked in ahead of him, nodding her head in acknowledgement at the two people whom she knew; her father and Eric Weiss. Vaughn quickly introduced the other two people in the room, as Director Devlin and Officer Cohen of Sci-Tech. If this was another interrogation session, she was certainly puzzled by who was here.
"Why don't we get started," Jack Bristow broke the silence.
"Right," Officer Cohen cleared his throat. "We've been studying those pictures you took for us in Tunisia, and we've been able to understand, at least partially, some of the pages. We think the code is broken down into sections and embedded into three, maybe four of the Rambaldi artifacts."
"That would explain the simultaneous attack on FTL, K-Directorate and SD- 6," Jack mused.
"Now, we know what two of the things that 'The Man' was after. We don't know what the third object was that was in FTL's custody," Cohen continued. "The section of the manuscript that we were able to read makes reference to a painting Rambaldi did of Pope Alexander VI. We think FTL had a decoder of some sort that helps you read the message embedded in both the manuscript and the painting."
"Where is the painting right now?" Sydney asked
"In the archives of the Vatican," Devlin finally spoke up. "We're going to send you to retrieve the painting, and replace it with a fake. Vaughn will be your back up."
Vaughn's head snapped up to look at Sydney. She was already shaking her head.
"No, not a good idea. Dad, why can't you go with me?" Sydney asked. Vaughn couldn't believe his ears. He kept his eyes trained on her.
"Sloane would suspect something. And, I need to stay back to monitor certain situations that are going on at SD-6," Jack countered firmly.
"Cohen, thank you very much. We'll take it from here," Devlin dismissed Cohen. Everyone remained quiet while the Officer Cohen exited the room.
"Sydney, I would like someone with more experience to go with you, but under the circumstances, he's Devlin's choice," Jack explained.
"You're going to fly to Prague to meet with Vaughn at a Bed and Breakfast. Vaughn will fly ahead of you. In the meantime, your father will tell Sloane that you were taking your friend to Lake Arrowhead for a much-needed break for the two of you. It's important that you talk your friend into going somewhere," Devlin detailed the assignment.
"From Prague, both of you will fly as a Canadian couple on vacation. A CSIS agent will drop off your Canadian passports in Prague. Once you're in Rome you will find, this abandoned school, about a half a mile from the Vatican. Underneath the school is a tunnel that was closed during World War II, after the Nazi invasion. You will use the tunnel to gain access to the Vatican archives," Jack continued, unrolling detailed plans of the underground tunnels.
"Talk Francie and Will into going to our cottage. We've arranged for Agent Weiss to strike up a friendship with them, and be invited to your house. He's going to become a part of your close circle of friends, in case you need back up from CIA in the future for any dinner invitation," her father continued.
Sydney shared a look with Vaughn, careful not to reveal her disappointment. He swallowed hard, and smiled briefly.
At least we get to pretend that we're couple in Rome, she thought to herself.
Vaughn stood in front of the window, watching anxiously. Sydney was being questioned on the other side. Vaughn had tried to be with her in the room, but Carson Evans, the DSR agent, had denied him the privilege. Agent Evans was polite, but firm. Vaughn could see that it would only hurt Sydney if he persisted too much, so he had opted to stand outside watching and hearing everything, but unable to do much.
Vaughn turned around at the sound of the door being opened, to reveal Jack Bristow. He was his usual stoic self, until his eyes fell on Vaughn. He straightened up to his full height, and nodded in Vaughn's direction.
"How's it going in there?" Jack got out at last.
"Brutal. They've been at it for about two hours now," Vaughn returned. "What are you doing here?"
"I told Sloane that Sydney needed to be with her friend."
"Yeah, but why are you here?"
"I don't understand your question, Mr. Vaughn. Nor do I appreciate it. She's my daughter. The better question is why are you?"
"She's my agent," Vaughn replied tersely.
Jack held his eyes for a long moment. "It occurs to me, Mr. Vaughn, that you put my daughter in harms way, only to save her at the last moment. Do you like her?"
"Hey! Since when are you so concerned for your daughter, Mr. Bristow? You were willing to let her get shot at Donato Park. Someone has to look out for her, because it occurs to me, Mr. Bristow, you never did," Vaughn bit out. "I'm getting her out of there. It's been too long."
Vaughn quickly made his way to the interrogation room. Sydney looked relieved to see him. Agent Evans wasn't amused.
"I'm taking her out of here," Vaughn said. "This is been going on for long now."
"Not yet, Agent Vaughn," interrupted Evans. "We need some tissue samples from her."
"Tissue samples?" Sydney jumped in. "Why?"
"Classified information," came the reply from Agent Evans.
"Fine. Then I'm getting her out of here," Vaughn answered, ignoring Sydney's glare. He was glad that she didn't choose this moment to argue with him. He'll make it up to her later.
Sydney lay on the cold table, waiting for the lab technician to begin her work. She didn't want to be here. She hated the dress she had to wear. She felt so naked, and vulnerable. She raised her eyes to look out through the window, searching for Vaughn. When she finally located him, she noticed that his forehead was puckered with worry lines again.
Some of her ire at him over being so authoritative went out of her. He was probably doing what he thought was best for her. Truth be told, she had been glad to see him walk in to the interrogation room. Agent Evans was very vague in his questions, but very thorough. As time wore on, he was beginning to give her a headache.
She felt a prick on her back, near her right hip. She winced slightly at the discomfort.
C'mon Syd. You've put up with more pain than this.
She looked up at Vaughn again, and smiled at him. She held his gaze until the needle was out of her body.
Vaughn sat waiting patiently for Sydney to come out. The tests were over, and she was getting dressed in to her usual clothes.
It was over. For now atleast.
"We need to talk."
Vaughn looked up, straight at Jack. He had almost forgotten that he was here.
"About what?"
"Not here. Take Sydney to your office. I'll be there with Devlin."
Devlin?
"Can you tell me what this is about?" Vaughn put on his least annoying voice.
"Your office. Half an hour." With that, Jack had turned around to walk away.
Sydney walked beside Vaughn to his office, both holding a Slusho each. He was adamant about it, and she couldn't refuse the offer. She took a gulp of her Slusho. They were definitely good.
She threw a quick glance at Vaughn. He had been silent on the drive from the lab. The only words he uttered had been over the Slusho.
"What's going on," She asked.
"I don't know. Your father called this meeting," he said. "If Devlin is going to come to my office, it's got to be big."
"Oh," she tore her gaze away, took another sip of her Slusho, and threw it in the trashcan as she walked on.
She took a deep breath when she spied several people in Vaughn's office. After the grilling she had just been with the FBI, she didn't want to go through another.
"Hey, it's going to be ok," Vaughn whispered to her. "You ready?"
She nodded her head, and walked in ahead of him, nodding her head in acknowledgement at the two people whom she knew; her father and Eric Weiss. Vaughn quickly introduced the other two people in the room, as Director Devlin and Officer Cohen of Sci-Tech. If this was another interrogation session, she was certainly puzzled by who was here.
"Why don't we get started," Jack Bristow broke the silence.
"Right," Officer Cohen cleared his throat. "We've been studying those pictures you took for us in Tunisia, and we've been able to understand, at least partially, some of the pages. We think the code is broken down into sections and embedded into three, maybe four of the Rambaldi artifacts."
"That would explain the simultaneous attack on FTL, K-Directorate and SD- 6," Jack mused.
"Now, we know what two of the things that 'The Man' was after. We don't know what the third object was that was in FTL's custody," Cohen continued. "The section of the manuscript that we were able to read makes reference to a painting Rambaldi did of Pope Alexander VI. We think FTL had a decoder of some sort that helps you read the message embedded in both the manuscript and the painting."
"Where is the painting right now?" Sydney asked
"In the archives of the Vatican," Devlin finally spoke up. "We're going to send you to retrieve the painting, and replace it with a fake. Vaughn will be your back up."
Vaughn's head snapped up to look at Sydney. She was already shaking her head.
"No, not a good idea. Dad, why can't you go with me?" Sydney asked. Vaughn couldn't believe his ears. He kept his eyes trained on her.
"Sloane would suspect something. And, I need to stay back to monitor certain situations that are going on at SD-6," Jack countered firmly.
"Cohen, thank you very much. We'll take it from here," Devlin dismissed Cohen. Everyone remained quiet while the Officer Cohen exited the room.
"Sydney, I would like someone with more experience to go with you, but under the circumstances, he's Devlin's choice," Jack explained.
"You're going to fly to Prague to meet with Vaughn at a Bed and Breakfast. Vaughn will fly ahead of you. In the meantime, your father will tell Sloane that you were taking your friend to Lake Arrowhead for a much-needed break for the two of you. It's important that you talk your friend into going somewhere," Devlin detailed the assignment.
"From Prague, both of you will fly as a Canadian couple on vacation. A CSIS agent will drop off your Canadian passports in Prague. Once you're in Rome you will find, this abandoned school, about a half a mile from the Vatican. Underneath the school is a tunnel that was closed during World War II, after the Nazi invasion. You will use the tunnel to gain access to the Vatican archives," Jack continued, unrolling detailed plans of the underground tunnels.
"Talk Francie and Will into going to our cottage. We've arranged for Agent Weiss to strike up a friendship with them, and be invited to your house. He's going to become a part of your close circle of friends, in case you need back up from CIA in the future for any dinner invitation," her father continued.
Sydney shared a look with Vaughn, careful not to reveal her disappointment. He swallowed hard, and smiled briefly.
At least we get to pretend that we're couple in Rome, she thought to herself.