okay, here's the next chapter. a lot of fighting, some swearing (mild swearing) and [I]a lot[/I] of mushy stuff...yes, guardian angel fans will love this chapter. i may have errors here and there...i was in some sort of a rush editting this piece.
Chapter Five
The gunshots pierced the empty cargo holders as Vaughn and Sydney crouched and ran for cover behind some large bins. The gunshots came by surprise and before they knew it, they found themselves running for their lives inside the abandoned warehouse. Vaughn led the way across the maze of stacks of cargoes and wooden crates. Sydney marvelled at Vaughn's memory of the warehouse's layout. They dashed behind a heavy crate that faced another large room filled with the empty stuff.
"God, is this who I think it is?" Vaughn gasped as he struggled to get something out from somewhere underneath his jacket.
Sydney put her hands on her face. "God, how could I have been so stupid!"
He looked at her. "What?"
"It's the hit man," she blurted out. He stared at her in disbelief for a long moment as Sydney sighed, her hands on her head. "Gosh, I was so tired that I didn't realized that I was being tracked…of course! Gosh…this is all my fault…" She stared hard at Vaughn, who pulled out something from his waist. "What are you doing?"
Vaughn checked his gun, checked the load and then looked out. "Saving our asses."
"Can you even fire that?"
He looked at her in disbelief. "I'm a CIA agent…everyone in the field can. It's required."
She blushed sheepishly and turned away. "Oh."
He looked at her back that was facing him for the moment. He then turned towards the end of the cargo they were hiding behind from. He could hear the eerie footsteps that the hit man was making from the far end of the corridor. He was sweating like mad; this was one of the rare times that he had to actually pull out his gun and protect himself. But this time he wasn't just protecting himself; he also had to protect Sydney.
Life was getting better and better, wasn't it?
"Where is he, Vaughn?" she whispered.
Vaughn frowned slightly. "I don't know…close by…about 10 meters…"
"What?"
He turned to her and blushed bashfully. "Sorry. I'm not exactly the math whiz here," he said as he turned away to look from his end. It sounded more like an apology and it was sincere. He hadn't been in field for a very long time and his math was getting a little rusty, unless you count staying up to listen to your niece ramble about her calculus exams. "I can see his shadow."
"Where?"
"He's near the exit…damn, there goes that plan."
"What plan?" she demanded, whirling around the glare at him. Her glare was as hot as fire and it was so annoyed that it made Vaughn want to hide behind some other cargo vaults as long as it was far away from her angry face. "How come you didn't tell me you had a plan? Or did you forget that I'm the prey of this mad man and you just fazed out?"
Vaughn was about to snap something back at her when he heard a click.
Both of them turned around and hid as far down as they could behind the crater as the footsteps began to get louder and louder. He was closing in to their position and they were getting closer to their big finale. Vaughn clutched to his gun like a lifeline; if worse came to worse, he would tell Sydney to run and he would deal with the hit man himself.
If he could only survive the entire experience.
Sydney grabbed his arm and pulled him down behind the crate again. "Okay, I have an idea," she said softly. "It's not a lot to begin with and it's sure as hell as crazy but I think it can work."
"Care to fill me in?"
Sydney scowled and he could've sworn she was going to punch him out. "See that corridor over there between those two gigantic craters? We slide through them and I think they go out behind him. See the exit that you supposedly said there was no hope to get through?"
"I never said that."
"You implied it. Anyways, we try to sneak out there. If he sees us, I kick his ass."
Vaughn shrugged. It sounded better than his idea of trying to fight the hit man and bravely letting Sydney run for her dear life. The thought of his lifeless body on the floor of the warehouse was not a pretty thought. "Sounds like a plan, though I have to admit, it's sort of crude," he said, cradling his gun in his hand carefully, ready to fight.
Sydney gave him another odd look. "It's the best I can think of," she said flatly.
He raised his hands. "No argument from me," he told her, "now let's go. He's closing in."
Sydney closed her eyes. The footsteps were growing closer and louder. She grabbed Vaughn's hand, which startled him, and started darting towards the narrow corridor that she was pointing to. Vaughn did not struggle behind her or kept her back but actually ran with her on a steady pace. The corridor was a little farther than she thought.
Bam! Bam!
Sydney ducked and ducked behind some craters near the narrow corridor, her hands covering her face. God, how the hell did she wind up in such a mess? She wondered as she heard more gunshots being fired. When will this madness end?
The car was going way too slow.
At least that was what Nads thought as she hit the wheel of the car as she drove down the streets of Los Angeles. Not very many cars were on the road in that time of hour except for the passing drunkard. Because her window was cranked down, a gush of cool air comforted her sweaty face. "Hurry up, you freaking car," she growled beneath her breath as she passed by a Rav 4. "You're going way to frigging slow here!"
The stoplights ahead turned red as she slowed down. She cursed beneath her breath as she switched on the CD to some rock music and struggled to keep her patience. Beside her, a large 4 by 4 stopped at the red light carrying some party animals listening to loud rap music. The music was so loud that it drowned out her music out completely.
Nads narrowed her eyes and turned around. No one dared to drown out this woman's music. No one. She saw inside the large van, some sort of gang. Two boys were at the front around her age dressed up in bandanas and loose articles of clothing, promoting the bagginess of their tastes in clothes. Behind them, she heard giggling and groans that made Nads not want to know.
One of the boys turned to meet her in the eye. He then swatted at his driver friend and pointed at her with a sly grin, a grin she knew all too well. The boy then leaned over the open window and smiled toothily at Nads, his earring glistening under the red light. "Hey, girlfriend," he greeted with some sort of far out accent. "Say, you alone there? Need some tender loving?" He winked.
"How about get a life?" she snapped back coolly.
"Ooh, feisty," he said as his companion laughed. "Come on, I'll show you my crib."
"How about I show you my fist?"
The boys started making disgusting noises. Nads sighed. It was clear of what maturity level they were at as she tapped her finger impatiently. What was taking the stoplights so long to change? She needed to catch up with Vaughn and Sydney quickly before she finds corpses instead. She also wanted to get rid of the two idiots beside her.
"Come on, babe, I know you want some," he told her from the van.
The lights finally turned green. Nads smiled sweetly, stuck up the middle finger at them and zoomed down the quiet roads of Los Angeles, leaving behind the perplexed boys in the jeep.
Vaughn turned to Sydney as whispered, "Sydney! You all right?"
She shook off the jitters that went up her spine. "Yeah, I think so."
"Sydney! Go run down that corridor and get the hell out of here," Vaughn instructed as the hit man shot two more bullets. The bullets slammed into the empty cargo crates with a sharp ping. He blinked before returning his attention to Sydney. "Don't worry, I'll cover you. When I tell you to go, you run and you don't look back."
"I'm not leaving you here."
"You're going to have to."
"No, Vaughn! He's after me, not you!" she told him.
"No time for arguments! I'll find another way out!"
"If you're trying to be a macho hero for my sake, it's not working."
"If you're trying to get your way, it's not working."
More gunshots were fired as they hid safely behind the craters. Vaughn peered at the edge and fired two shots of his own, both of them missing by a fraction of a second. Gosh, was he getting pissed! The adrenaline was rushing down his blood like his lifeline and he was getting pumped up. I guess it's time to prove if I do have 'balls of steel', he cajoled silently.
"Vaughn!" Sydney hissed.
He looked at her, standing at the other side behind the craters. "Why are you still here?" he asked her in the same tone of voice and manner. "Get going! I'll deal with this guy!"
"Keep him busy." She then disappeared.
He frowned. Keep him busy? He IS keeping him busy! Sort of, anyways. What was Sydney planning to do, anyways? He sighed as he checked his bullets. I trust her now, he told himself. She's the expert in these fields. She knows what she's doing. I hope. I might as well follow this line to the end. Some gunshots broke his train of thought as Vaughn shot back.
A classic.
Bam!
Click.
Bam!
Click.
Click.
Vaughn looked at his gun, a horrified look imprinted on his face. He looked at the number of bullets he had left. None! He was standing there with a gun that had no more bullets! He groaned, thumping his head on the hollow crater behind him. What was a use of a man without a gun? A gun without bullets, that is. He might as well wave a white flag implementing his utter surrender.
Footsteps.
Damn, the bastard was headed towards him! Vaughn bit down on his lip to prevent an utter yelp of colourful words. This was probably the worst moment of his life, aside from being pulled off Sydney's case and replaced by that sleaze, Lambert. It was worst from when he accidentally pissed Nads off and was nearly kicked out of the house as a result. It was worst from the many 'manly' talks he had with Sydney's father and was worst from meeting 'Will' for the first time.
Gosh, how he hated his life completely.
"Hey buddy, looking for me?"
Bam!
Vaughn looked out from his hiding place. There he saw Sydney, retrieving her hand from a punch she had just laid on the hit man. The hit man buckled back, clutching his jaw. He was obviously pissed, as he should be. The man then leapt towards Sydney and pinned her to one of the craters. Sydney wasted no time as she executed a swift kick in the groin and to his face. The man staggered back. Vaughn could see that Sydney had just about enough of him.
The hit man then slid something from his handcuff. It glistened when it hit the low lights and made Vaughn jolt in alarm. It was a knife! Before he could yell out a warning to Sydney, the hit man lashed out at Sydney, the knife blade out. Vaughn felt like squeezing his eyes shut like he did when watching scary movies as a child but he didn't. He had to watch it to the bitter end, helplessly.
Luckily, Sydney took a step back, ducking from the knife attack. She grabbed his arm and slammed her other hand into his hand, making him drop the knife. She kicked it away from their little fight as she stepped him and flung the hit man over her head and onto the floor. He groaned, rolling to his side in pain. Sydney stepped back, trying to breathe some air herself. She turned around to find Vaughn watching her.
"Are you just going to stand there?" she demanded.
"I'd rather not be in his position, thank you."
"Let's go!"
Before they could start running, someone grabbed Sydney from behind and locked her in a tight death grip. She spun around and the hit man slammed his fleshy fist into her face. She buckled back in pain and the impact of the blow. The hit man then punched her and kicked her senselessly until she was pretty much on the floor.
For a moment, Vaughn forgot about being undercover and forgot about standard protocol. He forgot everything but the fact that Sydney, the person he was handling, was going to lose her life unless he did something. He ran out behind the crater and launched a series of punches at the man, hitting him in three areas; the face, the belly and the groin. Each punch made the hit man buckle farther from Sydney's position until Vaughn did a final blow that sent the man crashing into some Styrofoam.
Vaughn ran back to where Sydney lay. A bruise was forming on her left cheek and a bit of blood was coming out of her lips. She groaned softly and winced at the pain that racked her body. She struggled to move and get up but the pain that the hit man had inflicted was taking over her senses and she grimaced again. He felt strong yet gentle hands help her to her feet and whisper, "Come on, I'm getting you out of here right away."
Nads was headed towards the warehouse when she got a call. She patted her jacket and pulled out her trusty cell phone. She checked back to make she wasn't followed by those perverted boys back at the stoplights and made sure the car was locked up correctly. It technically wasn't her car, not yet, but she didn't want to come back to find it stolen or vandalized or something.
That is, if she ever came back.
The caller display read Weiss. Again.
For a moment, Nads debated on whether to answer the phone call or not. After a while, she shrugged and pressed the talk button. "This has better be good."
"I assembled a little back up for you, Nads."
"How sweet."
"I'm serious. It's procedure, too," he replied seriously. "It consists of only four people…I could call up some more but I think I'll be getting an earful of crap instead before I can get them to you. I think that'll do nicely."
"Why are you doing this?"
"Because it's---"
"Yeah, yeah, I know about the whole protocol thing," she replied, stopping short of the front entrance to the warehouse. She didn't want to make any noise inside, so she decided to finish the conversation outside. "But why are YOU doing this for me? I mean, people like you don't even give you pennies about me yet you…"
"Hey, I just don't want you getting killed or something, all right?"
"Okay," she said in disbelief, looking around. "Hopefully Weiss' agents will be here soon….got to get in there. Hopefully I don't find Vaughn and Sydney on the ground---or worse. I'll talk to you when I get back. Later." She closed her cell phone before he could protest and with one last look at the car, she went in.
"I know…I know I shouldn't take you here, but I don't think you should be at your place either for the moment," Vaughn said breathlessly as he struggled to open the door to his house door while propping Sydney up as well. The key didn't go in correctly into the keyhole and he cursed beneath his breath, flipping along the keys.
Beside him, Sydney groaned in pain.
This made Vaughn frantic. "A ha!" He pushed open the door and helped Sydney in, opening the lights. It revealed his living room, which was modern and simple. Then she noticed that there was a pile of clothes lying on the chair near the hallway. She assumed that it was probably his as she winced at her pain. He placed her gently on the couch and Sydney moved to get comfortable. Her muscles screamed bloody murder as she hastily kicked her shoes off and lifted her feet up.
Vaughn gave a little laugh. "I'll go get some ice."
He disappeared for a moment. Sydney closed her eyes and reviewed the last hour's transactions. The entire talk about the levels of SD-6, the sudden attack of bullets, the fight, Vaughn saving her…Vaughn saving her? She snapped her eyes open. Well, well, she thought, for once, you actually were the damsel in distress.
Vaughn reappeared carrying a stainless steel bowl that contained some ice. He gestured for Sydney to move over a bit as he sat down at the edge of the couch. He lifted a bag that contained ice and showed it to her like a prize. "Okay, hold still," he told her as he patted the bag onto Sydney's bruised face. "I wouldn't want your friend to see this on your face."
"I could say I fell down the staircase on my way out," she told him, trying to keep her eyes straight. She couldn't help but peep at Vaughn, his gray-blue eyes focused intently onto her wound like a hawk. I never knew he had such beautiful eyes, she thought to herself. "Besides, Francie isn't going to be back from New York City for a while."
"Oh, I see."
She grabbed Vaughn's wrist as she propped herself up a bit more from her position. Her muscles and fibres screamed in anguish but she was determined not to show Vaughn that. She looked into his eyes intently. She could see that he was visibly startled and confused by her sudden gesture. She would normally be to. But she had to say something. "Vaughn, I---"
"Please, call me Michael."
"Okay, um, Michael," she said with a small smile. "I want to thank you for what you did back there…inside the warehouse."
"What did I do?" he asked mildly.
She rolled her eyes. "Don't get modest on me," she teased before saying seriously, "I'm serious, Vaughn, I really appreciated what you did back there. I could've sworn he was going to kill me right there and then. I didn't think you'd---"
"Jump in there and start beating the crap out of that guy? I'm a guy, remember?"
She smiled bashfully. "I remember that."
The awkwardness started to creep up from out of nowhere. Sydney suddenly felt that tension that was going on between them and it was incredibly strong. She was suddenly aware of his eyes that held an amazing energy and an amazing strength that even he didn't want to admit. She noticed the way his hair casually fell from his forehead and the way his lips always held a close perfection to those statues she always found herself gazing to in Rome.
Like the Mona Lisa.
She couldn't help it; she leaned over and kissed him on his lips. It was a questioning kind of kiss and he knew it. For a moment, she thought she was in heaven. She didn't want to let go until she realized that she was kissing her handler. She drew apart from him, shocked at what she had just done. It was probably sudden impulse, she thought rationally. What am I getting myself into? This is the second time that I've done it! Gosh, first Will, now Vaughn…
Before she could explain herself, he drew her closer again, this time all of the emotions that they had suppressed for the past months that they had been collaborating together. It was all out in the open now, there was no denying about it.
Suddenly, someone opened the door.
Chapter Five
The gunshots pierced the empty cargo holders as Vaughn and Sydney crouched and ran for cover behind some large bins. The gunshots came by surprise and before they knew it, they found themselves running for their lives inside the abandoned warehouse. Vaughn led the way across the maze of stacks of cargoes and wooden crates. Sydney marvelled at Vaughn's memory of the warehouse's layout. They dashed behind a heavy crate that faced another large room filled with the empty stuff.
"God, is this who I think it is?" Vaughn gasped as he struggled to get something out from somewhere underneath his jacket.
Sydney put her hands on her face. "God, how could I have been so stupid!"
He looked at her. "What?"
"It's the hit man," she blurted out. He stared at her in disbelief for a long moment as Sydney sighed, her hands on her head. "Gosh, I was so tired that I didn't realized that I was being tracked…of course! Gosh…this is all my fault…" She stared hard at Vaughn, who pulled out something from his waist. "What are you doing?"
Vaughn checked his gun, checked the load and then looked out. "Saving our asses."
"Can you even fire that?"
He looked at her in disbelief. "I'm a CIA agent…everyone in the field can. It's required."
She blushed sheepishly and turned away. "Oh."
He looked at her back that was facing him for the moment. He then turned towards the end of the cargo they were hiding behind from. He could hear the eerie footsteps that the hit man was making from the far end of the corridor. He was sweating like mad; this was one of the rare times that he had to actually pull out his gun and protect himself. But this time he wasn't just protecting himself; he also had to protect Sydney.
Life was getting better and better, wasn't it?
"Where is he, Vaughn?" she whispered.
Vaughn frowned slightly. "I don't know…close by…about 10 meters…"
"What?"
He turned to her and blushed bashfully. "Sorry. I'm not exactly the math whiz here," he said as he turned away to look from his end. It sounded more like an apology and it was sincere. He hadn't been in field for a very long time and his math was getting a little rusty, unless you count staying up to listen to your niece ramble about her calculus exams. "I can see his shadow."
"Where?"
"He's near the exit…damn, there goes that plan."
"What plan?" she demanded, whirling around the glare at him. Her glare was as hot as fire and it was so annoyed that it made Vaughn want to hide behind some other cargo vaults as long as it was far away from her angry face. "How come you didn't tell me you had a plan? Or did you forget that I'm the prey of this mad man and you just fazed out?"
Vaughn was about to snap something back at her when he heard a click.
Both of them turned around and hid as far down as they could behind the crater as the footsteps began to get louder and louder. He was closing in to their position and they were getting closer to their big finale. Vaughn clutched to his gun like a lifeline; if worse came to worse, he would tell Sydney to run and he would deal with the hit man himself.
If he could only survive the entire experience.
Sydney grabbed his arm and pulled him down behind the crate again. "Okay, I have an idea," she said softly. "It's not a lot to begin with and it's sure as hell as crazy but I think it can work."
"Care to fill me in?"
Sydney scowled and he could've sworn she was going to punch him out. "See that corridor over there between those two gigantic craters? We slide through them and I think they go out behind him. See the exit that you supposedly said there was no hope to get through?"
"I never said that."
"You implied it. Anyways, we try to sneak out there. If he sees us, I kick his ass."
Vaughn shrugged. It sounded better than his idea of trying to fight the hit man and bravely letting Sydney run for her dear life. The thought of his lifeless body on the floor of the warehouse was not a pretty thought. "Sounds like a plan, though I have to admit, it's sort of crude," he said, cradling his gun in his hand carefully, ready to fight.
Sydney gave him another odd look. "It's the best I can think of," she said flatly.
He raised his hands. "No argument from me," he told her, "now let's go. He's closing in."
Sydney closed her eyes. The footsteps were growing closer and louder. She grabbed Vaughn's hand, which startled him, and started darting towards the narrow corridor that she was pointing to. Vaughn did not struggle behind her or kept her back but actually ran with her on a steady pace. The corridor was a little farther than she thought.
Bam! Bam!
Sydney ducked and ducked behind some craters near the narrow corridor, her hands covering her face. God, how the hell did she wind up in such a mess? She wondered as she heard more gunshots being fired. When will this madness end?
The car was going way too slow.
At least that was what Nads thought as she hit the wheel of the car as she drove down the streets of Los Angeles. Not very many cars were on the road in that time of hour except for the passing drunkard. Because her window was cranked down, a gush of cool air comforted her sweaty face. "Hurry up, you freaking car," she growled beneath her breath as she passed by a Rav 4. "You're going way to frigging slow here!"
The stoplights ahead turned red as she slowed down. She cursed beneath her breath as she switched on the CD to some rock music and struggled to keep her patience. Beside her, a large 4 by 4 stopped at the red light carrying some party animals listening to loud rap music. The music was so loud that it drowned out her music out completely.
Nads narrowed her eyes and turned around. No one dared to drown out this woman's music. No one. She saw inside the large van, some sort of gang. Two boys were at the front around her age dressed up in bandanas and loose articles of clothing, promoting the bagginess of their tastes in clothes. Behind them, she heard giggling and groans that made Nads not want to know.
One of the boys turned to meet her in the eye. He then swatted at his driver friend and pointed at her with a sly grin, a grin she knew all too well. The boy then leaned over the open window and smiled toothily at Nads, his earring glistening under the red light. "Hey, girlfriend," he greeted with some sort of far out accent. "Say, you alone there? Need some tender loving?" He winked.
"How about get a life?" she snapped back coolly.
"Ooh, feisty," he said as his companion laughed. "Come on, I'll show you my crib."
"How about I show you my fist?"
The boys started making disgusting noises. Nads sighed. It was clear of what maturity level they were at as she tapped her finger impatiently. What was taking the stoplights so long to change? She needed to catch up with Vaughn and Sydney quickly before she finds corpses instead. She also wanted to get rid of the two idiots beside her.
"Come on, babe, I know you want some," he told her from the van.
The lights finally turned green. Nads smiled sweetly, stuck up the middle finger at them and zoomed down the quiet roads of Los Angeles, leaving behind the perplexed boys in the jeep.
Vaughn turned to Sydney as whispered, "Sydney! You all right?"
She shook off the jitters that went up her spine. "Yeah, I think so."
"Sydney! Go run down that corridor and get the hell out of here," Vaughn instructed as the hit man shot two more bullets. The bullets slammed into the empty cargo crates with a sharp ping. He blinked before returning his attention to Sydney. "Don't worry, I'll cover you. When I tell you to go, you run and you don't look back."
"I'm not leaving you here."
"You're going to have to."
"No, Vaughn! He's after me, not you!" she told him.
"No time for arguments! I'll find another way out!"
"If you're trying to be a macho hero for my sake, it's not working."
"If you're trying to get your way, it's not working."
More gunshots were fired as they hid safely behind the craters. Vaughn peered at the edge and fired two shots of his own, both of them missing by a fraction of a second. Gosh, was he getting pissed! The adrenaline was rushing down his blood like his lifeline and he was getting pumped up. I guess it's time to prove if I do have 'balls of steel', he cajoled silently.
"Vaughn!" Sydney hissed.
He looked at her, standing at the other side behind the craters. "Why are you still here?" he asked her in the same tone of voice and manner. "Get going! I'll deal with this guy!"
"Keep him busy." She then disappeared.
He frowned. Keep him busy? He IS keeping him busy! Sort of, anyways. What was Sydney planning to do, anyways? He sighed as he checked his bullets. I trust her now, he told himself. She's the expert in these fields. She knows what she's doing. I hope. I might as well follow this line to the end. Some gunshots broke his train of thought as Vaughn shot back.
A classic.
Bam!
Click.
Bam!
Click.
Click.
Vaughn looked at his gun, a horrified look imprinted on his face. He looked at the number of bullets he had left. None! He was standing there with a gun that had no more bullets! He groaned, thumping his head on the hollow crater behind him. What was a use of a man without a gun? A gun without bullets, that is. He might as well wave a white flag implementing his utter surrender.
Footsteps.
Damn, the bastard was headed towards him! Vaughn bit down on his lip to prevent an utter yelp of colourful words. This was probably the worst moment of his life, aside from being pulled off Sydney's case and replaced by that sleaze, Lambert. It was worst from when he accidentally pissed Nads off and was nearly kicked out of the house as a result. It was worst from the many 'manly' talks he had with Sydney's father and was worst from meeting 'Will' for the first time.
Gosh, how he hated his life completely.
"Hey buddy, looking for me?"
Bam!
Vaughn looked out from his hiding place. There he saw Sydney, retrieving her hand from a punch she had just laid on the hit man. The hit man buckled back, clutching his jaw. He was obviously pissed, as he should be. The man then leapt towards Sydney and pinned her to one of the craters. Sydney wasted no time as she executed a swift kick in the groin and to his face. The man staggered back. Vaughn could see that Sydney had just about enough of him.
The hit man then slid something from his handcuff. It glistened when it hit the low lights and made Vaughn jolt in alarm. It was a knife! Before he could yell out a warning to Sydney, the hit man lashed out at Sydney, the knife blade out. Vaughn felt like squeezing his eyes shut like he did when watching scary movies as a child but he didn't. He had to watch it to the bitter end, helplessly.
Luckily, Sydney took a step back, ducking from the knife attack. She grabbed his arm and slammed her other hand into his hand, making him drop the knife. She kicked it away from their little fight as she stepped him and flung the hit man over her head and onto the floor. He groaned, rolling to his side in pain. Sydney stepped back, trying to breathe some air herself. She turned around to find Vaughn watching her.
"Are you just going to stand there?" she demanded.
"I'd rather not be in his position, thank you."
"Let's go!"
Before they could start running, someone grabbed Sydney from behind and locked her in a tight death grip. She spun around and the hit man slammed his fleshy fist into her face. She buckled back in pain and the impact of the blow. The hit man then punched her and kicked her senselessly until she was pretty much on the floor.
For a moment, Vaughn forgot about being undercover and forgot about standard protocol. He forgot everything but the fact that Sydney, the person he was handling, was going to lose her life unless he did something. He ran out behind the crater and launched a series of punches at the man, hitting him in three areas; the face, the belly and the groin. Each punch made the hit man buckle farther from Sydney's position until Vaughn did a final blow that sent the man crashing into some Styrofoam.
Vaughn ran back to where Sydney lay. A bruise was forming on her left cheek and a bit of blood was coming out of her lips. She groaned softly and winced at the pain that racked her body. She struggled to move and get up but the pain that the hit man had inflicted was taking over her senses and she grimaced again. He felt strong yet gentle hands help her to her feet and whisper, "Come on, I'm getting you out of here right away."
Nads was headed towards the warehouse when she got a call. She patted her jacket and pulled out her trusty cell phone. She checked back to make she wasn't followed by those perverted boys back at the stoplights and made sure the car was locked up correctly. It technically wasn't her car, not yet, but she didn't want to come back to find it stolen or vandalized or something.
That is, if she ever came back.
The caller display read Weiss. Again.
For a moment, Nads debated on whether to answer the phone call or not. After a while, she shrugged and pressed the talk button. "This has better be good."
"I assembled a little back up for you, Nads."
"How sweet."
"I'm serious. It's procedure, too," he replied seriously. "It consists of only four people…I could call up some more but I think I'll be getting an earful of crap instead before I can get them to you. I think that'll do nicely."
"Why are you doing this?"
"Because it's---"
"Yeah, yeah, I know about the whole protocol thing," she replied, stopping short of the front entrance to the warehouse. She didn't want to make any noise inside, so she decided to finish the conversation outside. "But why are YOU doing this for me? I mean, people like you don't even give you pennies about me yet you…"
"Hey, I just don't want you getting killed or something, all right?"
"Okay," she said in disbelief, looking around. "Hopefully Weiss' agents will be here soon….got to get in there. Hopefully I don't find Vaughn and Sydney on the ground---or worse. I'll talk to you when I get back. Later." She closed her cell phone before he could protest and with one last look at the car, she went in.
"I know…I know I shouldn't take you here, but I don't think you should be at your place either for the moment," Vaughn said breathlessly as he struggled to open the door to his house door while propping Sydney up as well. The key didn't go in correctly into the keyhole and he cursed beneath his breath, flipping along the keys.
Beside him, Sydney groaned in pain.
This made Vaughn frantic. "A ha!" He pushed open the door and helped Sydney in, opening the lights. It revealed his living room, which was modern and simple. Then she noticed that there was a pile of clothes lying on the chair near the hallway. She assumed that it was probably his as she winced at her pain. He placed her gently on the couch and Sydney moved to get comfortable. Her muscles screamed bloody murder as she hastily kicked her shoes off and lifted her feet up.
Vaughn gave a little laugh. "I'll go get some ice."
He disappeared for a moment. Sydney closed her eyes and reviewed the last hour's transactions. The entire talk about the levels of SD-6, the sudden attack of bullets, the fight, Vaughn saving her…Vaughn saving her? She snapped her eyes open. Well, well, she thought, for once, you actually were the damsel in distress.
Vaughn reappeared carrying a stainless steel bowl that contained some ice. He gestured for Sydney to move over a bit as he sat down at the edge of the couch. He lifted a bag that contained ice and showed it to her like a prize. "Okay, hold still," he told her as he patted the bag onto Sydney's bruised face. "I wouldn't want your friend to see this on your face."
"I could say I fell down the staircase on my way out," she told him, trying to keep her eyes straight. She couldn't help but peep at Vaughn, his gray-blue eyes focused intently onto her wound like a hawk. I never knew he had such beautiful eyes, she thought to herself. "Besides, Francie isn't going to be back from New York City for a while."
"Oh, I see."
She grabbed Vaughn's wrist as she propped herself up a bit more from her position. Her muscles and fibres screamed in anguish but she was determined not to show Vaughn that. She looked into his eyes intently. She could see that he was visibly startled and confused by her sudden gesture. She would normally be to. But she had to say something. "Vaughn, I---"
"Please, call me Michael."
"Okay, um, Michael," she said with a small smile. "I want to thank you for what you did back there…inside the warehouse."
"What did I do?" he asked mildly.
She rolled her eyes. "Don't get modest on me," she teased before saying seriously, "I'm serious, Vaughn, I really appreciated what you did back there. I could've sworn he was going to kill me right there and then. I didn't think you'd---"
"Jump in there and start beating the crap out of that guy? I'm a guy, remember?"
She smiled bashfully. "I remember that."
The awkwardness started to creep up from out of nowhere. Sydney suddenly felt that tension that was going on between them and it was incredibly strong. She was suddenly aware of his eyes that held an amazing energy and an amazing strength that even he didn't want to admit. She noticed the way his hair casually fell from his forehead and the way his lips always held a close perfection to those statues she always found herself gazing to in Rome.
Like the Mona Lisa.
She couldn't help it; she leaned over and kissed him on his lips. It was a questioning kind of kiss and he knew it. For a moment, she thought she was in heaven. She didn't want to let go until she realized that she was kissing her handler. She drew apart from him, shocked at what she had just done. It was probably sudden impulse, she thought rationally. What am I getting myself into? This is the second time that I've done it! Gosh, first Will, now Vaughn…
Before she could explain herself, he drew her closer again, this time all of the emotions that they had suppressed for the past months that they had been collaborating together. It was all out in the open now, there was no denying about it.
Suddenly, someone opened the door.