here's the second last chapter! finally pulling together the final strings here...hope you guys like it! ^_~
Chapter Fifteen
"Good job, Sydney," Sloane said.
He was sitting in his desk, his hands folded neatly together like he always did. Despite the fact he sounded pleased, he never really showed it to Sydney. He simply gave her a calm look with those probing eyes and a simple gesture of appreciation. Sydney, who standing in front of his desk, felt sick to her stomach at his appreciation.
An image of Danny's dead body appeared in her mind. "Thank you."
He looked slightly guilty. You should, she thought bitterly, trying to keep her composure. Sloane cleared his throat, indicating that he wasn't done speaking yet. "I know you went through a lot of trouble for this…"
"It wasn't a problem," Sydney said in a clipped tone.
"I know…but I want you to know…I am grateful for this," Sloane said, gesturing around.
Sydney nodded, stiffly, deciding to switch the topic before she threw up. "How are the computers?"
Sloane shrugged casually. "Marshall has it completely under control," he replied. "With help from your father, they were able to completely patch up the little bastard. I also had Marshall and the other techs re-design our mainframe to prevent this from happening ever again." He paused, looking rather distant for a moment. His eyes hardened and Sydney knew he was angry about the entire situation.
"I'm sure Marshall will enjoy the challenge," Sydney said mildly.
Sloane smiled slightly. "He always does," he replied quietly. "There is one casualty though."
Sydney raised her brows.
"We never found Yalila McGregor," he said, void of any emotion. Sydney felt a chill run down her spine as he continued. "I mean…she never signed in but her car is still parked in our parking lot upstairs." He stroked his prickly beard. "I'm worried…I am suspicious at whether this has anything to do with the sudden attacks to our network and to our safe house up there."
Sydney shrugged. "Could be, I don't really know."
Sloane nodded in some silent understanding. "I already have some people on it," he said, his eyes growing warm again. "Take a day off, Sydney. You deserve it."
Sydney gloated at him for a brief moment.
"Thank you."
Sydney then pivoted on her heel and left.
Sloane sighed, leaning his head back to rest his neck muscles. Speaking of which, he wanted a vacation himself. He wanted to go home and spend time with his cancer-ridden wife and read and do normal things. Unfortunately, work wasn't about to left him off the hook yet. He sighed, still musing his beard. I must finish my work here.
Someone knocked at his door.
"Come in," he called. It's probably Jack, he thought.
The door opened and a man stepped in. He had grayish hair and a salt-and-pepper sprinkled goatee. He had stormy blue-gray eyes and wore a rich-looking suit. His skin was perfectly tanned although he had revealing lines around his mouth and eyes. He grinned at Sloane peculiarly, revealing a set of pearly-white teeth. "Hello, Arvin," he said in a rich voice.
Sloane got up and clapped the shoulder of the newcomer. "Timothy," he greeted with a smile of his own. "It's good to see you again." He gestured to a seat before his desk with a slight giddiness to his attitude. "Please…do take a seat."
"Why, thank you, Arvin," he replied, taking a seat. Sloane resumed his position at his seat. Timothy looked around. "Very nice…I see you've been dealing with some interior design." He grinned again at Sloane. "Well, I haven't seen you since that meeting a while back with the Alliance---hectic stuff, you left in a rush."
"I had things to do back here," Sloane replied, "you know how it's like."
Timothy sighed. "Unfortunately," he said with a groan. His face grew serious. "Anyways, I heard you had a little trouble here a while back with someone trying to bring down your network and tried to assassinate one of your agents." He shifted positions in the chair. "I dropped by to make sure you were doing all right."
Sloane's muscles stiffened. "How did you know I was having difficulties here?"
Timothy shrugged casually and too innocently in Sloane's point of view. "You know me, Arvin," he said casually. "I have my sources." He leaned over, his blue-gray eyes levelling on Sloane's. "You are doing okay…right?"
"Yes," Sloane clipped, "everything's under control."
Timothy nodded. "That's good…you haven't lost your touch, I see," he commented, musing his own goatee before breaking into another grin. "The Alliance should look into these things more carefully. You never know who'll pop up in your front door with a knife behind their backs." When Sloane looked at him peculiarly, Timothy broke into an uproar of laughter. "Arvin, Arvin, Arvin, you ought to check your humour factor out."
Sloane gave his friend a woozy grin. "I am rather tired."
Timothy leaned over the table again. "Look, Arvin," he said in a low tone, "if you ever need any help or assistance, you know you can count on me."
"I know."
Timothy grinned again, playing with the gold ring that sat on his finger absently.
"Back so soon? What happened?" Francie asked over the phone.
"It's a long story," Will replied hotly, ruffling his papers around. He had just arrived last night but he was so exhausted from running all of San Francisco the day before, he just collapsed onto his bed and fell fast asleep. He decided to go to work instead of staying home and unpacking when he decided to call Sydney's place. Instead of Sydney, Francie picked up.
Just my luck, he thought bitterly.
"I have the time," Francie said in a determined tone.
Will shook his head in annoyance. "I need to talk to Sydney…ASAP."
Francie scoffed. "Oh, all right, but you have to tell me the story afterwards, okay?"
"All right already." Anything to give the phone to Sydney, he added.
There was a pause on the phone. Holding it on his shoulder, Will pulled out some files and sighed. Jenny was still in San Francisco and knew that when she came back, she would want to quit the job or something. He sighed, rearranging the files. I might as well put up the signs again and search for a new assistant, he thought ruefully.
Someone picked up. "Yes?"
"Hey, it's me."
"Oh…hey, Will," Sydney replied. Her voice sounded exhausted. Another one of those damnable business trips, he supposed. "How was your vacation in San Francisco? I heard you suddenly came back," she added.
"Oh, it's a long story."
"That's what you told Francie, Will."
Will couldn't help smiling. It always happened every time Sydney was around. He always considered it to be a vibe from her to him. "Um, say, I wanted to apologize about what happened the day before…I was being a total jerk," he said, cringing. He couldn't help feeling guilty up until now. "It…it was stupid of me to do it."
"No, it's all right…I understand."
"Look, Sydney, I'm very happy for you," he said dryly, plucking at the stack of new papers distastefully. Gosh, how he hated saying these words! "For you and that guy…um…Michael. It's good to see you up and about and if you're happy, then I'm happy too." No, I want to cry! His insides were screaming. I want to scream and cry and beg for you to go out with me!
Silence.
Oh my gosh….did I just do another stupid thing? Will wondered, suddenly concerned.
"Thank you, Will," she finally said.
Will smiled slightly, trying hard to keep his act together.
"I have to go now," she said, "I'll see you over sometime."
"Of course."
'Okay…bye." She then hung up.
Will placed the receiver back down before he threw the stack of papers at the window. God, he felt like throwing up at the words he just said. He felt dizzy, he felt sick. A part of him was very happy for Sydney, that she was finally moving on into the dating world after the death of Danny, but a part of him wanted to be in that Michael guy's position. He wanted to be the receiver of her kisses and her love.
He felt like a complete wreck.
His eyes fell onto the corner of his desk, where his suitcase was propped up. Despite the mess of his books and papers, he noticed one thing only---the note that the mysterious person gave her. He felt himself colour; what was up with all the women in his life? Ever since Danny's death, Sydney was more into her work and was rarely around. Francie was still perceptive about his feelings for Sydney and constantly teased. Jenny was simply possessive of him and eyed him in a way that made Will feel like someone's dinner. And that mysterious girl that helped him yesterday just saved his ass from whoever was after him.
The entire thing made his head hurt.
I need a beer, he thought. Or some really strong liquor…
The telephone rang.
Will lifted the telephone. "This is Will Tippin."
"Hi! Can you do an article on flying underwear?" It sounded like a young girl in the other end.
Will scowled in abrupt annoyance. "What the hell?"
"You heard me," the girl replied indignantly, "flying underwear!"
Will leaned forward, looking around. What was going on? He wondered. He already had three women who seem to bombard him with their personalities and now here was another. "Who the hell am I speaking to here?" he demanded gruffly.
The girl scoffed at the other end. "This is your neighbour who saw you throw your briefs out of the window a few days ago," she replied sardonically. A burst of mortification ran through Will's face as he felt his face heat up. He totally forgot about that incident! His face deepened in red when the girl added, "Your undies made my grandmother faint!"
Will cursed silently in his mind. This week will never end, he groaned.
But the girl wasn't finished yet with his humiliating act. "You can name the article 'Flying Underwear: How it can cause heart attacks'," she said loudly. "Heck, you'd get a lot of responses…you'd be famous from here all the way to China!"
"Just go away and leave me alone!" Will shouted into the receiver to make her shut up.
The girl snickered into the receiver, relatively unfazed at Will's snappish behaviour. Will wondered what did it have to take to shut this girl up. "Must I show evidence of your deed?" she asked him rather innocently. She then snickered again as she said into the receiver, "My, my, Calvin Klein briefs? Don't you wear boxers?"
Will hung up, mortified from head to toe.
"So what are they going to do with them now?" Nadia asked.
Nadia, Jason and Jack were standing in the sound room in the basement. Behind the silent glass window was the desk once again with Donovan and Yalila handcuffed to their chairs. They were facing each other and were dead silent. Behind them, near the doors, stood two security agents, staring at the captives non-chillingly.
"Devlin plans to ship them to Langley," Jack replied quietly, staring ahead. His voice remained cool and collected and Nadia silently wondered how he did that. Frankly, she found him intimidating a few days ago, but after hearing of what he did, she found a new respect for the man. "From there, I don't really know what they'll do."
"Maybe put them in a protection program," Jason suggested with a shrug. "Or send them to jail for obstruction of some law or for just being the enemy." He gave Jack a nervous glance, which gave away the fact that he wasn't too sure about it. "Then again," he added quickly, "I was recruited into the more technical stuff so I'm not sure about the whole political issue here."
Nadia nodded.
Jason smiled warily at her. "Welcome to the spy world," he said in an ironic manner.
"Considered that you are prepared to go through with this," Jack added cautiously. He looked at the young girl and wondered how Sydney was like when she was first recruited. Sloane had told him how she was eager with her new job. Jack had not seen Sydney for much for a long time so he had no idea how she was when she entered SD-6. Could she be acting like this? Jack wondered.
No. By the way the girl watched the two political prisoners in the other room, he knew that Sydney would not be as calm as this girl was. Sydney would have been ecstatic at the thought of having adventure. This girl didn't look ecstatic but she didn't look that aggravated at the thought of such a responsibility. This girl didn't seem to have much of an expression. That, he thought warily, or she does the exact technique that I do---hide my emotions.
Surely this must be a daughter of some federal agent, he thought.
"Actually," Nadia said, her voice not as grave as before, "Devlin said I passed."
Jason blinked. "Passed?"
"The mission I just attended to was kind of like an evaluation," she explained calmly. Jack could see that she was playing with the tail of her plaid shirt. Intriguing. "Devlin and a bunch of other seniors and other ops officers, including Vaughn and Weiss, did some grading without really knowing it. Devlin decided that I had what it takes to be an agent."
"So, you're in?" Jason asked, still looked stupefied.
"Why didn't you go through the other requirements?" Jack wanted to know. "The CIA doesn't just evaluate and pull people out at random." He paused. "Except for the walk-ins like Sydney but I don't really understand…You may have ties to Agent Vaughn but that isn't enough to make a cut of some sort. There are protocols."
"Which I am aware of, Mr. Bristow," Nadia replied curtly, turning to face him with a sardonic look on her face. "I don't exactly know what are the exact rules in regards to applying to the CIA, but my ties certainly come in with Agent Vaughn, whom I have been submitting concrete intel for the past few years. If that's not enough, my father also happens to be in the CIA."
So I was right, Jack thought. "What is his name?"
Nadia gave Jack a faint but cryptic smile that took Jack aback. Nadia headed towards the door with her backpack slung over her back. She stopped and turned back to Jack. Their eyes met and for a brief moment, Nadia looked just like any other girl her age. "Agent Raidon Tomeo," she replied. "I think you know who he is. He worked with you a few years back."
Jack frowned as Nadia left. How did she know that? Jack wondered, watching her retreating back. As Jason muttered some pardon before leaving the room, Jack allowed himself to smile a bit. Ahh, I remember, he thought. Raidon told me about his little girl. Smart girl. A pang of grief sparked his heart as he was suddenly reminded of Sydney.
Feeling desolate of the guilt, he too left the room.
In the hallway, Nadia continued to walk towards the elevator. Jack's questions made her wonder about her place in the CIA. Devlin had offered her the spot and she gladly took it. After all, she had worked rather hard to get the spot. Sure, they were still going to sharpen some of her skills to make sure, but otherwise, she was fit for the job. After her talk with Jack, she wasn't so sure. Do I have the right to even be here? She asked herself.
"Nadia!"
She whirled around to see Jason Lee run up to her. He was running at a mild pace due to his suit and tie flying all over the place. He was wearing a pair of small-lenses glasses today. When he caught up, he was gasping for breath. She watched him, trying hard not to show her amusement. "Gosh, you walk really fast," he wheezed. "God, you can kill an old man like that."
"Who said you were old?" she teased mildly.
Jason grinned as he caught his breath. "Hey, I just wanted to congratulate you," he told her, "about the promotion I mean." He then looked at her more closely, which made Nadia curl up inside in embarrassment. She hated being studied in scrutinizing detail but Jason made it not annoying but discomforting. Huh? She wondered. "Are you all right?"
"Oh, yeah," she replied, laughing it off. "The entire gig, you know, it's just really…whoa."
"Yeah, that was me when I first came here," Jason replied as she walked with her to the elevator. "But you get used to it, you know." They stood by the elevator shaft until it opened. Nadia walked in first, followed by Jason. "You just have to act cool, let them know you're not a newbie of any sort. Just don't piss any of the hotshots off. And particularly avoid the head of resource department Haladki…"
"Haladki?" she cried. "That scumbag is a department head?!"
Jason looked at her, his glasses dropping down his nose. "I take it you met him."
"Yeah, and busted his chops in the process."
He grinned widely. "Yeah, well, half of the people in this building wants to kick his squirmy little ass all the way to Russia," he continued, "but no one can actually do it because the fact that we're all part of the same family. Once that you're in the game, I don't think you'll be able to kick his butt again---unless of course, you do it the legal way."
Nadia groaned. "I'll try to remember that."
Jason laughed.
The elevator door opened to the rotunda of the CIA headquarters, where people were walking in and out of the building. Nadia turned back to Jason. "Well, this is the end of my ride," she replied with an inward sigh. Frankly, she didn't want to leave yet. She wanted to stay and talk to this rather down-to-earth agent. "Thanks for what you said and you know…being nice to me. With my wary personality, I think I'll be taking a while to make some acquaintances here."
"No problem," he replied casually. "Think of it as high school or college."
Nadia scrunched her nose. "Been there, done that, here once again."
He smiled, resting a hand on her shoulder. His face grew serious. "Look," he said in a serious tone, "if you ever need anything, anything at all, you just come to talk to me." He shrugged and smiled again. "Besides, it's not like I got anything better to do."
Nadia laughed and stepped out of the elevator. "I'll see you around?"
"Yeah," he replied with a nod. He then watched her smile and walk out of the building.
"Thank goodness you came back safely," Vaughn said.
Sydney and Vaughn where standing in the warehouse once again. When Sydney entered the warehouse following her strange conversation with Will, the CIA had phoned her house, typically asking for "Joey's Pizza." Francie was puzzled of Sydney leaving and she drove all the way to the warehouse, looking forward for her meeting. To her disbelief and affection, Vaughn had greeted her with a hug.
Sydney couldn't help blushing. Thank God it's dark, she thought.
"Yeah," she said in a low voice to hide the trembling. "It was crazy up there."
"So I heard," he said, releasing his hold on her much to her body's protest. He then sat down on a chair and gestured for Sydney to do the same. "Well, thanks to you planting the bomb in with the other bombs, we had a rather good time pinpointing who our little friends are." He pulled out some statistics and handed it to her. "From what intel Nadia and some other intel agents can acquire, the group is called the MSS, dubbed as the Military Secret Service."
"Talk about rip-off," Sydney commented.
He shrugged. "Yeah, their job is basically gather intel from other diplomats and any competition organizations," he continued, brushing his unruly hair back. "And, if there is a threat of some sort, they take it out immediately, regardless of anything. We sort of had a little encounter with them during a mission in the Urals of Russia a few years ago over stolen tech. Crazy."
"I can imagine. Go on."
Vaughn nodded. "We also did a little research in regards to that is funding them," he said. "If our intel is correct, then the man in charge of MSS is part of the Alliance. We know he owns some corporate and has militaristic background and ties." He smiled wryly. "I guess Nadia truly is correct about this one this time around. I have to ask her sometime about how she gets it right."
"So he really is an Alliance member?" Sydney asked, looking up. "So Sloane knows him?"
"Or her," Vaughn added with a wink. "Yes, Sloane probably knows this mysterious leader, but he probably doesn't know which one."
Sydney couldn't help breaking into a smile. He looked so cute winking like that! "Which means that Sloane truly has an enemy in the Alliance," she concurred. She then closed the file and handed it back to her. "I wonder why he really is after him…He was really aggravated when he found out that we were being plotted in some twisted plot. He wouldn't say, but he looked pissed. And when he's angry, he's going to crave for blood. In my humble experience, of course."
"We could ask you father," Vaughn said, "but I don't think he'd tell him anyways." He sighed. "You guys done enough already in regards to the MSS. We have a section out searching for these guys. And with our two people down at HQ, we might be able to get some more information out of them. Until then, this deal is wrapped." He sighed. "As for the safe house…"
"I never got to it," Sydney replied. "I was being chased."
Vaughn nodded. "We're going to get some covert men out there to check it out through the tracker you laid out," he said, leaning back on his chair and loosening his tie slightly. "Don't worry, these men are trained professionals. Hopefully, SD-6 didn't have any twisted and nasty security devices up and about in the place. Otherwise, this won't be a repeat of what happened in Badenweiler."
Silence.
Sydney suddenly remembered the complex exploding under Dixon's second trigger. She remembered how Dixon was telling her to go but she couldn't move. The dreadful feeling began to creep up her shoulders again and she forced the memories out of her mind. I've paid the price, she told herself severely.
Vaughn sighed heavily, rubbing his eyes. Sydney could see the faint bags underneath his pale eyes and could tell that he hadn't been getting a lot of sleep lately. I think it's because Nadia and I were both on a mission at the same time, she supposed with a twinge of regret. "Don't worry, take it easy. You've been under a lot of stress lately."
Sydney smiled wearily. "Thanks," she replied, waving her hand dismissively at the subject. "I am worn out from all of this." She then looked at Vaughn closely, blinking at his stark complexion. She never noticed how powerful his gaze was that it made a sudden chill run down her spine. "Speaking of which, you should take a break yourself. You look like you haven't slept properly in days," she added with an edge of concern in her voice.
"I haven't," he admitted softly.
Silence.
"So," Sydney and Vaughn said in unison. They then looked at each other and turned away.
"You first," Vaughn croaked.
"No, it's okay, you can go first," Sydney replied dryly.
"No, I insist."
She sighed. Stop beating around the bush, she told herself. Someone's got to start the ball going. "So," she said in a feeble tone, "where do we go from here?"
Vaughn glanced at Sydney for a brief moment before turning away again. "I don't know," he finally replied. "I…For the first time in my life, I have never been so happy and so relatively confused." He turned to face Sydney now. She had never seen his face so raw with emotion in all the time she had known him. Again, his powerful gaze made her shiver. "I've always somehow been able to think ahead, to figure out what to do. But this time…I don't know. I feel like I'm at crossroads, but I don't know where to turn."
"It's like trying to balance out which way to go," Sydney said softly, "but they're so even."
"You know I want to see you," he said softly as well, as though he was ashamed to say to. "I want to be able to look at you straight in public, not as a stranger. I want that so much. But then I am reminded of who I am, what I represent." He sighed, putting his hands on his face before looking back at her, smiling. "As you can see, the choices are rather…bad."
Sydney smiled, reaching over and taking his hand. Vaughn was reminded of the pier scene when Sydney was upset because Jack didn't appear for dinner. The same tingle ran down his spine as before, only this time, in the dark of the warehouse, it was even stronger. "We'll think of something," she said in a supportive tone. "It'll come out all right."
Vaughn just stared into Sydney's eyes as she leaned over and kissed him. Breaking away, he said, "You know that we can't keep this a secret forever. They're going to eventually find out." When he said 'they', he meant the CIA, SD-6 and Sydney's friends. For a moment, he was worried not for his life, but for Sydney's.
This was a huge risk.
As if reading his mind, she replied in a dreamy-like voice, "It's a risk I'm willing to take."
Chapter Fifteen
"Good job, Sydney," Sloane said.
He was sitting in his desk, his hands folded neatly together like he always did. Despite the fact he sounded pleased, he never really showed it to Sydney. He simply gave her a calm look with those probing eyes and a simple gesture of appreciation. Sydney, who standing in front of his desk, felt sick to her stomach at his appreciation.
An image of Danny's dead body appeared in her mind. "Thank you."
He looked slightly guilty. You should, she thought bitterly, trying to keep her composure. Sloane cleared his throat, indicating that he wasn't done speaking yet. "I know you went through a lot of trouble for this…"
"It wasn't a problem," Sydney said in a clipped tone.
"I know…but I want you to know…I am grateful for this," Sloane said, gesturing around.
Sydney nodded, stiffly, deciding to switch the topic before she threw up. "How are the computers?"
Sloane shrugged casually. "Marshall has it completely under control," he replied. "With help from your father, they were able to completely patch up the little bastard. I also had Marshall and the other techs re-design our mainframe to prevent this from happening ever again." He paused, looking rather distant for a moment. His eyes hardened and Sydney knew he was angry about the entire situation.
"I'm sure Marshall will enjoy the challenge," Sydney said mildly.
Sloane smiled slightly. "He always does," he replied quietly. "There is one casualty though."
Sydney raised her brows.
"We never found Yalila McGregor," he said, void of any emotion. Sydney felt a chill run down her spine as he continued. "I mean…she never signed in but her car is still parked in our parking lot upstairs." He stroked his prickly beard. "I'm worried…I am suspicious at whether this has anything to do with the sudden attacks to our network and to our safe house up there."
Sydney shrugged. "Could be, I don't really know."
Sloane nodded in some silent understanding. "I already have some people on it," he said, his eyes growing warm again. "Take a day off, Sydney. You deserve it."
Sydney gloated at him for a brief moment.
"Thank you."
Sydney then pivoted on her heel and left.
Sloane sighed, leaning his head back to rest his neck muscles. Speaking of which, he wanted a vacation himself. He wanted to go home and spend time with his cancer-ridden wife and read and do normal things. Unfortunately, work wasn't about to left him off the hook yet. He sighed, still musing his beard. I must finish my work here.
Someone knocked at his door.
"Come in," he called. It's probably Jack, he thought.
The door opened and a man stepped in. He had grayish hair and a salt-and-pepper sprinkled goatee. He had stormy blue-gray eyes and wore a rich-looking suit. His skin was perfectly tanned although he had revealing lines around his mouth and eyes. He grinned at Sloane peculiarly, revealing a set of pearly-white teeth. "Hello, Arvin," he said in a rich voice.
Sloane got up and clapped the shoulder of the newcomer. "Timothy," he greeted with a smile of his own. "It's good to see you again." He gestured to a seat before his desk with a slight giddiness to his attitude. "Please…do take a seat."
"Why, thank you, Arvin," he replied, taking a seat. Sloane resumed his position at his seat. Timothy looked around. "Very nice…I see you've been dealing with some interior design." He grinned again at Sloane. "Well, I haven't seen you since that meeting a while back with the Alliance---hectic stuff, you left in a rush."
"I had things to do back here," Sloane replied, "you know how it's like."
Timothy sighed. "Unfortunately," he said with a groan. His face grew serious. "Anyways, I heard you had a little trouble here a while back with someone trying to bring down your network and tried to assassinate one of your agents." He shifted positions in the chair. "I dropped by to make sure you were doing all right."
Sloane's muscles stiffened. "How did you know I was having difficulties here?"
Timothy shrugged casually and too innocently in Sloane's point of view. "You know me, Arvin," he said casually. "I have my sources." He leaned over, his blue-gray eyes levelling on Sloane's. "You are doing okay…right?"
"Yes," Sloane clipped, "everything's under control."
Timothy nodded. "That's good…you haven't lost your touch, I see," he commented, musing his own goatee before breaking into another grin. "The Alliance should look into these things more carefully. You never know who'll pop up in your front door with a knife behind their backs." When Sloane looked at him peculiarly, Timothy broke into an uproar of laughter. "Arvin, Arvin, Arvin, you ought to check your humour factor out."
Sloane gave his friend a woozy grin. "I am rather tired."
Timothy leaned over the table again. "Look, Arvin," he said in a low tone, "if you ever need any help or assistance, you know you can count on me."
"I know."
Timothy grinned again, playing with the gold ring that sat on his finger absently.
"Back so soon? What happened?" Francie asked over the phone.
"It's a long story," Will replied hotly, ruffling his papers around. He had just arrived last night but he was so exhausted from running all of San Francisco the day before, he just collapsed onto his bed and fell fast asleep. He decided to go to work instead of staying home and unpacking when he decided to call Sydney's place. Instead of Sydney, Francie picked up.
Just my luck, he thought bitterly.
"I have the time," Francie said in a determined tone.
Will shook his head in annoyance. "I need to talk to Sydney…ASAP."
Francie scoffed. "Oh, all right, but you have to tell me the story afterwards, okay?"
"All right already." Anything to give the phone to Sydney, he added.
There was a pause on the phone. Holding it on his shoulder, Will pulled out some files and sighed. Jenny was still in San Francisco and knew that when she came back, she would want to quit the job or something. He sighed, rearranging the files. I might as well put up the signs again and search for a new assistant, he thought ruefully.
Someone picked up. "Yes?"
"Hey, it's me."
"Oh…hey, Will," Sydney replied. Her voice sounded exhausted. Another one of those damnable business trips, he supposed. "How was your vacation in San Francisco? I heard you suddenly came back," she added.
"Oh, it's a long story."
"That's what you told Francie, Will."
Will couldn't help smiling. It always happened every time Sydney was around. He always considered it to be a vibe from her to him. "Um, say, I wanted to apologize about what happened the day before…I was being a total jerk," he said, cringing. He couldn't help feeling guilty up until now. "It…it was stupid of me to do it."
"No, it's all right…I understand."
"Look, Sydney, I'm very happy for you," he said dryly, plucking at the stack of new papers distastefully. Gosh, how he hated saying these words! "For you and that guy…um…Michael. It's good to see you up and about and if you're happy, then I'm happy too." No, I want to cry! His insides were screaming. I want to scream and cry and beg for you to go out with me!
Silence.
Oh my gosh….did I just do another stupid thing? Will wondered, suddenly concerned.
"Thank you, Will," she finally said.
Will smiled slightly, trying hard to keep his act together.
"I have to go now," she said, "I'll see you over sometime."
"Of course."
'Okay…bye." She then hung up.
Will placed the receiver back down before he threw the stack of papers at the window. God, he felt like throwing up at the words he just said. He felt dizzy, he felt sick. A part of him was very happy for Sydney, that she was finally moving on into the dating world after the death of Danny, but a part of him wanted to be in that Michael guy's position. He wanted to be the receiver of her kisses and her love.
He felt like a complete wreck.
His eyes fell onto the corner of his desk, where his suitcase was propped up. Despite the mess of his books and papers, he noticed one thing only---the note that the mysterious person gave her. He felt himself colour; what was up with all the women in his life? Ever since Danny's death, Sydney was more into her work and was rarely around. Francie was still perceptive about his feelings for Sydney and constantly teased. Jenny was simply possessive of him and eyed him in a way that made Will feel like someone's dinner. And that mysterious girl that helped him yesterday just saved his ass from whoever was after him.
The entire thing made his head hurt.
I need a beer, he thought. Or some really strong liquor…
The telephone rang.
Will lifted the telephone. "This is Will Tippin."
"Hi! Can you do an article on flying underwear?" It sounded like a young girl in the other end.
Will scowled in abrupt annoyance. "What the hell?"
"You heard me," the girl replied indignantly, "flying underwear!"
Will leaned forward, looking around. What was going on? He wondered. He already had three women who seem to bombard him with their personalities and now here was another. "Who the hell am I speaking to here?" he demanded gruffly.
The girl scoffed at the other end. "This is your neighbour who saw you throw your briefs out of the window a few days ago," she replied sardonically. A burst of mortification ran through Will's face as he felt his face heat up. He totally forgot about that incident! His face deepened in red when the girl added, "Your undies made my grandmother faint!"
Will cursed silently in his mind. This week will never end, he groaned.
But the girl wasn't finished yet with his humiliating act. "You can name the article 'Flying Underwear: How it can cause heart attacks'," she said loudly. "Heck, you'd get a lot of responses…you'd be famous from here all the way to China!"
"Just go away and leave me alone!" Will shouted into the receiver to make her shut up.
The girl snickered into the receiver, relatively unfazed at Will's snappish behaviour. Will wondered what did it have to take to shut this girl up. "Must I show evidence of your deed?" she asked him rather innocently. She then snickered again as she said into the receiver, "My, my, Calvin Klein briefs? Don't you wear boxers?"
Will hung up, mortified from head to toe.
"So what are they going to do with them now?" Nadia asked.
Nadia, Jason and Jack were standing in the sound room in the basement. Behind the silent glass window was the desk once again with Donovan and Yalila handcuffed to their chairs. They were facing each other and were dead silent. Behind them, near the doors, stood two security agents, staring at the captives non-chillingly.
"Devlin plans to ship them to Langley," Jack replied quietly, staring ahead. His voice remained cool and collected and Nadia silently wondered how he did that. Frankly, she found him intimidating a few days ago, but after hearing of what he did, she found a new respect for the man. "From there, I don't really know what they'll do."
"Maybe put them in a protection program," Jason suggested with a shrug. "Or send them to jail for obstruction of some law or for just being the enemy." He gave Jack a nervous glance, which gave away the fact that he wasn't too sure about it. "Then again," he added quickly, "I was recruited into the more technical stuff so I'm not sure about the whole political issue here."
Nadia nodded.
Jason smiled warily at her. "Welcome to the spy world," he said in an ironic manner.
"Considered that you are prepared to go through with this," Jack added cautiously. He looked at the young girl and wondered how Sydney was like when she was first recruited. Sloane had told him how she was eager with her new job. Jack had not seen Sydney for much for a long time so he had no idea how she was when she entered SD-6. Could she be acting like this? Jack wondered.
No. By the way the girl watched the two political prisoners in the other room, he knew that Sydney would not be as calm as this girl was. Sydney would have been ecstatic at the thought of having adventure. This girl didn't look ecstatic but she didn't look that aggravated at the thought of such a responsibility. This girl didn't seem to have much of an expression. That, he thought warily, or she does the exact technique that I do---hide my emotions.
Surely this must be a daughter of some federal agent, he thought.
"Actually," Nadia said, her voice not as grave as before, "Devlin said I passed."
Jason blinked. "Passed?"
"The mission I just attended to was kind of like an evaluation," she explained calmly. Jack could see that she was playing with the tail of her plaid shirt. Intriguing. "Devlin and a bunch of other seniors and other ops officers, including Vaughn and Weiss, did some grading without really knowing it. Devlin decided that I had what it takes to be an agent."
"So, you're in?" Jason asked, still looked stupefied.
"Why didn't you go through the other requirements?" Jack wanted to know. "The CIA doesn't just evaluate and pull people out at random." He paused. "Except for the walk-ins like Sydney but I don't really understand…You may have ties to Agent Vaughn but that isn't enough to make a cut of some sort. There are protocols."
"Which I am aware of, Mr. Bristow," Nadia replied curtly, turning to face him with a sardonic look on her face. "I don't exactly know what are the exact rules in regards to applying to the CIA, but my ties certainly come in with Agent Vaughn, whom I have been submitting concrete intel for the past few years. If that's not enough, my father also happens to be in the CIA."
So I was right, Jack thought. "What is his name?"
Nadia gave Jack a faint but cryptic smile that took Jack aback. Nadia headed towards the door with her backpack slung over her back. She stopped and turned back to Jack. Their eyes met and for a brief moment, Nadia looked just like any other girl her age. "Agent Raidon Tomeo," she replied. "I think you know who he is. He worked with you a few years back."
Jack frowned as Nadia left. How did she know that? Jack wondered, watching her retreating back. As Jason muttered some pardon before leaving the room, Jack allowed himself to smile a bit. Ahh, I remember, he thought. Raidon told me about his little girl. Smart girl. A pang of grief sparked his heart as he was suddenly reminded of Sydney.
Feeling desolate of the guilt, he too left the room.
In the hallway, Nadia continued to walk towards the elevator. Jack's questions made her wonder about her place in the CIA. Devlin had offered her the spot and she gladly took it. After all, she had worked rather hard to get the spot. Sure, they were still going to sharpen some of her skills to make sure, but otherwise, she was fit for the job. After her talk with Jack, she wasn't so sure. Do I have the right to even be here? She asked herself.
"Nadia!"
She whirled around to see Jason Lee run up to her. He was running at a mild pace due to his suit and tie flying all over the place. He was wearing a pair of small-lenses glasses today. When he caught up, he was gasping for breath. She watched him, trying hard not to show her amusement. "Gosh, you walk really fast," he wheezed. "God, you can kill an old man like that."
"Who said you were old?" she teased mildly.
Jason grinned as he caught his breath. "Hey, I just wanted to congratulate you," he told her, "about the promotion I mean." He then looked at her more closely, which made Nadia curl up inside in embarrassment. She hated being studied in scrutinizing detail but Jason made it not annoying but discomforting. Huh? She wondered. "Are you all right?"
"Oh, yeah," she replied, laughing it off. "The entire gig, you know, it's just really…whoa."
"Yeah, that was me when I first came here," Jason replied as she walked with her to the elevator. "But you get used to it, you know." They stood by the elevator shaft until it opened. Nadia walked in first, followed by Jason. "You just have to act cool, let them know you're not a newbie of any sort. Just don't piss any of the hotshots off. And particularly avoid the head of resource department Haladki…"
"Haladki?" she cried. "That scumbag is a department head?!"
Jason looked at her, his glasses dropping down his nose. "I take it you met him."
"Yeah, and busted his chops in the process."
He grinned widely. "Yeah, well, half of the people in this building wants to kick his squirmy little ass all the way to Russia," he continued, "but no one can actually do it because the fact that we're all part of the same family. Once that you're in the game, I don't think you'll be able to kick his butt again---unless of course, you do it the legal way."
Nadia groaned. "I'll try to remember that."
Jason laughed.
The elevator door opened to the rotunda of the CIA headquarters, where people were walking in and out of the building. Nadia turned back to Jason. "Well, this is the end of my ride," she replied with an inward sigh. Frankly, she didn't want to leave yet. She wanted to stay and talk to this rather down-to-earth agent. "Thanks for what you said and you know…being nice to me. With my wary personality, I think I'll be taking a while to make some acquaintances here."
"No problem," he replied casually. "Think of it as high school or college."
Nadia scrunched her nose. "Been there, done that, here once again."
He smiled, resting a hand on her shoulder. His face grew serious. "Look," he said in a serious tone, "if you ever need anything, anything at all, you just come to talk to me." He shrugged and smiled again. "Besides, it's not like I got anything better to do."
Nadia laughed and stepped out of the elevator. "I'll see you around?"
"Yeah," he replied with a nod. He then watched her smile and walk out of the building.
"Thank goodness you came back safely," Vaughn said.
Sydney and Vaughn where standing in the warehouse once again. When Sydney entered the warehouse following her strange conversation with Will, the CIA had phoned her house, typically asking for "Joey's Pizza." Francie was puzzled of Sydney leaving and she drove all the way to the warehouse, looking forward for her meeting. To her disbelief and affection, Vaughn had greeted her with a hug.
Sydney couldn't help blushing. Thank God it's dark, she thought.
"Yeah," she said in a low voice to hide the trembling. "It was crazy up there."
"So I heard," he said, releasing his hold on her much to her body's protest. He then sat down on a chair and gestured for Sydney to do the same. "Well, thanks to you planting the bomb in with the other bombs, we had a rather good time pinpointing who our little friends are." He pulled out some statistics and handed it to her. "From what intel Nadia and some other intel agents can acquire, the group is called the MSS, dubbed as the Military Secret Service."
"Talk about rip-off," Sydney commented.
He shrugged. "Yeah, their job is basically gather intel from other diplomats and any competition organizations," he continued, brushing his unruly hair back. "And, if there is a threat of some sort, they take it out immediately, regardless of anything. We sort of had a little encounter with them during a mission in the Urals of Russia a few years ago over stolen tech. Crazy."
"I can imagine. Go on."
Vaughn nodded. "We also did a little research in regards to that is funding them," he said. "If our intel is correct, then the man in charge of MSS is part of the Alliance. We know he owns some corporate and has militaristic background and ties." He smiled wryly. "I guess Nadia truly is correct about this one this time around. I have to ask her sometime about how she gets it right."
"So he really is an Alliance member?" Sydney asked, looking up. "So Sloane knows him?"
"Or her," Vaughn added with a wink. "Yes, Sloane probably knows this mysterious leader, but he probably doesn't know which one."
Sydney couldn't help breaking into a smile. He looked so cute winking like that! "Which means that Sloane truly has an enemy in the Alliance," she concurred. She then closed the file and handed it back to her. "I wonder why he really is after him…He was really aggravated when he found out that we were being plotted in some twisted plot. He wouldn't say, but he looked pissed. And when he's angry, he's going to crave for blood. In my humble experience, of course."
"We could ask you father," Vaughn said, "but I don't think he'd tell him anyways." He sighed. "You guys done enough already in regards to the MSS. We have a section out searching for these guys. And with our two people down at HQ, we might be able to get some more information out of them. Until then, this deal is wrapped." He sighed. "As for the safe house…"
"I never got to it," Sydney replied. "I was being chased."
Vaughn nodded. "We're going to get some covert men out there to check it out through the tracker you laid out," he said, leaning back on his chair and loosening his tie slightly. "Don't worry, these men are trained professionals. Hopefully, SD-6 didn't have any twisted and nasty security devices up and about in the place. Otherwise, this won't be a repeat of what happened in Badenweiler."
Silence.
Sydney suddenly remembered the complex exploding under Dixon's second trigger. She remembered how Dixon was telling her to go but she couldn't move. The dreadful feeling began to creep up her shoulders again and she forced the memories out of her mind. I've paid the price, she told herself severely.
Vaughn sighed heavily, rubbing his eyes. Sydney could see the faint bags underneath his pale eyes and could tell that he hadn't been getting a lot of sleep lately. I think it's because Nadia and I were both on a mission at the same time, she supposed with a twinge of regret. "Don't worry, take it easy. You've been under a lot of stress lately."
Sydney smiled wearily. "Thanks," she replied, waving her hand dismissively at the subject. "I am worn out from all of this." She then looked at Vaughn closely, blinking at his stark complexion. She never noticed how powerful his gaze was that it made a sudden chill run down her spine. "Speaking of which, you should take a break yourself. You look like you haven't slept properly in days," she added with an edge of concern in her voice.
"I haven't," he admitted softly.
Silence.
"So," Sydney and Vaughn said in unison. They then looked at each other and turned away.
"You first," Vaughn croaked.
"No, it's okay, you can go first," Sydney replied dryly.
"No, I insist."
She sighed. Stop beating around the bush, she told herself. Someone's got to start the ball going. "So," she said in a feeble tone, "where do we go from here?"
Vaughn glanced at Sydney for a brief moment before turning away again. "I don't know," he finally replied. "I…For the first time in my life, I have never been so happy and so relatively confused." He turned to face Sydney now. She had never seen his face so raw with emotion in all the time she had known him. Again, his powerful gaze made her shiver. "I've always somehow been able to think ahead, to figure out what to do. But this time…I don't know. I feel like I'm at crossroads, but I don't know where to turn."
"It's like trying to balance out which way to go," Sydney said softly, "but they're so even."
"You know I want to see you," he said softly as well, as though he was ashamed to say to. "I want to be able to look at you straight in public, not as a stranger. I want that so much. But then I am reminded of who I am, what I represent." He sighed, putting his hands on his face before looking back at her, smiling. "As you can see, the choices are rather…bad."
Sydney smiled, reaching over and taking his hand. Vaughn was reminded of the pier scene when Sydney was upset because Jack didn't appear for dinner. The same tingle ran down his spine as before, only this time, in the dark of the warehouse, it was even stronger. "We'll think of something," she said in a supportive tone. "It'll come out all right."
Vaughn just stared into Sydney's eyes as she leaned over and kissed him. Breaking away, he said, "You know that we can't keep this a secret forever. They're going to eventually find out." When he said 'they', he meant the CIA, SD-6 and Sydney's friends. For a moment, he was worried not for his life, but for Sydney's.
This was a huge risk.
As if reading his mind, she replied in a dreamy-like voice, "It's a risk I'm willing to take."