Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. The talented Mr. JJ and co. do.
Author: Missy
Thanks to: Kristen, Nic, and Steph. And many thanks to Kristen for fixing this…you're the best.Also thanks to Jen and Mai and everyone else who didn't say it sucked.
Chapter 1
We've been driving for quite a while now and yet he still hasn't spoken a word. Its amazing how quiet Jack can stay, yet seem so interesting. I remember the first time I met him. He seemed to me like an average guy, self absorbed, boring job, beautiful daughter. Your typical American guy, but now my perspectives have changed. The man sitting next to me was nothing close to typical. Instead the man sitting next to me was an agent of the CIA. Who would have thought?
After a while the silence was just too awkward for me, so I decided to break it.
"I just want to say thanks and…and…how grateful I am for…"
"You need not thank me, Mr. Tippin. I was only doing it for Sydney."
"Oh… I see."
"Although I need to know what Sark wanted with you; did he mention anything at all?"
"No, just asked me how I came to know about the circumference. By the way, thanks for not telling me about it, they would have killed me for sure had I said anything."
"That Mr. Tippin, was precisely the point." Jack said looking pleased with himself.
"Well, now that I'm safe, how 'bout filling me in on what the hell it is I'm helping you do?"
"That isn't possible."
"Well, how can I even help you if I don't know what I'm doing?"
Jack's jaw clenched and he looked at me, irritated. All I could think about is what he could do to me if his patience ran out. Will, you idiot, apologize before he throws you out the car. "I mean how am I supposed to know what we're dealing with here if you can't even tell me…sir," I gulped.
I could tell by the look on Jack's face that he wanted to laugh, but he didn't. In fact his face began to change back to that cold expressionless one I had seen so many times before. I wondered if the guy had ever laughed at a joke in his life, or if he even knew what a joke was.
Jack sighed, "Mr. Tippin it's been a long day for you and for me. Let's just forget about this; they couldn't have possibly mentioned the circumference to you."
Will, just have the balls to stand up to the guy. He did get you out of trouble, but he doesn't have to be an ass about it. You said your thank yous and now you don't owe the guy squat. After all he did get you into this mess in the first place.
"With all do respect sir, what's that supposed to mean?"
"Well Mr. Tippin I think it's pretty self-explanatory."
"No it isn't, do you mind explaining it to me?"
"Mr. Tippin I understand that you held your own back there and I applaud you for that, but it's pretty clear that your one purpose was to expose SD-6. Nothing more, nothing less. You were just a pawn in all this. Now lets end this discussion because frankly I'm getting a bit aggravated."
Now you've done it Will, you got him pissed. Seriously how do you ever plan on getting with Sydney if you can't even score points with her dad? Again we're back on silent mode. Honestly, does he have any people skills at all?
"Mr. Bristow…"
"Call me Jack".
"Ok…Jack, are you taking me to another one of those safe houses? Because frankly there not very safe." Whoa I think he's actually smiling at your comment. Yeah, it looks like a smile, well it kinda looks like a smile…oh, who the hell cares; it's a smile.
"Yes Mr. Tippin I am, and I can assure you that no harm will come to you this time. I've taken extra precautions to make sure of it."
"Jack…is Sydney gonna be there?" Shouldn't have mentioned Syd…change the subject. Too late.
"Yes she will," he responded in that aggravated tone.
"Oh…ok. Uh…Jack how long has Syd been working with the CIA"?
"Seven years now," he said that so causally that it was obvious he wasn't trying to hide it from me anymore.
Seven years? I didn't realize Syd has been lying to us that long. Oh well, it doesn't matter anymore. My stomach started giving me signs that it was time to eat, although I'm surprised I'm even thinking about food, considering I've been tortured for God knows how long.
"Hey do you think we can get me something to eat? Well that is, if we can get my teeth reinserted first."
Before Jack could even have responded, his cell rang. Which meant it was time to go into silent mode again. When he finally got off the phone he had a look of absolute anger and shock on his face.
"Who was that?"
Jack didn't even look like he heard me, and I was actually relieved. He finally stopped in front of an abandoned warehouse.
"Get out."
"Huh…you're just gonna leave me here?"
"There are men inside waiting for you, knock on the door three times before opening it".
Before I could say anything else Jack had gotten in his car and had taken off.
Will started up the steps leading up to the warehouse. Knock three times before unlocking.
"Mr. Tippin, I'm glad you made it safely," said a man, who seemed nothing like a CIA agent compared to Jack.
"Thanks, I'm glad too." He had manage to smile while he said that, even though it made his mouth throb with pain.
"Well then, if you'd just follow me we can get you out of those clothes and cleaned up," the man said, returning the smile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, Jack was racing down the highway when his cell phone rang again.
"Mr. Bristow," a man, who clearly had a Russian accent, said.
"Who is this" Jack said hastily.
"Alexander Khasinau, I'm speaking to you regarding your daughter Sydney."
Jack's heart stopped, but he couldn't let Khasinau hear how the words bothered him for Sydney's sake, "What about Sydney?"
"Well Mr. Bristow it seems that Sydney is now in our possession and unless you can get back here in under thirty minutes, we will be forced to kill her"
"Wait you…"
Too late. The line was dead. Jack had no time to waste, he raced through streets and allies not even paying attention to the three cars that had crashed behind him. He had to strategize exactly how he could get Sydney out of this mess, but there was too little information. In fact, Jack didn't even know if Sydney was alive or not. He hated himself for thinking that, but he knew he had to prepare for whatever was to come next.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Will followed this new agent up a long narrow hallway and into a room that seemed quite comfortable. He walked inside and stood next to the man. There was another man there; he was staring out the window not even paying attention to the men who had just entered the room. This man was nothing like the man standing next to him. He was tall and broad shouldered, reminding Will of Jack in a way. Is this a requirement of how all CIA agents are supposed to look? From what Will could see through the reflection of the window, this man had quite a large scar across his cheek.
"Uh hum…excuse me agent Simons, but Mr. Tippin has arrived."
"Oh…so I see. Thank you Dr. Williams…now if you can only get Mr. Tippin cleaned up…" he said raising an eyebrow.
"Oh how silly of me…I just thought that you might want to meet him first…never mind. If you'd just follow me, Mr. Tippin."
"Please, call me Will."
"Okay…Will," he said directing him toward another door. The room he led him into looked more like a hospital.
"Will, there's a shower over there," he pointed down the hall, where there was a door with a sign on it.
"Shower inside," Will read aloud.
"Before you head down there, I have to take a quick look at you, if you don't mind? Just to make sure that nothing is broken, and that everything's working right."
"Sure…um Doc, do you think you can do something about my teeth? I've been dying."
"Well dentistry isn't really my department, but I can give you something to ease the pain until we can get you to a real dentist."
"Thanks just as long as I can't feel it, that's all that matters."
Dr. Williams gave Will a smile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jack finally made it back to the pharmaceutical warehouse. A man came from behind and cold-cocked him; Jack stumbled to the ground, as everything went black.
"Dad…dad…wake up," said a familiar voice. It was Sydney.
"Sydney…you all right?"
Jack's vision was blurry, but he could still make out most of the objects around him.
"Yeah Dad I'm fine, but…" Sydney was hesitating.
"But what Sydney?"
"Dad I saw Mom. She's here."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Feeling the hot water against his body felt so exhilarating. Will could've stayed in that shower for hours. Dr. Williams' knock broke the experience, however.
"Will excuse me, but agent Simons would like a word with you."
"Sure, I'll be out in a sec."
As he was getting dressed, he was wondering if this Simons guy was gonna give him the third degree. Jack said you'd be fine, these guys aren't gonna hurt you. Just relax.
"Mr. Tippin, so glad you can finally join me."
"Please call me…"
"Will, I know" he interrupted, "I'd much rather prefer to call you Mr. Tippin if you don't mind. That way if anything at all happened to you I won't feel as guilty, seeing as I didn't really get to know you on a personal level."
Great, how comforting. Why is it that I always manage to meet assholes?
"Let's skip all this crap, cause personally I've had it up to here with you people. I've had the shit kicked out of me, not to mention my teeth being pulled out and…I'm just sick of being treated as if I'm not human. So, you can either tell me what this is all about or you can just leave me the hell alone. I'm not a criminal, you know."
Simons looked as if shocked by the comment. Will's mouth felt dry and he was having a hard time swallowing now.
"Mr. Tippin, I don't mean to make you uncomfortable," he said casually, as if he had totally forgotten what he said. "I just want to know why you came here unaccompanied. What exactly happened to Jack? I was going to wait until you got yourself settled, but you took too long and well… frankly, patience is not one of my virtues."
"I'm sorry about that…it's just that…"
"I understand, you need not explain to me. It must be hard for a civilian without any government training to withstand such torture," he seemed like he was smirking when he said that.
"Yeah it was…"
"So again back to the topic of Agent Bristow, did he mention to you that he was heading back to the warehouse?"
"Back to the warehouse…what, he went back?"
"So you didn't know," by the sound of it, he seemed to be accusing Will of something.
"No I didn't, all Jack told me was to get out and to meet you guys here."
"I see, then that will be all, Mr. Tippin."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jack couldn't quite comprehend what Sydney was saying.
"Sydney what are you talking about?" He demanded.
"Dad… Mom's here and Khasinau works for her," she blurted out.
This was all too much for him to take in. Laura "The Man" how? Wasn't Khasinau her employer? This doesn't make sense…then she was really using me…I mean no one gave her orders to use me, instead she did it out of her own will… Jack's thoughts immediately went to the Laura of so long ago. I guess the chances of Laura…Irina whatever they call her; ever loving me was slim to none.
"Dad are you ok?"
"I'm fine Sydney. I'm just trying to figure out how to get out of here," he lied.
In fact he had no idea how to get out. The room was quite small with no seeable way of escaping, and he was sure he counted four men walking back and forth outside the door.
"Dad I already tried escaping, it's no use. They have the place pretty well guarded."
"Well, we'll just have to figure a way to distract them then."
"How?"
"Can you reach into my pocket?"
"Yeah I think so."
" Good, there's a pill inside. Take it and help me put it inside my mouth."
"What for?"
"Once this pill gets wet, it starts to foam. Once the foam is released, you call one of the guards for help, pretending I'm ill. Then I'll take him out and get his gun. Okay, now hurry up we haven't got much time. Someone could come in any minute now."
"All right… I've got the pill, but I can't reach your mouth from here."
"Hold on."
Jack rocked his chair back and forth until it fell behind Sydney. She dropped the pill inside his mouth. As soon as Sydney saw the foam, she began to scream for help. Her screams alerted a guard almost instantly.
"What was that?"
"I don't know, let's go check it out."
"Help him, please help him!"
The guards looked at Jack and then said something to one another. Sydney translated what one of the guards said, "What's wrong with him?"
"I don't know. Well then go see, before the guy dies on us" the guard said looking worried.
"Fine, go wait outside. I'll take care of this."
"Fine, I'll be right here."
As the guard came closer to Jack, Jack took him out with a kick to the stomach and then one final kick to the face. Sydney watched her father handle the guard with such ease, and could tell that he definitely hadn't forgotten his field training. Soon the other guard returned, and was headed straight for Jack. Sydney gave him one quick jab to the face with her foot and he was out cold. Finally Jack was able to free himself and Sydney from the restraints. Sydney stared at him with shocked admiration. Jack looked at his daughter's face and was puzzled.
"What?"
Sydney shook the look off her face and simply responded, "Nothing."
"Well then we better get out of here," Jack said, almost trying to smile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What do you mean that's all? Did something happen to Sydney? Is that why Jack took off?"
"Mr. Tippin, right now I can't tell you anything."
"What do you mean, you can't tell me anything? If this is about Sydney, I should have the right to know," Will said, almost out of breath.
"Really Mr. Tippin, why should you have the right to know?" he said bitterly. "You know you're just like Agent Vaughn. Blinded by his own emotions, letting this girl compromise his judgement."
"What…Agent Vaughn? Who's he? Besides, I'm no agent. Sydney is my friend, I have every right to worry about her."
"Never mind, Mr. Tippin, he is none of your concern as well."
Could Syd be seeing someone? No it can't be. Can it?"
"No you got this all wrong I'm just…I'm just concerned about Sydney's safety, that's all…because she's my friend."
"Oh I see" Simons said nearly rolling his eyes, "Well then Mr. Tippin I'm sorry if it seemed like I had jumped to conclusions, but I still can't give you any information regarding Jack and Sydney Bristow's whereabouts. And, if you continue to pester me, I will have to personally restrain you. Believe me, I have the authority to do so."
"Fine, I'm leaving"
"Good bye, Mr. Tippin."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Dad wait, we have to go find Vaughn."
"Sydney we don't have time for this. I'm sure Vaughn made it out of here, and is back at the safe house with Will and the others."
"But that's just it Dad, Vaughn didn't make it out. Remember how I said that the circumference was like the size of a shoe? Well I was wrong; it was bigger than that, much bigger. And…"
By that time Jack had already finished her sentence for her: "And when you destroyed it, water erupted and flooded the entire room and corridor."
Sydney was surprised how much her father knew. "Yes, but I managed to get away only…only Vaughn was there with me and…"
"Sydney!" Jack interrupted, "we really must get going now before more guards come."
It shamed him that that was all he could say to comfort his daughter, but there just wasn't any time for her to get emotional. Especially in the situation they both were in. She looked at him with those big expressive eyes, as if begging him to help her find Vaughn. As much as he wanted to give in, he couldn't.
Jack opened the door and motioned Sydney toward it.
"Dad," Sydney said, "I just can't leave knowing that Vaughn might still be alive."
"Sydney," Jack said hoarsely, "We don't have time for this."
"I know that Dad, that's why I'm not going to waste anymore of your time or mine. You know I'm not leaving without him."
Jack knew that Sydney was stubborn and would not accept "no" for an answer. He hesitated for a moment.
"Alright," he said, finally giving in, not so much to her words but to those eyes.
"But you have to listen to me Sydney, you can look for Vaughn but if there isn't any trace of him, you get the hell out of here as fast as you can." Sydney nodded.
"Sydney, don't nod, promise me."
"I promise, Dad."
"Alright, go."
As Jack and Sydney were about to go their separate ways, she called out to her father, "Dad?"
"Hmmm," he asked absently.
"Nothing, it's just that…" before she could finish her sentence, she embraced him. She didn't even care anymore if he wouldn't hug her back; she just clasped her arms around him tightly. To her surprise, Jack did return the hug. Sydney couldn't remember the last time she had hugged her father. As Sydney was reminiscing silently in her mind, Jack slowly pulled away. Before he could fully let go Sydney held him close to her and softly whispered, "Thank you."
This moment also made Jack think of the times he had held Sydney. The good times, times when they considered themselves "family." When she finally pulled away from him and was turning to the door, he called out to her. "Sydney wait…"
Jack cautiously approached her and for a moment just stared at her. Then he finally did what he wanted to do for twenty-five years, he kissed her forehead softly, and barely audibly, whispered, "Be careful."
At those words, Sydney almost burst into tears, but found herself not being able to do so. I guess I'm all cried out, she thought to herself.
After that Sydney and Jack took one final look at each other and went off their separate ways.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, back in the warehouse, Will was furiously pacing the room. "Will, you keep that up and you'll dig a hole through the floor," Dr. Williams said, smiling.
"I don't understand why everything around you people has to be such a big secret? I mean…all I want to know is if Sydney's all right." Will took a deep breath and sighed "I don't know what I'll do if Sydney doesn't make it back here. It's because of me that she had to do this…but I guess you already know that."
Dr. Williams looked at Will with sympathy. "Will, I can understand that you feel you are to blame here, but you're not. From what I hear, your friend Sydney is quite an extraordinary young woman. She's bound to get here untouched, you'll see."
As comforting as that sounded, Will still couldn't help but think of the horrible things that could've happened to Sydney.
"Thanks Doc," Will said, sighing.
"You're very welcome, Will, and don't worry she'll be here" Williams said, while giving Will a pat on the shoulder.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Sydney was running through the West wing, she noticed a long corridor leading to a door with an electronic lock beside it. She hurriedly made her way over there and headed towards the lock. Sydney looked at it, and realized that it wasn't the kind of electronic lock that was very hard to break into, and for that, she was grateful. The hard part though, is getting to the lock's wiring. For Sydney to get to it, she'd have to break the front part of the lock open. But with what? She didn't have one of Marshall's gadgets with her, so it would pretty much be impossible for her to get in. Then Sydney noticed ES-43 written on the side of the lock. This lock's automated by a main computer system. The problem is, where is it?
Sydney started heading back from where she came, and headed up a flight of stairs she saw a while ago. As Sydney was about to open the door, she heard guards heading her way. She knew she couldn't go back down, because they'd spot her for sure. Sydney looked around and then… CLICK, the door opened.
Luckily before the guards walked through the door, Sydney had made her way up to some pipes and clung on. This experience made Sydney remember the time she was in this same position, while she had been trying to locate the coding machine back in London.
When the guards were out of her sight she made her way down and inside the door. As Sydney was exploring she noticed a sign that read Security Section. This has to be where the main computer is located. Sydney made her way through another long corridor and listened for any human activity. Yes, no one's inside.
Sydney cautiously made her way inside; and to her surprise, there it was. She hurried over and spotted a security section card beside the computer. She inserted the card into the computer, and once she gained access, popped the card back out.
Once Sydney was in, she unlocked two of the main entrance doors and two of the doors in the West wing. Sydney knew not to unlock all the doors, since the guards patrolling the building would surely notice.
Then Sydney spotted something. She saw her mother and Khasinau heading toward the West wing, and unlocking the door that Sydney had previously tried to get into. Sydney used the surveillance cameras to take a look inside and to her surprise…Vaughn was there.
"Wake up…wake up!" Khasinau demanded, slapping Vaughn's face. Vaughn still did not respond.
"Here give him this," Irina said, handing a vile filled with purple liquid to Khasinau. Khasinau took the vile and inserted a needle inside it.
From what Sydney could see, Khasinau had injected the liquid inside Vaughn. After a few minuets Vaughn was starting to regain consciousness. At this sight, Sydney was relieved and finally let out a breath of air.
Vaughn was slowly starting to regain his vision, then he saw a women in front of him.
"Well Mr. Vaughn it's a pleasure that you can join us, on this quite unfortunate evening."
"Pleasure's all mine" Vaughn said smirking, trying to hide his uneasiness towards this woman.
"Hmm, I bet it is. Tell me something, Mr. Vaughn, what exactly were you trying to accomplish here…besides destroying the very thing that I worked so hard to have created."
"It depends, who's asking"?
"Irina Dreveko".
That information caused Vaughn's forehead to crease, and his eyes to bulge out a bit.
"You look surprised Mr.Vaughn," Irina said, smirking and looking quite pleased with herself.
"Young and so foolish, this isn't surprising since all you CIA men act the same. Acting to what your "heart" has to say and to whatever impulses you may have, instead of acting on pure intellect."
Vaughn noticed that her lip twitched when she mentioned the word heart.
"When the CIA gets word that you're still alive, you'll…"
"I'll be what Mr. Vaughn…taken into custody," she said sheepishly.
"You really think that your pathetic intelligence agency can get a hold of me. A bit of a… what is the term you Americans use? Ah yes, a bit of a news flash, Mr. Vaughn, they aren't even certain if I'm alive or not."
"Maybe not, but they will notice that I've gone missing; and trust me, they will come looking for me. And when they do, you'll be exposed."
"Mr. Vaughn, let ask you something. Why do you suppose my activities have gone unnoticed for so long? Did you really think that I could have gotten this far without the help of some gullible little twit, who is in fact working for the CIA"?
"A mole….how….who"?
"That doesn't matter, what matters is…."
BEEP, BEEP.
"For God's sake Alexander, what is it?!"
"Its Sark, Irina it appears that there seems to be some sort of emergency," Khasinau said, looking worried.
"So I hear. Well then, Mr. Vaughn," Irina said, turning to face him, "we'll finish our discussion later."
Irina and Khasinau were now exiting the room. Sydney was closely following them, and then realized that they were heading up the flight of stairs. Sydney was now panicking, and was trying desperately to figure out how she could possibly escape. Then she headed toward an open window, and saw a truck about to pass by. I can't leave Vaughn; but then again if I get caught I won't be able to help him either. Sydney sighed and whispered to herself.
"Alright this is it".
Sydney took five long steps back and started running toward the window, jumping out and landing on top of the truck's cargo. After Sydney's landing she felt a sharp pain, and realized that the pain was coming from her ankle. Sydney knew that it wasn't broken, since she could still move it. It's just a sprain. Sydney started to feel her eyes getting heavier, so she rested her head on her arm, and lay back so that the driver would not take notice that she was onboard.
As Irina and Khasinau entered the room they headed toward the computer.
"Have the guards started to search the building yet?"
"Yes. I'm using the surveillance system to locate them as well," Khasinau said, while hurriedly pounding on computer keys.
Khasinau pounded his fist on the table, "Damn it, they're gone, Irina".
Will was now growing impatient.
"Doc I can't take it anymore, we gotta find Sydney."
"Whoa there Will, just calm down a bit huh," Williams said, trying to simmer Will down.
Will gave Williams a look and responded by saying, "Calm down…. I think I've been more than calm given the situation that I was in."
"Yes, Will but…"
"But what?" Will interrupted.
"Look doc, I don't mean to be a pest here, but it's been over an hour and Sydney still hasn't made it over here. Not to mention Jack storming off, not evening telling us that he was heading back to that hellhole. So excuse me if I'm acting a "little" crazy," Will said, almost out of breath.
"Alright Will, if you're really that worried, then we should talk to Simons. He'll most likely know what to do about this."
Will just about felt like hugging Williams, but knew he shouldn't do that. So instead, he just said, "Thanks."
Will and Dr. Williams made their way to where agent Simons was. Dr. Williams knocked on the door, " Agent Simons?"
The agent had been reading a book and had been quite taken by it, until the doctor's knock interrupted him, broke the experience.
"Yes, Dr. Williams, what is it?"
The doctor entered the room with Will behind him.
"Sorry to bother you agent Simons, but Will here is quite worried about Jack and Sydney, and frankly, so am I. Don't you suppose it's just about time to contact Devlin? I mean they have been gone for more than five hours, and from what I've heard, their mission shouldn't have taken that long."
Simons clenched his jaw and walked over to Williams until they were both face to face.
"So you're supposing that we should call Devlin and have him extract them?" Simons asked, squinting his eyes a bit.
"Why yes, I am, agent Simons. I may be a doctor but I am aware of certain CIA procedures."
Simons never expected the doctor to talk back to him, since he was considered such a pushover.
"Listen, the both of you, because I'm only going to say this once…" but before Simons could finish, Jack burst through the door. After that, the whole room went quiet, all that could be heard was Jack's footsteps.
"Simons, has Sydney made contact yet?" Jack said completely ignoring the other two men in the room.
"No she hasn't."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Sydney awoke she realized that the truck had come to a stop in front of a tiny restaurant. She got out of the truck and slowly limped across the street. Sydney didn't know where she was, so she decided to ask a stranger, who was about to enter a bookstore.
"Excuse me," she said in weak Taiwanese, so that the woman in front of her would think of her as a tourist.
"Do you mind telling me what City I'm in?"
"No not at all," the women said in English, giving Sydney a smile.
"Oh you speak English?" Sydney said, now in a Southern accent.
"Yes I do, and to answer your question you're in Sanch'ung."
Sydney thanked the woman and slowly walked away from her, but before she got a chance to walk any further the woman called out to her.
"Excuse me miss, but are you in need of some help," the woman said in a concerned tone.
"I noticed you limping. Are you alright?"
"Oh….yes I'm fine," Sydney lied.
"I…I just had gotten lost and then my car broke down. So then I had to walk over here, and a man on his bicycle knocked me down."
"Oh my…are you sure you're alright then?"
"Yes, I'm fine; it's just a sprain."
"Well, do you need a car to get where you're going? I'm sure it would be of great help to you," she said offering Sydney her keys.
"No, I couldn't….really it's fine. I'll just wait for my friends to pick me up. I'm sure they've noticed I've been gone for so long."
Sydney knew she had no money to call her father, and she also knew she'd put him at risk if she asked him to come for her. So she re-thought her decision. The safe house is pretty far, and I'll get there a lot faster if I drove. Finally, she accepted the woman's offer.
"Now, are you sure it won't be of trouble to you?" Sydney said in her southern accent again.
"No, no it's fine. My brother owns this shop, and he lives just upstairs so I'll wait there until you can return my vehicle."
Sydney thanked the women again and drove off. As Sydney left, the woman took out a cell phone and started dialing numbers. The phone started to ring and a man, who had a Russian accent picked up.
"Khasinau. Who is this?"
"It's Chang sir… we've found her."
Chapter 5
Jack was now starting to worry more than ever, but he certainly did not show it. Unlike Will, who was still continuing to pace the room. That's it, I'll just walk up to Jack and casually ask him to get Syd out of there.
"Jack, we need to get Sydney out of there now. Extract her, her life's at risk!"
Way to act cool Will.
"Will, we just can't barge in there without a plan, especially now that they know I've escaped. That place would most certainly be heavily guarded by now, and just coming in there without the proper equipment or manpower would be suicide!"
Will was now full or rage, which surprised him since he'd never quite lost his temper before. All this rage caused Will to blurt out to Jack in an unmannered tone.
"So what, we're just gonna let her die then, is that it? What kind of father are you anyway?"
After that, Jack just exploded. He grabbed Will by the neck and knocked him down to the floor.
"Don't you ever…and I mean ever, tell me what kind of father I am to Sydney! You don't know the kind of life I lead," the enormous amount of pressure that Jack had around Will's neck was just too unbearable. Will struggled to get Jack off with a couple of jabs to the face and arms, all of which seemed to have no effect on him.
"And you especially don't know what it's like knowing that your only daughter is caught in all of it."
That was the last that Jack had said before he finally regained control of himself. Jack got up and dusted himself off. As Jack watched Will gasp for air, he was utterly ashamed of what he had just done. This had never happened to Jack before; he never felt any remorse for the things that he has done.
Jack was beginning to wonder if he was losing his edge, and that scared him quite a bit. He offered his hand to Will, and helped him up. That being done, Jack and Will just looked at one another. Will had a distinct impression that Jack was about to apologize to him, but Jack didn't. Instead Jack just turned on his heel and left the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sydney had been driving for nearly forty minutes now, and there was still no sign of the safe house. She pulled over the side of the road and started to search for a map in the glove compartment. To her surprise, she found something even better… a cell phone. Sydney started to dial numbers, and waited for the phone to ring. After a few rings, Jack anxiously picked up the phone.
"Sydney?"
"Yeah dad…it's me."
At the sound of her voice, Jack was ultimately relieved.
"Where are you…are you all right…did you find Vaughn"?
Sydney paused for a while and then responded by telling her father that Vaughn was not with her. When Jack heard this, he was surprised that Sydney remained so calm; then she began to speak again.
"I don't exactly know…I'm somewhere," Sydney began to look for any signs telling her where she was. Then, she spotted one.
"I'm on Tunhua Road. How far am I from the safe house?"
"About an hour and fifteen minutes to be exact. Just keep heading North until you see the Sungshan Airport, then head West for about four miles, and head North again until you get to Chilung. I'll meet up with you there."
For a moment Sydney just listened to her father's breath from the other line. Sydney's silence was beginning to worry Jack.
"Sydney, did you get that?"
"Yeah dad, I got it…I'll see you there."
After that Sydney hung up the phone and started to drive again.
