Tomorrow's Promise
Disclaimer: Everything Alias is the property of JJ Abrams, Bad Robot Productions, ABC, and Touchstone. Please consider this a humble tribute to the genius of the Alias characters and plotlines. No harm intended.
The titles for some of the chapters are from Police songs. Again, no harm intended. The lyrics of these songs seemed to relate to the story I wanted to tell.
Rating: PG for mild language.
Archive: Please ask first.
Feedback: Appreciated, especially on writing techniques.
Invisible Sun
At 10:45 PM the Taipei police stormed the dance club. Chaos ensued. At 10:49, the power to the warehouse was cut. The chaos escalated. Jack, Vaughn, and Will entered the warehouse from the back alley. Each man wore night vision goggles. Jack and Vaughn carried automatic weapons and pistols.
Will carried only a pistol and prayed that he wouldn't have to use it. With only one afternoon's practice using firearms, Will was feeling extremely nervous. His legs shook as he followed Jack and Vaughn into the darkened warehouse.
The plan was that Jack and Vaughn would eliminate any obstacles, such as men with guns, and Will was supposed to locate Sydney.
Jack's words from earlier that day kept were firmly planted in Will's mind:
"Whatever you do, Mr. Tippin, do NOT attempt to engage in hand-to-hand combat. Use the gun."
After encountering three armed guards in the entryway, Vaughn lead them down two flights of stairs, through several winding hallways, to a set of double doors. Silently, Vaughn attached a decoder to the card reader. Jack sandwiched Will between himself and Vaughn, and guarded the two younger men while Vaughn worked the lock. Lights blinked on the device as it easily broke the five-digit code. The door was now open.
Vaughn lead the way through the doors, weapon first, to find the hallway empty. Will followed and Jack provided cover from the rear. Without words, Jack directed Will to check the rooms on the left side of the hallway, and Vaughn to check the rooms on the right side. Vaughn immediately went to work. Some doors opened easily, others had to be kicked in. Either way, Vaughn entered each room with his weapon readied.
Jack moved towards Will encouraging him to start checking the rooms. As Will opened each door, Jack stayed close, first scanning the room for threats and then quickly returning to the hallway to protect Will's back.
Vaughn encountered several guards but was able to quickly disarm them and knock them out.
The first three rooms Will checked were empty with the exception of some boxes and an occasional shelving unit. Coming out of the fourth room Will tripped over something. Landing spread-eagle on the floor, weapon still clutched in his hand, Will realized that he had tripped over a man with a broken neck. Will panicked as he looked into the eyes of the dead man and then looked at the huge weapon lying on the floor beside the body.
"What in the world am I doing here?!" Will asked himself.
Jack swore under his breath, grabbed Will by his shirt, pulled him to his feet and pushed him towards the next door. Will was certain that if silence weren't so important, he would be receiving a harsh lecture. Will looked back at Jack in an attempt to apologize. Instead of apologizing, Will was able to warn Jack that there was a guard coming up behind him. As Jack fought with the guard, Will turned back to the fifth door.
The door was locked. Doing his best to imitate Vaughn, Will tried to kick the door in. The door did not budge and Will ended up with his foot planted comically just above the doorknob.
Having just knocked out the guard, Jack hissed, "Kick through the door, Mr. Tippin!"
Two guards suddenly burst through the double doors at the end of the hall, firing their automatic weapons and running towards Jack and Will. Jack did not hesitate. He put himself between Will and the gunfire. Jack walked brazenly towards the guards, firing his pistol. With the advantage of the night vision goggles, Jack was able to take down one guard. However, the other guard managed to fire several shots into Jack's torso.
It seemed to Will that things had gone into slow motion. He watched as Jack fell to the floor and landed on his back. The guard continued to fire as he closed the distance between them. Will instinctively dropped to the floor, tucking his head into his chest as much as possible. In a split second, Will had to decide whether he would help Jack or save himself.
As Will stood up and pointed his gun toward the guard, he saw gunfire coming from the opposite side of the hall. Vaughn was lying on the floor shooting at the remaining guard, drawing the gunfire away from Jack and Will.
Will returned to his task of opening the door. Considering the amount of adrenaline that was now coursing through his body, Will was not surprised when the door gave way to his second kick.
"This isn't so hard," Will thought sarcastically as he entered the room.
The room was totally different from the previous rooms. This one had no boxes or shelves. There was a work area near the door – cabinets, countertops, a table and some chairs. As he proceeded past the work area, Will saw several instruments that were painfully familiar. He grimaced involuntarily.
Will was starting his retreat when he saw a thin mattress on the floor against the far wall. He hesitated, trying to determine if the shape on the mattress was a human form. The shape moved slightly, and Will inched forward cautiously.
It did not take long for Will to recognize her. Sydney was lying on her side facing the wall, curled up in the fetal position. He knelt down beside her and relaxed his grip on the pistol.
"Syd!" Will whispered urgently.
At the sound of his voice, she turned her head slowly, and looked at him with wide, glazed eyes.
Knowing that she could not see him very well through the darkness, Will whispered, "Syd, it's me. We're going to get you out of here!"
She turned her head back towards the wall as if she hadn't heard him, or didn't care. Slightly confused, Will rolled Sydney onto her back. Her arms and hands were not restrained. A quick scan of the rest of her body revealed that her ankles were chained to the wall.
"Crap!" Will said to himself. He checked the strength of the chains by pulling on them several times.
"Crap!" he said again, this time out lout. "I was hoping that I wouldn't have to use this."
Will pointed the gun at the chains. He said a quick prayer that he wouldn't kill himself, and fired. The chains fell easily to the floor. Will breathed a sigh of relief.
Sydney was up and moving the minute the chains hit the floor. She kicked Will viciously in the ribs making him flip over and land on his back on the floor. In one smooth motion, Sydney kicked the gun out of his hand, grabbed it, and pointed it at him.
Looking at Sydney over the barrel of the gun, Will noticed for the first time the wildness in her eyes. She looked like a totally different woman.
"Syd! What are you doing?!" At the sound of his voice she hesitated. Then she shook her head as if she were trying to get rid of an unpleasant thought. Sydney's body stiffened and Will was certain she was going to pull the trigger.
"Syd, please!" he pleaded.
Again, Sydney hesitated. This time she hesitated long enough for Jack to sneak up behind her and knock her out using the handle of his pistol. As Sydney crumpled to the floor, Jack pulled her backwards into him and lowered her down gently as he could. He took the gun from her hand and returned it to Will.
Will had not moved yet. "Holy shit, Jack!" Will exhaled sharply. "What is going on here?"
Jack already had Sydney slung over his shoulder and was heading towards the door. He stopped and turned around to face Will.
"We don't have time to discuss this right now, Mr. Tippin," Jack's irritation was apparent in his voice. "Get up! Let's go!"
This time when Jack turned to leave, Will was right behind him.
In the hallway Jack said, "Get Vaughn! I'm heading for the exit! "
Will crossed the hallway and found Vaughn still checking rooms. He didn't have to say a thing. At the sight of Will standing in the doorway, Vaughn started running and was in a full sprint by the time he hit the hallway.
As they approached the double door, they heard gunfire. They burst through the doors with guns drawn, but saw that Jack had already killed two guards and had maintained his course towards the exit.
The trio made it out of the building and into the alley without any further incident. The minute they were out of the building, Vaughn was on his sat phone calling for the extraction team. Since they could not involve the Agency, Jack had called in a few favors and assembled a team of his own.
"Ten minutes, Jack!" Vaughn yelled.
Jack was leading the group despite his wounds and Sydney's extra weight. The three men made their way through back alleys towards the extraction site.
Inside the warehouse, several people were gathered around security monitors.
"We can have them back within the hour," Sark said calmly. "Just give the order."
"No. Let them go," Irina said.
Sark looked over Irina's head at Khasinau. Khasinau shrugged, indicating that he was equally confused.
"But, our plans," Khasinau objected.
"This may work better than our original plan." Irina smiled as she watched the three men disappear into the night.
Disclaimer: Everything Alias is the property of JJ Abrams, Bad Robot Productions, ABC, and Touchstone. Please consider this a humble tribute to the genius of the Alias characters and plotlines. No harm intended.
The titles for some of the chapters are from Police songs. Again, no harm intended. The lyrics of these songs seemed to relate to the story I wanted to tell.
Rating: PG for mild language.
Archive: Please ask first.
Feedback: Appreciated, especially on writing techniques.
Invisible Sun
At 10:45 PM the Taipei police stormed the dance club. Chaos ensued. At 10:49, the power to the warehouse was cut. The chaos escalated. Jack, Vaughn, and Will entered the warehouse from the back alley. Each man wore night vision goggles. Jack and Vaughn carried automatic weapons and pistols.
Will carried only a pistol and prayed that he wouldn't have to use it. With only one afternoon's practice using firearms, Will was feeling extremely nervous. His legs shook as he followed Jack and Vaughn into the darkened warehouse.
The plan was that Jack and Vaughn would eliminate any obstacles, such as men with guns, and Will was supposed to locate Sydney.
Jack's words from earlier that day kept were firmly planted in Will's mind:
"Whatever you do, Mr. Tippin, do NOT attempt to engage in hand-to-hand combat. Use the gun."
After encountering three armed guards in the entryway, Vaughn lead them down two flights of stairs, through several winding hallways, to a set of double doors. Silently, Vaughn attached a decoder to the card reader. Jack sandwiched Will between himself and Vaughn, and guarded the two younger men while Vaughn worked the lock. Lights blinked on the device as it easily broke the five-digit code. The door was now open.
Vaughn lead the way through the doors, weapon first, to find the hallway empty. Will followed and Jack provided cover from the rear. Without words, Jack directed Will to check the rooms on the left side of the hallway, and Vaughn to check the rooms on the right side. Vaughn immediately went to work. Some doors opened easily, others had to be kicked in. Either way, Vaughn entered each room with his weapon readied.
Jack moved towards Will encouraging him to start checking the rooms. As Will opened each door, Jack stayed close, first scanning the room for threats and then quickly returning to the hallway to protect Will's back.
Vaughn encountered several guards but was able to quickly disarm them and knock them out.
The first three rooms Will checked were empty with the exception of some boxes and an occasional shelving unit. Coming out of the fourth room Will tripped over something. Landing spread-eagle on the floor, weapon still clutched in his hand, Will realized that he had tripped over a man with a broken neck. Will panicked as he looked into the eyes of the dead man and then looked at the huge weapon lying on the floor beside the body.
"What in the world am I doing here?!" Will asked himself.
Jack swore under his breath, grabbed Will by his shirt, pulled him to his feet and pushed him towards the next door. Will was certain that if silence weren't so important, he would be receiving a harsh lecture. Will looked back at Jack in an attempt to apologize. Instead of apologizing, Will was able to warn Jack that there was a guard coming up behind him. As Jack fought with the guard, Will turned back to the fifth door.
The door was locked. Doing his best to imitate Vaughn, Will tried to kick the door in. The door did not budge and Will ended up with his foot planted comically just above the doorknob.
Having just knocked out the guard, Jack hissed, "Kick through the door, Mr. Tippin!"
Two guards suddenly burst through the double doors at the end of the hall, firing their automatic weapons and running towards Jack and Will. Jack did not hesitate. He put himself between Will and the gunfire. Jack walked brazenly towards the guards, firing his pistol. With the advantage of the night vision goggles, Jack was able to take down one guard. However, the other guard managed to fire several shots into Jack's torso.
It seemed to Will that things had gone into slow motion. He watched as Jack fell to the floor and landed on his back. The guard continued to fire as he closed the distance between them. Will instinctively dropped to the floor, tucking his head into his chest as much as possible. In a split second, Will had to decide whether he would help Jack or save himself.
As Will stood up and pointed his gun toward the guard, he saw gunfire coming from the opposite side of the hall. Vaughn was lying on the floor shooting at the remaining guard, drawing the gunfire away from Jack and Will.
Will returned to his task of opening the door. Considering the amount of adrenaline that was now coursing through his body, Will was not surprised when the door gave way to his second kick.
"This isn't so hard," Will thought sarcastically as he entered the room.
The room was totally different from the previous rooms. This one had no boxes or shelves. There was a work area near the door – cabinets, countertops, a table and some chairs. As he proceeded past the work area, Will saw several instruments that were painfully familiar. He grimaced involuntarily.
Will was starting his retreat when he saw a thin mattress on the floor against the far wall. He hesitated, trying to determine if the shape on the mattress was a human form. The shape moved slightly, and Will inched forward cautiously.
It did not take long for Will to recognize her. Sydney was lying on her side facing the wall, curled up in the fetal position. He knelt down beside her and relaxed his grip on the pistol.
"Syd!" Will whispered urgently.
At the sound of his voice, she turned her head slowly, and looked at him with wide, glazed eyes.
Knowing that she could not see him very well through the darkness, Will whispered, "Syd, it's me. We're going to get you out of here!"
She turned her head back towards the wall as if she hadn't heard him, or didn't care. Slightly confused, Will rolled Sydney onto her back. Her arms and hands were not restrained. A quick scan of the rest of her body revealed that her ankles were chained to the wall.
"Crap!" Will said to himself. He checked the strength of the chains by pulling on them several times.
"Crap!" he said again, this time out lout. "I was hoping that I wouldn't have to use this."
Will pointed the gun at the chains. He said a quick prayer that he wouldn't kill himself, and fired. The chains fell easily to the floor. Will breathed a sigh of relief.
Sydney was up and moving the minute the chains hit the floor. She kicked Will viciously in the ribs making him flip over and land on his back on the floor. In one smooth motion, Sydney kicked the gun out of his hand, grabbed it, and pointed it at him.
Looking at Sydney over the barrel of the gun, Will noticed for the first time the wildness in her eyes. She looked like a totally different woman.
"Syd! What are you doing?!" At the sound of his voice she hesitated. Then she shook her head as if she were trying to get rid of an unpleasant thought. Sydney's body stiffened and Will was certain she was going to pull the trigger.
"Syd, please!" he pleaded.
Again, Sydney hesitated. This time she hesitated long enough for Jack to sneak up behind her and knock her out using the handle of his pistol. As Sydney crumpled to the floor, Jack pulled her backwards into him and lowered her down gently as he could. He took the gun from her hand and returned it to Will.
Will had not moved yet. "Holy shit, Jack!" Will exhaled sharply. "What is going on here?"
Jack already had Sydney slung over his shoulder and was heading towards the door. He stopped and turned around to face Will.
"We don't have time to discuss this right now, Mr. Tippin," Jack's irritation was apparent in his voice. "Get up! Let's go!"
This time when Jack turned to leave, Will was right behind him.
In the hallway Jack said, "Get Vaughn! I'm heading for the exit! "
Will crossed the hallway and found Vaughn still checking rooms. He didn't have to say a thing. At the sight of Will standing in the doorway, Vaughn started running and was in a full sprint by the time he hit the hallway.
As they approached the double door, they heard gunfire. They burst through the doors with guns drawn, but saw that Jack had already killed two guards and had maintained his course towards the exit.
The trio made it out of the building and into the alley without any further incident. The minute they were out of the building, Vaughn was on his sat phone calling for the extraction team. Since they could not involve the Agency, Jack had called in a few favors and assembled a team of his own.
"Ten minutes, Jack!" Vaughn yelled.
Jack was leading the group despite his wounds and Sydney's extra weight. The three men made their way through back alleys towards the extraction site.
Inside the warehouse, several people were gathered around security monitors.
"We can have them back within the hour," Sark said calmly. "Just give the order."
"No. Let them go," Irina said.
Sark looked over Irina's head at Khasinau. Khasinau shrugged, indicating that he was equally confused.
"But, our plans," Khasinau objected.
"This may work better than our original plan." Irina smiled as she watched the three men disappear into the night.