Chapter 12 – It's All About Mom
Author's Note: No research as usual. Hypnosis stuff may or may not be accurate.
Also, I write that a CIA report used information from Sydney… the information, that Emily knew Sloane did not work for a bank, was given to them prior to the Taipei adventure. Because as we all know, Sydney can't remember a thing about her life now… at least in this story.
Jack took his final bite of General Tsao chicken and
pushed his plate to the side of the table.
Just eating was an ordeal with his injuries. He looked at his watch.
His first morning back at SD-6 was spent in a meeting with the Alliance
Directors. They asked him to step in as
acting director for SD-6 during Sloane's absence. This complicated Jack's life even more, but it would have been
suspicious if he had declined.
Sloane had recovered from the poisoning and had been released from the hospital that morning. He planned to return to work within a week. The Alliance had completed their investigation of the incident and had approved Sloane's return. Jack knew that the only people that would ever know the facts of the case were the twelve Alliance directors.
The LAPD would never solve the case, and within a few months the case file would disappear from the system and no one would ever miss it.
The CIA report hypothesized, based on information from
Jack and Sydney, that Arvin Sloane had put the poison in the wine that
evening. What they didn't hypothesize
on was if Slone had intended to commit suicide. The report simply stated that Sloane may have intended to die
with his wife. Jack doubted that
highly.
Dixon walked into the restaurant and spotted Jack. As Dixon approached his table, Jack stood up. "Thank you for coming, Dixon," Jack said as they shook hands. He motioned for Dixon to take a seat.
"I figured that it was important," Dixon said as he sat down. "Having to meet outside of work."
"Yes, it is important." Jack looked directly into Dixon's eyes. "It's about Sydney."
Dixon hesitated before asking, "Is she okay?"
"Physically, yes, she is fine," Jack paused. "But emotionally… well, she's having a difficult time."
Dixon looked thoughtful, "Is there anything I can do?"
"Yes, there is," Jack replied. "Sydney told me that you followed her and confronted her outside of one of our storage facilities." A look of concern covered Dixon's face. After an awkward silence Jack said, "I'm asking you on behalf of Sydney… and myself… please do not report her."
Dixon studied Jack's eyes. "How do you know that I haven't already reported her?" Dixon asked.
"Because if you had, Sydney would already be dead," Jack flatly replied. "Dixon, you are one of our best agents, and the best partner Sydney has ever had." Jack hesitated before adding, "Sydney considers you as more than a partner – she considers you a friend.
"I'm certain that you have noticed that Sydney has been acting differently lately," Jack continued. "Several months ago Sydney came across some information that indicated that her mother may still be alive and working with K-directorate."
"What?" Dixon exclaimed.
"Yes," Jack reassured him, "There is a chance that Laura
is alive. And even though I discouraged
her, Sydney started a search for her mother.
"About two weeks ago, Sydney was contacted by a man claiming to have information on where her mother was living. In exchange for the information, this man wanted one of the Rambaldi pages – one that was in our storage facility.
"It was a very foolish thing to do, but Sydney hasn't been herself ever since Danny's death. This futile crusade to find her mother would never have happened before. I've know that she has had trouble dealing with Danny's death, but she had never done anything to jeopardize herself or the agency…"
"Until now," Dixon prompted.
"Until now," Jack conceded. "But, I assure you Dixon, if I had know what she was up to, I would have stopped her."
"So, what happened?" Dixon asked.
"Apparently, during the exchange, Sydney realized that the man had no valuable information to give her. She eliminated him, brought the page to me, and told me what had happened. I have already returned the page to the storage facility."
It wasn't a total lie. Jack had in fact returned a Rambaldi page to the SD-6 storage facility, but it was a blank counterfeit page created by the CIA.
Dixon was an analyst through and through. He thought carefully over what Jack said and reconciled it with what he already knew.
"Where is she now?" Dixon asked.
"After she came to me and told me what had happened, I convinced her that she needed to take a break and get herself straightened out. Knowing there was no one else that she could talk to about this, I booked a two week sailing cruise for the two of us. Sydney is still on cruise… hopefully gaining some valuable perspective. She plans to return for Emily's funeral."
Dixon stared at Jack impassively. "Dixon, she's been through so much this year
– Danny's death, your shooting, and now this wild goose chase for her mother –
she deserves another chance. Please,
don't report her."
Dixon still had a lot of questions, but he knew Jack was
not the one to answer them. Then he
thought back over his two years with Sydney and all they had been through
together. He agreed. Sydney definitely deserved his support, and
he would give it to her freely.
*****
Jack was a few minutes late. He walked into one of the hospital observation rooms. The room was filled with equipment used for monitoring a patient's status – heart rate, respiration, body temperature – everything was tracked very closely. Two men sat near the two-way mirror. One of the men turned around and nodded silently at Jack. Jack recognized the man as one of Sydney's doctors. The other man was focused on the equipment. The doctor pulled up a chair so Jack would have a clear view of the proceedings.
Carson had already put Sydney into a hypnotic state, and was giving her suggestions to make her more comfortable. Sydney was lying in a leather bound recliner with her eyes closed, looking more relaxed than she had in months. Dr. Carson sat in a chair next to her, and Vaughn was seated on her other side, looking concerned as usual. Jack wondered if Vaughn had slept at all since the Taipei fiasco.
"Okay, Sydney, I want you to travel back in time…" Carson spoke in a soothing voice, "Back to the earliest memory that you have… Are you there?" Sydney nodded silently with a furrowed brow and a frown. "Where are you?" Carson asked.
"A funeral home," Sydney replied. Her lips started to quiver.
"Is there a funeral going on right now?" Carson asked. He started scribbling notes in her chart. The fact that Sydney was able to connect with memories under hypnosis meant that the brainwashing could be reversed.
"Yes," Sydney said. Her eyes remained closed but tears started running down her face.
"Whose funeral, Sydney?"
"My… my… mom," Sydney stuttered as the crying turned into bawling.
"Sydney. Sydney!" Dr. Carson was trying to get Sydney's full attention. "Sydney, listen to my voice. You are to see these scenes as an observer only. Watch what is going on and tell me about it. You should not be concerned with them -- do not get emotionally involved." Sydney's crying slowed down. "Do you understand?"
Sydney nodded as the final tears slid off her face and landed on her shirt.
"Good. Now move forward Sydney away from the funeral." Carson gave her a few moments then said, "Where are you now?"
"College… no, grad school."
"What do you see?" Carson asked while making a note in Sydney's chart.
"Danny…" As Sydney spoke his name she smiled. "He's on his knees… he's singing that awful song…" Sydney giggled. "He's proposing!"
Sydney's smile transformed quickly into a frown. "No, I can't… Danny, you don't know… How can I marry you when you don't know…?"
"Move forward, Sydney," Carson said. Vaughn braced himself. He knew what was next. Carson also knew what was next, but he hoped that if Sydney could experience the traumatic events of her life under hypnosis she might be able to remember them when she woke up… especially if they were very traumatic. "Remember to view as an observer only… don't get involved."
Carson lead Sydney through her memories up to the Taipei trip, spending significant time on her memories of Danny's death and Noah's death. She had managed to remain detached for the most part. In the observation room, Jack stood up. He was agitated. It was difficult for him to watch Sydney go through this. It was difficult to listen as she described her feelings about him – when she found out he worked at SD-6… that he was CIA… when Russek had been sacrificed… when she thought he was KGB… when she found Tippin in Paris…
"It's enormous!" Sydney exclaimed as she relived the Taipei mission. "If I destroy this, it would…"
The monitors in the observation recorded Sydney's heartbeat as it increased rapidly. Her respiration also increased. Her brainwaves fluxuated wildly. The doctor in the observation room spoke to Carson through his ear phone. "Dave, she's losing control…" he warned.
"Vaughn! NO Vaughn! Run… dammit, run faster!" Sydney started yelling and jerking in the chair. She started flailing her arms. "Vaughn! I can't…! Noooooo!"
"Pull her out, Dave!" the observation doctor yelled.
Carson dropped the chart and grabbed Sydney's arms trying to calm her down so that she would listen to his voice. Even with her eyes closed, Sydney was able to easily connect her fist to Carson's face. Carson fell backwards.
Vaughn took a different approach. Instead of trying to grab her arms, Vaughn quickly pushed them down to her sides and then laid his torso across hers, grabbing the chair with his hands and lying his head next to her neck so she couldn't head butt him. Sydney continued to struggle against him but was unable to break his hold.
Carson stood up as Jack and the doctor from the observation room burst in the door. Carson wiped some blood from the corner of his mouth, then moved closer to Sydney.
Suddenly Sydney stopped struggling. "Mom? What are you doing?… You have to pay for what you've done… for what you've done to him…" Sydney started to struggle against Vaughn again as she let out a loud, frustrated scream.
"Sydney!" Carson tried to get her attention. "Listen to my voice, Sydney! As I count backwards, you will wake up feeling refreshed and relaxed!" Sydney stopped struggling with Vaughn as Carson started counting. "Five… Four… starting to wake up now… Three… Two… more awake… and one, wide awake."
Sydney's eyelids fluttered open. She looked peaceful, as if she had just woken from a beautiful dream. Vaughn released his grip on her and slowly stood up. Sydney looked at the four men staring at her. Her focus was pulled to Carson and the blood at the corner of his mouth.
"What happened to you?" she asked with a slight smile. Obviously Sydney did not remember anything she had been through in the last hour.
Vaughn moved back to stand next to Jack. Without moving his eyes from Sydney Vaughn asked softly, "That last part there… did she say Mom?"
Jack hesitated then answered, "Yes, I'm afraid she did."