Chapter 7 – The Escape – Take 1
Notes: See Chapter 1.
[LONDON – in the sub-basement of Hartley House]
She turns left, and sprints as fast as she can towards the door at the end of the hall. She can hear the voices on the other side of the door get louder and louder as they near it.
Looking up and around and she sees pipes running this way and that along the ceiling. Taking a few steps back, she runs and leaps, grabbing hold of a slender pipe spanning the walls of the hall, and swings herself up and out of sight as the door slides open.
2 guards enter the hall holding semi-automatic rifles and stop, standing directly below her. She catches some of what they are saying above the noise of the siren.
"—damn drills. I don't know why we bother with 'em. This place isn't worth breaking into. Nobody in their right mind would wander in here thinkin' it's the local chippy shop or the library."
"Quit your whining. Let's just check the hall and then report back so I don't have to listen to the siren…or you anymore."
She bites the inside of her cheek to keep herself from laughing out of relief. What a weird coincidence--the security drill had started just as she had restored the video feed. As soon as the two guards walk down the hall and take a right turn, she swings herself down slowly. Dropping to the floor quietly, she stands up and makes it past the closing door with inches to spare.
Running flat-out now, the only thought occupying her mind now is making it out of the building unscathed.
[CIA van, blocks away]
Vaughn absently fingers Aunt Trish's hanky in his pocket. "How long has she been in there?" Weiss asks him. Vaughn makes a movement to slide his shirt cuff away from his watch so he can tell the time, but stops, and watches Weiss laugh. "Mike, you've been staring at your watch every minute for the last 50—"
"56," Vaughn corrects him.
"Ah…*56* minutes. My mistake."
Vaughn is exasperated. "Will you cut it out? Yes, I'm nervous that we haven't heard anything from her in that long. And yes, she could be in there for a while yet."
"You really want this to be her last mission, don't you?" Weiss asks him.
Vaughn shoots him a look. "Yeah, I do. For her sake. And for my sanity," he adds with a small smile. They both jump in their seats as they hear her voice burst into their headsets.
"Guimauve…to base, do you…copy?"
Vaughn can hear her panting--she must be running full tilt from Hartley House.
"Base, we copy. What's your status?" he says, trying to keep his voice calm.
"I have the take*. I'm a…block away, coming back…the way I came. Had no problems…getting out…"
Vaughn watches Weiss shift around in the back of the van to ready the wireless data-storage device. After fiddling with it, Weiss gives Vaughn the thumbs up.
"We copy. Guimauve, we are ready for transmission."
"I copy."
Vaughn finally sees her appear on the night vision monitor and feels the tension alleviate from his body. She slows her run down to a brisk walk. He watches her take her backpack off and open it to retrieve her PDA/data-extractor. She palms it to her right side, the gadget face side up towards the van.
"Am I in range yet?" she asks.
Vaughn watches Weiss mouth '3 car lengths'. "Nope, not yet," he relays to her. "Another 3 car lengths." Within 5 seconds, the green light on the wireless device begins to flash. "Okay, you're within range now. Transmit."
"Transmitting…now."
Silence fills the van for a good 20 seconds as they watch her near and then pass the van. Finally, the green light on the wireless device becomes red. Weiss nods to Vaughn. They are now in possession of a copy of the Master File.
Vaughn tries to keep his voice neutral even though he is feeling something close to euphoria. "Base to Guimauve, we have the take. Repeat, we have the take."
"I copy." He can only see the back of her as she walks down the block, but he can hear the smile in her words.
"Well done." Weiss says.
"Thanks. Guimauve out."
[A rooftop of an abandoned, boarded-up building, across the street from the CIA van]
He had considered leaving his perch 5 minutes earlier to get the Master File from her just as she left Hartley House. But that would have put the both of them at risk of being shot at by the Alliance's Security Section. And that was a complication he could ill afford.
Under his watch, he had witnessed her take out a device and then put it back in her backpack some seconds later. The only possibility that had come to his mind was that she was transmitting a copy of the File from that device to something or someone that could receive it. Like the CIA.
Standing up after a few hours of inactivity, Sark stretches his legs and takes his night vision goggles off. He watches Sydney walk down the block and turn the corner, out of his sight. He didn't want to confront her, especially since he knew her mother's---fondness for her, despite the fact she had sanctioned him to take whatever means necessary to get the file from her own daughter.
Opening the door to the roof, he descends the stairs quickly and quietly. He muses about his boss, and her daughter. One could almost say that Irina's attempt at reconciliation with her daughter was going to be a foregone conclusion. Of course Sydney wouldn't come into the fold, he wouldn't have expected anything less from her, being her mother's daughter. Sentimentality and nostalgia were luxuries in the business they were in, and it often got one killed. Not that he was planning to eliminate Irina or Sydney anytime soon. But he knew that Sydney was Irina's only known weakness. And soon, perhaps when the opportunity presented itself, he would take advantage of Irina's Achilles' heel…
Reaching ground level, he finds the boarded up window he had initially entered the building from, and pulls at the damp plywood. The plywood gives easily under his tugging, and he slips out the back of the building.
He walks around to the front of the building, and stops. Hidden in shadows, he surveys the block Sydney had passed through. Where could she have transmitted the File? His eyes dart back and forth, and finally fixes on a nondescript van.
Eureka.
Taking his handgun out from his jacket, he flicks the safety off and walks towards the van.
[CIA van]
Weiss turns off the last of the night vision monitors. Vaughn shifts around the back of the van, clearing things up.
"You done?" Weiss asks him. Vaughn nods, watching him slide past him in the cramped space to the back doors so he can get out to get to the driver's side door. As he opens the back doors, he starts to speak. "She did great out there tonight—"
And then stops abruptly as Sark lowers his gun barrel at his forehead.
"Good evening, gentlemen. Ah, Mr. Vaughn. Will wonders never cease, running into you again so soon."
Heart pounding, Vaughn glances at Weiss, and then at Sark. "What do you want?"
"You have a file that Miss Bristow has transmitted to this van. My employer would like to obtain the CIA's copy of that file."
"You…this was all a set up. The information was leaked to SD-6 and the CIA, about the Master File," Vaughn gets out. "Getting us to do the dirty work for you."
"Yes, and if you don't give it to me in the next 20 seconds, your partner here will die."
"Mike, don't give the file to him," Weiss says calmly.
Thinking quickly, Vaughn attempts an opening gambit. "What if I duplicate a copy? You get yours, the CIA gets theirs, and everyone wins."
"Mike, don't, don't let them get a copy." Sark presses the gun barrel against Weiss's forehead to silence him.
"My terms are non-negotiable. You now have 10 seconds to decide." Vaughn puts his hands out to where Sark can see them, and reaches for the wireless device.
"Put the gun down Sark, and I'll give the File to you."
"5 seconds."
Vaughn throws the device at Sark, and launches himself out of the van at him. They wrestle on the street and struggle for Sark's gun, pinned between them. A gunshot erupts. Sark gets up.
Vaughn does not.
Incredible, burning pain lances through him and he finds himself unable to move. He looks down and realizes he's been shot in the chest. A dark crimson stain is blooming on his shirt front. Moments later two more gunshots erupt, and in the edges of his fading vision he sees Weiss go down as well.
He looks down and sees a corner of Aunt Trish's hanky peeking out from his jacket pocket. He tries to touch it but the last thing he remembers as the blackness claims him is the fact that Sydney—oh God Sydney…had told him to bring it for good luck…
Note: "the take" is information gathered by espionage, from the International Spy Museum website: http://64.226.112.91/insiders/loe.asp
Notes: See Chapter 1.
[LONDON – in the sub-basement of Hartley House]
She turns left, and sprints as fast as she can towards the door at the end of the hall. She can hear the voices on the other side of the door get louder and louder as they near it.
Looking up and around and she sees pipes running this way and that along the ceiling. Taking a few steps back, she runs and leaps, grabbing hold of a slender pipe spanning the walls of the hall, and swings herself up and out of sight as the door slides open.
2 guards enter the hall holding semi-automatic rifles and stop, standing directly below her. She catches some of what they are saying above the noise of the siren.
"—damn drills. I don't know why we bother with 'em. This place isn't worth breaking into. Nobody in their right mind would wander in here thinkin' it's the local chippy shop or the library."
"Quit your whining. Let's just check the hall and then report back so I don't have to listen to the siren…or you anymore."
She bites the inside of her cheek to keep herself from laughing out of relief. What a weird coincidence--the security drill had started just as she had restored the video feed. As soon as the two guards walk down the hall and take a right turn, she swings herself down slowly. Dropping to the floor quietly, she stands up and makes it past the closing door with inches to spare.
Running flat-out now, the only thought occupying her mind now is making it out of the building unscathed.
[CIA van, blocks away]
Vaughn absently fingers Aunt Trish's hanky in his pocket. "How long has she been in there?" Weiss asks him. Vaughn makes a movement to slide his shirt cuff away from his watch so he can tell the time, but stops, and watches Weiss laugh. "Mike, you've been staring at your watch every minute for the last 50—"
"56," Vaughn corrects him.
"Ah…*56* minutes. My mistake."
Vaughn is exasperated. "Will you cut it out? Yes, I'm nervous that we haven't heard anything from her in that long. And yes, she could be in there for a while yet."
"You really want this to be her last mission, don't you?" Weiss asks him.
Vaughn shoots him a look. "Yeah, I do. For her sake. And for my sanity," he adds with a small smile. They both jump in their seats as they hear her voice burst into their headsets.
"Guimauve…to base, do you…copy?"
Vaughn can hear her panting--she must be running full tilt from Hartley House.
"Base, we copy. What's your status?" he says, trying to keep his voice calm.
"I have the take*. I'm a…block away, coming back…the way I came. Had no problems…getting out…"
Vaughn watches Weiss shift around in the back of the van to ready the wireless data-storage device. After fiddling with it, Weiss gives Vaughn the thumbs up.
"We copy. Guimauve, we are ready for transmission."
"I copy."
Vaughn finally sees her appear on the night vision monitor and feels the tension alleviate from his body. She slows her run down to a brisk walk. He watches her take her backpack off and open it to retrieve her PDA/data-extractor. She palms it to her right side, the gadget face side up towards the van.
"Am I in range yet?" she asks.
Vaughn watches Weiss mouth '3 car lengths'. "Nope, not yet," he relays to her. "Another 3 car lengths." Within 5 seconds, the green light on the wireless device begins to flash. "Okay, you're within range now. Transmit."
"Transmitting…now."
Silence fills the van for a good 20 seconds as they watch her near and then pass the van. Finally, the green light on the wireless device becomes red. Weiss nods to Vaughn. They are now in possession of a copy of the Master File.
Vaughn tries to keep his voice neutral even though he is feeling something close to euphoria. "Base to Guimauve, we have the take. Repeat, we have the take."
"I copy." He can only see the back of her as she walks down the block, but he can hear the smile in her words.
"Well done." Weiss says.
"Thanks. Guimauve out."
[A rooftop of an abandoned, boarded-up building, across the street from the CIA van]
He had considered leaving his perch 5 minutes earlier to get the Master File from her just as she left Hartley House. But that would have put the both of them at risk of being shot at by the Alliance's Security Section. And that was a complication he could ill afford.
Under his watch, he had witnessed her take out a device and then put it back in her backpack some seconds later. The only possibility that had come to his mind was that she was transmitting a copy of the File from that device to something or someone that could receive it. Like the CIA.
Standing up after a few hours of inactivity, Sark stretches his legs and takes his night vision goggles off. He watches Sydney walk down the block and turn the corner, out of his sight. He didn't want to confront her, especially since he knew her mother's---fondness for her, despite the fact she had sanctioned him to take whatever means necessary to get the file from her own daughter.
Opening the door to the roof, he descends the stairs quickly and quietly. He muses about his boss, and her daughter. One could almost say that Irina's attempt at reconciliation with her daughter was going to be a foregone conclusion. Of course Sydney wouldn't come into the fold, he wouldn't have expected anything less from her, being her mother's daughter. Sentimentality and nostalgia were luxuries in the business they were in, and it often got one killed. Not that he was planning to eliminate Irina or Sydney anytime soon. But he knew that Sydney was Irina's only known weakness. And soon, perhaps when the opportunity presented itself, he would take advantage of Irina's Achilles' heel…
Reaching ground level, he finds the boarded up window he had initially entered the building from, and pulls at the damp plywood. The plywood gives easily under his tugging, and he slips out the back of the building.
He walks around to the front of the building, and stops. Hidden in shadows, he surveys the block Sydney had passed through. Where could she have transmitted the File? His eyes dart back and forth, and finally fixes on a nondescript van.
Eureka.
Taking his handgun out from his jacket, he flicks the safety off and walks towards the van.
[CIA van]
Weiss turns off the last of the night vision monitors. Vaughn shifts around the back of the van, clearing things up.
"You done?" Weiss asks him. Vaughn nods, watching him slide past him in the cramped space to the back doors so he can get out to get to the driver's side door. As he opens the back doors, he starts to speak. "She did great out there tonight—"
And then stops abruptly as Sark lowers his gun barrel at his forehead.
"Good evening, gentlemen. Ah, Mr. Vaughn. Will wonders never cease, running into you again so soon."
Heart pounding, Vaughn glances at Weiss, and then at Sark. "What do you want?"
"You have a file that Miss Bristow has transmitted to this van. My employer would like to obtain the CIA's copy of that file."
"You…this was all a set up. The information was leaked to SD-6 and the CIA, about the Master File," Vaughn gets out. "Getting us to do the dirty work for you."
"Yes, and if you don't give it to me in the next 20 seconds, your partner here will die."
"Mike, don't give the file to him," Weiss says calmly.
Thinking quickly, Vaughn attempts an opening gambit. "What if I duplicate a copy? You get yours, the CIA gets theirs, and everyone wins."
"Mike, don't, don't let them get a copy." Sark presses the gun barrel against Weiss's forehead to silence him.
"My terms are non-negotiable. You now have 10 seconds to decide." Vaughn puts his hands out to where Sark can see them, and reaches for the wireless device.
"Put the gun down Sark, and I'll give the File to you."
"5 seconds."
Vaughn throws the device at Sark, and launches himself out of the van at him. They wrestle on the street and struggle for Sark's gun, pinned between them. A gunshot erupts. Sark gets up.
Vaughn does not.
Incredible, burning pain lances through him and he finds himself unable to move. He looks down and realizes he's been shot in the chest. A dark crimson stain is blooming on his shirt front. Moments later two more gunshots erupt, and in the edges of his fading vision he sees Weiss go down as well.
He looks down and sees a corner of Aunt Trish's hanky peeking out from his jacket pocket. He tries to touch it but the last thing he remembers as the blackness claims him is the fact that Sydney—oh God Sydney…had told him to bring it for good luck…
Note: "the take" is information gathered by espionage, from the International Spy Museum website: http://64.226.112.91/insiders/loe.asp