Title: Didn't Think You'd Come
Author: ReeCee
Feedback: If you'd like to give it, then I'd love to get it. lol No pressure.
E-mail: dangerous_angel@2die4.com
Distribution: Here! lol I'm not sure if my stuff is really up to par with everyone else's so I have no idea WHY you'd want to. . . but if you do. Thanks! Just email me and tell me where.
Disclaimer: Do I really need to? . . . (sigh) NOT MINE. Capiche? Besides, JJ Abrams is God to my Alias world.
A/N: This one seemed a bit lengthy to me… and I've been so obsessed with getting this chapter/part out of my system that there are probably a lot of grammatical errors. So sorry about that. Hopefully nothing too drastic that you won't be able to understand. I've been mixing my writing styles as well, so hopefully you won't hate that. My Tarot Woman appears (not physically, but mentioned) in the one, for those of you who liked her. Lol Hope you guys like this one. Feel free to tell me if you don't!
His cell phone woke him up from an iffy type slumber. Reaching for it, he answered gruffly, "Vaughn."
"Mike? It's Eric. Um, when was the last time you heard from Sydney?" At the mention of her, he opened his eyes. "What do you mean? You know I stopped seeing her after I left L.A. offices…"
"Mike? Don't lie. I need to know," he paused, contemplating whether or not to tell him. "Something's come up concerning her."
"I don't see what the big deal is, Eric. Just call her up and talk to her yourself." He still hadn't left his sleepy fog completely behind, and the urgency in his friend's voice had yet to shine through.
"We would. We HAVE. She's just… not answering. Hasn't been for a week now. No one knows where she is."
"She's missing?" he asked incredulously, suddenly alert (standing up) and completely awake.
"Yes," his friend answered. "What's been going on between you two?"
"I – We… I haven't seen her in months." He exhaled deeply as he sat back down. "We had a bad fight, and she hasn't contacted me since."
"How long ago, Mike? I need specific time frames here."
He stopped, counting back on the (painful) months that passed since the last time he saw her. "Last March. It's been 5 months."
He heard a loud sigh come across the line. "What?" he asked. "What did that sigh mean, Eric?"
"5 months. That explains her emotional detachment concerning our meetings and her missions. She… she didn't seem to care anymore. I guess she really didn't then."
He was baffled. If she stopped caring 5 months ago, that meant…
"She told me once, completely out of the blue, that you were the last thing she was holding on to. You were her motivation. Her inspiration."
"What do you need from me?" He asked after a long (heart-breaking) pause.
"We need you to come down, Vaughn."
"I'm on my way," he answered.
He didn't see or hear anything as he drove. In hindsight, he realized he was actually quite lucky to make it there in one piece. He continued on to the elevators, to his old office space in a daze (autopilot).
"Agent Vaughn, nice to see you again." Vaughn nodded to Devlin in acknowledgement.
"If you don't mind, Sir, I'd like to get down to business. Can you tell me where Agent Weiss is?"
He was directed to a conference room where he found Eric. He was visibly tense and had files and papers fanned haphazardly around him on the table.
"Any word?" he asked, as he sat down across from Eric.
"No, none. You?" He shook his head in response.
"When was the last time you talked to her Eric?"
Eric sighed and looked up at him. "Last Sunday. She was coming home from a mission in Jakarta. She had the intel. She made the drop. But apparently, she never went home." He moved the papers around before speaking again: "Or she never made it home."
Vaughn closed his eyes and exhaled. "She's running, you know." Eric looked up at him and answered, "I figured… Do you have any idea where she could've went?"
He shook his hear forlornly. "She would've come to me if we were still on speaking terms. I can check in with Mandy to see if she's dropped by at the café at all in the last 5 months…"
"Who's Mandy?" Eric interjected.
"Mandy's our… well, she's our waitress. She's seen us a lot in the past 3 years." Eric nodded. "Ok, go ahead and call her."
Mike nodded, picking up the phone and dialing the number he knew by heart (surprise). "Hey, is Mandy working? … Yeah, I'll hold." There was shuffling in the background before a perky waitress came on the line. "Mandy speaking! How may I help you?"
"Mandy? It's Mikey. Pie Mikey?"
She giggled contentedly. "Syd's boy! How are ya?"
"Not so great, actually." He traced slow circles on the table. "I was, uh… actually wondering if you'd seen Syd lately? I mean, since our blow up I haven't exactly talked to her and… I'm worried now, I really am."
"Hmm… so that's what she was talking about! She said people would be looking for her. Namely, you."
Mike's back went rigid. "So you've seen her? Is she ok?"
Eric opened his mouth to speak, but Mike raised his hand to stop him.
Meanwhile, Mandy proceeded to recite instructions. "She said if you were to call, that… that it was good. It meant you still cared. She said if you were to come around, to make sure you were alone and to give you something. It's a package, actually. I've got it right here…"
"I'm coming over right now," he interrupted before hanging up the phone.
"She knew you'd call me. There's a package waiting for me at the café. I –I… She said I need to go alone or else I won't get the package."
"I understand," Eric said, and before he could say anything else, Mike was out the door and running towards the elevator.
He made it to the café in record time and bust in, surprising the 6 or 7 clients already seated for the early bird breakfast.
"Mandy?" he called out. He rushed up to the counter, and called to her again. "Mandy, are you here?"
"Shhhhh!" she yelled from the back. "I can hear ya, Mikey! Just calm down a bit…" She peeked around the doorframe she was hiding behind and checked to see if he was alone before she came out in plain view. She walked slowly towards him, a brown package tucked securely underneath her arm. "She said to take a look at it in your car." He raised his eyes to her questioningly and she shrugged in response. "She said you'd understand."
He nodded, mumbled a quick thanks and a promise to return soon for coffee and pie, then stalked purposefully out towards his car.
He jumped in, wasting no time in tearing the package open. From the opening dropped a cassette and 2 sheets of paper. He snatched up the tape, almost dropping it again in his frantic stupor. He shoved it in his tape deck and turned up the volume.
"I'm fine. Really. Things have gone a little downhill for me, as I'm sure Agent Weiss has informed you. And I'm sure after a little bit of detective work you figured out why." She paused then, giving a little sigh before continuing. "I know this is immature of me, and I know I should've just asked you… but I needed to know without a doubt that you still cared." He heard her shift, her mattress creaking softly as an indication. "Umm, I went to see that fortune teller of yours. The one with the Tarot cards? The creepy one you told me about?" she laughed softly. "She is utterly amazing. Hit the nail right on the head. Kinda creepy, though. She knew I was friends with 'the Devil.' I swear, she said those exact words."
"Umm, anyway… I picked the 'High Priestess' card. It stands for mystery and intrigue. She went on to say about soon being able to have the truth that I've been wanting for a while now." She took a deep breath, then continued quietly, "I realized that the truth that I want is you. YOU'RE my truth. But you know all this so… I'm gonna go. Go through those papers. If you can find me, then congrats to you. If you can't, I'll be home in a week. SD-6 thinks I'm going on a spiritual retreat." She laughed bitterly. "Sloane couldn't deny me that because it was the same group that Emily worked with. Everything's been taken care of. I'll , uh… I'll see you soon."
He sat there, more or less stunned. He really, REALLY needed to see her now, if for nothing more than to just watch her and make sure she was truly alright. He glanced down at the 2 pieces of paper. One was a map marking out her trail; the second was a list of places she had yet to see.
The next thing he knew he was on a plane to Graceland. She had mentioned something about being an Elvis fan. When he got there, he had searched every hotel within a mile radius for her, finally finding a trail of her.
"Sorry, mister," the girl at front desk apologized. "She checked out 2 days ago and left this morning. She did leave something though. Your name's… Vaughn?" He almost corrected her (No, my name is Michael) but just nodded silently. She handed him a folded piece of paper and he took it with a mumbled, "Thanks."
He walked back outside and walked to a lonely looking park bench outside the hotel. He sat down on it, took a deep breath, and unfolded the paper.
"So I guess if you ARE reading this, I'm more retarded than I thought. I seriously thought I was losing my mind, thinking you wouldn't come. Right now, that girl at the desk is dialing my number to tell me you came."
He stopped reading momentarily, briefly entertaining the thought of running back to the front desk and yanking the phone out of the receptionist's ear. Instead, he kept on.
"I understand now… what you said the last time I saw you. I didn't want to believe you. I just wanted to feel normal for once, and there you were with the truth, stickin' out like a sore thumb… I do love you, Vaughn. I really do. I just need you to know that. I'm heading to New York City for the rest of the week. I want to see the sights and all that. Maybe ride the trains all around. Get lost like a good tourist. Maybe I'll see you around…"
H e nodded.
//I guess I'm going to New York City.//
******
A few hours later, he debarked at La Guardia. He hailed a cab and directed the driver to the Empire State Building. He had an intense gut feeling that that's where she'd be. He vaguely remembered her telling him about the light schedule of the building; how she always wanted to experience it first hand. He looked out the cab window and out into the night sky. Already, the building was lit up in an incredible blue glow.
//She HAS to be there.//
He took the elevators up to the top floor, exiting into the souvenir shops. He saw a tall, brown haired woman standing outside in the observatory, just overlooking the city. He made his way to the door and pushed it open quietly.
He stood at the entrance just watching her watch the city. Finally, he spoke up: "It's a beautiful view, isn't it?" her shoulders tensed slightly at the intrusion, but they relaxed again as the recognition of his voice hit her.
She nodded and held out her hand for him to take. He stepped forward and took it, wrapping her small frame in a tight hug. "Thank God you're ok," he whispered.
"I'm sorry," she said, leaning into him. They stood like that forever, before she finally spoke again.
"Stay with me."
He smiled as he kissed her temple. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
Author: ReeCee
Feedback: If you'd like to give it, then I'd love to get it. lol No pressure.
E-mail: dangerous_angel@2die4.com
Distribution: Here! lol I'm not sure if my stuff is really up to par with everyone else's so I have no idea WHY you'd want to. . . but if you do. Thanks! Just email me and tell me where.
Disclaimer: Do I really need to? . . . (sigh) NOT MINE. Capiche? Besides, JJ Abrams is God to my Alias world.
A/N: This one seemed a bit lengthy to me… and I've been so obsessed with getting this chapter/part out of my system that there are probably a lot of grammatical errors. So sorry about that. Hopefully nothing too drastic that you won't be able to understand. I've been mixing my writing styles as well, so hopefully you won't hate that. My Tarot Woman appears (not physically, but mentioned) in the one, for those of you who liked her. Lol Hope you guys like this one. Feel free to tell me if you don't!
His cell phone woke him up from an iffy type slumber. Reaching for it, he answered gruffly, "Vaughn."
"Mike? It's Eric. Um, when was the last time you heard from Sydney?" At the mention of her, he opened his eyes. "What do you mean? You know I stopped seeing her after I left L.A. offices…"
"Mike? Don't lie. I need to know," he paused, contemplating whether or not to tell him. "Something's come up concerning her."
"I don't see what the big deal is, Eric. Just call her up and talk to her yourself." He still hadn't left his sleepy fog completely behind, and the urgency in his friend's voice had yet to shine through.
"We would. We HAVE. She's just… not answering. Hasn't been for a week now. No one knows where she is."
"She's missing?" he asked incredulously, suddenly alert (standing up) and completely awake.
"Yes," his friend answered. "What's been going on between you two?"
"I – We… I haven't seen her in months." He exhaled deeply as he sat back down. "We had a bad fight, and she hasn't contacted me since."
"How long ago, Mike? I need specific time frames here."
He stopped, counting back on the (painful) months that passed since the last time he saw her. "Last March. It's been 5 months."
He heard a loud sigh come across the line. "What?" he asked. "What did that sigh mean, Eric?"
"5 months. That explains her emotional detachment concerning our meetings and her missions. She… she didn't seem to care anymore. I guess she really didn't then."
He was baffled. If she stopped caring 5 months ago, that meant…
"She told me once, completely out of the blue, that you were the last thing she was holding on to. You were her motivation. Her inspiration."
"What do you need from me?" He asked after a long (heart-breaking) pause.
"We need you to come down, Vaughn."
"I'm on my way," he answered.
He didn't see or hear anything as he drove. In hindsight, he realized he was actually quite lucky to make it there in one piece. He continued on to the elevators, to his old office space in a daze (autopilot).
"Agent Vaughn, nice to see you again." Vaughn nodded to Devlin in acknowledgement.
"If you don't mind, Sir, I'd like to get down to business. Can you tell me where Agent Weiss is?"
He was directed to a conference room where he found Eric. He was visibly tense and had files and papers fanned haphazardly around him on the table.
"Any word?" he asked, as he sat down across from Eric.
"No, none. You?" He shook his head in response.
"When was the last time you talked to her Eric?"
Eric sighed and looked up at him. "Last Sunday. She was coming home from a mission in Jakarta. She had the intel. She made the drop. But apparently, she never went home." He moved the papers around before speaking again: "Or she never made it home."
Vaughn closed his eyes and exhaled. "She's running, you know." Eric looked up at him and answered, "I figured… Do you have any idea where she could've went?"
He shook his hear forlornly. "She would've come to me if we were still on speaking terms. I can check in with Mandy to see if she's dropped by at the café at all in the last 5 months…"
"Who's Mandy?" Eric interjected.
"Mandy's our… well, she's our waitress. She's seen us a lot in the past 3 years." Eric nodded. "Ok, go ahead and call her."
Mike nodded, picking up the phone and dialing the number he knew by heart (surprise). "Hey, is Mandy working? … Yeah, I'll hold." There was shuffling in the background before a perky waitress came on the line. "Mandy speaking! How may I help you?"
"Mandy? It's Mikey. Pie Mikey?"
She giggled contentedly. "Syd's boy! How are ya?"
"Not so great, actually." He traced slow circles on the table. "I was, uh… actually wondering if you'd seen Syd lately? I mean, since our blow up I haven't exactly talked to her and… I'm worried now, I really am."
"Hmm… so that's what she was talking about! She said people would be looking for her. Namely, you."
Mike's back went rigid. "So you've seen her? Is she ok?"
Eric opened his mouth to speak, but Mike raised his hand to stop him.
Meanwhile, Mandy proceeded to recite instructions. "She said if you were to call, that… that it was good. It meant you still cared. She said if you were to come around, to make sure you were alone and to give you something. It's a package, actually. I've got it right here…"
"I'm coming over right now," he interrupted before hanging up the phone.
"She knew you'd call me. There's a package waiting for me at the café. I –I… She said I need to go alone or else I won't get the package."
"I understand," Eric said, and before he could say anything else, Mike was out the door and running towards the elevator.
He made it to the café in record time and bust in, surprising the 6 or 7 clients already seated for the early bird breakfast.
"Mandy?" he called out. He rushed up to the counter, and called to her again. "Mandy, are you here?"
"Shhhhh!" she yelled from the back. "I can hear ya, Mikey! Just calm down a bit…" She peeked around the doorframe she was hiding behind and checked to see if he was alone before she came out in plain view. She walked slowly towards him, a brown package tucked securely underneath her arm. "She said to take a look at it in your car." He raised his eyes to her questioningly and she shrugged in response. "She said you'd understand."
He nodded, mumbled a quick thanks and a promise to return soon for coffee and pie, then stalked purposefully out towards his car.
He jumped in, wasting no time in tearing the package open. From the opening dropped a cassette and 2 sheets of paper. He snatched up the tape, almost dropping it again in his frantic stupor. He shoved it in his tape deck and turned up the volume.
"I'm fine. Really. Things have gone a little downhill for me, as I'm sure Agent Weiss has informed you. And I'm sure after a little bit of detective work you figured out why." She paused then, giving a little sigh before continuing. "I know this is immature of me, and I know I should've just asked you… but I needed to know without a doubt that you still cared." He heard her shift, her mattress creaking softly as an indication. "Umm, I went to see that fortune teller of yours. The one with the Tarot cards? The creepy one you told me about?" she laughed softly. "She is utterly amazing. Hit the nail right on the head. Kinda creepy, though. She knew I was friends with 'the Devil.' I swear, she said those exact words."
"Umm, anyway… I picked the 'High Priestess' card. It stands for mystery and intrigue. She went on to say about soon being able to have the truth that I've been wanting for a while now." She took a deep breath, then continued quietly, "I realized that the truth that I want is you. YOU'RE my truth. But you know all this so… I'm gonna go. Go through those papers. If you can find me, then congrats to you. If you can't, I'll be home in a week. SD-6 thinks I'm going on a spiritual retreat." She laughed bitterly. "Sloane couldn't deny me that because it was the same group that Emily worked with. Everything's been taken care of. I'll , uh… I'll see you soon."
He sat there, more or less stunned. He really, REALLY needed to see her now, if for nothing more than to just watch her and make sure she was truly alright. He glanced down at the 2 pieces of paper. One was a map marking out her trail; the second was a list of places she had yet to see.
The next thing he knew he was on a plane to Graceland. She had mentioned something about being an Elvis fan. When he got there, he had searched every hotel within a mile radius for her, finally finding a trail of her.
"Sorry, mister," the girl at front desk apologized. "She checked out 2 days ago and left this morning. She did leave something though. Your name's… Vaughn?" He almost corrected her (No, my name is Michael) but just nodded silently. She handed him a folded piece of paper and he took it with a mumbled, "Thanks."
He walked back outside and walked to a lonely looking park bench outside the hotel. He sat down on it, took a deep breath, and unfolded the paper.
"So I guess if you ARE reading this, I'm more retarded than I thought. I seriously thought I was losing my mind, thinking you wouldn't come. Right now, that girl at the desk is dialing my number to tell me you came."
He stopped reading momentarily, briefly entertaining the thought of running back to the front desk and yanking the phone out of the receptionist's ear. Instead, he kept on.
"I understand now… what you said the last time I saw you. I didn't want to believe you. I just wanted to feel normal for once, and there you were with the truth, stickin' out like a sore thumb… I do love you, Vaughn. I really do. I just need you to know that. I'm heading to New York City for the rest of the week. I want to see the sights and all that. Maybe ride the trains all around. Get lost like a good tourist. Maybe I'll see you around…"
H e nodded.
//I guess I'm going to New York City.//
******
A few hours later, he debarked at La Guardia. He hailed a cab and directed the driver to the Empire State Building. He had an intense gut feeling that that's where she'd be. He vaguely remembered her telling him about the light schedule of the building; how she always wanted to experience it first hand. He looked out the cab window and out into the night sky. Already, the building was lit up in an incredible blue glow.
//She HAS to be there.//
He took the elevators up to the top floor, exiting into the souvenir shops. He saw a tall, brown haired woman standing outside in the observatory, just overlooking the city. He made his way to the door and pushed it open quietly.
He stood at the entrance just watching her watch the city. Finally, he spoke up: "It's a beautiful view, isn't it?" her shoulders tensed slightly at the intrusion, but they relaxed again as the recognition of his voice hit her.
She nodded and held out her hand for him to take. He stepped forward and took it, wrapping her small frame in a tight hug. "Thank God you're ok," he whispered.
"I'm sorry," she said, leaning into him. They stood like that forever, before she finally spoke again.
"Stay with me."
He smiled as he kissed her temple. "I wouldn't have it any other way."