~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vaughn walked in to find Alice graciously sitting at her desk, filling out paperwork.

"Hey."

Alice looked up and found Vaughn smiling down at her. "Michael!" She got up from her desk and threw her arms around him. "It's nice to see you again."

"You too….so, you're working here now?"

"Yeah, just started a few weeks ago."

"Oh, so how are you holding up? I hear Bartnett can be a little…"

She watched his reaction and could tell he had a strong dislike towards Barttnet. "Actually, she's great. And I'm learning so much around here, too. It's really overwhelming."

Vaughn smiled. He couldn't believe how beautiful she still was. It was too bad that looks were the only thing that kept their relationship going. Now, if she only had Sydney's personality, he would have stayed with her forever.

Vaughn's thoughts were soon interrupted by the sound of Alice's voice, "Michael, am I boring you already?" She asked smiling.

"No, no, I was just thinking about something."

"About what?"

"Work, that's all."

"Oh, ok."

For a moment it was quite. It was pretty clear to the two of them that they had run out of things to talk about.

"So, are you seeing someone" Vaughn asked absently.

Alice was completely surprised, and so was Vaughn. He had never meant to ask the question, but somehow it had slipped.

"I'm sorry Alice, that's none of my business. I…"

"It's alright," she interrupted. "And to answer your question, yes I am," she said, looking smug.

Vaughn wasn't surprised at her answer. She was beautiful and she could get any man she wanted. He couldn't help but laugh at how fast he had asked her to become his girlfriend.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about how we first met, that's all."

"Oh."

Vaughn sat on top of Alice's desk, "So, tell me a little bit about this guy? What's he do for a living? Well, that is if you don't mind me asking, of course."

"No, not at all. Let's see,"she said, trying to think. "He's an investment banker and he was born in England. And apparently he has no family. I mean, the only family he had died a year ago. That's pretty much it."

"Well, I hope this guy's treating you right. He's very lucky to have you," Vaughn said, smiling.

Alice returned the smile back whole heartedly, "Thanks, and Sydney's very lucky to have you as a handler."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack slowly walked up to Sydney's door, and had knocked three times before Francie answered it.

"Oh hey, Mr. B…" Francie stopped her sentence when she noticed Jack about to correct her. "I mean, Jack," she said, smiling at him.

"Hello Francie. Is Sydney around?"

"Yeah, she is. Hold on, I'll call her for you." Francie turned away from Jack and began to yell, "Sydney, your dad's here!"

"Ok, I'll be out in a sec!"

Francie turned to Jack, "She'll be out in a sec."

Jack let out a short laugh, "So I've heard. So….I hear you're opening your restaurant soon?"

At the mention of her restaurant, Francie's whole face lit up, "Yeah, I am, but I wouldn't say I'm opening it up soon," she said, looking doubtful. "It still needs a lot of work."

"Well, I'm sure it'll be extraordinary once it's open," he said, pasting on a smile. Jack still wasn't used to interacting with people outside of work, so having a conversation with Francie was definitely a challenge.

Francie gave Jack a hug, which completely took him by surprise. He remained still until she had removed her arms from around him, "Why, thanks, Jack."

"You're welcome."

They soon were interrupted by the sound of Sydney's voice, "I'll be out in a sec you guys!"

Francie laughed, "When she says that, she usually means it's gonna be awhile."

"Oh…well, you don't have to stay and entertain me. I'm sure you have better things to do. I'll just wait here for Sydney."

"No, it's fine. I have nothing to do anyway," she said, shrugging. "Well, since we're both waiting for Sydney, maybe you can give me your opinion on something?"

"Alright, what is it?"

"Well, say you bring your lady friend over to my restaurant, and I'm assuming you have one," she said, giving Jack a playful punch on the arm.

Jack cleared his throat, "Actually, I don't."

Francie was a bit embarrassed by her comment and quickly changed the subject, "Well…I was speaking hypothetically. I mean, if you did have one…umm…"

"It's quite alright, I understand. So, please continue."

This time Francie choose her words more carefully, "Ok, say you were at my restaurant. Would you mind if there was a smoking section? Well, I only ask since I'm not really into people blowing a black cloud into my lungs, and I just want to get someone else's opinion."

"Well, it would be convenient for most people to have a smoking section, since most wealthy people do tend to smoke."

By now Jack noticed Francie writing down what he had just said and repeating it to herself, "Rich people smoke, period… Ok, got ya. And another thing, how do you think the perfect men's room should be?"

"Well, it has to have plumbing."

Francie couldn't help but laugh.

"Well, to be honest, Francie, I don't think I should be the one you should ask. To me a bathroom's a bathroom and you're just there to empty yourself. But it would be nice to have one of those couches the women have. It looks…it looks very comfortable," he said, laughing.

Franice couldn't help but think what a nice smile Jack had. If only he'd smile more.

"Alright, I'm done, you guys. What'd I miss?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*FLASHBACK *

"I swear to you, I heard him breathing," he said, looking concerned.

The man across from him, on the other hand, was not at all worried, "So what? By the time we bury him, he won't be for long. Would you please help me so we can get out of here?"

"Fine."

As they were about to walk to the body, they discovered that it was gone. "Oh my God!" He quickly turned to find his companion on the ground. As he walked to the side of his friend, he radioed for help.

"This is Matt. Do you copy?" he said, panicked.

"Yeah, Matt, what is it?"

"The body…I-It's gone," he said in whispered tones.

"Very funny."

"It's no joke it's…" By then he was approached from behind and had his neck snapped.

After a few seconds, the radio went on again. This time it wasn't Matt. "Tell your employer that he'll get his soon," a voice said huskily.

"Hello, who is this? Hello?" but there was no answer.

*END FLASHBACK*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So you survived a conversation with Francie?" Sydney said jokingly.

Jack, however, switched his expression and was back to serious, "Sydney, there's a problem."

"What is it? Is it about…"

Jack cut her off, "No, it's not about me. It's about the Alliance."

Sydney began to look alarmed. She didn't know what was going on, but from her father's voice, it couldn't be good. "What about the Alliance?"

"Well, apparently Sloane has informed me that four Alliance members have been executed yesterday. He's been ordered by the board to have an emergency meeting regarding the matter."

"Could they possibly have been executed by a new cell?"

"Well, that is quite probable. Whoever's doing this, though, is good and is ahead of their game. Anyway, the CIA has gotten some leads and has flown Vaughn to Portugal. Apparently the "cell," as we call it for now, is having a meeting. They've sent him to gather surveillance."

Sydney bit her lip, and Jack noticed. "Sydney, you shouldn't be worried. I'm sure Vaughn will be alright."

Sydney nodded and felt a bit embarrassed. Was it so obvious that she had feelings for him that her own father even noticed?

"Well, who's heading up SD-6 while Sloane's gone?"

"The daughter of Alan Christophe. And I'd be extremely discrete around her."

"I understand."

"Yes, well, I have to be on my way now. I'm to meet with her in an hour."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The streets were packed and crowded as usual, and Vaughn and Weiss were beginning to suspect that they had gotten a false lead.

"So, when's this guy gonna show?"

"Give it an hour tops, and if he doesn't show, we'll head back."

Weiss laid a hand on his stomach. "Good, cause I'm hungry."

Vaughn turned away and removed a small bag of Doritos from the glove department and handed them to Weiss, "You always are."

"It's not my fault. We've been here for over an hour! I'm surprised your skinny butt isn't hungry."

Vaughn laughed, "Yeah, well, I rather be skinny than…well," Vaughn said, smacking Weiss in the stomach.

"Dude, that was wrong! You are seriously living the Hollywood cliché, Michael. And anyway, I'd rather be fat than starve."

"All right, all right, you win."

"Yeah, I thought so. And another thing…"

This time Vaughn cut him off, "Get the camera I think it's them."

"You sure?"

"Positive, now go."

"All right."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack slowly walked to Sloane's office. He was in no hurry to see Angela, and it definitely showed. By the time Jack arrived to the door, Angela came out to greet him. "Agent Bristow," she said, motioning him inside. Jack walked in and stepped to the side, holding the door open for Angela to enter. As she entered, she walked past him and thanked him, while returning to her seat.

"You wanted to see me?"

Angela looked up from where she sat and glanced at Jack before setting her eyes back on his file. "You'll do," she said, flipping pages.

Jack gave her a puzzled look before speaking, "I'm sorry, I'm not quite clear on what you meant?"

"Well, Agent Bristow, I'm sure you're already aware of what has happened to the Alliance by now, am I correct?"

Jack nodded in acknowledgement, "Yes, it was quite unfortunate."

"Yes indeed. Well, as you know, my father has sent me here to evaluate how you all run things down here. And well, due to the fact that someone's been killing members of the Alliance, his priorities have changed. Now, I'm here to find the most qualified agents and send them to find this lunatic." Angela then put a smile on her face, "Well, find…kill. It really doesn't matter."

"I understand."

Angela returned to the stack of papers in front of her and soon stopped when she came across Sydney's name. "Well, this one's quite impressive. Tell me Agent Bristow, does your entire family consist of spies?"

"No….just my daughter and I."

"I see, well then, take her along as well. I'll contact you later today once I've gathered a team."

Angela stared at Jack questioningly, noticing that he was still in the room. Normally, everyone she had ever had the pleasure of meeting would have left the first chance they'd gotten after meeting her. She knew why too- they were intimidated, and that pleased her, made her feel in control. But not Jack. No, he was definitely different from anyone she'd ever met. Finally, after a long awkward pause, she spoke again, "That will be all."

"With all due respect, I don't think It'd be wise if my daughter came along."

"Really, and why is that?"

"Because I don't see her fit for this mission. One thing I can tell you about my daughter is that she is no killer. Her emotions will cloud her judgement and that may very much compromise not only her life, but our mission as well." Jack hated talking as if he didn't care about Sydney. As if she were just another agent that he was put in charge of. But he needed to keep her safe, and he'd say and do whatever it took to do just that.

"You make a good point, Agent Bristow. I'll tell you what, if I can't find a suitable replacement for your daughter, I'll take her place."

"Very well, if you'd like."

"Well, I can't say I don't enjoy a good mission. So I'll see you soon," she said, returning to her work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*FLASHBACK*

"I don't care! You find him, is that clear?"

From the sound echoing from the room, he could definitely tell that his father had been looking for him. Until he heard more of the conversation, that is. "If anyone finds out that Steven hasn't died, it'll be the end of me!"

What was this? His own father was the one who had sent those people? How could he do that, and most importantly why?

"I understand your concern, sir, but rethink your decision. Surely you don't want your own son killed?"

"Listen here, you fool! It's either him or me….and I choose me. One must sacrifice all to gain all. What has to happen to Steven is a tragedy, but it'll also be a victory for some."

So it was true. His own father had been the one to betray him. He was still puzzled as to why and how his own father could betray him. He had no answers, but that didn't matter. He swore revenge. The betrayer will be betrayed. He would make sure of it.

*END FLASHBACK*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"His name is Thomas Jennings," Alan said, pointing to an enlarged picture of a man shown on screen. "Apparently he's determined to put us all out of business."

At Alan's comment the whole room went into an uproar, that is all except for Sloane.

"Who is this man?!"

"I don't know, William, and frankly, I don't care. He is a threat and he must be eliminated."

Sloane, on the other hand, had a better idea, "Hold on, Alan. Don't you think we should just keep a close eye on him? I mean, who knows if he even is this notorious leader that you say he is. What if he isn't even in charge, what then?"

The room was silent. "Then we'd really all be dead. So, I say we watch for now. Let him come to us. After all, not many teams win their away games."

"Yes, Arvin, but this isn't sports! Thomas is definitely the head of this organization, and if we all value our lives, we should vote to have him eliminated."

After that, the eight men left began to vote. To Alan's surprise he was outvoted.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sydney sat at the coffee house, watching a young mother come in with her little girl. For a moment, she fantasized about having that kind of life, a normal life, with a child and husband. She was quickly brought back to reality when she saw Jack come into sight. She waved to her father and he quickly came and joined her.

"I got your message, what's up?"

Jack turned his head, searching the room for any possible plants. After a few moments searching, he was finally satisfied. "Sydney, I've been assigned a mission regarding the Alliance. Apparently, Christophe's daughter wants me to lead a team and take Thomas Jennings out."

"Thomas Jennings?"

"Yes, Sloane has informed me of his identity about an hour ago. Apparently, her decision will be overruled, since the Alliance outvoted Alan."

Sydney took a sip of her coffee before answering her father, "So he'll just be put on surveillance then?"

"Yes, most likely. Oh, and Bartnett has informed me that you went to see her on my behalf."

Jack's comment made Sydney's cheeks become a bright red, "Dad, I'm sorry, I…."

"It doesn't matter, Sydney. It was kind of you. Not necessary, but kind," he said, smiling.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Alice, clear all of my appointments for today."

Alice looked confused, "Why?"

"Let's just say I'll be expecting another Bristow today."

"Oh, ok," she said, laughing. "So they really are a piece of work, huh?"

"You could definitely say that." As Bartnett was about to return to her office, she took notice of a picture on Alice's desk. It was a picture of a tall and handsome man. She couldn't help but ask the question. "Who's that?"

Alice looked to where Bartnett was pointing and smiled, "Oh, that's my boyfriend Thomas."

"Well, I must applaud you on a job well done. Must've took a lot to catch that one."

By now Alice's face was flushed, "Actually, he came to me."

Please R&R. Thanks. ;)