"Derevko is staying on the 57th floor at the Hilton. Her room has a window
on the west side of the building. We will place two cameras outside this
window. They will be able to get audio from inside the room, as well as a
video feed, while remaining undetected," Jack informed the group,
concluding his briefing on the events of the previous night. "We just want
to find out what she's up to."
"Where exactly are we going to get these cameras?" Palmer asked. "We didn't bring any equipment like that."
"There is an SD-6 warehouse 2 miles out of the city. They security may be high, but I am confident that we can get around that possibility."
Duncan looked at Weiss, then back to Jack, before saying, "The CIA hasn't given clearance for this, have they?"
Jack stared hard at him. These CIA agents really irritated him, with their glorified sense that they were fulfilling their patriotic duty. What good were they if they had no backbone?
"Is that relevant?" he asked, raising his eyebrows, daring him to reply.
"I don't think any one of us is going to take part in this scheme of yours, if my suspicions are true. Our loyalties lie solely within the agency. We have no interest in becoming rogue agents like yourself!" Duncan told him loudly. "So tell me, do you consider that relevant?"
Weiss' attention turned from Jack (Damn, the man was mad now!) to Vaughn, who had thus far sat silently next to him. And he knew. Vaughn was going.
"Vaughn," he said, for once all levity removed from his voice, taken over by a pleading quality. "You're running out of last chances, here. The last time you almost died - twice!! You can't do this again."
"You're supporting this?!" exclaimed Duncan, now standing. He turned an accusing gaze on Vaughn. "As Agent' Bristow's handler, it is your responsibility to keep her under control! As her CIA contact, you represent the CIA, and their interests. You have no business taking part in this."
"As Agent Bristow's handler, it is my responsibility to keep her safe. If by taking part in this mission, I can do that, then I'm left with no choice," Vaughn said, in a voice, which clearly marked the end of that particular line of discussion. Sydney shifted uncomfortably in her seat, a little bothered that she had been dragged into that.
Weiss' words had also affected her. He had been absolutely right. Helping her had almost cost Vaughn his life once. How could she ask him to help her again?
"Vaughn," she started, but he cut her off.
"Sydney. I can't let you do this alone. When I told you I was in if you needed me. That didn't just apply to then. There's nothing you can say that will change my mind."
Sydney bit her lip to keep herself from arguing with him. There was no point. He could be almost as stubborn as her. "Okay then," she said. To Jack and Vaughn, she commented," I think we have some planning to do."
"And in that case," Palmer said, rising from his spot on the floor. "We'll be heading downstairs to the bar. Maybe we'll be lucky enough to get so drunk we won't remember ever having this conversation."
Weiss followed him out, winking at the people who still remained in the room. Duncan looked at Jack, eyes begging him not to go ahead, to just back down. Jack stared icily back, until Duncan lowered his eyes, sighed in defeat, and went after the other two agents.
The door shut with a resounding click behind him. From their seats on opposite ends of the couch, Vaughn and Sydney watched Jack where he stood in front of the television. The older man unclenched his jaw, and said, "We have a lot of work to do. We move tonight."
* * *
A branch snapped underneath Sydney's foot, breaking the silence of the night. She winced and jerked her head up, so she could view the large, abandoned factory before her. Well, not quite abandoned.
The area was isolated, only a long dirt road led up to the building. It was surrounded by grass, just long enough to use for cover if one was crawling on the ground, and even then, a sniper on the roof could easily spot an intruder.
Vaughn glanced at Sydney from his place beside her, at the edge of the tree line. Their last safety net before embarking across the sinister meadow. She looked at him and shrugged.
The plan was to use the cover of darkness, hoping their black clothes would allow them to reach the building undetected. It was a long shot, and both knew it.
Almost out of nowhere, a beam of light swept by them, causing both to drop to the ground. Sydney went rigid as she realized how close they were, faces only inches away.. Okay, Sydney, now is not the time..
"What's happened?" demanded Jack, voice filtering through the comm. Link.
"Watch lights," Sydney responded, watching as the strobe passed over them again.
"50 seconds, "Vaughn announced, looking up from his watch, forehead wrinkled. Sydney raised her eyebrows at him. "We'll have to run."
"What if we zig-zag? Would that buy us time?" she asked. Vaughn shook his head.
"No, it would take longer. Shortest distance is from here straight to the warehouse. We'll be ore at risk of being caught in the light if we don't follow as straight path."
Sydney breathed out slowly. 50 seconds wasn't a lot of time, and the distance was considerable. Normally, a challenge like this wouldn't bother her. But there was a lot riding on this. If they were caught, she could be reported back to Sloane. Her whole cover could be blown. "Okay. Dad, we're going radio silent until we reach the building."
"We go in three, two, one. now!" Vaughn said. They jumped up as the beam passed them, and began their insane sprint across the field.
.45.
Sydney heard her feet pounding on the ground, and just behind her, Vaughn, matching her rhythm.
.30.
The building only seemed to get farther away, and she was acutely aware of the danger if they didn't make it before the time was up.
.20.
Her breath caught in her throat as she briefly stumbled, foot catching on a tree root. God knows what THAT was doing in the middle of a field. She felt Vaughn come up behind her, putting a steadying hand no her shoulder.
.9..
They ran the rest together, and Sydney was vaguely aware of white light coming up beside her.
.3..
The building was only a short distance away.
.1..
They reached the building just as the light passed over where they had been, only seconds before. Sydney and Vaughn both leaned against the hard wall.
Vaughn reached up and before switching on his comm. Link grinned, and said, "I can't believe we're going to have to do that again."
Sydney smiled back and looked at the ground, listening as he informed her father that they'd reached the building.
"Where exactly are we going to get these cameras?" Palmer asked. "We didn't bring any equipment like that."
"There is an SD-6 warehouse 2 miles out of the city. They security may be high, but I am confident that we can get around that possibility."
Duncan looked at Weiss, then back to Jack, before saying, "The CIA hasn't given clearance for this, have they?"
Jack stared hard at him. These CIA agents really irritated him, with their glorified sense that they were fulfilling their patriotic duty. What good were they if they had no backbone?
"Is that relevant?" he asked, raising his eyebrows, daring him to reply.
"I don't think any one of us is going to take part in this scheme of yours, if my suspicions are true. Our loyalties lie solely within the agency. We have no interest in becoming rogue agents like yourself!" Duncan told him loudly. "So tell me, do you consider that relevant?"
Weiss' attention turned from Jack (Damn, the man was mad now!) to Vaughn, who had thus far sat silently next to him. And he knew. Vaughn was going.
"Vaughn," he said, for once all levity removed from his voice, taken over by a pleading quality. "You're running out of last chances, here. The last time you almost died - twice!! You can't do this again."
"You're supporting this?!" exclaimed Duncan, now standing. He turned an accusing gaze on Vaughn. "As Agent' Bristow's handler, it is your responsibility to keep her under control! As her CIA contact, you represent the CIA, and their interests. You have no business taking part in this."
"As Agent Bristow's handler, it is my responsibility to keep her safe. If by taking part in this mission, I can do that, then I'm left with no choice," Vaughn said, in a voice, which clearly marked the end of that particular line of discussion. Sydney shifted uncomfortably in her seat, a little bothered that she had been dragged into that.
Weiss' words had also affected her. He had been absolutely right. Helping her had almost cost Vaughn his life once. How could she ask him to help her again?
"Vaughn," she started, but he cut her off.
"Sydney. I can't let you do this alone. When I told you I was in if you needed me. That didn't just apply to then. There's nothing you can say that will change my mind."
Sydney bit her lip to keep herself from arguing with him. There was no point. He could be almost as stubborn as her. "Okay then," she said. To Jack and Vaughn, she commented," I think we have some planning to do."
"And in that case," Palmer said, rising from his spot on the floor. "We'll be heading downstairs to the bar. Maybe we'll be lucky enough to get so drunk we won't remember ever having this conversation."
Weiss followed him out, winking at the people who still remained in the room. Duncan looked at Jack, eyes begging him not to go ahead, to just back down. Jack stared icily back, until Duncan lowered his eyes, sighed in defeat, and went after the other two agents.
The door shut with a resounding click behind him. From their seats on opposite ends of the couch, Vaughn and Sydney watched Jack where he stood in front of the television. The older man unclenched his jaw, and said, "We have a lot of work to do. We move tonight."
* * *
A branch snapped underneath Sydney's foot, breaking the silence of the night. She winced and jerked her head up, so she could view the large, abandoned factory before her. Well, not quite abandoned.
The area was isolated, only a long dirt road led up to the building. It was surrounded by grass, just long enough to use for cover if one was crawling on the ground, and even then, a sniper on the roof could easily spot an intruder.
Vaughn glanced at Sydney from his place beside her, at the edge of the tree line. Their last safety net before embarking across the sinister meadow. She looked at him and shrugged.
The plan was to use the cover of darkness, hoping their black clothes would allow them to reach the building undetected. It was a long shot, and both knew it.
Almost out of nowhere, a beam of light swept by them, causing both to drop to the ground. Sydney went rigid as she realized how close they were, faces only inches away.. Okay, Sydney, now is not the time..
"What's happened?" demanded Jack, voice filtering through the comm. Link.
"Watch lights," Sydney responded, watching as the strobe passed over them again.
"50 seconds, "Vaughn announced, looking up from his watch, forehead wrinkled. Sydney raised her eyebrows at him. "We'll have to run."
"What if we zig-zag? Would that buy us time?" she asked. Vaughn shook his head.
"No, it would take longer. Shortest distance is from here straight to the warehouse. We'll be ore at risk of being caught in the light if we don't follow as straight path."
Sydney breathed out slowly. 50 seconds wasn't a lot of time, and the distance was considerable. Normally, a challenge like this wouldn't bother her. But there was a lot riding on this. If they were caught, she could be reported back to Sloane. Her whole cover could be blown. "Okay. Dad, we're going radio silent until we reach the building."
"We go in three, two, one. now!" Vaughn said. They jumped up as the beam passed them, and began their insane sprint across the field.
.45.
Sydney heard her feet pounding on the ground, and just behind her, Vaughn, matching her rhythm.
.30.
The building only seemed to get farther away, and she was acutely aware of the danger if they didn't make it before the time was up.
.20.
Her breath caught in her throat as she briefly stumbled, foot catching on a tree root. God knows what THAT was doing in the middle of a field. She felt Vaughn come up behind her, putting a steadying hand no her shoulder.
.9..
They ran the rest together, and Sydney was vaguely aware of white light coming up beside her.
.3..
The building was only a short distance away.
.1..
They reached the building just as the light passed over where they had been, only seconds before. Sydney and Vaughn both leaned against the hard wall.
Vaughn reached up and before switching on his comm. Link grinned, and said, "I can't believe we're going to have to do that again."
Sydney smiled back and looked at the ground, listening as he informed her father that they'd reached the building.