Author's Note: Okay, after reading all the requests for another chapter, here it is.
Oh yeah, the guy Quentin Tarantino played on one episode in the first season (I don't remember the name) is mentioned, but I'm not sure if the name's right. Anyway, when Cole is mentioned, I mean him.
"…Francie?" asked Sydney, her voice shocked. 'Francie' looked back at Sydney solemnly.
"It's Cassandra," she stated simply. Sydney just stared at the woman she'd thought was her friend.
"I'll just leave you to get better acquainted," sneered Sloane as he left the room. Sydney didn't even notice him leaving, nor did she notice Vaughn. All she noticed was the woman standing right in front of her. Francie…no, Cassandra stared back at her, an unidentifiable emotion in her eyes. After a minute Cassandra turned away, her shoulders shaking.
"How could you?" she asked, in a hurt voice. Sydney stared at her back, bewildered. What the hell was she on about?
"You betrayed your country," Cassandra continued, her voice small. She turned back to Sydney; her eyes glimmering with unshed tears.
Sydney stared. What was she on about? She had to know what was going on…unless…
Sydney opened her mouth to explain everything, but Cassandra cut her off.
"You betrayed your country…there is nothing you could possibly say that changes that. You're a traitor," she said, her voice trembling. Then she spun on her heel.
"Wait!! You don't know everything!!" Sydney yelled after her, but Cassandra ignored her, leaving the room.
*
Francie/ Cassandra shut her office door behind her and leaned against the wall. She slid down it, burying her face in her hands. She was wracked with guilt. The look in Sydney's face, the betrayal written all over her face. Here was the woman she'd been best friends with for years, and she'd handed her over to god knows what fate. There was no way she could forgive herself.
She'd volunteered for the job nearly 8 years ago. It should have been easy, just go undercover as a student and watch a potential agent, see if she could be trusted. It was only supposed to last a couple of months, but then the months dragged on, and the suspicions in the company grew. There was evidence leading to not just one, but two moles in the company, and she was to continue watching Agent Bristow, despite her convictions that Sydney was loyal.
Then came Danny's death, and the sudden change in her behaviour. The anonymous phone calls, and the meetings with the mysterious no one. Cassandra's convictions wavered, and she followed Sydney, taking photos of the man she'd been meeting. But she hadn't been prepared for what Sloane told her when she gave him the photos. That the man was Sydney's contact, that Sydney was a double agent. Cassandra hadn't accepted it, still didn't accept it. There was no way that the Sydney she knew would betray her country. There was something deeper going on…
*
Sydney waited until she was sure they were alone before turning to Vaughn. She took in his face, her eyes filled with concern.
"Are you alright?" she whispered to him. He nodded slightly.
"It hurts like hell, but I don't think it's serious," he said. "You?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. We have to get out of here," she said, nodding down at their restraints. Vaughn laughed humourlessly.
"I've been trying for hours. Maybe you can…" he suggested. Sydney struggled valiantly with her bonds for a minute, to no avail. She stopped and sighed.
"Nope, they're too tight," she said dejectedly. Vaughn frowned absently.
"There is one way…" he started, then broke off. He looked at Sydney, his startling green eyes held hers for a minute.
"But…?" Sydney invited him to continue. Vaughn sighed.
"If you dislocate your thumb, you can compress your hand enough to fit them through the ropes. Only one of us has to do it, they can free the other one," he explained.
Sydney thought for a minute.
"I should be the one to do it," she said. Vaughn shook his head vehemently.
"No. I should- you're better at hand-to-hand combat than me, so we need you at your best," he pointed out. Sydney looked at him, her eyes conflicted. Finally she nodded slightly. Vaughn took a deep breath.
There was a sickening pop, and Vaughn's face paled. His eyes, filled with pain, held her gaze steadily as he slowly drew his hand through the ropes. He bit his lip and kept pulling it through until it was completely freed. Then, his eyes still on Sydney as if drawing strength from her, he pulled his uninjured hand through the slack in the rope. As soon as it was free he let out a shuddering breath and stood up. He walked around to untie Sydney with his good hand, avoiding looking at the other one.
Sydney helped free herself, then turned around to face Vaughn. His face was still pale, and he was sweating slightly. She lifted his arm and looked at the injured hand. Vaughn looked away, not wanting to see it. Sydney looked up at him, her brown eyes filled with concern. Vaughn met her gaze, then looked away.
"It can wait. We need to get out of here," he said. Sydney nodded, and they turned towards the door.
*
Jack stood in Devlin's office, his face contorted in fury. Weiss sat in the chair, his face worried.
"My daughter is missing, and you tell me that there's nothing you can do about it?!" he seethed. "She's an agent of this company, and there's nothing you're going to do about it?!"
"What about Mike?" asked Weiss, his voice laced with worry. Devlin met both their gazes, then turned away.
"I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do for either Agent Bristow or Agent Vaughn. They're inside SD-6, and there's no way I can approval for an extraction, the risk is too high. I'm sorry Jack, my hands are tied," he said, his back to them. There was a long silence, then Devlin asked them to leave.
Weiss started to walk to his office when Jack grabbed his arm. Weiss froze, and Jack leaned over to him.
"We'll get them out, with or without Devlin. Meet me in the parking lot," Jack whispered in Weiss' ear before letting go of his arm.
Weiss paced the parking lot, the same ten paces backwards and forward, playing absently with his yo-yo. He'd been waiting for what seemed like ages. He glanced at his watch. Okay, he'd only been waiting for 3 minutes, but every minute wasted meant one more minute Mike was with those bastards. He turned to pace the other way and found himself face to face with Jack Bristow.
Jack frowned down at the yo-yo in Weiss' hands, then mentally shrugged. Each to his own. Weiss looked down at his hand, then stuffed the yo-yo in his pocket sheepishly. He faced Jack and waited patiently, not letting on that the guy had him seriously freaked out. The man had killed that traitorous weasel without a second's remorse, who wouldn't be freaked?
"We're going to extract them ourselves," Jack said. Weiss frowned.
"Just us?" he asked, confused. Jack sighed.
"No, one of Sydney's friends is going to help us too," he explained, though he looked distinctly disgruntled at the thought. Weiss wracked his brains for a minute.
"You don't mean…Will Tippen?" he asked, horrified. Jack nodded.
"Frankly, the man's useless. How is he going to help us?" Weis asked incredulously.
"He's going to drive us there and back," Jack said. "He volunteered to help after I told him about the situation, and it was the most menial job I could think of."
Weiss thought it over for a minute, then nodded acquiescence.
"Yeah, okay. I'm assuming they're at the Credit Dauphine building?"
"Yes, in a sub-basement. It's where they keep all the high security risk prisoners. It's impossible to escape without some kind of outside help."
"So when do we leave?"
"An hour."
*
Sydney looked around the corner carefully. The hallway looked clear, so she turned back to Vaughn. He was absently cradling his hand, concentrating on her fiercely. Sydney looked at his pain-filled eyes, longing to be able to just kiss it all better. He frowned at her, questioningly. She gestured that it was all clear, and they crept silently out of the room. They snuck along the corridor, careful to keep to the walls.
Sydney looked around carefully, trying to see if she recognised where they were. Nothing looked familiar, and she was fairly certain that they weren't in the Credit Dauphine building. That didn't help much; she had no idea how long she'd been unconscious. They could be anywhere. Still, she looked around in the vain hope that she might be wrong, that they might just be somewhere in the building she'd never seen before. After all, when Cole infiltrated the building she saw some rooms that she hadn't even known existed. She pretended to know where she was for Vaughn's benefit. She didn't want him to worry.
Vaughn trailed along behind Sydney, taking in his surroundings. It probably wouldn't help them, the only part of the Credit Dauphine building he'd seen was the carpark, so as far as he was concerned they could be anywhere. But it provided a distraction from the throbbing that was coming from his injured hand, and that was always a good thing. Besides, Sydney seemed to know where she was. He stopped his musings and concentrated on what he was doing.
Sydney looked over her shoulder at Vaughn. He seemed to be holding up pretty well, all things considered. She turned back to face forward again and walked around the corner.
She should have checked first- she walked smack into none other than Cassandra Vasquez.
"Oh, great," she murmured.
Author's Note: There are a few people I'd like to thank- Melia, Couch, and everyone else who's reviewed me, both for this story and for my other one: it really means a lot to me. And I'd also like to request: if you like this story please give feedback. If you don't like this story please give feedback. If you haven't read this story, don't give feedback because you'll have no idea what you're on about. And if you're still reading this Author's Note, congratulations!! That's an accomplishment in itself!