Author's Note: Sorry this took so long to come- what with school, then catching the flu I couldn't find the time to actually write this.
Weiss frowned dubiously at the panel van in front of him.
"I thought we were supposed to be inconspicuous," he said. Jack sent Weiss a look, which shut him up immediately. Will was poking around at all the things Jack had bought, giving a verbal inventory.
"Gun…oh, another gun, bullet proof vests, first aid kit, lock pick kit, I have absolutely no idea what this is…probably expensive…" Jack glared at Will, who put down the small device and backed away slightly.
"Right-oh, don't touch the expensive stuff, I get it," he said. Weiss sighed in exasperation, and climbed into the back of the van. Jack followed, leaving Will to jump into the driver's seat. He revved the engine and they were off.
Weiss shrugged off his shirt and pulled on a bulletproof vest. After a few minutes of tugging at the velcro Weiss looked at Jack.
"Tell me about where we're going," he said.
"We're going to the parking lot of the Credit Dauphine building. Once we reach it, you're entering the air conditioning duct. There's only one room you can reach through the ducts. Once you're inside, you'll be heading to the elevator shaft. I'll be in my office, shutting off the cameras. You'll only have a few minutes to get down. Then I'll direct you over the ear piece."
Weiss nodded. Silence fell in the car, only to be broken by Will.
"You know, it's strange. Last time Sydney disappeared without a trace I was missing too. This time Francie's the one who's gone. Weird…"
"What did you just say?" asked Jack cautiously.
"Only that Francie's gone too. Why?" asked Will.
"It's…nothing," said Jack, frowning at Weiss. Weiss looked at him questioningly, and Jack shook his head.
*
"Oh, great," murmured Sydney. Vaughn followed her around the corner and froze. Sydney was standing face to face with that woman, France or Cassandra or whatever her name was. Francie reacted quickly, grabbing Sydney and Vaughn's arms and dragging them into the nearest room, shutting the door behind her. Then she turned back to Sydney and Vaughn. Sydney was glaring right back at her, her right temple beginning to bruise. Vaughn slumped tiredly against the wall, cradling his left hand. He let out a sigh, and Sydney's gaze flicked over to where he was, concern evident in her face. Francie cleared her throat.
"Look, I don't know what's going on. All I know is that something is seriously wrong here," started Francie. "And you yelled out to me that I didn't know everything. You're right, I don't know anything. In fact, I know next to nothing. But something is telling me that there is more to this than it seems, and that you can tell me…" she finished suggestively.
Sydney took a deep breath.
"Alright, I'll tell you everything…but later- we don't have time," she said hurriedly, her voice a hoarse whisper. Francie frowned dubiously, then nodded slowly. Sydney let out a quiet sigh of relief.
"Okay…I might be able to help you get out of here," said Francie.
*
The panel van pulled up in the car park underneath the air conditioning vent. Weiss climbed out of the van, all the equipment strapped around his person. He reached up, pulled down the vent and climbed inside, careful to make sure that the van blocked any view of him at all times. Meanwhile, Jack climbed out of the car, straightened his suit jacket and strode calmly to the door. He opened it, walked over to the elevator and pressed the button for his floor. Unless someone decided to give him an uncomfortably close inspection, no one would notice that the small earpiece in his right ear was attached to a turned off mobile phone.
Author's Note: I know this chapter is a lot shorter than the others, but as I said before, I have the flu. Mmmm, Sudafed…anyway, more is coming soon (as soon as I can actually think straight.)
Oh, and congratulations again to the people who actually read Author's notes!!! Brownie points for you!