Resolve
Pretty dark. I'm not joking. Major S/V angst, character death, mild
violence depending on how
you look at it. Maybe you should keep some Kleenex nearby if you're one to
cry. *Okay, stop
babbling like Marshall, chimaera*
Sydney's POV
It was supposed to be a simple reconnaissance mission. I never saw the trap coming. God, I was so naive. So now I sit in a cold, dirty room, tied to a chair. Again. I have a history of being tied down to chair. I guess I knew this day would happen eventually. Or maybe I was so optimistic that I thought Sloane wouldn't see. Instead of sitting at my desk upstairs, I'm in SD-6's basement. In one of the less popular torture chambers that half the people up there have no idea exists. Sloane has come every day, attempting to torture me into submission, to get me to admit I was wrong and to promise I'd never betray him again. Bastard doesn't realize he taught me how to withstand most types of torture. Threats of knives, fire, and unidentified chemicals don't faze me. Until Sloane brings him in. And my resolve begins to crumble. He's a bloody mess. His nose is broken, he's been beaten and bruised, and a couple of his ribs must be cracked. But I recognize those eyes. They're heartbreakingly green. And I know it's wrong to admit my deception out loud, with Sloane watching. "Vaughn?"
***
I don't know if Dad's status as a double agent has been revealed. Sloane hasn't taunted me about having Dad in captivity too, so I assume he's up there, working still. Getting comments like, "I'm so sorry about Sydney." Maybe he's with Devlin, trying to get us out of here. But, then, that would blow his cover. So Vaughn and I are probably screwed. Great.
***
He's been drifting in and out of consciousness. He mumbles to himself at times. I can hear him reliving the moment he found I'd been taken, then the moment he was taken. I watch him. They've untied me, so I'll go to him and hold him as he sleeps fitfully.
***
I hear the jingle of keys and I see Sloane. Accompanied by my father. So I naturally worry. His face doesn't betray any emotion. Sloane is speaking. "Well, Sydney, you've been incredibly strong so far. The best of agents have cracked under the types of things I've exposed you to. But I wonder, what would you think if I hurt him?" Behind Sloane, my father has tied Vaughn to a chair. Boy, those things are popular. "Daddy, no," I whimper. Sloane is so proud of himself. "Let me go get things ready," he says, scampering away like an overeager child. "Why, Daddy, please don't do it, I'm sorry," I beg my father, although I have no idea why I'm apologizing. He's as guilty as I am. At least I have to common sense left not to reveal that. "Hush," he says, turning off all cameras in the room. "Sloane says he will let you live." "Really?" I ask, hopeful. Maybe things aren't as bad as I believe. "But there's a catch. Vaughn has to die. Sloane knows he's CIA." "No," I choke out. "No, Daddy, don't." "There's no way we can get him out without exposing myself and endangering you. I've talked to Devlin." "Don't hurt him, Daddy. Please." "Sloane says killing him will be an acceptable punishment. But he won't have you betraying him again. I'll continue to be a double agent, and you will receive your countermissions through me." "No, please, there has to be a way." "Sydney, we have tried every single thing we can. There is no way." "How can you do this?" I scream at him. "You don't expect me to sit back and watch you two kill him! I'm sick and tired of being SD-6's and the CIA's damn puppet!" He doesn't know what to say. "I love him, Dad, doesn't that mean anything to you?" I whisper. "Yes. And that's why Sloane picked him." And the three of us sit together in silence until Sloane rejoins us.
***
The rest of what happened is horrible. Imagine Sloane using the same methods that wouldn't break me against Vaughn. Imagine my father watching in a darkened corner. Sloane is thrilled to hear my whimpers and cries as he deals another blow to Vaughn. And then another. And another. Finally, I couldn't take anymore. "Stop it! Please, I'll do anything! I'm sorry," I scream. "There's a good girl, Sydney," Sloane says. He motions for guards outside the room to take Vaughn away as I sit on the floor, sobbing. He steps closer to me. "I thought you'd learned by now that I'm always watching, Sydney. And be warned that if I catch you betraying us again, it won't be one of your lovers dying. It will be you."
***
Call me stupid. Very stupid. But at that point I thought everything was going to be okay. Funny that I was still naive. Two days after I was released from SD-6 custody, I was attending his funeral. His mother was there, sobbing, and if my heart wasn't already shattered by then, it would've broken right there. Weiss and Devlin were there, both distant, and both refusing to look at me. What pissed me off most was Sloane's presence. He wasn't there with the rest of us, at the edge of the grave, but he watched, with my father, in a car from a distance. Smiling. And as I stood alone, later, at the edge of Vaughn's grave, which was only a few rows away from Danny's, I realized that I can't afford to love another human being anymore. So I'll separate myself from Francie and Will. I'll become an empty shell at work. My father won't even know me anymore. I'll smile, but my smile will be cold and empty. Because I loved two men and SD-6 killed them both. Because of me. And I've found that love, in my case, is deadly. And when the day comes that Alliance is shattered into oblivion, there will be nothing left for me.
Sydney's POV
It was supposed to be a simple reconnaissance mission. I never saw the trap coming. God, I was so naive. So now I sit in a cold, dirty room, tied to a chair. Again. I have a history of being tied down to chair. I guess I knew this day would happen eventually. Or maybe I was so optimistic that I thought Sloane wouldn't see. Instead of sitting at my desk upstairs, I'm in SD-6's basement. In one of the less popular torture chambers that half the people up there have no idea exists. Sloane has come every day, attempting to torture me into submission, to get me to admit I was wrong and to promise I'd never betray him again. Bastard doesn't realize he taught me how to withstand most types of torture. Threats of knives, fire, and unidentified chemicals don't faze me. Until Sloane brings him in. And my resolve begins to crumble. He's a bloody mess. His nose is broken, he's been beaten and bruised, and a couple of his ribs must be cracked. But I recognize those eyes. They're heartbreakingly green. And I know it's wrong to admit my deception out loud, with Sloane watching. "Vaughn?"
***
I don't know if Dad's status as a double agent has been revealed. Sloane hasn't taunted me about having Dad in captivity too, so I assume he's up there, working still. Getting comments like, "I'm so sorry about Sydney." Maybe he's with Devlin, trying to get us out of here. But, then, that would blow his cover. So Vaughn and I are probably screwed. Great.
***
He's been drifting in and out of consciousness. He mumbles to himself at times. I can hear him reliving the moment he found I'd been taken, then the moment he was taken. I watch him. They've untied me, so I'll go to him and hold him as he sleeps fitfully.
***
I hear the jingle of keys and I see Sloane. Accompanied by my father. So I naturally worry. His face doesn't betray any emotion. Sloane is speaking. "Well, Sydney, you've been incredibly strong so far. The best of agents have cracked under the types of things I've exposed you to. But I wonder, what would you think if I hurt him?" Behind Sloane, my father has tied Vaughn to a chair. Boy, those things are popular. "Daddy, no," I whimper. Sloane is so proud of himself. "Let me go get things ready," he says, scampering away like an overeager child. "Why, Daddy, please don't do it, I'm sorry," I beg my father, although I have no idea why I'm apologizing. He's as guilty as I am. At least I have to common sense left not to reveal that. "Hush," he says, turning off all cameras in the room. "Sloane says he will let you live." "Really?" I ask, hopeful. Maybe things aren't as bad as I believe. "But there's a catch. Vaughn has to die. Sloane knows he's CIA." "No," I choke out. "No, Daddy, don't." "There's no way we can get him out without exposing myself and endangering you. I've talked to Devlin." "Don't hurt him, Daddy. Please." "Sloane says killing him will be an acceptable punishment. But he won't have you betraying him again. I'll continue to be a double agent, and you will receive your countermissions through me." "No, please, there has to be a way." "Sydney, we have tried every single thing we can. There is no way." "How can you do this?" I scream at him. "You don't expect me to sit back and watch you two kill him! I'm sick and tired of being SD-6's and the CIA's damn puppet!" He doesn't know what to say. "I love him, Dad, doesn't that mean anything to you?" I whisper. "Yes. And that's why Sloane picked him." And the three of us sit together in silence until Sloane rejoins us.
***
The rest of what happened is horrible. Imagine Sloane using the same methods that wouldn't break me against Vaughn. Imagine my father watching in a darkened corner. Sloane is thrilled to hear my whimpers and cries as he deals another blow to Vaughn. And then another. And another. Finally, I couldn't take anymore. "Stop it! Please, I'll do anything! I'm sorry," I scream. "There's a good girl, Sydney," Sloane says. He motions for guards outside the room to take Vaughn away as I sit on the floor, sobbing. He steps closer to me. "I thought you'd learned by now that I'm always watching, Sydney. And be warned that if I catch you betraying us again, it won't be one of your lovers dying. It will be you."
***
Call me stupid. Very stupid. But at that point I thought everything was going to be okay. Funny that I was still naive. Two days after I was released from SD-6 custody, I was attending his funeral. His mother was there, sobbing, and if my heart wasn't already shattered by then, it would've broken right there. Weiss and Devlin were there, both distant, and both refusing to look at me. What pissed me off most was Sloane's presence. He wasn't there with the rest of us, at the edge of the grave, but he watched, with my father, in a car from a distance. Smiling. And as I stood alone, later, at the edge of Vaughn's grave, which was only a few rows away from Danny's, I realized that I can't afford to love another human being anymore. So I'll separate myself from Francie and Will. I'll become an empty shell at work. My father won't even know me anymore. I'll smile, but my smile will be cold and empty. Because I loved two men and SD-6 killed them both. Because of me. And I've found that love, in my case, is deadly. And when the day comes that Alliance is shattered into oblivion, there will be nothing left for me.