Chapter Two
"What happened?" Vaughn asked as she came into work the next day on crutches.
"Sark's stupid precaution," she muttered, raising a crutch. "I actually wish that he was here now, you know? Then I could whack him one."
Vaughn chuckled. "Syd," he said, putting her crutch back down. "Kendall's looking for you."
"What for?" she asked, following him.
"I have no idea, but you do know that when he sees that you're on crutches."
"At this point, I don't care. It's only for two weeks anyway."
"Two weeks?"
"Yeah."
"Sydney!" Jack found them as they turned the corner. "Sloane told me that something had gone wrong with the mission, but."
"I know, you expected it to be something with the stupid Echelon disk, right?"
"You're on crutches!"
"No? Really?" she lifted one up again and Vaughn set it back down.
She followed Jack and Vaughn to Kendall, where once again, he was looking over Irina's shoulder.
"What is she doing out?" asked Jack angrily.
"You sound like I'm a dog or something and I figured out how to get out of my cage," Irina said just as coldly.
Sydney rolled her eyes and smiled at Vaughn. Kendall turned around to face them.
"What happened?" he asked, noticing Sydney's crutches.
"I am never going to Nigeria again," she said dramatically, mock-fainting into a chair that Vaughn caught her in.
"What the hell happened?" asked Kendall again.
"The building exploded, an hour earlier than you had said. Sark pushed me into a nearby ditch as it exploded so that the burning pieces of wood, brick, and all of that stuff wouldn't hit us. I fell on my ankle and then didn't listen to him when he offered to help me out and decided to try climbing out myself."
"That was dumb," muttered Irina.
"I never thought I'd say this," said Jack, "but you should have listened to Sark."
Vaughn, Kendall, and Irina stared at him blankly. "What?" he asked.
"Anyway," Sydney continued, their eyes returning to her. "When I got to my right ankle, I sort of re-twisted it and I fell again. Sark ended up pulling me out. When the doctor at SD-6 examined me, he said that I just severely sprained it, but I came close to breaking it. They want me to stay out of the field and off my crutches for three weeks."
"Three weeks?" asked Kendall. "SD-6 could have taken over the world by then!"
Sydney looked at Vaughn, her eyebrows raised. Irina shook her head and went back to typing.
"What's she doing?" asked Sydney.
Irina spun around in her chair. "I'm searching for another way to stop SD-6 from once again accessing Echelon, since you didn't manage to retrieve the disk."
"I was a little busy," she muttered.
"I don't blame you," Irina held up her hands in mock surrender. "Kendall's the one who put me up to it."
"Your best buddy," muttered Sydney.
Irina smiled. "There is another way to close the SD-6 portal, I just have to remember which server Cuvee hid it on. He's got about fifty, each one with the same purpose, more or less."
Vaughn put his hands on Sydney's shoulders as she sighed. She looked up and smiled at him. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine, Vaughn," she smiled again.
Jack left the room and came back again after a few minutes.
"Sydney, Sloane wants us in his office in fifteen minutes. We'd better get going."
She nodded and Vaughn helped her out of the chair.
"I'll meet you at the car in a minute. Vaughn, can you help her out there?"
Vaughn nodded and walked next to her trying to make conversation.
"You're sure?" he asked again.
"Vaughn," she sighed exasperatedly. "I'm fine, all right? If you weren't my handler, would you even be this concerned? Say that it was my dad for instance, that had sprained his ankle. Would you ask him, five, six, seven times if he's all right?"
She could have sworn that she saw Vaughn blush as he answered, "All right, no, I may not ask him seven times if he's all right, but Syd.you're different. You're special."
She forced herself to keep going and to not fall onto the floor as Vaughn said this. Did he.maybe have feelings for her? She shook her head, trying to clear it.
She sat down on the wooden bench outside the building and Vaughn sat down next to her. She wanted him to lean over and kiss her so badly, but pushed the thought from her head.
It can't happen, Syd, she thought. He's your handler. Remember protocol.
"Would you." Vaughn found himself starting. The silence between them was deafening.
"What?" she asked.
"Do you want to go out for pizza sometime?" he asked.
She smiled, "Of course. I'd like that."
"Agent Vaughn!" Jack stood in front of them. "I ask you to escort my daughter to the car, make sure that she doesn't kill herself, and you're still three rows away!"
Sydney laughed quietly and shook her head. "We got sidetracked," she said. Jack raised an eyebrow.
"I can tell." He handed her the crutches as Vaughn helped her up.
"I'm not completely helpless, you know," she said.
"I know," he said with a smile. "See you tomorrow night?" he whispered hopefully. She nodded and turned to follow Jack.
"What was that all about?" asked Jack as he got into the car on the other side.
"Nothing," she said.
"It was something. Vaughn was blushing. Vaughn never blushes."
"It wasn't anything! When have you been so interested in my." she hesitated. She had almost said "love life" but stopped herself. "Social life?" she finished.
"Social life? You and Agent Vaughn cannot have a quote "Social Life." It's against every rule in the book."
"And when have you ever listened to the rules?" she asked.
"For your information."
"Dad," she cut him off. "I don't need a lecture. I'm sorry."
"It's all right," he said.
Sydney followed Jack into the SD-6 building. She sat down in a chair in front of Sloane's desk and leaned the crutches against the wall.
"Sydney, are you all right? I heard what happened."
"You were the first one who saw me, besides Sark," she said coldly, "and yes, I am fine," she added.
"Good. Jack, I have a mission for you and Sydney."
"A mission, for Sydney? Arvin! She's on crutches for three weeks!"
"We can get her a wheelchair or she can use the crutches to her advantage."
"And who won't recognize her? She's the only one at SD-6 who is on crutches currently."
"We'll wrap her foot. People think that she sprained her ankle. We can also get her a cast and fake a broken leg."
Jack sat back. "Fine," he relented.
"Don't I get a say in this?" asked Sydney.
"What do you want to say?" asked Sloane.
"What if I don't want to go?"
"What if you want to keep your job?" asked Sloane.
"Are you threatening me?"
Jack shook his head. "Sydney, you are going with me. Arvin, just give us the god damn mission and stop provoking her."
Sloane nodded. "You will be going to Germany to retrieve a possible sister software to Echelon. Apparently, Cuvee has another base hidden there and you will infiltrate it."
"Infiltrate it? On crutches?" asked Sydney.
"That is why Mr. Sark will be accompanying your father. You are staying in the car and will hack into the camera systems and disable them."
"I'm not Marshall," she said. "I can't hack a computer to save my life."
"You could, and you will," said Sloane. "Jack, you and Sark will infiltrate the base and retrieve the set of disks and the hard drive. Bring them back to the car and report back here. You should be back by morning or a little after. Sydney, you will be in charge of making sure that they don't get caught and you will be their contact. When they go in, I want to know. When they come out, I also want to know. Got it?"
"Yes," Jack and Sydney said simultaneously.
"Good. Mr. Sark is already in Germany. You will meet him at the airport. Have fun."
Sydney once again followed Jack out of Sloane's office. "Have fun?" she asked. "With Sark? Who's he kidding?"
***
*Berlin, Germany*
Sydney sat in the back seat of the SUV that her father was driving. Her leg was propped up along the seat. She typed furiously on her laptop, in the middle of an instant message conversation.
*Techwiz90028: How's the weather up there?
JBristow: horrible- hey look! Dad's got e-mail! *grins evilly*
Techwiz90028: Why are you even on your dad's screen name?
JBristow: bored, I guess. Plus, Sloane blocked my account. I can't get into half of the good sites
Techwiz90028: I see. SD-6 Internet is great. No one's taken up any of the great screen names yet
Sydney laughed.
"Something funny?" asked her father.
"Nah, just Marshall."
"Marshall?" asked Sark who was sitting up front next to her father. He turned around to face her.
Her voice turned cold. "Yes. I'm talking to him online." She quickly signed off of her father's screen name as he pulled to the side of the road and turned off car.
Sydney and Jack switched on their com-links and heard Kendall and Vaughn on the other line.
"Hey," Sydney said to Vaughn.
"Kendall's getting on now," said Vaughn.
"Agent Bristow?" he asked.
"Yes?" asked Jack and Sydney at the same time.
Kendall tried again, "Jack?"
"Yes?"
"Get the disk and get back to LA. We need you."
"For what?"
"A mission."
Jack rolled his eyes. "Should I leave Sark in charge?"
Kendall thought. "Yes," he said finally. "Leave Sark in charge and get back here. Sydney, steal the disk when you get him out."
"Right," said Jack. "See you at home." He turned off the headset.
"Going to SD-6," said Sydney. She flipped channels. "Dixon?"
"Hey Syd, where's Sark?"
"Right here," said Sark. "I'm approaching the building."
Sydney watched as her father got into a taxi and disappeared from view.
"Agent Bristow?" asked Sark. "I'm in the building."
"Checking the cameras," she quickly disabled them from her computer and Sark radioed back.
"I have the disk, but we've got company. Bring the car around back," he said.
"With a sprained ankle?"
"I don't care how the hell you do it, just bring the stupid car around!" she heard him running. She pushed herself into the front seat and pushed down onto the gas with her left ankle.
"Get in!" she yelled to Sark. She slid into the passenger seat and he took the wheel. He drove frantically, turning right and left, trying to decide where to go and at the same time lose the car that was following them.
"Sydney, turn off your radio with Dixon, in case we're caught," commanded Sark, making another left.
"Dixon, I'm signing off. Tell Sloane that he'll either hear from us again, or they wont," she flipped over to Vaughn and Kendall.
"Agent Bristow," said Kendall. "Get yourself out!"
"I'm trying," she said as Sark dodged another car.
"Sydney, get off the phone with your boyfriend."he coughed loudly, "err.Agent Vaughn and check the map. I have a safe house in Russia. We're flying out."
"Kendall, I have to go. Either you'll hear from us again, or you won't," she said quickly.
"Where have I heard that before?" Kendall asked before she cut him off.
"Sydney pulled a map out of the glove compartment and looked through it as Sark pulled into a convenience store parking lot.
"We're here," she pointed as he leaned over. She could smell his cologne. He smells good, she thought as she closed her eyes and inhaled his scent.
"And we need to get here," he pointed off the map, about at her elbow, jolting her out of her thoughts.
"Yeah," she shook off the feeling.
"If we get to the airport, my private jet can get us to Russia. I have a safe house there."
"You've said this once already."
"All right, we can stay in Russia until we're sure that we're not being followed. I don't trust staying here any longer."
"But why Russia?"
"I have.connections, old ones, but connections. It will also give you time to perform your counter-mission," he said with a grin.
"What counter-mission?"
"Agent Bristow."
"Sydney, Sark."
"Sydney.I know that you're a double, all right?"
She nodded.
"Good, now that that's clear, you obviously have a counter-mission."
"What makes you think I do?"
"Your loyalties do not lie with SD-6. You always have a counter-mission, all right?"
"I have to give Sloane a fake disk."
"The usual?" asked Sark.
"Yeah."
"I have the necessary materials to do so. We can stay as long as we need to and I can plead our case to Sloane."
"Thanks," Sydney said with a small smile as he started driving.
"Is your ankle all right?"
"It'll be fine. It's just a little sore from moving it from seat to seat."
"It should be for a few days," he patted her hand supportively, and to his surprise, she didn't pull it away.
They got on the plane and Sydney sat down, staring out the window with her crutches beside her. About an hour into the ride as she was typing away on her computer, Sark took them from where they leaned next to her and decided to try them out.
"What are you doing?" she asked with a small smile as she watched him move up and down the small aisle.
"What does it look like?" he asked.
"Like you're trying to annoy me," she replied.
He set the crutches back down and sat down next to her. "What are you working on?" he asked.
"A report for Sloane. I hate it, but he wants me to turn the stupid thing in."
Sark shook his head, "That figures." He looked at her, typing away, totally devoted to Sloane's stupid report. She looked up at him.
"You're watching me," she commented.
"Is that a problem?" he raised an eyebrow.
She looked at him, just blankly staring. What game was he playing? Everything seemed to happen in slow motion for her as Sark got closer and closer. She felt her eyes close and the touch of his lips on hers.
To his surprise, she neither pulled away nor whacked him, like he had originally thought that she would. He deliberately deepened the kiss to see what she would do. She responded exactly as he thought she would, she deepened hers as well.
When they finally pulled away, her cheeks were flushed and she smiled. She closed her laptop as he put an arm around her. She leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. He gently ran his fingers through her hair, lulling her to sleep and soothing her without even realizing it. They stayed that way until they both fell asleep.
"What happened?" Vaughn asked as she came into work the next day on crutches.
"Sark's stupid precaution," she muttered, raising a crutch. "I actually wish that he was here now, you know? Then I could whack him one."
Vaughn chuckled. "Syd," he said, putting her crutch back down. "Kendall's looking for you."
"What for?" she asked, following him.
"I have no idea, but you do know that when he sees that you're on crutches."
"At this point, I don't care. It's only for two weeks anyway."
"Two weeks?"
"Yeah."
"Sydney!" Jack found them as they turned the corner. "Sloane told me that something had gone wrong with the mission, but."
"I know, you expected it to be something with the stupid Echelon disk, right?"
"You're on crutches!"
"No? Really?" she lifted one up again and Vaughn set it back down.
She followed Jack and Vaughn to Kendall, where once again, he was looking over Irina's shoulder.
"What is she doing out?" asked Jack angrily.
"You sound like I'm a dog or something and I figured out how to get out of my cage," Irina said just as coldly.
Sydney rolled her eyes and smiled at Vaughn. Kendall turned around to face them.
"What happened?" he asked, noticing Sydney's crutches.
"I am never going to Nigeria again," she said dramatically, mock-fainting into a chair that Vaughn caught her in.
"What the hell happened?" asked Kendall again.
"The building exploded, an hour earlier than you had said. Sark pushed me into a nearby ditch as it exploded so that the burning pieces of wood, brick, and all of that stuff wouldn't hit us. I fell on my ankle and then didn't listen to him when he offered to help me out and decided to try climbing out myself."
"That was dumb," muttered Irina.
"I never thought I'd say this," said Jack, "but you should have listened to Sark."
Vaughn, Kendall, and Irina stared at him blankly. "What?" he asked.
"Anyway," Sydney continued, their eyes returning to her. "When I got to my right ankle, I sort of re-twisted it and I fell again. Sark ended up pulling me out. When the doctor at SD-6 examined me, he said that I just severely sprained it, but I came close to breaking it. They want me to stay out of the field and off my crutches for three weeks."
"Three weeks?" asked Kendall. "SD-6 could have taken over the world by then!"
Sydney looked at Vaughn, her eyebrows raised. Irina shook her head and went back to typing.
"What's she doing?" asked Sydney.
Irina spun around in her chair. "I'm searching for another way to stop SD-6 from once again accessing Echelon, since you didn't manage to retrieve the disk."
"I was a little busy," she muttered.
"I don't blame you," Irina held up her hands in mock surrender. "Kendall's the one who put me up to it."
"Your best buddy," muttered Sydney.
Irina smiled. "There is another way to close the SD-6 portal, I just have to remember which server Cuvee hid it on. He's got about fifty, each one with the same purpose, more or less."
Vaughn put his hands on Sydney's shoulders as she sighed. She looked up and smiled at him. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine, Vaughn," she smiled again.
Jack left the room and came back again after a few minutes.
"Sydney, Sloane wants us in his office in fifteen minutes. We'd better get going."
She nodded and Vaughn helped her out of the chair.
"I'll meet you at the car in a minute. Vaughn, can you help her out there?"
Vaughn nodded and walked next to her trying to make conversation.
"You're sure?" he asked again.
"Vaughn," she sighed exasperatedly. "I'm fine, all right? If you weren't my handler, would you even be this concerned? Say that it was my dad for instance, that had sprained his ankle. Would you ask him, five, six, seven times if he's all right?"
She could have sworn that she saw Vaughn blush as he answered, "All right, no, I may not ask him seven times if he's all right, but Syd.you're different. You're special."
She forced herself to keep going and to not fall onto the floor as Vaughn said this. Did he.maybe have feelings for her? She shook her head, trying to clear it.
She sat down on the wooden bench outside the building and Vaughn sat down next to her. She wanted him to lean over and kiss her so badly, but pushed the thought from her head.
It can't happen, Syd, she thought. He's your handler. Remember protocol.
"Would you." Vaughn found himself starting. The silence between them was deafening.
"What?" she asked.
"Do you want to go out for pizza sometime?" he asked.
She smiled, "Of course. I'd like that."
"Agent Vaughn!" Jack stood in front of them. "I ask you to escort my daughter to the car, make sure that she doesn't kill herself, and you're still three rows away!"
Sydney laughed quietly and shook her head. "We got sidetracked," she said. Jack raised an eyebrow.
"I can tell." He handed her the crutches as Vaughn helped her up.
"I'm not completely helpless, you know," she said.
"I know," he said with a smile. "See you tomorrow night?" he whispered hopefully. She nodded and turned to follow Jack.
"What was that all about?" asked Jack as he got into the car on the other side.
"Nothing," she said.
"It was something. Vaughn was blushing. Vaughn never blushes."
"It wasn't anything! When have you been so interested in my." she hesitated. She had almost said "love life" but stopped herself. "Social life?" she finished.
"Social life? You and Agent Vaughn cannot have a quote "Social Life." It's against every rule in the book."
"And when have you ever listened to the rules?" she asked.
"For your information."
"Dad," she cut him off. "I don't need a lecture. I'm sorry."
"It's all right," he said.
Sydney followed Jack into the SD-6 building. She sat down in a chair in front of Sloane's desk and leaned the crutches against the wall.
"Sydney, are you all right? I heard what happened."
"You were the first one who saw me, besides Sark," she said coldly, "and yes, I am fine," she added.
"Good. Jack, I have a mission for you and Sydney."
"A mission, for Sydney? Arvin! She's on crutches for three weeks!"
"We can get her a wheelchair or she can use the crutches to her advantage."
"And who won't recognize her? She's the only one at SD-6 who is on crutches currently."
"We'll wrap her foot. People think that she sprained her ankle. We can also get her a cast and fake a broken leg."
Jack sat back. "Fine," he relented.
"Don't I get a say in this?" asked Sydney.
"What do you want to say?" asked Sloane.
"What if I don't want to go?"
"What if you want to keep your job?" asked Sloane.
"Are you threatening me?"
Jack shook his head. "Sydney, you are going with me. Arvin, just give us the god damn mission and stop provoking her."
Sloane nodded. "You will be going to Germany to retrieve a possible sister software to Echelon. Apparently, Cuvee has another base hidden there and you will infiltrate it."
"Infiltrate it? On crutches?" asked Sydney.
"That is why Mr. Sark will be accompanying your father. You are staying in the car and will hack into the camera systems and disable them."
"I'm not Marshall," she said. "I can't hack a computer to save my life."
"You could, and you will," said Sloane. "Jack, you and Sark will infiltrate the base and retrieve the set of disks and the hard drive. Bring them back to the car and report back here. You should be back by morning or a little after. Sydney, you will be in charge of making sure that they don't get caught and you will be their contact. When they go in, I want to know. When they come out, I also want to know. Got it?"
"Yes," Jack and Sydney said simultaneously.
"Good. Mr. Sark is already in Germany. You will meet him at the airport. Have fun."
Sydney once again followed Jack out of Sloane's office. "Have fun?" she asked. "With Sark? Who's he kidding?"
***
*Berlin, Germany*
Sydney sat in the back seat of the SUV that her father was driving. Her leg was propped up along the seat. She typed furiously on her laptop, in the middle of an instant message conversation.
*Techwiz90028: How's the weather up there?
JBristow: horrible- hey look! Dad's got e-mail! *grins evilly*
Techwiz90028: Why are you even on your dad's screen name?
JBristow: bored, I guess. Plus, Sloane blocked my account. I can't get into half of the good sites
Techwiz90028: I see. SD-6 Internet is great. No one's taken up any of the great screen names yet
Sydney laughed.
"Something funny?" asked her father.
"Nah, just Marshall."
"Marshall?" asked Sark who was sitting up front next to her father. He turned around to face her.
Her voice turned cold. "Yes. I'm talking to him online." She quickly signed off of her father's screen name as he pulled to the side of the road and turned off car.
Sydney and Jack switched on their com-links and heard Kendall and Vaughn on the other line.
"Hey," Sydney said to Vaughn.
"Kendall's getting on now," said Vaughn.
"Agent Bristow?" he asked.
"Yes?" asked Jack and Sydney at the same time.
Kendall tried again, "Jack?"
"Yes?"
"Get the disk and get back to LA. We need you."
"For what?"
"A mission."
Jack rolled his eyes. "Should I leave Sark in charge?"
Kendall thought. "Yes," he said finally. "Leave Sark in charge and get back here. Sydney, steal the disk when you get him out."
"Right," said Jack. "See you at home." He turned off the headset.
"Going to SD-6," said Sydney. She flipped channels. "Dixon?"
"Hey Syd, where's Sark?"
"Right here," said Sark. "I'm approaching the building."
Sydney watched as her father got into a taxi and disappeared from view.
"Agent Bristow?" asked Sark. "I'm in the building."
"Checking the cameras," she quickly disabled them from her computer and Sark radioed back.
"I have the disk, but we've got company. Bring the car around back," he said.
"With a sprained ankle?"
"I don't care how the hell you do it, just bring the stupid car around!" she heard him running. She pushed herself into the front seat and pushed down onto the gas with her left ankle.
"Get in!" she yelled to Sark. She slid into the passenger seat and he took the wheel. He drove frantically, turning right and left, trying to decide where to go and at the same time lose the car that was following them.
"Sydney, turn off your radio with Dixon, in case we're caught," commanded Sark, making another left.
"Dixon, I'm signing off. Tell Sloane that he'll either hear from us again, or they wont," she flipped over to Vaughn and Kendall.
"Agent Bristow," said Kendall. "Get yourself out!"
"I'm trying," she said as Sark dodged another car.
"Sydney, get off the phone with your boyfriend."he coughed loudly, "err.Agent Vaughn and check the map. I have a safe house in Russia. We're flying out."
"Kendall, I have to go. Either you'll hear from us again, or you won't," she said quickly.
"Where have I heard that before?" Kendall asked before she cut him off.
"Sydney pulled a map out of the glove compartment and looked through it as Sark pulled into a convenience store parking lot.
"We're here," she pointed as he leaned over. She could smell his cologne. He smells good, she thought as she closed her eyes and inhaled his scent.
"And we need to get here," he pointed off the map, about at her elbow, jolting her out of her thoughts.
"Yeah," she shook off the feeling.
"If we get to the airport, my private jet can get us to Russia. I have a safe house there."
"You've said this once already."
"All right, we can stay in Russia until we're sure that we're not being followed. I don't trust staying here any longer."
"But why Russia?"
"I have.connections, old ones, but connections. It will also give you time to perform your counter-mission," he said with a grin.
"What counter-mission?"
"Agent Bristow."
"Sydney, Sark."
"Sydney.I know that you're a double, all right?"
She nodded.
"Good, now that that's clear, you obviously have a counter-mission."
"What makes you think I do?"
"Your loyalties do not lie with SD-6. You always have a counter-mission, all right?"
"I have to give Sloane a fake disk."
"The usual?" asked Sark.
"Yeah."
"I have the necessary materials to do so. We can stay as long as we need to and I can plead our case to Sloane."
"Thanks," Sydney said with a small smile as he started driving.
"Is your ankle all right?"
"It'll be fine. It's just a little sore from moving it from seat to seat."
"It should be for a few days," he patted her hand supportively, and to his surprise, she didn't pull it away.
They got on the plane and Sydney sat down, staring out the window with her crutches beside her. About an hour into the ride as she was typing away on her computer, Sark took them from where they leaned next to her and decided to try them out.
"What are you doing?" she asked with a small smile as she watched him move up and down the small aisle.
"What does it look like?" he asked.
"Like you're trying to annoy me," she replied.
He set the crutches back down and sat down next to her. "What are you working on?" he asked.
"A report for Sloane. I hate it, but he wants me to turn the stupid thing in."
Sark shook his head, "That figures." He looked at her, typing away, totally devoted to Sloane's stupid report. She looked up at him.
"You're watching me," she commented.
"Is that a problem?" he raised an eyebrow.
She looked at him, just blankly staring. What game was he playing? Everything seemed to happen in slow motion for her as Sark got closer and closer. She felt her eyes close and the touch of his lips on hers.
To his surprise, she neither pulled away nor whacked him, like he had originally thought that she would. He deliberately deepened the kiss to see what she would do. She responded exactly as he thought she would, she deepened hers as well.
When they finally pulled away, her cheeks were flushed and she smiled. She closed her laptop as he put an arm around her. She leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. He gently ran his fingers through her hair, lulling her to sleep and soothing her without even realizing it. They stayed that way until they both fell asleep.