Chapter Four

Sydney got up from bed, her mouth fixed in a scowl. She had barely slept because she couldn't stop thinking about having Weiss as her handler. It would be difficult and she dreaded her first assignment from him. She only hoped they would start meeting some place else because being in the warehouse would only remind her of Vaughn and it would make things even harder.

Her mood did not get better after she took a refreshing shower. She was just about to dry her hair when her cell phone rang. Bracing herself for an unlisted number, she was surprised to see that it was her father calling.

"Hi, Dad," she said warily.

"Good morning, Sydney. I was wondering if you were free for breakfast."

"I am. Where do you want to meet?"

"Sara's Deli in half an hour."

"I'll be there."

They hung up without saying good-bye. Sydney walked through the doors of Sara's Deli fifteen minutes late and she saw her father sitting at a booth, a cup of coffee in front of him. They hadn't spoken since he had taken her to see Vaughn. She thought he would scold her for being late, but to her surprise, his expression was almost gentle as he greeted her.

"This place is secure, so you can speak freely. How are you?" he asked.

"Good. How about you?"

"Good."

They lapsed into an uneasy silence. The waitress came by to take their orders. When she left, Sydney looked at Jack expectantly. She could see his jaw working as he struggled to find the words.

"What is it, Dad?" she prompted. "Did you want to talk about mom?"

"I want to kill her for what she did to you," Jack said harshly. "But I didn't come here to talk about her."

Sydney frowned. "Did you want to talk about Vaughn?"

"No, but how is he doing?"

"He's healing, and he'll be going home with his mother in a day or two. Doctor Chan's hoping being in his childhood home will jog his memory."

"You met his mother."

"Yes. She loves him very much and she was ready to take on the entire agency after she found out he was an agent."

"You care about him a lot too, Sydney," Jack chided, his tone was mild but his eyes were hard. "Too much, I think, and it's dangerous."

Sydney sighed. "I heard this from Weiss already, Dad. He's my new handler, by the way, and he's not making it easy for me to see Vaughn."

"As well he should. It's too dangerous for you to be seen with him. If Sloane found out, I don't think I need to tell you the outcome of that particular scenario."

"I know, I know. I won't be in to see him again.for a while."

"I'm sure Agent Weiss will be more than happy to provide you with updates."

Sydney sipped her coffee and looked at her father over its rim. A change of subject was in order before she blew up at him and stalked out of the deli like some spoiled debutante.

"Why did you ask me to meet you here?"

Jack couldn't seem to meet her eyes. He focused on the contents of coffee mug. "I just.I just wanted to see how you were."

She smiled her first real smile in many days. "Really?"

"Yes."

She reached across the table and put a hand over his. "Thanks, Dad."

He smiled, the move rusty, but it was enough for her.

* * *

"Joey's Pizza."

"Wrong number."

Sydney pulled on her coat and grabbed her purse. Francie wasn't home so there was no need to make up some story about why she was leaving. She reached the warehouse in no time at all and had to take a few deep breaths at the wheel to calm herself down. Weiss was waiting for her inside, his hands jammed in his coat pockets.

"I hope I didn't disturb you," he said stiffly.

"No, you didn't," she said coolly. "What's up?"

"Mike's going home tomorrow."

"Don't worry. I won't be making any house calls."

Weiss ignored her sarcasm, getting his temper in check. If he was to be her handler, they really did need some kind of amicable relationship. Definitely not like the one she had with Vaughn, but something more workable-and in accord with the rules.

"Actually, his mother invited us to dinner," he informed her casually. "This Friday at seven."

Sydney could feel the blood drain from her face. She forgot about being angry with Weiss as her mind wrapped itself around this particular mission. For that was what it was.a mission.

"You've got to be kidding me."

He shook his head, looking as troubled as she. "Since she's learned that Mike has this whole other life she didn't know about, she wants all the details that were kept from her. We're the only two she's met and she guessed the closest to him, so."

"We're going to be interrogated. What do we tell her? What if he says something?"

"I already had a talk with him about not mentioning anything involving work that he may remember. He understands that it needs to be kept under wraps. I didn't say anything about you, though. He still thinks you're a regular old co-worker, not a double agent who could send us all to our graves."

She rolled her eyes. "Gimme a break."

"It's true. I can't believe Devlin's letting us go through with this, but he seems to think it's in Vaughn's best interest that we do."

"Glad he cares about something."

Weiss didn't disagree. "He probably feels he owes Mrs. Vaughn something. In any case, we've got a team to cover your ass in case it's followed, but you have to keep an eye out too."

Sydney bit back a sarcastic remark, not wanting to start anything. "I won't be expected to visit again, will I?"

"After this first time, I think I might keel over if you make another trip there. I swear, the stress is giving me the shakes."

Her eyes lit up with amusement. "You desk jockeys are not cut out to be in this end of the business. Whenever I met with Vaughn, he always had this crinkle right between this eyes that never went away no matter what we talked about. I hope I didn't stress him out too much."

"No, not too much."

They smiled tentatively at each other.

"Truce?" Weiss said, holding out a hand. "I only have my friend's best interests at heart."

"You got it," she said, shaking it. "And I want nothing but the best for him, too."

"Alright, then. I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Here are the directions to the Vaughn homestead." He handed her a piece of paper.

"Great. See you then, Weiss."

"Later, Sydney."

* * *