Chapter Nineteen
Francie stretched as she yawned, never one to welcome the new day happily. She turned on the television as she readied the coffee pot, not really paying attention but needing the noise. The apartment had been too silent since Will then Sydney disappeared. She was beginning to worry about them, and her wild imagination even went so far as to have her believing they had eloped somewhere. That thought was quickly discarded when she remembered Sydney's new boyfriend, and then she thought maybe she had eloped with him!
Chuckling to herself as she waited for the percolating to begin, she nearly missed the breaking news item flashing across the TV screen. The words 'Credit Dauphine' caught her attention and she looked up in time to see the blackened remains of Sydney's office building. Her jaw dropped and she moved to the couch, sitting on the edge as she listened to the news cast about the explosion that had happened late last night. Her heart constricted with fear over her friend's safety and she blindly grabbed for the phone, dialing Sydney's cell phone number. It went straight to voicemail and she left a frantic, nearly incomprehensible message.
Numb, she watched with shock as the camera showed groups of people clustered near the site, and she squinted, trying to see if maybe she could spot Sydney. She didn't know who to call or turn to, with Will gone as well, and felt helpless. Then, she remembered that Sydney kept her dad's number in her nightstand in case of emergencies. Francie raced to the room and dug through the drawer in search for that little piece of paper. With shaking fingers, she lifted it out and picked up the phone next to Sydney's bed.
To her dismay, he didn't answer, and she left a message on his phone as well, silently railing against the Bristows' inability to answer their phones. Her next call was to her job because she was not leaving the TV until she knew Sydney was alright. But somehow, she knew that Sydney wasn't alright and she began to cry. She curled up in her best friend's bed, wishing that someone was there to be with her.
She needed Will.
A knock at the door caught her attention and she flew up, hoping that it was Sydney. When she looked through the peephole, she was surprised to find Jack Bristow on the other side of the door. She threw it open and started to ask him about Sydney, but he pushed past her.
"Pack some things," he said. "You have to leave here."
"Excuse me?"
"I'll explain later."
"What about Sydney?"
"Later. Pack."
She didn't know why, but she trusted him and stopped asking questions. Maybe it was the way his eyes kept on darting around the room, searching for something she couldn't see. Francie went into her room, pulled out a large suitcase, and began to pack.
* * *
At the same time, Will was watching the news cast, though he didn't have the same reaction as Francie. He knew Sydney was safe somewhere else, but he wondered how their friend was doing. Francie was alone, and although she had other friends, he and Sydney were the closest to her. He wanted to be with her then and he got up, restlessly pacing around the room as he kept one eye on the TV.
Santiago watched Will move up and down the room. His barely controlled movements were making her uneasy and she began to fidget in her seat. She was having about as much fun as he was on this assignment, but she bore it gracefully, wanting the more senior agents to notice her and maybe give her a better one in the future. She did wonder why they were keeping him around for so long. Usually the people who ended up in CIA safehouses left soon after to start new lives with new identities.or sent back to old ones when they became useless to the Agency. She'd seen the people who had rushed into the house two days before, and instinctively knew that they were more important than they seemed, so she stayed silent.
"Did you know someone who worked there?" she asked her principal.
"No," Will said tersely. "I'm just worried about another friend of mine. Listen, do you have any idea when I can get out of here?"
As if on cue, the front door opened and Weiss came in.
"You need to go," he said.
"Home?" Will asked hopefully.
"No. Get your stuff. We have to go now."
"I'm so sick of this shit," Will muttered as he disappeared into his room.
"You're dismissed, Ms. Santiago," Weiss said, nodding at her.
"Yes, sir," she said, no questions asked, and she went out the door without another word.
Will came out a moment later and Weiss led him to the waiting car. To Will's shock, Francie was sitting in the back, her brown eyes wide when she saw him. He threw himself into the back of the car and gathered her in his arms. She clutched at him, sobbing into his shoulder and he rubbed her back as he cried, too. Weiss glanced at them through the rearview mirror, and sped out of the driveway, his tires leaving marks on the road.
* * *
"I have her."
The voice, an echo from the past, nearly made Jack run off the road. After learning Sydney and Vaughn had disappeared from the Montana safehouse, he'd been at his wits end trying to find them. Even Geneviève was gone and no one could explain where they had gone. Now, he had his answer.
"Where are they, Irina?" he demanded harshly. "The last thing any of us need is trouble from you. I think you at least owe Sydney that much."
"What about you, Jack?"
"I don't want anything from you. The last time I wanted something from you, you ripped our lives apart."
Her silence spoke volumes. The agony he'd felt upon learning who his wife really was had driven him from Sydney, for he'd seen her mother's face every time he looked at her. He regretted it, but he swore he would make it up to her. He wished then that Irina had really died when her car had fallen off the bridge, and then he would have one last problem to deal with. Feelings he thought had been purged from his system came screaming back to him. He'd loved her with his heart and soul, a man who never expected to find his soulmate and so he had fallen hard. He thought he would die when he thought she did, then he wanted to kill her for betraying him the way she did. It had made him question who he was and what he'd been doing for the ten years they were together. He wanted to shake her, wanted to ask her why she'd done this to him and their daughter, but that could wait until his daughter was safe.
His daughter. Not theirs.
"It's a little late for a custody battle, isn't it?" he said flatly.
"We do not have the time for petty arguments," Irina spat, angry at herself for being hurt at his words. "Sydney is safer with me than with you or that damned Agency you work for."
"You'll understand that I find that a little hard to swallow."
"I just wanted to tell you that she and her lover are fine."
With that, she hung up, leaving Jack to quietly seethe. He tossed his cell phone to the passenger seat and drove like a maniac to CIA headquarters. He knew at that moment that Weiss was briefing Sydney's friends. They would have to leave their homes and their lives in order to save Sydney's life and theirs as well. Jack couldn't believe the chaos that surrounded him, couldn't believe that this was happening when he'd survived missions more harrowing and dangerous. Well, maybe not more dangerous. Still, so many lives had been disrupted by Sydney's lapse in judgment and he felt a flare of anger towards her. Gritting his teeth, he pushed the thought from his mind, focusing on the road. Despite his anger, he wanted to protect her, and to do that, he had to find where she was.
And he knew exactly where he had to start looking.
Francie stretched as she yawned, never one to welcome the new day happily. She turned on the television as she readied the coffee pot, not really paying attention but needing the noise. The apartment had been too silent since Will then Sydney disappeared. She was beginning to worry about them, and her wild imagination even went so far as to have her believing they had eloped somewhere. That thought was quickly discarded when she remembered Sydney's new boyfriend, and then she thought maybe she had eloped with him!
Chuckling to herself as she waited for the percolating to begin, she nearly missed the breaking news item flashing across the TV screen. The words 'Credit Dauphine' caught her attention and she looked up in time to see the blackened remains of Sydney's office building. Her jaw dropped and she moved to the couch, sitting on the edge as she listened to the news cast about the explosion that had happened late last night. Her heart constricted with fear over her friend's safety and she blindly grabbed for the phone, dialing Sydney's cell phone number. It went straight to voicemail and she left a frantic, nearly incomprehensible message.
Numb, she watched with shock as the camera showed groups of people clustered near the site, and she squinted, trying to see if maybe she could spot Sydney. She didn't know who to call or turn to, with Will gone as well, and felt helpless. Then, she remembered that Sydney kept her dad's number in her nightstand in case of emergencies. Francie raced to the room and dug through the drawer in search for that little piece of paper. With shaking fingers, she lifted it out and picked up the phone next to Sydney's bed.
To her dismay, he didn't answer, and she left a message on his phone as well, silently railing against the Bristows' inability to answer their phones. Her next call was to her job because she was not leaving the TV until she knew Sydney was alright. But somehow, she knew that Sydney wasn't alright and she began to cry. She curled up in her best friend's bed, wishing that someone was there to be with her.
She needed Will.
A knock at the door caught her attention and she flew up, hoping that it was Sydney. When she looked through the peephole, she was surprised to find Jack Bristow on the other side of the door. She threw it open and started to ask him about Sydney, but he pushed past her.
"Pack some things," he said. "You have to leave here."
"Excuse me?"
"I'll explain later."
"What about Sydney?"
"Later. Pack."
She didn't know why, but she trusted him and stopped asking questions. Maybe it was the way his eyes kept on darting around the room, searching for something she couldn't see. Francie went into her room, pulled out a large suitcase, and began to pack.
* * *
At the same time, Will was watching the news cast, though he didn't have the same reaction as Francie. He knew Sydney was safe somewhere else, but he wondered how their friend was doing. Francie was alone, and although she had other friends, he and Sydney were the closest to her. He wanted to be with her then and he got up, restlessly pacing around the room as he kept one eye on the TV.
Santiago watched Will move up and down the room. His barely controlled movements were making her uneasy and she began to fidget in her seat. She was having about as much fun as he was on this assignment, but she bore it gracefully, wanting the more senior agents to notice her and maybe give her a better one in the future. She did wonder why they were keeping him around for so long. Usually the people who ended up in CIA safehouses left soon after to start new lives with new identities.or sent back to old ones when they became useless to the Agency. She'd seen the people who had rushed into the house two days before, and instinctively knew that they were more important than they seemed, so she stayed silent.
"Did you know someone who worked there?" she asked her principal.
"No," Will said tersely. "I'm just worried about another friend of mine. Listen, do you have any idea when I can get out of here?"
As if on cue, the front door opened and Weiss came in.
"You need to go," he said.
"Home?" Will asked hopefully.
"No. Get your stuff. We have to go now."
"I'm so sick of this shit," Will muttered as he disappeared into his room.
"You're dismissed, Ms. Santiago," Weiss said, nodding at her.
"Yes, sir," she said, no questions asked, and she went out the door without another word.
Will came out a moment later and Weiss led him to the waiting car. To Will's shock, Francie was sitting in the back, her brown eyes wide when she saw him. He threw himself into the back of the car and gathered her in his arms. She clutched at him, sobbing into his shoulder and he rubbed her back as he cried, too. Weiss glanced at them through the rearview mirror, and sped out of the driveway, his tires leaving marks on the road.
* * *
"I have her."
The voice, an echo from the past, nearly made Jack run off the road. After learning Sydney and Vaughn had disappeared from the Montana safehouse, he'd been at his wits end trying to find them. Even Geneviève was gone and no one could explain where they had gone. Now, he had his answer.
"Where are they, Irina?" he demanded harshly. "The last thing any of us need is trouble from you. I think you at least owe Sydney that much."
"What about you, Jack?"
"I don't want anything from you. The last time I wanted something from you, you ripped our lives apart."
Her silence spoke volumes. The agony he'd felt upon learning who his wife really was had driven him from Sydney, for he'd seen her mother's face every time he looked at her. He regretted it, but he swore he would make it up to her. He wished then that Irina had really died when her car had fallen off the bridge, and then he would have one last problem to deal with. Feelings he thought had been purged from his system came screaming back to him. He'd loved her with his heart and soul, a man who never expected to find his soulmate and so he had fallen hard. He thought he would die when he thought she did, then he wanted to kill her for betraying him the way she did. It had made him question who he was and what he'd been doing for the ten years they were together. He wanted to shake her, wanted to ask her why she'd done this to him and their daughter, but that could wait until his daughter was safe.
His daughter. Not theirs.
"It's a little late for a custody battle, isn't it?" he said flatly.
"We do not have the time for petty arguments," Irina spat, angry at herself for being hurt at his words. "Sydney is safer with me than with you or that damned Agency you work for."
"You'll understand that I find that a little hard to swallow."
"I just wanted to tell you that she and her lover are fine."
With that, she hung up, leaving Jack to quietly seethe. He tossed his cell phone to the passenger seat and drove like a maniac to CIA headquarters. He knew at that moment that Weiss was briefing Sydney's friends. They would have to leave their homes and their lives in order to save Sydney's life and theirs as well. Jack couldn't believe the chaos that surrounded him, couldn't believe that this was happening when he'd survived missions more harrowing and dangerous. Well, maybe not more dangerous. Still, so many lives had been disrupted by Sydney's lapse in judgment and he felt a flare of anger towards her. Gritting his teeth, he pushed the thought from his mind, focusing on the road. Despite his anger, he wanted to protect her, and to do that, he had to find where she was.
And he knew exactly where he had to start looking.
