Title: Angel Dark

Author: DOKChairman

Time: No particular time frame.  Assume everything that has happened up to Counteragent is fair game.

Disclaimer: I do not own Alias.  If I did, Dixon would actually appear in an episode this season, Marshall would be in practically every scene (that guy cracks me up so much), Sydney and Vaughn would at the very least admit that they have feelings for each other, and most importantly of all, Sydney would wear even less clothes than she usually does.  Unfortunately for my bank account, J.J. Abrams, Bad Robot Productions, and ABC own Alias.  I own nothing so don't sue me.

Author's Note: This story is definitely AU.  It branches off what happened in Counteragent and goes off into its own little world.

Author's Note: I wanted to apologize for the briefness of the last chapter.  Usually I go much more into detail than I did, but I wrote that chapter in a little over an hour and I just had to post it.  I would have written more, but I was already procrastinating too much on a 10-page history paper I had to write on American Imperialism in pre-World War I world history.  As you might be able to imagine, a very fun topic.  Who knew that one of the reasons for the Spanish-American War was that America was afraid that it was going to run out of sugar?  The things you learn in college.

Author's Note: I almost forgot to write this.  Thanks to everyone who reviewed my story and gave me feedback.  You make this all worthwhile.  Anyways, here is the next chapter.  Tell me what you think.  Don't be afraid to be critical.

            "…and you haven't heard a single word I've said have you?"  Sydney Bristow asked the man standing next to her with a humorous smirk on her face.  It was a rare occasion indeed when her handler was not in complete control of his faculties.

            Michael Vaughn shook his head abruptly, as if trying to shake some awareness into his mind, and gave Sydney an embarrassed smile.  Blushing slightly, he apologized.  "I'm sorry Syd, I was kind of out of it there for a few seconds.  You were saying?"

            Sydney smiled in understanding.  She understood perfectly what Vaughn was saying.  She had learned early on that sometimes it was good to just let your mind wander.  Of course, the fact that it was her handler that was experiencing feelings of distraction piqued her curiosity immensely.  Vaughn was always so in control of himself, Sydney definitely wanted to know what could make him zone out in the middle of a debriefing.

            "I was just saying that I think this mission you guys are thinking of sending me on could wait for a while.  With Sark joining the Alliance, I think that it might be a good idea for me to lay low for a while.  I mean we still don't know everything Sark told Sloane, so I don't know if it's best for me to be leaving all of a sudden."

            Vaughn sighed.  "I understand where you're coming from Sydney, and normally I would never agree to send you on a mission where you might draw more unwanted attention than usual, but planting this bug could go a long way in taking down SD-6."

            Sydney nodded her head, sending her hair bouncing along her shoulders.  "I'm not saying I won't do it, I just wanted to point out the situation that's all."

            Speaking more sharply than he intended, Vaughn responded, "I am completely aware of the situation Sydney.  I don't need you to point out something I already know.  It is my job after all."

            Vaughn inwardly cringed when he saw the hurt in Sydney's eyes.  He was about to apologize for what he had said, when the hurt was replaced with concern and determination.

            Crossing her arms across her chest, Sydney bored into Vaughn with a piercing gaze.  She tried to keep her voice as professional as possible, but she couldn't stop her concern from leaking out.  Vaughn was acting totally un-Vaughn like and she wanted to know why.

            If she hadn't been so close to Vaughn, she might have accepted the fact that a person was more than entitled to having a bad day.  Especially considering the kind of work they were in.  Unfortunately, her concern for Vaughn overrode her common sense that was telling her to butt out and leave the man alone. 

            It was obvious from the way he looked, that the previous night had not been kind to him.  He was slouching slightly, his hair was not quite as in place as usual, his face seemed drawn and slightly pale, and his eyes had dark rings under them.  When Sydney had first seen Vaughn that morning, she had worried that maybe he was regressing and that the virus was once again attacking his body.  But when Vaughn showed no sign at being sick, and when he had immediately began discussing her latest mission, she had passed his hellish look off as simply having a bad night's sleep.

            Now she wasn't so sure.  If Sydney didn't know better, she would have assumed that Vaughn was hung over.  But his symptoms didn't seem to quite match that prognosis and so she searched for another reason why he was acting so distracted.  A small part of her briefly snickered that maybe he looked like he had been up all night was because he had.  With Alice that is.  That thought made her feel very uncomfortable and so she quickly pushed it to the back of her mind.  She never wanted to acknowledge that woman with Vaughn unless she absolutely had too.  She preferred to be blissfully unaware of Vaughn's relationship status.

            Quickly deciding that the best way to finding out what was wrong with Vaughn was to ask him, she asked softly, "What's wrong Vaughn?"

            Vaughn sighed deeply and ran a hand through his unkempt hair.  He debated with himself on whether or not he should tell her what she obviously wanted to know.  Normally he would have been warmed by the fact that Sydney cared for him and wanted to know what was going on with him, but the nightmare that he had suffered through last night had to do with a part of his past that he would have preferred to keep secret.

            However, one look at the determination on Sydney's face and his resolve quickly melted.  He had folded, like he always did.  With more than a little disgust he thought to himself, God, you are so whipped.

            Meeting Sydney's concerned gaze, he started.  "I just had a really bad nightmare last night.  That's all."

            Feeling relief at knowing that Alice had not been the cause of Vaughn's distracted behavior, Sydney tried to be the concerned friend.  "What happened?  Do you remember?"

            Vaughn shook his head.  He didn't remember much, just vague images and sounds, but he definitely remembered what the nightmare had centered on.  Deciding to tell Sydney only half the truth, he responded, "I don't really remember much.  I just remember feeling really bad.  It kept me up all night."

            Sydney tentatively reached out with her hand and placed it on Vaughn's arm.  Despite the fact that they had already hugged twice in the middle of the Joint Task Force headquarters, she was still wary of appearing to close to Vaughn.  Those situations had involved extenuating circumstances, and in her mind were perfectly understandable.  For some reason, touching Vaughn simply because he had had a bad dream, didn't seem as okay as before.

            Vaughn looked down at Sydney's hand and flashed her a warm smile.  It was amazing what the woman in front of him could do to his moods.  One touch was all it took in turning him from a tired, distracted, and slightly fearful man, to happy and refreshed.  Not for the first time he belatedly realized how dependent he was on Sydney.

            Sydney was about to offer more words of comfort when she noticed out of the corner of her eye, her father and Assistant Director Kendall walking towards them.  Regretfully removing her hand from Vaughn's arm, she nodded her head towards her father.  Vaughn stopped staring into her eyes to look at the two men coming towards them.

            The minute Vaughn saw Jack Bristow's face, he immediately knew that Jack had seen Sydney touch his arm.  Despite the fact that Jack seemed to respect Vaughn, at least to a certain degree, Vaughn knew that Jack still disapproved of their relationship.  He had been more than a little surprised at seeing Jack sitting at his bedside when he had awoken from his coma.  He hadn't thought Jack cared enough about him to do that.

            Although, if Vaughn wanted to really think about the situation, he knew that Jack's concern for his well being stemmed more from his concern for Sydney.  Vaughn suspected that as long as Sydney depended on him, then Jack would watch out for him.  However, Vaughn knew that Jack would not hesitate to kill him if it meant he could save Sydney from harm.

            That was the one character trait of Jack that Vaughn couldn't help to admire.  Jack Bristow had many flaws, but it was his total devotion to his daughter that more than made up for his seemingly amoral outlook on life.  It was a trait that both he and Jack shared in spades.

            Jack gave Vaughn a small frown when he got close enough, and Vaughn unconsciously took a step away from Sydney.  Sydney noticed Vaughn's move and frowned herself.  She had seen the look pass between her father and Vaughn, and in an act of defiance, took a step towards Vaughn.  Her father merely frowned.

            Kendall, oblivious to the interplay between his three agents, addressed Sydney.  "I assume that Agent Vaughn has briefed you on your mission particulars?"

            Sydney tore her focus away from her father and Vaughn and faced Kendall.  In a clipped tone she said, "Yes, Agent Vaughn explained everything to me.  I have reservations about this mission though.  As I was telling Agent Vaughn, I don't think it would be such a good idea for me to leave unexpectedly right now."

            Kendall's nose scrunched slightly and he gave Sydney a pensive look.  "I'm sure I don't have to remind you of the importance of this mission."

            Sydney glared slightly at Kendall.  "I know."

            Vaughn was tempted to interject on Sydney's behalf.  The more he thought about it, the more he thought that maybe Sydney had a point.  He certainly didn't want her risking herself more than usual.  He was about to say something when he felt a vibrating sensation against his chest.

            In surprise, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his secure cell phone.  That was strange.  He had only given out his cell number to three people: his mother, Alice, and Sydney.  Both Alice and his mother knew to never call him on his cell unless it was an absolute emergency, and Sydney was standing right in front of him.

            He looked up from his cell phone to notice that everyone else was staring at him.  A look of disapproval was on both Jack's and Kendall's face, and Vaughn flushed in embarrassment.  Excusing himself, he moved off into a relatively secluded part of the operations room.

            Worrying that something may have happened to his mother or to Alice, he hurriedly answered the call.  "This is Vaughn."  When Vaughn got no response, he said "Hello?"

            Again getting no response, Vaughn was about to hang up.  It was probably just a wrong number, he reasoned.  Before he could end the call, he heard a deep and obviously modified voice.  "Agent Vaughn, I have a message for you."

            The voice paused and Vaughn tensed up.  "The flying Dutchman's wings have been clipped.  If you want more information, be at the payphone on the corner of Howe and East Street in exactly 30 minutes."  The voice then hung up before Vaughn could respond.

            The corner of Howe and East Street was on the other side of town.  Vaughn looked down at his watch and noticed that it was almost close to the noon rush.  Damn!  He would never make it across L.A. in the middle of rush hour in only half an hour.

            Sydney meanwhile, was only paying partial attention to the topic that her father and Kendall were discussing.  They were talking about her mission, stuff she had already been over.  She was much more interested in Vaughn.

            She had seen him answer the phone rather impatiently.  She smiled inwardly at the blush that had crossed Vaughn's cheeks at being embarrassed by having his phone go off in the middle of a meeting.  He was always so proper.  Only Vaughn could become embarrassed by having his cell phone go off.  It was actually kind of cute, in a really anal kind of way.

            Her smile quickly turned into concern when she had seen his face pale considerably.  Whatever he had just heard had obviously been something that he wasn't expecting.  He was staring at the phone in disbelief, when he suddenly seemed to change gears from surprise to action.  She saw him glancing at his watch.  He then turned to look at Sydney anxiously, as if he wanted to say something to her.

            She was about to excuse herself and go and ask what was wrong, when Vaughn suddenly and unexpectedly took off down the hall.  Sydney was so shocked that she could only stare at Vaughn's rapidly fading back.

            With a confused look on her face, she looked at her father and noticed that both her father and Kendall were staring at Vaughn in surprise as well.  Kendall voiced the thoughts of everyone when he said, "What the hell?  Where is Agent Vaughn going?"

            Sydney had thought it was a rhetorical question, but the way Kendall was looking at her, it seemed like he expected her to know.  Like she knew.  She was just as surprised as he was.

            Sydney shrugged her shoulders.  "I don't know.  Dad?"

            Jack was still staring at the hall when he answered, "I don't know Sydney.  I am just as in the dark as you are."

            "I'm going to find out."  Sydney then followed Vaughn's lead and took off down the hall.  Vaughn already had a huge head start on her, so she would have to hurry if she wanted to catch up with him before he did whatever he was doing.

            Kendall cried out indignantly, "Agent Bristow!  Where do you think you're going?"  But Sydney was too far away to answer.

            Kendall then turned to Jack and fixed him with a glare.  "You're daughter is out of control.  First that incident with the vaccine and now this.  I think you need to talk some sense into her."

            When Jack responded there was steel in his voice, "My daughter is not out of control, and I supported her actions in Pulanski completely.  You should know by now that my daughter will do whatever she wants regardless of what you or anyone else tells her.  It would be better for all of us if we just stay out of her way."

            Jack then spun on his heel and stalked off.

            When Sydney had said to Vaughn that he would be doing wind sprints in only a few days, she had no idea how right she was.  At the moment, Vaughn was attempting to break all land speed records as he rushed to his car.

            Fishing his keys out of his pocket, he quickly unlocked the driver's door and jumped in.  He put the keys in the ignition and threw the car in reverse.  Tires screeching, Vaughn tore out of the Joint Task Force parking lot.  Reaching into his glove compartment, he pulled out his portable siren and placed it on the dash of the car. 

He had never thought he would ever have any need for the siren, but now he was thanking whatever god was out there that he had put it in his car.  Weiss had always made fun of him for carrying it around with him, but for once he was glad he was as, Weiss liked to point out, totally anal.  The siren would be the only chance he had to make it to the payphone in time.  And he had to make it in time.  He had to know if the phone call that he had just gotten was true.

Hearing the name Flying Dutchman had brought him back to a time that he would like nothing better than to forget.  It had been four years since he had had anything to do with Project Sally.  He had thought that anything associated with that name was long buried.  Now he wasn't so sure.

Weaving through traffic, Vaughn thought back to the last time he had seen the man known as the Flying Dutchman.  Vaughn knew the man known as the Flying Dutchman by his real name, Kyle Prescott.  To the rest of the world, he was known as Martin Johannesburg.

He hadn't seen Kyle since his last days at working in the operations branch at Langley.  It had been his understanding that Kyle, like the rest of the agents involved in Project Sally, were no longer on active status.  What had happened that would lead to Kyle being killed was something Vaughn needed to find out.

Kyle had been a friend, almost like a brother to him in some ways, and if he had been killed, Vaughn needed to find out why.  Plus, there was more than a little self-interest involved as well.  If something had happened to Kyle, then there was the chance that something could happen to him as well.

Vaughn glanced at the digital clock in his car and noticed that he only had six minutes left to reach the payphone.  Pressing his foot even farther down on the gas petal, his car sped off down the L.A. streets.

To be continued……………

P.S.      I don't know if the streets I named really exist in Los Angeles, and honestly I don't really care.  I also don't know if I spelled the name of that Russian base correctly.  All I know is that it started with a p and ended with an i.