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.
Pairing: This will be a Sydney/Vaughn piece. As if there's anything else.
Author's Note: I want to apologize for the long delay. I recently had two close friends that I have not seen since high school visit me during break, so I ended up spending most of my time with them and my girlfriend. We ate, we drank, and we were certainly merry. I tried to write, but I could never get to it. Unfortunately, they eventually had to leave. One went back to school at the Air Force Academy where he is training to become a pilot, and the other went back to his own college. I hope I get to see them again soon.
Dedication: I would like to dedicate this story to my friend. May you fly high. May you fly safe. May you fly. Thank you.
Vaughn shifted nervously in front of Sydney's piercing stare. Yelling he could handle. Disgust or indifference he could handle. But Sydney just staring at him? That made him more uncomfortable than anything he thought possible.
The worst part was that he could not tell what Sydney was thinking. Her stare, while searching, was ultimately blank and expressionless. It was like she was staring right at him, yet she could not see him. He didn't know if she was shocked speechless, so angry she couldn't talk, or what. This was not like the Sydney he knew. The Sydney he knew would have told him exactly how she felt, damn the consequences. Was it possible his confession affected her that much?
No. That didn't make sense either. While it was certainly surprising and out of character for him to kill, it shouldn't have been that unexpected. After all, he was in the CIA, and people killed and were killed occasionally. He realized that she might have thought he was different, but he did have a past before her, and really, it was only that one time. He had never killed anyone since then. Well that wasn't completely true. He had killed two of the CIA assassins sent after him, but that had been in self-defense and completely justified. Not to mention a very isolated incident.
Vaughn sighed. Sydney had to know that he wasn't some cold blooded killer. She had to know that he was not like the people in her "other" life. She should know he did not take what he did those four years ago lightly. He still suffered frequent nightmares about that night. The images of that night had forever been seared in his mind, and he would never forget the look of absolute shock on Elisa's face when he killed her.
Early in his relationship with Alice, she would frequently ask him what his recurring nightmare was about. Naturally, he couldn't tell her. The events that took place that night were classified after all. But even if they weren't, he would never repeat them. Memories like that were just too painful to recall. She had learned very quickly that the topic of his nightmare was strictly off-limits.
However, it showcased how strong his relationship was with Sydney that he was willing to tell her anything at all. He loved Alice, he really did, but he had stopped being in love with her a long time ago. Even before Sydney. Sydney had just been the catalyst to his revelation that he was no longer in love with Alice. It wasn't like he had woken up one morning and decided that he was no longer in love with Alice. It had happened gradually, over an extended period of time.
He had never felt close enough with Alice to tell her about that night. Even when he had been in love with her, there had always been a part of him that had held back. With Sydney, holding back simply wasn't possible. Whenever he was around her, it was very hard to not open up. Something about Sydney made him be totally honest with her. That wasn't to say he didn't keep things from her, but keeping things secret and lying were two totally different things. He wasn't about to bring up in one of their normal conversations how four years ago he had killed someone, or the fact that he had more than handler type feelings for her. That was just stupid.
If she asked, though, he knew he would be hard pressed keeping the truth from her. He had made it a personal goal to never lie to Sydney. He liked thinking that he was the only person in her life that she could count on to be honest with her. That gave him a connection to her that nobody else had. She could tell him things that she could never share with anyone else, even Will and Francie. He did not want to give that up.
He just desperately hoped that he wouldn't have to give it up. Unfortunately, Sydney's reaction wasn't exactly instilling a lot of confidence in him.
"What was her name?"
Vaughn looked at Sydney in sudden surprise. After the long moment of silence, hearing anything coming out of Sydney's mouth would have surprised him. This was where he got nervous and uncomfortable. Even more so than before.
Vaughn's surprise shown clearly on his face. "Huh?"
Sydney's eyes connected with Vaughn's and she spoke in a clear voice, "What was her name? The name of the double agent you killed."
Vaughn winced slightly at the last part. When Vaughn answered, he did so hesitantly. "Her name was Elisa. Elisa Jones."
"And you killed her?" Sydney asked coldly.
Vaughn sighed. How did things get so out of control? He knew how. He knew going in that Sydney would want to know everything, and he knew she deserved to know. It just wasn't easy owning up to his past.
Vaughn responded in a tired voice, "Yeah Syd, I did. There were extenuating circumstances that you know nothing about. Not that that excuses what I did, but its not like I woke up one day and decided that it would be fun to see how long it would take her to die. I did what I had to do for the good of my team, for the agency, and for my country. You more than anyone else should understand that."
Sydney asked defensively, "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Come on Syd. What about that whole thing with Sloane? Don't get me wrong, I know you did it to save my life and I'm unbelievably grateful, but you can't exactly claim any moral high ground here. I'm just trying to point out that sometimes things aren't as black and white as you would like."
Vaughn paused when he saw Sydney's face redden in anger. He thought about stopping, but quickly decided to push on. If things were going to go back to the way they had been, they needed to air whatever grievances they might have had. Vaughn continued in a tight controlled voice, "I weighed my choices, and I decided which one was best. I have to live with the consequences of my actions every time I look at myself in a mirror. But if I had to do it all over again, I would."
Sydney's face softened somewhat and Vaughn was filled with hope. He tried as best he could to show Sydney how much he meant what he was feeling. It was important that she see he was being honest, and that he really was suffering because of what he had done.
"I don't think you're a psycho Vaughn. Nor do I think your decision wasn't made out of necessity. It's just a lot to take in, that's all." Sydney hoped she conveyed her feelings well enough so that Vaughn could understand where she was coming from.
Vaughn nodded his head enthusiastically. "I understand that Sydney, and I completely respect how you feel. I just don't want you to get the wrong idea. Your opinion matters a lot to me Sydney."
Vaughn's tiny confession pulled on Sydney's heartstrings. It was painfully obvious from the way Vaughn was looking at her that he really did regret what he had done. Not to mention, hearing that her opinion mattered to him, really made her soften her stance.
However, there was still one thing Sydney needed to know before she moved on. She had to know why. She voiced her question out loud. "Why Vaughn? Why did you have to kill her?"
Vaughn thought long and hard on how he should answer Sydney's question. How could he tell her without explaining everything? He might be on the lamb, but that didn't mean he was ready to chuck CIA protocol out the window. It was too much of who he was.
The knowledge of Elisa Jones betrayal, and the subsequent events leading up to and resulting from her death, were the reasons why Project Sally had been shut down in the first place. The CIA ran black ops all the time, but Project Sally had been secret even for the CIA. The fact that so much exposure had been accrued by one of their most secret operations had caused the CIA to react swiftly and quietly. They had classified all data pertaining to the operation, erased most of the records, and prematurely retired all the agents involved in the project. All except Vaughn of course.
The only reason why Vaughn had not been retired like his fellow teammates was because Devlin had interceded on his behalf. Devlin had personally vouched for his integrity, his loyalty to the Agency, and his willingness to forget Project Sally ever existed. Devlin had, for all intents and purposes, put his own ass on the line for Vaughn. Which was why it was so hard for Vaughn to believe that Devlin was the one behind the hit on his life. Events just weren't meshing well.
Despite Devlin's personal recommendation that Vaughn was a valued member of the Agency and that it would be their loss if he were to be retired, the Agency higher-ups had decided that everyone would be best served if he was out of the way. So they had moved him out of the Operations branch, rescinded his field agent status, and hid him behind a desk. He had been effectively demoted, but at least he got to stay with the Agency.
Things hadn't been that bad though. While being an analyst was not the most exciting job in the world, it did have its perks. He was able to live a safe and relatively normal life. The pay wasn't great, but the benefits were better. Plus, his new job had allowed him to meet Weiss, and the two had become fast friends.
Weiss had been great, and it was because of him that Vaughn's transition from field agent to paper pusher wasn't as horrible as he had initially feared. There were times where Vaughn had wanted to confess all to Weiss about his past, but protocol would always rear its ugly head and remind him that that information was classified.
Vaughn had always wondered, if given the opportunity, what he would actually say to Weiss. Unfortunately for him, Vaughn had never had that opportunity so he had never had to think up of ways to say what he wanted to say. This was the same problem he was facing now.
Should he screw protocol and tell Sydney what she obviously wanted to hear? Should he keep quiet, even at the risk of alienating Sydney? Should he tell her part of the story, making sure to omit certain "sensitive" parts? These questions all flashed in Vaughn's mind, but he unfortunately had no answers.
Unfortunately for Vaughn, he would never get the chance to answer those questions. A loud bang in the night, an obvious gunshot, spurred Vaughn and Sydney into activity. Questions that needed to be answered would have to wait.
The silence in the car was almost deafening to Tiffany's ears. If not for the wind rushing through the busted front windshield, which was incredibly cold, Tiffany would have thought she was in the car all by herself.
The man driving the car, and the object of her attention, had not said more than five words to her since he had saved her life. For Tiffany, that was bad. She needed answers and she needed them now. She was seriously starting to wonder if maybe she hadn't been better off staying in the pier parking lot with the two men who had tried to kill her.
When she had first seen Kyle Prescott she had been overjoyed and grateful beyond words. After all, he had just saved her life, he was alive when he was supposed to be dead, and she had found herself a potential new ally. But then the reality of the situation weighed down on her, and she began to wonder how Kyle had known where she was, that she needed help, and most importantly of all, she was wondering why he was still alive. That question more than any other had to be answered. Soon.
If not, then Tiffany was going to have to escape from yet another life threatening situation.
"Where are you and Michael suppose to meet?" Kyle asked her. The breaking of the silent monotony caught Tiffany by surprise and she was slow in responding.
When she did, her voice was full of suspicion. "I appreciate the save Kyle, I really do, but I'm not telling you a damn thing until you answer some of my questions."
Kyle briefly glanced over in her direction. "You don't trust me."
Tiffany nodded her head in response. She recognized that what he had said was more a statement than a question, but she answered him all the same. "Would you trust me? If our situations were reversed, would you answer the questions that you have asked me?"
Kyle fixed his eyes back on the road and answered simply, "No."
Tiffany sucked in a sudden breath of air and winced when she moved her injured leg. She tried to turn herself so that she could better focus on Kyle, but her leg was preventing her from moving any more than necessary.
Kyle heard her sudden intake of breath and turned his head to see if she was alright. When he noticed her shifting her leg so that she could better reposition herself, he commented, "Maybe we should stop. You really need to get that leg looked at."
"Absolutely not. We are not stopping. I'm fine Kyle, don't worry." Tiffany then grinned and said lightly, "Besides, if Mikey hears that I couldn't handle being shot in the leg, he'll never let me hear the end of it. I gave him a pretty hard time when he got hit in the shoulder, and I don't want him to return the favor."
Kyle snorted in amusement and shook his head in mock disapproval. Tiffany added, "I can get patched up when I meet back up with Michael."
"Well, seeing how you won't tell me where you and Vaughn are suppose to meet, I don't see that happening any time soon." Kyle said sourly.
Tiffany sighed. "I told you already Kyle. I'm not taking you near Vaughn until I know you're on the level. You're supposed to be dead you know. The fact that you're alive does not bode well for your credibility."
"I can't tell you everything you want to know Tif. At least not yet. As for how I'm still alive, that is a story I would prefer to tell to both you and Michael. I don't want to have to say it twice." Kyle tried to reason.
Tiffany wasn't having it though. "That's too bad Kyle. Unless you can give me something other than how you survived and escaped from the Chinese, I have no reason to trust you. I need proof Kyle. Your word just isn't good enough."
Kyle suddenly crushed the brake petal, stopping the car violently, and pulled to the side of the road. In anger, Kyle turned off the engine and turned around in his seat to face Tiffany who was looking at him in wide eyed surprise.
Kyle brought his hands to his chest and violently pulled apart his button-down shirt. When he did, Tiffany could see several long, angry red scars dotting the terrain of Kyle's chest. Her eyes moved down his torso to see purple blotches of skin along his ribs.
Kyle pointed his finger at his chest and practically shouted, "You want your proof! Well here it is! Do you see what they did to me? I went through this for almost two weeks. Do you think they would do this to someone who was working for them?"
Tiffany couldn't help but feel remorse and sadness for the obvious pain that Kyle must have gone through. She still wasn't completely convinced though. His injuries could be faked. By that she meant that he could have let someone do them to him so that he would look more convincing.
Tiffany moved her hand to Kyle's chest and gently ran her hand along his chest. When she ran her hand along his ribs, Kyle winced slightly. She looked up in surprise, "They're still sore? Its been over a month since you were reported dead."
Kyle's voice was noticeable calmer when he spoke. "They were broken pretty bad. I couldn't tape them, so I had to let them stay unmended for a few days. I'm lucky none of them punctured a lung."
Tiffany moved her hand up to Kyle's shirt and brought the two ends together, covering his chest. She leaned back and fixed Kyle with a steady look. "I want to believe you Kyle, but I've been burned too many times by people I'm supposed to be able to trust. You're asking me to put my life and Mikey's life on the line for you."
Kyle looked at her in slight disbelief and then shook his head in disgust. He said resentfully, "Fine." Kyle reached into the backseat and grabbed a duffel bag. He placed the bag on his lap and stuck his hand inside it, searching for something. After a few seconds, he found what he was looking for.
He pulled his hand out of the bag and placed the bag back on the backseat. He then gave the object he had taken to Tiffany. "There. That's all the proof you need."
Tiffany looked at the computer disk curiously. "What is it?"
Kyle smiled tightly and said, "I know Mike too well. I knew the disk I sent to him would end up with the bureaucrats at the Agency. So I made a copy. That is a record of everything I was sent to find on Project Sally. That's your proof and my life your holding in your hands."
Vaughn looked at his watch for the third time in the last five minutes. Sydney noticed his actions and said, "I'm sure she's all right Vaughn."
Vaughn leapt off the stool he was sitting on and started pacing. Briefly glancing over at Sydney, he started talking. "That's the thing though. I don't know that. I know Tiffany can take care of herself, but what if she's hurt or something?" Vaughn's worry and despair was as plain as day. He continued angrily, "I should have never left her there! What was I thinking?"
Sydney got off her own stool and walked up to Vaughn. She forced Vaughn to stop pacing and looked him straight in the eyes. Steadily, she said, "You were thinking Vaughn. You did the right thing. Tiffany would have done the same thing."
Vaughn let out a harsh laugh. "That's where you're wrong Syd. Tiffany wouldn't have done the same thing. She would have come after me." Vaughn turned his back on Sydney and walked farther into the darkness of the warehouse. He said quietly, "She would have said screw protocol and come after me even if it was the stupid thing to do."
Vaughn turned back around to face Sydney. Darkness covered most of his face, but Sydney could clearly see his haunted eyes. "I may have done the smart thing Sydney, but I did not do the right thing."
Sydney got angry. "So what? Would you rather be dead now? And what about me huh? Would you have just left me?"
Vaughn stepped back into the light and Sydney could see his face flush with anger. She could feel her own emotions start to bubble to the surface and she took a step closer as well. This whole argument was pissing her off. She didn't like hearing that Vaughn would be willing to leave her to go off and save another woman. Oh sure, she was more than capable of taking care of herself, but it was the principle of the thing. Vaughn was only supposed to be willing to do that for her, not for someone else.
She knew that a part of her was being irrational, but she knew Vaughn was also acting irrationally. Emotions were running high between Vaughn and herself, especially after hearing about him killing somebody, and she knew that a confrontation was bound to happen. She couldn't stand that he was keeping things from her. He was not acting like the man she expected him to be. She realized belatedly that he was acting human.
Sydney had always held Vaughn on some kind of pedestal. He was the man that never lied to her, the man that was always willing to listen to what she had to say, and he was the man that always supported her. She expected him to act that way, and when he didn't, she was unsure on how to handle herself around him.
She knew it was unfair and impossible to expect him to act that way all the time, but she did it nonetheless. Vaughn was supposed to be her perfect, unwavering rock. Now that he wasn't, she was losing control.
Sydney took some comfort in the fact that Vaughn felt the same way about her. She knew from the way she would sometimes catch him looking at her when he didn't think she was paying attention, that Vaughn thought she was special. It wasn't necessarily a sexual thing, although certain times she could pick up that vibe, it was more of a feeling of friendship, admiration, and respect. Vaughn respected her and believed in her, more than any man she knew. They had a mutual admiration society thing going on, she thought with an inward smile.
Outwardly, however, her face stayed in its angry visage. Vaughn's face did not. His face went from angry to almost shocked. Sydney could see a sparkle in his eye and a small grin suddenly appeared on his face. Vaughn's about face caught Sydney off guard.
Sydney asked angrily, "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Vaughn chuckled at her the look on her face. "I was just wondering why you were acting the way you were about Tiffany when it suddenly came to me." Vaughn sighed dramatically. "God, I can be such an idiot sometimes. Tif tells me that I'm oblivious to women, but even I should have picked up on this."
Sydney got confused and asked again, "What the hell are you talking about Vaughn?"
Vaughn said simply, "You're jealous. Of Tiffany."
Sydney's face flashed a deep scarlet. She quickly changed from embarrassment to anger though. "I am not jealous. What do I have to be jealous of? I don't have those kind of feelings for you, and even if I did they wouldn't matter!"
Vaughn actually laughed, which was a bad thing to do because Sydney took a threatening step forward. Vaughn immediately raised his hands in surrender. "I'm sorry Sydney. Its not you I'm laughing at I swear. Its me."
Sydney stopped her advance and looked at Vaughn inquisitively. "What do you mean?"
Vaughn hesitated before speaking, but this was something he had to say, no matter the consequences. It would drive him insane if he didn't. "For the longest time, I have had feelings for you that would be classified as inappropriate at best. And I've tried to keep them bottled up and not let them bother me. I thought I had succeeded for awhile, but then this whole mess started and all I could think about was telling you how I felt. Fast forward a month, and the chance that I've been waiting for happens when I'm waiting in some abandoned, dank, and dirty warehouse where I'm hiding for my life from the people I work for and hoping the woman I think of as my little sister is not dead or dying alone on some abandoned street. I just realized at that moment how truly screwed up my life was and the only thing I could do was laugh." Vaughn explained amusedly.
Sydney stared at Vaughn. What he had just said was still processing in her mind. She repeated, "Little sister?"
Vaughn laughed lightly at Sydney's slightly dazed look. "Yeah Syd, my little sister. We have too much history together for me to think of her as anything else. Besides, I don't think I'm her type."
Sydney recovered enough to grin happily in Vaughn's direction. As much as she didn't want to dwell on her feelings for Vaughn too much, she was incredibly pleased that Vaughn wasn't interested in Tiffany. "Not her type huh? If you're not her type then what is?" A part of Sydney balked at the thought that any woman would not want Michael Vaughn. But then she realized that she was biased in her opinion.
Vaughn shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't really know. She doesn't really have much of a type." Vaughn then paused and quickly gave Sydney an appreciative once over. He then grinned conspiratorially, "Although if I had to guess, I'd say she likes tall brunettes with gorgeous brown eyes, a great body, and killer legs."
Sydney stared at Vaughn uncomprehendingly and said, "Oh." Sudden realization hit her and her eyes widened and her face reddened a deep maroon color and she said, "Ohhh."
Vaughn grinned. "Yep. So you see, you have nothing to worry about. If anything, I'm the one who should be worried."
Vaughn didn't think it was possible but Sydney's face got even redder. Vaughn decided to take pity on Sydney and change the subject. "Anyway, as I was saying, this whole thing is one big joke. It wasn't until a month ago that I truly understood everything you go through every day Syd. I don't know how you do it."
Sydney's embarrassment lessened and her face started to resume its normal color. "Sometimes I don't know either Vaughn. I depend on you, Will, Francie, and my father to keep me grounded. If it weren't for you guys I would have cracked a long time ago."
Vaughn nodded his head in response. "Yeah, if it wasn't for Tiffany I would have never made it." Vaughn paused and then added, "You know Syd, I think you and Tiffany would get along great if you could just spend some time around each other. You are so alike its scary."
Sydney was about to respond to Vaughn's comment when both Vaughn and Sydney heard the sound of feet shuffling against the warehouse floor. Sydney clamped her mouth shut and slunk her way into the shadows. She checked to make sure Vaughn was doing the same, and saw him crouched behind a large crate with his gun drawn.
Sydney heard Vaughn cock his gun and she readied her body to attack whoever was coming. Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long. Seconds after moving to their positions, they could make out two forms walking toward them. It looked like one was having a hard time walking and was leaning on the other.
When the two reached the point where the dark met the light, one of the two people spoke up. "Mikey? I know you're out there. It's me."
Sydney quickly glanced in Vaughn's direction and saw him let out a deep breath. His shoulders relaxed in relief and he brought his gun down to his side. Sydney worried that he was going to leave his hiding spot; it was still too soon to expose themselves.
Before Vaughn could move, Sydney yelled out, "Who is with you?"
Sydney saw the two people finally move into the light. One was a man that she had never seen before and the other was Tiffany. Sydney saw a piece of cloth with a growing red spot wrapped around Tiffany's upper leg and she understood now why she needed help walking.
In answer to Sydney's question, Tiffany responded, "Mikey, you'll never guess who I ran into. Look who it is."
Sydney looked back to Vaughn and saw his eyes widen in shock. His body went stiff and his gun was back up and pointing in the direction of Tiffany and the strange man. Before Sydney could do or say anything, Vaughn jumped up and walked up to the two.
Vaughn raised his gun and pointed it straight at the man. In a tightly controlled voice, he said, "Tiffany, move away from him now."
Tiffany did the opposite. She moved in front of the man, putting her body between Vaughn's gun and the man. Tiffany spoke calmly, "Mikey, its ok. He's cool. I know that he's supposed to be dead, but he says he can explain everything and I believe him. I trust him."
Sydney saw the futility in hiding any longer and left her hiding place to stand next to Vaughn. Vaughn saw Sydney sidle up next to him out of the corner of his eye and shot her a quick smile in thanks before turning back to face Kyle and Tiffany.
Vaughn still wasn't convinced. "Are you sure Tif? This whole thing doesn't feel right."
Tiffany nodded her head and reached out to place her hand on Vaughn's gun hand. She slowly started to push the gun down. She said comfortingly, "I'm sure Mikey. He saved my life."
Vaughn had been so focused on seeing Kyle for the first time that he hadn't noticed that Tiffany was hurt until now. When he did, his face grew concerned. "Are you all right?"
Tiffany seemed to be convinced that Vaughn was not going to try and kill Kyle anymore and so she made a beeline for a crate to sit on. When she did, she sighed in pleasure. "Yeah Mikey, it's just a flesh wound. It only hurts when I move my leg."
Vaughn moved to check her out himself. While Vaughn was fussing over Tiffany, Sydney decided to introduce herself to the stranger. "Hi, I'm Sydney."
The man nodded his head at her, but he was looking at Vaughn and Tiffany. To be more precise, he was looking at Vaughn. He said distractedly, "I'm Kyle. Kyle Prescott."
"Let me guess. You're part of Vaughn's old team too?" Sydney asked a little bitterly.
Kyle was still focused on the others, and he responded, "Huh? Oh yeah,... Michael and I were on the Project Sally op together."
Sydney latched onto what Kyle said eagerly. If Vaughn wouldn't tell her what she wanted to know then maybe Kyle would. "Project Sally? What is that?"
Kyle finally stopped staring at Vaughn and said in a surprised tone, "Michael hasn't told you?"
Sydney responded dejectedly, "No and every time I ask he manages to change the subject."
"Well, if Michael hasn't told you then I'm sorry but I can't say anything either. It's classified."
Sydney growled angrily and then turned around to stomp over towards Vaughn. When she did, she violently grabbed his sweatshirt and lifted him to his feet. Vaughn looked at her in surprise and said worriedly, "Uh...Syd, what are you doing?"
"I'm tired of all the run around Vaughn. I want the truth about Project Sally and I want it right now. No more subject changes. No more convenient incidents. Just tell me the truth."
Vaughn tried to placate her, "Ok Syd. I'll tell you, just would you...uh...let me go."
Sydney looked down at where her hands were grabbing Vaughn's sweatshirt and quickly released her hold. She blushed and mumbled an apology as she backed away.
Vaughn smiled shakily at her and began his tale, "Project Sally was a top secret op started by the CIA in 1995..."
To be continued.....................
P.S. I am so happy that we finally got a new episode of Alias. I was starting to go through serious Jennifer Garner withdrawal. Thankfully, after Sunday, I no longer after to worry. My fix should be more than enough to last me until the next episode which looks to be a doozy for S/V fans. That is, if the promo can be trusted. There is something about that voice over guy that just annoys the hell out of me. He seems so shifty. Maybe I'm crazy, I don't know, but you guys tell me what you think.
P.S. I know this chapter didn't have a lot of action in it, but it was an important setup piece. Next chapter we get Kyle's story, Devlin explains himself, and we will finally learn what Project Sally is. Unfortunately, the new chapter may be long in coming as I must acclimate myself to the new semester. Plus, I will be actively searching for employment which will, when combined with school, cut down considerably on my writing time. Sorry. Oh, and please review. Please!!!! The last two chapters have done poorly, and the only way I will speed up my timetable is if the response to this chapter is good.
P.S. If FF.net didn't suck so much and constantly crash, I would have posted this chapter on Tuesday. Instead, I had to wait to post until now. It still manages to amaze me that a site like this has so many system errors. I have been visiting this site for over three years, and in all that time the admins have never been able to completely fix this thing. Unfortunately, this is not only the best site out there for budding writers like myself, it is the only site. I just wish they would get their act together. Sorry, for the rant but stuff like this really annoys me. Its probably just my post-drunken revelry inner-college student complaining.
