He sat inches from her and never let his emotions show on his face
but their eyes were locked on each other. Mask looking at mask. They
heard a crash and Sydney tensed up. "They're here." She whispered, almost
silently. The crawl space was tiny, barely leaving enough room for them on
their knees either way.
"You're doing good." Vaughn attempted to calm her. Their faces were so close than they inhaled each other's breath. It was the closest they had ever been to each other. She nodded her head slowly and did not let her eyes leave his for one second.
"Why did this happen?" Sydney replied, starting to crawl back towards the attic.
"I don't know. I wish I knew." Vaughn replied, following her. They reached the vertical entrance to the attic and stood up. The attic was small, about the size of the walk in closet. Only part of the attic was finished. Will and Francie sat together and Will held onto Francie tightly. Her face was flushed and she was visibly shaken.
Vaughn sat down across from them and leaned against the wall, the gun still drawn. Sydney joined him, sitting a few inches away and set her gun down in front of her. She looked back and forth between Francie and Will. She leaned her head back and stretched out her neck before returning her gaze to Francie and Will. The space was so tight that the four people's feet touched and there was barely any space between them. They were all frozen in time, fully aware that if they made the slightest noise they would be discovered.
"You have a gun?" Francie choked after a few minutes.
Sydney immediately looked at Vaughn, who's eyes were wide and unsure. "Yeah. Bank protocol..all international employees must learn how to shoot and defend themselves. In case something like this happens." Sydney quickly lied, avoiding Will's eyes. He knew that she was lying. She brought her knees up to her chest and leaned her head on them. She turned her face to the right and starred at Vaughn, who looked back at her...letting her get lost in his green eyes. She hushed her voice almost to the point that she was mouthing words. "They want to kill me, don't they?"
Vaughn quickly glanced at Francie and bowed his head to meet Sydney's level and nodded solemnly.
"Do we know how he found out?" Vaughn shook his head no. "Who they are?" Again, no. "All we know is that they wanted to kill me?" This time yes. "Wonderful."
"Yeah, I know." His extremely hushed voice cut through the silence like a blunt knife.
Sydney sighed and moved closer to him and whispered into his ear, "We need to get out of here and get into headquarters. They need to go into protective custody for the time being and we need to find out where the leak came from. It was probably Sark..we need to talk to my," she mouthed the next word, mother but decided to say it aloud, "mother and find out if she knows anything. We need to talk to my father..Vaughn..we're sitting ducks!" Her cheek was flush against his and her breath trickled down his spine, causing his lips to part for a moment.
He wanted to clear his throat to make himself for comfortable but instead started to talk with a hoarse voice, "I know. I know. But I've never been in this situation before, it's a little.." It was his term to make her tremble a little. A loud crash from downstairs.louder than the first one. They had probably just gotten the front door down. The assassins were in the house. Adrenaline was pumping hard through her veins now and sitting there, just waiting was killing her. There was a serious of crashes that flooded the attic and seemed to be coming from everywhere beneath them. The sound showered them and Francie stifled a sob. Sydney held onto Vaughn tightly as if to devise some new plan but all she could do was hold onto him tightly. He embraced her back but found it hard to sit still. Vaughn was getting nervous. His arms released her and his body began to edge away. She was confused and wanted to shout out to him to stay, to hold her for another moment but decided against it. He switched his weight onto his knees and leaned forward to talk to Will and Francie. Even he had to admit, Will was the calmest a person could be under a situation like this but Francie was already showing signs of shock. She shook violently and barely blinked with her eyes wide. Vaughn quickly explained what was going to happen. His voice was so hoarse and sexy but she couldn't make out what he was saying. Sydney still sat, securing the holster around her, checking the clip in her gun.letting her thoughts wander to places that she didn't want it to. What if she died? What if Sloane succeeded and killed her and her friends? What if Vaughn died? It was becoming a real possibility and if they were killed and she had never told Vaughn how she felt about him.She looked at Vaughn, who cautiously made his way back towards her and shook his head in remorse.
The crashing grew more intense and as suddenly as it started, it stopped with a man shouting, "Where the hell did she go?"
Sydney straightened up defiantly and sighed nervously. Her eyes darted between Francie and Will, who held each other tightly. She couldn't even move to comfort them.
"I don't know! She must have been tipped off." Another male voice replied.
Vaughn wanted shift his weight but any movement might cause the floorboards to squeak..giving them all away. Instead, he reached for his cell phone and started a text message to Jack.
Jack-
Sloane found out about Syd. We're in the attic. Assassins are downstairs.
-Vaughn
He sent it and looked at Sydney nervously. She had been looking over his shoulder and nodded approvingly. "Syd." He mouthed, "as soon as they leave, we're gonna take them to a safe house and we're going somewhere in Europe." He mouthed.
She looked at him, almost terrified to open her mouth. She tipped her chin up and started to blink rapidly.
He knew what she was doing and translated the make-shift Morris Code. "Vaughn, we need to get out of here now! We're freaking sitting duck!"
"I know." He blinked back. "But what are we going to do? Fight back?"
Sydney looked at her friends and nodded yes.
"Absolutely not!" He opened his mouth and hissed.
Silence filled the void again but was quickly replaced by gunfire.
Francie jumped and tried not to cry. Her home was being destroyed. She leaned deeper into Will and began to shake. Will rested his head atop hers and watched his agent friend nervously. Sydney responded to the sudden gunfire by gripping Vaughn's hand and held it tightly within her own. She drew Vaughn close to her again and whispered into his ear. "We need get out of here-"
"We're done." The voice came again from below. "Get out. Let's find her." A parade of gunfire came once more and then the front door slammed shut tightly. Sydney jumped to her feet and pulled Francie and Will up to theirs.
She checked the window directly across from her and saw the men dressed in black starting to retreat from the house. She watched as the last car started and began to pull away. She turned towards her friends, in complete emissary mode. "Let's go!" She started to bark orders. "Vaughn, let's go." She hissed when he hadn't moved. "Francie, go to your room and get some comfortable clothes. You're gonna need them. You're going to spend the night at a safe house."
"Safe house? Syd, what the hell are you talking about?" Francie let out a fearful cry as Will started to drag her down towards the crawl space.
Syd patted Will on the shoulder a gave him an understanding look. "It's procedure. It's a place where we'll be safe from this. Mr. Vaughn will take us there but you need to pack some sweats.stuff that you're gonna be comfortable in. Okay?" She gave an almost trust explanation to her confused friend and sent them back towards the crawl space. She began to walk with them but turned around realizing that one person was missing. "Vaughn, get up!"
"Sydney, think rationally for a moment. You're emotions are getting you really hyped up. Calm down." Vaughn had moved and was now starring out the window watching the series of cars pull out. "Think rationally." He turned back towards her, resting his weight on his knees.
"I am not about to let my friends die because of my job! Get your ass up now!" Sydney walked towards him and pulled him forcefully to his feet. "Why are you being like this?"
"Because someone needs to think rationally!"
"Stop using that word!"
"Sydney!"
"Vaughn, shut up! That son of a bitch Sloane is going to kill me and what's left of my family! Let's get going!"
"Sydney, I'm agreeing with you but I need you to think logically for just a minute. You're letting your emotions get to go! Take a breath!" Vaughn grabbed her by the arms and held her there for a moment. She tensed up at his touch but then relaxed with a deep breath. Her eyes met his and she nodded her head slowly. They stayed like that for a few moments, inhaling and exhaling. "Are you okay now?"
"I'm fine. Like I said, let's go." Sydney was still on edge and it was becoming more and more apparent. She shook off his grasp for a minute and looked hurt. "I'm fine. Let's go. I'm gonna kill-"
"Syd." He paused as he got lost in her eyes and his lips parted. She licked her nervously. "C'mon, we gotta get to your friends. We'll take my car." He placed his hand on the small of her back and started to lead her out towards her bedroom. His touch was so comforting and all she really wanted to tell him everything was bottled up inside her and just collapse down to the ground with him and cry on his shoulder. No time. He held onto Sydney with one hand and dialed Devlin with the other. "Devlin, it's Agent Vaughn."
"What the hell do you want now, Vaughn?" Devlin barked on the other end. Sydney heard the tone of his voice and flinched.
"I'm at Sydney Bristow's house."
"What?"
"The hit men were just here. They going to find her. I'm bringing her in with her friends."
"I'm sending both of you out..we'll get your things in order. Come to the Joint Task Force Office." Devlin hung up.
Vaughn managed to laugh a little, "Did ya hear that? We're going off somewhere."
"And Francie and Will?" Sydney didn't wait for an answer before she crawled into the crawl space and jumped down into her closet, unsure of what would greet her when she opened the door. She was mad at the world at that moment. Everything was something to hinder her path.
"Safe house."
"Oh my G-d!" Sydney cried as she pushed the door to the rest of the house opened. Next step in the grieving process: remorse and depression. It has been completely ransacked and destroyed. Her bedroom had been destroyed; all of her frames lay broken and her jewelry box overturn. Her bed was completely undone and destroyed. The only thing that hadn't been touched, though, was her closet. *Those morons probably didn't even notice it there..they were too upset that I wasn't here.* The spy didn't even know where to go first. Try to clean things up, no. That wasn't logical at all. Maybe something had remained unbroken. The light had been ripped from the light socket and one thing on the floor reflect the light brilliantly. It was unbroken. Not bothering to keep her emotions in check, she ran towards her dresser and found that one thing. It was the Christmas present from Vaughn last year. She held the frame to her chest and looked around in disbelief.
"I always thought that I would never be caught." She admitted softly. She starred down at her feet. "That I would be invincible."
"You're not giving up." Vaughn replied, not giving her the chance to back down. "I know you better than that."
"I find myself wondering if I could take back one thing in my life, what I would take back..telling Danny or accepting that card from the recruiter. I still haven't figured it out." She held the frame tighter to her chest. "What does the rest of the house look like?" She wondered slightly aloud.
His eyes glazed over as he looked at her. "Do you still need a minute?"
"I need a hell of a lot more than a minute." She scoffed and turned her head like she had been slapped across the face.
"I understand." And he did. This was a blow below the belt for her. Sloane had taken everything away from her.her fiancé, her home, her safety, and now almost her life. Vaughn walked towards her, mindful to step over debris that littered the floor and stood next to her. He sighed and looked over her out the window.
"I know we need to get going." Sydney sighed and cradled the frame tighter.
He should have said something soothing like, 'take your time' or 'don't worry.' But all that came out was a mere squeak of a voice, "Is that-" He started and starred at the frame.
"It's the frame you gave me last year.it's the only thing they didn't destroy."
"Sydney." The hoarseness of his voice and the tone made her want to breakdown and cry.
"I know." She replied and placed the frame back down. "Lemme just- just grab some decent clothes so I don't have to go in in my pajamas."
"Yeah, I'll go out and see how Francie and Will are doing." He replied and turned back towards the door. It was ajar. His eyes scanned the room once more. The room made him sick to his stomach. Arvin Sloane needed to die today. His desire for destruction was enough to make any man protective of any female friend but somewhere in the past year or so, a line was crossed. Vaughn would kill to protect Sydney from any pain; physical or mental. He made his vow to protect her as he rounded the corner to the living room. The sight was nothing less than frightening. The couch had a small fire brewing on it and the entire kitchen was full of bullet holes. Francie sat huddled in a corner and was crying inconsolably. A duffle bag was placed at her feet and she tried to press herself into the corner between the living room and the kitchen. "Hey." Vaughn's voice was soft and comforting. He walked over, stepping over more debris and crouched down in front of her. "How are you holding up?"
She had a moment of clarity. "Mr. Vaughn.you're kidding right? I mean, no disrespect but you have no idea what this feels like." She sat up a little and attempted to dry her eyes. "This is the worst feeling in the world. Knowing someone actually planned on doing this.destroying us."
"I know there's nothing I can that would make this better. And for your sake and Will's and Syd's, I wish that there were. But, we're going to keep you safe and make sure that you'll never have to deal with this ever again. I won't let these people lay a hand on you or Will or Syd. I swear to you." Vaughn took her hand, resting on her knee and held it tightly in hers. "I swear."
She nodded and leaned forward, caving into his arms. Her sobbing commenced as she gripped Vaughn's shoulder tightly. Everything had been taken from her and yet she trusted a near perfect stranger. She knew nothing about him and he only knew bits and pieces of her. He knew whatever Sydney had told him about her. And there was she, opening her soul to him and crying on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I'm getting your shirt all wet." She wanted to laugh but it came out sounding like more of a sob.
"No, no. Don't worry about. Just relax. I told you, I'm not letting anything happen to you." He reassured her. They sat there for a few more minutes and Vaughn held her closer, becoming more aware of the eyes glaring at him front the partially intact chair. Green met blue as Will fought to catch his gaze. Francie let out a series of sniffling, immediately followed by, "I'm okay. I'm okay." She straightened up and wiped away her tears. She looked like she had lived through a war but came out just as strong. "I'm gonna grab something to eat before we go. Do I have enough time for that?"
"Yeah." Vaughn leaned back on his haunches and let Francie get to her feet. "Take your time." She walked past him, muttering to herself as she went. Her feet reached the kitchen, where she let out a chilling gasp as she found all of her beautiful professional grade cookie wares completely destroyed. It made everything more of a reality and made her mind shut down.
Will watched Francie with his eyes and waited until she ducked into the kitchen to start talking. "Sloane did this, didn't he? And that son of a bitch..what's his name? Sark?" He was getting defensive, arms crossed over chest.
Vaughn looked at him and shook his head yes. There was no use in attempting to lie to him. "We think he found out about Sydney working for CIA. He probably ordered her murder and whoever else was here." He got to his feet and began to pace around the tattered home. His nervous energy was apparent to all who knew him and even those who didn't know him. "We're gonna get you and Francie safe and then Sydney and I are going to get out of the country."
"For how long?"
A sigh escaped his lips, "I honestly wish I knew."
"You gotta pick up and leave too? What about your girlfriend?"
"Alice?" He had forgotten about her. How would that conversation go, *Hi honey, I'm sorry I can't go to the New Year's party, I'm in Austria hiding from a counter-intelligence organization who has put a hit against Sydney, who you know as Rita, and by the way, I'm falling in love with her.* Yeah, that would go over real well. "She'll understand. She'll have to understand."
"Good." Will took a deep breath for a moment before he started on his tangent. "I hate that man. He's the devil. He needs to burn for doing this. This is the worse thing that has ever happened to Francie or Sydney.well, not so much Sydney. She must be used to it." Will kept talking, barely taking enough time to take a breath. He straightened his shoulders and lifted his chin a little as if to show that he was the Alpha- male, not letting anything happen to the Alpha-female, Sydney.
"I'll attest to that." Vaughn replied, now standing at the door examining how they broke it. It was still intact and attached at the hinges but parts of it had been forcefully opened. One of Marshall's tech devices no doubt had picked the lock and when that failed, they tried to bust it down. "I've made it my personal mission to make sure he burns in hell for everything."
"I think I'll join you, if you don't mind."
"Two men bring down one devil.I think I could use all the help I could get." His green eyes burned with passion for the destruction of Arvin Sloane. Will sensed this and got to his feet.
"Would one woman fit into this equation?" Sydney stood in her doorway with her bag slung over her shoulder and dressed in jeans, a white t-shirt and a black duster tied around her thin waist. "'Cause I would love to take him down."
"Sydney." Will looked at her soberly.
She looked back and forth between the two men standing in front of her. "He's going down for this. No one hurts my family twice and gets away with it."
"Who's down?" Francie asked innocently. She had gone into deep shock and was now wandering around the place with a blank, dumbfounded look on her face. Sydney rushed to her side and put her hand on her arm. "Francie, honey, we gotta get going. Gotta get you safe." Her voice was surprisingly almost cheerful. She knew that she needed to sound like everything was under control..even if it wasn't.
"Okay." Francie's eyes didn't move. She continued to walk towards the front door without pausing or showing signs of any hesitation.
"Post-traumatic." Syd turned her head and whispered to Vaughn who nodded in agreement. She gave Francie a hug and her eyes barely blinked. "You're gonna be just fine, honey. I promise you. This is never going to happen again. I promise you. I swear."
Vaughn looked from Francie to Will and quickly explained, "Shock's setting in already. We'll have some people standing by." Vaughn replied, grabbing his cell phone and dialing a familiar number. "This is Vaughn, we're coming in now. I have two for the safe house with Barnet standing by and two needing complete field make-overs. It's me and Agent Sydney Bristow. We need to get out of the country. Have for us in twenty minutes. Thanks." He put his phone back into his pocket. "All taken care of for her."
"Let's go. I can't stand to be here any longer." Will grabbed his bag and got out of the house before Francie even reached the door.
Vaughn let Will leave first and then put his arm around Francie, comforting as she began to walk to his silver car. *She's just as nice as Syd says she is. Look at this; she trusts me without knowing me.* Vaughn thought as Francie's eyes filled with tears again.
Sydney grabbed her bag and Francie's and followed. She turned to lock the door in vain but then turned back around. "I guess there's really no need." She grabbed her cell and hit speed dial. "Dad, it's me."
"G-d Sydney! Please tell me you're alright."
"I'm fine, Dad." She leaned the little Nokia phone against her shoulder as she adjusted the two overnight bags in her hands. She walked down the little paved sidewalk towards Vaughn's car, carefully scanning the horizon to make sure that there wasn't anyone watching her.
"Sydney."
"I'm fine. We're on the way in to the Joint Task Force.meet me there? I need to see you and I have to go in and see..I have to see mom."
"Why would you subject yourself to that after going through this?"
"Because she might have some answers!" She stopped for a moment as she watched Vaughn and Will coax Francie into the car and buckle her in. It was like having a toddler. Sydney shook her head. She had never seen shock set in that quickly and be that severe. Francie was quickly settled and Will filed in next to her, taking her in his arms. She immediately rested her head on his shoulder and rocked back and forth. Vaughn shut the door tightly and walked around the car to the driver's side. He stood there for a minute, watching Sydney before opening the door and getting in himself. He glanced at the clock, 8:04.
"Sydney." Her father protested on the phone. "I don't want you seeing her-"
"I would much rather see her than Sloane. Might as well pick one devil over the other." Sydney replied, opening the door to Vaughn's passenger door. She quickly got in and fastened the seatbelt over her body. Her feet curled up and she rested her head on her knees. "Besides....she may not be the devil...."
"I'm not going to have this conversation with you after what you've been through. How are Francie and Will holding up?" Jack's normally blank voice was overflowing with emotion. She could hear his expression on his face.
Sydney fell silent and looked at Vaughn, who was nervously adjusting everything that could humanly be adjusted. His eyes quickly met hers and sighed sheepishly. His hands found the keys and the car started. They were on their way. "I-I don't-"
"They're right there, aren't there? I'll see you when you get in." Click. Dial tone.
"Jack Bristow actually showed emotion." Sydney managed to joke, starring at her phone. She held it in her hand and just looked at it like a ghost was about to pop out of it.
"I'm beginning to think he's a lot deeper than people give him credit for."
Sydney fought back a laugh but managed to smile, "A lot deeper than people give him credit for." She repeated in disbelief. She rested her head back on the window. "This could have been the perfect day. We were staying in...gonna eat Francie's food...watch some old movies, hang out. Do things normal people do on their days off." Her tone was soft and spoke as if only Vaughn was meant to hear it. She didn't have to worry about Francie questioning her words...she was in a deep state of shock and could barely blink or breath. People who weren't used to seeing things like that, it was rough. It was rough for even people who had seen things like that. It just got put into a neat little box in her brain to be dealt with later.
"I heard normal gets boring." Vaughn sped up a little bit.
"Over-rated." Will chirped in. His hands ran over Francie's who still shook violently and starred straight ahead. He couldn't bring himself to look at her. Instead, his eyes rested on Sydney. She was tired from sleep deprivation. Her phone was tucked into her duffle bag. It really wasn't necessary for her to pack it. She was going to be given a new identity and wardrobe. She wanted to groan and laugh at herself for thinking about her new alias. How obnoxious!
"I would still like it for twenty-four hours." Sydney sighed.
"Enjoy normal for the next twenty minutes..we're almost there."
"And good-bye Sydney Bristow, hello..who knows who I'll be." Sydney laughed and sunk back into chair, "I've always wanted to be named something exotic, Adira, maybe."
"Adira?" Vaughn raised his eyebrows. "Isn't the point of this to be memorable but then forgettable? I don't see how you can be named Adira and be forgotten very easily."
"Fine..I'd settle for something like Angel-ica."
"Angie for short?" Her handler wanted to joke and lighten up the situation a little.
"Most girls dream of a husband with a new last name. Me, I dream of a new name and identity."
"But when have you ever been most girls, Syd?" Will piped in.
Vaughn immediately tensed up as heard Will call her by the nickname he used all the time. He gripped the steering wheel tightly until his knuckles turned white.
"That's true." Sydney's eyes watched Vaughn's hands. There was jealousy in the air between Will and Vaughn but she knew that was just the way things were going to happen. Silence coated them once again for the fourth or fifth time that morning but this time she was given time to reflect on everything. Her home was destroyed. Not somebody else's..hers. Francie's life had been destroyed and this post traumatic stress disorder would stay with her for years. And it was all her fault. "I did this to her." She spoke softly aloud.
"You're doing good." Vaughn attempted to calm her. Their faces were so close than they inhaled each other's breath. It was the closest they had ever been to each other. She nodded her head slowly and did not let her eyes leave his for one second.
"Why did this happen?" Sydney replied, starting to crawl back towards the attic.
"I don't know. I wish I knew." Vaughn replied, following her. They reached the vertical entrance to the attic and stood up. The attic was small, about the size of the walk in closet. Only part of the attic was finished. Will and Francie sat together and Will held onto Francie tightly. Her face was flushed and she was visibly shaken.
Vaughn sat down across from them and leaned against the wall, the gun still drawn. Sydney joined him, sitting a few inches away and set her gun down in front of her. She looked back and forth between Francie and Will. She leaned her head back and stretched out her neck before returning her gaze to Francie and Will. The space was so tight that the four people's feet touched and there was barely any space between them. They were all frozen in time, fully aware that if they made the slightest noise they would be discovered.
"You have a gun?" Francie choked after a few minutes.
Sydney immediately looked at Vaughn, who's eyes were wide and unsure. "Yeah. Bank protocol..all international employees must learn how to shoot and defend themselves. In case something like this happens." Sydney quickly lied, avoiding Will's eyes. He knew that she was lying. She brought her knees up to her chest and leaned her head on them. She turned her face to the right and starred at Vaughn, who looked back at her...letting her get lost in his green eyes. She hushed her voice almost to the point that she was mouthing words. "They want to kill me, don't they?"
Vaughn quickly glanced at Francie and bowed his head to meet Sydney's level and nodded solemnly.
"Do we know how he found out?" Vaughn shook his head no. "Who they are?" Again, no. "All we know is that they wanted to kill me?" This time yes. "Wonderful."
"Yeah, I know." His extremely hushed voice cut through the silence like a blunt knife.
Sydney sighed and moved closer to him and whispered into his ear, "We need to get out of here and get into headquarters. They need to go into protective custody for the time being and we need to find out where the leak came from. It was probably Sark..we need to talk to my," she mouthed the next word, mother but decided to say it aloud, "mother and find out if she knows anything. We need to talk to my father..Vaughn..we're sitting ducks!" Her cheek was flush against his and her breath trickled down his spine, causing his lips to part for a moment.
He wanted to clear his throat to make himself for comfortable but instead started to talk with a hoarse voice, "I know. I know. But I've never been in this situation before, it's a little.." It was his term to make her tremble a little. A loud crash from downstairs.louder than the first one. They had probably just gotten the front door down. The assassins were in the house. Adrenaline was pumping hard through her veins now and sitting there, just waiting was killing her. There was a serious of crashes that flooded the attic and seemed to be coming from everywhere beneath them. The sound showered them and Francie stifled a sob. Sydney held onto Vaughn tightly as if to devise some new plan but all she could do was hold onto him tightly. He embraced her back but found it hard to sit still. Vaughn was getting nervous. His arms released her and his body began to edge away. She was confused and wanted to shout out to him to stay, to hold her for another moment but decided against it. He switched his weight onto his knees and leaned forward to talk to Will and Francie. Even he had to admit, Will was the calmest a person could be under a situation like this but Francie was already showing signs of shock. She shook violently and barely blinked with her eyes wide. Vaughn quickly explained what was going to happen. His voice was so hoarse and sexy but she couldn't make out what he was saying. Sydney still sat, securing the holster around her, checking the clip in her gun.letting her thoughts wander to places that she didn't want it to. What if she died? What if Sloane succeeded and killed her and her friends? What if Vaughn died? It was becoming a real possibility and if they were killed and she had never told Vaughn how she felt about him.She looked at Vaughn, who cautiously made his way back towards her and shook his head in remorse.
The crashing grew more intense and as suddenly as it started, it stopped with a man shouting, "Where the hell did she go?"
Sydney straightened up defiantly and sighed nervously. Her eyes darted between Francie and Will, who held each other tightly. She couldn't even move to comfort them.
"I don't know! She must have been tipped off." Another male voice replied.
Vaughn wanted shift his weight but any movement might cause the floorboards to squeak..giving them all away. Instead, he reached for his cell phone and started a text message to Jack.
Jack-
Sloane found out about Syd. We're in the attic. Assassins are downstairs.
-Vaughn
He sent it and looked at Sydney nervously. She had been looking over his shoulder and nodded approvingly. "Syd." He mouthed, "as soon as they leave, we're gonna take them to a safe house and we're going somewhere in Europe." He mouthed.
She looked at him, almost terrified to open her mouth. She tipped her chin up and started to blink rapidly.
He knew what she was doing and translated the make-shift Morris Code. "Vaughn, we need to get out of here now! We're freaking sitting duck!"
"I know." He blinked back. "But what are we going to do? Fight back?"
Sydney looked at her friends and nodded yes.
"Absolutely not!" He opened his mouth and hissed.
Silence filled the void again but was quickly replaced by gunfire.
Francie jumped and tried not to cry. Her home was being destroyed. She leaned deeper into Will and began to shake. Will rested his head atop hers and watched his agent friend nervously. Sydney responded to the sudden gunfire by gripping Vaughn's hand and held it tightly within her own. She drew Vaughn close to her again and whispered into his ear. "We need get out of here-"
"We're done." The voice came again from below. "Get out. Let's find her." A parade of gunfire came once more and then the front door slammed shut tightly. Sydney jumped to her feet and pulled Francie and Will up to theirs.
She checked the window directly across from her and saw the men dressed in black starting to retreat from the house. She watched as the last car started and began to pull away. She turned towards her friends, in complete emissary mode. "Let's go!" She started to bark orders. "Vaughn, let's go." She hissed when he hadn't moved. "Francie, go to your room and get some comfortable clothes. You're gonna need them. You're going to spend the night at a safe house."
"Safe house? Syd, what the hell are you talking about?" Francie let out a fearful cry as Will started to drag her down towards the crawl space.
Syd patted Will on the shoulder a gave him an understanding look. "It's procedure. It's a place where we'll be safe from this. Mr. Vaughn will take us there but you need to pack some sweats.stuff that you're gonna be comfortable in. Okay?" She gave an almost trust explanation to her confused friend and sent them back towards the crawl space. She began to walk with them but turned around realizing that one person was missing. "Vaughn, get up!"
"Sydney, think rationally for a moment. You're emotions are getting you really hyped up. Calm down." Vaughn had moved and was now starring out the window watching the series of cars pull out. "Think rationally." He turned back towards her, resting his weight on his knees.
"I am not about to let my friends die because of my job! Get your ass up now!" Sydney walked towards him and pulled him forcefully to his feet. "Why are you being like this?"
"Because someone needs to think rationally!"
"Stop using that word!"
"Sydney!"
"Vaughn, shut up! That son of a bitch Sloane is going to kill me and what's left of my family! Let's get going!"
"Sydney, I'm agreeing with you but I need you to think logically for just a minute. You're letting your emotions get to go! Take a breath!" Vaughn grabbed her by the arms and held her there for a moment. She tensed up at his touch but then relaxed with a deep breath. Her eyes met his and she nodded her head slowly. They stayed like that for a few moments, inhaling and exhaling. "Are you okay now?"
"I'm fine. Like I said, let's go." Sydney was still on edge and it was becoming more and more apparent. She shook off his grasp for a minute and looked hurt. "I'm fine. Let's go. I'm gonna kill-"
"Syd." He paused as he got lost in her eyes and his lips parted. She licked her nervously. "C'mon, we gotta get to your friends. We'll take my car." He placed his hand on the small of her back and started to lead her out towards her bedroom. His touch was so comforting and all she really wanted to tell him everything was bottled up inside her and just collapse down to the ground with him and cry on his shoulder. No time. He held onto Sydney with one hand and dialed Devlin with the other. "Devlin, it's Agent Vaughn."
"What the hell do you want now, Vaughn?" Devlin barked on the other end. Sydney heard the tone of his voice and flinched.
"I'm at Sydney Bristow's house."
"What?"
"The hit men were just here. They going to find her. I'm bringing her in with her friends."
"I'm sending both of you out..we'll get your things in order. Come to the Joint Task Force Office." Devlin hung up.
Vaughn managed to laugh a little, "Did ya hear that? We're going off somewhere."
"And Francie and Will?" Sydney didn't wait for an answer before she crawled into the crawl space and jumped down into her closet, unsure of what would greet her when she opened the door. She was mad at the world at that moment. Everything was something to hinder her path.
"Safe house."
"Oh my G-d!" Sydney cried as she pushed the door to the rest of the house opened. Next step in the grieving process: remorse and depression. It has been completely ransacked and destroyed. Her bedroom had been destroyed; all of her frames lay broken and her jewelry box overturn. Her bed was completely undone and destroyed. The only thing that hadn't been touched, though, was her closet. *Those morons probably didn't even notice it there..they were too upset that I wasn't here.* The spy didn't even know where to go first. Try to clean things up, no. That wasn't logical at all. Maybe something had remained unbroken. The light had been ripped from the light socket and one thing on the floor reflect the light brilliantly. It was unbroken. Not bothering to keep her emotions in check, she ran towards her dresser and found that one thing. It was the Christmas present from Vaughn last year. She held the frame to her chest and looked around in disbelief.
"I always thought that I would never be caught." She admitted softly. She starred down at her feet. "That I would be invincible."
"You're not giving up." Vaughn replied, not giving her the chance to back down. "I know you better than that."
"I find myself wondering if I could take back one thing in my life, what I would take back..telling Danny or accepting that card from the recruiter. I still haven't figured it out." She held the frame tighter to her chest. "What does the rest of the house look like?" She wondered slightly aloud.
His eyes glazed over as he looked at her. "Do you still need a minute?"
"I need a hell of a lot more than a minute." She scoffed and turned her head like she had been slapped across the face.
"I understand." And he did. This was a blow below the belt for her. Sloane had taken everything away from her.her fiancé, her home, her safety, and now almost her life. Vaughn walked towards her, mindful to step over debris that littered the floor and stood next to her. He sighed and looked over her out the window.
"I know we need to get going." Sydney sighed and cradled the frame tighter.
He should have said something soothing like, 'take your time' or 'don't worry.' But all that came out was a mere squeak of a voice, "Is that-" He started and starred at the frame.
"It's the frame you gave me last year.it's the only thing they didn't destroy."
"Sydney." The hoarseness of his voice and the tone made her want to breakdown and cry.
"I know." She replied and placed the frame back down. "Lemme just- just grab some decent clothes so I don't have to go in in my pajamas."
"Yeah, I'll go out and see how Francie and Will are doing." He replied and turned back towards the door. It was ajar. His eyes scanned the room once more. The room made him sick to his stomach. Arvin Sloane needed to die today. His desire for destruction was enough to make any man protective of any female friend but somewhere in the past year or so, a line was crossed. Vaughn would kill to protect Sydney from any pain; physical or mental. He made his vow to protect her as he rounded the corner to the living room. The sight was nothing less than frightening. The couch had a small fire brewing on it and the entire kitchen was full of bullet holes. Francie sat huddled in a corner and was crying inconsolably. A duffle bag was placed at her feet and she tried to press herself into the corner between the living room and the kitchen. "Hey." Vaughn's voice was soft and comforting. He walked over, stepping over more debris and crouched down in front of her. "How are you holding up?"
She had a moment of clarity. "Mr. Vaughn.you're kidding right? I mean, no disrespect but you have no idea what this feels like." She sat up a little and attempted to dry her eyes. "This is the worst feeling in the world. Knowing someone actually planned on doing this.destroying us."
"I know there's nothing I can that would make this better. And for your sake and Will's and Syd's, I wish that there were. But, we're going to keep you safe and make sure that you'll never have to deal with this ever again. I won't let these people lay a hand on you or Will or Syd. I swear to you." Vaughn took her hand, resting on her knee and held it tightly in hers. "I swear."
She nodded and leaned forward, caving into his arms. Her sobbing commenced as she gripped Vaughn's shoulder tightly. Everything had been taken from her and yet she trusted a near perfect stranger. She knew nothing about him and he only knew bits and pieces of her. He knew whatever Sydney had told him about her. And there was she, opening her soul to him and crying on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I'm getting your shirt all wet." She wanted to laugh but it came out sounding like more of a sob.
"No, no. Don't worry about. Just relax. I told you, I'm not letting anything happen to you." He reassured her. They sat there for a few more minutes and Vaughn held her closer, becoming more aware of the eyes glaring at him front the partially intact chair. Green met blue as Will fought to catch his gaze. Francie let out a series of sniffling, immediately followed by, "I'm okay. I'm okay." She straightened up and wiped away her tears. She looked like she had lived through a war but came out just as strong. "I'm gonna grab something to eat before we go. Do I have enough time for that?"
"Yeah." Vaughn leaned back on his haunches and let Francie get to her feet. "Take your time." She walked past him, muttering to herself as she went. Her feet reached the kitchen, where she let out a chilling gasp as she found all of her beautiful professional grade cookie wares completely destroyed. It made everything more of a reality and made her mind shut down.
Will watched Francie with his eyes and waited until she ducked into the kitchen to start talking. "Sloane did this, didn't he? And that son of a bitch..what's his name? Sark?" He was getting defensive, arms crossed over chest.
Vaughn looked at him and shook his head yes. There was no use in attempting to lie to him. "We think he found out about Sydney working for CIA. He probably ordered her murder and whoever else was here." He got to his feet and began to pace around the tattered home. His nervous energy was apparent to all who knew him and even those who didn't know him. "We're gonna get you and Francie safe and then Sydney and I are going to get out of the country."
"For how long?"
A sigh escaped his lips, "I honestly wish I knew."
"You gotta pick up and leave too? What about your girlfriend?"
"Alice?" He had forgotten about her. How would that conversation go, *Hi honey, I'm sorry I can't go to the New Year's party, I'm in Austria hiding from a counter-intelligence organization who has put a hit against Sydney, who you know as Rita, and by the way, I'm falling in love with her.* Yeah, that would go over real well. "She'll understand. She'll have to understand."
"Good." Will took a deep breath for a moment before he started on his tangent. "I hate that man. He's the devil. He needs to burn for doing this. This is the worse thing that has ever happened to Francie or Sydney.well, not so much Sydney. She must be used to it." Will kept talking, barely taking enough time to take a breath. He straightened his shoulders and lifted his chin a little as if to show that he was the Alpha- male, not letting anything happen to the Alpha-female, Sydney.
"I'll attest to that." Vaughn replied, now standing at the door examining how they broke it. It was still intact and attached at the hinges but parts of it had been forcefully opened. One of Marshall's tech devices no doubt had picked the lock and when that failed, they tried to bust it down. "I've made it my personal mission to make sure he burns in hell for everything."
"I think I'll join you, if you don't mind."
"Two men bring down one devil.I think I could use all the help I could get." His green eyes burned with passion for the destruction of Arvin Sloane. Will sensed this and got to his feet.
"Would one woman fit into this equation?" Sydney stood in her doorway with her bag slung over her shoulder and dressed in jeans, a white t-shirt and a black duster tied around her thin waist. "'Cause I would love to take him down."
"Sydney." Will looked at her soberly.
She looked back and forth between the two men standing in front of her. "He's going down for this. No one hurts my family twice and gets away with it."
"Who's down?" Francie asked innocently. She had gone into deep shock and was now wandering around the place with a blank, dumbfounded look on her face. Sydney rushed to her side and put her hand on her arm. "Francie, honey, we gotta get going. Gotta get you safe." Her voice was surprisingly almost cheerful. She knew that she needed to sound like everything was under control..even if it wasn't.
"Okay." Francie's eyes didn't move. She continued to walk towards the front door without pausing or showing signs of any hesitation.
"Post-traumatic." Syd turned her head and whispered to Vaughn who nodded in agreement. She gave Francie a hug and her eyes barely blinked. "You're gonna be just fine, honey. I promise you. This is never going to happen again. I promise you. I swear."
Vaughn looked from Francie to Will and quickly explained, "Shock's setting in already. We'll have some people standing by." Vaughn replied, grabbing his cell phone and dialing a familiar number. "This is Vaughn, we're coming in now. I have two for the safe house with Barnet standing by and two needing complete field make-overs. It's me and Agent Sydney Bristow. We need to get out of the country. Have for us in twenty minutes. Thanks." He put his phone back into his pocket. "All taken care of for her."
"Let's go. I can't stand to be here any longer." Will grabbed his bag and got out of the house before Francie even reached the door.
Vaughn let Will leave first and then put his arm around Francie, comforting as she began to walk to his silver car. *She's just as nice as Syd says she is. Look at this; she trusts me without knowing me.* Vaughn thought as Francie's eyes filled with tears again.
Sydney grabbed her bag and Francie's and followed. She turned to lock the door in vain but then turned back around. "I guess there's really no need." She grabbed her cell and hit speed dial. "Dad, it's me."
"G-d Sydney! Please tell me you're alright."
"I'm fine, Dad." She leaned the little Nokia phone against her shoulder as she adjusted the two overnight bags in her hands. She walked down the little paved sidewalk towards Vaughn's car, carefully scanning the horizon to make sure that there wasn't anyone watching her.
"Sydney."
"I'm fine. We're on the way in to the Joint Task Force.meet me there? I need to see you and I have to go in and see..I have to see mom."
"Why would you subject yourself to that after going through this?"
"Because she might have some answers!" She stopped for a moment as she watched Vaughn and Will coax Francie into the car and buckle her in. It was like having a toddler. Sydney shook her head. She had never seen shock set in that quickly and be that severe. Francie was quickly settled and Will filed in next to her, taking her in his arms. She immediately rested her head on his shoulder and rocked back and forth. Vaughn shut the door tightly and walked around the car to the driver's side. He stood there for a minute, watching Sydney before opening the door and getting in himself. He glanced at the clock, 8:04.
"Sydney." Her father protested on the phone. "I don't want you seeing her-"
"I would much rather see her than Sloane. Might as well pick one devil over the other." Sydney replied, opening the door to Vaughn's passenger door. She quickly got in and fastened the seatbelt over her body. Her feet curled up and she rested her head on her knees. "Besides....she may not be the devil...."
"I'm not going to have this conversation with you after what you've been through. How are Francie and Will holding up?" Jack's normally blank voice was overflowing with emotion. She could hear his expression on his face.
Sydney fell silent and looked at Vaughn, who was nervously adjusting everything that could humanly be adjusted. His eyes quickly met hers and sighed sheepishly. His hands found the keys and the car started. They were on their way. "I-I don't-"
"They're right there, aren't there? I'll see you when you get in." Click. Dial tone.
"Jack Bristow actually showed emotion." Sydney managed to joke, starring at her phone. She held it in her hand and just looked at it like a ghost was about to pop out of it.
"I'm beginning to think he's a lot deeper than people give him credit for."
Sydney fought back a laugh but managed to smile, "A lot deeper than people give him credit for." She repeated in disbelief. She rested her head back on the window. "This could have been the perfect day. We were staying in...gonna eat Francie's food...watch some old movies, hang out. Do things normal people do on their days off." Her tone was soft and spoke as if only Vaughn was meant to hear it. She didn't have to worry about Francie questioning her words...she was in a deep state of shock and could barely blink or breath. People who weren't used to seeing things like that, it was rough. It was rough for even people who had seen things like that. It just got put into a neat little box in her brain to be dealt with later.
"I heard normal gets boring." Vaughn sped up a little bit.
"Over-rated." Will chirped in. His hands ran over Francie's who still shook violently and starred straight ahead. He couldn't bring himself to look at her. Instead, his eyes rested on Sydney. She was tired from sleep deprivation. Her phone was tucked into her duffle bag. It really wasn't necessary for her to pack it. She was going to be given a new identity and wardrobe. She wanted to groan and laugh at herself for thinking about her new alias. How obnoxious!
"I would still like it for twenty-four hours." Sydney sighed.
"Enjoy normal for the next twenty minutes..we're almost there."
"And good-bye Sydney Bristow, hello..who knows who I'll be." Sydney laughed and sunk back into chair, "I've always wanted to be named something exotic, Adira, maybe."
"Adira?" Vaughn raised his eyebrows. "Isn't the point of this to be memorable but then forgettable? I don't see how you can be named Adira and be forgotten very easily."
"Fine..I'd settle for something like Angel-ica."
"Angie for short?" Her handler wanted to joke and lighten up the situation a little.
"Most girls dream of a husband with a new last name. Me, I dream of a new name and identity."
"But when have you ever been most girls, Syd?" Will piped in.
Vaughn immediately tensed up as heard Will call her by the nickname he used all the time. He gripped the steering wheel tightly until his knuckles turned white.
"That's true." Sydney's eyes watched Vaughn's hands. There was jealousy in the air between Will and Vaughn but she knew that was just the way things were going to happen. Silence coated them once again for the fourth or fifth time that morning but this time she was given time to reflect on everything. Her home was destroyed. Not somebody else's..hers. Francie's life had been destroyed and this post traumatic stress disorder would stay with her for years. And it was all her fault. "I did this to her." She spoke softly aloud.