Time
By Risa
Summary: A darker purpose lies behind Rambaldi's works and Sydney's caught in the middle of it…
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone/anything from Alias, I'm just borrowing them for a little while.
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Chapter One
When the plane landed in Los Angeles the next day, Vaughn and Sydney were greeted by a group of heavily armed agents. "There isn't a need for all this," Vaughn protested. After all that she had been through, it just wasn't right that she should be treated like a prisoner. "Agent Bristow – "
"Sorry, sir, it's protocol," one of the agents replied.
"Even so – "
"Vaughn, it's ok," Sydney said softly. "Let's go," she said, in a louder and firmer tone to the agents.
Vaughn nodded reluctantly. "I'll see you when you get out," he said as the agents led Sydney away.
She turned back briefly and gave a wan smile. His gentle concern brought both sweetness and pain. Sweetness for all the times they had shared together and pain for the fact that they were irrevocably gone and things would never be the same between them.
As she sat in the back of the van, closely watched by the agents around her, her mind wandered back to what Vaughn had told her. Will was still working at the CIA as a senior analyst. Sydney had felt so guilty about all that happened to Will because of her. Finding out that all was going well in his life was comforting, especially after all the bad news that she had heard.
Dixon and Marshall had both left the CIA. Dixon now had an easy, well-paid administrative job that allowed him to spend more time with his children. Her father had arranged it months before his disappearance. Marshall had married Carrie a year ago and they were now working as freelance computer analysts. At least Marshall now had a normal life away from all the intrigues and plotting of the shadow world of intelligence.
Vaughn had also informed her of the real Francie's death. The news was upsetting for Sydney, but it wasn't shocking. Once she had found out that Francie had been doubled, she had guessed that this might happen.
Her father… According to Vaughn her father had been obsessed with finding her. Sloane, her mother, Rambaldi… none of that seemed to matter any more. Nobody could get through to him. Sydney had realized in the time since she had found out the truth about SD-6 that while Jack Bristow was not the most affectionate of fathers, he had deep and fierce protective streak for his daughter. They had gotten closer in the two years since they had been double agents but that closeness had never been acknowledged or overtly demonstrated.
The van pulled to a stop and Sydney's thoughts were torn back to the present. The blinding glare of sunlight made her blink and squint as she was led out of the van. Then she saw the man standing in front of her.
"Dad?" she said, her voice faltering, afraid that the image in front of her was a mirage.
"Sydney," Jack said, a flicker of relief passing over his face.
"Dad," Sydney said again, running forward and held her father tightly, tears welling in her eyes. She needed to feel the warmth of her father, just to make sure that he was real.
Jack's arms held Sydney awkwardly. Jack hadn't been particularly demonstrative to his daughter for a long time. All his pride and love for his daughter had always been tightly restrained, tightly controlled. He could find no easy way of showing all the relief, joy and love that he felt at seeing his daughter once more.
"I thought… Vaughn said… I was so worried," Sydney said, barely coherent as the tears continued to pour. "I just don't know what's going on… I'm so confused… Everything's so different…" After all that Vaughn had told her she couldn't confide in him and lean on him like she once did. She had kept all her grief, shock and confusion checked. Seeing her father again was too much; her emotions simply overwhelmed her.
"I know," Jack said, hesitating before he patted Sydney's shoulder in another awkward gesture.
Sydney soon regained her composure and she pulled away from her father. "What happened? Vaughn said that you had been missing for six months…"
"Let's talk inside," Jack said. It was then that Sydney noticed her surroundings. They were standing outside what looked like an old, abandoned building. All around them was wild grass and trees and there was no other sign of civilization. The agents that had brought her to there seemed to have disappeared, along with the van. She followed her father through the door…
And found herself in a room that could have been another Operations Centre or SD-6. It was filled with computers and other high-tech equipment and there was activity in every corner of the room. She knew that this probably wasn't a typical abandoned building, but she hadn't expected this.
She followed Jack into a conference room, carefully taking in all that she saw. "What's all this for?" she asked, as she took a seat opposite her father.
"Not long after you went missing, Sloane revived the Rambaldi Order and has been trying to expand its power and control. And he's succeeding. The Rambaldi Order has been able to influence key members in governments, terrorist organizations, intelligence agencies, even the CIA."
He turned one of the computer screens on the conference table towards Sydney and opened a few documents – all were newspaper articles. "One of the first things that happened after you disappeared was the outbreak of the SARS virus.
"SARS?"
"Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. It spread like wildfire from China and Hong Kong to Southeast Asia and then to the rest of the world. And this was only used for experimentation, a trial to demonstrate the organization's power. They've got far more deadly viruses in their arsenal.
"Assassinations, coups, so-called 'accidents," Jack continued, as he opened more and more documents, "They've done it all."
Sydney felt dread and horror creeping up her spine as she read the documents. It was as bad as the Alliance, probably worse.
"And Sloane projects himself as the new Messiah, the herald of a new world order," Jack said, the disgust evident in his voice. "I didn't know that the CIA had also been infiltrated until about seven months ago. It was also at that time that I received news about what happened to you."
Sydney looked at her father in shock. "So what the hell happened?"
"The product of the forty-seven Rambaldi artifacts was a time machine. Sloane had used you as a test subject. But it backfired – the machine was supposed to send you ten years into the future but it only sent you forward by two. We still don't know what happened to the machine."
"How did you know all this?"
"Your mother told me," Jack said simply, carefully watching Sydney's reaction.
"Mom?" Sydney said, incredulous. Her mind was reeling with all the information that she had learned in the past two days. Sure, two years was a long time, but could so many things have happened? "But how? How did she know all this? How do you know she could be trusted?"
"I didn't. Irina came to me seven months ago with audio and visual evidence that some key officials in the CIA had been compromised. She also told me what happened to you. I still might not have believed her if she hadn't been for Elise Luciano."
"Who's she?"
"Elise Luciano's the descendant of Emmanuel Luciano – a colleague of Rambaldi's. He and his descendants have been working against Rambaldi and his order for centuries. She gave me documents and papers about Rambaldi's plans – I had them verified and they were all authentic. This entire facility and all its operations are under her control. Your mother has been working with her for years."
Sydney stared at her father, stunned at the information. This was something that she hadn't expected, hadn't even imagined.
Just then, Irina walked into the room. "Jack, we've got a problem. Elise Luciano has been captured."
Vaughn opened the door to his apartment, weary. He longed to be with Sydney; they had been apart for far too long. Instead, obligation and responsibility pulled him back here.
"Hi honey," Kate greeted as she walked out from the kitchen. "How was your trip?"
Once again Vaughn wished that he didn't have to put up this act. It had been difficult enough when Sydney wasn't around, it was worse now that he knew that she was back, alive, safe. Do I tell her the truth? He was tempted to lie and avoid the questions that were bound to follow. But he knew that he had to tell her the truth if he wanted to maintain his cover. Kate probably already knew about what had happened and he needed her to believe that he was the same devoted husband.
"They've found Sydney," he said.
"Oh." Kate walked back into the kitchen. "So how is she?" she asked, her light tone forced.
"She's a little disoriented but she's okay."
Kate hesitated before she said, "And you?"
"I'm fine," Vaughn assured her. He walked behind Kate and wrapped his arms around her. "Don't worry. It's over between us. You're the one that I love."
Kate turned around and kissed Vaughn gently. "I know, it's just…"
"Don't worry," Vaughn repeated firmly. Then he forced a smile onto his face. "I need to grab a shower, we'll talk later, okay?"
Kate nodded and Vaughn walked into the bathroom. He hated this – both of them acting out their roles, skating around each other, trying to outwit each other. He closed the bathroom door, turned on the shower and stood beside the door. He took out a small, black device and placed in on the door, putting the earpiece into his ear. The device amplified sounds, allowing him to listen to the conversation in the next room.
"It's me," Kate said. "He's met with Bristow. Don't worry, he's still under my control." For a while there was silence as Kate listened to the person on the other end of the line. "Okay," she said, after a few minutes, ending the call.
Vaughn removed the device from the door and sighed. Please let this be over soon…
*~ To Be Continued ~*