Vivian Heights

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Okay, so needless to say, I've had a bit of a brain block… more like complete brain murder with the exception of a few fics which is probably obvious to you. However, I'm back with a new plot courtesy of the Alias season finale.

So now, this story is slightly revamped in order to incorporate events in The Telling even though there will be many parts where the story is not linear with the show so don't get pissed off or curse me.

I guess I have been taking a little vacation from writing (a.k.a. Grace is) after An Undefineable Sweetness was finished but I'm back (hopefully… I've noticed that my writing has gotten slightly duller but I'll try to revamp that too).

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5.

"Did you have a good time last night?"

"Yeah, yeah I did." And that was the truth, he had had a good time at the restaurant. Vivian had been absolutely beautiful and funny and interesting and… utterly Sydney. He had thought that it would not have mattered, that it was an obstacle that was pure coincidence but it did.

He didn't even realize the magnanimity of it until he had gone to work the next day and saw her. Standing there, waiting for him with a folder tucked casually under her arm. "Hey."

That one word was enough to break down anything that he had been denying. His mouth opened but no words came out, no words could come out. Without that one syllable, he knew that he would not be able to date Vivian Heights again. She was too likable, too much like Sydney except perhaps a little paler in vivacity. No, not even that. It was something that he couldn't quite put his finger on, something that for some reason made her seem less genuine than Sydney was in his mind.

"Hi."

"I'm glad. What did you want to talk to me about?"

There was a hesitance, a blank moment that grew to unheard of proportions during the time where Michael did not speak. There was a little laugh from the other side of the phone. "Michael? Are you all right?"

"Vivian… I don't think I can see you anymore."

This time it was her turn to pause, her turn to have nothing to say. Outwardly Vivian Heights was shocked, surprised maybe. But on the inside, she was churning with failure, the thought that she had had her first great mission and had blown it..

"I- I don't understand, I thought that we had a good time and-"

"I did. We did. And that's just it."

"What are you one of those people who enjoys pain and enjoys making yourself feel awful or something?"

"No, that's not it. It's that- this is going to sound really weird and I'm sorry to do this over the phone- but I have feelings for someone else."

Vivian realized her critical mistake in becoming too alike with Sydney Bristow… she should have changed her eyes or the slight shade in the color of her hair. Perhaps if she had been more subtle, the likeness would have been there but he would have been too attracted to her before he figured out what it was. 

Her voice was soft and measured when it came again. "You were the one who asked me for my number."

Vaughn bit his lip- he was never one who broke up with women suavely. "I know. I'm sorry. I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't attracted to you- It's just that, and it's the weirdest thing, you look almost exactly like the woman that-" His words trailed off, leaving only the implication hanging in the hair.

"So you asked a woman that you had just met for her number merely because she looked like someone you have feelings for? Why didn't you just ask her for her number? What, is she taken already?" Vivian allowed herself to release a little venom into her voice.

Michael paused in this answer; he hadn't divulged a name so he supposed- "Yes- sort of."

The silence was deafening.

"I see." Vivian collected herself. "Well, I'm glad that you did this over the phone Michael, it's a lot more impersonal that way and I see now that that's what you were attracted to. Not me personally."

He tried to deny her words but stopped himself, believing that that would be the simplest route.

But he was thrown by her sudden laugh. "I'm fine Michael. Really; you were charming and handsome last night and I have to admit that I like you already but we weren't truly serious and I do admire your decision in some part of me- I just may have to find it first.  I can't help it if you weren't caught by my sparkling personality and amazing looks."

Vaughn laughed softly, relieved that she was not angry. And was it just him or had her voice changed slightly? No- now he was just comparing it directly to Sydney's… strange how it seemed last night that there had been no difference.

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She walked around the block towards the alley on 9th and Vine where she was supposed to meet her handler for her next move. Part One had been a total failure.

But as she turned the corner, a hand landed on her shoulder and she found herself looking into the coldest and most calculated eyes she had ever seen. He was old, but she knew that he was capable of handling himself from the expression on his face. His voice was low and lilting and somehow instilled utter fear into her system.

"Don't run away, don't move, don't even react. If you do, I guarantee that there will be 2 bullets lodged in your brain. I know who you are, I know who you are working for, and I also know that within 17 hours, your unit will no longer remain standing. You may think that Part One hasn't worked but it still can. I've read your file and I must say that I'm extremely pleased and surprised by your work. I'm giving you an offer to come and work with me; there are no failures here."

She couldn't help but shake a little. "What are you talking about?"

He leaned closer to her. "Rambaldi. What does that name mean to you?"

Her eyes widened. "Everything."

"As it does to me. I can promise you that Sydney Bristow will no longer me an obstacle in your path…"

"How can I trust you?" Her eyes probed his, scared at how easy she had been to find, how easy it had been for all her information to be spilled out to this man she didn't even know.

"The question is, can you afford to?" He caught her quick glance at her watch. "Hanz Ruchofstein is dead, I wouldn't want to go into that alley if I were you." Her jaw clenched. "I can offer you so much…" He leaned closer to her, whispering in her ear as he dropped the slip of parchment into her hands.

She nodded finally.

"Good. Follow me."

"My files- my tapes-"

"Already stored." His words are clipped and professional and she couldn't help but wonder just how he knew that she would agree. It was as if he could hear her thoughts. "I know things now, things that I can only attribute to Rambaldi. And I'm at my finishing point."

TBC…

Well? How is it? It is too off from the chapters or is this sudden change of plot all right?

Let me know~ you guys know how much I love my reviews ::waggles eyebrows::

~JeNnIFEr