A/N: Thank you all for reviewing, and patiently waiting for the next chapter. I've been really busy, but I'll try to update again as soon as possible. So keep reading!
Chapter 19
Jack and Vaughn stared at the monitor as Sydney appeared on the screen. She was standing behind a tall wooden podium, dressed in simple jeans and a white blouse. Her expression was quite calm, but her eyes burned fired.
"My fellow Americans," she said with authority. "I apologize for the interruption, but my important announcement will only take a few minutes of your time." She took a deep breath and continued. "My name is Sydney Bristow and I am an agent of the CIA. Some of you may have heard about my death in the paper, but it was staged. It was staged by an agency that pretends to be our ally. I am referring to the Alliance. A group made of twelve SD-cells posing as a subunit of the CIA, that work together for the gathering of arms and weaponry for the enemies of our nation. Some of you may remember the reference made to SD-6 by a reporter a few months back. He later confessed to the nation that his words were induced by the drugs he had been addicted to. His words were admitted falsely. He admitted to this addiction to keep himself from being another victim of the Alliance's many murders."
Sydney was looking sadly into the camera now. "I come before you all now, to make you aware of the deception around you. The CIA needs your help to bring down this agency and stop the traitors of our country. Please take my words to consideration and contact the CIA if you have any information regarding the Alliance. Thank you." The monitor went blank and the computers turned on to their original screen once again.
Jack was still staring at the monitor, emotionless as usual, until Kendall came bursting into the room. When he spied Jack, he came rushing towards him.
"Jack, what the hell was that?" Kendall asked. "What was she trying to do? Destroy our whole operation?"
"The Alliance is already on her tail for having escaped their custody," Vaughn said defending her. "Not to mention the fact that security measures have already been upped after discovering three under cover agents in one week. She decided to take a different alternative, possibly a more effective one."
"More effective?" Kendall repeated the words with disgust. "What did she think the Alliance was going to do after they heard that message? Try and kill her? Possibly. But another possibility is that they'll take their whole operation underground where it will be impossible to trace their actions."
"But people may call in with information," Vaughn protested. He glanced over at Jack quickly, hoping he'd help come to Sydney's defense. He remained quiet. "We may be able to obtain enough intel to take down the Alliance in a matter of hours."
"How many people do you think are willing to risk their life to come forward? Because that's exactly what they'll be doing the moment they pick up their phone."
"What about those people in the military, navy, police force, FBI, and CIA who put their lives on the line daily for their country?" Vaughn asked quietly. "Don't they count?"
Kendall gave Vaughn a weary stare. "Those people aren't the ones we need to come forward, Agent Vaughn. We need the citizens to come forward, the corrupt leaders of many countries to come forward, the wealthy, the assassins, the people who are loyal to the Alliance who know that the Alliance is not a division of the CIA. Those are the people we need." Vaughn was silent and looked down.
Kendall turned away from Vaughn and confronted Jack. "Find your daughter, Jack. Inform me when you locate her."
Jack nodded and spoke before Kendall walked away. "I apologize for Sydney's behavior." Kendall gave Jack a crisp nod and left, leaving Vaughn in a state of disbelief.
"Why didn't you stick up for her?" Vaughn cried.
Jack faced him in his same emotionless state. "I don't let my feelings get the better of me, Agent Vaughn. And you shouldn't either." At Vaughn's angry stare, Jack continued. "I love my daughter, despite what you may think, but I also know that what Sydney just did was reckless. She's jeopardized the whole mission. The sooner you realize that, the better." Jack turned to walk away, but Vaughn pulled him back.
"Sydney has worked just as hard as you have to bring down this agency," Vaughn said angrily, as Jack shrugged his shoulder away from Vaughn's grip. "These previous years the CIA has become closer to taking down the Alliance, but is it going to happen any time soon? Probably not. Sydney is risking her life by announcing to the whole world who she is and what her intentions are with no goal but to take down the Alliance. If you loved Sydney-"
"Loved Sydney?" Jack exclaimed angrily. "Sydney is my daughter, and my concerns for her are none of your business. What you're not getting Agent Vaughn, is besides the fact that her move was reckless, it's dangerous. Sydney's tape wasn't viewed just by the CIA, the Alliance, or the United States. It was broadcast throughout the whole world. Every person who had a damn TV saw the broadcast. What she did was suicide."
Vaughn looked at Jack with disappointment. "Suicide? This isn't some fucking cry for attention, Jack. She's risking her life for her country, only a little bit more than usual. She's just doing what no one else ever would." Vaughn walked away with more certainty than he really felt about Sydney's intentions. He didn't believe that what Sydney did was suicide, but her emotional condition made him wonder.
Vaughn jumped from his train of thought as his phone rang. He reached into his jacket and pulled it out. "Hello?"
"Vaughn?" Vaughn instantly recognized her voice. He walked quickly to an empty conference room and shut the door.
"Sydney, where are you?" Vaughn asked.
"It doesn't matter. Tell me, did you see my broadcast?" Sydney asked.
"Yes, and you've got Kendall looking for your head because of it," Vaughn said sarcastically.
"I'm coming in," Sydney said bluntly.
"To the CIA? Sydney, at this point, that's crazy," Vaughn protested.
"Where else would I go?" Sydney asked.
Vaughn sighed. "Syd, Kendall at this point wants to kill you as much as the Alliance. Your father is siding with him on this one. He thinks that the broadcast was reckless."
"I see," she paused before continuing. "Do you think that it was reckless, Vaughn?"
Vaughn thought a moment. "It was a risk, Syd. A big risk, but it was an alternate alternative that may give beneficial results. However, I wouldn't call it reckless." Sydney was silent at his comments, and Vaughn decided to turn the conversation back to Sydney's original statement. "We should meet, Syd. You and I. We need to talk about this before we do anything rash."
"Alright," Sydney agreed. Sydney smiles and Vaughn can hear the laugh in her voice. "Joey's pizza?"
Vaughn smiled. "Sorry, wrong number." Vaughn waited until he heard the dial tone before he hung up, unknown to him that someone had been listening.
THE WAREHOUSE
Vaughn paced the warehouse floor, waiting for Sydney to appear. He had arrived at their meeting spot within ten minutes of her call. He stopped when he heard the familiar clicking of heels on the warehouse pavement. His face expressed his relief at seeing her. She was dressed in the same outfit she had been in when she had broadcasted her message, except now, she looked a lot more tired.
"Hey," she called standing a few feet away from him.
"Hey," Vaughn replied. He slowly walked over to her, and took her in a hug. Sydney hugged him back. Vaughn took in her scent in complete bliss. It had been forever since he'd hugged her like this.
They pulled apart, and headed over to the set of crates and sat down. "Syd-" Vaughn began.
"Relax, Vaughn," Sydney said, already understanding where he was going with this. "I'm not depressed and I'm not trying to kill myself or anything. I just want to take down the Alliance." Sydney paused, wringing her hands and staring at the wall. "Many people have died at the hand of the Alliance. But never have I intentionally pulled the trigger in their favor."
Vaughn put an arm around her shoulder. "Sydney, Diane's murder was not your fault. Only the Alliance's. They used you just as they used every one else in that building."
"It doesn't feel that way," Sydney said remorsefully, resting her head on Vaughn's shoulder. Vaughn pulled her close. Neither of them said a word.
"Sydney." Sydney looked up at the mention of her name, and looked into the eyes of her father.
"Dad?" she asked in surprise. Both Sydney and Vaughn got to their feet. Four more agents and Kendall dressed in black appeared out of the shadows.
"What's going on?" Sydney asked confused. "What are you doing here?"
"We bugged Agent Vaughn's cell phone," Kendall stated bluntly.
Vaughn looked at Kendall with disbelief. "You tapped my phone? Who-"
"Save it Agent Vaughn, you're in enough trouble as it is. Breaking protocol and not informing me of Agent Bristow's whereabouts are enough for me to fire you." Kendall turned to Sydney. "You, Agent Bristow, have some explaining to do." Kendall gave a motion to the nearby CIA agents who surrounded Sydney and put her in cuffs. "Sydney Bristow, you're under arrest for treason and conspiracy."
Sydney looked at her father in disbelief, who was keeping all emotions from reaching his face. Sydney could only feel betrayed. Jack Bristow was a statue.