-Ok, this is where it gets good. I think you will enjoy this chapter quite a bit, I know I enjoyed reading it (

-Again, I have to thank everyone who has been consistently reviewing this! I would address you personally, but this particular computer lacks the Internet. I must however give a shout out to 'my most dedicated reader' Jenn! Hehe, keep reviewing, you know how I love them!

-Once again without lyrics, her is chapter twelve, probably my favorite chapter since the second one. Hope you think so too!

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Eric Weiss watched Sydney as she retreated out the door and headed towards the refrigerator. Upon opening it he shook his head in disappointment.

"Such a chick fridge."

Grabbing a water he walked over to her couch and turned on the laptop. After a few seconds the screen popped up and he clicked on the Internet icon and typed in his destination.

Espn.com

"Du na na, Du na na."

He hummed the familiar theme song as the page appeared and clicked on the NBA playoff link. When thirty seconds went by and the mouse still took the form of an hourglass he began to get agitated.

"Stupid dial up! Come one Syd, I know they pay you more than that!"

Reaching for the mouse he began to repetitively press violently on the back button. All of the sudden a few pages flew by, and he found him self a few sites further back than he had hoped to go. What he did find shocked him.

"What the . . ."

-Name: Emily Brown Vaughn

-DOB: 5/1/70

He had read enough.

*What were you thinking Sydney? *

Eric knew this had been hard for her, that the pain would probably never go away. But he had figured that she had finally accepted that Mike was married. Never would he have imagined that she would go as far as to check the woman's background. Didn't she know that Mike would have done that himself?

Frustrated, he shut the laptop and turned on the TV, not really paying attention to the programs he was scrolling through. She would be home soon, and hour maybe two, and he had only that long to figure out how to confront her on this.

*

The whole ride home had been hell for her; she had never driven as badly as she had then. Missing stop signs and hitting curbs, it was obvious that her mind was elsewhere. It was all too much; this complicated everything so much more. While Sydney had secretly hoped this to be the truth she knew it wouldn't magically restore her life to what it had been before.

She could not tell anyone of what she had found, and not because she didn't want to but because no one would believe her. They would all accuse her of denying the truth, of refusing to accept the marriage. As much as she hated creating more lies, this was the only way. She had to do this on her own.

Turning off the engine, she opened the car door and made her way up to her apartment. Stepping inside she was slightly surprised to find Weiss sitting on the couch, forgetting his earlier request to use her computer. The funny thing was, her computer was sitting on the coffee table untouched.

"Hey Weiss . . .I didn't think you'd still be here."

"You weren't gone that long. An hour maybe more."

He answered her without turning, no emotion in his voice and she wondered what was wrong now. True, she had been gone for shorter than she had thought. But the fact that the laptop remained unopened still bothered her.

"So, where did you go?"

"No where really, went to look for some furniture to warm this place up a bit. Didn't find anything though."

This time he turned to her, an accusing expression on his face.

"No, Syd, where did you *really * go?"

How could he know? There was no way that he knew she was lying, there was no reason to suspect her of anything.

"Excuse me?"

"We both know that you weren't out shopping for anything. The question is where did you go? Her old office, an old friends house, her school?"

"How did you . . ."

"You know Syd, I never saw you as the jealous type, so it came as a bit of a shock to find a search for Emily Brown sitting in front of me."

How stupid of her! She should have deleted the serach history. She was a spy for Christ sakes; he was trained to do this stuff, yet when it came to her own life she forgot everything she knew for some reason.

"This was not done out of jealously."

"Like hell it wasn't! I don't get it, don't you think that Mike would have done the background check on his own?"

She laughed at him and threw her coat on the counter. She replied from inside the kitchen.

"Well obviously not good enough."

"What are you talking about?"

"Your right, Weiss, I went to her high school looking for a yearbook picture. And you want to know what I found out? Emily Brown *died * seventeen years ago!"

For a moment he stared at her, trying to comprehend what he was just told.

"No. That's impossible. He did a check, he . . ."

"Yeah, well, the background check looks real nice. No siblings, which is true, no parents, true also, they died in the wreck with her. Says she went to Stanford, which is where Emily was *going * to go. Her profile was perfect Weiss, but we both know that means absolutely nothing."

"It has to be a mistake, it could be a different Emily."

"The last person who requested access to those yearbooks did so nearly two years ago, a man with dark hair and dark eyes with a Russian accent slightly shorter than I am."

"Sark . . ."

"Her picture, it's different, the background isn't cloth."

"It isn't like him to make a mistake."

"Well, when your girlfriend gets killed in the body of someone else, you aren't exactly on the top of your game."

He was silent for a minute, his face twisted in anger, in frustration that no one caught this obvious set up.

"Don't tell me it doesn't make sense to you Weiss. Sloane knew he would look for me, that he would be a complication to his little plan. So he trains one of his *loyal * agents to become me, to distract him, to take my place. To get Vaughn out of his way. Don't you see, Weiss? It fits perfectly."

He shakes his head; silently hoping it was all a dream. Looking up into her eyes, he knows she isn't doing this because she wants her life back, but because the man she loves is in danger.

He leaves the couch and heads towards the door. Before he exits, he addresses her once more.

"You have to tell him."

"I can't."

"His life is at stake, don't tell me that."

"He won't believe me, we both know that. Promise me you won't say anything."

Taking a deep breath, he doesn't give her an answer before opening the door and leaving her behind.

She knows that if he tells Vaughn things will be that much harder. Lying to him is hard enough, but if he knows she is going behind his back, that she questioning his ability to see behind a mask . . .it would change things between them forever.

Finally, she makes her way over to her laptop, and resumes her search. It would hurt for him to hate her, but it would hurt worse to have him killed.

*

"Hey Em."

"Mike, hey. You're little late."

"Yeah, I know, I'm sorry. I meant to call but things just got so backed up . . ."

"Don't worry about it."

She gives him a small smile and returns to her previous activities. He watches her for a minute and then climbs on to the couch next to her, placing a tentative arm around her arms.

"What are we watching?"

"The news."

"Anything interesting going on?"

"Not particularly. Oh, I forgot, Eric called about ten minutes ago."

"What about?"

"He didn't say. Only for you to call him when you got home. He sounded kind of anxious."

"Really? That's strange."

"Is something going on at work?"

"No, if it was work related then he would have called the office."

He takes note that she looks slightly disappointed at this answer. This was normal though, she was fascinated with his occupation and at times he thinks she loves him more because of it. When he told her he was a CIA agent her face had lit up. She said that if he ever needed someone to talk about it with she was there, and when he decided to remove himself from field status she seemed to loose interest. Now that he was back on the task force, her questions seemed to have increased.

"You should call him."

"Yeah, I will."

*

Sydney had been on the computer for the last few hours, but had turned up absolutely nothing. She had expected as much, Sark would not have made more than one mistake. Sighing she leaned back on the couch. What more could she do? There were no leads, no concrete evidence. She was stuck.

It was then that the door slammed open. She looked up in surprise to see Weiss pacing behind her.

"Weiss?"

"I tried, Syd, I really tried."

"You tried what Eric."

"I just got off the phone with him."

Worry was apparent on her features. If he told . . .

"Did you . . ."

"No, I didn't. I wanted to Sydney, but I didn't. I lied to him and I have never lied to Mike. I had planned on telling him, I called the house but *she * picked up. Her voice was so sweet, she was so friendly; it made me realize that you're right. He wouldn't believe it if I did tell him."

"Thank you Wiess."

"If he gets hurt . . ."

"You know that I won't let that happen."

"Have you found anything else?"

Her answer is stifled by the telephone, cutting the thin tension in the air. She walks over to the counter and picks it up, and Weiss watches as her expression changes drastically.

"Hello, Sydney."

Teeth clenched and fists in a ball, she eyes Weiss and he knows it could only be one person

"Sloane."

"You sound troubled."

"What do you want from me?"

"Calm down, Sydney, there is no need for you to panic."

"I am not in the mood for your games."

"Of course not. You never have been. But that's not why I called. I have a proposition for you Sydney.

"What kind of a proposition."

"I've never been one to do business over the phone."

"Where."

"The warehouse, I believe you know it well."

"You want to meet at a CIA operated drop point?"

"It's been taken care of."

"When?"

"Within the half hour would be nice. And Sydney, I wouldn't try anything."

And the line went dead. After slamming the phone on the receiver, she reached for her keys.

"Uh, Syd? Are you going to call headquarters now or from the car?"

"I'm not. If he knew it was monitored he would leave."

"You're honestly planning on meeting that man without back up? Need I remind you that he held you captive for two years?"

"Which is why I need to do this on my own."

She heads for the door only to find him following her.

"Weiss . . ."

"Sydney, you have two choices. You let me come or I call Kendall."

She stares at him, her frustration evident. Sighing, she agrees.

"You can't arrive less than a minute after me, and if he hears your tires on the gravel . . ."

"Newsflash, Sydney, you aren't the only one here who works for the CIA."

She doesn't respond to his apparent attempt at lightening the situation, but turns towards her car. He follows and watches as she speeds off. And for a moment, he almost feels sorry for Arvin Sloane. Then it passes, and he makes his way towards the warehouse.

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-I am so loving this. That chapter was beyond fun to write. Fun to read as well, am I right? Really? Then let me know and REVIEW!