Wow, its kind of unnerving getting letters from colleges... A part of me wants to just beat them all with a stick and tell them that I'm still too young to be bothered.
I would rather write.
Marikka: Thanks for your review; I'm not sure I can update much faster than I am now though... I didn't think I was that slow; the longest interval between updates so far has only been a week~
Secret Agent Girl: You never let me down either... God knows I'm always looking forward to your review whenever I post anything ;) AND THANKS FOR YOUR MENTION-THING again!!! Luv ya too~
DW4L: Thanks a bunch Becky~
M: I would post your story anyway, who cares if it is outdated? This one is too. So what? As long as the plot and style are good, go for it.
Mrs.
Swearingen: ahahahaha, loved your review (except for the spoilers part… gah)
tell your friends to review anyway because that does help me update faster ;)
"Someday my prince will come. He just took a wrong turn, got lost, and is
too stubborn to ask for directions"
34.
The night air was cool and crisp, so smooth that Vaughn felt as if he was a disturbance merely walking through it. Slicing through the chill as cleanly as a knife.
His hands were buried deep somewhere in his pockets and he knew that they were clenched in nervousness though in all truth he had lost feeling in his fingers 5 minutes ago.
He was still standing, waiting in the warehouse, the lights dim and foreboding, the air hitting him from the open door. He had been waiting for a quarter of an hour already and now could only think about the woman still so innocently sleeping in his bed. Wondering how he could have left her there to come into the cold to meet-
"Jack."
The older man was standing, walking towards him, still only a dark silhouette though it was unmistakably him. Looking professional even with the layer of sleep still shrouding his face, belying an alertness Michael knew lay beneath the surface.
He sighed and sat on the crate, purposely below Michael. "I truly wish that you could have waited a while longer Agent Vaughn. However, I do understand some of the conflict that you are going through and I am here to give you at least part of the explanation you deserve."
Michael nodded and sat next to him, his mind suddenly clear save for the reminder to pay attention to everything Jack said. Speaking to a man like this, one could never underestimate how much information he would be willing to give.
Jack Bristow then began to talk, his words even and slow.
"I told you about a disk located in Istanbul. This disk has been searched for for nearly a decade and has finally been located through the use of a reliable contact. The reason that this has not been told you already is because we are still attempting to figure out how this can be done or if it is worth the risk we will all have to take.
"The disk is called Charlemot and contains more names and addresses and profiles than we could ever hope to recover at the pace at which we are going. I realize that we are doing a fine job but this is the big one. If we can get this, then SD-6 along with every other Alliance facility will be gone. Decimated. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"
Vaughn's head was still reeling from all the information fed to him. And it was coming together, piece by piece like the slow assembling of a 5000-piece crossword puzzle. Except for one point. And it lay there, bothering him as he struggled to find the answer.
"If we can get this and the Alliance will be gone, why do we have to eliminate Daniel Hecht?" Though Vaughn had no specific affinity for the "other man" in Sydney's life, he knew that none of this had been Danny's own fault and could only feel sorrow for his situation.
"Because this is the big one. Don't you understand? If all goes to plan, the Alliance can be destroyed within the month. And that is why the risk of allowing Mr. Hecht to survive is greater than the hope that everything will turn out all right if we allow him to live. If he somehow clears the confusion in his mind and decides that Sydney has turned on him, he can turn on us. Don't you get it? He will give us up if only because he cannot control his emotions. Everything, yes everything, we have been working for these past years will have been a total and complete waste."
Vaughn closed his eyes and rested his head against the cool metal links of the fence behind him. Within a week, his life had gone spiraling out of control. He had gone from a man who mostly lived by the rules to one who now had the fate of another life in his hands.
"What will I have to do?"
"The same things you would normally do if Sydney was on a mission." Jack leaned forward suddenly, locking the younger man's eyes with his own.
"You really love my daughter Mr. Vaughn?"
"Of course. With all my heart."
Jack nodded tersely. "Then do this, if only for the sake of your life with her, do this."
Vaughn nodded, agreeing once more to a deed in which he was not completely sure of.
~:~
"What is it?" Her voice was lilting and curious, she knew that something big was about to happen, knew that what he was about to say would have some sort of important impact on their life. She just didn't know what.
Her
heart was free again, now that the oppressive chains of wearing Danny's ring
were gone and she was sporting once again the delicate silver band that
proclaimed her to be the possession of Michael Vaughn.
And she liked it; she actually liked the idea of someone possessing her,
actually having a hold upon her that upheld everything legal and sacred.
She grinned at the look on his face. "I know you want to smile. I give you permission to do it. Smile and then tell me why."
Vaughn grinned at her, mentally noting the slight dizziness that seemed to appear in her eyes when he smiled at her like that. He kneeled down on the floor beside her and took her hands in his, gently kissing her fingers before looking up at her again.
Sydney laughed out loud, loving the feeling of gaiety and helplessness that overcame her as she saw him kneeling in front of her like that, obviously bursting to tell her something. She slid down to the floor so that she was level with him. "What is it?" She whispered.
He leaned his forehead against her and breathed deeply. "This could be it."
Sydney's eyes widened with immediate understanding. "What is it?" They seemed to be the only words she could say.
"A disk. In Istanbul. Charlemot. Names, profiles, intel, everything we could ever need to do this." Michael felt the excitement bubbling in his entire body, filling him with a kind of happiness he had not been able to feel or even process when he had had his meeting with Jack hours before.
Despite the fact that she already knew, Sydney felt the waves of astonishment pass through her system. She laughed out loud, her smile creasing her eyes and she kissed the worry lines on his forehead. "After this, you won't ever need these again."
"I thought you said they were sexy."
"They are, don't worry." She winked at him before closing her eyes in happiness as she felt his mouth lower onto hers. His arms wrapped around her, bringing her closer to him as the mere knowledge that they could finally be together infinitely intensified their situation. It was a long kiss, one both participants were unwilling to stop until there was no oxygen left in their bodies. Panting, she leaned back.
"Vaughn, we're in the warehouse. I don't think-" She stopped seeing the look in his eyes. Grinning she pushed him lightly in the shoulder. "You really don't care do you?"
A sarcastically wounded expression overcame his face. "You really shouldn't treat a man in this condition so lightly." Sydney rolled her eyes.
"Really Michael, this "condition" doesn't seem to be too rare so I wouldn't be so hasty to quarantine myself."
"Who said anything about quarantine?" Vaughn grinned at her as he softly stroked her cheek with his thumb. "I'll take anything but."
Her smart retort died away as soon as she felt the warmth of his lips against her neck, filling her with a warmth and desire she knew she was powerless against. She whispered into his ear, "Vaughn, if someone were to walk in right now..."
His soft chuckle tickled her skin as he lifted his brilliant eyes to hers, taking her breath away. "I thought you liked things dangerous."
Her eyes glinted at the mention of a challenge. "Maybe I do." She lowered her own lips to lightly caress his ear before lightly biting on the lobe. Her hands, warm now, found their way inside his suit and under his now untucked shirt, lightly tracing circles on the lower section of his back. "It's really happening?" she whispered as he smiled slowly.
He nodded and held her a little more securely in his arms.
"I love you Michael. I know that these past couple of weeks have been rough but I just wanted to let you know that I have never doubted you or us."
Michael showed his acknowledgment of her words with another smoldering kiss before both slid into the darkness that lay for them behind the crates.
~:~
"Stop."
Sloane's voice uttered the single world with an authority that would not be questioned. He made a rolling gesture with his hand and the man seated before him rewound the tapes once again.
The screen went fuzzy for a moment before adjusting and showing the top of two heads and a table. Picture after picture was set before Daniel Hecht and Sloane watched intently until the last picture was being placed on the table. Changing the camera angles to focus on Danny's face, he watched his reaction for the tenth time that day. The look of slightly tortured realization accompanied by the subconscious agony was portrayed clearly on his face before it vanished and the incriminating word was uttered.
Betrayal.
Sloane stayed silent for a moment before turning back to his computer and raising up Michael Vaughn's profile from his computer once again. He studied the clear line of his brow and the unflinching gaze of the man's eyes. His eyes traced the strong jaw and the set expression of his mouth. This man was handsome. But there was something else about him that arrested his attention.
He drew
up the profile of William Vaughn, the face so similar to his son's that for a
moment Arvin Sloane thought that he had pulled up the same file once again.
William Vaughn.
That name sounded more familiar that it should have been.
And then the memory came to him, striking so suddenly and with such intensity that he had to close his eyes to block out the light of the room.
Flashback~
"Irina, what are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same question Arvin but I will control myself."
"Leave before-"
"Before what? Before you dispose of me? Is that what you wanted to say?" Irina's laugh echoed slightly. "As if you could take me."
Arvin's eyes narrowed as he took in her figure, her straight posture and proud stance, the look of contempt lighting her eyes and her hair waving around wildly in the night air. He sneered. "I could destroy you. I could tell Jack who you are and no one would be able to save you."
She didn't react the way he had hoped; there was no flash of fear in her eyes nor was there a moment of indecision. "You won't tell him because you can't take the risk of what it will do to you. And even if you did, it wouldn't matter. I'll have to be leaving shortly anyway."
And so it was her answer that had shocked him after all. "You're leaving? What about Jack? Sydney?"
And there it was. The moment's hesitation. Arvin knew that it had to be there. Irina Derevko did have emotion after all. And it was for her daughter.
And it was then that he decided that he would be active in Sydney's life; be the one that she could look up to and aspire to be. He would fill the void created by Irina's absence and that would be his revenge.
"Don't be so sure that you are invincible Irina."
She merely looked at him with her mocking stare. "I think I can take care of myself Arvin."
End Flashback~
And that was when she had named her list of kills. One of which was William Vaughn.
And so the pieces came together.
TBC...
Was it okay? I'm still confused about it.
But anyway, if you want some more of the pieces to come together, review and let me know what you think so that I can hurry up and write and post the next chapter. :)
Yes I did make up the part about Irina and Arvin and I'm not really sure if everything in my story matches up with ALIAS itself because I only started watching it this season even though I am now fully caught up and obsessed but please ignore any discrepancies... In my little world, this story is law... Which is why I will never have my own little world.
Never mind.
Anyway...
-Jenn
