Chapter Fourteen - The Revelation is Now
You wont find me I'm going MIA
Tonight I'm leaving going MIA
Getting lost in you again is better than being numb
Counting every minute 'til the feeling comes crashing down
Run when it hit's the ground
I'm good at escaping
But better at flaking out
"MIA," Foo Fighters
[Vaughn's POV]
This didn't just happen. This did not just happen.
It's all Will's fault. Who am I kidding? It's always Will's fault.
Me almost drowning in Taipei? Will's fault. Syd getting shot by her mother? Will's fault. Me getting a deadly virus? Will's fault.
Poverty? Will's fault. World hunger? Will's fault. Death? Will's fault.
Okay, it's unfair of me to blame Will for all of the world's troubles, and for this little predicament, for that matter. Can't let emotions cloud my judgement, gotta play it cool.
"CIA as in the Central Intelligence Agency?!" Mark asks incredulously.
No, the other CIA.
"Guys, I know this comes as a shock to you--" Syd starts, but is cut off abruptly by Warren.
"Whoa, whoa, wait a second. Let me get this straight. You both work for the CIA and are these like secret super kung fu ninja wizard people going undercover as our substitute teachers?!"
Yes. Michael Vaughn: Secret Super Kung Fu Ninja Wizard.
How kick ass would that be?! I think that title is more fitting for Syd. I'd simply be a Secret Kung Fu Ninja Wizard.
"Well, I guess you could say that--" Why won't Warren let the woman get a single sentence out?!
"Then that's so unfair! I never would have challenged Mr. Saunders, or Vaughn or whatever, to a duel if I knew he had such prowess in the ass kicking arena! He's a pro and I'm an amateur! I demand a rematch! But come to think of it, I probably can't beat you at anything because you're like the ultimate man. You have the looks, the brains, the fists of fire -- By the way, do you think you can teach me a move or two sometime?"
Good God, he's flailing his arms around like he's boxing someone. This could very well be the saddest sight I have ever laid eyes on. And now he's staring at me and Syd as if we're superheroes or something. I gotta admit it's pretty cool to be idolized.
What am I saying? We have four 200+ pound men, in addition to a deadly little blonde Brit, lying unconcious in the foyer. I think there are more important things to be doing than pondering the coolness of having leigons of fans, headed, of course, by Warren Cheswick.
"Shut up, Cheswick," Mark says half-mindedly. "So you two are CIA agents and you will obviously have to go into greater detail as to what the Hell is going on, who the Hell you really are, and why the Hell you're here, but first things first: ED?! Since when could you of all people kick ass with the best of them?!
In the words of the immortal Charlie Brown: Good grief.
Lucy, we certainly gots a lot of 'splainin to do.
But after we take care of these bastards...
"I second the part about Ed," Mike pipes in.
"I third," Carol says, raising her hand.
"Fourth," Molly follows.
"Fifth," Nancy replies, shaking her head. "Five words: What the Hell just happened?"
"We know this is going to seem really insane and difficult to comprehend, and I promise you that we'll explain everything in detail, but we just need to take care of this first." I say, motioning to the heap of men on the floor. Someone had to take charge, and I guess that someone is me.
"Yeah," Sydney says under her breath as she walk toward me. "We should probably take care of them first, shouldn't we?"
I nod my head and lean down to clip my gun back into it's holster at the base of my leg.
"Is it just me, or is that just about the coolest thing ever?" Warren asks excitedly, pointing to my leg. Oh God, Warren. What are we going to do with this kid? I think I might take him back with me to LA just because it would be fun to say I had a stalker that idolizes me. But now's not the time to be thinking happy thoughts, we've got some deep sh-t to get ourselves out of...I shoot Warren a glare as I stand up. "Okay, I guess it is just me, then."
Ed tosses me his gun and I secure it in my pants, behind my back.
"What did Weiss say?" Syd asks as we walk towards the men.
"Who's Weiss?" Diane asks. She sounds so lost and confused, poor kid. God knows I didn't expect things to turn out this way. And God knows there's no way me and Sydney are leaving Stuckeyville. This place is heaven on Earth and if Sark's telling the truth, our covers really haven't been comprimised and we essentially baited the enemy. But that's one damn big 'if.'
"Another agent back in LA," Carol responds.
"You knew about this?!" Diane asks, hurt as she turns to Carol. Carol just shakes her head and rubs her eyes with her hand.
"Yes."
I turn my head back up towards Syd to answer her question. "He said that there will be a team out here in an hour or less to pick up these guys and transport them to Langley. All we have to do is keep them secure until then."
"I'm sorry, guys," Will says sadly.
"Will, it's not your fault." Me and Syd say simultaneously. Of course she's not the thinking what I'm thinking: You best be apologizin', Tippin.
"Yes, it is," Will says sitting down, his head in his hands.
"Will stop being stupid. You had nothing to do with Sark." Syd sighs exaseratedly. Carol sits down beside Will and places her arm around his shoulders. Normally, I'd be fuming, but my mind is a tad preoccupied.
"The best I've got is Duct Tape," Ed says heading over towards his office.
"That'll be perfect," I call out as Sydney approaches me and rests her forehead on my shoulder. I wrap my arm around her, but I must say, it's not enjoyable to do this in front of a captivated audeience. I feel like I'm in the high school production of Grease or something. "It'll be okay."
"Will it really?" She asks, shooting her head up. "I don't want to leave, Michael. But I don't want to put these people in danger either. I just...don't want to go back." She says barely above a whisper.
This is not the Sydney I know...Acting all weak and helpless.
"We're not leaving, Syd. If anything, this is the safest place we could possibly be." I kiss her forehead reassuringly as my phone goes off. I hear her mumble something along the lines of 'Yeah, right,' under her breath as Ed comes back with the tape.
I answer the phone.
"Hello?" I say as Ed and Sydney tie (or tape, rather) Sark up first.
"Vaughn, good news. Sark wasn't lying, he did this alone and your covers haven't been blown. Devlin says that he wants you guys to stay where you are because he doesn't like the idea of you moving around a lot. He says it will draw more attention to you that's not necessary. Instead, security section will be keeping a extra close eye on Stuckeyville and you shouldn't really have a problem."
"Thanks, man, you have no idea how much that means to us."
"Yeah, I do. You're getting more action there than you were here and there's no way you were even considering coming back so soon."
"You know me well, my man, you know me well. When they come to pick up these guys, I'll give you a call for confirmation."
"Sounds good, I'll expect a call in about an hour."
"Sure thing."
"One last thing. I know it's been awhile for you, Mike, so I just wanted to tell you that post danger sex is the best sex around. Speaking of sex, like I said, it's been awhile for you so I should probably remind you that you put your--"
"Weiss. That's enough out of you." What an ass. He clearly doesn't realize who he's talking to.
"What did he say?" Syd asks as she tapes up the last guy. That when we have sex I'm actually supposed to put it--
"Sark's telling the truth, he was alone."
"You really should learn to take people's word Mr. Vaughn. Suspicion isn't very becoming." Sark shouldn't have been up for hours. What is this?! It simply reaffirms my belief that he is the spawn of the devil, plain and simple. It's the only reasonable explanation.
"You son of a f--king bitch," Will says angrily charging Sark. I stand up and push him back into his seat. Whoa there, tiger. Getting yourself in a little over your head, now aren't ya? He seems to forgotten that he is still Will Tippin and Sark is still Sark.
"Mr. Tippin, Mr. Tippin, you'll never learn will you?" Sark asks with a grin. If there was one person that deserves to have vultures slowly peck at him so he suffers a long and painful death, it is most definitely Sark.
"Let's get this straight, Sark," I say, walking towards him, "you don't speak. Got it?"
"Of course, Agent Vaughn, for I am but your humble servant," Sark says sarcastically, still grinning. He is the epitome of ass. I pick up the duct tape and walk towards him. I've had enough of that British accent for one day.
"Wait, I changed my mind," I say, tearing off a fairly long piece of duct tape. "You don't talk, unless we want you to talk." I finish as I tape his mouth shut. "Got it?"
He glares at me and I can't help but smile. This is too much fun. I furrow my brow and move my head closer to him.
"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that. Got it?" I repeat, tearing off the tape from his face.
"Oh bloody Hell!" Sark exclaims painfully.
"That's what I thought," I say, putting the tape back on his raw face. He lunges his head towards mine, and I move just in the knick of time, sending Sark flying into midair.
Sydney walks up this time, and pulls the tape off once again.
"F--" Sark starts, but restrains himself.
"What did you want from me?" Syd asks, harshly.
"I already told you, Ms. Bristow, I don't find the need to repeat myself."
"Humor me."
"Alright then, I was burning with desire to see your beautiful face and I just had to find you. Regardless of the consequences, I had to find you and I had to be with you. F--k protocol, as long as I can f--k you. Oh wait, sorry, I'm confusing myself with Agent Vaughn over there." Yeah. I think you know what the Hell I'm thinking. I charge him and am about to knock him out once again, but Sydney stops me.
"I'm giving you one last chance. And that's it."
"I'm not very fond of handouts."
Bam. Way to go, Syd. She gave him a chance, he turned it down, he gets his ass kicked. Quite nice. Bravo.
"Goddammit, why do you people have such an obsession with the face? Anywhere but the f--king face!" Anywhere but the face you say...
"Why am I so important that you found the need to hunt me down? Huh, Sark?" Sydney asks, grabbing him by the lapels.
"In all seriousness, I wanted to offer you a proposition, Ms. Bristow." Sark says, changing his tone. You've got to be kidding me...
"You've got to be kidding me..." Me and Syd have a psycic connection, I know.
"Just hear me out. We're destined to work together. You have no idea what we could acheive together, with our resources and our abilities, we co--" Thank God. Sydney elbowed him in the temple...That should definitely keep him out for longer than awhile. I don't know what that guy's smoking but it's clearly some freaky-ass sh-t.
Sydney shakes her head and rolls her eyes as she walks back towards me and Ed.
"He hunts us down to recruit me?! I don't buy it, he's not that stupid." She says, still shaking her head in disbelief.
"Desperate times call for desperate measures...?" Ed questions.
"I don't know, I don't see it as too unlikely." I respond. "He very well could have been simply looking out for the well being of his blossoming agency by recruiting the best out there: you. He was left in the dust when Derevko turned herself in and now he has more power than he knows what to do with. Does that make any sense?"
"No," Sydney says, sitting down. "But that's beside the point. We know we're safe and that everything is alright, so I guess we should probably explain a thing or two to these guys." She pulls four chairs up in front of the gang and we all sit down.
"Before you start, who is this Sark guy?" Nancy asks, glaring back over at his hunched form.
"I know he's a bad guy, but he's really cute..." Molly says, craning her neck to catch a better glance. Ha! That's a good one. Apparently Syd thought it was a good one too because she's bursting out into laughter.
"Sark?! Cute?! HAHAHA!" She exclaims, barely able to contain herself. "Sark is the devil incarnate. No, he's the devil incarnate's little henchman because he has no backbone and can only survive if he's taking orders by someone even more repulsive than he is."
"Harsh," Mike says.
"Well, it's deserved." I respond.
"So wait, let me ask this again: who is he?" Nancy asks.
"All you need to know is that he's a bad guy. He used to have ties to an organization headed by Irina Derevko, so we know he's dangerous and willing to kill anyone in order to get what he wants." I say quickly.
"Alrighty then..." Warren says, taking a deep breath. "And Irina Derevko?"
I look down, and I can tell Ed and Will are both looking at Syd.
"She's an ex-KGB officer who's currently in CIA custody." I say briefly. There's no need to elaborate and rehash old emotions.
"Okay, so we don't know why he came here? Besides the fact that he's after you, Ms. Hanton -- uhh, Sydney?" Diane seems less shook up now. That's definitely good.
"Yes, Diane," Sydney responds calmly, "and just keep calling me Ms. Hanton and Michael Mr. Saunders...Although our covers have been blown with you guys, the only way we can stay safe, and you guys can stay safe, is if no one else knows about this and just thinks we're exactly who we said we were."
"Well who would think you weren't who you said you were?" Mark asks, amused.
Ha, the joys of childhood innocence. Or clueless civilian innocence.
"Okay, so why did you guys come here? Are you investigating something in Stuckeyville? And how did you know Ed?" Diane speaks up once again.
"And what's SD-6?" Warren asks.
"That's where it gets a little complicated," Syd starts. "SD-6 is essentially a terror organization that deals in weapon sales and extortion posing as the CIA. I work as a double inside SD-6. That basically means that everyone inside SD-6 thinks I'm an SD-6 agent, but they don't know I'm actually a CIA agent working to bring them down."
"Well, duh. We know what double agents are." Warren retorts. Sydney looks up at him, then over to Diane and Mark.
"Michael is my CIA handler."
"What's a handler?"
"Well, Diane, I guess you could say he was sort of like my link of communication to the CIA. He gave me my missions and countermissions and he's basically the guy I would report back to."
"So how does Stuckeyville and Ed fit into this whole picture if you guys are based in LA?" Mark asks. Ah, that's where it gets interesting, Mark.
"What basically happened was that my cover was blown inside SD-6, in my last mission to bring down SD-6, and so was Michael's. The CIA felt as though they had the obligation to take precautionary measures and have us lay low, undercover, until they bring SD-6 down for good." Syd takes a deep breath and runs her hand through her hair.
"Me and Ed have been friends since college," I say, picking up where Syd left off. "And I knew he lived here in Stuckeyville, and I knew what a quiet and unsuspecting town it is. So I pretty much set it up so that we'd move here and disappear for awhile."
"Okay, so that explains why you guys are here, but what about Ed? How did you take those guys down?!" Warren asks, in a state of shock.
"You guys don't know this, but before I came to Stuckeyville, I had originally planned to join the CIA. My father had been a well respected agent, and he wanted me to follow in his footsteps, but I didn't want to. I went through the training, but quit towards the end and decided to follow through with the law thing."
"So you're a secret super kung fu ninja wizard too?!" Warren exclaims.
"Yeah, that or I've also been trained by the CIA." Ed replies.
"And Will? What about you? How'd you get sucked into all of this?" Diane asks, leaning back into her chair.
"Well that's kind of a long story..." Will starts, "and I'd rather not get into it."
Carol looks over at him sympathetically. She knows what Will's been through, Sydney told her. That still doesn't give her a reason to show any sympathy. Yes, I don't want her to have any feelings whatsoever in regards to Will, even if it's simply compassion.
"Hold up," Warren says suddenly, "so you guys knew about this all along?"
Molly, Carol, and Mike all nod slowly.
"Well why didn't you tell us? Did you think we couldn't keep a secret or something?" Warren asks, laughing.
Yeah, that sounds about right.
~~~
"We're normal people, just like you guys. There's no reason to treat us any differently now that you know the truth." Sydney says, holding my hand in both of hers.
"Yeah, and if you do treat us differently, it will just raise more suspicion, so don't." I add, smiling. The mood has been lightened considerably since the agents came to take Sark and his men away. The kids had been suprisingly understanding, and even though Carol, Nancy and Mike seemed pretty shocked at first, they got over it. As did Will. It's like the last few hours never happened and that's how it should be.
I know it has only been a couple hours and you'll probably think I'm crazy, but I think Carol and Will really are hitting it off. I know, I know, they've only known each other for what? Two days? Who am I to make any assumptions about their relationship when they hardly know each other? Then again, I have a right to feel the way I do about this. Within the last two hours, Carol isolated herself from Ed completely for a guy she's known for, like I said, less than two days. There's more to this that it seems.
"Yeah, yeah, we get it, we get it." Warren says, putting his jacket on.
"This is so cool!" Diane exclaims happily. "My teachers are field rated CIA agents!"
Sydney laughs. That laugh...
"But it doesn't leave this bowling alley." She replies warningly.
"Obviously." Mark responds matter of factly. "See ya on Monday Mr. Saunders, Ms. Hanton."
"See you guys Monday!" I call out.
"You know what? I think we've had enough excitement for one night and it's getting late. We'll see you later." Nancy says, looping her arm through Mike's.
"Yeah, I gotta get out of here too." Carol says, turning to us, then back to Will. I've got my eye on those two...
"Same here." Molly says with a smile. She hugs Syd goodbye and touches my arm. "You guys have had a rough night, you should really take it easy."
"Don't worry, Molls, you know we will." Syd says happily. First off: SWEET! Secondly, I never would have expected this night to turn out like this after that whole Sark fiasco. People are actually smiling and laughing and enjoying themselves rather than running around in a terrified frenzy.
Carol probably thinks no one sees her slipping Will her number, but she's wrong. That girl is so clueless. Sometimes I think that she just doesn't deserve Ed. What's the use in working so hard to get a girl, or to set a girl up with a good friend, if she doesn't give a sh-t about him. Especially after a night like tonight where you'd expect her to be atleast a little bit understanding instead of alienating herself from him. What a fool.
By the time I start paying attention to what's going on around me, the alley is empty except for Ed, Syd, and me.
"Oh man," Ed says, picking up his jacket, "that was unexpected."
"Yeah, that sums it up pretty well," I say, stretching my arms.
"I'm suprised everyone was so cool with it," Syd says, grabbing both of our jackets.
"Do you think our secret is safe with the kids?" I ask Ed.
"Ah yeah. No doubt about it. I promise you won't have any trouble with those kids. They are like thirty year olds trapped in teenagers' bodies. Way more mature than their peer group."
"That must be why I like them so much," Syd says with a grin as she wraps her fingers in mine.
"What, the thirty year old mindset or the teenagers' bodies?" I joke. She laughs and pushes me playfully.
"Alrighty, we've got all the lights off, stoves are off and everything's locked up...I guess we can blow this popsicle stand."
Oh geez.
"Ed--" I start.
"No need, Mike, I know. Never say that again."
"You got it, dude." I reply with a grin.
"Ahh! Full House! Michael was a closet Full House fan!" Syd exclaims as we walk out of the Stuckeybowl.
Oh geez to the tenth power.
All I hear is Ed's hysterical laughter in the background. I so set myself up for this one. I take all the blame.
"Okay, who didn't think those little Olsen twins were damn cute as toddlers?!"
I'll have a Hell of a time digging myself out of this one.
~~~
"We had quite a day, didn't we?" I ask, slipping into bed beside Syd.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that," she replies, smiling as she turns around to face me. "Finding out you were a closet Full House fan...That was pretty shocking."
"Shut up."
"Okay fine, but only if you say one thing."
"Okay, fine, what?"
"Have mercy," she says in a deep voice inbetween laughs.
"No way," I say, shaking my head. "Anything from DJ, Stephanie, Michelle...Sure I'd do it, but Uncle Jesse? I'm not worthy." I joke.
"Okay, we've taken this joke way too far, it's starting to creep me out," she says, smiling. We sit in a comfortable silence for a moment...I can tell she's thinking about something. Probably the last few hours; it was all pretty traumatizing.
"What are you thinking about?" I ask, brushing the hair out of her face.
"I was just wondering what it's going to be like when we have to go back to the real world." She says somewhat sadly.
"Don't worry, the real life will be even better than this, I promise." I kiss her nose, then kiss her chin.
"Is that possible?" She asks, grinning.
"Yeah, it is." I say, moving down to her neck. I feel her hands run through my hair and I wish that I had the ability to savor every feeling and every second that I'm experiencing right now. But we all know I don't have those kind of skills.
"I don't know if I believe you..." She replies, running her hands under my shirt.
"I know it'll be hard to top this town, but I can promise you that my place is nicer than this one." I say, moving to her lips.
"I can't believe I've never seen your apartment..." She says, breathing heavily.
"I know, I feel like we've been like this forever..."
"Describe it to me," she says inbetween kisses.
"Are you sure you'd rather me tell you about my apartment than--" My hand finds it's way to the base of her back and I feel her arch up agaist me as my lips meet her shoulders. She laughs and turns her neck away from me, giving me easy access to her special spot.
"Hmm, this is a tough one," now she's twirling my hair inbetween her fingers. That reminds me, I need a haircut. Or maybe not...She seems to be enjoying it up there.
She pushes me away suddenly, and I immediately put on the pouty face. The pouty face has never failed to date.
"Aww, don't go all puppy dog on me..." She says, placing her hands on my face. I smile and move towards her again.
"Okay, fine, but after? You're so going to give me a virtual tour of your place."
I told you, it never fails.
And you know we're gonna rock the virtual tour all the way to the bedroom...
I know, I have no shame. No self respect. No morals.
But it's so worth it!
END CHAPTER FOURTEEN
