CHAPTER NINETEEN –  TURNING  POINTS

Vargas watched from his front door as Jie and her mother stepped into the back seat of a stretch limousine and drove away.  With her went his last assurance of his safety.  He had to concentrate for a moment, screwing up his courage to face the man waiting inside his house.  After a deep breath, he backed inside the house, shut the front door, and turned back into the room.

En Kai met his gaze for a moment, but then turned and shuffled calmly into the kitchen.  Vargas did not hesitate.  He understood that he was to follow.

En Kai sat at the kitchen table, with his briefcase resting on the chair next to him.  He motioned for Vargas to sit at the seat across from him, and Vargas complied.  When both men were seated, the elder's soft voice broke the silence:

"Explain to me, again, how you are acquainted with the Bristow family." 

Vargas did not allow his face to betray the sense of panic he was feeling, instead keeping his gaze steadily fixed on his father-in-law's.  He had prepared for this line of questioning all morning, but now, faced with the words directly, the cover story that Vaughn had created didn't feel plausible.  En Kai was radiating his usual confidence, which Vargas knew only meant trouble for whomever was being confronted.

Right now, that meant trouble for him.

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When Sydney began to shake visibly, Jack's own rage subsided, overshadowed by worry for his daughter.  He moved across the living room and knelt before her.  He gently placed his hands over hers, opening her fist and removing the page from her hand.  He then just sat next to her, softly stroking her hands as they lay, unmoving, in her lap.

Sydney had never before been so paralyzed with fury.  Her entire body was clenched and quaking.  Hear eyes were wide open and tears were streaming from them, but Sydney made no sounds.  In the back of her mind, she told herself to breathe… talk… move… something before she completely snapped.

The breathing was all she could manage at the moment. 

Gradually, Sydney's body relaxed.  When she finally began to feel again, the exhaustion completely overcame her.  She felt as if she had run a marathon… the effort required to keep her head upright was too much.

Jack watched her slowly slump in the chair.  When she seemed to have calmed sufficiently, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her the few feet to the sofa.  He laid her down tenderly, covered her with a blanket, and took her place in the recliner.  Jack's gaze never left Sydney's face as once again she escaped from the emotional hell of the past few days into a sleep which, for her sake, he prayed would be dreamless.

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Not knowing what else to say, Vargas repeated the vague cover story he had originally used for Jack to En Kai: former CIA… gone freelance… important contact.  En Kai seemed unimpressed.

"That's all?" the older man pressed.  Vaughn was really starting to get concerned.  En Kai had never cared about any of his contacts previously, and he had certainly never questioned how Vargas had come to acquire his contacts.  The alarm was becoming severe now, and he prayed that the heat he felt rising under his collar would not show on his face.  He nodded confirmation, hoping that would be the end to the particular line of questioning.

That hope was immediately dashed as En Kai's face clearly showed disappointment.

"That is unfortunate.  I had hoped you would be more honest with me this time."  Vaughn stared, in horror, as En Kai pulled a thin file from his briefcase and shoved it across the table.  "Open it," En Kai commanded.

What color was left in Vaughn's face drained away completely when he realized what he was seeing: it was Sydney's CIA file… or part of it.  The first page was all her basic information from when she first joined the Agency… vital statistics, mission, cover.  He did not need to turn the page to know what he would see, but En Kai clearly had other ideas.

"I must say, when I first saw this file, I believed Miss Bristow to be an exceptional actress.  However, I cannot seem to understand why the CIA would send her here… to be your captive in my holding cell."

Vaughn closed his eyes, unaware that he had stopped breathing as he waited for En Kai's next statement.

"Perhaps you could explain it to me Mister Vaughn?  Or perhaps, since we are family, I can call you Michael?"

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A/N:  Just another quick update, since the last one was so short.  I'm running out of ways to say "Thanks for reading!"