Given the situation, it didn't take much for Dr. Barnett to convince Director Kendall that perhaps it would be best for the group to take a break and reconvene in the morning, when cooler heads might prevail. As the group exited the conference room, Kendall went over to Agent Jenkins, who had just entered the building, and asked, "So where is he?"
"Where's who?"
"Vaughn."
"I have no idea. I haven't seen him since lunch."
"I told you to keep an eye on him!"
"No, you ordered us to secure the dock and we did. He's around somewhere."
"Not this crap again! Has anyone seen him on the monitors?"
Jenkins went over to the two junior agents who were watching the monitors and came back over to Kendall. "They haven't seen him since lunch either. He headed off into the woods and that's the last they've seen him. Leave him be. He'll come back on his own. He always has."
The others had been eyeing the exchange curiously. Will and Weiss were particularly amused. Weiss quipped, "I don't know Jenkins. Vaughn's a pretty good swimmer…"
Jenkins laughed, "Yeah, but the tide's changing. He might hate Kendall's guts, but he's not suicidal."
"Agent Jenkins…" Kendall began, his anger barely contained.
"Sorry, sir."
"How many men do we have here, Jenkins?"
"Sixteen sir."
"How is it that sixteen of you can't manage to keep tabs on one man! How many times is this now? Seven? Eight?"
"He's not going anywhere! We've kept tabs on the shoreline monitors. Leave him in peace. He'll come back when he's good and ready…"
"I want you to send out a team and find him! Have them review the tapes to see where he might have headed. When you find him, bring him to Dr. Barnett. " Then, he turned to Barnett and added, "Do whatever it is you're going to do today because I want him out of here first thing in the morning!" With that, Kendall stormed off and headed to the main building.
Judy Barnett turned to Sydney and asked, "Would you like to talk about any of this now or would you like to wait until we find Michael?"
"I'd rather take a break if you don't mind"
"All right then, maybe we can get together after dinner." With that, Dr. Barnett also headed towards the main building.
Weiss turned to Jenkins, "You're not actually sending a team out, are you?"
"Of course I am", Jenkins replied smiling, "You heard the man. However, they'll probably start on the south side of the island. Might be dark by the time they work their way around. As for the tapes, I think we'll review them in the same order." He paused for a moment and added, "I'll be pulling the tapes in ten minutes. The monitors shouldn't be down for more than a few minutes."
"Jenkins, next time your in L.A., I owe you a steak dinner."
"I'll hold you to that."
Will and Weiss led Sydney away. As they headed toward the house, Weiss said in a voice a bit louder than necessary, "Hey Syd, I'm going to grab some fresh air. Why don't you join me? You haven't even really seen the island yet."
Catching on, Sydney replied, "Sounds great. I'd like that."
Will begged off, claiming he had some work to do, and headed back towards the conference room. Weiss and Sydney headed behind the main building where several trails led off into the woods. Weiss started onto one of the trails heading north, but Sydney hesitated and gave him a questioning look. Weiss pointed to his watch and motioned for her to follow. Sydney struck up a conversation as they walked down the narrow path.
"So, he's done this before?"
Weiss answered her without turning, "Yeah, it started the last month he was here. He was getting around better, was going a little stir crazy, and was tired of talking with all the shrinks. I also think he did it to piss off Kendall. Either that or he just wanted to get away from him. Anyway, he usually took off when Kendall was here for one of his visits. It kind of became a game."
"A game?"
"Yeah, Hide and Seek, CIA-style. The first four or five times he was actually able to elude the teams they sent out. After all, the enclave was new and it was a level playing field. Everyone was treating Vaughn like an invalid or mental defective. I think it was his way of showing them right where they could stick that notion. Then, Kendall ordered more monitors installed and it became more difficult. Jenkins actually found a couple of his hiding places. He and Jenkins came to a gentlemen's agreement that, if Vaughn really needed to get away, he would go to one of those places and Jenkins would make sure the teams left him alone for as long as possible. Jenkins told me about them in case he was off-island when Vaughn took off, so that I could do the same or check on him if he didn't come back."
"Jenkins seems like a really good guy."
"He is, Syd. You can trust him. Him and Morganetti. Other than that, they're all Kendall's dogs. Remember that."
Weiss checked his watch and cut over to a path heading east. They walked on in silence for the next few minutes until they came to a rocky bluff overlooking the water. It was about 50 to 75 feet high. Sydney looked around. She even looked up in the trees. If he was around here, she didn't see him. Eric Weiss looked out at the water and the islands beyond. Then, he yelled, "Hey Vaughn, you down there?"
Silence.
"Don't make me lug my fat ass under there to check."
After a moment's hesitation, he heard his reply, "Yeah…"
Sydney went to look over the edge, but Weiss held her back, shaking his head.
"Just so you know, Kendall's sent the dogs out. They should be here by sunset. Interested in company?"
"Not particularly"
"You know Barnett's right. It's better this way. You owe it to Sydney and yourself to sort this out the best you can."
Silence.
"Kendall is booting you off the island first thing in the morning."
Silence.
"Okay then. I'll be heading back now." With that he took Sydney's arm and led her back off the bluff and over to the edge of the rocky incline about 25 yards back.
As he gestured her down, he told her, "Just keep working your way over. The bluff over there is just a giant overhang for a ledge right below. I don't know how he found the damn thing in the first place. He must have seen it from the water or something." Then, he turned and started heading back the way they came.
Sydney hesitated for a moment. She could understand his need to be alone, but one thing kept running through her head. Tomorrow morning. So, despite her misgivings, she started slowly working her way around the giant boulders and rock slabs that seemed to make up most of this island. It took her a couple of minutes, but then she could see the edge of the ledge that Eric had been talking about. It looked to be about ten feet deep. As she continued on, she heard Vaughn call out, "I told you, Eric, I'd rather be alone."
As she crawled up onto the ledge, she looked up to see him sitting with his back against the rock wall in the shadow of the bluff. He was about 15 feet away on the far side of the ledge. He had his knees drawn up with his arms resting on them and was staring out at the water.
She sat on the edge of the ledge and took a deep breath before saying, "Well, then, it's a good thing I'm not Eric."
He dropped his head back against the wall, closed his eyes, and let out a deep sigh. Then, he leaned his head forward, kneading his forehead with the base of his palms.
"Listen to me, Vaughn. We don't have to talk about any of it if you don't want to. Please just don't shut me out right now. Please don't send me away."
He looked up and nodded as he gave her a sideways glance.
She crawled further onto the ledge until she was next to him. She sat down, legs outstretched. She reached over and grabbed his right hand and pulled it into her lap. He looked over at her sadly, giving her hand a small squeeze and then went back to looking out over the water as she continued to hold his hand. They continued holding hands, fingers intertwined, for several minutes, lost in their own thoughts until Sydney finally spoke up.
"So, Evan Markham, tell me about yourself."
Vaughn looked down, chuckled, and shook his head. At least she had picked a topic that he didn't mind talking about. He knew that he probably shouldn't, but it didn't matter. Evan Markham wouldn't exist in a few days. "Let's see", he started, "I'm 35, Canadian, and the assistant athletic director at a boarding school outside of Yakima."
"Canadian, eh?"
"Yeah, they had to come up with some plausible reason why the school wouldn't have heard of my stellar collegiate athletic career. Apparently, I was quite the hockey and soccer star at McGill", he said with a laugh.
"So, how big is this place that they have an assistant athletic director?"
"Not very. It's just a fancy way of saying director-in-training. The current director is retiring at the end of the year."
"What's the school like?"
"It's actually quite beautiful. You can't complain about an area where the main industries are prep schools and apple orchards. The school itself is along a river and there are parts of the campus that have a beautiful view of Mount Rainier. "
"Sounds wonderful."
"It is actually. I never would have thought that I would like it as much as I did. The kids pretty much come from affluent divorced or two-career families in the Seattle area. The school is very competitive, so they have their days pretty much planned out for them. I'm a dorm supervisor, too, so we live adjacent to one of the residence halls. It's amazing to see these kids working so hard, being so driven, at such a young age. Somehow, it just doesn't seem right. They don't really get a chance to be kids. They're so grateful for whatever adult attention they can get. It makes me feel good that I can be there for them."
"Yeah. Been there, done that," said Sydney, remembering the vast portions of her childhood that had been spent in places like that. "They're lucky to have you. It's nice to feel that somebody actually cares when you're in a situation like that. How do you spend your days?"
"Mostly coaching and teaching Phys Ed. I coach boys' hockey, soccer, swimming, and lacrosse. It's great. I coached soccer and lacrosse camps this summer. So far this fall it's been soccer and hockey. I really have no complaints."
"Except now you're going to be forced to leave."
"Syd, don't start. It's been fun while it lasted. Who knows, maybe we'll land something just as nice. Although it's going to be hard to beat the commute, I'm not looking forward to public transportation."
Sydney gave him a quizzical look.
"I'm not allowed to drive. I think it's one of the reasons they set it up the way they did. Next time, we'll probably be in a city. That should make Alice happier. Between here and the school, she's been going more than a little stir crazy."
Sydney stiffened at her name, the reminder that he was no longer hers. Vaughn caught the shift in her attitude and let go of her hand. Sydney pained at the loss of his touch. She reached for his hand again and said, "It's Okay, Vaughn. I understand how things happened. I'm grateful to her. She got you out of what I got you into. I'll always be grateful for that."
He had reached over with his left hand and cupped her cheek. "You didn't get me into anything. I chose this life long before I met you. You know that. I can honestly say that I regret some of the choices that I have made in my life. However, knowing you, being with you, is not one of them. Don't ever doubt that."
She stared into his eyes which had taken on a mossy green color in the shade of the bluff. She couldn't understand how he could still care for her after everything that had happened, especially knowing that she had been off living a relatively normal life. She started sobbing uncontrollably.
"How can you keep saying that, after everything he did to you and why!"
He pulled her into his arms, her head on his chest, and began rocking her. "Shshsh", he whispered into her hair, "This is why I didn't want you to know." "I can handle what he did to me. I can handle all the looks of pity and disappointment. This is what I can't handle. This… Your guilt for his actions. He did this to me. Not you. Not you. Him. Please try to understand that."
He continued cradling her. Her sobbing had subsided, but her tears continued to flow, as did his. They held each other for a long while in the fading light before either of them was able to speak.
Vaughn finally broke the silence. "Listen, Syd, we need to talk about some things before company arrives. Things were not going to be able to discuss back there. Things that they won't let me discuss with you anymore."
Sydney pulled herself from his embrace, wiping her face on her sleeve. "What are you talking about?"
"I've been doing some thinking. You need to be careful. If it's one thing that you should take away from all this, it's that the JTF will do anything it deems necessary to get Sloane. They're panicking and they don't care who they abuse in the process. If they choose to ignore the Prophecy or go back to believing that the U.S. is the 'greatest power', they'll hang you out as bait to try and flush Sloane out. Even if he doesn't believe you're the Prophecy Woman now, he's always been obsessed with you. The JTF might not even tell you that that 's what they're going to do. If they choose to support that the Prophecy refers to Sloane, they may try to bury you so deep that you'll never be found and I'm not talking witness protection. In that case, they would be counting on your mother's grief as her motivation to bring him down. Be wary. Obviously, you can trust Dixon, Weiss, Will, and Marshall, but beyond that you need to watch your back. You need to consider your options."
"Options?"
"Yes, options. Whether you choose to stay and work with them or not."
"Vaughn, what are you saying? That I should consider resigning and going into witness protection, or just take off?"
"Why not? We've given our pound of flesh, Syd! We've given several. Let the battle stay with Sloane, your parents, and the JTF. They're the ones who brought us into it. We didn't ask for any of this! I'm out. You know now that the CIA wouldn't let me back in even if I wanted it. The three of them still think you're dead. You could be safe if Kendall let you go into witness protection. Even if he doesn't and you took off, the JTF might not come after you. They'd be afraid of cluing your mother into the fact that you're still alive. I just can't stand the thought of you being hung out to dry or locked up somewhere so that they can keep your mother grieving. It may be part of the Prophecy, but you could be free and not interfere with it."
"So, you've become a true believer."
"Haven't you? There's nothing like a little personal knowledge to clarify your position. Listen to me, I was on the fence right up to the point that bomb went off in Mexico City. After that and Il Dire, I no longer believe that he's just some 16th century Italian crackpot that just got lucky with a virus."
She'd forgotten about that. Given
everything else that she'd just learned, she'd overlooked what had happened
previously. Of course he'd believe in
Rambaldi now. If not him, then who?
Besides Sloane, of course. She knew
that she had to completely believe in it too and accept her role in it. Whatever that might be.
"Syd, I just want you to consider it. The decision is obviously yours. All I know is that your best chance for surviving this is going into relocation or hiding on your own. There's at least a chance that you'd be safe. I could live the rest of my life if I thought you were safe. It may be selfish, but that's where I stand."
Sydney stared at him, not sure how to respond. Her need for vengeance needed to be answered, but so did his wishes. Just then, they heard the sound of voices and the scuffling of feet above them. She turned back to him with a small smile and nodded her head. Suddenly, they heard the voice of one of the agents above call down to them. "Mister Vaughn, if you're down there, please come up now so that we can escort you back. Otherwise, we'll have to come down there after you."
Vaughn smiled back at Sydney. "We're coming."
Once they'd returned, both Sydney and Vaughn were sent to endure a session with Dr. Barnett. Even though they tried to convince her that they had said everything they needed to say, she would not be dissuaded. Afterwards, they were allowed to have a late dinner with their friends and Agents Jenkins and Morganetti. Kendall was conspicuous by his absence. Jenkins informed them that he had decided to work over in the Security and Communications building and had moved his belongings over to the bunkhouse for the night. Safety in numbers, as it were.
Jenkins also told Vaughn that Kendall had ordered his departure on the morning boat and that Weiss would be accompanying him back. It was obvious that Kendall would return when he had regained the upper hand.
By the time dinner had finished, it was very late and Dr. Barnett suggested that they all turn in. She reminded Vaughn pointedly to take his medication and told him that Dr. Kramer would give him a final check in the morning before he left. With that, she and Sydney bid the others good night and headed upstairs.
After turning in, Sydney found it impossible to sleep. Not only was she still suffering the effects of jet lag, but she also couldn't keep her mind off Vaughn and the fact that, come tomorrow, she would probably never see him again. She replayed his words from earlier over and over in her head. She still wasn't sure what she was going to do, but she knew he was right. She needed to be careful.
It was well past midnight when she crept downstairs. She knew she shouldn't, but she couldn't help herself. She needed to see him, to be with him, just one last time. She knew that he would never come to her, not given the circumstances. She stealthily moved across the darkened downstairs and into his room. At least she had not lost this ability over the past two years.
Once inside his room, she moved quietly towards the bed. The light from the near full moon filtered through the window, illuminating his silhouette. He was sound asleep on his side with his face turned towards the window. That he was able to sleep didn't surprise her, knowing the medication he was on and the events of the past few days. She sat on the edge of the bed and carefully examined his moonlit features, storing them for the future.
She thought about getting up and leaving before he awoke, but her need for him was primal. To her, it had only been a few days since their last intimate encounter. She was still addicted to him. Every fiber of her being was crying out for his touch.
She reached over and ran her fingers through his hair, noting that he still wore it exactly the same as he always had. She caressed his cheek with the back of her hand and he began to stir. She continued to caress him until he slowly started coming to his senses, leaning into her touch.
"Syd…"
"Hey"
He finally came to full consciousness, shaking off the last bits of sleep. He sat up suddenly in the bed, causing the sheets falling down around his waist. "Syd? Are you okay? What's going on?"
"I'm fine. I just needed to see you."
"Syd, you shouldn't be here…"
"Vaughn, I know that, but I am. You're leaving tomorrow morning and I'll probably never see you again. I know that I'm not being fair. I'll leave if you want me to, but I'm begging you to let me stay. Please, I just need to be held."
"You don't understand. I don't know that I can do just that. Not when it's you. Being married should be enough, but it's not. Because I couldn't control myself, I've already brought two more innocent people into this. I won't risk a third. Not even for you. I couldn't let that happen. Not again."
"We won't let that happen."
"Syd, you don't even remember the highlights of the past two years, much less the more mundane aspects of your life, and I certainly didn't come prepared for anything like this."
"Do you trust me?"
"What? Syd…"
"Ssshhh. Trust me. Don't think. Just feel. We'll be safe. I promise."
With that, she leaned over and gave him a feather-light kiss on the lips. At first, he hesitated, but as she intensified the kiss and brought her arms around his neck, he relented. He could feel the floodgates open on emotions that he had long since dammed up inside himself. He had been able to keep himself in check during their previous encounters, but this was different. They both wanted, needed, this so much.
The first time she had been ripped from him without warning. Now, they both saw it coming. This time he would take nothing for granted. He would memorize every feature and savor every sensation.
He could feel her chest warm, up against him, through the thin cotton tank she was wearing. He could even feel her nipples harden, begging for his touch. He brought his arms around her, tangling his fingers in her hair.
With his return of her ardor, she leaned into him further, causing them to fall onto the bed. Their lips joined and their hands roved in a choreography innate to them alone. After a few minutes, they broke their contact only briefly to rid themselves of the final barriers between them and then they returned to the dance, each of them consumed by their world of skin and breath and hair.
She could feel his hardening length against her stomach. As much as she wanted to be joined with him, she knew that he was right. They couldn't risk the repercussions. She broke their kiss, straddling his thighs and moving on to devour his neck and his collarbone. With her hands, she gently kneaded and massaged his well-defined pecs, paying special attention to his stiffened nubs.
The fiery sensations she was creating elicited a moan from him as she made her way down his body. His hands were entwined in her hair and his breathing grew more ragged as her hands moved onto the hard planes of his abdomen and her mouth lavished his chest. As she blazed a trail of wet kisses down his stomach, her hands found his pulsating member. It jumped at her touch.
She took him in her hands, running one hand up and down his engorged shaft while the fingertips of the other ringed his tip. This elicited yet another moan from his lips. With that, she lowered her mouth to him, encasing him with her velvet lips while one of her hands gently cradled and massaged his balls.
"Oh God, Syd…."
She started out slowly, working him in and out of her mouth and throat, pausing every now and then to pull up and massage the sensitive edge of his tip with her lips and tongue. These were greeted with gasps of pleasure from Vaughn. Then, she brought him back into her throat and quickened the pace, bringing her hands up to massage his chest while her thumbs circled and flicked his nubs. This drove him over the edge and he pulled her to him as he bucked his hips off of the bed. Every muscle in his body tensed as he came in her throat and he cried out her name over and over.
She rode out his orgasm, gently milking him, causing him to shudder further. Then, she released him from her mouth and planted gentle kisses up the length of his body. She paused for a few moments to lay her head on his chest and listen to the frenzied beating of his heart. He was just returning to his senses when she continued her journey reaching his lips and gazing into his eyes which were full of awe and love. She kissed him deeply and he returned it, taking charge of the dance.
Vaughn rolled Sydney onto her back, pausing to run his hands through her hair, splaying it across the pillow. He looked into her dark chocolate eyes, silently asking permission to continue. The intensity that he found there gave him his answer and he lowered his head to her neck, to a particularly sensitive spot that she had behind her ear at the base of her scalp. She drew in a deep breath as he lavished attention there, while his hands moved onto her breasts, gently kneading them as he worked her nipples between his thumbs and middle fingers.
He lit a trail with his lips and tongue down and around her clavicle and up and over to the other side of her neck. She purred as he found and worked that same spot on the opposite side of her neck. Then, he brought his mouth to her breasts, lavishing her areola with his tongue and nipping gently at her nipples with his lips and teeth. The sensations were driving her wild and she brought her hands to his head, massaging his scalp and pushing down slightly, encouraging him to continue his journey down her body.
He took her cue, raising himself up between her legs, and kissed between her breasts. Then, he ran his hands down her body, noting that it was softer than he had remembered. It didn't bother him though, as he had always felt that she had had to work herself too hard physically. He found that the extra curves pleased him and spent some time kissing and caressing them. He took comfort in the fact that, whatever her life had been, it had not required her to maintain her body as a weapon.
Running his hands down the backs of her thighs, he raised up her knees and positioned his shoulders beneath them. Then, he lowered his mouth to her hot, moist center. When he stared flicking her clit with his tongue and nipping it with his lips, she let out a little yelp. She ran her fingers through his hair, pulling him closer. With his hands on her waist, he picked up the pace and began darting his tongue in and out of her, running his tongue up and over her clit with every stroke. She started panting and he knew she must be close. He pulled away from her and she whimpered at his loss.
He repositioned himself on his right side and brought his left hand up to replace his mouth. Then, while working his fingers within her and massaging her clit with his thumb, he brought his mouth back to her breasts, gently nipping at her with his lips and teeth. Within a minute, the combined sensations drove Sydney over the edge and he could feel her tighten around his fingers as she let go a strangled cry. He brought her down slowly, continuing a tender massage with his hand. As her trembling subsided, he wrapped his arms around her and drew her into him, kissing her passionately as she sighed into his mouth.
They pleasured one another several times, making mental road maps of each other's bodies for the time to come. When they were spent, they clung to each other fiercely as, if they could, they would have crawled into each other's skin.
