Chapter 10
Sydney Bristow sinks down into her car seat to hide herself as the headlights of the car she has been following flashes before her windshield. "That was close," she thinks to herself as she let out a sigh of relief that he didn't spot her. A dozen questions keep flashing constantly in her head almost giving her a headache. The question that is the most prominent is how in the world did she end up here . . .spying . . .on her day off?
The evening started out wonderfully. Sydney was in the kitchen putting the final garnishes on her Italian cuisine. As she started cutting the parsley into fine bits, she got engulfed by two arms around her waist, which was followed by a light peck on her neck.
" Everything smells so delicious," Danny said as he took a big whiff into her neck, which tickled her a little.
" So you've forgotten what an expert chef I am."
" I wasn't talking about the food," he nuzzled at her neck some more. She tried to ease out of his grip and return to her task.
" Now is not the best time. I need to finish this dish so we can actually start eating soon." She told him like he was a little child. He didn't want to hear it. Seeing his disappointment, she gave him a peck on the cheek and showed him her pearly whites. He hadn't seen her smile in a long time and missed it.
" Fine. I'm just glad that your spirits have brightened. I was a little worried that . . ."
" I know," she nodded as she resumed to chopping. " I was a little worried too. Dixon was more than a coworker. I knew that I would not be able to function at the bank without him. I just didn't think that I would have such a hard time functioning outside of work too. I'm sorry."
" Don't be. All that matters is that you are returning to being happy once again. Did your supervisor find someone else for you to work with? I would imagine business trips all alone can be boring."
" Yes. In fact, he is sitting out in the living room as we speak." Danny's eyes widened.
" Michael?? Isn't it funny how things work out?" She gave him an agreeing little nod as she sprinkled the last bits onto the dish.
* * * * * * * *
Vaughn sat in the living room, with Alice beside him, trying to engage in conversation with Sydney's closest friends. Will was a reporter and was currently working on a piece about river pollution. His sister, Amy, was quite the character with her flaming red-pink hair. Francie was a caterer for a small local business with bigger aspirations. Her boyfriend Charlie was a lawyer in the middle of changing his career and becoming a singer instead. Vaughn never knew how much he missed having a normal life with normal friends to just chat with. A hard realization hit him as everyone laughed at Will's joke about his childhood. His whole life had been so wrapped up in the CIA that he didn't know how few friends he does have.
" So Michael, where are you from?" Francie asked clearly interested in learning more about the two new additions to their dinner parties.
" Uh, I was born in France. My family moved here because of my father's work when I was five."
" Oh, do you still speak French fluently?"
" Yes. I actually had been living there for the last year because of work."
" He actually knows more than just French and English. He also speaks Italian and German. " Alice tagged on while looking at Vaughn admiringly. Vaughn on the other hand felt a little embarrassed by her extra comment.
" Actually, I am just learning German and I wouldn't call my Italian fluent either," he said modestly.
" Wow, you're just like Syd," Amy piped in.
" Yeah, she's always so quick with languages. I for one don't understand it. Why take Italian and Spanish when she's studying to become an English teacher," Francie added. Vaughn made a mental note about Sydney's status as a student. She just keeps getting more and more interesting. How does she balance school with all the spy stuff?
All of a sudden, their conversation was interrupted by a beeping from Vaughn's pants. He blushed a little as he reached down and looked at the page. He cursed mentally as he recognized Kristine's code for signaling a last minute meeting. He turned to face Alice's worried eyes that quickly dissolved into disappointed ones. He apologetic expression was one that she saw often. She knew it was probably work and she usually didn't question because she never really wanted to know all the complicated finance issues of his job anyway.
" Now?" she whispered quietly as others started engaging on other conversation topics.
" I have to . . ." he said sadly. " It's . . .important. You should stay though. We wouldn't want to be too rude to Sydney and Danny."
After quickly apologizing to everyone, Vaughn dashed out of the house. As the door shut, Sydney had just made her way into the living room carrying a bottle of wine. She scanned the room quickly to find that Vaughn was missing.
" Where did . . ." she started to ask with a confused expression.
" He apologizes deeply, but he had something important with work," Alice tried to apologize even though she was really mad at him for leaving like that. Alice thought she was making Sydney feel better, but in fact, Sydney became increasingly confused. Why would he go to SD-6 now? Why didn't she get a page?
" An emergency? They probably need me to come in too."
" Syd, just relax. I'm sure the bank doesn't need you now," Danny tried to talk her out of going as well.
"I just know I'll be getting a beep soon." All of Sydney's friends knew that there was no use talking to her about her work. They all agree that she puts too much effort into a stupid bank job. Before they could object anymore, Sydney was already apologizing while her feet carried her toward the door.
As the door slammed closed for the second time in less than three minutes, the people that were left in the house simply looked at each other with baffled looks.
" Well I guess that bank certainly has some devoted workers huh?" Will tried to make light of the situation and everyone just laughed.
* * * * * * * * *
Sydney got in her car and saw that Vaughn hadn't gone too far ahead of her. Why hadn't Sloane paged her by now about the emergency? Her instincts told her to keep some distance as she drove behind him in the direction of Credit Dauphine. After driving for some time, she saw the sign for the bank approaching on the left. Her curiosity picked up as she sees him driving past the garage entrance down the road. She had a nervous feeling in her stomach and she thought, " What is going on?" She decided to follow him some more to get her answers.
Sydney Bristow sinks down into her car seat to hide herself as the headlights of the car she has been following flashes before her windshield. "That was close," she thinks to herself as she let out a sigh of relief that he didn't spot her. A dozen questions keep flashing constantly in her head almost giving her a headache. The question that is the most prominent is how in the world did she end up here . . .spying . . .on her day off?
The evening started out wonderfully. Sydney was in the kitchen putting the final garnishes on her Italian cuisine. As she started cutting the parsley into fine bits, she got engulfed by two arms around her waist, which was followed by a light peck on her neck.
" Everything smells so delicious," Danny said as he took a big whiff into her neck, which tickled her a little.
" So you've forgotten what an expert chef I am."
" I wasn't talking about the food," he nuzzled at her neck some more. She tried to ease out of his grip and return to her task.
" Now is not the best time. I need to finish this dish so we can actually start eating soon." She told him like he was a little child. He didn't want to hear it. Seeing his disappointment, she gave him a peck on the cheek and showed him her pearly whites. He hadn't seen her smile in a long time and missed it.
" Fine. I'm just glad that your spirits have brightened. I was a little worried that . . ."
" I know," she nodded as she resumed to chopping. " I was a little worried too. Dixon was more than a coworker. I knew that I would not be able to function at the bank without him. I just didn't think that I would have such a hard time functioning outside of work too. I'm sorry."
" Don't be. All that matters is that you are returning to being happy once again. Did your supervisor find someone else for you to work with? I would imagine business trips all alone can be boring."
" Yes. In fact, he is sitting out in the living room as we speak." Danny's eyes widened.
" Michael?? Isn't it funny how things work out?" She gave him an agreeing little nod as she sprinkled the last bits onto the dish.
* * * * * * * *
Vaughn sat in the living room, with Alice beside him, trying to engage in conversation with Sydney's closest friends. Will was a reporter and was currently working on a piece about river pollution. His sister, Amy, was quite the character with her flaming red-pink hair. Francie was a caterer for a small local business with bigger aspirations. Her boyfriend Charlie was a lawyer in the middle of changing his career and becoming a singer instead. Vaughn never knew how much he missed having a normal life with normal friends to just chat with. A hard realization hit him as everyone laughed at Will's joke about his childhood. His whole life had been so wrapped up in the CIA that he didn't know how few friends he does have.
" So Michael, where are you from?" Francie asked clearly interested in learning more about the two new additions to their dinner parties.
" Uh, I was born in France. My family moved here because of my father's work when I was five."
" Oh, do you still speak French fluently?"
" Yes. I actually had been living there for the last year because of work."
" He actually knows more than just French and English. He also speaks Italian and German. " Alice tagged on while looking at Vaughn admiringly. Vaughn on the other hand felt a little embarrassed by her extra comment.
" Actually, I am just learning German and I wouldn't call my Italian fluent either," he said modestly.
" Wow, you're just like Syd," Amy piped in.
" Yeah, she's always so quick with languages. I for one don't understand it. Why take Italian and Spanish when she's studying to become an English teacher," Francie added. Vaughn made a mental note about Sydney's status as a student. She just keeps getting more and more interesting. How does she balance school with all the spy stuff?
All of a sudden, their conversation was interrupted by a beeping from Vaughn's pants. He blushed a little as he reached down and looked at the page. He cursed mentally as he recognized Kristine's code for signaling a last minute meeting. He turned to face Alice's worried eyes that quickly dissolved into disappointed ones. He apologetic expression was one that she saw often. She knew it was probably work and she usually didn't question because she never really wanted to know all the complicated finance issues of his job anyway.
" Now?" she whispered quietly as others started engaging on other conversation topics.
" I have to . . ." he said sadly. " It's . . .important. You should stay though. We wouldn't want to be too rude to Sydney and Danny."
After quickly apologizing to everyone, Vaughn dashed out of the house. As the door shut, Sydney had just made her way into the living room carrying a bottle of wine. She scanned the room quickly to find that Vaughn was missing.
" Where did . . ." she started to ask with a confused expression.
" He apologizes deeply, but he had something important with work," Alice tried to apologize even though she was really mad at him for leaving like that. Alice thought she was making Sydney feel better, but in fact, Sydney became increasingly confused. Why would he go to SD-6 now? Why didn't she get a page?
" An emergency? They probably need me to come in too."
" Syd, just relax. I'm sure the bank doesn't need you now," Danny tried to talk her out of going as well.
"I just know I'll be getting a beep soon." All of Sydney's friends knew that there was no use talking to her about her work. They all agree that she puts too much effort into a stupid bank job. Before they could object anymore, Sydney was already apologizing while her feet carried her toward the door.
As the door slammed closed for the second time in less than three minutes, the people that were left in the house simply looked at each other with baffled looks.
" Well I guess that bank certainly has some devoted workers huh?" Will tried to make light of the situation and everyone just laughed.
* * * * * * * * *
Sydney got in her car and saw that Vaughn hadn't gone too far ahead of her. Why hadn't Sloane paged her by now about the emergency? Her instincts told her to keep some distance as she drove behind him in the direction of Credit Dauphine. After driving for some time, she saw the sign for the bank approaching on the left. Her curiosity picked up as she sees him driving past the garage entrance down the road. She had a nervous feeling in her stomach and she thought, " What is going on?" She decided to follow him some more to get her answers.