I'm baaack...


Miss me?!?


This chapter is much longer than what I had originally anticipated on writing... it'll be in two parts... By the way, the teaser from before is a part of the second part.. Sorry 'bout that.. but enjoy the first part!!


After re-reading what I wrote, even I felt like kicking Anna's ass as well and you'll understand why I said that...


Where I left off last time:


As she panted and almost slipped with her stilettos while down to the last step, her father reached out to steady her. She flashed him a quick smile and both were listening to the heated voice while they were on their way out the door when the auctioneer repeated the bid on Vaughn and she stopped dead in her tracks. "Did he just say seventy five thousand for Lord Worthington!?!" Her voice clearly rang over the comps cutting through Kendall's tirade and everyone held their breaths.


And now, I go on with it...

Chapter 2: Bound By Duty


Jack Bristow knew of the emotional attachment that went on between his daughter and her handler, being that he was the one who called them on it. He caught the tone of incredulous jealousy in her voice and saw the expressions that crossed her face. With a stern voice, "Lets go, Sydney. The CIA's extraction team will be here within a two minutes... we've have to go... now." He tried to grab her elbow but she quickly evaded him.


She went radio silent for a moment and squinted her eyes, glaring at her father, "You go... I'm going after Vaughn-"


With an exasperated sigh, Jack went radio silent as well for this brief point of trying to convince his daughter that Agent Vaughn could take care of himself but somehow he knew it wasn't going to work. "You go after him, and it'll blow all our covers. Did you think about that?"


He returned her glare hoping it would affect her and she would back down, "Why is it that you are willing to throw protocol out when it comes to Agent Vaughn? He is a man who can take care of himself or else the CIA wouldn't have him out here as a field agent."


"You've got to be kidding me... don't you think I know what the requirements are for field agents?" she said with biting sarcasm.


She knew what her father was trying to do with returning her glare and even though it shook her a little, she wasn't willing to back down because just thinking about Vaughn gave her courage and strength, "I don't need this lecture. He had put his career on the line for me many times over, and that debt have and will be repaid in kind." She quickly reached into her garter, pulling out the disk and slipped it into his pocket. "Bye Dad, see you in LA... " and she briskly turned to run back to the banquet hall while tapping her COMMs back on.


"Extraction's outside, Agents Bristow..."


Watching her go, he made a serious mental note to have another conversation with Agent Vaughn regarding the parameters of 'Handler and Asset Protocol' when everyone was back in Los Angeles. "On my way..." Jack replied "...one coming out.. "


"Sir, we were informed–"


As Jack ran over to the van, "I am aware but change of plans.... " he said while jumping into the van. "I want another extraction van here within the double for about seven agents all together..." He reached over to give one of the agents the disk for duplication.


"Calling it in right now-"


Jack nodded and turned back to the monitor to keep an eye out for any suspicious activities.


* * * * * * * * * * * * *


In the van, about fifteen minutes passed by until one of the Tech Agents checked his results for the third time to make sure there weren't any mistakes before approaching Senior Agent Bristow. Scared but confident in his findings, he spoke up, "Agent Bristow? There's a problem."


Jack's voice, alone, scared the wits out of some of them, "What is it?"


"Sir... you've only completed half of the mission." All the others in that surveillance van held their breath, watching incredulously at this Junior Agent's audacity to say something like that.


Jack was surprised at the balls of this younger man and replied in his infamous cold voice, "Excuse me?"


He quickly tried to redeem himself, "The disk you've brought back is useless without the gyroscope itself and vice versa."


"Explain."


"Agent Bristow... sir... I'm sorry," the freshly-recruited-just-out-of-college Agent's realized his slip and his voice became slightly twinged with fear, "What I meant to say was there's good news and then bad news. This disk is something equivalent of a key to activate the gyroscope. Using various binary sequenced algorithms-"


"In English, Agent Simms." Jack's patience was wearing thin as he cut in. Obviously the man was the CIA equivalent of Marshall.


"Uh... right.. sorry," he blushed, "I'll start with the good then... As I was said before, I decoded the basic encryption. According to the information, there are two sets of data stored. The first time the gyroscope is activated, a cover 'front' of data will come up. In that, there will be a key, another decoder of sorts, that this disk will automatically load and open to the second stored set of data, which contains what we are looking for." He took a breath before continuing on, "The bad news to this is if the gyroscope is activated with failsafes. If, without the disk it is activated twice, it will self destruct by corroding it own data."


Everyone was astonished by this new revelation.


"Are you absolutely certain?" He asked in a deadly voice.


The fear finally kicked in and made the man stutter, "Ye... yes... Agent Bris.. Bristow. " He quickly handed him three sets of printouts, "I tri... tripled chec..ked myself before a.. approaching you."


"How the hell did Sloane miss this?" He skimmed through the paperwork while relaying everything back to Base Ops. He and Kendall were in the middle of deciding the next course of action when another agent on video surveillance spoke up, "Agent Bristow?"


Jack turned his head towards the man.


"About half an hour before you and your daughter went up, there was a three and half minute break in the circuit feed."


"And I wasn't informed about this before... why?"


"We checked it out and thought it was a minor glitch... but thinking about it... that would have been ample time for a trained spy to go in and come out with the gyroscope."


"Yes, it would have. That might explain why we only found the disk and not the gyroscope itself."


* * * * * * * * * * * * *


As Sydney walked in, one of the elder gentlemen caught up to her, "Contessa La'cret... where have you been?"


"I went to the get some air, Signore-"


"Ah ha... but you are missing all the fun. It is a good thing that this Lord Worthington decided to join the charity auction at the last minute. It is amazing how much the women are willing to go for on the man."


"Really?" she forced out, already on the edge, "I barely noticed him."


"You lie, Contessa. You've been stareing at him the whole time and your cheeks are glowing."


As much respect she had for the elderly, there were times she wished to make an exception, and wanted to punch this guy's lights out.


"He is rather a handsome man." She tried to appear nonchalant.


"The bid is already over $100,000. Only two minutes ago, it was at $75,000."


When the bid jumped from $145,000 to $200,000, she gave him a wicked smile and walked down onto the balcony to see put it in. For some reason, that lady's voice sounded familiar but she couldn't place it. Also, with the brightness of the lights, some of the bidders from hidden.


She heard Eric's voice a moment later, rage flared up when he revealed who the woman was bidding for Vaughn.


* * * * * * * * * * * *


When Weiss relayed the identity of Vaughn's expensive bidder as the nefarious Anna Espinosa, shockwaves were apparent throughout the COMMs.


"Are you sure, Agent Weiss?" Kendall asked stupidly.


"Of course I am," he replied heated while some of the other agents confirmed the visual as well.


"Dammit... why the hell is she-"


When Jack cut him off, relaying the whole situation a moment later, about the disk and missing gyroscope, everything fell into place as to why the K-Directorate Agent was there.


He warned Sydney to stay out of sight.


As Kendall repeated the gist of Jack's transmission for all the Agents in the banquet hall, they become so engrossed in it that they didn't notice the Auction had started up again.


He decided to gamble on his next course of action, "Change of plans, people... especially for you Agent Vaughn."


Even though the AD wasn't there to see his reaction, Vaughn became stiff.


"As a matter of National Security, we need to retrieve that gyroscope, no matter what the cost."
Vaughn turned his head away, and spoke lowly, "Define what you mean by 'no matter what the cost.' " His voice was laced with anger.


"Well.. there is a huge possibility that she might have taken the gyroscope before both Agent Bristows got there, you have to do whatever is required and necessary to get it back. Since it seems that this K-Directorate Agent has taken a liking to you by willing to bid all that money, you will go through with this evening as 'Lord Worthington.' "


As the auction finally came to its closing with a loud bang against the gravel and "Sold! To Contessa Nyah Dereaux," Anna had won by putting in that last bid for $460,000.


The cheer effectively blocked out the two versions of "What?!?" were heard from not only the green eyed CIA Handler but also from his Asset.


"I must have heard wrong but was that a $460,000 price tag on Agent Vaughn's head?"


"Yes sir..." Weiss said, trying to control his laughter.


Since everyone was still in the process of applauding, the noise blocked off when Vaughn spoke, shocked at what was being implied, "Am I to understand that I am being ordered to 'pimp' myself for that thing? A metallic-"


Kendall's condescending tone was heard once again, "That metallic thing is a very destructive weapon that could be in the hands of the bad guys, which is a very bad thing. Are you aware, Agent Vaughn, should you refuse on such an assignment given under the pretenses of it falling under 'National Security Rules', that you could be tried for treason?"


"I don't believe this." Sydney cut in, effectively cutting off both of them before their volley of exchanging words got way too explicit on Vaughn's part.


"Since we didn't get the gyroscope, the only scenario that seems fitting is she's got it. I don't care how you do it or whether you like it or not, you are being ordered to go through the evening to retrieve it." Kendall said angrily and signed off.


"Okay, that's it. I am officially declaring that in the next undercover mission we go on, I am so going blonde. Apparently, the old saying of 'Blonde's having more fun ?' I am a believer now." Weiss cracked and everyone laughed... all except one very extremely pissed off Double Agent in a dress.


*******************************************************


So.... whatcha think?


What will be Syd's reactions? And how ever will Vaughn convince Anna? By the way, how much of a tease is Vaughn?!?


REVIEW MADLY! And, tune in next time to all of these answers in the next chapter of "The Auction"