[b]From Chapter 6:[/b][i]
I risked a quick look at Sydney, silently apologizing for what I was about to do, but she shook her head slightly, letting me know she understood. "I've got a better idea," I countered, refocusing my attention on Sark. "You let Sydney go and come with me, or this is the last conversation you'll ever have."
"You're in no position to be making demands," he commented with a smirk.
"That's what you think," I growled, drawing the hammer back and taking another step toward him. "Let her go, or you'll be swimming with the fishes."
His smile widened into a full fledged grin. "Funny you'd mention swimming," he said nonchalantly and shoved Sydney into the water.[/i]
[b]Chapter 7: It's All About Sass[/b]
I watched in horror as she sank out of sight. Then out of the corner of my eye, I caught an evil grin flash across Sark's face. "Say good night Mister Vaughn," he said as he raised his gun up to shoot. Without missing a beat, I fired three shots-one into his hand, knocking his gun away, and another through his heart. Tossing my hat and jacket down on the pier, I ran to where he'd fallen and checked for a pulse,
Once I was sure he was dead, I dropped my gun, toed my shoes off and dove into the murky water where Sydney had gone in. Straining my eyes in the dim light, I frantically looked for any sign of her but there was nothing. When the burning in my lungs got to be too much, I returned to the surface for air then went under again.
I could feel the seconds ticking by as I continued my search. How long can a person survive underwater? I hadn't the foggiest, but I knew her time was running out. I had to find her, and fast.
Just as my air ran out a second time, I felt something soft sift gently between my fingers. Grasping it, I realized it was Sydney's hair. I pulled her limp body into my arms and propelled us upward, taking deep, gasping breaths as we broke the surface.
It took only a moment for me to notice Sydney wasn't breathing. When I looked down at her, the blue tinge of her lips told me all I needed to know. "Damn it," I muttered as I began swimming to shore, "Sark is not going to win!!"
I hoisted myself up onto the dock, then reached down and pulled her up beside me. I quickly rolled her over in my arms and started pounding on her back. "Come on Syd, get with it," I ordered. "You are not allowed to die on me." A few more hits on her back and she started to cough, spitting water onto the pier below us. "That's it Doll," I encouraged, keeping up my pounding.
After a few more raspy, choking coughs she pulled away from me. I watched as she curled up her legs and wrapped her arms around them, forming a silhouette in the quickly vanishing daylight. I could tell she was upset, who wouldn't be after nearly drowning in the Pacific? But I didn't have a clue how I could make her feel better, so instead I just grabbed my jacket from where I'd dropped it earlier and draped it around her shoulders. "You looked cold," I muttered when she looked up at me quizzically.
"I was, thanks," she said distractedly, staring out at the water. "I never learned to swim you know," she commented softly.
I almost rolled my eyes at the obviousness of the comment before realizing there must be a story there. "Yeah, I gathered as much. You want to tell me why not?" I asked curiously.
"I'm afraid of the water, I always have been," she admitted. "When Sark was holding a gun on me, I could handle it. I mean, a gun kills you fast, right? But then he pushed me in the water and I could feel it closing in on me. I was sinking, I could feel my life draining out of me, and I couldn't do a thing to stop it." Her voice trembled and she paused to regain her composure before continuing. "You saved my life Vaughn."
"Of course I did. Your father would have killed me if I'd done differently." I quipped, trying to lighten the moment.
"My father!" she exclaimed, swiftly rising to her feet. "Vaughn, Ted Grissom set this whole thing up so he could catch the mole!"
"I know," I replied grimly as I bent over to pick up my hat and gun. "Are you ready to end this thing?" I asked and received a nod in return. "Good. Put the jacket on right and let's go."
"Vaughn, are you sure you don't want the jacket back?" she offered. "Not that I mind the wet look on you," she added as she looked me up and down, a glint in her eye.
I don't know if it was the comment or the look that got to me, either way there's no accounting for what I did next. Hauling her into my arms, I lowered my face to hers and kissed her, hard. She stood frozen in shock for a moment, but then I felt one hand snake around my neck, fingers twining into my hair as she pressed herself closer to me. I knew I had to pull away then and there. If Jack Bristow was willing to kill me for not keeping his daughter safe, he'd surely kill me five times over for kissing her.
Reluctantly, I broke the kiss and took a step back. Sydney blinked a few times before a cat like expression crossed her face. "Well, well Mister Vaughn," she purred. "If I'd known that was all it would take, I would have gotten you wet a long time ago."
I laughed and shook my head. Would this dame ever stop surprising me? "You've got a lot of sass, Sweet Thing. Anyone ever tell you that?" I said as I replaced my battered fedora on my head.
"I believe I've heard similar comments," she drawled, slipping her hand into mine as we headed back toward the warehouse. "I was never sure if they were true."
"Oh they are, believe me," I assured her, a cocky grin on my face.
"That's good to know," she replied with a smile. "Now then, how far are we from my father?" she asked, glancing up and down the abandoned street.
"The warehouse is just a few blocks away," I told her, pointing to our right. "The streetlights should be coming on right about. now," I added as the lights flickered on. "It shouldn't take us any time to get there."
"Good. He needs to know about Mr. Grissom," she said, the fire glinting in her dark eyes alerting me to her intentions.
I was shaking my head before she was even done talking. This was one show she wasn't taking away from me. "You bet he does, but you're not going to be the one to tell him. No Syd," I said, holding my hand up to stop her protest, "Teddy's my friend, this is my mess to clean up."
"It's not your fault he used us," she argued as we approached the building.
"Even so, I want to tell him myself," I insisted, barring her entry to the building. "Agreed?" She nodded her head unenthusiastically in response. "Good," I said, pulling the door open and gesturing for her to enter before me.
I risked a quick look at Sydney, silently apologizing for what I was about to do, but she shook her head slightly, letting me know she understood. "I've got a better idea," I countered, refocusing my attention on Sark. "You let Sydney go and come with me, or this is the last conversation you'll ever have."
"You're in no position to be making demands," he commented with a smirk.
"That's what you think," I growled, drawing the hammer back and taking another step toward him. "Let her go, or you'll be swimming with the fishes."
His smile widened into a full fledged grin. "Funny you'd mention swimming," he said nonchalantly and shoved Sydney into the water.[/i]
[b]Chapter 7: It's All About Sass[/b]
I watched in horror as she sank out of sight. Then out of the corner of my eye, I caught an evil grin flash across Sark's face. "Say good night Mister Vaughn," he said as he raised his gun up to shoot. Without missing a beat, I fired three shots-one into his hand, knocking his gun away, and another through his heart. Tossing my hat and jacket down on the pier, I ran to where he'd fallen and checked for a pulse,
Once I was sure he was dead, I dropped my gun, toed my shoes off and dove into the murky water where Sydney had gone in. Straining my eyes in the dim light, I frantically looked for any sign of her but there was nothing. When the burning in my lungs got to be too much, I returned to the surface for air then went under again.
I could feel the seconds ticking by as I continued my search. How long can a person survive underwater? I hadn't the foggiest, but I knew her time was running out. I had to find her, and fast.
Just as my air ran out a second time, I felt something soft sift gently between my fingers. Grasping it, I realized it was Sydney's hair. I pulled her limp body into my arms and propelled us upward, taking deep, gasping breaths as we broke the surface.
It took only a moment for me to notice Sydney wasn't breathing. When I looked down at her, the blue tinge of her lips told me all I needed to know. "Damn it," I muttered as I began swimming to shore, "Sark is not going to win!!"
I hoisted myself up onto the dock, then reached down and pulled her up beside me. I quickly rolled her over in my arms and started pounding on her back. "Come on Syd, get with it," I ordered. "You are not allowed to die on me." A few more hits on her back and she started to cough, spitting water onto the pier below us. "That's it Doll," I encouraged, keeping up my pounding.
After a few more raspy, choking coughs she pulled away from me. I watched as she curled up her legs and wrapped her arms around them, forming a silhouette in the quickly vanishing daylight. I could tell she was upset, who wouldn't be after nearly drowning in the Pacific? But I didn't have a clue how I could make her feel better, so instead I just grabbed my jacket from where I'd dropped it earlier and draped it around her shoulders. "You looked cold," I muttered when she looked up at me quizzically.
"I was, thanks," she said distractedly, staring out at the water. "I never learned to swim you know," she commented softly.
I almost rolled my eyes at the obviousness of the comment before realizing there must be a story there. "Yeah, I gathered as much. You want to tell me why not?" I asked curiously.
"I'm afraid of the water, I always have been," she admitted. "When Sark was holding a gun on me, I could handle it. I mean, a gun kills you fast, right? But then he pushed me in the water and I could feel it closing in on me. I was sinking, I could feel my life draining out of me, and I couldn't do a thing to stop it." Her voice trembled and she paused to regain her composure before continuing. "You saved my life Vaughn."
"Of course I did. Your father would have killed me if I'd done differently." I quipped, trying to lighten the moment.
"My father!" she exclaimed, swiftly rising to her feet. "Vaughn, Ted Grissom set this whole thing up so he could catch the mole!"
"I know," I replied grimly as I bent over to pick up my hat and gun. "Are you ready to end this thing?" I asked and received a nod in return. "Good. Put the jacket on right and let's go."
"Vaughn, are you sure you don't want the jacket back?" she offered. "Not that I mind the wet look on you," she added as she looked me up and down, a glint in her eye.
I don't know if it was the comment or the look that got to me, either way there's no accounting for what I did next. Hauling her into my arms, I lowered my face to hers and kissed her, hard. She stood frozen in shock for a moment, but then I felt one hand snake around my neck, fingers twining into my hair as she pressed herself closer to me. I knew I had to pull away then and there. If Jack Bristow was willing to kill me for not keeping his daughter safe, he'd surely kill me five times over for kissing her.
Reluctantly, I broke the kiss and took a step back. Sydney blinked a few times before a cat like expression crossed her face. "Well, well Mister Vaughn," she purred. "If I'd known that was all it would take, I would have gotten you wet a long time ago."
I laughed and shook my head. Would this dame ever stop surprising me? "You've got a lot of sass, Sweet Thing. Anyone ever tell you that?" I said as I replaced my battered fedora on my head.
"I believe I've heard similar comments," she drawled, slipping her hand into mine as we headed back toward the warehouse. "I was never sure if they were true."
"Oh they are, believe me," I assured her, a cocky grin on my face.
"That's good to know," she replied with a smile. "Now then, how far are we from my father?" she asked, glancing up and down the abandoned street.
"The warehouse is just a few blocks away," I told her, pointing to our right. "The streetlights should be coming on right about. now," I added as the lights flickered on. "It shouldn't take us any time to get there."
"Good. He needs to know about Mr. Grissom," she said, the fire glinting in her dark eyes alerting me to her intentions.
I was shaking my head before she was even done talking. This was one show she wasn't taking away from me. "You bet he does, but you're not going to be the one to tell him. No Syd," I said, holding my hand up to stop her protest, "Teddy's my friend, this is my mess to clean up."
"It's not your fault he used us," she argued as we approached the building.
"Even so, I want to tell him myself," I insisted, barring her entry to the building. "Agreed?" She nodded her head unenthusiastically in response. "Good," I said, pulling the door open and gesturing for her to enter before me.