Hey everyone! Okay, first of all, sorry for taking so long to get this one
up. But this has been an insanely busy (and fairly horrible) week. Anyways,
here's the new chapter, so yay. Also, just wanted to give some thanks to
people - everyone who gave me feedback (especially EgyptianKat), my beta
Kerry, and Birdy for the original idea for the fic.
Sydney almost choked on her own breath. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the seat, letting it sink in. Of everything she had learned in the last twenty minutes, this was the most unbelievable.
"Sydney," Vaughn said as she felt a hand on top of her own. "I know you're probably in shock right now-"
"Oh, I'm way past shock," Sydney said through gritted teeth. "I'm already into the anger stage. How dare he! The son of a bitch! The way he did business...the way he treated everyone else...and all of it meant nothing. Nothing! The CIA meant nothing to him."
"I know," Vaughn replied quietly.
She sighed and paused before speaking again, still furious over Kendall's betrayal. "What happened when you found out he was working against the CIA?" she asked, trying to keep the rage out of her voice.
"Apparently, Sloane found out where you and your mother were, and that your mother had taken you. From that, he figured out that it would be you and I in the prophecy. No one knew I was with you, though, not even Sloane. He passed the information about you and your mother onto Kendall, who informed the CIA that you were alive. Kendall told the CIA you were with your mother, and he convinced them that you were working with her to betray the them.
"Suddenly, you were topping the CIA's most wanted list. Sloane was no longer a priority - not that he ever really was, I suppose, with Kendall there. He didn't care if your mother was caught; she was just an added bonus. What he really wanted was you and I for Sloane so we could fulfill the prophecy. Sloane had told him that it was us in the prophecy as soon as he had found out. The CIA believed I was still in the country, and would be easy to contact when the prophecy came to pass. So with the CIA now hunting you and your mother, the three of us had to keep moving around.
"We've been in Hong Kong for about a month now. We knew you would wake up soon, and we needed the CIA to know it. We knew that if it was you who contacted them, they wouldn't kill you right away. They would have to force a confession out of you about working with your mother so that Kendall could make sure that his knowledge would never be discovered. The rest of the CIA had to believe that what he had told them was true. Sydney, I know you must think we deserted you on the street. I suppose we did, but we kept a close watch on you to make sure you were safe. When you woke up and called Kendall, he contacted me, still believing I knew nothing about you and your mother. He told me you that you had betrayed the CIA for the first year after you disappeared, but when you didn't surface for a few months, they assumed you to be dead. They didn't mention your mother. Sydney, I swear, I would never threaten you like I did back there. I didn't want it to go that far, but I knew Kendall would be watching us. I had to gain his trust so I could walk you out of there myself," he finished as the car slowed to a stop.
"Oh," was all she could manage to say.
Her mind was buzzing. She was still confused, but everything was making much more sense that it had been when she woken up on the street. She was relieved to know that Vaughn didn't hate her, as she had first feared at the safehouse.
She looked up at him, right into his eyes. His expression was difficult to read - he looked happy, but pained. She knew he must have been through hell the past two years. Estranged from family and friends, forced to work with the woman he hated most, and betrayed by his superior.
Sydney realized that his hand was still on hers as he squeezed hers reassuringly. Her mind snapped back to what she had seen at the safehouse, and she realized there was still one thing that he hadn't explained.
"Vaughn, why are you wearing that ring?" she echoed her words from the safehouse.
"Oh God, Syd - I completely forgot about it," he said, flustered, as he look down at his left hand. He slipped the gold band off his ring finger. "I had told the CIA that I had left Los Angeles and settled down with someone out west. I had to wear it to maintain my cover."
"So you're not married," Sydney said, her heart rising a little. Right now, with everything she had just learned, it appeared to be the only true bright spot on the horizon.
"I'm not married," Vaughn assured her.
Sydney smiled a little, and he grinned back at her. She knew that had she not been so stressed and exhausted at the moment, she could have fully appreciated his dimples and the three wrinkles in his forehead.
Sydney turned away from him and truly looked at her mother for the first time in nearly two years. Irina had remained silent during Vaughn's explanation, which wasn't uncharacteristic of her.
No words were exchanged between the mother and daughter. None needed to be. Sydney smiled a bit as she unconsciously tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She could feel tears filling her eyes, but she was too tired to decide if they were tears of joy or sadness or both.
Suddenly, her face fell as she realized that an important aspect of her life hadn't been explained.
"Where's my dad?"
Vaughn stayed silent and chose to look down at the black carpeted floor of the vehicle, instead. Sydney wasn't sure exactly what that meant, but she took it as a sign that the news wasn't good.
Sydney almost choked on her own breath. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the seat, letting it sink in. Of everything she had learned in the last twenty minutes, this was the most unbelievable.
"Sydney," Vaughn said as she felt a hand on top of her own. "I know you're probably in shock right now-"
"Oh, I'm way past shock," Sydney said through gritted teeth. "I'm already into the anger stage. How dare he! The son of a bitch! The way he did business...the way he treated everyone else...and all of it meant nothing. Nothing! The CIA meant nothing to him."
"I know," Vaughn replied quietly.
She sighed and paused before speaking again, still furious over Kendall's betrayal. "What happened when you found out he was working against the CIA?" she asked, trying to keep the rage out of her voice.
"Apparently, Sloane found out where you and your mother were, and that your mother had taken you. From that, he figured out that it would be you and I in the prophecy. No one knew I was with you, though, not even Sloane. He passed the information about you and your mother onto Kendall, who informed the CIA that you were alive. Kendall told the CIA you were with your mother, and he convinced them that you were working with her to betray the them.
"Suddenly, you were topping the CIA's most wanted list. Sloane was no longer a priority - not that he ever really was, I suppose, with Kendall there. He didn't care if your mother was caught; she was just an added bonus. What he really wanted was you and I for Sloane so we could fulfill the prophecy. Sloane had told him that it was us in the prophecy as soon as he had found out. The CIA believed I was still in the country, and would be easy to contact when the prophecy came to pass. So with the CIA now hunting you and your mother, the three of us had to keep moving around.
"We've been in Hong Kong for about a month now. We knew you would wake up soon, and we needed the CIA to know it. We knew that if it was you who contacted them, they wouldn't kill you right away. They would have to force a confession out of you about working with your mother so that Kendall could make sure that his knowledge would never be discovered. The rest of the CIA had to believe that what he had told them was true. Sydney, I know you must think we deserted you on the street. I suppose we did, but we kept a close watch on you to make sure you were safe. When you woke up and called Kendall, he contacted me, still believing I knew nothing about you and your mother. He told me you that you had betrayed the CIA for the first year after you disappeared, but when you didn't surface for a few months, they assumed you to be dead. They didn't mention your mother. Sydney, I swear, I would never threaten you like I did back there. I didn't want it to go that far, but I knew Kendall would be watching us. I had to gain his trust so I could walk you out of there myself," he finished as the car slowed to a stop.
"Oh," was all she could manage to say.
Her mind was buzzing. She was still confused, but everything was making much more sense that it had been when she woken up on the street. She was relieved to know that Vaughn didn't hate her, as she had first feared at the safehouse.
She looked up at him, right into his eyes. His expression was difficult to read - he looked happy, but pained. She knew he must have been through hell the past two years. Estranged from family and friends, forced to work with the woman he hated most, and betrayed by his superior.
Sydney realized that his hand was still on hers as he squeezed hers reassuringly. Her mind snapped back to what she had seen at the safehouse, and she realized there was still one thing that he hadn't explained.
"Vaughn, why are you wearing that ring?" she echoed her words from the safehouse.
"Oh God, Syd - I completely forgot about it," he said, flustered, as he look down at his left hand. He slipped the gold band off his ring finger. "I had told the CIA that I had left Los Angeles and settled down with someone out west. I had to wear it to maintain my cover."
"So you're not married," Sydney said, her heart rising a little. Right now, with everything she had just learned, it appeared to be the only true bright spot on the horizon.
"I'm not married," Vaughn assured her.
Sydney smiled a little, and he grinned back at her. She knew that had she not been so stressed and exhausted at the moment, she could have fully appreciated his dimples and the three wrinkles in his forehead.
Sydney turned away from him and truly looked at her mother for the first time in nearly two years. Irina had remained silent during Vaughn's explanation, which wasn't uncharacteristic of her.
No words were exchanged between the mother and daughter. None needed to be. Sydney smiled a bit as she unconsciously tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She could feel tears filling her eyes, but she was too tired to decide if they were tears of joy or sadness or both.
Suddenly, her face fell as she realized that an important aspect of her life hadn't been explained.
"Where's my dad?"
Vaughn stayed silent and chose to look down at the black carpeted floor of the vehicle, instead. Sydney wasn't sure exactly what that meant, but she took it as a sign that the news wasn't good.