If Tomorrow Never Comes ~ Chapter 5
A/N: The stuff in //* and *\\ are flashbacks.
~*~*The Warehouse*~*~ Vaughn looked at his watch; waiting patiently for Sydney to show up. He sat on a chair tapping his foot to no particular rhythm. Every time he and Sydney met, the warehouse seemed so much more inviting. Vaughn remembered the first time he was in the warehouse.
//*He hated it. It was dark and dank. As he recalled, Sydney was late then too. He remembered being so nervous to meeting her. Sure, he'd met her before, but this time, it was alone. He fiddled with his plain grey tie as he heard footsteps approach. He'd wanted to get out of there as fast as he could. He could feel his hands were damp and his hand was shaking ever so slightly with anxiety. Vaughn remembered the way she entered, a small smile on her lips, her hair blowing gently behind her as she walked rapidly towards him. His heart raced as he tried his hardest to remember what he was supposed to say to her. The warehouse seemed to light up when she had entered. It wasn't so dark and dank anymore. At first the two just stood in front of each other. "Did.anyone follow you?" was all Vaughn could say the first time. He mentally kicked himself. Sydney shook her head. It took Vaughn a full ten minutes to be more comfortable, but whenever she spoke to him, came near him or smiled at him, his heart did somersaults. By the time she left, his heart was doing a gymnastics routine.*\\
It still happened today.and every time they met in fact. He couldn't help it. It was as if she'd taken control of his heart, but that was ok with him. He had to admit to himself that he was slowly falling for his agent. Something he had tried hard not to do. Even if Sydney or Devlin or even Jack hadn't picked up on it yet, his best friend Weiss had.
//*'You gotta stop thinking about her' Weiss told Vaughn one day as his entered his office. 'What? Who?' Vaughn looked up from the coin he had been fiddling with. 'Agent Bristow,' Weiss told him. 'Syd? I-I-I'm not thinking about her' Vaughn insisted. 'Syd? Okay, dude. You gotta be more professional' 'I am professional. What makes you think I'm not?' 'Well, for one,' Weiss sat down. This was never a good sign. Vaughn could see he wasn't going to get rid of Weiss that easily. 'You call her Syd-' 'That's cos she told me to,' Vaughn said. Weiss shrugged. 'Secondly, you're playing with that stupid coin again' 'The coin isn't stupid!' Vaughn defended the gift from his father. It kept his mind off things.'things' meaning Sydney 'Lastly, you got to get out more. You used to come out all the time' 'I did go out. Last night remember? We went to Joey's Pizza.I mean the pizza place,' Vaughn corrected. Weiss sighed. 'And all you did was talk about her. Seriously, your one step away from being a stalker. All you got to do now is sit outside her house in your car all night.' Vaughn looked at his friend guiltily. 'Oh man, you didn't did you?' he asked. 'She thought she was being followed home. All I did was help her out!' Vaughn insisted. Weiss laughed as he shook his head. 'That's it, I'm booking you in for Barnett' Weiss joked as he got up. Vaughn picked up a pencil and threw it at Weiss as he left. 'I don't know what he's talking about. I'm not too into Syd,' At that moment, the phone rang. Vaughn immediately picked it up. 'Syd?' he said almost too quickly, 'I mean, Vaughn here,' he corrected. 'Oh, hi mom,'.*\\
Vaughn realised that the warehouse seemed to have a new piece of furniture every week. He realised there was now two chairs, a table, a lantern and a small area for coats. Vaughn checked his watch again. Sydney was ten minutes late. He looked at the manila file on the table. Vaughn had offered to go through the coroner's things when Sydney had collected them. She'd been happy to let him do it, and frankly, he was happy to. He knew how much the dream had worried her and according to Jack, Will had come very close to finding out about SD-6. The two, of course, had kept it from Sydney as, to their knowledge, Will had abandoned the story. However, some of the things Vaughn had found amongst Will's things proved otherwise. Vaughn picked up the files and looked at it. Syd wasn't going to like this. As if on cue, Vaughn heard Sydney's footsteps. He opened the gate and let her through. "You're late," Vaughn said, kicking himself again. Sydney ignored him as she walked briskly past him and put down a brown paper bag and her own bag on the table. She flashed a small smile at him as she sat down. "Is that the stuff you found?" Vaughn asked pointing to the brown bag. Sydney shook her head. "No, this." she pulled out two sandwiches, "This is lunch," she said handing him a roast chicken one. He looked at it and laughed. "Roast chicken. How'd you know it was my favourite?" he asked her as he sat down. Sydney took a big bite of hers. "I listen. And it's also a thank you present. For being there, y'know," she said trying smiling at him with a mouth full of her sandwich. Vaughn thanked her and took a bite of his. "Plus, no sandwich would be complete without." she pulled something else out of the bag. Two Slush-Os. Vaughn laughed. "Slush-O's!" He gasped like an eight year old as he grabbed one. "You're right, you know," Sydney said giggling. Vaughn gave her a confused looked, "They are delicious," she continued.
~*~ Amy Tippin walked through Will's office. Many people said 'hello' to her and wished her well. Amy tried to be strong as she entered Will's office. "Hello, are you Sydney Bristow?" the secretary asked. Amy shook her head. "No, I'm Amy, Will's sister. I'm clearing out his office instead," Amy said. Will's secretary nodded and allowed her to go through. It looked as though the secretary was being allocated to another reporter. Well, it would make sense. Will wouldn't need a secretary. Amy looked around the office and started to clear away the papers strewn all over the desk.
~*~ Sydney and Vaughn finished their lunch. They looked around for a waste paper basket. "You know, next time, I'm asking for a bin to be brought in here," Sydney moaned as she took Vaughn's rubbish and put it in the brown bag. "I'll throw it out when I leave. We'd better get to business," She told him. Vaughn nodded. "What did you get?" Vaughn asked her, eying the manila file that remained on the desk. Sydney pulled out some papers and tapes. Vaughn looked at the papers first. He skimmed through them. "These are." "Transcripts. Of interviews with a man called David McNeil. Do you know him?" Sydney asked anxiously. "Vaguely. There was this case a while back. Erm.this guy, he developed this encrypting software." Vaughn told Sydney all he knew about David McNeil. She listened intently to his tale, close to tears in some parts. Sydney couldn't believe it. All those times she was lying to him, he was lying to her. She had begged him not to continue the story but he thought he was doing the right thing. "Those are the tapes, right?" Vaughn asked, bringing Sydney back. She looked up at him trying to remember what he had asked her. "Oh, yeah. I found them in his drawer.I brought the Dictaphone too," She said taking the Dictaphone out. Vaughn nodded and put it into his jacket. "All he knows is that SD-6 wanted to buy his software, right?" She asked hopeful that Will didn't know about SD-6's dealings. But she also knew that she hadn't heard the rest of the interviews. Vaughn looked to the manila file, almost forgotten on the table. "Syd.I found this. You may not like what's inside," he warned her. She just looked at him, took the file from the table and looked inside. Her face crinkled in confusion. "Those are notes.on SD-6. He knows that they're not part of the CIA. I assume that McNeil told him. It must be on the tapes somewhere," "Notes?" Sydney repeated. "So, that means he hasn't written a story," Sydney's face was coloured with hope, even though deep down, she knew it could be too late. Vaughn sighed. "There is a strong possibility that he hasn't written a story, or it hasn't gone to press. But if there is, if, we have to find it. These notes, the tapes, transcripts, we have to either destroy them or keep them contained," Sydney nodded in acknowledgement. Vaughn sighed again, "Where'd you find the transcripts?" "On his laptop, I hacked into it and then deleted the files from the recycle bin too," She told him. Sydney looked into Vaughn's green eyes; they stared at each other for close to 30 seconds. "If he has written a story, we need to get it, Syd. There may be more notes, tapes or whatever. If anyone finds it." "Sloane's going to kill me," Sydney said. "He'll think I told him, just like Danny," her voice wobbled as she said the last words. Vaughn reached over and held her hands. "Hey," he said, lifting up her chin so she was looking at him, "We'll get this. Ok? I'm not going to let Sloane come anywhere near you, you're safe, I promise," Vaughn reassured. Sydney managed a small smile before she hugged Vaughn tightly. "I hope you're right," she whispered in his ear.
~*~ Amy read the last page of the article. Her eyes widened in shock. 'Oy' she thought to herself. She closed the neatly typed up article and looked around the office. It had been placed in the 'IN PROGRESS' basket, so it was fairly recent. She exited the half-cleared office and left the building. The article, named 'SD-6', left with her.
~*~*TBC*~*~
A/N: The stuff in //* and *\\ are flashbacks.
~*~*The Warehouse*~*~ Vaughn looked at his watch; waiting patiently for Sydney to show up. He sat on a chair tapping his foot to no particular rhythm. Every time he and Sydney met, the warehouse seemed so much more inviting. Vaughn remembered the first time he was in the warehouse.
//*He hated it. It was dark and dank. As he recalled, Sydney was late then too. He remembered being so nervous to meeting her. Sure, he'd met her before, but this time, it was alone. He fiddled with his plain grey tie as he heard footsteps approach. He'd wanted to get out of there as fast as he could. He could feel his hands were damp and his hand was shaking ever so slightly with anxiety. Vaughn remembered the way she entered, a small smile on her lips, her hair blowing gently behind her as she walked rapidly towards him. His heart raced as he tried his hardest to remember what he was supposed to say to her. The warehouse seemed to light up when she had entered. It wasn't so dark and dank anymore. At first the two just stood in front of each other. "Did.anyone follow you?" was all Vaughn could say the first time. He mentally kicked himself. Sydney shook her head. It took Vaughn a full ten minutes to be more comfortable, but whenever she spoke to him, came near him or smiled at him, his heart did somersaults. By the time she left, his heart was doing a gymnastics routine.*\\
It still happened today.and every time they met in fact. He couldn't help it. It was as if she'd taken control of his heart, but that was ok with him. He had to admit to himself that he was slowly falling for his agent. Something he had tried hard not to do. Even if Sydney or Devlin or even Jack hadn't picked up on it yet, his best friend Weiss had.
//*'You gotta stop thinking about her' Weiss told Vaughn one day as his entered his office. 'What? Who?' Vaughn looked up from the coin he had been fiddling with. 'Agent Bristow,' Weiss told him. 'Syd? I-I-I'm not thinking about her' Vaughn insisted. 'Syd? Okay, dude. You gotta be more professional' 'I am professional. What makes you think I'm not?' 'Well, for one,' Weiss sat down. This was never a good sign. Vaughn could see he wasn't going to get rid of Weiss that easily. 'You call her Syd-' 'That's cos she told me to,' Vaughn said. Weiss shrugged. 'Secondly, you're playing with that stupid coin again' 'The coin isn't stupid!' Vaughn defended the gift from his father. It kept his mind off things.'things' meaning Sydney 'Lastly, you got to get out more. You used to come out all the time' 'I did go out. Last night remember? We went to Joey's Pizza.I mean the pizza place,' Vaughn corrected. Weiss sighed. 'And all you did was talk about her. Seriously, your one step away from being a stalker. All you got to do now is sit outside her house in your car all night.' Vaughn looked at his friend guiltily. 'Oh man, you didn't did you?' he asked. 'She thought she was being followed home. All I did was help her out!' Vaughn insisted. Weiss laughed as he shook his head. 'That's it, I'm booking you in for Barnett' Weiss joked as he got up. Vaughn picked up a pencil and threw it at Weiss as he left. 'I don't know what he's talking about. I'm not too into Syd,' At that moment, the phone rang. Vaughn immediately picked it up. 'Syd?' he said almost too quickly, 'I mean, Vaughn here,' he corrected. 'Oh, hi mom,'.*\\
Vaughn realised that the warehouse seemed to have a new piece of furniture every week. He realised there was now two chairs, a table, a lantern and a small area for coats. Vaughn checked his watch again. Sydney was ten minutes late. He looked at the manila file on the table. Vaughn had offered to go through the coroner's things when Sydney had collected them. She'd been happy to let him do it, and frankly, he was happy to. He knew how much the dream had worried her and according to Jack, Will had come very close to finding out about SD-6. The two, of course, had kept it from Sydney as, to their knowledge, Will had abandoned the story. However, some of the things Vaughn had found amongst Will's things proved otherwise. Vaughn picked up the files and looked at it. Syd wasn't going to like this. As if on cue, Vaughn heard Sydney's footsteps. He opened the gate and let her through. "You're late," Vaughn said, kicking himself again. Sydney ignored him as she walked briskly past him and put down a brown paper bag and her own bag on the table. She flashed a small smile at him as she sat down. "Is that the stuff you found?" Vaughn asked pointing to the brown bag. Sydney shook her head. "No, this." she pulled out two sandwiches, "This is lunch," she said handing him a roast chicken one. He looked at it and laughed. "Roast chicken. How'd you know it was my favourite?" he asked her as he sat down. Sydney took a big bite of hers. "I listen. And it's also a thank you present. For being there, y'know," she said trying smiling at him with a mouth full of her sandwich. Vaughn thanked her and took a bite of his. "Plus, no sandwich would be complete without." she pulled something else out of the bag. Two Slush-Os. Vaughn laughed. "Slush-O's!" He gasped like an eight year old as he grabbed one. "You're right, you know," Sydney said giggling. Vaughn gave her a confused looked, "They are delicious," she continued.
~*~ Amy Tippin walked through Will's office. Many people said 'hello' to her and wished her well. Amy tried to be strong as she entered Will's office. "Hello, are you Sydney Bristow?" the secretary asked. Amy shook her head. "No, I'm Amy, Will's sister. I'm clearing out his office instead," Amy said. Will's secretary nodded and allowed her to go through. It looked as though the secretary was being allocated to another reporter. Well, it would make sense. Will wouldn't need a secretary. Amy looked around the office and started to clear away the papers strewn all over the desk.
~*~ Sydney and Vaughn finished their lunch. They looked around for a waste paper basket. "You know, next time, I'm asking for a bin to be brought in here," Sydney moaned as she took Vaughn's rubbish and put it in the brown bag. "I'll throw it out when I leave. We'd better get to business," She told him. Vaughn nodded. "What did you get?" Vaughn asked her, eying the manila file that remained on the desk. Sydney pulled out some papers and tapes. Vaughn looked at the papers first. He skimmed through them. "These are." "Transcripts. Of interviews with a man called David McNeil. Do you know him?" Sydney asked anxiously. "Vaguely. There was this case a while back. Erm.this guy, he developed this encrypting software." Vaughn told Sydney all he knew about David McNeil. She listened intently to his tale, close to tears in some parts. Sydney couldn't believe it. All those times she was lying to him, he was lying to her. She had begged him not to continue the story but he thought he was doing the right thing. "Those are the tapes, right?" Vaughn asked, bringing Sydney back. She looked up at him trying to remember what he had asked her. "Oh, yeah. I found them in his drawer.I brought the Dictaphone too," She said taking the Dictaphone out. Vaughn nodded and put it into his jacket. "All he knows is that SD-6 wanted to buy his software, right?" She asked hopeful that Will didn't know about SD-6's dealings. But she also knew that she hadn't heard the rest of the interviews. Vaughn looked to the manila file, almost forgotten on the table. "Syd.I found this. You may not like what's inside," he warned her. She just looked at him, took the file from the table and looked inside. Her face crinkled in confusion. "Those are notes.on SD-6. He knows that they're not part of the CIA. I assume that McNeil told him. It must be on the tapes somewhere," "Notes?" Sydney repeated. "So, that means he hasn't written a story," Sydney's face was coloured with hope, even though deep down, she knew it could be too late. Vaughn sighed. "There is a strong possibility that he hasn't written a story, or it hasn't gone to press. But if there is, if, we have to find it. These notes, the tapes, transcripts, we have to either destroy them or keep them contained," Sydney nodded in acknowledgement. Vaughn sighed again, "Where'd you find the transcripts?" "On his laptop, I hacked into it and then deleted the files from the recycle bin too," She told him. Sydney looked into Vaughn's green eyes; they stared at each other for close to 30 seconds. "If he has written a story, we need to get it, Syd. There may be more notes, tapes or whatever. If anyone finds it." "Sloane's going to kill me," Sydney said. "He'll think I told him, just like Danny," her voice wobbled as she said the last words. Vaughn reached over and held her hands. "Hey," he said, lifting up her chin so she was looking at him, "We'll get this. Ok? I'm not going to let Sloane come anywhere near you, you're safe, I promise," Vaughn reassured. Sydney managed a small smile before she hugged Vaughn tightly. "I hope you're right," she whispered in his ear.
~*~ Amy read the last page of the article. Her eyes widened in shock. 'Oy' she thought to herself. She closed the neatly typed up article and looked around the office. It had been placed in the 'IN PROGRESS' basket, so it was fairly recent. She exited the half-cleared office and left the building. The article, named 'SD-6', left with her.
~*~*TBC*~*~