If Tomorrow Never Comes - Part 23
Jack Bristow brought the whisky bottle up to his lips and after a moment's hesitation he took a gulp. He frowned at the half empty bottle in his hands and sighed. He didn't want to drink it. He'd been off alcohol for almost a year and a half, but had reunited with his old friend after learning he'd found his missing daughter.
Jack took a final swig before closing the bottle and banishing it away in his liquor cupboard, vowing not to take it out again. Well, until after dinner anyway. He had been given the week off after Vaughn came back from London fruitless. Jack knew that if Vaughn couldn't bring Sydney back, no one could.
Jack appreciated the break, but wanted to go into work, like Vaughn had. Devlin ordered the both of them to have a week off as he thought that neither one of them would be able to concentrate. He'd said the same thing after Sydney had first disappeared. Jack had refused, insisting that he needed work to get his mind off things. Devlin had threatened Jack if he didn't. Jack knew Vaughn had gone into work; Vaughn hadn't been at home when Jack tried to call about what happened with Sydney.
Truth be told, Jack was worried about Vaughn. When Sydney left, Vaughn had never left work. He kept working, trying to find her, blaming himself. When he was ordered off work, Jack found him in his apartment, surrounded by liquor bottles and not giving a damn about anything. He even didn't care to feed his dog. Jack had put Vaughn on the right track again. The young agent reminded Jack of himself when his wife had 'died'.
Since then, the two had become close. Vaughn was almost like the son Jack never had. Jack had never been Vaughn's biggest fan, but after seeing how dedicated he was to find Sydney, Jack had gained new respect for him. At first, Jack had been angry with Vaughn after Sydney's disappearance, but realised that Jack hadn't exactly been there for Sydney throughout her childhood. That was one of many things Jack had come to regret.
The sound of the doorbell shook Jack out of his thoughts and he groaned, prising himself out of his armchair and moving towards the door. He hoped it wasn't one of those useless salesmen again; Jack had almost throttled the last one.
As he pulled open the door, he was stunned to see Vaughn with a young woman, who bore a striking resemblance to…
"Sydney?" Jack asked in disbelief as his daughter offered a small smile and stepping in to hug her father.
"Hi, Daddy," she said hugging him tightly. "How have you been?"
"Fine, uh…come inside," Jack moved aside, allowing the two to enter. Sydney surveyed the place, realising she'd never been in her father's house before. She noticed the place smelt like whisky. She glanced at her father who was busy making drinks for them. Sydney then turned to Vaughn, who'd noticed the same. Vaughn gave her hand a slight squeeze, which brought Sydney's attention to the fact they'd been holding hands. She hadn't noticed before, but was pleased he was there.
"I wasn't too sure if you liked Coke or not," Jack said returning with a tray full of drinks. "So I brought a selection,"
"It's alright," Sydney reassured, trying to make this as easy as possible. She reached for a Coke. Jack looked up at Vaughn.
"I got you your usual," he said, handing a bottle to Vaughn. The young man shook his head politely.
"No, actually, I think I'd better get back to work. I have some things to arrange," Vaughn excused himself. Vaughn knew that he should give the Bristow's some time to talk and knew both would appreciate the time given, seeing as they hadn't had the closest relationship before Sydney had left. As predicted, the two nodded and smiled. "Syd, when you want to be taken back to the ops centre or your hotel, you can just give me a call. I'm still at the same number," Vaughn told her.
"Thanks, but I can get a cab," she offered.
"NO!" The two said at the same time. Sydney raised an eyebrow before Jack explained, "It's too risky allowing you to get into a cab. Anything could happen. We want to keep you as safe and secret as possible. If Sloane knew you were here…"
"I can take care of myself. Ass kicking spy, remember?" Sydney joked. Jack and Vaughn looked at each other.
"Call me," Vaughn said finally, "Please?" Sydney just nodded as Vaughn let himself out.
"Thanks," Sydney called as her handler disappeared, leaving her alone with her father. There was a small silence as both tried to think of a suitable conversation starter. 'I seem to be getting that a lot', Sydney thought to herself as she looked around.
"Uh…I like your hair," Jack said finally, "It's…nice," Sydney self-conciously moved her finger's through her hair as she shyly thanked him 'Nice' is just another way of saying you hate it' Sydney chastised, before realising it was Jack she was talking to. Not exactly Mr-Socialises-A-Lot. (yeah, sorry, I've been watching too much 'Angel'. I keep using Cordyisms…now I'm babbling).
"It reminds me of when you were five. You had beautiful long hair but the boy next door kept pulling it and teasing you. You cried for hours, before you found a pair of scissors and chopped a whole bunch of it off. I thought it was cute. Luckily, I found you before you did too much damage and took you to the hairdressers. Your moth-" Jack stopped when he realised where this conversation was going. Sydney moved her fingers from her hair and the atmosphere became tense.
"I thought you hadn't come. Michael called and said you had refused to come back. I thought that was it," Jack said somberly.
"I came to my senses. I want SD-6 gone. They have to pay for what they did to Will, Danny and Amy. Not to mention they lied to me and about 100 other employees. I can't let SD-6 continue to exploit innocent people," Sydney said firmly.
"Sydney, I'm not going to sit here and demand to know why you left…"
"Thank you," Sydney interrupted, "But…?" She prompted.
"But, there *will* be questions. And I want to make sure you are prepared to answer them. You can't avoid them. Not in the way you left," Jack said, his voice full of hurt. Sydney looked up at her father.
"I know, Dad. On the way here, Vaughn suggested that I see Barnett," Jack met Sydney's eyes, hoping his daughter wouldn't refuse.
"And?"
"And…I agree. There are issues that need to be resolved and I think talking to Barnett would do me some good,"
"I'm glad. I know it isn't easy to pour your heart out to someone who analyses everything you say, but Dr Barnett is one of the best psychiatrists in America," Jack told her.
"Since when have you been on her side?" Sydney chuckled. "I thought you didn't like her," She narrowed her eyes, curious to know why her father had had a change of heart.
"I didn't…until I saw how she helped Vaughn," Sydney's eyes widened.
"What?" she cried, "Vaughn went to see Barnett? Why?"
"I think you know why," Sydney glanced down at her drink, sheepishly. "He was in bad shape, Sydney" Jack continued, not to make his daughter feel bad, but to make sure she knew the full consequences of her actions. "Losing you was one of the worst things that could have happened to him. He needed help,"
"How bad was he?" Sydney asked quietly. Jack shrugged in reply, trying to think of the best way of putting it.
"Almost as bad as I was when your mother left. He blamed himself-"
"It wasn't because of him,"
"I know, Sydney. But he didn't know that. He worked to hard and ended up turning to drink. He was a mess when I found him. Since then, we've concentrated on finding you," Sydney chewed on her lip nervously. Jack cleared his throat and decided to change the subject. It was making her uncomfortable and this was something she and Vaughn needed to sort out for themselves.
"Anyway, I doubt the transition was easy for you. How have you been?"
"Okay, I guess. I went straight to London, got a job as a teacher,"
"You're a teacher?" Jack asked surprised. Sydney nodded.
"Yeah, I thought you knew," Jack shook his head.
"All I got was your alias and address. No other information. I was at SD-6 when they found you," Jack explained.
"Oh, well. I teach English to students aged between 11 and 18. They're great, I love teaching them. Although there's the odd smart-ass who thinks they are 'hard' if they don't let teacher teach," Sydney said a bit bitterly. "Liz and I have a word for them-"
"Liz?" Jack butted in.
"Oh, she's my roommate. She's a teacher too," there was a pause, before Sydney added, "Actually, she's Vaughn's sister - believe it or not,"
"Excuse me?" Jack cried, "Vaughn has a sister?"
"Apparently. I didn't know until he showed up and everything came out. It's a long story, I'm not even totally clear on the details, neither has said much about it. Just a family rift or something," Sydney rubbed the top of her head as she explained.
"Where is she now? Still in England?" Jack asked.
"No, she came with me. She's still at the hotel,"
~*~*The Hotel*~*~
Liz flicked off the TV and sighed in utter boredom. 300 channels and nothing interesting was on.
"I hate America," she groaned, "Nothing but re-runs and cartoons. What happened to all those trashy soap operas?" she asked no one in particular.
Sydney had left at ten that morning and Liz was alone. Sydney had ordered her to stay in the hotel, and only eat the food they'd bought at the airport. Something to do with people poisoning the food. She was also told not to let room service in. Liz thought about having a shower and using up the hotel's shampoo and shower gel bottles, but she'd already done that. She looked out of the window, watching the bustle of cars and people going about their daily chores. It was a bright day and the temperature looked just right. It was very different from London where snow had fallen in the middle of March. Liz longed to be out there enjoying herself.
Liz finally got fed up. She was used to doing things her own way and not following orders. She decided that it was just too boring to stay inside, regardless of all the dangers Sydney had listed. It was ridiculous, no one but the CIA knew they were there. And besides, who could identify her?
Liz looked at the time; it was a little past noon. If she hurried, she could grab some lunch and spend sometime at the beach before Sydney got back.
Liz grabbed some money, her jacket and a camera and left the room. As she walked down the corridor, she smiled at the cleaner, who bore a slight resemblance to the woman at the airport.
The woman smiled back and as soon as Liz was out of site; she made her way to Room 347.
~*~*30 minutes later*~*~
Vaughn approached the man at the front desk of the hotel. He'd intended to go to work, but Weiss had called and let him know that he knew where Sydney and Liz were staying and that the CIA were currently trying to secure the vicinity and get a nearby safehouse ready. Vaughn took the chance to talk to Liz. He knew that his mother would like to see them on speaking terms but Christmas at least. He couldn't remember the last time all of them had a meal together - without an argument taking place.
"Yes sir, how may I help you?" the man asked. Vaughn looked at the blue tie pin that he'd been told to look for.
"My name is Alex Castle and I'm looking for a Megan Winters. I was told she was staying here," he replied with the code name he'd been told to say. The man nodded accepting the code and looked up the name in the hotel database.
"Miss Winter is staying in Room 347. Would you like me to call and let her know you are coming?"
"No, it's fine. She's expecting me," Vaughn said, continuing the coded conversation. The man nodded and Vaughn headed to the elevators.
When he reached the third floor, he took the various twists and turns down the corridor and found their room. He took a deep breath as he gathered the confidence and knocked on the door. To his surprise, it was already open.
Vaughn entered, "Beth?" he asked as he looked around the room for her. He saw that the bathroom door was shut and assumed she was in the shower. He grinned 'Trust Beth to be in the shower at 12.45,' he thought. He knocked on the bathroom door, but got no reply. He thought that maybe she couldn't hear because of the water running, but realised there was no water running. He opened the bathroom door, and found that completely empty.
"Beth?" he asked again, before pulling out his phone and calling Jack's cell.
"Jack speaking,"
"Jack, can you put Sydney on the phone?"
"Sure, hold on…" there was a muffled conversation before Sydney spoke through the mouthpiece. "Hello?"
"Syd, did Beth tell you she was going out?"
"No, I told her to stay in. Why? Is she at the Ops Centre with you?" Sydney asked
"No. I'm not there. I doubt she knows where that is anyway. I'm at you're hotel and I can't see her,"
"Are you sure it's the right room?"
"Room 347, right?" Sydney confirmed, "Well, the door was ajar and I can't find her. The room is tidy, though," Vaughn acknowledged.
"You don't think someone took her?"
"I don't know. Maybe she went for a walk,"
"I told her not to…wait, did you say the room was cleaned?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I told her not to let them in,"
"Well, the maid must have come while she was in the shower or…" Vaughn stopped.
"Or…? Vaughn?" Sydney prompted.
"A few months back, we followed a job SD-6 did in Brazil. They took the occupant, cleaned and bugged the room,"
"And you're thinking they did the same here?"
"I don't know. It's possible,"
"Why would they use the same method?"
"Not sure. Maybe they wanted information…" Vaughn trailed off as realisation dawned on him. They had taken Liz and bugged the room. This way, they could be sure that it was Sydney in the room and get as much information about the CIA's plans without them knowing.
By Vaughn phoning Sydney in the hotel room, SD-6 knew Sydney was in LA and where she was at this moment in time, seeing as he'd called Jack's cell. He left the room, shutting the door and speaking in the corridor instead.
"Vaughn? Are you there?" Sydney's voice asked.
"Yeah. Listen, Syd. I need you to follow my instructions carefully,"
"Uh…okay,"
"You and Jack need to get out of there. Go straight to the Ops Centre and stay there. I think SD-6 knows where you are,"
"What about you?" Sydney asked.
"I'll meet you there," Vaughn told her, she sighed in relief. "Syd, be careful," he added.
"I will. Thanks," she said as Vaughn disconnected and sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He put his phone in his pocket, spun around and came face to face with the maid.
~*~*Jack's House*~*~
"Dad, we have to go," Sydney said giving her father his phone back. Jack took a sip of his drink and looked at his daughter.
"Why? What did Vaughn say?" he asked, grabbing their coats and his car keys, as Sydney hurried them out of the house.
"SD-6 bugged my hotel room. They know I'm here," Jack opened the front door and led his daughter to his car, "We have to go to the Ops Centre," she told him, as they climbed into his car. Jack started the engine and they drove away, just in time to see Jack's house burst into flames.
"That was close," Sydney gasped as she witnessed the fire engulf the building.
"You get used to it," jack said all too calmly, "You used to see this sort of thing all the time,"
"I'm out of practice," she grinned, "I forgot how it felt to have to run for my life," There was a pause.
"Now that SD-6 know you're here, it's going to make things much harder," Jack looked at Sydney, It's going to be hard. We want to re-train you and go over the operation specs. It'll be frustrating, but we'll get there. The question is…are you ready?" The woman he barely recognised sighed. Her eyes glazed over in the familiar defiant look as she replied with a smile,
"Yeah…I'm ready,"
~*~*~*~
A/N: Thank you SO much for the great reviews. I really appreciate it and I'm sorry I don't update frequently. School's been my number one priority at the moment, but I'm only there until the 17th of June so I can write more after then. But right now, the pressure is building and I don't really have time to write much.
I love it when I know people are reading this fic, so please review and tell me what you think. Good or bad (preferably good...but I don't mind constructive critism. If you look at my very first fics, they're terrible).
And if you want to be extra nice, vote for this fic at . It has been nominated for Best Future Fic (and whoever nominated me, thank you. It was a nice surprise). Voting begins April 9th, but only vote for me if you think I deserve it. The last thing I want to do is deprive someone of the award. I know I'll be voting for a few fics I think deserve to win in other categories.
Many thanks
Mrs O xXx
Jack Bristow brought the whisky bottle up to his lips and after a moment's hesitation he took a gulp. He frowned at the half empty bottle in his hands and sighed. He didn't want to drink it. He'd been off alcohol for almost a year and a half, but had reunited with his old friend after learning he'd found his missing daughter.
Jack took a final swig before closing the bottle and banishing it away in his liquor cupboard, vowing not to take it out again. Well, until after dinner anyway. He had been given the week off after Vaughn came back from London fruitless. Jack knew that if Vaughn couldn't bring Sydney back, no one could.
Jack appreciated the break, but wanted to go into work, like Vaughn had. Devlin ordered the both of them to have a week off as he thought that neither one of them would be able to concentrate. He'd said the same thing after Sydney had first disappeared. Jack had refused, insisting that he needed work to get his mind off things. Devlin had threatened Jack if he didn't. Jack knew Vaughn had gone into work; Vaughn hadn't been at home when Jack tried to call about what happened with Sydney.
Truth be told, Jack was worried about Vaughn. When Sydney left, Vaughn had never left work. He kept working, trying to find her, blaming himself. When he was ordered off work, Jack found him in his apartment, surrounded by liquor bottles and not giving a damn about anything. He even didn't care to feed his dog. Jack had put Vaughn on the right track again. The young agent reminded Jack of himself when his wife had 'died'.
Since then, the two had become close. Vaughn was almost like the son Jack never had. Jack had never been Vaughn's biggest fan, but after seeing how dedicated he was to find Sydney, Jack had gained new respect for him. At first, Jack had been angry with Vaughn after Sydney's disappearance, but realised that Jack hadn't exactly been there for Sydney throughout her childhood. That was one of many things Jack had come to regret.
The sound of the doorbell shook Jack out of his thoughts and he groaned, prising himself out of his armchair and moving towards the door. He hoped it wasn't one of those useless salesmen again; Jack had almost throttled the last one.
As he pulled open the door, he was stunned to see Vaughn with a young woman, who bore a striking resemblance to…
"Sydney?" Jack asked in disbelief as his daughter offered a small smile and stepping in to hug her father.
"Hi, Daddy," she said hugging him tightly. "How have you been?"
"Fine, uh…come inside," Jack moved aside, allowing the two to enter. Sydney surveyed the place, realising she'd never been in her father's house before. She noticed the place smelt like whisky. She glanced at her father who was busy making drinks for them. Sydney then turned to Vaughn, who'd noticed the same. Vaughn gave her hand a slight squeeze, which brought Sydney's attention to the fact they'd been holding hands. She hadn't noticed before, but was pleased he was there.
"I wasn't too sure if you liked Coke or not," Jack said returning with a tray full of drinks. "So I brought a selection,"
"It's alright," Sydney reassured, trying to make this as easy as possible. She reached for a Coke. Jack looked up at Vaughn.
"I got you your usual," he said, handing a bottle to Vaughn. The young man shook his head politely.
"No, actually, I think I'd better get back to work. I have some things to arrange," Vaughn excused himself. Vaughn knew that he should give the Bristow's some time to talk and knew both would appreciate the time given, seeing as they hadn't had the closest relationship before Sydney had left. As predicted, the two nodded and smiled. "Syd, when you want to be taken back to the ops centre or your hotel, you can just give me a call. I'm still at the same number," Vaughn told her.
"Thanks, but I can get a cab," she offered.
"NO!" The two said at the same time. Sydney raised an eyebrow before Jack explained, "It's too risky allowing you to get into a cab. Anything could happen. We want to keep you as safe and secret as possible. If Sloane knew you were here…"
"I can take care of myself. Ass kicking spy, remember?" Sydney joked. Jack and Vaughn looked at each other.
"Call me," Vaughn said finally, "Please?" Sydney just nodded as Vaughn let himself out.
"Thanks," Sydney called as her handler disappeared, leaving her alone with her father. There was a small silence as both tried to think of a suitable conversation starter. 'I seem to be getting that a lot', Sydney thought to herself as she looked around.
"Uh…I like your hair," Jack said finally, "It's…nice," Sydney self-conciously moved her finger's through her hair as she shyly thanked him 'Nice' is just another way of saying you hate it' Sydney chastised, before realising it was Jack she was talking to. Not exactly Mr-Socialises-A-Lot. (yeah, sorry, I've been watching too much 'Angel'. I keep using Cordyisms…now I'm babbling).
"It reminds me of when you were five. You had beautiful long hair but the boy next door kept pulling it and teasing you. You cried for hours, before you found a pair of scissors and chopped a whole bunch of it off. I thought it was cute. Luckily, I found you before you did too much damage and took you to the hairdressers. Your moth-" Jack stopped when he realised where this conversation was going. Sydney moved her fingers from her hair and the atmosphere became tense.
"I thought you hadn't come. Michael called and said you had refused to come back. I thought that was it," Jack said somberly.
"I came to my senses. I want SD-6 gone. They have to pay for what they did to Will, Danny and Amy. Not to mention they lied to me and about 100 other employees. I can't let SD-6 continue to exploit innocent people," Sydney said firmly.
"Sydney, I'm not going to sit here and demand to know why you left…"
"Thank you," Sydney interrupted, "But…?" She prompted.
"But, there *will* be questions. And I want to make sure you are prepared to answer them. You can't avoid them. Not in the way you left," Jack said, his voice full of hurt. Sydney looked up at her father.
"I know, Dad. On the way here, Vaughn suggested that I see Barnett," Jack met Sydney's eyes, hoping his daughter wouldn't refuse.
"And?"
"And…I agree. There are issues that need to be resolved and I think talking to Barnett would do me some good,"
"I'm glad. I know it isn't easy to pour your heart out to someone who analyses everything you say, but Dr Barnett is one of the best psychiatrists in America," Jack told her.
"Since when have you been on her side?" Sydney chuckled. "I thought you didn't like her," She narrowed her eyes, curious to know why her father had had a change of heart.
"I didn't…until I saw how she helped Vaughn," Sydney's eyes widened.
"What?" she cried, "Vaughn went to see Barnett? Why?"
"I think you know why," Sydney glanced down at her drink, sheepishly. "He was in bad shape, Sydney" Jack continued, not to make his daughter feel bad, but to make sure she knew the full consequences of her actions. "Losing you was one of the worst things that could have happened to him. He needed help,"
"How bad was he?" Sydney asked quietly. Jack shrugged in reply, trying to think of the best way of putting it.
"Almost as bad as I was when your mother left. He blamed himself-"
"It wasn't because of him,"
"I know, Sydney. But he didn't know that. He worked to hard and ended up turning to drink. He was a mess when I found him. Since then, we've concentrated on finding you," Sydney chewed on her lip nervously. Jack cleared his throat and decided to change the subject. It was making her uncomfortable and this was something she and Vaughn needed to sort out for themselves.
"Anyway, I doubt the transition was easy for you. How have you been?"
"Okay, I guess. I went straight to London, got a job as a teacher,"
"You're a teacher?" Jack asked surprised. Sydney nodded.
"Yeah, I thought you knew," Jack shook his head.
"All I got was your alias and address. No other information. I was at SD-6 when they found you," Jack explained.
"Oh, well. I teach English to students aged between 11 and 18. They're great, I love teaching them. Although there's the odd smart-ass who thinks they are 'hard' if they don't let teacher teach," Sydney said a bit bitterly. "Liz and I have a word for them-"
"Liz?" Jack butted in.
"Oh, she's my roommate. She's a teacher too," there was a pause, before Sydney added, "Actually, she's Vaughn's sister - believe it or not,"
"Excuse me?" Jack cried, "Vaughn has a sister?"
"Apparently. I didn't know until he showed up and everything came out. It's a long story, I'm not even totally clear on the details, neither has said much about it. Just a family rift or something," Sydney rubbed the top of her head as she explained.
"Where is she now? Still in England?" Jack asked.
"No, she came with me. She's still at the hotel,"
~*~*The Hotel*~*~
Liz flicked off the TV and sighed in utter boredom. 300 channels and nothing interesting was on.
"I hate America," she groaned, "Nothing but re-runs and cartoons. What happened to all those trashy soap operas?" she asked no one in particular.
Sydney had left at ten that morning and Liz was alone. Sydney had ordered her to stay in the hotel, and only eat the food they'd bought at the airport. Something to do with people poisoning the food. She was also told not to let room service in. Liz thought about having a shower and using up the hotel's shampoo and shower gel bottles, but she'd already done that. She looked out of the window, watching the bustle of cars and people going about their daily chores. It was a bright day and the temperature looked just right. It was very different from London where snow had fallen in the middle of March. Liz longed to be out there enjoying herself.
Liz finally got fed up. She was used to doing things her own way and not following orders. She decided that it was just too boring to stay inside, regardless of all the dangers Sydney had listed. It was ridiculous, no one but the CIA knew they were there. And besides, who could identify her?
Liz looked at the time; it was a little past noon. If she hurried, she could grab some lunch and spend sometime at the beach before Sydney got back.
Liz grabbed some money, her jacket and a camera and left the room. As she walked down the corridor, she smiled at the cleaner, who bore a slight resemblance to the woman at the airport.
The woman smiled back and as soon as Liz was out of site; she made her way to Room 347.
~*~*30 minutes later*~*~
Vaughn approached the man at the front desk of the hotel. He'd intended to go to work, but Weiss had called and let him know that he knew where Sydney and Liz were staying and that the CIA were currently trying to secure the vicinity and get a nearby safehouse ready. Vaughn took the chance to talk to Liz. He knew that his mother would like to see them on speaking terms but Christmas at least. He couldn't remember the last time all of them had a meal together - without an argument taking place.
"Yes sir, how may I help you?" the man asked. Vaughn looked at the blue tie pin that he'd been told to look for.
"My name is Alex Castle and I'm looking for a Megan Winters. I was told she was staying here," he replied with the code name he'd been told to say. The man nodded accepting the code and looked up the name in the hotel database.
"Miss Winter is staying in Room 347. Would you like me to call and let her know you are coming?"
"No, it's fine. She's expecting me," Vaughn said, continuing the coded conversation. The man nodded and Vaughn headed to the elevators.
When he reached the third floor, he took the various twists and turns down the corridor and found their room. He took a deep breath as he gathered the confidence and knocked on the door. To his surprise, it was already open.
Vaughn entered, "Beth?" he asked as he looked around the room for her. He saw that the bathroom door was shut and assumed she was in the shower. He grinned 'Trust Beth to be in the shower at 12.45,' he thought. He knocked on the bathroom door, but got no reply. He thought that maybe she couldn't hear because of the water running, but realised there was no water running. He opened the bathroom door, and found that completely empty.
"Beth?" he asked again, before pulling out his phone and calling Jack's cell.
"Jack speaking,"
"Jack, can you put Sydney on the phone?"
"Sure, hold on…" there was a muffled conversation before Sydney spoke through the mouthpiece. "Hello?"
"Syd, did Beth tell you she was going out?"
"No, I told her to stay in. Why? Is she at the Ops Centre with you?" Sydney asked
"No. I'm not there. I doubt she knows where that is anyway. I'm at you're hotel and I can't see her,"
"Are you sure it's the right room?"
"Room 347, right?" Sydney confirmed, "Well, the door was ajar and I can't find her. The room is tidy, though," Vaughn acknowledged.
"You don't think someone took her?"
"I don't know. Maybe she went for a walk,"
"I told her not to…wait, did you say the room was cleaned?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I told her not to let them in,"
"Well, the maid must have come while she was in the shower or…" Vaughn stopped.
"Or…? Vaughn?" Sydney prompted.
"A few months back, we followed a job SD-6 did in Brazil. They took the occupant, cleaned and bugged the room,"
"And you're thinking they did the same here?"
"I don't know. It's possible,"
"Why would they use the same method?"
"Not sure. Maybe they wanted information…" Vaughn trailed off as realisation dawned on him. They had taken Liz and bugged the room. This way, they could be sure that it was Sydney in the room and get as much information about the CIA's plans without them knowing.
By Vaughn phoning Sydney in the hotel room, SD-6 knew Sydney was in LA and where she was at this moment in time, seeing as he'd called Jack's cell. He left the room, shutting the door and speaking in the corridor instead.
"Vaughn? Are you there?" Sydney's voice asked.
"Yeah. Listen, Syd. I need you to follow my instructions carefully,"
"Uh…okay,"
"You and Jack need to get out of there. Go straight to the Ops Centre and stay there. I think SD-6 knows where you are,"
"What about you?" Sydney asked.
"I'll meet you there," Vaughn told her, she sighed in relief. "Syd, be careful," he added.
"I will. Thanks," she said as Vaughn disconnected and sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He put his phone in his pocket, spun around and came face to face with the maid.
~*~*Jack's House*~*~
"Dad, we have to go," Sydney said giving her father his phone back. Jack took a sip of his drink and looked at his daughter.
"Why? What did Vaughn say?" he asked, grabbing their coats and his car keys, as Sydney hurried them out of the house.
"SD-6 bugged my hotel room. They know I'm here," Jack opened the front door and led his daughter to his car, "We have to go to the Ops Centre," she told him, as they climbed into his car. Jack started the engine and they drove away, just in time to see Jack's house burst into flames.
"That was close," Sydney gasped as she witnessed the fire engulf the building.
"You get used to it," jack said all too calmly, "You used to see this sort of thing all the time,"
"I'm out of practice," she grinned, "I forgot how it felt to have to run for my life," There was a pause.
"Now that SD-6 know you're here, it's going to make things much harder," Jack looked at Sydney, It's going to be hard. We want to re-train you and go over the operation specs. It'll be frustrating, but we'll get there. The question is…are you ready?" The woman he barely recognised sighed. Her eyes glazed over in the familiar defiant look as she replied with a smile,
"Yeah…I'm ready,"
~*~*~*~
A/N: Thank you SO much for the great reviews. I really appreciate it and I'm sorry I don't update frequently. School's been my number one priority at the moment, but I'm only there until the 17th of June so I can write more after then. But right now, the pressure is building and I don't really have time to write much.
I love it when I know people are reading this fic, so please review and tell me what you think. Good or bad (preferably good...but I don't mind constructive critism. If you look at my very first fics, they're terrible).
And if you want to be extra nice, vote for this fic at . It has been nominated for Best Future Fic (and whoever nominated me, thank you. It was a nice surprise). Voting begins April 9th, but only vote for me if you think I deserve it. The last thing I want to do is deprive someone of the award. I know I'll be voting for a few fics I think deserve to win in other categories.
Many thanks
Mrs O xXx