Glad you guys liked the first installment...don't be confused! All will make sense, I promise!
24 HOURS LATER...
CIA HEADQUARTERS, LOS ANGELES
An exhausted Sydney Bristow checked her watch again, sighing at the realization that a debrief was approaching. She loved fieldwork and lived for the adrenaline that was inspired by death-defying missions.
She hated debriefs.
Sure, that could be attributed to the well-known fact that she resented, no...loathed Kendall. Or it could be said that debriefs were incredibly boring. Either way, she was not looking forward to it.
She could not escape it. Her spirits rose somewhat when she noticed Michael Vaughn out of the corner of her eye - dressed to perfection, as always. He smiled at her, melting her heart, as he fell in step next to her. His shoulder rubbed against her own, sending a sensation through her body, and unbeknownst to her, it went through his as well.
This did not surprise either of them. They could only gaze at each other for so long. They had never even kissed, barely touched, besides the occasional tearful hug. But touch was not really necessary to fall in love, and that was what had occurred between the handler and his asset: love.
As they took their seats on their respective sides of the room, they shared one last glance - which did not go unnoticed by Jack Bristow. He only scowled. All thoughts were interrupted by Kendall's voice.
"As you know, Michael James is the ambassador in England." Heads nodded as he paused, "What you do not know, is that Michael James is a descendant of Milo Rambaldi," he continued.
Sydney stifled laughter. Here we go again, she thought. Kendall continued.
"He had artifacts that he inherited in safe located in his office at the embassy."
"Had?" Jack interrupted.
"Last night they were stolen," Kendall said.
"Do we have any leads?" Sydney inquired.
"Records show that access to the safe was granted through fingerprint identification."
"Who has access?" Vaughn asked.
"Michael James, obviously, his wife, who was in New York at the time, and his daughter Lydia, who never surfaced at the embassy's ball last night."
"Is it possible Lydia stole the items?" Sydney asked.
"We are not ruling it out, however it is not likely. The girl has no history of theft or crime of any sort."
"Then what?" Sydney asked
"We believed that she was apprehended and forced to access the safe," Kendall began..
"Forgive me for interrupting, Agent Kendall, but why the continued use of the past tense?" Jack asked.
"Our suspicions were confirmed with video from security cameras placed in James' office," at this answer, he displayed pictures on white screen.
"Sark," Sydney whispered at the sight of the all-to-familiar blonde. She hid a smirk. Was he everywhere?
"Who's the woman with him?" Vaughn asked.
"Lydia James," Kendall answered, as all the other agents exchanged shocked glances.
"So what's the plan? Do we know what our next move is?" Sydney asked.
"We've tracked them to a remote location in Rome, a hotel that Sark's father owned. We want you, Agent Bristow and Agent Vaughn, to go to this location, posing as a couple. We want you to capture Sark, so we can return Lydia to her home."
Vaughn and Sydney shared a surprised glance, followed by nods in unison. They were all dismissed from the room, and Vaughn motioned to Sydney to follow him. She fell into step behind him as he led her to his desk. They both sat in silence for a few moments until Vaughn spoke.
"Syd, this is going to be awkward. I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable, since we're friends..." his voice was inaudible as her thoughts shouted, See! He only thinks of you as a friend! She shook her head, snapping herself out of her thoughts, and silencing him as well.
"Vaughn, I won't feel uncomfortable. We're both adults...we're both professionals. I don't know about you, but I'm up for the challenge." She smiled, her gaze burning a hole in his heart. He only nodded.
"Okay. I'm glad we cleared all of that up. We leave in two hours. I'll meet you at the airport in an hour, Mrs. Lewis," he spoked, placing emphasis on the new name. He smiled as she stood up, and watched her as she walked away.
Oh man, he thought. How am I going to pull this off?