***
Chapter 7
***
Washington, D.C.
Sunday, 2:35 AM EST
Josh tried to rub the tiredness out of his eyes as he looked out onto Donna's street. There hadn't been much movement for the last fifteen minutes with the exception of a few cars, so Josh didn't have much to distract him from the constant gaze he directed toward Donna's front door.
In the next instant, Josh stared wide-eyed as he watched Donna casually stroll around the corner and head toward her building. But with a quick flip of her hair, Donna disappeared and instead a stranger stood on the sidewalk and lit up a cigarette. Josh blinked. A moment ago, he was almost positive that was Donna walking toward him. Maybe he did need some sleep after all, he thought.
***
Highway 15
Sunday, 2:44 AM EST
"What the hell is going on?" a frightened Donna found herself yelling from her position as she watched Sydney speed away from the motel.
"The Triad must have found us," Sydney replied in a surprisingly calm tone.
"But where are we going?"
"Haven't figured that out yet."
Donna gave up trying to resist taking a look in the rearview mirror. Sure enough, the blinding headlights and the distinct outline of a SUV barreled toward them.
"Hang on!" Sydney cried, sending Donna to clutch the dashboard with both hands as Sydney swerved off the road and headed into the trees.
"What are you doing? There's no road here!"
Donna watched in horror as Sydney maneuvered the car in and out of the way of trees. Wayward branches struck the windshield, and the tires spat out mud as they journeyed deeper into the woods.
"I need you to reach under your seat and take out the red box," Sydney said.
"What?"
"The red box under your seat. Take it out and open it."
Donna pushed aside the bag Sydney had dropped on the floor when they dived into the car before, found the box under a blanket, and opened it to find what looked like three oversized sticks of dynamite. Donna raised her eyebrows at the sight of them.
"Okay, now what you're gonna do is roll down your window and when you're ready, take one of them, twist off the top, and then throw it outside at the car behind us."
"Are you crazy? I'll never be able to hit that car!"
"You don't have to hit the car," Sydney reassured her. "It just has to be in the general area. And as long as one of them goes off behind us, it should work."
At that moment, a bullet ricocheted off the side mirror on the passenger side. More followed, but thanks to the uncertain terrain they were driving over, not many of the bullets hit the car. Donna sat frozen in her place while Sydney made a sharp turn, narrowly avoiding a collision with the trunk of a large oak.
Donna let out a small gasp. "I still don't think -"
"Donna, you have to trust me." Sydney's tone was becoming increasingly more urgent. "If we're going to lose them, I need your help."
Donna took a deep breath and opened her window. Shaking off every feeling of doubt, she pulled off the tip of the first stick and tossed it outside. A bright explosion quickly followed, and the car behind them violently veered off course.
"Okay, that should give us a few minutes," Sydney said with a small smile. Donna couldn't help but feel a little bit proud of herself. Within a few moments, they had cleared the trees and now found themselves traveling along a dirt road.
"We should be able to follow this until we get to a main road."
"So we're safe?" Donna was almost afraid to ask.
"For now. But don't think they'll just give up on us. We still have to get them off your trail. How you holding up?"
"Well, I'm being chased by men with guns who think I'm a spy. So I guess, under the circumstances, I'm about as good as can be expected."
***
Washington, D.C.
Sunday, 3:25 AM EST
Josh jerked awake at the sound of a car backfiring down the street. For a moment, he could swear he heard police and ambulance sirens mixed with a string quartet coming from every direction and felt his chest tightening with every intake of air.
It took him a full fifteen seconds to realize that he was sitting in his car parked outside of Donna's apartment. He couldn't seem to catch his breath.
He hadn't had a flashback to the night when he'd been shot for quite some time now. Usually, he would fight the urge to call Donna when one of them occurred before giving in, but it was becoming increasingly clear to him that calling Donna would not be an option.
***
Highway 79
Sunday, 3:52 AM EST
"Could we go over the plan one more time?" Donna inquired, trying to hide the hint of skepticism in her voice.
"You're gonna be fine," Sydney replied, her eyes steady on the road before her. "You have nothing to worry about."
"Well, that's good to hear," Donna said with fake enthusiasm. "And you're sure they're going to go for this?"
"It's our best shot. We've been driving long enough that the Triad will think we've split up by now."
"I just hope this works." Tucking a loose strand of her new dark hair back under the blonde wig she was now wearing, Donna muttered, "This is just too weird."
"Welcome to my world," Sydney said cheerfully. "You've got the potential, you know. If you ever thought of changing careers," she added with a shrug.
"Really? You think?" Donna felt her cheeks blushing with modesty.
"Absolutely. I mean, the way you've dealt with all of this, it's like you're an old pro."
"Speaking of which, I was wondering...Is the FBI still after you?"
"Probably," Sydney said. "I haven't really been thinking about that."
"But they wouldn't be after you if the information you stole was returned, right?" Donna asked.
"I guess. But I have no way of doing that. Those files are somewhere on the SD-6 server back in LA."
"What about your father?"
"What about him?"
"You said he was a spy, too. Couldn't he, you know, somehow delete the files from SD-6's computers and then send the real thing to the FBI?"
"Donna, that's brilliant. But you're going to have to tell Vaughn. I can't afford the signal from my other phone being picked up. You remember what you're supposed to ask him?"
"'Do you have a quarter I could borrow?'" Donna recited.
"And then he'll say he only has a dime. He should be positioned at the payphone so he'll be easy enough to spot."
"Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, it's asking an awful lot of you."
"I owe you this, Donna. You were right what you said before about none of this being fair. If I can make this any easier for you, I'm going to do it. Besides," she added with slight smirk, "we have to get you back to that boss of yours."
Before Donna could respond, Sydney pulled off the highway and into the nearly deserted lot of a roadside diner. Parking in the most obvious spot possible in front of the entrance, Sydney turned off the ignition and reached for her bag. "Here goes."
They stepped out into the coolness of the early morning and headed inside. At the soft ding of the bell above the door, the few people scattered at booths and tables barely registered the duo's presence as they entered.
"Two coffees, please," Sydney said to the waitress behind the counter as they each sat on a stool. She lowered her voice as she turned to Donna. "I don't see Vaughn anywhere yet. And there are more people here than I expected."
"Is that good or bad?"
"Depends. When those men came to your apartment, did they make a lot of noise?"
"No, they were in and out so fast I didn't even know what was going on."
"That could work for us then. They probably won't want to draw too much attention to themselves." Sydney stopped talking when the waitress returned with the coffee pot. Donna, taking a moment to savor the aroma of the coffee before having a sip, decided coffee had never tasted so good.
"You girls want anything else?" the waitress asked through a yawn.
"Where's your bathroom please?" Sydney replied sweetly.
"Around that corner and to your right," the waitress answered before returning to the kitchen.
"Okay, it's only a matter of minutes before the Triad catches up with us and spots the car out front. I don't think they'll risk coming in here with all these people around. They'll wait until you leave. I'll see you in the bathroom," Sydney said, standing up and disappearing behind the corner.
Donna sat staring straight in front of her. She wanted very much to turn around and check the parking lot for new cars. Her entire body froze when she heard the bell above the door. She stole a quick glance behind her and breathed a sigh of relief. The man who had just walked in was young and attractive and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt with a hockey team's logo on the front. Donna was pretty sure that members of the Triad didn't wear jeans when they were on a mission. She turned again to see where the man sat down when she saw a SUV's headlights turn off in the parking lot.
Taking a quick gulp of her coffee and throwing down some money on the counter, Donna composed herself enough to stand and head down the corridor to the ladies' room, making sure to smooth her wig's blonde locks as she went.
Inside the bathroom, Donna walked right up to the occupied stall and knocked twice. Sydney opened the door, and it took Donna a second to recognize her now that Sydney was wearing a wig identical to the one Donna had on.
"I knew all those wigs would come in handy," Sydney mused.
"They're here," Donna said quickly, pulling off her wig. "In the parking lot."
"Okay. Now I want you stay in here for at least ten minutes just to be on the safe side. They may have left someone to watch the diner though I really doubt anyone would recognize you with that hair." Sydney's smile was lost on Donna who was too nervous to reply.
Sydney took a last glance in the mirror above the sink. "If this works, I'll probably never see you again."
Donna was numb with this revelation. "I...I hadn't thought about that," she finally managed to get out. There was so much more that she wanted, that she needed to say to Sydney.
"Don't worry. You'll be fine. Everything's gonna be okay."
"Thank you," Donna uttered softly.
"For what? Almost getting you killed? Dragging you across two states? Assuming your identity and getting you into this whole mess in the first place?"
"Yeah," Donna said, smiling, "for all of that." She paused in a moment of uncertainty. "Good luck."
"Thanks," Sydney replied. "You too."
With a last look behind her, Sydney pushed open the door and disappeared from view. Donna quickly moved to occupy one of the stalls and stay out of sight. She waited for what she thought must have been ten minutes at the very least before releasing the lock.
She jumped slightly when she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, momentarily startled by her reflection. Splashing cool water on her face, Donna stared directly into the mirror and whispered, "I can do this."
She opened the door halfway and was relieved to see the man in the hockey shirt talking on the payphone. She approached him and waited for him to hang up before speaking. "Do you have a quarter I could borrow?"
The man studied Donna for a second before digging into his pants pocket and pulling out the coin. "Here ya go," he offered.
"Um, excuse me?" Donna asked, puzzled.
"You wanted a quarter."
"Yeah..."
"And I'm giving you one," the man replied, giving her a sideways glance.
"Uh, thank you," she called out as he walked away. Frantically she scanned the other patrons for any sign of this Michael Vaughn, whatever he looked like. There was not a single man sitting in the diner that could have fit the description that Sydney had given her.
Donna leaned over the phone at this new predicament. Her hand had just rested on the handset when she realized what she could do. Instantly, she slid the quarter into the slot and punched in a phone number she knew better than her own.
"C'mon, Josh," Donna breathed with each anxious ring. "C'mon."
The pit of her stomach lurched when she heard the next sound coming from the other end of the line, a fast and familiar "Josh Lyman."
Before Donna could respond, before she could even think, someone grabbed her shoulder. She dropped the phone, letting it hanging off its wire, and faced this new assailant. This time she was going to fight.
"Miss Moss?" the man asked. He was tall and extremely good-looking and wearing a brown leather jacket. "I'm Michael Vaughn. Sorry I'm late. I've got a car waiting out back."
She was about to protest, unsure if this really was Michael Vaughn. After everything that had happened to her in the last thirty hours she wasn't taking any chances. "How do I know you're who you say you are?"
"That's perfectly reasonable," he said, reaching into an inside pocket for his ID. "Sydney told you me you weren't too wild about having your hair dyed. We really need to go."
Satisfied, Donna allowed him to usher her into the kitchen and through an open door leading outside. Neither of them could hear the faint shouts coming from the payphone still dangling off its hook.
"Donna? Donna, is that you? Donna, can you hear me?"
o
***
tbc...
Chapter 7
***
Washington, D.C.
Sunday, 2:35 AM EST
Josh tried to rub the tiredness out of his eyes as he looked out onto Donna's street. There hadn't been much movement for the last fifteen minutes with the exception of a few cars, so Josh didn't have much to distract him from the constant gaze he directed toward Donna's front door.
In the next instant, Josh stared wide-eyed as he watched Donna casually stroll around the corner and head toward her building. But with a quick flip of her hair, Donna disappeared and instead a stranger stood on the sidewalk and lit up a cigarette. Josh blinked. A moment ago, he was almost positive that was Donna walking toward him. Maybe he did need some sleep after all, he thought.
***
Highway 15
Sunday, 2:44 AM EST
"What the hell is going on?" a frightened Donna found herself yelling from her position as she watched Sydney speed away from the motel.
"The Triad must have found us," Sydney replied in a surprisingly calm tone.
"But where are we going?"
"Haven't figured that out yet."
Donna gave up trying to resist taking a look in the rearview mirror. Sure enough, the blinding headlights and the distinct outline of a SUV barreled toward them.
"Hang on!" Sydney cried, sending Donna to clutch the dashboard with both hands as Sydney swerved off the road and headed into the trees.
"What are you doing? There's no road here!"
Donna watched in horror as Sydney maneuvered the car in and out of the way of trees. Wayward branches struck the windshield, and the tires spat out mud as they journeyed deeper into the woods.
"I need you to reach under your seat and take out the red box," Sydney said.
"What?"
"The red box under your seat. Take it out and open it."
Donna pushed aside the bag Sydney had dropped on the floor when they dived into the car before, found the box under a blanket, and opened it to find what looked like three oversized sticks of dynamite. Donna raised her eyebrows at the sight of them.
"Okay, now what you're gonna do is roll down your window and when you're ready, take one of them, twist off the top, and then throw it outside at the car behind us."
"Are you crazy? I'll never be able to hit that car!"
"You don't have to hit the car," Sydney reassured her. "It just has to be in the general area. And as long as one of them goes off behind us, it should work."
At that moment, a bullet ricocheted off the side mirror on the passenger side. More followed, but thanks to the uncertain terrain they were driving over, not many of the bullets hit the car. Donna sat frozen in her place while Sydney made a sharp turn, narrowly avoiding a collision with the trunk of a large oak.
Donna let out a small gasp. "I still don't think -"
"Donna, you have to trust me." Sydney's tone was becoming increasingly more urgent. "If we're going to lose them, I need your help."
Donna took a deep breath and opened her window. Shaking off every feeling of doubt, she pulled off the tip of the first stick and tossed it outside. A bright explosion quickly followed, and the car behind them violently veered off course.
"Okay, that should give us a few minutes," Sydney said with a small smile. Donna couldn't help but feel a little bit proud of herself. Within a few moments, they had cleared the trees and now found themselves traveling along a dirt road.
"We should be able to follow this until we get to a main road."
"So we're safe?" Donna was almost afraid to ask.
"For now. But don't think they'll just give up on us. We still have to get them off your trail. How you holding up?"
"Well, I'm being chased by men with guns who think I'm a spy. So I guess, under the circumstances, I'm about as good as can be expected."
***
Washington, D.C.
Sunday, 3:25 AM EST
Josh jerked awake at the sound of a car backfiring down the street. For a moment, he could swear he heard police and ambulance sirens mixed with a string quartet coming from every direction and felt his chest tightening with every intake of air.
It took him a full fifteen seconds to realize that he was sitting in his car parked outside of Donna's apartment. He couldn't seem to catch his breath.
He hadn't had a flashback to the night when he'd been shot for quite some time now. Usually, he would fight the urge to call Donna when one of them occurred before giving in, but it was becoming increasingly clear to him that calling Donna would not be an option.
***
Highway 79
Sunday, 3:52 AM EST
"Could we go over the plan one more time?" Donna inquired, trying to hide the hint of skepticism in her voice.
"You're gonna be fine," Sydney replied, her eyes steady on the road before her. "You have nothing to worry about."
"Well, that's good to hear," Donna said with fake enthusiasm. "And you're sure they're going to go for this?"
"It's our best shot. We've been driving long enough that the Triad will think we've split up by now."
"I just hope this works." Tucking a loose strand of her new dark hair back under the blonde wig she was now wearing, Donna muttered, "This is just too weird."
"Welcome to my world," Sydney said cheerfully. "You've got the potential, you know. If you ever thought of changing careers," she added with a shrug.
"Really? You think?" Donna felt her cheeks blushing with modesty.
"Absolutely. I mean, the way you've dealt with all of this, it's like you're an old pro."
"Speaking of which, I was wondering...Is the FBI still after you?"
"Probably," Sydney said. "I haven't really been thinking about that."
"But they wouldn't be after you if the information you stole was returned, right?" Donna asked.
"I guess. But I have no way of doing that. Those files are somewhere on the SD-6 server back in LA."
"What about your father?"
"What about him?"
"You said he was a spy, too. Couldn't he, you know, somehow delete the files from SD-6's computers and then send the real thing to the FBI?"
"Donna, that's brilliant. But you're going to have to tell Vaughn. I can't afford the signal from my other phone being picked up. You remember what you're supposed to ask him?"
"'Do you have a quarter I could borrow?'" Donna recited.
"And then he'll say he only has a dime. He should be positioned at the payphone so he'll be easy enough to spot."
"Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, it's asking an awful lot of you."
"I owe you this, Donna. You were right what you said before about none of this being fair. If I can make this any easier for you, I'm going to do it. Besides," she added with slight smirk, "we have to get you back to that boss of yours."
Before Donna could respond, Sydney pulled off the highway and into the nearly deserted lot of a roadside diner. Parking in the most obvious spot possible in front of the entrance, Sydney turned off the ignition and reached for her bag. "Here goes."
They stepped out into the coolness of the early morning and headed inside. At the soft ding of the bell above the door, the few people scattered at booths and tables barely registered the duo's presence as they entered.
"Two coffees, please," Sydney said to the waitress behind the counter as they each sat on a stool. She lowered her voice as she turned to Donna. "I don't see Vaughn anywhere yet. And there are more people here than I expected."
"Is that good or bad?"
"Depends. When those men came to your apartment, did they make a lot of noise?"
"No, they were in and out so fast I didn't even know what was going on."
"That could work for us then. They probably won't want to draw too much attention to themselves." Sydney stopped talking when the waitress returned with the coffee pot. Donna, taking a moment to savor the aroma of the coffee before having a sip, decided coffee had never tasted so good.
"You girls want anything else?" the waitress asked through a yawn.
"Where's your bathroom please?" Sydney replied sweetly.
"Around that corner and to your right," the waitress answered before returning to the kitchen.
"Okay, it's only a matter of minutes before the Triad catches up with us and spots the car out front. I don't think they'll risk coming in here with all these people around. They'll wait until you leave. I'll see you in the bathroom," Sydney said, standing up and disappearing behind the corner.
Donna sat staring straight in front of her. She wanted very much to turn around and check the parking lot for new cars. Her entire body froze when she heard the bell above the door. She stole a quick glance behind her and breathed a sigh of relief. The man who had just walked in was young and attractive and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt with a hockey team's logo on the front. Donna was pretty sure that members of the Triad didn't wear jeans when they were on a mission. She turned again to see where the man sat down when she saw a SUV's headlights turn off in the parking lot.
Taking a quick gulp of her coffee and throwing down some money on the counter, Donna composed herself enough to stand and head down the corridor to the ladies' room, making sure to smooth her wig's blonde locks as she went.
Inside the bathroom, Donna walked right up to the occupied stall and knocked twice. Sydney opened the door, and it took Donna a second to recognize her now that Sydney was wearing a wig identical to the one Donna had on.
"I knew all those wigs would come in handy," Sydney mused.
"They're here," Donna said quickly, pulling off her wig. "In the parking lot."
"Okay. Now I want you stay in here for at least ten minutes just to be on the safe side. They may have left someone to watch the diner though I really doubt anyone would recognize you with that hair." Sydney's smile was lost on Donna who was too nervous to reply.
Sydney took a last glance in the mirror above the sink. "If this works, I'll probably never see you again."
Donna was numb with this revelation. "I...I hadn't thought about that," she finally managed to get out. There was so much more that she wanted, that she needed to say to Sydney.
"Don't worry. You'll be fine. Everything's gonna be okay."
"Thank you," Donna uttered softly.
"For what? Almost getting you killed? Dragging you across two states? Assuming your identity and getting you into this whole mess in the first place?"
"Yeah," Donna said, smiling, "for all of that." She paused in a moment of uncertainty. "Good luck."
"Thanks," Sydney replied. "You too."
With a last look behind her, Sydney pushed open the door and disappeared from view. Donna quickly moved to occupy one of the stalls and stay out of sight. She waited for what she thought must have been ten minutes at the very least before releasing the lock.
She jumped slightly when she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, momentarily startled by her reflection. Splashing cool water on her face, Donna stared directly into the mirror and whispered, "I can do this."
She opened the door halfway and was relieved to see the man in the hockey shirt talking on the payphone. She approached him and waited for him to hang up before speaking. "Do you have a quarter I could borrow?"
The man studied Donna for a second before digging into his pants pocket and pulling out the coin. "Here ya go," he offered.
"Um, excuse me?" Donna asked, puzzled.
"You wanted a quarter."
"Yeah..."
"And I'm giving you one," the man replied, giving her a sideways glance.
"Uh, thank you," she called out as he walked away. Frantically she scanned the other patrons for any sign of this Michael Vaughn, whatever he looked like. There was not a single man sitting in the diner that could have fit the description that Sydney had given her.
Donna leaned over the phone at this new predicament. Her hand had just rested on the handset when she realized what she could do. Instantly, she slid the quarter into the slot and punched in a phone number she knew better than her own.
"C'mon, Josh," Donna breathed with each anxious ring. "C'mon."
The pit of her stomach lurched when she heard the next sound coming from the other end of the line, a fast and familiar "Josh Lyman."
Before Donna could respond, before she could even think, someone grabbed her shoulder. She dropped the phone, letting it hanging off its wire, and faced this new assailant. This time she was going to fight.
"Miss Moss?" the man asked. He was tall and extremely good-looking and wearing a brown leather jacket. "I'm Michael Vaughn. Sorry I'm late. I've got a car waiting out back."
She was about to protest, unsure if this really was Michael Vaughn. After everything that had happened to her in the last thirty hours she wasn't taking any chances. "How do I know you're who you say you are?"
"That's perfectly reasonable," he said, reaching into an inside pocket for his ID. "Sydney told you me you weren't too wild about having your hair dyed. We really need to go."
Satisfied, Donna allowed him to usher her into the kitchen and through an open door leading outside. Neither of them could hear the faint shouts coming from the payphone still dangling off its hook.
"Donna? Donna, is that you? Donna, can you hear me?"
o
***
tbc...