A/N - The usual disclaimers apply of course. Many thanks to those who have
read and reviewed this. I know things are confusing but I'm writing this so
that as Sydney starts to figure things out, you will too. That way you can
go along for the same, mind-warping ride! ( As always reviews, comments
and anything else is welcome!
Still in Hong Kong
Sydney didn't know how long she sat staring at Vaughn after his latest bombshell. She was trying to piece together what he had just said. Santa Monica. The pier. That was the last time she saw him? But that was. . .nearly two years ago.
She felt an ache beginning in her head and reached up to rub her temples. This whole thing felt like an ancient Japanese puzzle box. She had seen them in her many travels and they were designed to be almost impossible to open. Just like the puzzle box where if you made a wrong move, you'd only find yourself hopelessly lost and even further away from the solution, so it felt like now. Talking to Vaughn only served to confuse and alarm her even more.
"The pier in Santa Monica? You mean after my mission in. . ." She paused and frantically searched her memory for where that mission had taken place. "In. . .Morocco?" She knew his answer even before he nodded. "That's the last time you saw me?"
Again he nodded and this time, she saw the flash of pain in his eyes. "Yes. I mean I heard from you via your dead drop of the mission profile, but after you left for Sao Paulo, you went missing."
"W-what happened?"
Vaughn looked at her for a beat. "You sure you want to know? I think you've been through enough already, Syd. Maybe we should wait until you can be debriefed in a more. . .controlled environment."
"No."
He sighed. "Um. . .like I said, we knew you were headed to Sao Paulo to follow-up on Jacqnoud and his plans for Dhrien Patel. We received your mission profile and sent you a countermission profile. I thought the mission went according to plan until-" He stopped abruptly and rubbed his hand across his face agitatedly.
"Until?"
"Your father reported that you had gone missing."
"Missing?"
"SD-6 investigated of course. In the end, they classified you as missing, presumed dead."
She shook her head. "W-what? How? I-"
"Syd," Vaughn said in concern.
"I'm fine," she said quickly. "You said SD-6 investigated?" He nodded. "So my father probably filled you in right?" Another nod. "What did he tell you?"
"According to Dixon, you separated at the party when you went after Patel. That was his last communication with you. Patel later showed up at the conference again but you were nowhere to be found."
Her memory of that mission was coming back to her and she suddenly realized something. "Oh, my God. Patel. H-he had a bomb implanted into his heart. D-did we manage to deactivate it?"
Vaughn shook his head. "No. That was a terrible blow to the entire world when that happened."
She winced and lowered her head into her hands. This. . .whatever it was she had suddenly found herself in. . .she didn't like it. A renowned peace activist and world leader had been killed. She had been missing for two years. Vaughn was married. She could only wonder what had happened to everyone else. She was almost too afraid to ask. Yet she knew she had to.
"Syd. . .what happened?"
She shook her head. What was she supposed to tell him?
Well, Vaughn, after that, I found out that my mother killed your father. That Sloane was obsessed with some 15th Century scientist named Rambaldi. That a prophecy that Rambaldi wrote featured me as a key player thereby prompting the FBI to arrest me until you and my father busted me out to disprove said prophecy. After which I found out that Will had gotten himself into some serious trouble by investigating Danny's death. Then Sark kidnapped him and when we went to Taipei to rescue him, you got trapped by a Rambaldi device and was nearly killed. And then my mother turned up not- so-dead and shot me. And that was just the next 8 or so months.
"What's Project Helix?" he asked. "Or Francie's double?"
She shook her head. "It's. . .you know what? Maybe you should fill me in since I'm clearly confused about things."
"That's not surprising," he said gently. "You must have been through a lot."
"You too," she said, and involuntarily looked at his left hand.
He saw her looking at his wedding band and he shifted uncomfortably. "It's. . .we all went through a lot."
"Is Will okay?"
"Will's fine. He'll be happy to see you."
She didn't press the issue. She still didn't know what was going on, but she had at least figured out that everything after the Sao Paulo mission was now moot. If she hadn't managed to save Patel with Dixon, then nothing else was the same either. And that would mean that Will wasn't lying in her bathtub, bloody and dead. For that, she was thankful.
"And Francie?"
Vaughn sighed. "Syd, after you. . .disappeared, we had to place both Francie and Will into protective custody. At least while SD-6 was still active. The last I heard, Francie was married and living somewhere on the East Coast."
She shook her head. This is too weird. It's like I'm hearing about my own life for the first time. "Francie's married?"
Vaughn nodded. "When SD-6 and the Alliance ceased to exist, there was no reason to keep them under protective custody anymore. And Francie opted to move east with her husband."
"W-wait. . .SD-6 and the Alliance is gone?"
"We took it down several months after your disappearance."
She nodded, as if she were absorbing what he was telling her, but her mind was racing wildly, trying to piece together all the information and having very little luck. SD-6 and the Alliance had still been destroyed. That's something else to be thankful for.
"So what happened to Marshall? Dixon?"
"Marshall's with the CIA now. Dixon asked for a non-field duty placement and the last I heard, he was stationed in the Langley office."
"The last you heard?"
He sighed. "I, uh. . .I left the CIA a year ago. Shortly after we raided the Alliance."
She stared at him, but he avoided making eye contact. "You left the CIA? Is that what you meant when you said they asked you to come back to explain?" He nodded. "Vaughn. . .I. . .why? I mean you. . .where do you work now?"
"At the NSA."
There was so much she wanted to ask him about that, but forced herself to hold onto those questions for the time being. There were more important things that she needed to find out.
"What about my father?"
"Syd, I don't think-"
"Vaughn."
He sighed. "Your father's. . .well, officially he's been declared missing but the CIA thinks he's gone rogue."
"What!"
Vaughn looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry."
"W-what happened?" There was no response as he continued to stare at the floor. "Vaughn!"
He cleared his throat and continued to stare at the floor, but he answered her. "When you went missing, your father took it. . .really hard. He was instrumental in bringing about the Alliance's collapse. After that, he took himself out of field duty and quickly moved up the ranks. He was actually Director of Operations for a while but. . ."
"But?"
Vaughn exhaled slowly. "I'm not really sure about all the details, Syd. Like I said, I left the CIA but from what I've heard, about a month ago, your father told Kendall he was going to meet someone. . .important. The CIA hasn't heard from him since but there's intel indicating that he's doing something. . .we don't know what. But it's definitely not sanctioned by the CIA or any other agency."
She shook her head. "N-no. That's. . .no. That doesn't make sense."
"Sydney," Vaughn began, finally looking up. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be telling you all of this. This is clearly too much for you."
She brushed aside his concern. "No, it's fine! I want. . .no, I need to know this."
Vaughn sighed. "I really think we shouldn't go-" He was interrupted by the peal of his cell phone. He looked almost relieved at the interruption and got up to answer the call.
"Yes?" he said and then listened to the response. "O.K. We'll be there. Thanks." He folded his cell phone up and returned it to his jacket pocket. "There's a plane waiting for us."
"We're going back to L.A.?"
"Don't you want to?"
She shrugged. Yes, she wanted to get back to familiar grounds. But what was familiar these days? Nothing and no one was as she remembered. It was as if the life that she remembered from the last two years had all been some dream. What was she going to find in L.A.?
"Syd, it'll be okay. I know things are. . .confusing but it'll get clearer."
She doubted that but she nodded. "Right. I guess I'll be meeting with a psychologist right?" She looked up at him. "Is Barnett still working with the CIA?"
He frowned. "How'd you know about Dr. Barnett?"
So that's a 'yes.' Well at least that's one familiar face. Of course, once Barnett gets even a glimpse of my psyche, I'll be lucky if I'm not regulated to a padded cell. "It's. . .uh. . .you probably mentioned it or something."
He looked doubtful but shrugged. "Yeah, Barnett's still there. But you won't be seeing her. The interim director of operations wants to debrief you personally first."
"Kendall?"
He shook his head. "This is so strange. It's like you're living in a different time. Everything in the last two years has just. . .you don't know any of it and it's. . ."
"Vaughn, it's okay. We'll. . .I'll figure it out." She inhaled. "So I'll be meeting with Kendall first huh?" With my luck, he'll still be the same pain in the ass.
"No," Vaughn said softly, looking at her intently. "After your father took off, the CIA needed someone who'd be in the best position to figure out what he was up to."
She smiled slightly. Kendall definitely wasn't the person to try and figure out her father's game theories. "So if it's not Kendall, who is it?"
He didn't answer right away, but stared down at the floor for a bit. She winced inwardly and prepared for the latest bombshell. Vaughn looking down at his feet was never a portent of good news. "Your mother."
Still in Hong Kong
Sydney didn't know how long she sat staring at Vaughn after his latest bombshell. She was trying to piece together what he had just said. Santa Monica. The pier. That was the last time she saw him? But that was. . .nearly two years ago.
She felt an ache beginning in her head and reached up to rub her temples. This whole thing felt like an ancient Japanese puzzle box. She had seen them in her many travels and they were designed to be almost impossible to open. Just like the puzzle box where if you made a wrong move, you'd only find yourself hopelessly lost and even further away from the solution, so it felt like now. Talking to Vaughn only served to confuse and alarm her even more.
"The pier in Santa Monica? You mean after my mission in. . ." She paused and frantically searched her memory for where that mission had taken place. "In. . .Morocco?" She knew his answer even before he nodded. "That's the last time you saw me?"
Again he nodded and this time, she saw the flash of pain in his eyes. "Yes. I mean I heard from you via your dead drop of the mission profile, but after you left for Sao Paulo, you went missing."
"W-what happened?"
Vaughn looked at her for a beat. "You sure you want to know? I think you've been through enough already, Syd. Maybe we should wait until you can be debriefed in a more. . .controlled environment."
"No."
He sighed. "Um. . .like I said, we knew you were headed to Sao Paulo to follow-up on Jacqnoud and his plans for Dhrien Patel. We received your mission profile and sent you a countermission profile. I thought the mission went according to plan until-" He stopped abruptly and rubbed his hand across his face agitatedly.
"Until?"
"Your father reported that you had gone missing."
"Missing?"
"SD-6 investigated of course. In the end, they classified you as missing, presumed dead."
She shook her head. "W-what? How? I-"
"Syd," Vaughn said in concern.
"I'm fine," she said quickly. "You said SD-6 investigated?" He nodded. "So my father probably filled you in right?" Another nod. "What did he tell you?"
"According to Dixon, you separated at the party when you went after Patel. That was his last communication with you. Patel later showed up at the conference again but you were nowhere to be found."
Her memory of that mission was coming back to her and she suddenly realized something. "Oh, my God. Patel. H-he had a bomb implanted into his heart. D-did we manage to deactivate it?"
Vaughn shook his head. "No. That was a terrible blow to the entire world when that happened."
She winced and lowered her head into her hands. This. . .whatever it was she had suddenly found herself in. . .she didn't like it. A renowned peace activist and world leader had been killed. She had been missing for two years. Vaughn was married. She could only wonder what had happened to everyone else. She was almost too afraid to ask. Yet she knew she had to.
"Syd. . .what happened?"
She shook her head. What was she supposed to tell him?
Well, Vaughn, after that, I found out that my mother killed your father. That Sloane was obsessed with some 15th Century scientist named Rambaldi. That a prophecy that Rambaldi wrote featured me as a key player thereby prompting the FBI to arrest me until you and my father busted me out to disprove said prophecy. After which I found out that Will had gotten himself into some serious trouble by investigating Danny's death. Then Sark kidnapped him and when we went to Taipei to rescue him, you got trapped by a Rambaldi device and was nearly killed. And then my mother turned up not- so-dead and shot me. And that was just the next 8 or so months.
"What's Project Helix?" he asked. "Or Francie's double?"
She shook her head. "It's. . .you know what? Maybe you should fill me in since I'm clearly confused about things."
"That's not surprising," he said gently. "You must have been through a lot."
"You too," she said, and involuntarily looked at his left hand.
He saw her looking at his wedding band and he shifted uncomfortably. "It's. . .we all went through a lot."
"Is Will okay?"
"Will's fine. He'll be happy to see you."
She didn't press the issue. She still didn't know what was going on, but she had at least figured out that everything after the Sao Paulo mission was now moot. If she hadn't managed to save Patel with Dixon, then nothing else was the same either. And that would mean that Will wasn't lying in her bathtub, bloody and dead. For that, she was thankful.
"And Francie?"
Vaughn sighed. "Syd, after you. . .disappeared, we had to place both Francie and Will into protective custody. At least while SD-6 was still active. The last I heard, Francie was married and living somewhere on the East Coast."
She shook her head. This is too weird. It's like I'm hearing about my own life for the first time. "Francie's married?"
Vaughn nodded. "When SD-6 and the Alliance ceased to exist, there was no reason to keep them under protective custody anymore. And Francie opted to move east with her husband."
"W-wait. . .SD-6 and the Alliance is gone?"
"We took it down several months after your disappearance."
She nodded, as if she were absorbing what he was telling her, but her mind was racing wildly, trying to piece together all the information and having very little luck. SD-6 and the Alliance had still been destroyed. That's something else to be thankful for.
"So what happened to Marshall? Dixon?"
"Marshall's with the CIA now. Dixon asked for a non-field duty placement and the last I heard, he was stationed in the Langley office."
"The last you heard?"
He sighed. "I, uh. . .I left the CIA a year ago. Shortly after we raided the Alliance."
She stared at him, but he avoided making eye contact. "You left the CIA? Is that what you meant when you said they asked you to come back to explain?" He nodded. "Vaughn. . .I. . .why? I mean you. . .where do you work now?"
"At the NSA."
There was so much she wanted to ask him about that, but forced herself to hold onto those questions for the time being. There were more important things that she needed to find out.
"What about my father?"
"Syd, I don't think-"
"Vaughn."
He sighed. "Your father's. . .well, officially he's been declared missing but the CIA thinks he's gone rogue."
"What!"
Vaughn looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry."
"W-what happened?" There was no response as he continued to stare at the floor. "Vaughn!"
He cleared his throat and continued to stare at the floor, but he answered her. "When you went missing, your father took it. . .really hard. He was instrumental in bringing about the Alliance's collapse. After that, he took himself out of field duty and quickly moved up the ranks. He was actually Director of Operations for a while but. . ."
"But?"
Vaughn exhaled slowly. "I'm not really sure about all the details, Syd. Like I said, I left the CIA but from what I've heard, about a month ago, your father told Kendall he was going to meet someone. . .important. The CIA hasn't heard from him since but there's intel indicating that he's doing something. . .we don't know what. But it's definitely not sanctioned by the CIA or any other agency."
She shook her head. "N-no. That's. . .no. That doesn't make sense."
"Sydney," Vaughn began, finally looking up. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be telling you all of this. This is clearly too much for you."
She brushed aside his concern. "No, it's fine! I want. . .no, I need to know this."
Vaughn sighed. "I really think we shouldn't go-" He was interrupted by the peal of his cell phone. He looked almost relieved at the interruption and got up to answer the call.
"Yes?" he said and then listened to the response. "O.K. We'll be there. Thanks." He folded his cell phone up and returned it to his jacket pocket. "There's a plane waiting for us."
"We're going back to L.A.?"
"Don't you want to?"
She shrugged. Yes, she wanted to get back to familiar grounds. But what was familiar these days? Nothing and no one was as she remembered. It was as if the life that she remembered from the last two years had all been some dream. What was she going to find in L.A.?
"Syd, it'll be okay. I know things are. . .confusing but it'll get clearer."
She doubted that but she nodded. "Right. I guess I'll be meeting with a psychologist right?" She looked up at him. "Is Barnett still working with the CIA?"
He frowned. "How'd you know about Dr. Barnett?"
So that's a 'yes.' Well at least that's one familiar face. Of course, once Barnett gets even a glimpse of my psyche, I'll be lucky if I'm not regulated to a padded cell. "It's. . .uh. . .you probably mentioned it or something."
He looked doubtful but shrugged. "Yeah, Barnett's still there. But you won't be seeing her. The interim director of operations wants to debrief you personally first."
"Kendall?"
He shook his head. "This is so strange. It's like you're living in a different time. Everything in the last two years has just. . .you don't know any of it and it's. . ."
"Vaughn, it's okay. We'll. . .I'll figure it out." She inhaled. "So I'll be meeting with Kendall first huh?" With my luck, he'll still be the same pain in the ass.
"No," Vaughn said softly, looking at her intently. "After your father took off, the CIA needed someone who'd be in the best position to figure out what he was up to."
She smiled slightly. Kendall definitely wasn't the person to try and figure out her father's game theories. "So if it's not Kendall, who is it?"
He didn't answer right away, but stared down at the floor for a bit. She winced inwardly and prepared for the latest bombshell. Vaughn looking down at his feet was never a portent of good news. "Your mother."