Title: Into the Deep
Author: Jennifer Campbell
Fandom: Alias
Spoilers: General season 2
Pairings: Sydney/Danny, Sydney/Vaughn
Rating: PG-13 for language
Disclaimer: The show Alias and its characters belong to people
with a lot more money than I have. Please don't sue.
Notes: Thank you for the feedback. Please keep it coming, or I'll think no one is reading anymore (not like that would stop me from writing, though). I've been neglectful these past couple of chapters in thanking my beta, Neptune, who gives me both great criticism and support.
##
"Hello?"
"Hello, Sark. Any progress at SD-6?"
"None, I'm afraid. Either Sloane is not aware of the location of the other box, or it's information he doesn't intend to share."
"Very well. I think we need to explore other options. We're running out of time."
"What do you have in mind?"
"We know that either SD-6 or the CIA has the box or knows its location. The quickest way to acquire the information we need is to gain the cooperation of the one man in both organizations. He has a weakness. We need to exploit it."
"His daughter, you mean."
"Of course."
"Sydney is your daughter, as well. You don't intend to harm her, do you?"
"Not physically. And not to the point where she will know I am involved. We have established that she won't put herself into our hands voluntarily, so more extreme measures must be taken."
"I see. You expect me to do your dirty work."
"It's what I pay you for, after all."
#
Jack pushed open the door to Devlin's office without so much as knocking. Such niceties had their uses at times of leisure, but the issue pressing on Jack's mind was too urgent to wait another second. Lives depended on his speed. Certainly his own, and probably Sydney's as well.
Devlin looked up from the contents of several folders spread across his desk as Jack marched into the room and firmly shut the door behind him. Surprisingly, he didn't look angry, but perhaps he had expected something might happen to cause such an entrance.
"Jack," he said in greeting, "how was Puerto Rico?"
"Fine. We have a problem."
"I wouldn't expect you to come barging in here with anything less. Have a seat."
"We don't have time for that." Jack set both palms flat on the desk and loomed over the CIA director. "Sark pulled me aside at SD-6 headquarters not an hour ago. He informed me that he is aware of my status as a double agent and said that if I don't cooperate with him, he will give that information to Sloane."
Devlin's eyes narrowed. "I wonder how he found out about you."
"Considering the timing, I think it's logical to assume that he's working with Derevko."
"All right then. It seems that Sark has become a major liability. We can't afford to have your position at SD-6 compromised, so maybe it's time to take him out of the picture. We could arrange for Sark to be brought in for questioning."
"You think he hasn't thought of that? He also informed me that if he dies or disappears, the order goes out for Sydney's death."
"He could be bluffing."
"I don't think so. Sark isn't stupid. He wouldn't try to blackmail me without safeguards for himself."
Devlin leaned back and rubbed one hand across his chin in thought, but he said nothing. Jack knew he had to make him fully understand the seriousness of this situation. He leaned farther over the desk.
"You're right that I can't risk being exposed," he said. "It would put Security Section on my trail and take away a valuable asset for the CIA. But I won't risk Sydney's life, either."
"No one is asking you to sacrifice your daughter. What does Sark want from you?"
"He wants the other box. He knows either the CIA or SD-6 has it and I'm in a high enough position in both organizations to get it."
"Well, we can't give it to him."
"I'm aware of that."
"Then what do you suggest?"
Satisfied that Devlin was willing to listen to his opinion on the matter, Jack allowed himself to relax enough to sit down.
"We need to get Sydney out of the country for a while," he said. "She needs to disappear long enough for me to deal with Sark."
"We can't send her out there alone. She's not trained in how to keep a low profile."
"She'll do all right with some guidance. I suggest sending Agent Vaughn with her. Sydney seems to trust him. More than she trusts me at the moment."
Devlin nodded. "All right. That sounds like a plan, but we have to act quickly. Do you know where your daughter is now?"
#
Sydney gave her husband a kiss, watched him walk through the airport security point and disappear into the crowd. He wouldn't return from his conference for almost a week, and she could only hope that this strange business of espionage would be done by then.
On the drive home, she had plenty of time to think, about recent events and about herself. She knew she was the sort of person who enjoyed maintaining a measure of control. Lately, though, events had swept her up and carried her where they would. She had lost control of her own life, and she hated it.
So no more, she thought. From this moment forward, she would regain some say in her life. She wouldn't let the CIA, her mother or anyone else manipulate her for their own purposes. She was through with their schemes.
Logically, Sydney didn't know how much control she could actually regain, considering the situation, but the idea of it made her feel better.
Instead of going home, she drove to the mall. With Christmas only a week away, she had crossed very few people off her gift shopping list. She still had to buy for Danny, her father and Francie. She wondered as she passed a display of neck ties whether she should get something for Agent Vaughn. She knew nothing about his tastes, though, except for his penchant for well-tailors suits and leather jackets.
Along the back wall of a bookstore, hidden behind tall shelves, she sifted through a row of medical fiction, the stuff Danny loved to read but Sydney could never get into. She preferred her spy novels, but she wasn't sure she would ever pick up one of those again, now that she had experienced the real thing.
She had finally picked out a book when she felt hot breath on the back of her neck.
"Don't turn around, Sydney."
"Mom?" she asked, startled. Still, she obeyed. For all she knew, Irina had a weapon at her back.
"I don't have much time," Irina whispered. "I've come to warn you. Your life is in danger."
Sydney suddenly felt lightheaded and had to grab the bookshelf to keep steady. "What do you mean? How do you know that?"
"I have reliable sources."
"How do I know this isn't a trick?"
"Sydney, we don't have time. Now listen very carefully. Your father's enemies are using your life to blackmail him. If he doesn't do exactly what they want, they will kill you. You need to get out of Los Angeles as quickly as possible."
"The CIA will protect me."
"The CIA can do nothing for you. Sydney, your father has lied to you. He doesn't just work for the government, he is a double agent."
Sydney felt like she had been punched in the gut. "What? You lie."
"I have never lied to you. Your father also works for an organization called the Alliance that would have him killed if it knew of his CIA dealings. They would have you killed, as well. These enemies of your father are threatening to expose him."
Anger rushed through Sydney, that someone would dare to use her against her own father. Right now it didn't matter that another secret had been spoken, only that she somehow warn Jack. She set her choice of book firmly back on the shelf and turned with every intention of going to find him, but Irina firmly pushed her against the shelves.
"Where do you think you're going?" she asked, her intense eyes locked on Sydney's.
"I have to stop this."
"How would you do that? These people, you don't know how powerful they are."
"I'll find a way."
She brushed her mother's hands aside, only to find Irina blocking her way again.
"Your devotion to your father is admirable. The best thing you can do for him is to get out of Los Angeles. I can take you where his enemies won't look. I can protect you, and in doing so, protect your father."
"You don't care about him," Sydney spat. "You left him just as you left me."
"I care about you. Please."
Sydney said nothing.
Irina pulled something from her coat pocket and slipped it into Sydney's purse before Sydney could react. "I've given you directions to an airfield south of the city where my plane will be taking off in three hours. I leave the choice to you, but for your sake -- and for your father -- I hope you come."
With a smile that was almost loving, Irina brushed a lock of hair from Sydney's face. Then she left, and Sydney's legs finally gave out. She slid down to the carpet and opened her purse to find a slip of paper, directions written neatly on it in black ink. She held in her trembling hands for a moment, before wadding it up and stuffing it back in her purse. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed.
"Hello?"
"Vaughn, it's me. I'm at the bookstore in the mall. Irina was here."
"How long ago?" he asked, all business.
"Only a minute or two."
"Probably too late to catch her, but it's worth trying. Thanks."
She almost hung up, when she thought of something else. Something Irina had said. "Vaughn?"
"Yeah?"
"I need to talk to you. Will you meet me at the warehouse?"
"I'm on my way."
#
Vaughn got there first and was waiting to greet her with a smile, but Sydney marched right up to him to stand toe to toe. Although she hardly reached his shoulder, a sudden rush of confidence made her feel at least his height, and taller. He backed off a step at her glare.
"You knew my father was a double agent," she accused.
"Hello to you, too."
"No more secrets. No more lies. What is the Alliance?"
"How do you know about that? From Irina?"
"Tell me, and then I'll talk."
She could tell Vaughn knew she meant it, so he sighed and bowed his head. "The Alliance is a mercenary organization, much like what your mother does but on a larger scale. It has several cells all over the world. The L.A. cell is called SD-6. It's one of the few that we know the location of."
"And my father works for them?"
"Your father is under cover, working to bring them down. Now I've answered your question, so you answer mine. Where did you get this information?"
"Irina," she admitted and Vaughn scowled. Her answer obviously had upset him and he wasn't paying notice to her anymore, so she reached up one hand to touch his cheek, and she had his full attention again. "Vaughn, I understand why you didn't tell me about this. But I need know if there is anything else I don't know. My mother keeps showing up with information that you and my father are holding back. If there is anything else, tell me now."
He shook his head. "Syd, as of right now, you know everything I know, which makes you a massive security breach, but that's beside the point. I have nothing else to tell."
"All right then," she said, satisfied with his answer, "there's something else. Irina told me that there is someone -- an enemy -- who is trying to force my father into cooperation by threatening my life."
Vaughn's eyes grew wide. "I don't know anything about that."
"Irina said I need to get out of Los Angeles. If what she says is true, then I think she's right. I do need to leave. But not with her." She took a deep breath. "Vaughn, I need your help with this. I can't do it alone, and you're the only one I trust."
He ran a hand through his hair, deep in thought. "Syd, I just don't know that --"
He broke off, looking alarmed.
"What?" Sydney asked, but he waved her quiet.
Then she heard it -- footsteps coming their way, growing louder. It sounded like more than one person, but no one knew that Sydney and Vaughn had met here. Dim golden light reflected against the fence from a flashlight.
"Quickly," Vaughn whispered, and wrapped his fingers around her arm.
She followed him to the back wall, behind some crates and into a shallow alcove only a couple of feet wide. The shadows gave them some cover but not enough should someone know to look for them. They squeezed into the alcove facing each other, the fit so tight that their chests and legs pressed against each other.
Sydney's breath came heavily, pressing her harder against Vaughn every time she filled her lungs, and blood rushed to her head. From her angle, she could see the light grow brighter, and heard the chain-link gate rattle as someone entered. Vaughn shifted against her as he reached under his coat for his gun. The look he gave her expressed worry, but no fear. He had probably done this sort of thing before.
Whoever was out there took a couple of slow steps, echoed on the concrete. They might be those enemies Irina had spoken of, come to kill her, yet Sydney felt more alive than she could ever remember. Blood pumped hard through her entire body, and her senses had ratcheted up to a higher level. She could smell a hint of Vaughn's aftershave and felt every inch of him pressed against her. She reveled in the sensations and didn't even care about the impropriety of it. It was intoxicating.
Another step. And another. The flashlight panned the room.
"Hello? Sydney?"
Adrenaline left her body like air whooshing from a balloon. She dropped her head against Vaughn's shoulder and shook with silent laughter. All this tension, and it was only her father.
"I don't understand," said another voice, one Sydney didn't recognize. "The device tracked her here."
"We're here," Vaughn said, and they emerged from their hiding place. "We thought you might be someone else."
"Someone not a friend, I assume," Jack said, eyeing the gun in Vaughn's hand. When Vaughn looked a bit shame-faced, he added, "Caution is good. It keeps you alive."
"Agent Vaughn," said the other man, smoothing his crisp suit. "It's good to find you here, too. We have news that affects you both."
Sydney gave the man a confused look, and Vaughn noticed.
"This is CIA Director Devlin," he explained. "Sir, this is Sydney Hecht."
Devlin extended his hand. "Good to meet you, Sydney. I've heard from both your father and Agent Vaughn that you've handled yourself well the past few days. Which is good, considering what's coming next."
She shook his hand, but it was to her father she said, "What is going on? Why are you here?"
Jack answered, "A threat has been made against you, Sydney, by people who want me to betray the CIA. I won't do it, but I also will not allow you to get hurt."
"So it is true," she breathed.
Jack gave her a strange look for her cryptic remark but said nothing.
"If Sydney is in danger," Vaughn said, "then we need to get her away from here."
"Exactly our thinking," Devlin said. "Agent Vaughn, we want you to accompany her. You need to get her out of the country as quickly as possible. You leave this afternoon."
Sydney broke in. "This afternoon? But what about my students? They're on Christmas break now but only until after New Year's. And Danny? What if I'm not here when he gets back from his convention?"
"I'll take care of the school and Danny," Jack said. "I'll accompany you back to your house now so you can gather a few things, but then it's straight to the airport."
Sydney nodded and put up no more objections. She reminded herself that this was what she wanted, why she had asked Vaughn to meet her here in the first place. So Irina had been wrong. The CIA would help her, after all. Still, she hadn't thought about the consequences until now. For how long exactly would she have to go into hiding? At least she wasn't going alone.
Vaughn saw her concern and squeezed her shoulder. "Hey, it'll be OK."
She smiled up at him. "I know. Thanks."
Her father beckoned to her, and she went to his side. "We have to hurry," he said. "Agent Vaughn, she'll meet you at the airport in two hours."
As they all exited the building, Devlin asked, "Two hours? Did Sark give you that much time?"
"He gave me no deadline," Jack responded. "Even so, I fear that time might have already run out."
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