You guys are awesome! Thanks for the reviews - I appreciate them so very
much! I love the idea of Syd and the men out of the town - I might have to
explore it, thanks for the idea. I'm also glad that you guys like Bryce
since he is my original character.
I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations, missions certainly aren't my favorite things to write, we'll see how easily this comes.
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The flight to Houston was uneventful. Melanie and Vaughn arrived late to the airstrip looking like they hadn't gotten a whole lot of sleep the night before, but I didn't let my mind ponder on that for too long. Instead, I spent the flight chatting up the new agents. Carson, Ford and Phelps had me in stitches for the entire flight - it makes me miss the old days when I was seemingly innocent, enjoying the thrill of working for my government, or at least thinking I was working for my government. Thankfully I can look these three men in the face and know that I am not helping to deceive them; I can't help but feel proud of them for giving their all for their country.
After a smooth landing we are ready to move into action. I laugh as I watch Melanie, Weiss and Bryce load up their gear - guns, Kevlar and rope abound - the kind of action they are going to see is slightly different from myself and Vaughn. He's dressed in a powder blue suit and his cover is that he is my pageant coach. And lucky me is carrying a garment bag filled with two evening gowns, a cocktail dress, a suit and three string bikinis. Thankfully my jewels and purse are also inside, there's nothing I hate more than being unarmed. This is going to be quite the interesting mission.
Bryce grins at me as he passes by on his way to his cover van.
"What are you looking at, Armstrong?"
"I saw you making friends on the plane - you better watch yourself."
"What do you mean?"
"Please, Miss Innocent, Carson could barely contain his excitement when you sat down with the three of them."
"Whatever, you saw Carson at the meeting last night, he almost jumped out of his seat when Kendall told him about his part of the mission." I roll my eyes. "The guy is just a little high strung, that has nothing to do with me."
"If that is what you need to tell yourself, be my guest, but I'm just saying, try not to foster any crushes."
"Give me a break," I laugh out loud. "Go do your job, I'll see you later."
"Oh, don't forget the Vaseline for your teeth - it helps you smile pretty. Have fun today!"
I'm still shaking my head when Vaughn walks up. "Are you ready to go?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," I say, picking up my things. "Now, where's our car?"
On cue, a black Suburban with tinted windows pulls up in front of us. The driver's side window comes down revealing an eager Carson. "Hop on in guys!"
* * *
The CIA has arranged for Miss Meyerland to be unable to attend Miss Houston "Scholarship" Competition so the runner up will have to take her place - enter me. I think that Marshall might have had a hand in my alias: Chrissy Summers, given that he is a huge fan of both Three's Company and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. At least my name isn't Dirk Wyatt which is Vaughn's unfortunate cover, who knows how I am ever going to be able to look at him in his suit and use his name without dying of laughter. Carson is my chauffer and Dirk's assistant, Frankie Z. Yes, this is what I do for the government - at least it's comic relief from my own personal life.
I spend the remainder of my morning decked out in a suit with a too-short skirt, sitting through interviews talking about how I want to save the world by promoting literacy. I can't even take this part seriously; these people don't care what I am saying, they simply rate me based on my appearance and how much of my legs are showing beneath my skirt.
Vaughn has been scoping out Bingham and trying to get in his good graces so he can pawn "Chrissy" off on him later. Carson was able to learn from one of the other assistants that Bingham appears to respond well to the promise of sex. Terrific.
We won't meet the celebrity judges until the afternoon tea so I have a couple hours until I really have to go into action. After my last interview I finally get a chance to escape to my dressing room. I find it odd that we each have our own changing room but they seem to take these contests seriously down here, that and I heard a rumor that there was a scandal last year when three girls tied their dressing roommate up, zipped her into a garment bag and stuffed her in the closet.
Inside my room I shut the door securely behind me and lean against it, sighing loudly.
"Is it that bad?"
"Holy shit, Vaughn," I can't believe how fast my heart is racing in my chest. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be schmoozing Bingham?"
"Taken care of, provided he likes the look of you at the tea, you are set for later tonight." Vaughn has made himself comfortable on the couch across the room.
"Good work, Agent Vaughn," I grab a bottle of water, hoping that having something in my hands will keep him from seeing how much they are shaking. I am not sure what has caused such a reaction in me, being alone with him or being surprised and having that wake up something buried in my subconscious. "So, since I am in with Mr. Bingham do I still have to participate in the evening gown and bathing suit part of the competition?"
"Sorry, Syd, you are in this for the long haul. You can't tell me that you don't like to dress up all pretty and act like someone else for a few hours."
"Please, it's one thing to pretend to be an aristocrat at a European dinner party, it's completely different to be in Texas and ogled by a bunch of horny old men." I kick off my three-inch heels and start unbuttoning my suit jacket. "You'd hate it too if you were me."
"Yeah, I can't say that I would appreciate a bunch of men staring at me."
Ignoring his last comment, I grab my cocktail dress to change into for tea and head for the adjoining bathroom. I steady my voice and try to ignore my pulse thudding in my ears. "I'm just going to change real quick and then we can go over our plans for the evening. What's Bingham like?"
Behind the closed bathroom door I am able to close my eyes and lean against the sink, supporting myself with trembling arms. I look at my reflection and I am surprised to see that my face has drained of color and a few beads of sweat are dotting my forehead.
Vaughn's voice comes muffled through the door. "Bingham seems like a big, old teddy bear, but I can tell he is rather freaky. When I was talking to him he even made me uncomfortable, like he would just as much like to see me in an evening dress as you. We'll have to come up with a signal in case he gets too friendly with you, I'll have my comm piece on at all times, so I'll hear if anything is happening. You can use a code word like milk or something. What do you think?"
I can't bring myself to answer because I am afraid of the sound that will come out of my mouth. The room is starting to spin and I try to sit on the edge of the tub behind me but misjudge the distance and end up hitting the floor with a loud thump.
There's a knock on the bathroom door, "Sydney, are you all right?"
"Vaughn," the name is barely audible as it passes my lips and I am thankful that I didn't lock the door as it swings open.
Vaughn is at my side, one arm sliding around my shoulders, the other pressed against the side of my face. "Sydney, what's wrong? Are you all right? What can I do?" His eyes are searching mine as I struggle to keep them open.
My heartbeat has slowed down and I am starting to feel normal again, though the dizziness has been replaced by a pounding headache.
"I don't know, when I got to the room I just started feeling strange, like a huge rush of adrenaline hit me but I didn't have anything to do with it." I press my hand against my forehead. "Shit, my head hurts."
"Here, let's get you out and on the couch. You've got an hour until the tea so you can take some time and rest." Vaughn stands and bends down to pull me up with him.
"Vaughn, I'm feeling much better now, I think that whatever it was has passed," I protest as he gets me on my feet. Once I am upright my legs wobble slightly, causing me to fall against Vaughn's chest; I can feel his heart beating a quickened rhythm. "I have to get ready."
"Sydney, you are not fine," Vaughn's breath is hot on my cheek. "Besides, you don't need any time at all to look beautiful."
I turn my head and note that the concern I saw there earlier has been replaced by something else, old-fashioned lust. If I didn't think that pushing myself away from him would cause me to fall down again I would do just that, but my legs are feeling weaker by the second. Vaughn turns and puts his other arm around me, pulling me close to him.
I can feel the tears stinging the back of my eyes before they start to fall. For a moment I forget my resolve from yesterday and slide my arms around his waist, burying my face in his shoulder.
"I'm so sorry, Sydney," Vaughn whispers in my ear. "I wish things were different, but right now everything is screwed up. Please, just know that I love you and that I want to be with you."
"Don't." I lift my head from his shoulder and look him in the eye. "Don't say anymore; I can't hear it. We are on a mission, Vaughn, and I can't afford to be thinking about you when I should be focused on our objective. This is my life now, bringing down the bad guys. You have your wife and that can't be changed."
"Everything can change, Sydney, everything."
"What do you mean by that, Vaughn?" Despite the anger I can feel building inside me, I can't seem to physically (or emotionally) let him go. "You keep saying things like that. But I can't believe that you would leave her - you stand by your commitments."
"And you keep saying things like that - deciding for me what I am going to do, what decisions I will make when it comes to my marriage."
"Vaughn, would you listen to yourself? Are you seriously saying that if it weren't for my stopping you, you would be cheating on your wife? What if I don't want that for myself? What if I don't want to be the other woman?"
"Sydney, you could never be the other woman. You are THE woman."
"Okay ,Vaughn, tell me this. Tell me that you didn't have sex with your wife last night." At this point I have to let him go and I step back from him, relieved when I don't teeter on my feet.
But Vaughn doesn't answer me and in his silence I have my affirmation. "This conversation is over. Please leave so I can change."
"I'm sorry." Is all Vaughn says as he leaves the bathroom, pulling the door shut behind him.
My body shakes with a noiseless sob as I hear the door to the hallway open and slam shut.
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Okay, sorry to end it like that but it is late I am tired. Hang in there - the best is yet to come (at least in my head it is pretty good). Plus, this wasn't super mission-y so I got a little ahead of myself.
R&R! Thanks mucho!
I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations, missions certainly aren't my favorite things to write, we'll see how easily this comes.
-----------------------------
The flight to Houston was uneventful. Melanie and Vaughn arrived late to the airstrip looking like they hadn't gotten a whole lot of sleep the night before, but I didn't let my mind ponder on that for too long. Instead, I spent the flight chatting up the new agents. Carson, Ford and Phelps had me in stitches for the entire flight - it makes me miss the old days when I was seemingly innocent, enjoying the thrill of working for my government, or at least thinking I was working for my government. Thankfully I can look these three men in the face and know that I am not helping to deceive them; I can't help but feel proud of them for giving their all for their country.
After a smooth landing we are ready to move into action. I laugh as I watch Melanie, Weiss and Bryce load up their gear - guns, Kevlar and rope abound - the kind of action they are going to see is slightly different from myself and Vaughn. He's dressed in a powder blue suit and his cover is that he is my pageant coach. And lucky me is carrying a garment bag filled with two evening gowns, a cocktail dress, a suit and three string bikinis. Thankfully my jewels and purse are also inside, there's nothing I hate more than being unarmed. This is going to be quite the interesting mission.
Bryce grins at me as he passes by on his way to his cover van.
"What are you looking at, Armstrong?"
"I saw you making friends on the plane - you better watch yourself."
"What do you mean?"
"Please, Miss Innocent, Carson could barely contain his excitement when you sat down with the three of them."
"Whatever, you saw Carson at the meeting last night, he almost jumped out of his seat when Kendall told him about his part of the mission." I roll my eyes. "The guy is just a little high strung, that has nothing to do with me."
"If that is what you need to tell yourself, be my guest, but I'm just saying, try not to foster any crushes."
"Give me a break," I laugh out loud. "Go do your job, I'll see you later."
"Oh, don't forget the Vaseline for your teeth - it helps you smile pretty. Have fun today!"
I'm still shaking my head when Vaughn walks up. "Are you ready to go?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," I say, picking up my things. "Now, where's our car?"
On cue, a black Suburban with tinted windows pulls up in front of us. The driver's side window comes down revealing an eager Carson. "Hop on in guys!"
* * *
The CIA has arranged for Miss Meyerland to be unable to attend Miss Houston "Scholarship" Competition so the runner up will have to take her place - enter me. I think that Marshall might have had a hand in my alias: Chrissy Summers, given that he is a huge fan of both Three's Company and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. At least my name isn't Dirk Wyatt which is Vaughn's unfortunate cover, who knows how I am ever going to be able to look at him in his suit and use his name without dying of laughter. Carson is my chauffer and Dirk's assistant, Frankie Z. Yes, this is what I do for the government - at least it's comic relief from my own personal life.
I spend the remainder of my morning decked out in a suit with a too-short skirt, sitting through interviews talking about how I want to save the world by promoting literacy. I can't even take this part seriously; these people don't care what I am saying, they simply rate me based on my appearance and how much of my legs are showing beneath my skirt.
Vaughn has been scoping out Bingham and trying to get in his good graces so he can pawn "Chrissy" off on him later. Carson was able to learn from one of the other assistants that Bingham appears to respond well to the promise of sex. Terrific.
We won't meet the celebrity judges until the afternoon tea so I have a couple hours until I really have to go into action. After my last interview I finally get a chance to escape to my dressing room. I find it odd that we each have our own changing room but they seem to take these contests seriously down here, that and I heard a rumor that there was a scandal last year when three girls tied their dressing roommate up, zipped her into a garment bag and stuffed her in the closet.
Inside my room I shut the door securely behind me and lean against it, sighing loudly.
"Is it that bad?"
"Holy shit, Vaughn," I can't believe how fast my heart is racing in my chest. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be schmoozing Bingham?"
"Taken care of, provided he likes the look of you at the tea, you are set for later tonight." Vaughn has made himself comfortable on the couch across the room.
"Good work, Agent Vaughn," I grab a bottle of water, hoping that having something in my hands will keep him from seeing how much they are shaking. I am not sure what has caused such a reaction in me, being alone with him or being surprised and having that wake up something buried in my subconscious. "So, since I am in with Mr. Bingham do I still have to participate in the evening gown and bathing suit part of the competition?"
"Sorry, Syd, you are in this for the long haul. You can't tell me that you don't like to dress up all pretty and act like someone else for a few hours."
"Please, it's one thing to pretend to be an aristocrat at a European dinner party, it's completely different to be in Texas and ogled by a bunch of horny old men." I kick off my three-inch heels and start unbuttoning my suit jacket. "You'd hate it too if you were me."
"Yeah, I can't say that I would appreciate a bunch of men staring at me."
Ignoring his last comment, I grab my cocktail dress to change into for tea and head for the adjoining bathroom. I steady my voice and try to ignore my pulse thudding in my ears. "I'm just going to change real quick and then we can go over our plans for the evening. What's Bingham like?"
Behind the closed bathroom door I am able to close my eyes and lean against the sink, supporting myself with trembling arms. I look at my reflection and I am surprised to see that my face has drained of color and a few beads of sweat are dotting my forehead.
Vaughn's voice comes muffled through the door. "Bingham seems like a big, old teddy bear, but I can tell he is rather freaky. When I was talking to him he even made me uncomfortable, like he would just as much like to see me in an evening dress as you. We'll have to come up with a signal in case he gets too friendly with you, I'll have my comm piece on at all times, so I'll hear if anything is happening. You can use a code word like milk or something. What do you think?"
I can't bring myself to answer because I am afraid of the sound that will come out of my mouth. The room is starting to spin and I try to sit on the edge of the tub behind me but misjudge the distance and end up hitting the floor with a loud thump.
There's a knock on the bathroom door, "Sydney, are you all right?"
"Vaughn," the name is barely audible as it passes my lips and I am thankful that I didn't lock the door as it swings open.
Vaughn is at my side, one arm sliding around my shoulders, the other pressed against the side of my face. "Sydney, what's wrong? Are you all right? What can I do?" His eyes are searching mine as I struggle to keep them open.
My heartbeat has slowed down and I am starting to feel normal again, though the dizziness has been replaced by a pounding headache.
"I don't know, when I got to the room I just started feeling strange, like a huge rush of adrenaline hit me but I didn't have anything to do with it." I press my hand against my forehead. "Shit, my head hurts."
"Here, let's get you out and on the couch. You've got an hour until the tea so you can take some time and rest." Vaughn stands and bends down to pull me up with him.
"Vaughn, I'm feeling much better now, I think that whatever it was has passed," I protest as he gets me on my feet. Once I am upright my legs wobble slightly, causing me to fall against Vaughn's chest; I can feel his heart beating a quickened rhythm. "I have to get ready."
"Sydney, you are not fine," Vaughn's breath is hot on my cheek. "Besides, you don't need any time at all to look beautiful."
I turn my head and note that the concern I saw there earlier has been replaced by something else, old-fashioned lust. If I didn't think that pushing myself away from him would cause me to fall down again I would do just that, but my legs are feeling weaker by the second. Vaughn turns and puts his other arm around me, pulling me close to him.
I can feel the tears stinging the back of my eyes before they start to fall. For a moment I forget my resolve from yesterday and slide my arms around his waist, burying my face in his shoulder.
"I'm so sorry, Sydney," Vaughn whispers in my ear. "I wish things were different, but right now everything is screwed up. Please, just know that I love you and that I want to be with you."
"Don't." I lift my head from his shoulder and look him in the eye. "Don't say anymore; I can't hear it. We are on a mission, Vaughn, and I can't afford to be thinking about you when I should be focused on our objective. This is my life now, bringing down the bad guys. You have your wife and that can't be changed."
"Everything can change, Sydney, everything."
"What do you mean by that, Vaughn?" Despite the anger I can feel building inside me, I can't seem to physically (or emotionally) let him go. "You keep saying things like that. But I can't believe that you would leave her - you stand by your commitments."
"And you keep saying things like that - deciding for me what I am going to do, what decisions I will make when it comes to my marriage."
"Vaughn, would you listen to yourself? Are you seriously saying that if it weren't for my stopping you, you would be cheating on your wife? What if I don't want that for myself? What if I don't want to be the other woman?"
"Sydney, you could never be the other woman. You are THE woman."
"Okay ,Vaughn, tell me this. Tell me that you didn't have sex with your wife last night." At this point I have to let him go and I step back from him, relieved when I don't teeter on my feet.
But Vaughn doesn't answer me and in his silence I have my affirmation. "This conversation is over. Please leave so I can change."
"I'm sorry." Is all Vaughn says as he leaves the bathroom, pulling the door shut behind him.
My body shakes with a noiseless sob as I hear the door to the hallway open and slam shut.
---------------------------
Okay, sorry to end it like that but it is late I am tired. Hang in there - the best is yet to come (at least in my head it is pretty good). Plus, this wasn't super mission-y so I got a little ahead of myself.
R&R! Thanks mucho!