Part 4: Operational Confusion
When the plane touched down in Cairo it was arid and hot. Most people complain about the humidity, but this dry wave of sand was suffocating in itself. Plus, the all black tactical clothing and bulletproof vest didn't help matters much.
They got off the plane in their gear and took off in their van. Weiss was at the wheel and, frankly, he was looking rather more tense than usual. They all were.
"Syd, are you all right?" Vaughn asked softly.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she gave a small smile. "It's just this heat."
"Yeah," he wiped the sweat from his brow. "Maybe we should take a swim in the Nile to cool off."
She almost laughed. "The CIA would appreciate that so much."
He shook his head and went back to his own thoughts while she returned to hers. At least he was laughing, even if it was over such silly things as a river in Egypt. It was good to see that.
"Hey, people, we're here," Weiss called from the driver's seat. "We park the van here and we'll walk in closer." Sydney and Vaughn nodded, grabbed their weapons, and opened the door. The sunlight that hit their faces was almost blinding as they stepped out into the air.
***
"Base camp, we have visual confirmation on the target," Weiss peered through his binoculars at the dirt road.
"And Sark's here too," Sydney whispered into her comm. Sydney, Vaughn, and Weiss were all crouched behind a particularly large bush, staring off into the shifting sands.
"Shouldn't the representative from the IRF be here already?" Vaughn asked impatiently. Sydney just shook her head, temporarily able to forgive him for his obvious agitation.
A cloud of dust billowed up from behind a small hill down the dirt road. A white SUV drove down to stop about twenty feet away from Irina and Sark. Two figures immerged from the vehicle.
"Umm, Syd?" Weiss began, "I know these are supposed to be key players from the IRF, but those are agents we have positively identified as K- Directorate."
Sydney's face betrayed her confusion as she watched the scene unfold in front of her.
The men from K-Directorate spoke first. "I trust you have the codes." The parabolic microphone that Vaughn was holding picked up every word. Sydney could even hear the distinct Russian accent from the man's voice.
Irina smiled secretively. "I trust you have the manuscript."
"Codes first."
"Very well," Irina motioned to Sark who brought up the briefcase and began to unlock it.
"Base camp, we can see the booklet. Are we clear to proceed?" Sydney asked through her comm.
"Go ahead," Lindsay said cautiously. "Remember, I want Derevko alive." Sydney bit back the sarcastic response that came to mind. Getting mad at Lindsay now would serve absolutely no purpose. It could actually dig her in a deeper hole than she already was in. And that certainly wasn't good.
The three agents crept closer to Irina, Sark, and the K-Directorate representatives. When Weiss judged they were close enough, he signaled to the team. "Alpha team, you are go for action."
Agents from behind ran over the desert and Sydney, Weiss, and Vaughn sprung up from their positions. "Freeze!" they shouted, pointing their guns at the terrorists.
Almost immediately, someone returned fire. Irina grabbed the booklet out of Sark's briefcase and ran down the road. A black, windowless van screeched to a halt in front of her. The door flew open, and with the help of a young, female agent, she climbed in the car. Sark flew behind her, recovering not only himself, but also the manuscript that Irina had spoken of earlier.
Sydney sprinted down the road towards the van, but it was too late. The door slammed shut and the car was pulled into screeching motion again as the driver flew away down the road, kicking up dust as she went.
"Damn it, Mom," Sydney whispered to herself. "Not again."
When the plane touched down in Cairo it was arid and hot. Most people complain about the humidity, but this dry wave of sand was suffocating in itself. Plus, the all black tactical clothing and bulletproof vest didn't help matters much.
They got off the plane in their gear and took off in their van. Weiss was at the wheel and, frankly, he was looking rather more tense than usual. They all were.
"Syd, are you all right?" Vaughn asked softly.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she gave a small smile. "It's just this heat."
"Yeah," he wiped the sweat from his brow. "Maybe we should take a swim in the Nile to cool off."
She almost laughed. "The CIA would appreciate that so much."
He shook his head and went back to his own thoughts while she returned to hers. At least he was laughing, even if it was over such silly things as a river in Egypt. It was good to see that.
"Hey, people, we're here," Weiss called from the driver's seat. "We park the van here and we'll walk in closer." Sydney and Vaughn nodded, grabbed their weapons, and opened the door. The sunlight that hit their faces was almost blinding as they stepped out into the air.
***
"Base camp, we have visual confirmation on the target," Weiss peered through his binoculars at the dirt road.
"And Sark's here too," Sydney whispered into her comm. Sydney, Vaughn, and Weiss were all crouched behind a particularly large bush, staring off into the shifting sands.
"Shouldn't the representative from the IRF be here already?" Vaughn asked impatiently. Sydney just shook her head, temporarily able to forgive him for his obvious agitation.
A cloud of dust billowed up from behind a small hill down the dirt road. A white SUV drove down to stop about twenty feet away from Irina and Sark. Two figures immerged from the vehicle.
"Umm, Syd?" Weiss began, "I know these are supposed to be key players from the IRF, but those are agents we have positively identified as K- Directorate."
Sydney's face betrayed her confusion as she watched the scene unfold in front of her.
The men from K-Directorate spoke first. "I trust you have the codes." The parabolic microphone that Vaughn was holding picked up every word. Sydney could even hear the distinct Russian accent from the man's voice.
Irina smiled secretively. "I trust you have the manuscript."
"Codes first."
"Very well," Irina motioned to Sark who brought up the briefcase and began to unlock it.
"Base camp, we can see the booklet. Are we clear to proceed?" Sydney asked through her comm.
"Go ahead," Lindsay said cautiously. "Remember, I want Derevko alive." Sydney bit back the sarcastic response that came to mind. Getting mad at Lindsay now would serve absolutely no purpose. It could actually dig her in a deeper hole than she already was in. And that certainly wasn't good.
The three agents crept closer to Irina, Sark, and the K-Directorate representatives. When Weiss judged they were close enough, he signaled to the team. "Alpha team, you are go for action."
Agents from behind ran over the desert and Sydney, Weiss, and Vaughn sprung up from their positions. "Freeze!" they shouted, pointing their guns at the terrorists.
Almost immediately, someone returned fire. Irina grabbed the booklet out of Sark's briefcase and ran down the road. A black, windowless van screeched to a halt in front of her. The door flew open, and with the help of a young, female agent, she climbed in the car. Sark flew behind her, recovering not only himself, but also the manuscript that Irina had spoken of earlier.
Sydney sprinted down the road towards the van, but it was too late. The door slammed shut and the car was pulled into screeching motion again as the driver flew away down the road, kicking up dust as she went.
"Damn it, Mom," Sydney whispered to herself. "Not again."