Sardinia, Italy
************************
A young woman, sporting tight black clothing and sullen maroon hair exited at the docks, leaving a cruise liner and a weeping Italian mogul in her wake. In her purse she held the $20,000 she had gradually stolen from him over the two weeks.
In her previous life, she had always wanted to visit Italy for something other than work. She wanted now to live among the ruins, hear the ghosts and memories whisper to her at night in their cold distant way.
They would be her only companions.
Hiking up to her first destination in what she hoped would be a long unexistence, she contemplated her list of essentials. A small tent and sleeping bag, in the rare instance that she couldn't find a man or a cheap hotel taking cash. Toothbrush, hairbrush, and toiletries. A wardrobe of black, with the occasional bottle of hair dye. And a computer. Nothing else.
Finally she reached the spot. Looking across at the ruins, she sat in the middle of the ring of pillars, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. The wind rustled and spun around her. Over in the distance, the sun set while she stood still.
*************************
Kendall glared over the table at Agent Vaughn.
"This is incredibly disappointing, Agent Vaughn."
Vaughn just clenched his jaw tighter and continued staring at Kendall. He knew this would be coming. Now He would be late coming home to dinner while he endured yet another lecture from a man who hadn't been in the field for 15 years.
"Bristow's been missing for 3 weeks now. All because of you." Emphasis on the "you", Vaughn noticed.
"Now, I won't even get into the emotional attachment that you two had formed before, I'm sure at this point you're already aware of the stupidity in that move, and how it directly connects to why she's missing now."
Vaughn just stared and waited for the torture to be over. Then maybe he could go home. Kendall let out a frustrated sigh, and started to run his fingers through his hair before remembering he had none. His hand dropped to his side.
"What leads do we have?"
Thank God, Vaughn thought. A chance to speak.
"We have photographs of her exiting a cruise in Singapore with Italian millionaire Giovanni Locascio. Our sources in Italy are awaiting your orders to interrogate him."
Kendall raised his head.
"Who've we got in Italy?" Vaughn fluttered through the folder, searching for a name to appease Kendall's temper.
"James Lennox."
**************************
"Mr. Locascio. If you'll just cooperate a minute, we'll send you on your way." Lennox deliberately spoke in English just to spite the man. He'd heard of Locascio's trade connections, and none of them seemed at all legitimate. Just looking at the man, Lennox could sense the blue-blooded grease rolling off of him. Someone who cut off a few heads to gain his wealth. There was no natural class here that came from being bred in high society.
Locascio just glared and gave no reply. Lennox ignored the look and flashed the photograph in front of his face.
"Who is the woman in this picture?" the Italian gave a disgusting laugh.
"You think I ever asked her name?" He said in between laughs. Lennox resisted the urge to gauge out the man's eyeballs. All he could think of was, Sydney must have been in a seriously desperate situation. Either that or she needed someone she could control easily. Probably a little bit of both, he reasoned. Counting to ten, he fired away with his next question.
He held up another photograph, this time a headshot of Sydney for government file.
"Would you say that this is the same woman?"
Locascio took a long look at the photograph and then nonchalantly leaned back.
"Yes." He said, uncaring.
"Where did you last see this woman?"
"Italy. She ran off in Sardinia." There was a tense pause. "The Bitch stole $20,000 from the safe in my room. Does this interview mean I will be compensated?" He asked all of a sudden, his tone higher and hopeful.
How Lennox relished the chance to dash this man's hopes.
"The United States government thanks you for your time, and has decided to just leave this as a life lesson for you not to run around behind you're wife's back with anonymous women. Sorry, but there will be no compensation for your own stupidity."
With a slight smile, he walked out of the office.
*************************
The same maroon-haired woman sat in a café somewhere in Paris, a newly purchased laptop in her lap. A sigh escaped her lips, scattering the steam that rose from her coffee cup. She had known all along that Sardinia was only meant to be a pit stop, but she already missed the Mediterranean sunset. She vowed to herself that when things calmed down she would return, and stay for good.
Purchasing the laptop had been the last thing she had done in Sardinia before jetting out. With any luck, the CIA informants whom she had seen working there had reported the sighting within the hour. As far as the United States government was concerned, Sydney Bristow was still on the Mediterranean coast.
Refocusing on her task, she looked down at the laptop screen once more. She had hacked into the network system of a small cyber café in Campobasso, Italy, and now was preparing to revisit her past once again for survival purposes.
Dark circles were present under her eyes. Since her rebirth, she had not slept for more than an half hour at a time. At night it was the worst. The memories came, unwelcome and uncontrollable. And poured out into tears. It was only at night that she could feel the suspension she had put on her life.
Consequently, she had found excuses to stay up at nights, frequent a hundred different bars and clubs in the short few weeks of freedom the she had recently experienced.
Shoving the thought of her tears out of her mind, she began to type.
**********************
Weiss and Vaughn burst into Kendall's office in the middle of a meeting. One look at their faces and Kendall excused himself from the board, and walked impatiently out into the hall.
"This had better be good Agent Vaughn."
"Sir, we've received a message from Agent Bristow." Kendall's eyes widened.
Before Kendall had a chance to interrupt with questions, Vaughn continued.
"She sent me an E-mail, from some cyber café in Campobasso."
"Let me see the message."
Vaughn hesitated a moment, but Kendall ripped it from his hands before any protests could be uttered.
**********
Vaughn-
I am sorry for the grief I have caused you in the past years, though I have no idea how long you grieved since I saw the ring on your finger. I am even sorrier for the grief that you have caused me.
Does she kiss like me? Never mind, I don't want to nor need to know. That point is gone as fast as a Sardinian Sunset.
I no longer wish to return to you, since it obvious that I am no longer wanted by anyone. I would only be a plaything of the government, my mind would only be continually bent further then it already has been within the past few weeks. I realize that my unasked questions about the missing years can only be answered upon my return, but I have also realized that I have eliminated my need for them, as I have forcedly eliminated my need for you.
I have eliminated everything altogether. I do not wish revenge of any kind, have no worries of that. I do not wish to revisit any of it. I know now that the only way to do that is to disappear. I only wish to be gone. Therefore I am.
Yours, but no longer anyone's,
The former Sydney Bristow
**********
Kendall reread the note twice, and finally looked up at Weiss' and Vaughn's anxious faces.
"What the hell does this mean?" He exclaimed.
********************************
Paying for the coffee, the maroon-haired woman silently closed the laptop with a conspiratorial grin on her face, and walked down the cobble stoned Parisian streets.
Ahead the sun was setting again, but it was still nothing compared to Sardinia.
************************
A young woman, sporting tight black clothing and sullen maroon hair exited at the docks, leaving a cruise liner and a weeping Italian mogul in her wake. In her purse she held the $20,000 she had gradually stolen from him over the two weeks.
In her previous life, she had always wanted to visit Italy for something other than work. She wanted now to live among the ruins, hear the ghosts and memories whisper to her at night in their cold distant way.
They would be her only companions.
Hiking up to her first destination in what she hoped would be a long unexistence, she contemplated her list of essentials. A small tent and sleeping bag, in the rare instance that she couldn't find a man or a cheap hotel taking cash. Toothbrush, hairbrush, and toiletries. A wardrobe of black, with the occasional bottle of hair dye. And a computer. Nothing else.
Finally she reached the spot. Looking across at the ruins, she sat in the middle of the ring of pillars, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. The wind rustled and spun around her. Over in the distance, the sun set while she stood still.
*************************
Kendall glared over the table at Agent Vaughn.
"This is incredibly disappointing, Agent Vaughn."
Vaughn just clenched his jaw tighter and continued staring at Kendall. He knew this would be coming. Now He would be late coming home to dinner while he endured yet another lecture from a man who hadn't been in the field for 15 years.
"Bristow's been missing for 3 weeks now. All because of you." Emphasis on the "you", Vaughn noticed.
"Now, I won't even get into the emotional attachment that you two had formed before, I'm sure at this point you're already aware of the stupidity in that move, and how it directly connects to why she's missing now."
Vaughn just stared and waited for the torture to be over. Then maybe he could go home. Kendall let out a frustrated sigh, and started to run his fingers through his hair before remembering he had none. His hand dropped to his side.
"What leads do we have?"
Thank God, Vaughn thought. A chance to speak.
"We have photographs of her exiting a cruise in Singapore with Italian millionaire Giovanni Locascio. Our sources in Italy are awaiting your orders to interrogate him."
Kendall raised his head.
"Who've we got in Italy?" Vaughn fluttered through the folder, searching for a name to appease Kendall's temper.
"James Lennox."
**************************
"Mr. Locascio. If you'll just cooperate a minute, we'll send you on your way." Lennox deliberately spoke in English just to spite the man. He'd heard of Locascio's trade connections, and none of them seemed at all legitimate. Just looking at the man, Lennox could sense the blue-blooded grease rolling off of him. Someone who cut off a few heads to gain his wealth. There was no natural class here that came from being bred in high society.
Locascio just glared and gave no reply. Lennox ignored the look and flashed the photograph in front of his face.
"Who is the woman in this picture?" the Italian gave a disgusting laugh.
"You think I ever asked her name?" He said in between laughs. Lennox resisted the urge to gauge out the man's eyeballs. All he could think of was, Sydney must have been in a seriously desperate situation. Either that or she needed someone she could control easily. Probably a little bit of both, he reasoned. Counting to ten, he fired away with his next question.
He held up another photograph, this time a headshot of Sydney for government file.
"Would you say that this is the same woman?"
Locascio took a long look at the photograph and then nonchalantly leaned back.
"Yes." He said, uncaring.
"Where did you last see this woman?"
"Italy. She ran off in Sardinia." There was a tense pause. "The Bitch stole $20,000 from the safe in my room. Does this interview mean I will be compensated?" He asked all of a sudden, his tone higher and hopeful.
How Lennox relished the chance to dash this man's hopes.
"The United States government thanks you for your time, and has decided to just leave this as a life lesson for you not to run around behind you're wife's back with anonymous women. Sorry, but there will be no compensation for your own stupidity."
With a slight smile, he walked out of the office.
*************************
The same maroon-haired woman sat in a café somewhere in Paris, a newly purchased laptop in her lap. A sigh escaped her lips, scattering the steam that rose from her coffee cup. She had known all along that Sardinia was only meant to be a pit stop, but she already missed the Mediterranean sunset. She vowed to herself that when things calmed down she would return, and stay for good.
Purchasing the laptop had been the last thing she had done in Sardinia before jetting out. With any luck, the CIA informants whom she had seen working there had reported the sighting within the hour. As far as the United States government was concerned, Sydney Bristow was still on the Mediterranean coast.
Refocusing on her task, she looked down at the laptop screen once more. She had hacked into the network system of a small cyber café in Campobasso, Italy, and now was preparing to revisit her past once again for survival purposes.
Dark circles were present under her eyes. Since her rebirth, she had not slept for more than an half hour at a time. At night it was the worst. The memories came, unwelcome and uncontrollable. And poured out into tears. It was only at night that she could feel the suspension she had put on her life.
Consequently, she had found excuses to stay up at nights, frequent a hundred different bars and clubs in the short few weeks of freedom the she had recently experienced.
Shoving the thought of her tears out of her mind, she began to type.
**********************
Weiss and Vaughn burst into Kendall's office in the middle of a meeting. One look at their faces and Kendall excused himself from the board, and walked impatiently out into the hall.
"This had better be good Agent Vaughn."
"Sir, we've received a message from Agent Bristow." Kendall's eyes widened.
Before Kendall had a chance to interrupt with questions, Vaughn continued.
"She sent me an E-mail, from some cyber café in Campobasso."
"Let me see the message."
Vaughn hesitated a moment, but Kendall ripped it from his hands before any protests could be uttered.
**********
Vaughn-
I am sorry for the grief I have caused you in the past years, though I have no idea how long you grieved since I saw the ring on your finger. I am even sorrier for the grief that you have caused me.
Does she kiss like me? Never mind, I don't want to nor need to know. That point is gone as fast as a Sardinian Sunset.
I no longer wish to return to you, since it obvious that I am no longer wanted by anyone. I would only be a plaything of the government, my mind would only be continually bent further then it already has been within the past few weeks. I realize that my unasked questions about the missing years can only be answered upon my return, but I have also realized that I have eliminated my need for them, as I have forcedly eliminated my need for you.
I have eliminated everything altogether. I do not wish revenge of any kind, have no worries of that. I do not wish to revisit any of it. I know now that the only way to do that is to disappear. I only wish to be gone. Therefore I am.
Yours, but no longer anyone's,
The former Sydney Bristow
**********
Kendall reread the note twice, and finally looked up at Weiss' and Vaughn's anxious faces.
"What the hell does this mean?" He exclaimed.
********************************
Paying for the coffee, the maroon-haired woman silently closed the laptop with a conspiratorial grin on her face, and walked down the cobble stoned Parisian streets.
Ahead the sun was setting again, but it was still nothing compared to Sardinia.