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Chapter Six:

Off the Edge

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It was Sydney who heard the noises in the distance. Stirring herself from the languor of sleep, she glanced over to Vaughn, resting peacefully beside her. He was so beautiful, his face serene and innocent after making love to her. She recalled the sight of his face, twisted with agony as he spread her ashes on the sea. She would not allow any more pain to come to him. He deserved so much better than that.

She heard it again in the distance. A muffled roar, different from the sea and coming from the opposite direction. Cars.

She sat bolt upright, startling Vaughn awake with her movement. He glanced up at her with dazed eyes as she shot out of the bed in a panic. His shirt hit him in the head and he frowned in sleepy confusion.

"Syd, baby, what's wrong?"

"They're coming," the words were muffled as she pulled the sweater over her head but they put his every nerve on edge.

"What?" He pulled the shirt on and got out of the bed; hurriedly grabbing the painting and putting it back in the box. "Who?"

"Who do you think? The Covenant is coming for me; they told me that they would be watching me. Dammit! I forgot…" She looked up at him, her features softening. "Vaughn, listen to me. When they get here, no matter what happens, you must follow my lead. I will not let them hurt you but I cannot allow them to think that I am still Sydney or they will kill us both."

Vaughn zipped his pants up and crossed the room to where she stood, smoothing her hair into place. She had dressed in a matter of seconds and was ready for action. He had been out of the field for months, but the sight of her brought it all rushing back. He would have died for her the moment he met her and now was no different.

"We should try to go, Syd. We should get out of here, take the painting away and escape."

"We can't escape, Vaughn." Tears sprung to her eyes and she blinked them away angrily. A noise sounded from the kitchen and she turned with a gasp. "They're here."

She looked to the bed and smoothed it hurriedly with one hand, with the other; she snatched her gun from the dressing table beside the bed. Crossing over to the wall, she pulled the mirror from the wall and opened the vault once more with lightspeed.

"Get on your knees in front of the bed," she ordered.

"In any other circumstance, that phrase would have turned me on to no end," Vaughn could not help but comment wryly on the situation as he obeyed her order. It was the only way to relieve the paralyzing fear that had gripped his heart.

The sounds drew closer and Sydney moved into position before him, holding the box in one hand and her gun in other. Leveling the gun with his head, she winced in pain. "I'm so sorry, Vaughn."

He shook his head; "I've done worse for you than this."

Their eyes locked and a wave of loved passed through both of them, knowing that within moments they could very possibly die at the hands of their enemies. At least they would die together this time.

The door banged open and a man with dark hair entered, his eyes flicked from Sydney to the man kneeling on the floor. Sydney looked up at him and narrowed her eyes in annoyance.

"What are you doing here Simon?"

The man shifted uncomfortably but moved closer, his gun in hand as he looked down at Vaughn. "I was informed that you may be in some need of assistance, Julia."

Sydney let the hand holding the gun drop to her side but Vaughn stayed where he was, watching her intently. Simon looked alarmed for a moment before he crossed over to Sydney and placed his hand on her back. Vaughn clenched his teeth at the ease with which Simon touched the woman he loved, he noted the way Sydney stiffened and glared at Simon.

"I don't need your help, Simon." She stepped away from him smoothly and glanced out the door. "How many others have come?"

"Just me, we know that you're perfectly competent of holding your own, Julia. But we assumed that the house had been abandoned," his eyes shifted back to Vaughn and narrowed with suspicion. "Clearly we were wrong. Who is he?"

"He owns this house," Sydney stepped between Vaughn and Simon, her hand moving to the hand in which held Simon gripped his gun. "He required a bit of persuasion but he has been relatively helpful." She took the gun from Simon's hand. "I believe that he's harmless," She lifted the box with one hand and grinned emotionlessly. "I have our prize right here."

Simon reached for the box but Sydney pulled it away from him, almost playfully. "I don't think so, Simon." Her expression hardened into a grim mask of determination, her grip on the gun tightening. "You're not leaving with this."

Simon smiled, stepping closer to her and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Julia…" his words trailed off into a grunt as Sydney jammed his own gun into his stomach.

"I'm sorry, Simon, but you won't be leaving at all." She punctuated her words with a bang, the shot ringing through the air. Vaughn flinched and rolled to the side as Simon grunted and fell back, landing where Vaughn had previously been kneeling.

Vaughn rushed to Sydney's side, wrapping an arm protectively around her as Simon moaned one last time, his entire body twitching, before he went utterly still.

"Are you okay," He turned to her with a worried expression, touching her face tenderly. Sydney nodded as she turned to him, spinning the gun around; she handed it to him by the muzzle. "Take this," he hesitated momentarily, looking up at her. He could see fear in her eyes, this wasn't over yet. "Just in case. Let's get out of here."

"Where do you want to go?" Vaughn asked as they hurried throughout the house, shutting off the lights, leaving no evidence of their presence behind. Sydney shook her head, "I don't know yet. I won't be safe yet to go back to L.A., the Covenant will stop me before I ever get off the plane."

"We can disguise ourselves."

Sydney picked up Vaughn's bookbag and shoving the box into it, strapping the bag firmly onto her back she shook her head. "No time, besides, we can't go anywhere until we've destroyed the painting. Do you know of any safe place we can go to?"

Vaughn followed her through the kitchen out the back door, his forehead wrinkled in thought. "There is a safehouse in…" His words died as soon as he looked up, Sydney froze beside him as the two of them stood alone in front of a dozen armed men. They were dressed in black from head to toe but the moon rising behind them bathed them in a bright light. He glanced at Sydney and watched her expression harden. The mask slipped into place once more. He was looking now at Julia Thorne, but he could see his Sydney hiding beneath the surface.

"Gentlemen," Sydney addressed the crowd before them casually, as if her head weren't about to be blown off by a dozen men. "Is this really necessary?"

"Agent Thorne," the man in front addressed her formally. "We were ordered to bring you and this man in or shoot at first sign of resistance."

"We're not resisting you, Agent. You can lower your weapons." Sydney strolled casually up to the man who had spoken. "Mr. Vaughn here has been perfectly compliant in doing what I asked, he helped me find where the painting was hidden. There is no need for such a display. We will come willingly."

The agent standing in front of her relaxed slightly as she touched him on the shoulder, the other men took their cue to let their guns drop to their sides. Vaughn felt Simon's gun still gripped tightly in his hand. The men turned their eyes from him to look to Sydney as she assumed command. The window of opportunity slid open and Vaughn leapt through.

Rolling forward, he let out a spray of bullets on the men opposite him. Grunts of pain filled the air, followed by the sickening thud of bodies hitting the ground long after the last breath had escaped their lungs. There was a moment of perfect silence as Sydney whirled around to grab Vaughn's hand as he rolled past her. Working perfectly in unison, the two of them hit the ground as the world around them exploded.

The remaining men started shooting wildly at the place where the two of them had stood seconds earlier. In the confusion, Sydney and Vaughn ducked the wild bullets, weaving their way through the men to hide behind the heavy armored van beside them.

"You okay?" Somehow, Sydney managed to hear his worried inquiry over the roar of gunfire. She nodded and got to work on the gasline of the car, "Just keep them busy, I'll get us out of here." Vaughn nodded quickly before turning back to firing over the shield of the car at the Covenant agents. A bullet whizzed by, narrowly missing his temple. He ducked and swore under his breath, "We need to get out of here."

"Almost got it," Sydney gritted her teeth as she snapped the line into place. "Okay, let's go."

The two of them turned and ran to the edge of the cliff, cloaked by darkness, the Covenant agents continued to fire wildly at the van. Sparks flared on the ground around the vehicle; shouts arose from the men on the other side. Sydney turned to Vaughn and gripped his hand tightly in her own. "We need to jump."

Vaughn looked into her eyes and saw the fear there, he had placed his life in her hands countless times and she had never failed him. Wordlessly he nodded and embraced her quickly, kissing her desperately in case it was the last time he got the chance.

Hand in hand, they took a running start to leap off the edge of the cliff into the roaring ocean below. Behind them, the van exploded with a blaze that illuminated their figures as they soared off the edge. The wave of fire expanded outward, catching the Covenant agents who could not escape. It raced over the edge of the cliff where Sydney and Vaughn had been standing seconds earlier, but they were already gone.

Within moments there was no one left standing. There was no sound save for the roar of the water that battled with the echo of the fire that burned in the night.

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