"I can't believe I'm in this place again," Sydney said to no one in particular as she scanned the barren warehouse. This was the place she had spent so many hours going over missions and counter-mission with her handler.
"It's just like old times," Vaughn said as he slammed the warehouse door closed behind him. "In more ways than one." Sydney raised her eyebrow in inquiry. "I got the analysis back on the Rambaldi book you stole from your mother. The impact of it is huge."
"Glad I could be of service." Sydney patted the desk next to her.
Vaughn flashed her a smile and sat down. "The book seems to be similar to the one you previously recovered over a year ago. Except the CIA is pretty sure that this book contains the true prophecy that Rambaldi focused all his energies on."
"Have you been able to decipher what that prophecy is?"
"Partially. It turns out that the woman in the prophecy on Page 47 does truly exist, or at least Rambaldi intended for her to be a real person."
"Not me," Sydney said with determination.
"No, the CIA doesn't think you are the woman in the prophecy."
"So who do they think she is?"
"Well, they've ruled out you and your mother for obvious reasons that have been debated over and over in the agency. The CIA's official decision is that the woman in the prophecy is Kaylee. Your sister."
"Sark and Kaylee mentioned to me the possibility of it being her when I confronted them in Madrid. So, it's definitely her, huh?"
"Yes. The intel we've gotten on her confirms the genetic anomalies, and her current position fits in with the info we extracted from the book you recovered." Vaughn stood up, slid his jacket off, and placed it on the chair next to the desk. He was surprised to hear Sydney chuckle. "What?" he asked with a smile. "You don't like my shirt choice today, Syd?"
"No, that's not it." Sydney stood up and slipped her arms around Vaughn. "It's your shoulder holster."
"What about it?' Vaughn asked.
"There's something about a man in a shoulder holster. It does something to me. Always has. You should know that by now."
"Why should I know that by now?"
Sydney looked at her boyfriend in surprise. "You never noticed?"
"Never noticed what?"
"Every time I met you in this warehouse and you were wearing that damn holster, I couldn't make eye contact with you. And I tried to make our conversation as brief as possible."
"Really?" Vaughn said with a laugh.
"I knew if I didn't get out of here quickly you and I would end up breaking protocol right on that desk."
"Had fantasies about seducing me in this warehouse, huh?" Vaughn asked.
"You don't even want to know." Sydney smiled at him and took her seat on the desk again. "Anyway, you still need to finish telling me about this new prophecy."
"We don't understand much about it yet. All we know is the woman in Rambaldi's Page 47 prophecy does hold the key to Rambaldi's work."
"This woman is supposed to 'render the greatest power unto utter desolation', right? Do we know what that means exactly?"
"We have no idea. But Marshall thinks that it isn't a literal meaning."
"Explain," Sydney demanded in a gentle tone.
"He doesn't think that Rambaldi literally meant this woman was going to end or devastate the world. No one is really sure of where to go from there…"
"But people are working on it," Sydney finished Vaughn's sentence. "I know. So what do I do now?"
Vaughn took a deep breath. "Honestly, the CIA has no idea if there's anything you can do to help the situation."
"But you have an opinion, right?" Sydney asked.
"You know I do." Vaughn smiled. "Dixon and I had a conversation the other day."
"How'd that go?" Sydney knew that Vaughn was having a tough time getting Dixon to trust him. The fact that both men served as her partner in almost every mission she went on as a double agent made their relationship slightly strained.
"Not too bad. I think he's coming around now that he's transitioned into being an agent of the CIA. Anyway, I asked him his opinion on what you should do to help the situation. He agreed with me. We both think that Kaylee's going to be a major player in the upcoming weeks."
"That's a no-brainer. I mean, the CIA officially thinks she's the woman in the prophecy. Of course she's a major player."
"Dixon and I think that we need to get her on our side."
"That's an understatement." Sydney paused. "And probably the toughest mission I could be given."
"You're good at what you do, Syd. I think you can handle it. I'm going to speak with your father. If he likes the idea, I'll bring it to Kendall. Hopefully the CIA can come up with some intel on secrets your mother has been keeping."
"You agree with me than that she has to be lying to Kaylee in some way?"
"I don't think someone so similar to you, Syd, could willingly follow Irina Derevko. It just doesn't make sense."
"I hope to god we're right." Sydney grabbed Vaughn's hand. "It's going to make things twice as easy as they could have been."
"That's going to take a little time," Vaughn admitted as Sydney pulled him in where her legs were dangling off of the desk.
"In the meantime," Sydney said with a smirk, "I think we should get to work on fulfilling some of my fantasies, Mr. Holster Man."