Chapter 17
The airplane ride over was long, very, very long. Australia is after all halfway around the world from America so it was to be expected. Sydney and Vaughn stepped off of the airplane at Adelaide Airport. All around them people were walking to and fro, some gathering their suitcases and being welcomed by their family and friends, and some waiting anxiously to see their loved ones that were getting off the plane.
Vaughn saw Weiss and Eliza and called out to Weiss who was looking around for them. Weiss heard and approached them, with Eliza and the two other op- tech guys. Weiss looked around once again, this time looking for their ASIO contact. There was no need because a few seconds later a man and a woman approached them. The girl had shoulder length honey coloured hair, green eyes and a happy, genuine smile. She was a bit shorter then Sydney and was wearing a pair of light blue denim jeans and a white halter-neck that tied up at the back. The man had light blonde hair and blue eyes, but was taller then the woman and more tanned and they both looked as though they were in their mid to late twenty's. The man was probably just under Vaughn's height. He was wearing black Adidas track pants and a matching white top. He offered them a polite smile, but Vaughn and Sydney both noticed that it seemed to come out slightly strained, he didn't seem very happy. He outstretched his hand, which Vaughn shook, and introduced himself and his partner.
"My name is Brian Tandar, and this is my partner Kaylee Strand."
His partner decided to continue the talking after that. "Excuse our casual appearance but we didn't see the need to alert civilians to our presence. It's just easier this way. Oh, and you guys may use your real names around us, it's completely safe. We have a few of our agent's posing as flight attendants and staff around the airport and have checked repeatedly for bugs. We have the full co-operation from the manager of the airport so everything's secure."
"Great," Sydney replied with a warm smile, she looked uncertainly in Brian's direction, he seemed to be staring into the distance, completely ignoring them.
"Excuse Brian," said Kaylee, noticing Sydney's look. "He had some problems with an officer of yours that came here last year," she explained.
"He was an ass," Brian interrupted, coming back into the conversation but still looking into the distance. Michael scoffed.
"Sounds like Haladki," he said, Brian looked over at him.
"Tell me about it," Sydney said, "He was such a sleeze," Michael wrapped his arm around her and kissed her on the forehead and she cuddled up to him. Kaylee smiled at the two of them.
"You know Haladki?" Brian asked Vaughn.
"Yeh, when I was Sydney's handler he had me reassigned from her case. He's a complete jerk, I almost punched him once," Vaughn replied.
"Ah, I remember that," Weiss said with a smile.
"Wait, Haladki came here last year on a case, you're the agent that had to assist him," Vaughn said, realisation dawning on him. Brian only nodded in return.
"If you think that was bad try working in the same place as him all the time," Vaughn added.
"I think the one meeting was enough," Brian replied, actually looking at him this time, and saying it with a small smile. Vaughn smirked, "I'm with you on that one."
"Okay, well let's go," Kaylee said as she led them to the front of the airport to the car park, where two cars were waiting. They were both Monaro's, one red, the other yellow. (A/N I don't know if you guys would be familiar with Monaro's since they are only released in Australia, and were exported from Australia to America, the Monaro GTO, so if your not from either of these places just trust me on this, it is one cool car and I really hope to have a yellow or dark purple one some day, maybe a red, anyway I'm babbling now)
Kaylee walked up to the yellow one and Brian to the red one. Michael let out a low whistle.
"That is one nice car," he told them.
"Yeh," Brian replied, "If there's one good thing about working where we do, besides the whole helping our country thing, it's the money."
"Definitely," Kaylee added, "So there seems to be about six of you, so three in each car, doesn't matter who or which."
Eliza, who had been eyeing Brian for quite awhile now, jumped at the opportunity. "Well I'll go with Brian. Besides, red's more my colour."
Sydney scoffed and Weiss just shook his head as he and another op guy went to sit in the red Monaro with Brian.
"Guess that leaves you guys with me," Kaylee said as she beckoned them over to the car. Sydney and Vaughn sat in the backseat together and the other agent sat in the front next to Kaylee, knowing that the other two would want to be next to each other. Besides having Eliza on the mission Vaughn was happy about the people Kendall chose to accompany them. The two other agents who would be helping Weiss and acting as back up were cool guys, and they were all friends. They had seen a few hocky games together and things like that.
The agent in the car with Eliza and Weiss was Jed, and the other with Syd and Mike was Troy. Troy turned around in the front seat and saw Sydney cuddled up against Vaughn. He smirked and tried to hide it when Vaughn looked up, but was too late.
"What?" Vaughn asked him. Kaylee heard and looked at him in the rear-view mirror while Troy just shook his head in amusement.
"Awwww," said Kaylee, "I'm guessing you two are actually together, not just married for the mission."
"Yeh," Sydney replied, "not married though." Kaylee nodded at them and went back to driving.
A short while later they arrived at one of the most expensive and well known motels in South Australia, and were surprised at the amount of money the CIA was spending on this to make sure that Sydney went through with the mission.
"Okay," Brian said, "There have been a few rooms reserved for us, but that's all they could keep since this is obviously a very popular place to stay. There are four hotel rooms and eight of us, so we'll have to go in pairs. It doesn't really matter though since there are three beds in each of the four rooms which contain 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, plus a smaller kitchen and lounge room with a balcony. So what are the pairs?"
"Vaughn and I will share a room,' Sydney said and Brian nodded his head.
"Fine," Eliza huffed, "I'm having my own room then."
"Eliza," Weiss warned, "Why don't you just share a room with Kaylee? She might feel awkward sharing with one of us guys."
"Actually, I'd prefer not to stay with Eliza," this earned her a smirk from Sydney and an eye-roll as well as a, "Fine by me," from Eliza.
"Who do you want to stay with then?" Brian asked, inside hoping it was him. From just the short time they had left the airport, Sydney and Vaughn had noticed how the two of them acted around each other. Brian seemed very protective of Kaylee, and they both seemed fond of each other. They may be the best of friends or dating, but they reminded Sydney of Vaughn so much of themselves during the first year and a half when they were agent and handler and best friends, but not a couple.
Kaylee looked a bit nervous, "Ummm, I'd prefer to stay with you.. if that's okay with you," she added uncertainly.
"Of course it is," he replied with a reassuring smile, which Kaylee gladly returned. He grabbed her hand and using his free one handed everyone the card that they would have to use to get into their rooms. He pulled on Kaylee's hand and led her to their room to unpack. They didn't have to stay with the CIA agents but ASIO thought it would be easier that way, and for the best. Plus they were promised the next few days off if they stayed. Weiss and the other two agents weren't that annoyed about Eliza getting her own room and the three of them having to share a room, they were planning on visiting some clubs and bars after the mission, maybe meet some girls.
Sydney smiled as she watched them walk down the hall, Kaylee looked like a giddy high school girl who just scored a date with her major crush and the cutest guy in school, and every time Brian looked at her a smile would automatically appear on his face and he would squeeze her hand every so often.
"Think they're together yet?" Sydney asked Vaughn as they made their way down the hall, at a far enough distance away from Brian and Kaylee so that what they were saying couldn't be heard by the two, even though they seemed completely oblivious that anyone else existed besides themselves.
"Probably not, but I hope they don't take as long as we did," Vaughn replied and they both smirked at each other.
Later on that night, Sydney, Eliza and Vaughn were getting ready for the mission. They had found out that Brian and Kaylee would also be attending the club, but they would be there only as back up, and would arrive in a separate car together rather then with the three CIA agents.
Sydney stepped out of the shower and reached for her red leather pants. Pants enabled her to look great wearing pumps rather then stiletto's, which made it much easier for her to fight. Next came the black leather top. It was a strapless tube top with two leather straps holding it together at the back, and it ended just above her belly button. She looked at her reflection, straightened her dark purple wig with the magenta highlights that she had just put on and started with her make-up. A coat of black eye- liner, mascara, and rich red lipstick to go with the pants finished the look and she stepped out of the bathroom, satisfied with her appearance. She walked over to the bed and sat down as she pulled on her black pumps. They were knee-high in length so the pants covered most of them anyway, but hey, they went with the outfit.
Vaughn was ready when she stepped out of the room, having the luxury of not having to apply make-up. He was wearing a pair of black denim jeans and a dark blue, long sleeved button-up top, with a black leather jacket to finish it off. He had his shoes already on and waited patiently for Sydney to finish.
"Done," Sydney said to Vaughn, getting off of the bed and walking over to him, "Let's get this thing over with."
Vaughn wrapped his arm around Sydney's waist and she did the same. Together they walked into the hallway to find Weiss pounding on Eliza's door.
"Eliza, come on! We have to go!" Weiss shouted through the door to her.
The door flew open to reveal Eliza standing in a short black leather mini skirt and a sparkly silver halter neck with matching knee-high silver boots.
"Okay, okay! I'm ready," she said with a huff as she closed the door behind her and started to walk to the exit.
"Uh, Eliza, we have to wait for Kaylee and Brian," Weiss told her. She rolled her eyes before turning and leaning against the wall.
Brian walked out of the room which he and Kaylee shared and was wearing jeans similar to Vaughn's, except they were dark blue in colour. He was wearing a black jacket which zipped up, showing the top of his black shirt underneath.
"Kaylee will be out in a minute, you know girls and their make-up," Brian said to the group. This earned him a glare from Sydney, and a chuckle from the guys, but nothing from Eliza who wasn't paying any attention to the conversation they were having.
"Tell me about it, they take forever. And then they have to ask us questions about how they look. Like, does this lipstick go with the colour of my top?" Vaughn said to Brian, both of them becoming so involved in the conversation that they didn't notice Kaylee enter the hallway, wearing dark blue denim jeans, which had slits up the side of each leg, held together by a leather cord in each which criss-crossed through each of the holes alongside. She was also wearing a black tube top, which was just a bit shorter then Sydney's, and a simple necklace with a diamond attached to a thick, black leather cord.
"I know!" Brian replied, "How are we supposed to know? And have you noticed how girls like for everything to match their eyes?"
"Exactly! Who's seriously going to look at the colour of their eyes and then their clothes or make-up and say, 'hey, that colour doesn't match their eyes.' "
Sydney and Kaylee were now both shooting daggers at Vaughn and Brian, who were still discussing the annoying, or what they find slightly annoying, things that girls in general seemed to do.
"Easy for you guys to say," Kaylee said, joining the conversation, "What's the most you have to do to get ready? Have a shower and shove some gel in your hair?" This was the first time Brian noticed Kaylee, and he most definitely noticed her.
"Whoa," Brain said softly, causing Kaylee to smile shyly and blush, looking down at the floor. She looked helplessly at Sydney, not knowing what to do next and feeling as though an awkward silence was coming along.
Sydney decided to help her out, "See, you guys don't have to use make-up or anything, it's totally unfair."
"I've got you, why would I have to dress up and try to impress anyone else?" Michael asked as a rhetorical question, wrapping his arms around Sydney's waist and pulling her to him, Sydney giggled and Vaughn kissed her on the cheek, making a 'mwuh' sound as he did.
"Should we get going?" Sydney asked the group, they all nodded their heads and headed towards the cars.
Kaylee watched Brian who was walking alongside Vaughn, discussing sports. Brian had opened up quite a lot lately, as they had gotten to know each other, and realised that the agents here were nothing like Haladki. Vaughn had brought up the subject of sports last night when he asked Sydney if she remembered him setting the VCR to tape the hockey game he wanted to see. That had gotten Brian and Michael talking for a while. Brian didn't know much about hockey and AFL was an Australian game (Australian Football League) so Brian explained that to Vaughn, since there was a game on the screen at the time.
Kaylee remembered what she had been discussing with Sydney, and was mentally repeating her advice over and over. She really liked Brian, loved him actually. She didn't know if he just couldn't see it, didn't feel the same way, or didn't want them to get together because of where they worked. Well, Sydney had told Kaylee her opinion of protocol, and had then called out to Vaughn, "Hey Mike, what do you think about protocol?" To which he had replied, "Screw protocol!" Both of them had grinned at each other, thinking the same thing, until they both turned around and returned to their separate conversations. Kaylee sighed inwardly and caught up to them, standing besides Brian who smiled warmly at her, she returned the smile thinking, maybe he does feel the same way I do.
About half an hour later the agents arrived at the club, with Weiss, Jed and Troy at a secure location about ten minutes away, which was provided by ASIO. They didn't have to be that close to the club because Eliza, Sydney and Vaughn had Brian and Kaylee as back up.
The five of them entered the club, with Sydney, Vaughn and Eliza heading in a separate direction from Kaylee and Brian.
Brian led Kaylee to a corner which seemed to be the least occupied, and Brian sat down on a chair. Kaylee went to sit on the matching large, red, sofa chair, but was stopped when Brian's hands wrapped themselves around her and brought her down onto his lap. She buried her head against Brian's chest to cover up the huge grin she had on her face, and Brian wrapped his arms around her.
"Promise me that if the guys need backup you'll be careful, I don't want anything to happen to you," Brian said to Kaylee.
"I promise, as long as you do the same," Kaylee replied, bringing her head back up and looking Brian in the eye. He pushed a strand of stray hair behind her ear, looking back at her.
"It's a deal," he said, before Kaylee returned her head to her previous position. Brian turned on his com-link, "How are you guys going so far?" he asked.
Sydney replied, talking into her own com-link, "Well, there are a few bouncers around the place, but we should be able to take them if we have to," she said quietly.
Vaughn, Sydney and Eliza headed in the direction of the room where the diamond was being held. Sydney was already wearing the contact lens, but Vaughn had to wear the fingerprint imitation, as Rambaldi was a man and Sydney and Eliza's fingers were to skinny to have the rubbery print on. Sydney took the lead and found the door to the room they were looking for. They were all relieved that the room was still where it was on the maps they had obtained, and that it was a separate room away from the main room and prying eyes. She stood in front of the screen as a red light passed across her eyelid. 'Access Granted' appeared on the screen in green letters, and after Vaughn went through the same technique with the fingerprint the doors opened with a buzzing sound. The sound was a bit louder then they anticipated and a bouncer rounded the corner, shouting at them. He must have been on a quick break or sneaked off for a bit because he was holding an unopened can of soft drink in his had. Sydney put on a seductive smile and strutted up to him slowly.
"Hey there," she said to the bouncer in a flirtatious voice. She hated to do this kind of thing, especially in front of Michael, but they both knew that if you had to do it, you had to do it.
"Hey," the bouncer replied uncertainly, "Umm, this is a restricted area, you can't go in that room."
"Oh really?" Sydney asked innocently, "Sorry, my friends and I were looking for the restrooms," she continued as she stepped closer to the bouncer and wrapped her arm around his shoulder, pulling him closer, "do you know which way they are?"
The bouncer gulped noticeably, and started stuttering while Sydney moved her hand so that it was behind his neck, stroking his hair, "Uh, um." another gulp, "Down the, uh, hall.to your um.left." He finally finished and cleared his throat.
Sydney smiled wider at him, "Thanks." Before the bouncer could reply she pushed his head into the wall, using the hand that had been stroking his hair. His drink fell to the floor, but he was dazed and not unconscious, so Sydney slammed his head into the wall again. That did the trick. With the help of Vaughn they managed to drag the unconscious bouncer into a spare room that they found unlocked, which was located opposite the restrooms.
"Let's go," Eliza said to them. Sydney and Eliza walked through the door while Vaughn stood guard. They realised then why the bouncer hadn't wanted them to enter the room, in one corner there was box made of impenetrable plastic containing jewellery, which must belong to the owner of the club. There also ended up being a till in one corner, locked and secure, most likely containing the profits the owners made. They looked around but found no sign of the diamond, or where else it could be. Thinking there may be a secret way to get to it they both ran their fingers over the wall, going higher and lower as they went along, finally Eliza found something.
"How's everything going? You guys found it?" They heard Weiss ask over the com-link.
"There's a crack here," Eliza told Sydney, as well as Weiss, kneeling on the floor to reach it. Sydney went over to her and together they pulled at the crack. A small part of the wall connected to the crack came out, but only the top layer, to reveal a keypad.
"Damn it," Sydney muttered under her breath. "Try forty-seven," she told Eliza, who actually listened. Nothing happened and Sydney pursed her lips, "Maybe it's four-seven, four-seven," she said as she typed in the four- seven again. The part of the wall extended again since the right code was put in.
'What's with him and that number anyway?" Eliza asked.
"Got me, I guess he didn't think anyone would find this though or else he would have made the code a lot more difficult," Sydney reached in and grabbed the diamond and Eliza then put the wall back to how it was.
"Got it," she told Weiss. They walked out and Sydney handed the diamond to Vaughn, who placed it carefully in the pocket of his leather jacket. They told Kaylee and Brian over the com-link that they had what they came for and would meet them at the car.
Kaylee and Brian started heading out and saw Sydney, Vaughn and Eliza almost at the door. Sydney looked around for them and caught Kaylee's eye, smiled and pointed to the door. Kaylee nodded and Sydney walked out the door with Eliza and Vaughn.
They had forgotten about the bouncer, but the bouncer had not forgotten about them. He saw the little exchange between Sydney and Kaylee, and stomped up to Kaylee, knowing full well that Sydney could be out of the car- park by now.
He stormed up to Kaylee and grabbed her arm, spinning her around to face him.
"You with her?!" He yelled, it seemed more of a statement then a question.
"With who?" Kaylee asked, amazingly keeping her voice steady. She shot a wary glance at Brian who had been in front of her and was still walking. He hadn't noticed that Kaylee wasn't still behind him because of the blaring music.
"You know who I'm talking about!" The bouncer shouted as he shook her, "The little bitch who banged my head into the wall!"
'I don't know what you're talking about!" Kaylee told him, struggling to get free, "Brian!" she yelled. He heard her, turned around and started running towards her. The bouncer didn't think that calling him over was a good idea. Kaylee turned her head back to try and convince the bouncer that she didn't know what he was talking about. She didn't get that far though, and before she knew it she was on the floor, and one side of her face was burning. A single tear escaped her eye as Brian immediately crouched next to her.
"Kaylee, sweetie, are you okay?" Brian asked her, his voice full of concern for her and anger towards the bouncer, he stroked her hair and then stood up with out waiting for an answer. He took a step towards the bouncer who was turning away, tapped him on the shoulder and punched him hard across the face when he turned around, knocking the bouncer to the floor. He ignored the pain that shot through his arm at the impact and went back to Kaylee, helping her off the floor. She leaned into him and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, burying her head in his shoulder as he kissed her head and stroked her back, trying to comfort her.
They walked out of the door to find Sydney pacing and Vaughn looking worried, Eliza was sitting in the car. Sydney and Vaughn both raced over to Kaylee and Brian, asking questions at the same time.
"Are you guys alright?" Sydney asked while Vaughn said, "What happened?"
Brian told them the story, and they all tried to comfort Kaylee. She insisted that she was fine and unleashed herself a bit from Brian, but didn't move her arms from his waist. His arms didn't move either.
When they reached the hotel room Sydney and Vaughn went to their room, while Brian and Kaylee went to theirs. Brian sat Kaylee on the bed while he went and put a face-washer under some water to clean up her cheek, which was grazed and beginning to bruise. He looked at her worriedly the entire time, and was extremely careful while cleaning her cheek. When he was done he kneeled in front of Kaylee and shocked her by what he said next.
"I am so sorry."
Kaylee looked confused, "For what? It wasn't your fault," she told him.
"Yes it was. I should have been there, I should have made sure that you were right behind me, held your hand or something. Or I could have made you walk in front of me. I should have been able to protect you," he said sadly, looking down to the ground as he said the last part.
Kaylee raised his chin with her hand so that they were eye-level. "Neither of us knew that was going to happen. Any of it. It was in no way your fault and when you realised what was happening you came straight to my rescue. Don't think I didn't see that punch you gave him, he fell to the floor. How's your arm by the way?" She asked with a smirk.
He chuckled softly, but only for a second, "A bit sore, but I've been through worse."
"So have I, so don't worry so much. It was just a punch, what would have happened if I was shot or something?" she asked playfully, trying to lighten the mood. It didn't work.
"Don't joke about things like that," he said quietly to her. She looked down to the ground.
"Sorry," she mumbled, feeling ashamed. How could I have thought saying that would help, I'm such an idiot sometimes, she thought, mentally scolding herself.
"Don't be, you have nothing to be sorry about. It's just, you know I'd do anything to protect you right? I care way too much about you to let anything happen that could possible take you away from me." He told her, and leaned over to wipe away a tear that had fallen down her face during his little speech.
She reached out and stroked his cheek, before kneeling on the floor in front of him and wrapping her arms around his neck, his arms wrapping themselves tightly around her waist as he buried his face into her neck, before moving it into her hair, breathing in the scent of her shampoo.
"Can I sleep with you tonight?" Kaylee asked Brian as they pulled away from each other, 'I just, I don't want to be alone tonight," she finished as she looked up at Brian.
"Of course you can," he replied. He went into her suitcase and pulled out her pyjamas, "here, go get changed in the bathroom and I'll change out here."
He handed Kaylee the pyjamas and smiled like a school boy on his first date when Kaylee kissed him on the cheek.
"Oh, and by the way," Brian added, causing Kaylee to stop walking to the bathroom and turn back around to face him, "You never have to ask to sleep in the same bed as me." She grinned and walked into the bathroom, and he grinned back.
Sydney and Vaughn lay in bed with their arms wrapped around each other, Sydney laying down with her head on Vaughn's chest, both of them staring at the ceiling.
"You think Kaylee's going to be alright?" Sydney asked, "She seemed pretty shaken up."
"She'll be fine, she was probably just a little shocked. It's not like she expected a bouncer to come and punch her, but she's probably been through worse," Vaughn replied as he stroked her hair absentmindedly, he seemed to do that all the time now without even realising it, "but I'm sure Brian will take care of her."
"Yeh, did you see when they came out of the club, he looked so worried about her."
'I know how he feels," Michael said. Sydney turned around in his arms and kissed him lightly.
"Yeh, sorry about all that," she told him. He just smiled.
"The way I looked at it, either way if you were on a mission you were going to be in danger and possibly get hurt, but at least I was there to look after you."
"My guardian angel," Sydney replied, before the both of them fell into a deep slumber.
A/N- Hope you all liked the chapter, that little surprise I told you about is coming up soon, so keep up the reviews if you want to find out what it is. I know a lot of you want it to happen so hopefully you'll all like it!
The airplane ride over was long, very, very long. Australia is after all halfway around the world from America so it was to be expected. Sydney and Vaughn stepped off of the airplane at Adelaide Airport. All around them people were walking to and fro, some gathering their suitcases and being welcomed by their family and friends, and some waiting anxiously to see their loved ones that were getting off the plane.
Vaughn saw Weiss and Eliza and called out to Weiss who was looking around for them. Weiss heard and approached them, with Eliza and the two other op- tech guys. Weiss looked around once again, this time looking for their ASIO contact. There was no need because a few seconds later a man and a woman approached them. The girl had shoulder length honey coloured hair, green eyes and a happy, genuine smile. She was a bit shorter then Sydney and was wearing a pair of light blue denim jeans and a white halter-neck that tied up at the back. The man had light blonde hair and blue eyes, but was taller then the woman and more tanned and they both looked as though they were in their mid to late twenty's. The man was probably just under Vaughn's height. He was wearing black Adidas track pants and a matching white top. He offered them a polite smile, but Vaughn and Sydney both noticed that it seemed to come out slightly strained, he didn't seem very happy. He outstretched his hand, which Vaughn shook, and introduced himself and his partner.
"My name is Brian Tandar, and this is my partner Kaylee Strand."
His partner decided to continue the talking after that. "Excuse our casual appearance but we didn't see the need to alert civilians to our presence. It's just easier this way. Oh, and you guys may use your real names around us, it's completely safe. We have a few of our agent's posing as flight attendants and staff around the airport and have checked repeatedly for bugs. We have the full co-operation from the manager of the airport so everything's secure."
"Great," Sydney replied with a warm smile, she looked uncertainly in Brian's direction, he seemed to be staring into the distance, completely ignoring them.
"Excuse Brian," said Kaylee, noticing Sydney's look. "He had some problems with an officer of yours that came here last year," she explained.
"He was an ass," Brian interrupted, coming back into the conversation but still looking into the distance. Michael scoffed.
"Sounds like Haladki," he said, Brian looked over at him.
"Tell me about it," Sydney said, "He was such a sleeze," Michael wrapped his arm around her and kissed her on the forehead and she cuddled up to him. Kaylee smiled at the two of them.
"You know Haladki?" Brian asked Vaughn.
"Yeh, when I was Sydney's handler he had me reassigned from her case. He's a complete jerk, I almost punched him once," Vaughn replied.
"Ah, I remember that," Weiss said with a smile.
"Wait, Haladki came here last year on a case, you're the agent that had to assist him," Vaughn said, realisation dawning on him. Brian only nodded in return.
"If you think that was bad try working in the same place as him all the time," Vaughn added.
"I think the one meeting was enough," Brian replied, actually looking at him this time, and saying it with a small smile. Vaughn smirked, "I'm with you on that one."
"Okay, well let's go," Kaylee said as she led them to the front of the airport to the car park, where two cars were waiting. They were both Monaro's, one red, the other yellow. (A/N I don't know if you guys would be familiar with Monaro's since they are only released in Australia, and were exported from Australia to America, the Monaro GTO, so if your not from either of these places just trust me on this, it is one cool car and I really hope to have a yellow or dark purple one some day, maybe a red, anyway I'm babbling now)
Kaylee walked up to the yellow one and Brian to the red one. Michael let out a low whistle.
"That is one nice car," he told them.
"Yeh," Brian replied, "If there's one good thing about working where we do, besides the whole helping our country thing, it's the money."
"Definitely," Kaylee added, "So there seems to be about six of you, so three in each car, doesn't matter who or which."
Eliza, who had been eyeing Brian for quite awhile now, jumped at the opportunity. "Well I'll go with Brian. Besides, red's more my colour."
Sydney scoffed and Weiss just shook his head as he and another op guy went to sit in the red Monaro with Brian.
"Guess that leaves you guys with me," Kaylee said as she beckoned them over to the car. Sydney and Vaughn sat in the backseat together and the other agent sat in the front next to Kaylee, knowing that the other two would want to be next to each other. Besides having Eliza on the mission Vaughn was happy about the people Kendall chose to accompany them. The two other agents who would be helping Weiss and acting as back up were cool guys, and they were all friends. They had seen a few hocky games together and things like that.
The agent in the car with Eliza and Weiss was Jed, and the other with Syd and Mike was Troy. Troy turned around in the front seat and saw Sydney cuddled up against Vaughn. He smirked and tried to hide it when Vaughn looked up, but was too late.
"What?" Vaughn asked him. Kaylee heard and looked at him in the rear-view mirror while Troy just shook his head in amusement.
"Awwww," said Kaylee, "I'm guessing you two are actually together, not just married for the mission."
"Yeh," Sydney replied, "not married though." Kaylee nodded at them and went back to driving.
A short while later they arrived at one of the most expensive and well known motels in South Australia, and were surprised at the amount of money the CIA was spending on this to make sure that Sydney went through with the mission.
"Okay," Brian said, "There have been a few rooms reserved for us, but that's all they could keep since this is obviously a very popular place to stay. There are four hotel rooms and eight of us, so we'll have to go in pairs. It doesn't really matter though since there are three beds in each of the four rooms which contain 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, plus a smaller kitchen and lounge room with a balcony. So what are the pairs?"
"Vaughn and I will share a room,' Sydney said and Brian nodded his head.
"Fine," Eliza huffed, "I'm having my own room then."
"Eliza," Weiss warned, "Why don't you just share a room with Kaylee? She might feel awkward sharing with one of us guys."
"Actually, I'd prefer not to stay with Eliza," this earned her a smirk from Sydney and an eye-roll as well as a, "Fine by me," from Eliza.
"Who do you want to stay with then?" Brian asked, inside hoping it was him. From just the short time they had left the airport, Sydney and Vaughn had noticed how the two of them acted around each other. Brian seemed very protective of Kaylee, and they both seemed fond of each other. They may be the best of friends or dating, but they reminded Sydney of Vaughn so much of themselves during the first year and a half when they were agent and handler and best friends, but not a couple.
Kaylee looked a bit nervous, "Ummm, I'd prefer to stay with you.. if that's okay with you," she added uncertainly.
"Of course it is," he replied with a reassuring smile, which Kaylee gladly returned. He grabbed her hand and using his free one handed everyone the card that they would have to use to get into their rooms. He pulled on Kaylee's hand and led her to their room to unpack. They didn't have to stay with the CIA agents but ASIO thought it would be easier that way, and for the best. Plus they were promised the next few days off if they stayed. Weiss and the other two agents weren't that annoyed about Eliza getting her own room and the three of them having to share a room, they were planning on visiting some clubs and bars after the mission, maybe meet some girls.
Sydney smiled as she watched them walk down the hall, Kaylee looked like a giddy high school girl who just scored a date with her major crush and the cutest guy in school, and every time Brian looked at her a smile would automatically appear on his face and he would squeeze her hand every so often.
"Think they're together yet?" Sydney asked Vaughn as they made their way down the hall, at a far enough distance away from Brian and Kaylee so that what they were saying couldn't be heard by the two, even though they seemed completely oblivious that anyone else existed besides themselves.
"Probably not, but I hope they don't take as long as we did," Vaughn replied and they both smirked at each other.
Later on that night, Sydney, Eliza and Vaughn were getting ready for the mission. They had found out that Brian and Kaylee would also be attending the club, but they would be there only as back up, and would arrive in a separate car together rather then with the three CIA agents.
Sydney stepped out of the shower and reached for her red leather pants. Pants enabled her to look great wearing pumps rather then stiletto's, which made it much easier for her to fight. Next came the black leather top. It was a strapless tube top with two leather straps holding it together at the back, and it ended just above her belly button. She looked at her reflection, straightened her dark purple wig with the magenta highlights that she had just put on and started with her make-up. A coat of black eye- liner, mascara, and rich red lipstick to go with the pants finished the look and she stepped out of the bathroom, satisfied with her appearance. She walked over to the bed and sat down as she pulled on her black pumps. They were knee-high in length so the pants covered most of them anyway, but hey, they went with the outfit.
Vaughn was ready when she stepped out of the room, having the luxury of not having to apply make-up. He was wearing a pair of black denim jeans and a dark blue, long sleeved button-up top, with a black leather jacket to finish it off. He had his shoes already on and waited patiently for Sydney to finish.
"Done," Sydney said to Vaughn, getting off of the bed and walking over to him, "Let's get this thing over with."
Vaughn wrapped his arm around Sydney's waist and she did the same. Together they walked into the hallway to find Weiss pounding on Eliza's door.
"Eliza, come on! We have to go!" Weiss shouted through the door to her.
The door flew open to reveal Eliza standing in a short black leather mini skirt and a sparkly silver halter neck with matching knee-high silver boots.
"Okay, okay! I'm ready," she said with a huff as she closed the door behind her and started to walk to the exit.
"Uh, Eliza, we have to wait for Kaylee and Brian," Weiss told her. She rolled her eyes before turning and leaning against the wall.
Brian walked out of the room which he and Kaylee shared and was wearing jeans similar to Vaughn's, except they were dark blue in colour. He was wearing a black jacket which zipped up, showing the top of his black shirt underneath.
"Kaylee will be out in a minute, you know girls and their make-up," Brian said to the group. This earned him a glare from Sydney, and a chuckle from the guys, but nothing from Eliza who wasn't paying any attention to the conversation they were having.
"Tell me about it, they take forever. And then they have to ask us questions about how they look. Like, does this lipstick go with the colour of my top?" Vaughn said to Brian, both of them becoming so involved in the conversation that they didn't notice Kaylee enter the hallway, wearing dark blue denim jeans, which had slits up the side of each leg, held together by a leather cord in each which criss-crossed through each of the holes alongside. She was also wearing a black tube top, which was just a bit shorter then Sydney's, and a simple necklace with a diamond attached to a thick, black leather cord.
"I know!" Brian replied, "How are we supposed to know? And have you noticed how girls like for everything to match their eyes?"
"Exactly! Who's seriously going to look at the colour of their eyes and then their clothes or make-up and say, 'hey, that colour doesn't match their eyes.' "
Sydney and Kaylee were now both shooting daggers at Vaughn and Brian, who were still discussing the annoying, or what they find slightly annoying, things that girls in general seemed to do.
"Easy for you guys to say," Kaylee said, joining the conversation, "What's the most you have to do to get ready? Have a shower and shove some gel in your hair?" This was the first time Brian noticed Kaylee, and he most definitely noticed her.
"Whoa," Brain said softly, causing Kaylee to smile shyly and blush, looking down at the floor. She looked helplessly at Sydney, not knowing what to do next and feeling as though an awkward silence was coming along.
Sydney decided to help her out, "See, you guys don't have to use make-up or anything, it's totally unfair."
"I've got you, why would I have to dress up and try to impress anyone else?" Michael asked as a rhetorical question, wrapping his arms around Sydney's waist and pulling her to him, Sydney giggled and Vaughn kissed her on the cheek, making a 'mwuh' sound as he did.
"Should we get going?" Sydney asked the group, they all nodded their heads and headed towards the cars.
Kaylee watched Brian who was walking alongside Vaughn, discussing sports. Brian had opened up quite a lot lately, as they had gotten to know each other, and realised that the agents here were nothing like Haladki. Vaughn had brought up the subject of sports last night when he asked Sydney if she remembered him setting the VCR to tape the hockey game he wanted to see. That had gotten Brian and Michael talking for a while. Brian didn't know much about hockey and AFL was an Australian game (Australian Football League) so Brian explained that to Vaughn, since there was a game on the screen at the time.
Kaylee remembered what she had been discussing with Sydney, and was mentally repeating her advice over and over. She really liked Brian, loved him actually. She didn't know if he just couldn't see it, didn't feel the same way, or didn't want them to get together because of where they worked. Well, Sydney had told Kaylee her opinion of protocol, and had then called out to Vaughn, "Hey Mike, what do you think about protocol?" To which he had replied, "Screw protocol!" Both of them had grinned at each other, thinking the same thing, until they both turned around and returned to their separate conversations. Kaylee sighed inwardly and caught up to them, standing besides Brian who smiled warmly at her, she returned the smile thinking, maybe he does feel the same way I do.
About half an hour later the agents arrived at the club, with Weiss, Jed and Troy at a secure location about ten minutes away, which was provided by ASIO. They didn't have to be that close to the club because Eliza, Sydney and Vaughn had Brian and Kaylee as back up.
The five of them entered the club, with Sydney, Vaughn and Eliza heading in a separate direction from Kaylee and Brian.
Brian led Kaylee to a corner which seemed to be the least occupied, and Brian sat down on a chair. Kaylee went to sit on the matching large, red, sofa chair, but was stopped when Brian's hands wrapped themselves around her and brought her down onto his lap. She buried her head against Brian's chest to cover up the huge grin she had on her face, and Brian wrapped his arms around her.
"Promise me that if the guys need backup you'll be careful, I don't want anything to happen to you," Brian said to Kaylee.
"I promise, as long as you do the same," Kaylee replied, bringing her head back up and looking Brian in the eye. He pushed a strand of stray hair behind her ear, looking back at her.
"It's a deal," he said, before Kaylee returned her head to her previous position. Brian turned on his com-link, "How are you guys going so far?" he asked.
Sydney replied, talking into her own com-link, "Well, there are a few bouncers around the place, but we should be able to take them if we have to," she said quietly.
Vaughn, Sydney and Eliza headed in the direction of the room where the diamond was being held. Sydney was already wearing the contact lens, but Vaughn had to wear the fingerprint imitation, as Rambaldi was a man and Sydney and Eliza's fingers were to skinny to have the rubbery print on. Sydney took the lead and found the door to the room they were looking for. They were all relieved that the room was still where it was on the maps they had obtained, and that it was a separate room away from the main room and prying eyes. She stood in front of the screen as a red light passed across her eyelid. 'Access Granted' appeared on the screen in green letters, and after Vaughn went through the same technique with the fingerprint the doors opened with a buzzing sound. The sound was a bit louder then they anticipated and a bouncer rounded the corner, shouting at them. He must have been on a quick break or sneaked off for a bit because he was holding an unopened can of soft drink in his had. Sydney put on a seductive smile and strutted up to him slowly.
"Hey there," she said to the bouncer in a flirtatious voice. She hated to do this kind of thing, especially in front of Michael, but they both knew that if you had to do it, you had to do it.
"Hey," the bouncer replied uncertainly, "Umm, this is a restricted area, you can't go in that room."
"Oh really?" Sydney asked innocently, "Sorry, my friends and I were looking for the restrooms," she continued as she stepped closer to the bouncer and wrapped her arm around his shoulder, pulling him closer, "do you know which way they are?"
The bouncer gulped noticeably, and started stuttering while Sydney moved her hand so that it was behind his neck, stroking his hair, "Uh, um." another gulp, "Down the, uh, hall.to your um.left." He finally finished and cleared his throat.
Sydney smiled wider at him, "Thanks." Before the bouncer could reply she pushed his head into the wall, using the hand that had been stroking his hair. His drink fell to the floor, but he was dazed and not unconscious, so Sydney slammed his head into the wall again. That did the trick. With the help of Vaughn they managed to drag the unconscious bouncer into a spare room that they found unlocked, which was located opposite the restrooms.
"Let's go," Eliza said to them. Sydney and Eliza walked through the door while Vaughn stood guard. They realised then why the bouncer hadn't wanted them to enter the room, in one corner there was box made of impenetrable plastic containing jewellery, which must belong to the owner of the club. There also ended up being a till in one corner, locked and secure, most likely containing the profits the owners made. They looked around but found no sign of the diamond, or where else it could be. Thinking there may be a secret way to get to it they both ran their fingers over the wall, going higher and lower as they went along, finally Eliza found something.
"How's everything going? You guys found it?" They heard Weiss ask over the com-link.
"There's a crack here," Eliza told Sydney, as well as Weiss, kneeling on the floor to reach it. Sydney went over to her and together they pulled at the crack. A small part of the wall connected to the crack came out, but only the top layer, to reveal a keypad.
"Damn it," Sydney muttered under her breath. "Try forty-seven," she told Eliza, who actually listened. Nothing happened and Sydney pursed her lips, "Maybe it's four-seven, four-seven," she said as she typed in the four- seven again. The part of the wall extended again since the right code was put in.
'What's with him and that number anyway?" Eliza asked.
"Got me, I guess he didn't think anyone would find this though or else he would have made the code a lot more difficult," Sydney reached in and grabbed the diamond and Eliza then put the wall back to how it was.
"Got it," she told Weiss. They walked out and Sydney handed the diamond to Vaughn, who placed it carefully in the pocket of his leather jacket. They told Kaylee and Brian over the com-link that they had what they came for and would meet them at the car.
Kaylee and Brian started heading out and saw Sydney, Vaughn and Eliza almost at the door. Sydney looked around for them and caught Kaylee's eye, smiled and pointed to the door. Kaylee nodded and Sydney walked out the door with Eliza and Vaughn.
They had forgotten about the bouncer, but the bouncer had not forgotten about them. He saw the little exchange between Sydney and Kaylee, and stomped up to Kaylee, knowing full well that Sydney could be out of the car- park by now.
He stormed up to Kaylee and grabbed her arm, spinning her around to face him.
"You with her?!" He yelled, it seemed more of a statement then a question.
"With who?" Kaylee asked, amazingly keeping her voice steady. She shot a wary glance at Brian who had been in front of her and was still walking. He hadn't noticed that Kaylee wasn't still behind him because of the blaring music.
"You know who I'm talking about!" The bouncer shouted as he shook her, "The little bitch who banged my head into the wall!"
'I don't know what you're talking about!" Kaylee told him, struggling to get free, "Brian!" she yelled. He heard her, turned around and started running towards her. The bouncer didn't think that calling him over was a good idea. Kaylee turned her head back to try and convince the bouncer that she didn't know what he was talking about. She didn't get that far though, and before she knew it she was on the floor, and one side of her face was burning. A single tear escaped her eye as Brian immediately crouched next to her.
"Kaylee, sweetie, are you okay?" Brian asked her, his voice full of concern for her and anger towards the bouncer, he stroked her hair and then stood up with out waiting for an answer. He took a step towards the bouncer who was turning away, tapped him on the shoulder and punched him hard across the face when he turned around, knocking the bouncer to the floor. He ignored the pain that shot through his arm at the impact and went back to Kaylee, helping her off the floor. She leaned into him and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, burying her head in his shoulder as he kissed her head and stroked her back, trying to comfort her.
They walked out of the door to find Sydney pacing and Vaughn looking worried, Eliza was sitting in the car. Sydney and Vaughn both raced over to Kaylee and Brian, asking questions at the same time.
"Are you guys alright?" Sydney asked while Vaughn said, "What happened?"
Brian told them the story, and they all tried to comfort Kaylee. She insisted that she was fine and unleashed herself a bit from Brian, but didn't move her arms from his waist. His arms didn't move either.
When they reached the hotel room Sydney and Vaughn went to their room, while Brian and Kaylee went to theirs. Brian sat Kaylee on the bed while he went and put a face-washer under some water to clean up her cheek, which was grazed and beginning to bruise. He looked at her worriedly the entire time, and was extremely careful while cleaning her cheek. When he was done he kneeled in front of Kaylee and shocked her by what he said next.
"I am so sorry."
Kaylee looked confused, "For what? It wasn't your fault," she told him.
"Yes it was. I should have been there, I should have made sure that you were right behind me, held your hand or something. Or I could have made you walk in front of me. I should have been able to protect you," he said sadly, looking down to the ground as he said the last part.
Kaylee raised his chin with her hand so that they were eye-level. "Neither of us knew that was going to happen. Any of it. It was in no way your fault and when you realised what was happening you came straight to my rescue. Don't think I didn't see that punch you gave him, he fell to the floor. How's your arm by the way?" She asked with a smirk.
He chuckled softly, but only for a second, "A bit sore, but I've been through worse."
"So have I, so don't worry so much. It was just a punch, what would have happened if I was shot or something?" she asked playfully, trying to lighten the mood. It didn't work.
"Don't joke about things like that," he said quietly to her. She looked down to the ground.
"Sorry," she mumbled, feeling ashamed. How could I have thought saying that would help, I'm such an idiot sometimes, she thought, mentally scolding herself.
"Don't be, you have nothing to be sorry about. It's just, you know I'd do anything to protect you right? I care way too much about you to let anything happen that could possible take you away from me." He told her, and leaned over to wipe away a tear that had fallen down her face during his little speech.
She reached out and stroked his cheek, before kneeling on the floor in front of him and wrapping her arms around his neck, his arms wrapping themselves tightly around her waist as he buried his face into her neck, before moving it into her hair, breathing in the scent of her shampoo.
"Can I sleep with you tonight?" Kaylee asked Brian as they pulled away from each other, 'I just, I don't want to be alone tonight," she finished as she looked up at Brian.
"Of course you can," he replied. He went into her suitcase and pulled out her pyjamas, "here, go get changed in the bathroom and I'll change out here."
He handed Kaylee the pyjamas and smiled like a school boy on his first date when Kaylee kissed him on the cheek.
"Oh, and by the way," Brian added, causing Kaylee to stop walking to the bathroom and turn back around to face him, "You never have to ask to sleep in the same bed as me." She grinned and walked into the bathroom, and he grinned back.
Sydney and Vaughn lay in bed with their arms wrapped around each other, Sydney laying down with her head on Vaughn's chest, both of them staring at the ceiling.
"You think Kaylee's going to be alright?" Sydney asked, "She seemed pretty shaken up."
"She'll be fine, she was probably just a little shocked. It's not like she expected a bouncer to come and punch her, but she's probably been through worse," Vaughn replied as he stroked her hair absentmindedly, he seemed to do that all the time now without even realising it, "but I'm sure Brian will take care of her."
"Yeh, did you see when they came out of the club, he looked so worried about her."
'I know how he feels," Michael said. Sydney turned around in his arms and kissed him lightly.
"Yeh, sorry about all that," she told him. He just smiled.
"The way I looked at it, either way if you were on a mission you were going to be in danger and possibly get hurt, but at least I was there to look after you."
"My guardian angel," Sydney replied, before the both of them fell into a deep slumber.
A/N- Hope you all liked the chapter, that little surprise I told you about is coming up soon, so keep up the reviews if you want to find out what it is. I know a lot of you want it to happen so hopefully you'll all like it!
