Chapter 5
"Hey Syd" He shoots me a warm smile as I sit down with him on a crate, close by his side. "How are you doing?" His brow creases slightly and I cant help but smile. "What? What is it? What's so funny?" A broad smile forms across his face as I shake my head, laughing lightly.
"I'm fine, really" I tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear, still smiling.
"Are you sure you're okay with everything?" He's so sweet when he is worried about me. I want to give him a hug for caring.
"I'm fine, thanks. I feel a little guilty still, but I guess I'm getting over it." He seems to finally believe me, but I avert my gaze to the floor. It's true, I do feel better, but I still blame myself. We sit there quietly for a while, but I know Vaughn can sense something is wrong. He places his hand carefully under my chin and lifts my head so I'm actually looking him in the eye.
"It's okay Syd, it's not your fault. Your dad has a plan and everything will be alright." So Dad let Vaughn know about his plan. I push that aside and focus my thoughts on the man sitting in front of me.
"Thanks Vaughn" We both smile and, much to my disliking, he removes his hand from under my chin.
"Great, I just wanted to see of you were okay, and let you know that you really did do a great job in Malaga." I respond by hugging him quickly. I stand up and plant a small kiss on his cheek.
"Thanks again, Vaughn" I turn and walk out of the warehouse with the sweet sensation of his skin against my lips, and wish I could experience it more often.
***
Surprisingly enough, my apartment is empty yet again. This is starting to worry me; I haven't seen Francie in two whole days now. I wonder if something's happened to her. I push away that thought and burry it deep with all of my other worries. I'm sure she's fine, I hope.
I can still feel the tingle of giving Vaughn a kiss and wonder where I got the guts to do something like that. I slowly bring a hand up to my lips and close my eyes. I wonder what it would be like to actually kiss him. I know I shouldn't be thinking these things, but right now I just can't help it. Slowly, I recover and open my eyes again, proceeding into my bedroom. I'm so tired, and it's been a while since I've had some time to rest, or just some time to myself. I yawn sleepily and remove my shoes. I lie down on my bed and pull the covers over me.
The warmth of the blankets soothes me and I can feel a smile crawling onto my face as I think of the look on Vaughn's face after I had kissed him. There had been pure shock registered on his face. He seemed a little shaken up, like he was just frozen. I had melted him slowly with a smile before turning around. I could tell he was thinking furiously and as I stole one last glance before leaving, I could have sworn there was a goofy little grin lighting up his face. I could feel myself slipping out of consciousness, when the phone rang. I sat up rigid, having been alarmed by the ringing of the phone. I let myself relax and hold the phone up to my ear.
"Hello?"
"Syd! Hey, it's me!" Will. I rub my eyes and try to sound cheerful.
"Hey Will! How's the course going? Are you having fun?" At least I sound interested, or am I asking too many questions too fast?
"It's going great! How are you Syd? We haven't talked for a while now.how's Francie doing?" At least Will appreciates my curiosity.
"I'm fine thanks," That seems to be a common phrase lately. "But I actually haven't seen Francie for a day or two. I guess we're just never home at the same time" I tried to make it seem like nothing, I really didn't want to upset Will, and that would just upset me more.
"Oh, okay." I could sense he was thinking about Francie and it was making me uncomfortable. Will would be curious, it was his natural instinct as a reporter. I could hear someone calling him in the background. "Look, Syd, I've got to go, but it was great talking to you! Say hi to Francie for me, I'll be back in a week or so."
"Bye Will"
"Bye" I hang up and sink back into a comfortable sleeping position. After tossing and turning for about five minutes I let out a cry of aggravation and sit up again. There's no use in trying to fall asleep now. I wonder what Vaughn is doing. I seem to be thinking about him a lot today. I wonder if he's at work, or if he's simply at home, doing something normal. I find myself wishing I could be in his home with him, talking with him, getting to know him, being with him, laughing with him.for the second time today I have to stop myself. This is happening very frequently, and I can't be thinking this! I'm distracted by the sound of my beeper going of and I pick it up off the table. It's my Dad.
I leave the comfort of my bed and throw on a sweater. I know we're meeting at the warehouse to discuss his plan, and for some strange reason, I don't dread going back there.
***
I walk slowly into the warehouse, taking my time and looking around me. I realize I have never really taken a good look before; I have never really studied the place where Vaughn and I have met numerous times, the place where so much has happened to us. I locate my father leaning against a crate near the back of a room and walk towards him.
"Hi, Dad" He looks up to me, his expression as grave and serious as ever.
"Sydney" He acknowledges my presence and nods his head. Talk about professional.
"So what's your plan?" He turns to face me, his hands in his pockets.
"I'm going to go into the surveillance room and ask for access to some files from an earlier mission of yours. From there I'll hack into the file we want and download it onto a disk. Hopefully, no one will notice me, and as long as no one does everything should go perfectly fine." He seems to have thought this over carefully.
"Okay, so do I need to do anything?" He nods his head again and continues.
"Yes, I will need someone to distract Marshall while I hack into the files, or otherwise he will notice that someone has hacked into the system and that there is a leak. You just need to keep him busy. You will be getting a follow-up mission soon, so I hope to recover the files afterwards, when you can go to Marshal and ask him about his gadgets for the mission, or I might be able to go in before. It all depends on the situation. Do you think you can do this?"
"Of course. I can keep Marshall busy for a while." Inside I feel slightly ashamed at having to do this to Marshall, after all, he is innocent, and he's my friend. My father nods his head yet again and places his hand on my shoulder.
"Are you alright Sydney?" Here comes the famous phrase of the day.
"I'm fine, thanks" I can't help but smile to myself as I repeat this line once again.
"Okay" he accepts it freely, "I'll talk to you later Sydney" He begins to walk away but I call after him.
"Thanks for helping me out Dad, by getting the files back, I mean. I really appreciate it" He smiles, a rare event, and I treasure the moment.
"I'm glad to help Sydney, glad to help" He walks away, leaving the warehouse, and leaving a lasting impact on me as well. His smile is engraved in my mind. It's amazing how such a simple gesture can make such a large difference.
***
"Hey Syd" He shoots me a warm smile as I sit down with him on a crate, close by his side. "How are you doing?" His brow creases slightly and I cant help but smile. "What? What is it? What's so funny?" A broad smile forms across his face as I shake my head, laughing lightly.
"I'm fine, really" I tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear, still smiling.
"Are you sure you're okay with everything?" He's so sweet when he is worried about me. I want to give him a hug for caring.
"I'm fine, thanks. I feel a little guilty still, but I guess I'm getting over it." He seems to finally believe me, but I avert my gaze to the floor. It's true, I do feel better, but I still blame myself. We sit there quietly for a while, but I know Vaughn can sense something is wrong. He places his hand carefully under my chin and lifts my head so I'm actually looking him in the eye.
"It's okay Syd, it's not your fault. Your dad has a plan and everything will be alright." So Dad let Vaughn know about his plan. I push that aside and focus my thoughts on the man sitting in front of me.
"Thanks Vaughn" We both smile and, much to my disliking, he removes his hand from under my chin.
"Great, I just wanted to see of you were okay, and let you know that you really did do a great job in Malaga." I respond by hugging him quickly. I stand up and plant a small kiss on his cheek.
"Thanks again, Vaughn" I turn and walk out of the warehouse with the sweet sensation of his skin against my lips, and wish I could experience it more often.
***
Surprisingly enough, my apartment is empty yet again. This is starting to worry me; I haven't seen Francie in two whole days now. I wonder if something's happened to her. I push away that thought and burry it deep with all of my other worries. I'm sure she's fine, I hope.
I can still feel the tingle of giving Vaughn a kiss and wonder where I got the guts to do something like that. I slowly bring a hand up to my lips and close my eyes. I wonder what it would be like to actually kiss him. I know I shouldn't be thinking these things, but right now I just can't help it. Slowly, I recover and open my eyes again, proceeding into my bedroom. I'm so tired, and it's been a while since I've had some time to rest, or just some time to myself. I yawn sleepily and remove my shoes. I lie down on my bed and pull the covers over me.
The warmth of the blankets soothes me and I can feel a smile crawling onto my face as I think of the look on Vaughn's face after I had kissed him. There had been pure shock registered on his face. He seemed a little shaken up, like he was just frozen. I had melted him slowly with a smile before turning around. I could tell he was thinking furiously and as I stole one last glance before leaving, I could have sworn there was a goofy little grin lighting up his face. I could feel myself slipping out of consciousness, when the phone rang. I sat up rigid, having been alarmed by the ringing of the phone. I let myself relax and hold the phone up to my ear.
"Hello?"
"Syd! Hey, it's me!" Will. I rub my eyes and try to sound cheerful.
"Hey Will! How's the course going? Are you having fun?" At least I sound interested, or am I asking too many questions too fast?
"It's going great! How are you Syd? We haven't talked for a while now.how's Francie doing?" At least Will appreciates my curiosity.
"I'm fine thanks," That seems to be a common phrase lately. "But I actually haven't seen Francie for a day or two. I guess we're just never home at the same time" I tried to make it seem like nothing, I really didn't want to upset Will, and that would just upset me more.
"Oh, okay." I could sense he was thinking about Francie and it was making me uncomfortable. Will would be curious, it was his natural instinct as a reporter. I could hear someone calling him in the background. "Look, Syd, I've got to go, but it was great talking to you! Say hi to Francie for me, I'll be back in a week or so."
"Bye Will"
"Bye" I hang up and sink back into a comfortable sleeping position. After tossing and turning for about five minutes I let out a cry of aggravation and sit up again. There's no use in trying to fall asleep now. I wonder what Vaughn is doing. I seem to be thinking about him a lot today. I wonder if he's at work, or if he's simply at home, doing something normal. I find myself wishing I could be in his home with him, talking with him, getting to know him, being with him, laughing with him.for the second time today I have to stop myself. This is happening very frequently, and I can't be thinking this! I'm distracted by the sound of my beeper going of and I pick it up off the table. It's my Dad.
I leave the comfort of my bed and throw on a sweater. I know we're meeting at the warehouse to discuss his plan, and for some strange reason, I don't dread going back there.
***
I walk slowly into the warehouse, taking my time and looking around me. I realize I have never really taken a good look before; I have never really studied the place where Vaughn and I have met numerous times, the place where so much has happened to us. I locate my father leaning against a crate near the back of a room and walk towards him.
"Hi, Dad" He looks up to me, his expression as grave and serious as ever.
"Sydney" He acknowledges my presence and nods his head. Talk about professional.
"So what's your plan?" He turns to face me, his hands in his pockets.
"I'm going to go into the surveillance room and ask for access to some files from an earlier mission of yours. From there I'll hack into the file we want and download it onto a disk. Hopefully, no one will notice me, and as long as no one does everything should go perfectly fine." He seems to have thought this over carefully.
"Okay, so do I need to do anything?" He nods his head again and continues.
"Yes, I will need someone to distract Marshall while I hack into the files, or otherwise he will notice that someone has hacked into the system and that there is a leak. You just need to keep him busy. You will be getting a follow-up mission soon, so I hope to recover the files afterwards, when you can go to Marshal and ask him about his gadgets for the mission, or I might be able to go in before. It all depends on the situation. Do you think you can do this?"
"Of course. I can keep Marshall busy for a while." Inside I feel slightly ashamed at having to do this to Marshall, after all, he is innocent, and he's my friend. My father nods his head yet again and places his hand on my shoulder.
"Are you alright Sydney?" Here comes the famous phrase of the day.
"I'm fine, thanks" I can't help but smile to myself as I repeat this line once again.
"Okay" he accepts it freely, "I'll talk to you later Sydney" He begins to walk away but I call after him.
"Thanks for helping me out Dad, by getting the files back, I mean. I really appreciate it" He smiles, a rare event, and I treasure the moment.
"I'm glad to help Sydney, glad to help" He walks away, leaving the warehouse, and leaving a lasting impact on me as well. His smile is engraved in my mind. It's amazing how such a simple gesture can make such a large difference.
***