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Chapter Eleven:

The Gathering Clouds

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Standing back to back, guns drawn and poised at the ready, Sydney and Vaughn were prepared for whoever would come through that door. They stood together, drawing in the same breath as one, challenging anyone or anything that might break them apart. Fingers tensed and wrapped around the trigger, there was a thick tension that hung in the air until clarity settled over them and they allowed themselves to relax.

Jack was standing in the doorway, looking from Sydney to Vaughn with an anxious expression. Sydney felt a breath of relief rush from her lungs and she dropped the gun, hearing as it clattered to the floor only after she rushed into her father's open arms.

"Dad! What are you doing here?" Jack hugged his daughter tightly to him, curious eyes darting around the room before landing on the still form of Vaughn.

Vaughn was still standing with his gun leveled at Jack's head, when their eyes met, he dropped the gun to his side with a sigh and shook his head ruefully. "Just to let you know, Jack, I'm still tempted to shoot you."

Jack chuckled and shook his head as Sydney broke away from him. She looked at Vaughn with eyebrows raised but when she saw the flicker of amusement in his eyes, she couldn't help but laugh softly herself.

"You're being tracked," Jack told them, all humor vanishing from his tone. "The message that you just received was not from Irina, it was from Lauren. She is trying to trick you into falling into her trap." He was looking at Vaughn as he spoke, though his answer was in response to Sydney. He could see the way Vaughn's eyes darkened in response. They had both learned to read between the lines of what the other said and did, working together almost as fluidly as they worked with Sydney.

"We were on our way out," Vaughn said simply, he glanced at Sydney as she took her own gun from his other hand where he had picked it up off the floor. He smiled at her lovingly and she gripped his hand tightly, glancing from him to his father. Jack could read the words that had been spoken, the volumes that were now held between them.

"You told her." Jack's words were a quiet affirmation of all that had transpired between them. Vaughn simply nodded, his eyes flashing with pain before he lowered them.

"It was time, Jack. You and I both know that." His words were spoken to the floor, eyes lowered, not in guilt over what he had done but in that he had not done it sooner.

Jack just shook his head, "I know, I just wish it didn't have to be like this."

"Why did you come?" Vaughn asked as he picked up the bag he had dropped. "It's too dangerous, Jack. We agreed to let me handle this."

"I'm not doubting your competence, Michael." Jack picked up Sydney's bags before her fingers could close over the handle. Sydney could not help but stand back and watch with some disbelief, the exchange between her father and Vaughn. For so long they spoke of one another with suspicion and scorn and now there seemed to be affection between them, a warmth that had come from despair.

"Jack," Vaughn's voice was filled with anxiety now and he frowned as he stepped closer. "What is it?"

"Lauren has vanished, she is obviously searching for the two of you." Jack shook his head and leveled his gaze on the younger man, "We have both seen the horrors that this woman is capable of. This is personal for her now, you deceived her, outwitted her in her own game and she is not going to take that lightly. She's out for blood, Vaughn and she won't stop with you."

"Lauren isn't smart enough to find us on her own." Vaughn's words were filled with disdain but Sydney could hear the fear that lurked beneath them.

"No, she is not," Jack agreed quietly. "But she is cunning enough, and with the entire Covenant backing her up, it is only a matter of time."

Vaughn felt his mouth go dry, he stared at Jack, terror rising within his eyes. Sydney was standing back, watching them with an odd feeling of detachment. As if she stood outside herself and was looking in from the outside, waiting for everything to snap into place.

"Jack," Vaughn's voice was a raspy whisper as he stumbled backward. "I can't let them find me again, I won't let them have Sydney. You know what they'll do to us..."

Jack stepped forward and gripped Vaughn by the shoulders, shaking him slightly and bringing him back to himself. Vaughn's eyes cleared and he stared at Jack, silently pleading with him. Sydney felt as if she were missing something, like there was a piece of the puzzle that she had not yet fit into place.

"Why do you think I'm here, Michael?" Jack's eyes hardened and he glanced at Sydney. She could see the fear in her father's eyes and it shook her, she had rarely seen him display emotion like this except when their situation was at its most desperate.

"What the hell are we waiting for?" Sydney demanded, she clutched her bag harder, shaking off the daze she lingered in and squeezed Vaughn's hand. He seemed to suddenly became aware of her and he came to attention suddenly, his eyes clearing as they landed on her.

"You're right," Vaughn nodded. "We have to go and we have to do it now. Where is Irina?"

Sydney glanced at Vaughn, but he was not looking at her. His eyes were fixed on Jack who was turning and heading out the door. Vaughn was following him, each stride filled with purpose. Sydney followed, pulled along by Vaughn's hand and wondered what exactly she had gotten all of them into.

"She is waiting," was Jack's only response.

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Sydney could hear the two of them whispering together from where sat in the backseat of the car. She had been dozing lightly, gathering her strength but the sound of her father and Vaughn murmuring in conspiratorial tones made her uneasy. It was odd to see them working so closely, getting along so easily. She knew that they were probably discussing her but she didn't pay attention to the low rush of words that hovered just below her hearing. Her mind was whirling, as she processed all of the information that had been thrown her way in the past twenty-four hours and the plan that she would need to formulate in order to get out of this alive.

She knew one thing for certain, she was not going to spend her life running and hiding from the Covenant. They had taken too much from her already, they had stolen two years of her life, her identity and Vaughn. They had taken so much from Vaughn, it still hurt to imagine it. The scars on his flesh could not do justice to the true pain he had endured on her behalf.

Her eyes fluttered open, gazing blindly out the window as the world rushed past her. Her eyes drifted beyond the world outside to focus on her own reflection in the glass. She had changed disguises once more, dark haired once more with glasses. She barely recognize herself, this pale woman who had withdrawn into herself for so long. She craved so badly to be able to escape herself. The night before, when she and Vaughn had made love, she had felt real and complete for the first time in years. Now that contentment had changed once more to an uneasy fear, the precognition that something terrible was going to happen and she did not know how to stop it.

She was drawn from her musings by raised voices in the front of the car. Frowning, she turned to see her father and Vaughn arguing with a quiet intensity. She could not see Jack's face from her angle but Vaughn was clearly visible to her and his expression was contorted into a pure rage. He was shaking his head vehemently and gesturing with his hands.

"No, Jack! What could posses you to think that this is a good idea? You, of all people, know how dangerous it is." Vaughn shook his head and ran a shaking hand through his hair, tugging at the roots in frustration.

"Michael, we are running out of time and we ran out of options long ago. This is the only way. You know that Irina has deciphered more of the text that have led her to believe..."

"Belief? I don't trust belief, Jack, and I can't believe that the two of you would blindly trust it as well when it comes to Sydney. I need some facts here, I'm not going to risk her life again based on belief in these damn prophecies!" Vaughn's voice was fueled by anger now and a consuming fear that Sydney recognized all too well. He was terrified for her life.

"Michael!" Jack slammed one hand against the steering wheel in frustration, keeping his eyes fixed on the road. "It is possible that she could change everything, what it all comes down to is what she chooses to do."

"What she chooses? She can't even remember her own decisions, Jack! You don't know what it was like to have to tell her, you didn't see her face, the way her heart broke..." Vaughn turned his face away and rubbed at his eyes wearily, discreetly wiping away any impending tears. Jack glanced at him quickly and sighed, his head drooping.

"I know," he said softly. "But she had to know the history behind this, it will be hard for her to realize that we have all made a mistake. But in the long run, it may be for the better."

"Better for who?" Vaughn asked wearily, "Better for Sydney?"

"Okay, excuse me," Sydney broke through their heated discussion, her words like ice that froze them instantly. "But I am right here and it would be nice if one of you remembered that once in awhile. Maybe you're so used to arguing over me that you just forgot about my presence but I would like to have some input into my own life. Neither of you have the right to make any decision for me," She was filled with a sudden fire that flared within her unexpectedly. All of the helplessness and feeling of weakness that had overcome her in the past few days overwhelmed her suddenly and angered her. She was not weak, she was not a child, she didn't deserve to be spoken of as if she was.

Silence filled the car, Jack's head dropped and he did not respond. Vaughn's head whipped around to face her, face contorted with an anguished expression of hurt. There was pain in his verdant eyes and Sydney felt a wave of guilt wash over her, she hadn't meant to snap at him in such a way. In a split second however, the hurt vanished from his face and was replaced by a cold, emotionless facade. She gritted her teeth at the sudden transformation and sighed, but his eyes were still filled with heartbreak.

"Vaughn," she reached out and touched his shoulder, soothing him gently. "I'm sorry... but you know me, you understand how I feel. I know you're trying to protect me," she leaned forward and kissed him gently. "But I am still capable of defending myself."

He smiled weakly and shook his head, "I'm sorry. Its just... hard." He flinched under the sting of his own words and shifted uncomfortably.

"Now, what are you talking about?" She glanced from one to the other, questions written in her gaze. Jack did not turn to her, he seemed unable to move his eyes from the road. He was tense, fingers clutching the wheel so hard that his knuckles had turned white. Sydney recognized this trait in her father, not as anger, but an intense fear that gripped him.

"What did Mom find?" Sydney asked, her voice breaking on this last question. She was suddenly very afraid, unsure of whether or not she wanted to know the answer to her question. Vaughn glanced at Jack and seeing him not respond, shook his head.

"Its probably best if we let Irina explain it to you... She knows more about Rambaldi than any of us and she is the one who made this discovery. Then you can make your own decision on where we go from there." He tried to smile in reassurance but Sydney could still hear the tremor in his voice, the wavering of his lips. These were two of the strongest men she knew and beneath their masks of cold strength, they were both terrified for her and she didn't even know why.

Sydney nodded slowly, "Okay..." Vaughn kissed her cheek softly and cupped her face in his hand. He studied her for a long moment as she watched him, wondering what was going on in his head.

"I love you," he whispered. Sydney smiled, all anger easing out of her heart and turned her face to kiss the palm of his hand.

"I love you too."

For a moment they lingered, enthralled by one another. Both were afraid of what was coming, filled with sorrow over what had past but one thing that mattered most was that they had each other. In this time, when they needed one another most, they were together. She had his strength when she was lost and confused and he had hers.

The moment was broken by the car abruptly screeching to a stop. Their eyes broke away from one another and looked around in confusion, dazed from the intensity of their moment.

Jack just looked at them as he was getting out of the car and said in a brisk tone, "We're here. Come on."

Glancing around, Sydney saw that they were at a private airfield and she recalled that this is where she and Vaughn had been headed before Jack had arrived. Something tickled in the back of her mind, that there was something she should be connecting here but everything that had overloaded her with information in the past day seemed to drown the thought out. She shook her head in vain attempt to clear it and inhaled deeply. Clutching her bag tightly, she got out of the car to face whatever might come her way this time.

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