Authors note: This time I would like to thank my computer for actually
working today and letting me write. This is the third time I have attempted
to do this chapter, and the fix it man (my father) assures me it won't
stuff up. Let's see.
Sydney entered SD-6 to find her father and Sloane, standing side by side, waiting for her. The sight was disturbing. Her father smiled and gave her a brisk hug before moving away and letting Sloane come up to her. He took her hands and smiled at her before giving her a warm hug. Sydney reluctantly hugged him back and assured him that she was fine. "I'm more worried about Dixon. What's being done?"
"Well, there is still a team looking. Hopefully after your debrief we'll be able to do more," he father answered for her, his face set in a frown.
"We can debrief you later. Come Sydney, you must be tired," Sloane said in a caring way that made Sydney want to shudder.
"No, I want to do it now. The quicker we do this the better the chance of helping Dixon," she argued quickly. "The sooner I can get out of here," Sydney thought.
"The people who have taken Dixon are related to the impostor who was pretending to Mr Veitch. He's in the interrogation room, but so far he has refused to talk," her father said still watching her.
"Mr Veitch is an impostor?"
"Come Sydney, we'll explain on the way," Sloane said taking her hand.
******************
After being debriefed by SD-6, Sydney headed home feeling drained. The debrief had been fine and she'd been able to give Sloane the information he'd wanted, but she was still immensely worried about Dixon. Sydney could hear Will and Francie inside and she stood at the door frozen. Sydney took a deep breath and then opened the door to find them eating lunch.
"Syd! You won't believe what happened!" Francie exclaimed, jumping up from her seat, engulfing her in a hug.
"Hey. What are you so excited about?"
"Remember that blind date Will set me up on?"
Sydney smiled, "You had a good time?"
"No, that part was terrible, but I met someone else and we really hit it off!"
"That's great sweetie."
"How was your trip," Will asked with half a sandwich in his mouth.
"Ok, it took longer than expected." The ringing of the cell phone cut off Sydney. "Sorry guys I have to take this."
"You work too hard."
"Don't I know it," Sydney answered, before entering her room and answering the phone.
"Hello."
"Did everything go okay at SD-6?"
"Your agent was compromised; I had to change the story. I didn't tell them anything that would help them find you. As long as your agent doesn't break, then SD-6 can't find you."
"You better hope they don't find us because they may come across some files relating to you, Miss Bristow."
"Just give me the information concerning the artefacts."
"The CIA is holding it at a warehouse."
"The one on Spencer?"
"Yes. We only know the number given to the artefact, you'll have to get onto your handler's computer to get the exact location."
"That's going to be hard."
"I wouldn't complain. I could always make it harder for you."
"Give me the number."
******************
After being cut off from Sydney, Vaughn had rushed back to the office in hope that she'd be there. Weiss had informed him that she had gone to SD-6 first, which made more sense. So he was reduced to waiting, something he had grown tired of in the last couple of days.
"Agent Vaughn, there's a call for you on line 2," Cathy said poking her head into his office.
"Thanks. Hello?"
"Vaughn. It's me."
"Sydney, where are you?"
"I've just been debriefed by SD-6. Apparently the impostor has something to do with Dixon's disappearance."
"I thought you said it was K- Directorate," Vaughn said, confused.
"I thought it was. I need to talk to you. Could we meet somewhere?" she sounded worried and upset and Vaughn was anxious to know why.
"Sure. I'll meet you at the warehouse."
"In about an hour?"
"Sure. Syd are you okay?"
"Fine."
****************
Sydney walked into Vaughn's office half hoping he hadn't left to meet her at the warehouse. She felt guilty about not telling Vaughn the truth, but she knew that the CIA could no longer help Dixon. It hurt to lie to him, he was one of the few people she could trust, one of the few people she felt safe with. She wouldn't be responsible for him getting hurt, the less he knew the safer he was. She was relieved to see that Vaughn hadn't logged off the system and so she wouldn't have to find out his password. She started searching and found the database she needed quite easily. She typed in the number she'd been given and waited for the computer to find the artefacts' location. She shot up when the doorknob to Vaughn's office started to turn. She rushed around to the other side if the desk and barely had enough time to sit in the chair before Cathy entered the room.
"Sydney!"
"I was supposed to meet Vaughn."
"He went out a little while ago. I though he was going to meet you, I must have heard wrong," she said shaking her head.
"Is it okay if I wait in here?"
"Yeah it's fine. I could try him on his cell if you want."
"No, it's fine. I'm sure he's just caught in traffic."
She exited the room and Sydney let out a sigh of relief. She went back to the computer and saw it was still searching for the location number. Sydney was growing impatient. She sat down warily and looked around Vaughn's office. She took in the photos on his desk, the half-cup of coffee still sitting next to his computer; the mess of files stacked haphazardly on top his computer screen. The office was uniquely Vaughn's. A loud beep, signalling the computer had found the location, drew her out of her thoughts. She wrote down the numbers and exited the database. She paused before leaving the office; she doubted she'd be back here again.
*****************
Vaughn had waited for Sydney for more than an hour before heading back. His concern was rapidly growing. He walked as quickly as he could without breaking into a run and went up to Cathy's desk.
"Has Sydney called?"
"No. She was waiting in your office but left a little while ago. She said she'd catch up with you later."
"She was supposed to meet at the warehouse."
"She thought you were meeting here. You just got your wires crossed."
"No. Something's up." Sydney had been acting strange since she got back and Vaughn couldn't workout why. He was angry that Sydney hadn't told him what was going on. He was her handler, more importantly he thought he was her friend. He walked into his office defeated. He knew he trying to get information out of Sydney was useless, she'd talk when she was ready. He turned to his computer and decided to do some work to clear his head. He paused, his hands above the keyboard, he was sure he had left his computer logged in when he'd left. He'd been in the middle of something when Sydney had called. But his computer screen was asking him to log in.
"Cathy."
"What? You don't have to yell you know."
"You said Sydney was in my office."
"Yeah, she was waiting for you."
"Was she near my computer?"
"No, I don't think so, but come to think of it she looked a little flustered when I came in."
"Get Timothy Leaves to come to my office."
"The tech guy?"
"Yes."
*****************
Sydney walked up to the guard confidently, even though inside she was a mess. She knew what the consequences would be after the CIA found out. Stealing the Rambaldi artefact was more than likely going to be frowned upon. She reached the desk and smiled at the guard who was reading the newspaper. "Hello."
"Hey. Id please."
Sydney flashed her CIA identification and the man waved her through. She followed the corridors until she found door 17. She made sure no one was around before typing in the code she had gotten off Vaughn's computer. A green light appeared and Sydney quickly entered. Endless shelves filled the room and she looked for some kind of numbering system. 19.20.21. She walked down the aisle until she found what she was looking for. "Great, it had to be the top shelf." Sydney looked around for some kind of ladder. It took her awhile to find one and then to get the box with the artefact inside. She was just about to look inside the box when she heard footsteps. She drew out her gun with one hand and started heading towards the exit.
"Drop it," Vaughn's voice came form behind her.
She turned around to find Vaughn with his gun aimed at her.
"How'd you find me?"
"Your computer skills are in need of improvement. I had our guys retrace your steps. What's going on Syd?"
"I can't explain."
"You can't explain? Sydney, you're stealing from the CIA. To make it worse it's a Rambaldi artefact."
"It's not for SD-6, please believe me. I wish I could explain but I can't."
"Why?"
Sydney paused, "They have Dixon."
"Who?"
"I can't explain."
"Put the box on the floor and drop your gun," Vaughn yelled in frustration. "Backup will be here soon."
"Just let me go, please. Trust me."
"I wish I could. I want to Syd, but."
"You can't shoot me."
"No, maybe not, but please don't make me find out Syd."
"I can't."
****************
George had been a part of security for the CIA for ten years. Most times it was as boring as hell. When the young lady had entered the site he hadn't thought anything of it; but when the second agent ran in after her about ten minutes later, he was expecting at least some action. Sadly, the man still hadn't reappeared and either had the young lady, so George went back to reading his paper and checking the camera's every ten minutes or so.
"Hey George," Pete called out. It was time to change shifts. "Anyone about?"
"Just two agents. They went in about fifteen minutes or so." George started to collect his stuff when he heard the gunshot. Pete and him exchanged looks before grabbing their guns and running off down the hall.
Sydney entered SD-6 to find her father and Sloane, standing side by side, waiting for her. The sight was disturbing. Her father smiled and gave her a brisk hug before moving away and letting Sloane come up to her. He took her hands and smiled at her before giving her a warm hug. Sydney reluctantly hugged him back and assured him that she was fine. "I'm more worried about Dixon. What's being done?"
"Well, there is still a team looking. Hopefully after your debrief we'll be able to do more," he father answered for her, his face set in a frown.
"We can debrief you later. Come Sydney, you must be tired," Sloane said in a caring way that made Sydney want to shudder.
"No, I want to do it now. The quicker we do this the better the chance of helping Dixon," she argued quickly. "The sooner I can get out of here," Sydney thought.
"The people who have taken Dixon are related to the impostor who was pretending to Mr Veitch. He's in the interrogation room, but so far he has refused to talk," her father said still watching her.
"Mr Veitch is an impostor?"
"Come Sydney, we'll explain on the way," Sloane said taking her hand.
******************
After being debriefed by SD-6, Sydney headed home feeling drained. The debrief had been fine and she'd been able to give Sloane the information he'd wanted, but she was still immensely worried about Dixon. Sydney could hear Will and Francie inside and she stood at the door frozen. Sydney took a deep breath and then opened the door to find them eating lunch.
"Syd! You won't believe what happened!" Francie exclaimed, jumping up from her seat, engulfing her in a hug.
"Hey. What are you so excited about?"
"Remember that blind date Will set me up on?"
Sydney smiled, "You had a good time?"
"No, that part was terrible, but I met someone else and we really hit it off!"
"That's great sweetie."
"How was your trip," Will asked with half a sandwich in his mouth.
"Ok, it took longer than expected." The ringing of the cell phone cut off Sydney. "Sorry guys I have to take this."
"You work too hard."
"Don't I know it," Sydney answered, before entering her room and answering the phone.
"Hello."
"Did everything go okay at SD-6?"
"Your agent was compromised; I had to change the story. I didn't tell them anything that would help them find you. As long as your agent doesn't break, then SD-6 can't find you."
"You better hope they don't find us because they may come across some files relating to you, Miss Bristow."
"Just give me the information concerning the artefacts."
"The CIA is holding it at a warehouse."
"The one on Spencer?"
"Yes. We only know the number given to the artefact, you'll have to get onto your handler's computer to get the exact location."
"That's going to be hard."
"I wouldn't complain. I could always make it harder for you."
"Give me the number."
******************
After being cut off from Sydney, Vaughn had rushed back to the office in hope that she'd be there. Weiss had informed him that she had gone to SD-6 first, which made more sense. So he was reduced to waiting, something he had grown tired of in the last couple of days.
"Agent Vaughn, there's a call for you on line 2," Cathy said poking her head into his office.
"Thanks. Hello?"
"Vaughn. It's me."
"Sydney, where are you?"
"I've just been debriefed by SD-6. Apparently the impostor has something to do with Dixon's disappearance."
"I thought you said it was K- Directorate," Vaughn said, confused.
"I thought it was. I need to talk to you. Could we meet somewhere?" she sounded worried and upset and Vaughn was anxious to know why.
"Sure. I'll meet you at the warehouse."
"In about an hour?"
"Sure. Syd are you okay?"
"Fine."
****************
Sydney walked into Vaughn's office half hoping he hadn't left to meet her at the warehouse. She felt guilty about not telling Vaughn the truth, but she knew that the CIA could no longer help Dixon. It hurt to lie to him, he was one of the few people she could trust, one of the few people she felt safe with. She wouldn't be responsible for him getting hurt, the less he knew the safer he was. She was relieved to see that Vaughn hadn't logged off the system and so she wouldn't have to find out his password. She started searching and found the database she needed quite easily. She typed in the number she'd been given and waited for the computer to find the artefacts' location. She shot up when the doorknob to Vaughn's office started to turn. She rushed around to the other side if the desk and barely had enough time to sit in the chair before Cathy entered the room.
"Sydney!"
"I was supposed to meet Vaughn."
"He went out a little while ago. I though he was going to meet you, I must have heard wrong," she said shaking her head.
"Is it okay if I wait in here?"
"Yeah it's fine. I could try him on his cell if you want."
"No, it's fine. I'm sure he's just caught in traffic."
She exited the room and Sydney let out a sigh of relief. She went back to the computer and saw it was still searching for the location number. Sydney was growing impatient. She sat down warily and looked around Vaughn's office. She took in the photos on his desk, the half-cup of coffee still sitting next to his computer; the mess of files stacked haphazardly on top his computer screen. The office was uniquely Vaughn's. A loud beep, signalling the computer had found the location, drew her out of her thoughts. She wrote down the numbers and exited the database. She paused before leaving the office; she doubted she'd be back here again.
*****************
Vaughn had waited for Sydney for more than an hour before heading back. His concern was rapidly growing. He walked as quickly as he could without breaking into a run and went up to Cathy's desk.
"Has Sydney called?"
"No. She was waiting in your office but left a little while ago. She said she'd catch up with you later."
"She was supposed to meet at the warehouse."
"She thought you were meeting here. You just got your wires crossed."
"No. Something's up." Sydney had been acting strange since she got back and Vaughn couldn't workout why. He was angry that Sydney hadn't told him what was going on. He was her handler, more importantly he thought he was her friend. He walked into his office defeated. He knew he trying to get information out of Sydney was useless, she'd talk when she was ready. He turned to his computer and decided to do some work to clear his head. He paused, his hands above the keyboard, he was sure he had left his computer logged in when he'd left. He'd been in the middle of something when Sydney had called. But his computer screen was asking him to log in.
"Cathy."
"What? You don't have to yell you know."
"You said Sydney was in my office."
"Yeah, she was waiting for you."
"Was she near my computer?"
"No, I don't think so, but come to think of it she looked a little flustered when I came in."
"Get Timothy Leaves to come to my office."
"The tech guy?"
"Yes."
*****************
Sydney walked up to the guard confidently, even though inside she was a mess. She knew what the consequences would be after the CIA found out. Stealing the Rambaldi artefact was more than likely going to be frowned upon. She reached the desk and smiled at the guard who was reading the newspaper. "Hello."
"Hey. Id please."
Sydney flashed her CIA identification and the man waved her through. She followed the corridors until she found door 17. She made sure no one was around before typing in the code she had gotten off Vaughn's computer. A green light appeared and Sydney quickly entered. Endless shelves filled the room and she looked for some kind of numbering system. 19.20.21. She walked down the aisle until she found what she was looking for. "Great, it had to be the top shelf." Sydney looked around for some kind of ladder. It took her awhile to find one and then to get the box with the artefact inside. She was just about to look inside the box when she heard footsteps. She drew out her gun with one hand and started heading towards the exit.
"Drop it," Vaughn's voice came form behind her.
She turned around to find Vaughn with his gun aimed at her.
"How'd you find me?"
"Your computer skills are in need of improvement. I had our guys retrace your steps. What's going on Syd?"
"I can't explain."
"You can't explain? Sydney, you're stealing from the CIA. To make it worse it's a Rambaldi artefact."
"It's not for SD-6, please believe me. I wish I could explain but I can't."
"Why?"
Sydney paused, "They have Dixon."
"Who?"
"I can't explain."
"Put the box on the floor and drop your gun," Vaughn yelled in frustration. "Backup will be here soon."
"Just let me go, please. Trust me."
"I wish I could. I want to Syd, but."
"You can't shoot me."
"No, maybe not, but please don't make me find out Syd."
"I can't."
****************
George had been a part of security for the CIA for ten years. Most times it was as boring as hell. When the young lady had entered the site he hadn't thought anything of it; but when the second agent ran in after her about ten minutes later, he was expecting at least some action. Sadly, the man still hadn't reappeared and either had the young lady, so George went back to reading his paper and checking the camera's every ten minutes or so.
"Hey George," Pete called out. It was time to change shifts. "Anyone about?"
"Just two agents. They went in about fifteen minutes or so." George started to collect his stuff when he heard the gunshot. Pete and him exchanged looks before grabbing their guns and running off down the hall.