Authors Note: Thanks to everyone for the feedback! ;) Wishing Good Luck to
Kylie, who is completing her last year with me. And to Sara Blanchonette
who will be teaching at a new school, and has a new class to deal with.
Also sorry about the long wait but my beta went on hols so this was in her
inbox for awhile.
Sydney was walking up and down the aisles of the small convenience store that was inside the petrol station. The tall guy at the counter was watching her, so Sydney grabbed a bottle of water and some mints to make her less suspicious. She was still wearing her black clothes from the warehouse and knew she looked out of place wandering around. She was paying for the water and mints when the mobile started ringing.
"Hello?" She moved off towards the back of the store after the man handed her back her change.
"There was a disruption at the warehouse. I take it you managed to get the artefact."
"I have it."
"Good. The second item is being held by SD-6. Their files aren't as easily accessed as the CIA's and so you'll have to find out where it is being held."
"How am I supposed to do that if I don't know what I'm looking for?"
"Do you take me for an idiot? You already know what the second artefact is."
"The key."
"Of course, one cannot work without the other."
"It will be hard to get into SD-6. The CIA will have alerted my father to what has happened. He is more than likely waiting for me to show up at SD- 6."
"That has been taken care of."
Sydney's body tensed, "What do you mean 'taken care of'?"
"Your father will not be a problem."
"What do you mean?" she yelled, but it was too late, he'd hung up.
*************
Vaughn waited patiently for the nurse to finish checking his wound. Weiss had just arrived holding a file and by the way he kept shifting his weight from foot to foot, Vaughn knew he'd found something.
"Anything else you need Mr Vaughn?" the nurse asked.
"No thanks."
"Okay," she gazed over to Weiss and hesitated. "Visiting hours are over."
"I won't be long," Weiss reassured.
"It's important," added Vaughn.
"Okay, not too long though."
Weiss waited until the nurse had shut the door before handing him the file.
"What did you find out?" Vaughn said, opening the folder. On top was a photograph of a small wooden box. "Is this what Sydney took?"
"Yeah."
"What is it?"
"We don't have much information on it. A team picked it up two years ago after Jack gave us some information that Sloane had sent a team out to retrieve it. We got there first. Jack was part of the retrieval team. Sydney was part of the SD-6 team; it was before she found out the truth."
Vaughn looked at the next picture; it was of a larger box with similar carvings on the top. Only this one wasn't made of the same wood and was slightly deteriorated. "What's this?"
"The target. Actually that small box was inside the larger box."
"And the larger box was the target?"
"Yep."
"What's inside the small box?"
"We don't know. It can't open without the key."
"Where's the key."
"We don't have it, it wasn't with the box. We assume that SD-6 has it, but we're not sure. Since it wasn't the original target we didn't look for the key."
"Did we have the key for the larger box?"
"No, SD-6 did."
"So how did we open the larger box?"
"Jack swapped the original with a fake. Since we retrieved the box SD-6 hasn't noticed the key's a copy."
"So we have no idea where she's going or what's in the box."
"Well... no."
"Then we're back to square one."
"Well we know who ever wants the box has Dixon."
"What does Jack think?"
"We haven't been able to contact him."
"At all?"
"No."
"That's strange," Vaughn murmured.
"He's probably still dealing with Dixon and that Veitch guy."
"Maybe."
"So I should keep trying him, and you should get some rest."
"Not tonight."
****************
Jack awoke uncomfortably in a pitch-black room. When he tried to move he found that he was handcuffed to a bed. He tried to remember what had happened, but it was no use; his mind was still groggy from whatever they had given him. Slowly, his eyes adjusted to the dark and he could make out the tiny cell he was trapped in.
The only piece of furniture was the bed and the only exit the door opposite him. He sat up slowly, careful not to knock his shoulder, which from what he could tell was dislocated. He checked himself for other injuries but found none. It was then he realised that he was wearing a different shirt. It was too big for him and was made from a coarse material. He felt around as far as his hands could reach and wasn't surprised he no longer had his gun, phone or wallet. He leant back against the wall defeated. Where the hell was he?
****************
Claire was 87; she'd had two heart attacks, one hip replacement and had cataracts surgery. She felt feeble being in the hospital for something as silly as high blood pressure.
She could never sleep in hospitals; the beds were uncomfortable and the blankets scratchy. Instead, she lay awake running through what she was going to get her grandson for his birthday. Soft whispering followed by a soft thump caused her to sit up. Nurses usually made much more noise, not that they were loud but Claire was a light sleeper. She wondered if it was the elderly man across the hall, she'd been warned he was a sleepwalker.
"Can't you go any faster?"
"I got shot in the leg remember."
"How could I forget."
The voices were getting closer and she realised there were two of them. She pushed her call button to alert the nurses at the desk and watched as the two men passed her door. Curious, she got out of bed and went to the door. She watched as the man supported the other as they rounded the corner. She crept after them slowly and waited a couple of minutes before sneaking around the corner.
"I don't know why you couldn't wait another two days or so."
"I don't like hospitals, plus Sydney needs our help."
Claire didn't know who Sydney was, but she could agree with him on the hospital part. She slowly made her way back to her room, knowing full well by the time the nurses found her and put her back to bed the two men would be long gone.
****************
Sydney waited around nervously for Will to show up. She'd sat in her car for at least three hours calling her father's mobile and home number, but there had been no answer. She had taken the risk and called Marshall at SD- 6; he spent forty-five minutes updating her on Dixon and Veitch, which really wasn't anything at all, before she could interrupt him and ask if he'd seen her father. When he told her not since that morning after she had been debriefed, she knew she could not pretend otherwise- something had happened to her father.
She was now back in the petrol station waiting for Will. There was a girl at the counter, who was too busy reading a magazine to notice Sydney hovering around.
"Sydney!"
She turned to find Will looking extremely worried. She went up and hugged him tightly. "Thank you for coming."
"What's going on Syd?"
"Will, don't. I can't tell you. Please just give me the stuff and go."
"I'm not giving you anything until you tell me what's going on," Will lowered his voice and then said, "Why do you need a gun?"
Sydney had not expected him to go through the bag and was momentarily shocked. "You had no right to go through my things."
"No right! Syd you called me in the middle of the day and had me sneak around and lie to Francie without so much as a hint of to what was going on. I was worried. I had to see if I could at least find a clue as to what was going on."
"Where's my stuff?"
"I'm not telling you until I get some answers."
"Then I'll find it for myself." Sydney stalked out of the petrol station and headed over to his car. Will followed close behind.
"What are you doing?"
"Getting my stuff," Sydney took off her jumper and wrapped it around her hand.
"Don't!" Will cried out in alarm, but Sydney had already broken the window and unlocked the door.
Sydney started rummaging through all the sheets Will had in his car. Finding nothing she moved onto his laptop case. Finding only the laptop she got out of the car and glared at him. "Where is it?"
"Syd, you're scaring me."
Sydney stopped and stared. She didn't have time to waste, so she gave in. "A friend of mine is in trouble and I need to help him. That's all I can tell you without putting you in danger. Now where is my bag?"
"This makes no sense. Why not go to the police?"
"Because they probably have a warrant for my arrest."
"What?!"
A sudden squeal of tires caught Sydney's attention and she pushed Will to the ground.
"What..." Will gasped as he hit the ground hard.
Two men with guns jumped out of the van and headed towards Sydney. Unarmed and in a public place, Sydney didn't have many options. "Will, my stuff?"
"Under the laptop."
She dove into the car and grabbed the black bag just as shots were fired at the car. People started screaming and running for cover. "Will, find a car that has its engine going."
She watched as Will crawled towards the various cars waiting in line, now abandoned by any passengers. She grabbed her gun and fired at the two men. She hit one but the other had already reached the car.
"My orders are to take you in alive, Ms Bristow. This would be easier if you gave yourself up."
"Lucky for me I don't have to follow orders." She gave a swift kick to his torso, winding him slightly, but he managed to grab her leg and flip her on to her back. She landed on the floor with a thud, but sprang back up. He threw a punch with his right hand but Sydney easily blocked it. His punches were fast and precise, and Sydney found it hard to keep up with him. She sent a sharp kick to his wrist causing his gun to go flying.
"Syd."
Will pulled up behind the man in a small blue car. The man, temporarily distracted by Will's arrival, was knocked out as Sydney sent a strong punch to his temple. She ran over to the car and climbed in. "Drive."
"Who are those people?" Will said, speeding out of the station.
"You don't want to know."
Sydney was walking up and down the aisles of the small convenience store that was inside the petrol station. The tall guy at the counter was watching her, so Sydney grabbed a bottle of water and some mints to make her less suspicious. She was still wearing her black clothes from the warehouse and knew she looked out of place wandering around. She was paying for the water and mints when the mobile started ringing.
"Hello?" She moved off towards the back of the store after the man handed her back her change.
"There was a disruption at the warehouse. I take it you managed to get the artefact."
"I have it."
"Good. The second item is being held by SD-6. Their files aren't as easily accessed as the CIA's and so you'll have to find out where it is being held."
"How am I supposed to do that if I don't know what I'm looking for?"
"Do you take me for an idiot? You already know what the second artefact is."
"The key."
"Of course, one cannot work without the other."
"It will be hard to get into SD-6. The CIA will have alerted my father to what has happened. He is more than likely waiting for me to show up at SD- 6."
"That has been taken care of."
Sydney's body tensed, "What do you mean 'taken care of'?"
"Your father will not be a problem."
"What do you mean?" she yelled, but it was too late, he'd hung up.
*************
Vaughn waited patiently for the nurse to finish checking his wound. Weiss had just arrived holding a file and by the way he kept shifting his weight from foot to foot, Vaughn knew he'd found something.
"Anything else you need Mr Vaughn?" the nurse asked.
"No thanks."
"Okay," she gazed over to Weiss and hesitated. "Visiting hours are over."
"I won't be long," Weiss reassured.
"It's important," added Vaughn.
"Okay, not too long though."
Weiss waited until the nurse had shut the door before handing him the file.
"What did you find out?" Vaughn said, opening the folder. On top was a photograph of a small wooden box. "Is this what Sydney took?"
"Yeah."
"What is it?"
"We don't have much information on it. A team picked it up two years ago after Jack gave us some information that Sloane had sent a team out to retrieve it. We got there first. Jack was part of the retrieval team. Sydney was part of the SD-6 team; it was before she found out the truth."
Vaughn looked at the next picture; it was of a larger box with similar carvings on the top. Only this one wasn't made of the same wood and was slightly deteriorated. "What's this?"
"The target. Actually that small box was inside the larger box."
"And the larger box was the target?"
"Yep."
"What's inside the small box?"
"We don't know. It can't open without the key."
"Where's the key."
"We don't have it, it wasn't with the box. We assume that SD-6 has it, but we're not sure. Since it wasn't the original target we didn't look for the key."
"Did we have the key for the larger box?"
"No, SD-6 did."
"So how did we open the larger box?"
"Jack swapped the original with a fake. Since we retrieved the box SD-6 hasn't noticed the key's a copy."
"So we have no idea where she's going or what's in the box."
"Well... no."
"Then we're back to square one."
"Well we know who ever wants the box has Dixon."
"What does Jack think?"
"We haven't been able to contact him."
"At all?"
"No."
"That's strange," Vaughn murmured.
"He's probably still dealing with Dixon and that Veitch guy."
"Maybe."
"So I should keep trying him, and you should get some rest."
"Not tonight."
****************
Jack awoke uncomfortably in a pitch-black room. When he tried to move he found that he was handcuffed to a bed. He tried to remember what had happened, but it was no use; his mind was still groggy from whatever they had given him. Slowly, his eyes adjusted to the dark and he could make out the tiny cell he was trapped in.
The only piece of furniture was the bed and the only exit the door opposite him. He sat up slowly, careful not to knock his shoulder, which from what he could tell was dislocated. He checked himself for other injuries but found none. It was then he realised that he was wearing a different shirt. It was too big for him and was made from a coarse material. He felt around as far as his hands could reach and wasn't surprised he no longer had his gun, phone or wallet. He leant back against the wall defeated. Where the hell was he?
****************
Claire was 87; she'd had two heart attacks, one hip replacement and had cataracts surgery. She felt feeble being in the hospital for something as silly as high blood pressure.
She could never sleep in hospitals; the beds were uncomfortable and the blankets scratchy. Instead, she lay awake running through what she was going to get her grandson for his birthday. Soft whispering followed by a soft thump caused her to sit up. Nurses usually made much more noise, not that they were loud but Claire was a light sleeper. She wondered if it was the elderly man across the hall, she'd been warned he was a sleepwalker.
"Can't you go any faster?"
"I got shot in the leg remember."
"How could I forget."
The voices were getting closer and she realised there were two of them. She pushed her call button to alert the nurses at the desk and watched as the two men passed her door. Curious, she got out of bed and went to the door. She watched as the man supported the other as they rounded the corner. She crept after them slowly and waited a couple of minutes before sneaking around the corner.
"I don't know why you couldn't wait another two days or so."
"I don't like hospitals, plus Sydney needs our help."
Claire didn't know who Sydney was, but she could agree with him on the hospital part. She slowly made her way back to her room, knowing full well by the time the nurses found her and put her back to bed the two men would be long gone.
****************
Sydney waited around nervously for Will to show up. She'd sat in her car for at least three hours calling her father's mobile and home number, but there had been no answer. She had taken the risk and called Marshall at SD- 6; he spent forty-five minutes updating her on Dixon and Veitch, which really wasn't anything at all, before she could interrupt him and ask if he'd seen her father. When he told her not since that morning after she had been debriefed, she knew she could not pretend otherwise- something had happened to her father.
She was now back in the petrol station waiting for Will. There was a girl at the counter, who was too busy reading a magazine to notice Sydney hovering around.
"Sydney!"
She turned to find Will looking extremely worried. She went up and hugged him tightly. "Thank you for coming."
"What's going on Syd?"
"Will, don't. I can't tell you. Please just give me the stuff and go."
"I'm not giving you anything until you tell me what's going on," Will lowered his voice and then said, "Why do you need a gun?"
Sydney had not expected him to go through the bag and was momentarily shocked. "You had no right to go through my things."
"No right! Syd you called me in the middle of the day and had me sneak around and lie to Francie without so much as a hint of to what was going on. I was worried. I had to see if I could at least find a clue as to what was going on."
"Where's my stuff?"
"I'm not telling you until I get some answers."
"Then I'll find it for myself." Sydney stalked out of the petrol station and headed over to his car. Will followed close behind.
"What are you doing?"
"Getting my stuff," Sydney took off her jumper and wrapped it around her hand.
"Don't!" Will cried out in alarm, but Sydney had already broken the window and unlocked the door.
Sydney started rummaging through all the sheets Will had in his car. Finding nothing she moved onto his laptop case. Finding only the laptop she got out of the car and glared at him. "Where is it?"
"Syd, you're scaring me."
Sydney stopped and stared. She didn't have time to waste, so she gave in. "A friend of mine is in trouble and I need to help him. That's all I can tell you without putting you in danger. Now where is my bag?"
"This makes no sense. Why not go to the police?"
"Because they probably have a warrant for my arrest."
"What?!"
A sudden squeal of tires caught Sydney's attention and she pushed Will to the ground.
"What..." Will gasped as he hit the ground hard.
Two men with guns jumped out of the van and headed towards Sydney. Unarmed and in a public place, Sydney didn't have many options. "Will, my stuff?"
"Under the laptop."
She dove into the car and grabbed the black bag just as shots were fired at the car. People started screaming and running for cover. "Will, find a car that has its engine going."
She watched as Will crawled towards the various cars waiting in line, now abandoned by any passengers. She grabbed her gun and fired at the two men. She hit one but the other had already reached the car.
"My orders are to take you in alive, Ms Bristow. This would be easier if you gave yourself up."
"Lucky for me I don't have to follow orders." She gave a swift kick to his torso, winding him slightly, but he managed to grab her leg and flip her on to her back. She landed on the floor with a thud, but sprang back up. He threw a punch with his right hand but Sydney easily blocked it. His punches were fast and precise, and Sydney found it hard to keep up with him. She sent a sharp kick to his wrist causing his gun to go flying.
"Syd."
Will pulled up behind the man in a small blue car. The man, temporarily distracted by Will's arrival, was knocked out as Sydney sent a strong punch to his temple. She ran over to the car and climbed in. "Drive."
"Who are those people?" Will said, speeding out of the station.
"You don't want to know."