Author's Note: Even though this is semi-AU, some points from the Alias world are in here. Rambaldi, naturally. The Alliance has been taken down, and the Covenant exists. Francie is not dead, and she hasn't been doubled. Lauren is not evil (sorry, but I wrote the prologue to this story pre-Full Disclosure, so....).

Illisian, I'm sorry you feel that way. The whole purpose of a disclaimer is to not plagerize. If you bothered to read the disclaimer in my prologue, you will realize I am not plagerizing. I disagree with the character of Lauren Reed just as you do, but remember, she is just a CHARACTER, and Alias is just a TV SHOW. I'm sorry you feel this way about my story, but frankly, I don't care. I'm continuing this story whether you like it or not.

Chapter 2

Los Angeles, California

"Sydney...earth to Sydney!"

Sydney jumped out of her daydream. "Oh...sorry Francie. I was just daydreaming. What was the question?"

Francie sighed. "There was no question Syd."

"Yeah," Will agreed. "She's just moaning about the new chef she hired."

"He's a great cook, but he can't get along with anybody!" Francie said. "He is almost like a robot. He never shows emotion, and is always yelling at somebody for something."

"Are you sure you didn't hire my father?" Sydney asked. "Minus the great cook part, he could pass for my dad."

"I would know if I hired your dad," Francie shuddered. "No offense, but he's scary."

"None taken," Sydney said as her cell phone rang. "Hello? Okay, be right in."

"Don't you dare say that the bank needs you to come in," Francie warned.

"Sorry guys," Sydney said. "I'll be back later."

"But you just got back from Germany!" Francie protested.

"I know!" Sydney called over her shoulder as she walked out of the house.

"Sydney!" a British voice called after her as Sydney was about to enter the Vaughn Agency.

Sydney stopped and turned around. Lauren was walking down the sidewalk.

"Hey Lauren," Sydney greeted. "What do you think Vaughn needs us to do now?"

"Probably a follow up on the Rambaldi papers," Lauren replied as the two walked into the main hallway. They made a quick right and entered the enormous study, where Fallon and Eric Weiss already were.

"And the rest of the angels are here," Weiss replied as Lauren and Sydney took their seats.

"Has Vaughn called in via speaker box yet?" Lauren asked.

Fallon shook her head. "Nope. I guess he's still getting everything together."

As if on cue, the phone rang.

"Speak of the devil," Weiss responded. "Or God, considering your angels."

"Weiss!" the three said in unison.

Weiss laughed and answered the phone.

"Good morning angels," Vaughn said.

"Good morning Vaughn," the girls replied.

"Great work in Germany," Vaughn said. "But now there is a whole new side to this case."

Weiss picked up a remote and pointed it at the wall. A giant TV screen appeared, a long with a man's face.

"Angels, you remember Marcus Dixon," Vaughn said.

"Of course," Fallon replied.

"Hello," Lauren said.

"How are you feeling?" Sydney asked.

"I'm doing fine," Dixon responded. "A couple of bruises, but I'm glad to be back home with my wife and kids."

"Marcus is the director of the CIA Joint Task Force Center here in Los Angeles," Vaughn informed them. "There's someone else you need to meet."

Another picture came up. "This Mr. Kendall. He is the Director of Project Black Hole and CIA relations."

"Hello angels," Kendall greeted. "Miss. Bristow, it's good to see you again."

Sydney smiled a small smile and nodded. Fallon and Lauren exchanged an odd glance

"Project Black Hole?" Sydney questioned, trying to change the subject.

Weiss passed out the files to the girls. They opened them and began to read.

"Basically, you collected the real and copies of the Rambaldi artifacts, analyzed them, and try to determine what they mean," Lauren observed.

"Correct Miss. Reed," Kendall said.

"I was carrying the location of the last few papers when I was abducted," Dixon replied. "The men that had me, the Covenant, now knows the location of these papers."

"What's on the papers?" Fallon asked.

"It's complicated Miss. Del Amico," Kendall responded. "In simple terms, these papers hold the key to putting together the Rambaldi device."

"But how can the Covenant put together the Rambaldi device when DSR has some of the artifacts?" Lauren asked.

"Here's where the situation gets complicated," Kendall said. "There was an attempted break-in at the Project Black Hole site early this morning. We believe the Covenant was responsible for this incident. And one of our researchers, Derrick Hayes, was murdered in his home a few hours before the break-in. He was shot to death. Hayes had access to all areas of Project Black Hole. The Covenant now has that access."

"So what do we do?" Fallon asked.

"Miss. Bristow will be able to tell you that," Kendall responded.

Vaughn cleared his throat. "Thank you for your time gentlemen. We'll be in touch."

Weiss pressed a button on the remote, and the screen went blank.

"What does he mean 'nice to see you again'?" Lauren asked Sydney.

"And what does he mean, 'you'll be able to tell us what to do'?" Fallon asked.

"I have to tell them, don't I Vaughn?" she asked.

"I'm afraid so Sydney," the speaker box said.

Sydney took a deep breath. "It all started a year ago..."

I'm evil. Plain and simple.