Chapter 23
On a plane to Rome
Sydney sat across from Vaughn who was staring out of the small plane window. He hadn't spoke for nearly an hour, which was making Sydney worry about him even more. They were on a private plane, filled with about 20 other agents. Weiss was sat next to Sydney snoring, as he had fallen asleep ten minutes after they had taken off. Finally Sydney couldn't take the silence for any longer.
"Vaughn?" He never answered her; he seemed to be in a world of his own. Not wanting to draw any attention to them, she kept her voice low as she spoke again. "Vaughn?" He heard her this time and tore his eyes away from the window.
"Yeah..." He waited to hear what she had to say.
"Are you ok?" She asked, her face full of concern. He looked down at his hands, as if he was searching for an answer. "I'm fine." He lied. He knew that he felt nothing but fine, but he didn't want Sydney to have anything more to worry about. She sensed immediately that he was lying, so she carefully stood up not wanting to wake Weiss, and moved to sit beside her boyfriend.
"Michael, you don't have to do this you know. It's not too late for you to back out. None of us will think any less of you." She took hold of his hand, and held it gently in hers.
"I'm not backing out of this Syd. It's something that I've got to do." He looked at her hoping that she would understand.
"I know that, but..." She paused looking for a way to best voice her concerns. "Lauren's changed Vaughn, no one knows what she's capable of. But you, you are still that sweet, kind man that I fell in love with. But what if when we get to Rome we find Lauren. And then she has a gun pointed at you, and you have one pointed at her. She's not gonna hesitate to shoot you Vaughn, we both know that. But in that second that it would take you to consider whether or shoot to shoot you ex-wife, you could be dead." Tears were freely falling down her cheek. Vaughn lifted his hand and wiped the fallen drops with his thumbs. "I've lost you once Vaughn, I couldn't lose you again, that would actually kill me." She lent in and kissed him passionately on the lips.
Breaking apart, Vaughn tried to ease her worries. "Hopefully it won't come down to that Syd. But if it happens and it turns out that we both have guns aimed at one another, I'm gonna be the first to shoot. I promise." He kissed her lightly on the forehead, as she rested her head on his shoulder.
Rome
The CIA had tracked Lauren and Sark to a hotel in the centre of Rome. The plan was for all the agents to storm into the hotel, and capture Sark and Lauren. But is she was to refuse arrest then she would be killed. Sydney stood with Weiss outside the hotel, whilst Vaughn adjusted his comm. link. All the agents were dressed in tactical gear guns at the ready. Making sure that Vaughn was out of earshot, Eric looked at Syd, his face displaying fear, anxiety and concern. "Syd, is he up for this mission?"
Sydney glanced over at the man she loved. "Honestly, I don't think he is. I know that him and Lauren aren't exactly together anymore, but I don't think that he has it in him to kill her. I've tried to talk him out of it, but he won't listen. We're just gonna have to hope that everything goes as planned." She smiled at him, trying to make him feel better. "Come on, it looks like they're ready for us!" She said nodding over in the direction of the agent who was in charge. Agent McKenna was a middle aged man who had worked for the agency for almost 20 years. He was signaling all the agents to gather round, as it was time to start the mission.
"Right, I want this mission to be clean. No civilian casualties. Agent Brown will be watching the security camera footage to alert us of any interference, so listen to your comm. links. Now let's go!" He began to run towards the building followed by all the other agents.
Sydney glanced nervously at Vaughn as they entered the fancy hotel. The people inside the hotel screamed and gasped as the team advanced through the main hotel lobby. Agent McKenna stopped on the stairwell, causing the other agents to listen. "Split up. Each group takes a floor each. Make sure that they do not get away." The group dispersed into small groups, Sydney, Vaughn, Weiss and another agent called Agent Cole, ran up the stairs to the third floor. They all had their guns out, aimed infront of them.
Each floor was filled with about fifteen rooms, so they had to break down each door as quickly as they could and scan the room for Sark and his accomplice.
"Me and Syd will take the doors on the left, you two take the right." Vaughn instructed. Weiss nodded and him and Cole took the first door. Weiss kicked down the door, and entered with caution. The room was clear; the occupants obviously out for the evening. "Clear!" He yelled, as they ran back out of the room.
Vaughn busted through a door, to find a man and a woman sitting by the window drinking a glass of wine. The woman screamed as the door burst open, and the man just shouted abuse as the two agents entered the room. "Sorry." Sydney said, lowering her gun as they left the room again.
They continued to have no luck, as each door revealed no Sark or Lauren. Vaughn came up to the last door, and kicked it open. He gasped as he spotted Lauren standing in the center of the room unpacking a suitcase. "FREEZE!" Vaughn yelled holding his gun up to her. Sydney stood by his side, her gun also focussed on Lauren.
"Michael! How nice to see you again!" Lauren said taunting him.
"Put you hands where we can see them." Sydney ordered, glaring at Lauren.
"Aww, isn't this nice. You even bought your girlfriend along to see me. I'm touched." She smiled coldly at Sydney, who noticed that her behavior was slightly psychotic, with that or she was drunk.
"This is no social call Lauren. Hands in the air!" Lauren rolled her eyes as she raised her hands. "Now, tell us where Sark is."
Lauren glanced around the room and then back at Vaughn. "Well he's obviously not here!" She said laughing to herself. Seeing how the other two people were not as amused as she was, she gave them another answer. "He's gone out. And before you say it, I don't know where!" She shrugged. Weiss and Cole ran into the room, after not hearing Vaughn shout clear.
"Woo!" Weiss said as he saw Lauren.
"Weiss check the bathroom!" Vaughn said, not taking hi eyes off Lauren. Weiss nodded and went towards the bathroom, which was all clear. "Clear."
"You're leaving with us now!" Vaughn stated as he took a pair of handcuffs out of his back pocket. He tossed them over to her. "Put these on, and don't try anything stupid. I won't hesitate to shoot you." Sydney breathed deeply, relieved that it was nearly over.
"Michael, you really don't need to have a gun pointed at me. I wouldn't try and kill somebody that I love..." She looked at him for a minute, her eyes glistening with tears. But Vaughn wasn't going to fall for her act. She looked down as she started to fasten the handcuffs around her wrists. She paused. "However, HER," She nodded at Sydney, "Let's just say I'm not that compassionate about what happens to her." She reached behind her and pulled a gun out, shooting it once at Sydney, before jumping down on the ground, thinking that that would save her.
The bullet hit Sydney directly in the chest, sending her falling to the ground. "NO!" Vaughn screamed, tears running down his face. He turned to Lauren and shot his gun several times, ensuring that each bullet hit her. "You b!" He cried as she lay lifelessly on the floor. Dropping the gun, he fell down on his knees beside Syd's injured body.
On a plane to Rome
Sydney sat across from Vaughn who was staring out of the small plane window. He hadn't spoke for nearly an hour, which was making Sydney worry about him even more. They were on a private plane, filled with about 20 other agents. Weiss was sat next to Sydney snoring, as he had fallen asleep ten minutes after they had taken off. Finally Sydney couldn't take the silence for any longer.
"Vaughn?" He never answered her; he seemed to be in a world of his own. Not wanting to draw any attention to them, she kept her voice low as she spoke again. "Vaughn?" He heard her this time and tore his eyes away from the window.
"Yeah..." He waited to hear what she had to say.
"Are you ok?" She asked, her face full of concern. He looked down at his hands, as if he was searching for an answer. "I'm fine." He lied. He knew that he felt nothing but fine, but he didn't want Sydney to have anything more to worry about. She sensed immediately that he was lying, so she carefully stood up not wanting to wake Weiss, and moved to sit beside her boyfriend.
"Michael, you don't have to do this you know. It's not too late for you to back out. None of us will think any less of you." She took hold of his hand, and held it gently in hers.
"I'm not backing out of this Syd. It's something that I've got to do." He looked at her hoping that she would understand.
"I know that, but..." She paused looking for a way to best voice her concerns. "Lauren's changed Vaughn, no one knows what she's capable of. But you, you are still that sweet, kind man that I fell in love with. But what if when we get to Rome we find Lauren. And then she has a gun pointed at you, and you have one pointed at her. She's not gonna hesitate to shoot you Vaughn, we both know that. But in that second that it would take you to consider whether or shoot to shoot you ex-wife, you could be dead." Tears were freely falling down her cheek. Vaughn lifted his hand and wiped the fallen drops with his thumbs. "I've lost you once Vaughn, I couldn't lose you again, that would actually kill me." She lent in and kissed him passionately on the lips.
Breaking apart, Vaughn tried to ease her worries. "Hopefully it won't come down to that Syd. But if it happens and it turns out that we both have guns aimed at one another, I'm gonna be the first to shoot. I promise." He kissed her lightly on the forehead, as she rested her head on his shoulder.
Rome
The CIA had tracked Lauren and Sark to a hotel in the centre of Rome. The plan was for all the agents to storm into the hotel, and capture Sark and Lauren. But is she was to refuse arrest then she would be killed. Sydney stood with Weiss outside the hotel, whilst Vaughn adjusted his comm. link. All the agents were dressed in tactical gear guns at the ready. Making sure that Vaughn was out of earshot, Eric looked at Syd, his face displaying fear, anxiety and concern. "Syd, is he up for this mission?"
Sydney glanced over at the man she loved. "Honestly, I don't think he is. I know that him and Lauren aren't exactly together anymore, but I don't think that he has it in him to kill her. I've tried to talk him out of it, but he won't listen. We're just gonna have to hope that everything goes as planned." She smiled at him, trying to make him feel better. "Come on, it looks like they're ready for us!" She said nodding over in the direction of the agent who was in charge. Agent McKenna was a middle aged man who had worked for the agency for almost 20 years. He was signaling all the agents to gather round, as it was time to start the mission.
"Right, I want this mission to be clean. No civilian casualties. Agent Brown will be watching the security camera footage to alert us of any interference, so listen to your comm. links. Now let's go!" He began to run towards the building followed by all the other agents.
Sydney glanced nervously at Vaughn as they entered the fancy hotel. The people inside the hotel screamed and gasped as the team advanced through the main hotel lobby. Agent McKenna stopped on the stairwell, causing the other agents to listen. "Split up. Each group takes a floor each. Make sure that they do not get away." The group dispersed into small groups, Sydney, Vaughn, Weiss and another agent called Agent Cole, ran up the stairs to the third floor. They all had their guns out, aimed infront of them.
Each floor was filled with about fifteen rooms, so they had to break down each door as quickly as they could and scan the room for Sark and his accomplice.
"Me and Syd will take the doors on the left, you two take the right." Vaughn instructed. Weiss nodded and him and Cole took the first door. Weiss kicked down the door, and entered with caution. The room was clear; the occupants obviously out for the evening. "Clear!" He yelled, as they ran back out of the room.
Vaughn busted through a door, to find a man and a woman sitting by the window drinking a glass of wine. The woman screamed as the door burst open, and the man just shouted abuse as the two agents entered the room. "Sorry." Sydney said, lowering her gun as they left the room again.
They continued to have no luck, as each door revealed no Sark or Lauren. Vaughn came up to the last door, and kicked it open. He gasped as he spotted Lauren standing in the center of the room unpacking a suitcase. "FREEZE!" Vaughn yelled holding his gun up to her. Sydney stood by his side, her gun also focussed on Lauren.
"Michael! How nice to see you again!" Lauren said taunting him.
"Put you hands where we can see them." Sydney ordered, glaring at Lauren.
"Aww, isn't this nice. You even bought your girlfriend along to see me. I'm touched." She smiled coldly at Sydney, who noticed that her behavior was slightly psychotic, with that or she was drunk.
"This is no social call Lauren. Hands in the air!" Lauren rolled her eyes as she raised her hands. "Now, tell us where Sark is."
Lauren glanced around the room and then back at Vaughn. "Well he's obviously not here!" She said laughing to herself. Seeing how the other two people were not as amused as she was, she gave them another answer. "He's gone out. And before you say it, I don't know where!" She shrugged. Weiss and Cole ran into the room, after not hearing Vaughn shout clear.
"Woo!" Weiss said as he saw Lauren.
"Weiss check the bathroom!" Vaughn said, not taking hi eyes off Lauren. Weiss nodded and went towards the bathroom, which was all clear. "Clear."
"You're leaving with us now!" Vaughn stated as he took a pair of handcuffs out of his back pocket. He tossed them over to her. "Put these on, and don't try anything stupid. I won't hesitate to shoot you." Sydney breathed deeply, relieved that it was nearly over.
"Michael, you really don't need to have a gun pointed at me. I wouldn't try and kill somebody that I love..." She looked at him for a minute, her eyes glistening with tears. But Vaughn wasn't going to fall for her act. She looked down as she started to fasten the handcuffs around her wrists. She paused. "However, HER," She nodded at Sydney, "Let's just say I'm not that compassionate about what happens to her." She reached behind her and pulled a gun out, shooting it once at Sydney, before jumping down on the ground, thinking that that would save her.
The bullet hit Sydney directly in the chest, sending her falling to the ground. "NO!" Vaughn screamed, tears running down his face. He turned to Lauren and shot his gun several times, ensuring that each bullet hit her. "You b!" He cried as she lay lifelessly on the floor. Dropping the gun, he fell down on his knees beside Syd's injured body.