Title : A Case Of You
Author : S@nd
Feedback : sydneyvaughnmailbox@yahoo.fr
Disclaimer : Everything belongs to J.J, Bad Robot, ABC… blablabla (you know). OK, OK, I don't own anything.
Summary : Forget Season 2, and try to imagine what might have happened if the scriptwriters had followed different tracks. In the first part of the prologue, a worn out Sydney comes back home after a mission, but it seems to have gone wrong. Will and Fran try to comfort her in vain. Sydney thinks about what happened before the mission…
A/N : Hi this is still my first fiction. I'm still French so please forgive me if there are mistakes. I'm doing my best. This is just the second part of the Prologue, so it still happens at the end of season 1. As always, let me know what you think. Thank you.
Sandra
*****
Sydney, a line of kohl on the edge of the eyelids, finished getting dressed and talked to Dixon.
He was wearing a camouflaged combat clothing and was about to light a cigar.
"Would you like a little help with your veil?" he asked as she was trying to wrap it up around her head.
"No, thank you. That's very kind of you, Dixon. I'm ready. How do I look?", she asked, with a large smile on her face.
"You're perfect. You're ALWAYS perfect, Syd. And, I think it's time to go…" he replied, puffing at the cigar.
"Yes, you're right. Be careful. Let's meet here as soon as we get what we want." she said, as she climbed out.
Dixon went out too, and headed to the house.
Sydney, in her disguise, arrived at the back of the house and started to speak before coming in.
"Dixon, do you copy?"
"Yes, I'm in. Everything is all right for me. Stand by. The presentation is about to begin."
"Right, that's the plan. I'll go radio silent until the presentation is over. Just let me know ! I'm heading to the vault now. Good luck!" she whispered.
Sydney came in slowly and spotted a guard pacing up and down in the hallway.
He walked away and she seized the opportunity to go.
After the briefing, Marshall had given her a plan of the house, so that she could find the room easily.
She went down the stairs quickly, looking around.
No guard.
It was dark and she made her way to the vault.
She stopped at the corner, and waited for another guard to go.
Then she reached the door. She took a device Marshall had given her to open the door and tried to open it.
One, two, three, four, five seconds.
The device beeped.
Sydney looked around.
Nobody.
The door opened and she went in. She locked the door and started looking for a safe.
One, two, three minutes.
She finally found a panel and opened it. There was a keypad behind it. She took Marshall's device again and waited for it to find the code.
*****
MeaNwHiLe - UpsTairs At thE meeTinG
"So, we're proud to present you our new 547-HK7 prototype!"
Dixon was sitting in the middle of the group, and was looking at everyone cautiously, trying to identify as many potential buyers as possible.
The prototype was quite amazing and Dixon wondered how many years the op tech must have worked on it to create such a weapon.
He hoped Sydney was in the safe at the moment, to find as much as possible about this new technology.
It was revolutionary.
Suddenly, a commando entered the room, pointing their guns at the crowd.
"Good evening, gentlemen, Nice to see some of you again. I'm really sorry but we have to interrupt your 'meeting'. Would you put your hands up right now? Slowly please! Oh, I was about to forget! And please, don't try to be daredevils! I wouldn't like to have all of you killed. I must say I need you alive, OK?
*****
BaCk In ThE VaulT
Sydney had opened the safe and was looking around, taking some photos of the documents she just found, as soon as possible. And it was not that easy. Not only was she supposed to take photos for the CIA, as Vaughn asked her, but she had to follow Sloane's plan and do the same thing for him.
And she had to do it quickly, because the guards may arrive at any moment.
She thought she was in front of the most interesting document when she heard Dixon, speaking thickly.
"Sydney, I think it was a trap! Get out of there! Quick! ", he shouted. "Sydney, be careful. Sark is here…! Go! Go!"
His voice died. Sydney heard gunshots. She stood for a few seconds, unable to make a move, but soon gathered her wits.
"Dixon! Dixon! Can you hear me? Dixon!" she shouted. "Dixon, do you copy!"
No reply.
She took the designs she had found in the safe, hid them underneath her burnous, closed the safe and started to run through the building.
She heard a big noise, probably coming from the meeting room.
She started to have a few qualms.
What could happen upstairs?
Why couldn't she hear Dixon?
She didn't want to think about the most crucial question.
Was Dixon dead?
No, she didn't want to think about that.
Not yet.
A guard from upstairs started to climb down the stairs. Sydney kept running, trying to leave.
She hid behind the wall and punched him as he arrived near her.
She pushed him up against the wall, and kicked him again and again.
He finally fell.
She ran up the stairs, and rushed into the meeting room.
Everything had been turned upside down, and everyone was gone now.
No prototype left, no buyers, no Sark and… no Dixon.
She tried to get in touch with him again. "Dixon, do you copy? Dixon!"
The silence remained. She fell down on her knees, with tears in the eyes.
*****
Los AnGeles - CIA - WeiSs' OffiCe.Weiss was sitting behind his desk, calmly playing with his yo-yo while reading a file. Vaughn suddenly rushed into the room, yelling.
"Weiss, in my office, now!" He took to his heels, ready to run to his office.
"Hey, Mike, what's up?" he asked, noticing how upset Vaughn looked.
Vaughn retraced his steps, and kept shouting, showing signs of impatience.
"I'll tell you as soon as you are in my office! Please, come on! Now!"
A stunned Weiss stood in his chair, playing with the yo-yo like a robot.
"And for the hundredth time, DO stop playing with this stupid yo-yo! Come on!" Vaughn added before leaving.
Weiss hurried reluctantly to Vaughn's office, and stood at the door.
Vaughn was pacing, looking distressed. "Shut the door, please", he asked.
No sooner had Weiss shut the door than Vaughn started yelling again.
"They got him! They got him!" he continued.
Weiss looked at him, clueless. "Who got who? Who? Mike!"
"Dixon. The mission. It was a trap. Sark. That son of bitch. He was there. He took the prototype, and now he's got Dixon. Damn it!", he jabbered.
"What about Sydney? What the hell happened? Was she caught too? Tell me Mike! I can't make head nor tail of it", Weiss asked.
"She is OK. She's OK", he acknowledged with relief. "Well, physically, I think so", he rectified. "But she was deeply shocked."
"And so are you".
Weiss couldn't help pointing out. "When did it happen? Where is she now?" he continued.
"It was just a few minutes ago. We heard everything with sat relay. I suppose she is on the way back now. But she might have contacted the SD-6, and I have no idea what they have told her to do. They had an extraction plan, and it was impossible for her to call me."
He paused. "It was terrible Weiss. I can't stand it. We were watching everything, and we couldn't do anything to help them. I'm sure Dixon and Sydney know it can happen whenever they go on a mission, but I doubt they expected that to happen, no, not this way!" He let himself fall into his chair. "That stupid Sark, I wish he was in front of me now!"
Weiss kept silent, sympathizing.
"Can I say something Mike?" Weiss ventured to ask.
Vaughn nodded.
"Mike, I'll be frank with you. Look! You're CIA for quite some time now. You know the risk, Dixon knows the risk, and Sydney knows it too. It's part of the job. We all know that. You can't change that, right?"
Vaughn just nodded, waiting for him to continue.
"And, let me tell you", Weiss added. "I know you won't like it, but…" He paused.
"Well, I have to say it. I think you're too emotional about this, you know that. But I must acknowledge that you too are doing a great job, you know. That's true. And whatever happens between you and Sydney, you are her handler and she needs your help, especially now. I don't know what will happen next, but Sark is dangerous, and you should expect the worst. If he kidnapped Dixon instead of killing him, he might want something, perhaps an exchange, and Sydney doesn't know yet what will be the price to pay to have him back and safe. So, now, let's think about a plan and wait for her to contact. We have plenty of work to do!"
Weiss was right, and Vaughn couldn't do anything else but acknowledge that, he was thinking the same thing.
"I can't help thinking about that, I've thrashed out the question", Vaughn finally replied. "Hurry up, she's probably due back in an couple of hours!"
He seemed to have overcome his feelings.
Weiss smiled, as the real Mike, the Mike he knew so well seemed to be back, ready to move hearth and heaven, to attempt the impossible.
"Well! Look!" Vaughn continued a bit wild. "There are just a few solutions. Let's consider it. First, Dixon is killed. I don't want to think about it now."
Just imagining the idea sent cold shivers down his spine, as he didn't know how Sydney would react.
No.
In fact, he knew her too well and already could imagine the way she would take it, probably very badly.
No, Dixon couldn't be dead.
He couldn't be.
Vaughn took a deep breath and acknowledged: "It pains me to have to say this, but I think you're right, if they wanted him killed, they would have killed him in the house."
He paused. "So why wait?" he wondered.
That was a very interesting question, maybe the most interesting in the last few months. And he has no clue to answer it.
He kept wondering. "What do they want, an exchange? And what on earth do they want to exchange? What do they want from Sydney? Oh my god! Sydney!"
He suddenly ran out of his office, panic-stricken, without even telling Weiss what he had just understood.
END FLASHBACK
END OF PROLOGUE
To be continued…
A/N : Hey the plot thickens. So now the real story is just about to begin… Stay tuned. And Please REVIEW. It's my first fiction, so I really want to know if you like it, or if you don't. Review. Thank you. Don't forget to review. (Those are subliminal messages)
Thank you so much, Egyptian Kat, for being my beta.
S@ndra