Chap.10- The Kolesnikov's
Scott begrudgingly handed Sydney her suitcase from the top shelf of their closet. He had tried to persuade Sydney not to go, but she had playfully announced that they had shaken on it and there were "no take backs".
He watched her pull clothes from her closet and as neatly and quickly as she could, fold and pack them into the suitcase. She paused for a moment and looked at him as he watched her, leaned back against the door frame with his arms crossed against his chest. He was agitated, she could tell, trying to be understanding, but regretting his decision to let her go.
She stopped packing and gave him a kiss.
"Don't worry, we'll be fine." Sydney said, referring to herself and the baby.
"Be careful."
"I will."
Sydney went back to the suitcase and zipped it up. Scott took it from her and loaded it into the back of her car.
He waved to her as she pulled out of the driveway and into the open road.
Because of his decision, Vaughn had been through a week of hell. Lauren had claimed that "he didn't love her anymore" and that he wasn't really going on a mission, but to see his girlfriend. He assured her that yes, he did still love her and that no, he wasn't going to see the girlfriend that he didn't have, but he was really going on a mission.
After popping some of her anxiety pills, Lauren calmed down. Of course, he couldn't tell her what the mission was about, but he explained to her that it would be too risky if he didn't go.
It took a couple of days for her to finally agree to him going on this mission, although Vaughn knew that he would have to go on the mission even if she didn't give her consent.
Three hours ago, his beeper went off and he didn't even have to look at it to know that he would have to start packing. He had to look through a couple of boxes and he finally found the suitcase that he hadn't used in a while.
It was like seeing an old friend again.
Vaughn packed his suitcase hurriedly, kissed Lauren goodbye and walked to his car. His blood was pumping, his mind working, a feeling he had missed. He was made to work in the field, and he was ready.
When he arrived at the Ops Center, Sydney, Ana, and James were already there. Their bags were loaded onto the plane and after five minutes, Mark arrived, panting and out of breath.
"Sorry..." He apologized, handing his bag over to the attendant to load onto the plane and gulping for air.
Kendall looked annoyed at Mark's lack of punctuality, but continued talking, handing Sydney and Vaughn the invitation and passports. He gave Ana a small black bag containing the needles and told Mark and James that everything that they needed would be in the van.
Sydney and Vaughn's comm. links were sewed into their formal attire that was waiting for them at the hotel. Kendall handed Sydney a locket necklace that had a camera installed into the small gem in the center, one of Marshall's newest creations.
The plan was for Sydney to seduce the tattooed man into a secluded hallway of the castle and Vaughn would spray him with the spray outfitted in his cufflinks, knocking him unconscious. They would then contact Ana, who would come in through a window, administer the chemical and get back to the van.
The pilot looked at his watch.
"Mr. Kendall, the plane will takeoff in ten minutes."
Kendall surveyed the five agents that stood before him. He nodded curtly in approval, turned on his heel, and walked back into the center. They were then led up the stairs of the plane and as soon as they were buckled in, the plane took off into the dark sky.
Ana and James sat with their heads together, whispering quietly. Occasionally a giggle or two would escape from Ana and she would retort to James, making him blush a deep red and smile.
Mark was openly annoyed at their displays of affection and he showed it, but Sydney could tell that he was happy for James, relentlessly teasing him about it. With nothing to do, Mark produced a Game Boy from his bag. He offered it to Sydney and Vaughn. When they both declined, he shrugged his shoulders and turned it on, his fingers furiously pressing the buttons. The bleeps and noises distracted Ana and James and they looked up to glare at him while he grinned madly.
Sydney smiled at the three of them but then she quickly unbuckled her seat belt and leapt up, headed for the bathroom. When she came back from the bathroom, Mark had taken her seat to get away from Ana and James.
She sighed, hitting him on the head as she walked past him, and sat down into his seat, next to Vaughn.
"Hey." He greeted her as she sat down and buckled herself in.
"Hey, yourself."
Vaughn looked at her slightly green-tinted complexion.
"Are you okay?" He asked, concerned.
"I'm fine."
"I don't remember you having motion sickness."
"It's the morning sickness." Sydney said, flipping through a magazine.
"Oh."
He looked out the window for a while, but it was too dark to see anything. Leaning back into his chair, Sydney looked at him quizzically.
"I still don't understand why you're coming with us."
"Neither do I." Vaughn answered her, embarrassed at his reason.
She studied his face and shook her head.
"Yes you do."
"No..."
"You ialways/i have a reason, Vaughn."
"What?" He looked at her and thought, frowning. He idid/i always have a reason.
"So..." She prompted.
"So?"
"So what's your reason?"
He sucked in his breath and looked at her steadily.
"I know that I'm the only one that knows that you're...."
"Pregnant." She ended for him.
"Yea...and I...I guess that...I would feel responsible if I let you go on this mission with someone that could endanger your life while I could've..." He waved around for the right words.
"Protected me?" Sydney asked him disbelievingly. "Vaughn...you know that I can take care of myself."
Vaughn didn't say anything and turned back to the window. Sydney tugged on his shoulder until he was back into his seat again and looking at her.
"Thank you, Vaughn."
"For what?"
"For worrying about me," Sydney said. "And...I feel safer with you here. It'll be like old times."
She smiled at him and a grin tugged on one side of his mouth.
"Yea...just like old times," He said agreeing with her and smiled fully.
"Are you excited?"
"About what?"
"Going back to France, going on your first mission in a long time..." Sydney answered. "But you probably went to France on your honeymoon, right?"
Vaughn shook his head.
"No. Lauren wanted to, but I didn't."
Sydney started to ask him why, but decided against it.
"Does your mother live there?"
"Yea..." Vaughn told her, and then realized that it was almost a month ago when he had promised to call his mother back. "Shit!"
"What?"
"Nothing...It's just that I promised my mother that I would call her almost a month ago."
"Call her when we get to the hotel." She suggested.
"I don't think she'll like that."
"Why not?" Sydney asked, confused.
"She'll never forgive me if I'm in France and I don't visit her."
Sydney laughed.
They continued to talk easily and as interesting as their conversation was, her eyelids threatened to close, but she quickly forced them open again, hoping that Vaughn didn't notice. She was tired, yes, but she had all the time in the world to sleep. Their conversations were treasured moments that she had missed with an aching heart.
But Vaughn did notice.
"You should get some sleep."
"No, Vaughn..." She protested, but Vaughn rested his head against the chair and closed his eyes, refusing to say another word.
Sydney looked at his eyes closely, and when they didn't open again, she settled back against the chair herself and fell asleep almost instantly. After a couple of minutes, her head slid from the central position on the seat onto Vaughn's shoulder. He opened his eyes and looked down. He lifted his hand up to shake her awake, but then dropped it down against the arm rest again.
Six hours later, the plane landed onto a runway in Boston's Logan Airport. Sydney jerked awake and looked at the shoulder that she was sleeping on. Vaughn, woken up by the rough landing too, glanced down at her.
"Good Morning." He said groggily.
"Sorry..." Sydney remarked, apologetically and sat upright.
"It's okay." He said, waving off her apologies as if they were gnats.
They quickly grabbed their bags from under their seats and walked quickly toward terminal F18, the jet to France.
Hours later, they arrived in France tired and grumpy from the red-eye flight and the long uncomfortable hours on the plane.
They got into the long customs line and Sydney, Vaughn, Ana, James, and Mark took out the passports and papers given to them by Kendall.
Sydney quickly opened hers to make sure that she had gotten the right one. She saw her picture and then slapped it shut, making a small piece of paper flutter to the ground.
"Excuse me, you dropped this." A teenage girl, said, tapping Sydney on the shoulder and handing her the piece of paper.
"Thank you." Sydney said, and opened up the slip of paper to read.
iMrs. Ani Kolesnikov, it would be a good idea for you and Mr. Dmitri Kolesnikov to wear your wedding rings, as you would not want to appear "unfaithful or anything of that nature".../i
Sydney looked closely at the loops of the l's and the slightly diagonal crosses of the t's. She closed her eyes in disbelief.
Kendall.
Tapping Vaughn on the shoulder, she handed him the slip of paper. His green eyes scanned it quickly and a shocked expression appeared on his face.
"Bastard..." Vaughn whispered. "You fucking son-of-a-bitch..."
Vaughn took his ring out of his pocket and Sydney took her rings out of her purse. They each looked at the band of gold that promised them to other people. Sydney traced the contours and edges of her two-carat diamond engagement ring.
Looking up and into each others eyes, they smiled at each other.
"Cheers." Vaughn said, slipping the band onto his ring finger.
"Cheers." Sydney answered, slipping her engagement ring and wedding band onto her ring finger. She liked the usual weight on her hand, but a heavy feeling encased her heart. It felt as if she was cheating on Scott.
Vaughn looked at her sad face and understood.
"It's a mission. Remember that."
Sydney nodded but added sadly,
"He could've at least provided rings."
Vaughn nodded in agreement. In front of him, Mark, Ana, and James were going through customs as college students...again.
"Extremely creative and original people we have." Mark muttered under his breath as they stood, waiting for their luggage to come around after they had gone through customs.
"Very." James agreed and lunged forward for his bag.
Ana looked back at the customs gate and saw that Sydney and Vaughn had just placed their passports and papers onto the counter.
"Monsieur Kolesnikov?" The customs agent pronounced with much difficulty.
"Oui." Vaughn answered.
"Madame Kolesnikov?"
"Oui." Sydney confirmed.
"Welcome to France." The customs agent greeted them in a practiced English phrase.
"Merci."
Scott begrudgingly handed Sydney her suitcase from the top shelf of their closet. He had tried to persuade Sydney not to go, but she had playfully announced that they had shaken on it and there were "no take backs".
He watched her pull clothes from her closet and as neatly and quickly as she could, fold and pack them into the suitcase. She paused for a moment and looked at him as he watched her, leaned back against the door frame with his arms crossed against his chest. He was agitated, she could tell, trying to be understanding, but regretting his decision to let her go.
She stopped packing and gave him a kiss.
"Don't worry, we'll be fine." Sydney said, referring to herself and the baby.
"Be careful."
"I will."
Sydney went back to the suitcase and zipped it up. Scott took it from her and loaded it into the back of her car.
He waved to her as she pulled out of the driveway and into the open road.
Because of his decision, Vaughn had been through a week of hell. Lauren had claimed that "he didn't love her anymore" and that he wasn't really going on a mission, but to see his girlfriend. He assured her that yes, he did still love her and that no, he wasn't going to see the girlfriend that he didn't have, but he was really going on a mission.
After popping some of her anxiety pills, Lauren calmed down. Of course, he couldn't tell her what the mission was about, but he explained to her that it would be too risky if he didn't go.
It took a couple of days for her to finally agree to him going on this mission, although Vaughn knew that he would have to go on the mission even if she didn't give her consent.
Three hours ago, his beeper went off and he didn't even have to look at it to know that he would have to start packing. He had to look through a couple of boxes and he finally found the suitcase that he hadn't used in a while.
It was like seeing an old friend again.
Vaughn packed his suitcase hurriedly, kissed Lauren goodbye and walked to his car. His blood was pumping, his mind working, a feeling he had missed. He was made to work in the field, and he was ready.
When he arrived at the Ops Center, Sydney, Ana, and James were already there. Their bags were loaded onto the plane and after five minutes, Mark arrived, panting and out of breath.
"Sorry..." He apologized, handing his bag over to the attendant to load onto the plane and gulping for air.
Kendall looked annoyed at Mark's lack of punctuality, but continued talking, handing Sydney and Vaughn the invitation and passports. He gave Ana a small black bag containing the needles and told Mark and James that everything that they needed would be in the van.
Sydney and Vaughn's comm. links were sewed into their formal attire that was waiting for them at the hotel. Kendall handed Sydney a locket necklace that had a camera installed into the small gem in the center, one of Marshall's newest creations.
The plan was for Sydney to seduce the tattooed man into a secluded hallway of the castle and Vaughn would spray him with the spray outfitted in his cufflinks, knocking him unconscious. They would then contact Ana, who would come in through a window, administer the chemical and get back to the van.
The pilot looked at his watch.
"Mr. Kendall, the plane will takeoff in ten minutes."
Kendall surveyed the five agents that stood before him. He nodded curtly in approval, turned on his heel, and walked back into the center. They were then led up the stairs of the plane and as soon as they were buckled in, the plane took off into the dark sky.
Ana and James sat with their heads together, whispering quietly. Occasionally a giggle or two would escape from Ana and she would retort to James, making him blush a deep red and smile.
Mark was openly annoyed at their displays of affection and he showed it, but Sydney could tell that he was happy for James, relentlessly teasing him about it. With nothing to do, Mark produced a Game Boy from his bag. He offered it to Sydney and Vaughn. When they both declined, he shrugged his shoulders and turned it on, his fingers furiously pressing the buttons. The bleeps and noises distracted Ana and James and they looked up to glare at him while he grinned madly.
Sydney smiled at the three of them but then she quickly unbuckled her seat belt and leapt up, headed for the bathroom. When she came back from the bathroom, Mark had taken her seat to get away from Ana and James.
She sighed, hitting him on the head as she walked past him, and sat down into his seat, next to Vaughn.
"Hey." He greeted her as she sat down and buckled herself in.
"Hey, yourself."
Vaughn looked at her slightly green-tinted complexion.
"Are you okay?" He asked, concerned.
"I'm fine."
"I don't remember you having motion sickness."
"It's the morning sickness." Sydney said, flipping through a magazine.
"Oh."
He looked out the window for a while, but it was too dark to see anything. Leaning back into his chair, Sydney looked at him quizzically.
"I still don't understand why you're coming with us."
"Neither do I." Vaughn answered her, embarrassed at his reason.
She studied his face and shook her head.
"Yes you do."
"No..."
"You ialways/i have a reason, Vaughn."
"What?" He looked at her and thought, frowning. He idid/i always have a reason.
"So..." She prompted.
"So?"
"So what's your reason?"
He sucked in his breath and looked at her steadily.
"I know that I'm the only one that knows that you're...."
"Pregnant." She ended for him.
"Yea...and I...I guess that...I would feel responsible if I let you go on this mission with someone that could endanger your life while I could've..." He waved around for the right words.
"Protected me?" Sydney asked him disbelievingly. "Vaughn...you know that I can take care of myself."
Vaughn didn't say anything and turned back to the window. Sydney tugged on his shoulder until he was back into his seat again and looking at her.
"Thank you, Vaughn."
"For what?"
"For worrying about me," Sydney said. "And...I feel safer with you here. It'll be like old times."
She smiled at him and a grin tugged on one side of his mouth.
"Yea...just like old times," He said agreeing with her and smiled fully.
"Are you excited?"
"About what?"
"Going back to France, going on your first mission in a long time..." Sydney answered. "But you probably went to France on your honeymoon, right?"
Vaughn shook his head.
"No. Lauren wanted to, but I didn't."
Sydney started to ask him why, but decided against it.
"Does your mother live there?"
"Yea..." Vaughn told her, and then realized that it was almost a month ago when he had promised to call his mother back. "Shit!"
"What?"
"Nothing...It's just that I promised my mother that I would call her almost a month ago."
"Call her when we get to the hotel." She suggested.
"I don't think she'll like that."
"Why not?" Sydney asked, confused.
"She'll never forgive me if I'm in France and I don't visit her."
Sydney laughed.
They continued to talk easily and as interesting as their conversation was, her eyelids threatened to close, but she quickly forced them open again, hoping that Vaughn didn't notice. She was tired, yes, but she had all the time in the world to sleep. Their conversations were treasured moments that she had missed with an aching heart.
But Vaughn did notice.
"You should get some sleep."
"No, Vaughn..." She protested, but Vaughn rested his head against the chair and closed his eyes, refusing to say another word.
Sydney looked at his eyes closely, and when they didn't open again, she settled back against the chair herself and fell asleep almost instantly. After a couple of minutes, her head slid from the central position on the seat onto Vaughn's shoulder. He opened his eyes and looked down. He lifted his hand up to shake her awake, but then dropped it down against the arm rest again.
Six hours later, the plane landed onto a runway in Boston's Logan Airport. Sydney jerked awake and looked at the shoulder that she was sleeping on. Vaughn, woken up by the rough landing too, glanced down at her.
"Good Morning." He said groggily.
"Sorry..." Sydney remarked, apologetically and sat upright.
"It's okay." He said, waving off her apologies as if they were gnats.
They quickly grabbed their bags from under their seats and walked quickly toward terminal F18, the jet to France.
Hours later, they arrived in France tired and grumpy from the red-eye flight and the long uncomfortable hours on the plane.
They got into the long customs line and Sydney, Vaughn, Ana, James, and Mark took out the passports and papers given to them by Kendall.
Sydney quickly opened hers to make sure that she had gotten the right one. She saw her picture and then slapped it shut, making a small piece of paper flutter to the ground.
"Excuse me, you dropped this." A teenage girl, said, tapping Sydney on the shoulder and handing her the piece of paper.
"Thank you." Sydney said, and opened up the slip of paper to read.
iMrs. Ani Kolesnikov, it would be a good idea for you and Mr. Dmitri Kolesnikov to wear your wedding rings, as you would not want to appear "unfaithful or anything of that nature".../i
Sydney looked closely at the loops of the l's and the slightly diagonal crosses of the t's. She closed her eyes in disbelief.
Kendall.
Tapping Vaughn on the shoulder, she handed him the slip of paper. His green eyes scanned it quickly and a shocked expression appeared on his face.
"Bastard..." Vaughn whispered. "You fucking son-of-a-bitch..."
Vaughn took his ring out of his pocket and Sydney took her rings out of her purse. They each looked at the band of gold that promised them to other people. Sydney traced the contours and edges of her two-carat diamond engagement ring.
Looking up and into each others eyes, they smiled at each other.
"Cheers." Vaughn said, slipping the band onto his ring finger.
"Cheers." Sydney answered, slipping her engagement ring and wedding band onto her ring finger. She liked the usual weight on her hand, but a heavy feeling encased her heart. It felt as if she was cheating on Scott.
Vaughn looked at her sad face and understood.
"It's a mission. Remember that."
Sydney nodded but added sadly,
"He could've at least provided rings."
Vaughn nodded in agreement. In front of him, Mark, Ana, and James were going through customs as college students...again.
"Extremely creative and original people we have." Mark muttered under his breath as they stood, waiting for their luggage to come around after they had gone through customs.
"Very." James agreed and lunged forward for his bag.
Ana looked back at the customs gate and saw that Sydney and Vaughn had just placed their passports and papers onto the counter.
"Monsieur Kolesnikov?" The customs agent pronounced with much difficulty.
"Oui." Vaughn answered.
"Madame Kolesnikov?"
"Oui." Sydney confirmed.
"Welcome to France." The customs agent greeted them in a practiced English phrase.
"Merci."