Chap.11- Simple Elegance and the Eyes
Sydney and Vaughn arrived at the hotel twenty minutes later. Porters rushed out from the hotel to receive their bags and escort them into their room. When the porter opened the door to their room, Sydney almost gasped in surprised but changed it to a haughty sound of approval.
The porter left them alone after a generous tip from Vaughn. Sydney yawned,
"I think I'm going to take a nap."
Vaughn nodded and sat down at the table to study the invitation. The party would start at 7:30 for dinner and end well into the next day. The plan was the same: get the code, destroy the tattoo, and get out. But, now the situation was different and they would have to improvise.
A sharp rapping interrupted him and he whirled around in his chair to see where it was coming from. He breathed a sigh of relief. It was Ana. Getting up, he crossed the room and opened the glass door for Ana, James, and Mark who had climbed up the terrace.
"Did anybody see you?" Vaughn asked as he craned his neck around outside.
"Of course not, you've got the most private room in the hotel." Ana said stepping into the suit, her feet sinking in the plush carpet.
"Whoa...!" Mark exclaimed, surveying the room. "What the hell? How is this fair again?"
"What?"
"We've got the crappy motel two streets down." James explained.
The three of them walked around the suite eating food out of the mini bar, courtesy of the CIA. Later, they joined Vaughn at the table, discussing plans and going over the strategies.
Sydney, woke up from the commotion, and walked into the room quietly.
"Hey, you guys." She greeted.
"Hey." The three of them chorused.
"Did we wake you up?" Vaughn asked.
"No, no." Sydney assured him. "What are you guys talking about?"
"Tonight."
"Ah, I see." She said and walked back into the room to continue her nap.
Vaughn looked at his watch. They could leave in two hours and still be on time. Sydney hadn't waken up from her nap yet and he looked at the oak door that separated them. Tentatively, he reached out for the knob, and opened the door gently. She was curled up under the covers, her back to him.
He walked around to the other side of the bed and looked at her sleeping face. He didn't want to wake her up, but he would have to so that they could get showered, dressed, and get into their act. In less than two hours they would have to become Mr. and Mrs. Kolesnikov.
Bending down and lightly touching her shoulder, her eyes flew open and she looked at him. She sat up and wrapped the comforter around her.
"We're going to have to start getting ready." He told her. "You can have the shower first."
Sydney nodded and got up from the bed, walking over to the closet and pulling the door open. She reached inside and pulled out the dress. It was a silk, floor length red dress. The front had a V-neck cut and the back of the dress plunged down to almost the small of her back, with straps criss- crossing each other. The shoes were the same, crimson blood red and had tiny diamonds encrusting the buckle. For jewelry, they had decided to trade the camera locket for a large ruby hung on a chain. She looked at the ruby closely and saw a small, almost unnoticeable blemish that she knew to be the camera.
The CIA couldn't use any fake jewels. If that were discovered, their cover would be blown. It wouldn't make any sense that someone, who had recently come into a large fortune, would want to wear rhinestones to an important social event instead of showing off their real diamonds.
Laying the dress onto the bed, Sydney grabbed her bathrobe and headed to the bathroom for a quick shower.
Ten minutes later,
"It's all yours." Sydney called out to Vaughn, as she passed him, walking into her room and shutting the door.
Vaughn looked at his watch as he waited for Sydney in the lobby of the hotel where they had agreed to meet. He had already called a limo that was on its way. Scanning around the room, he saw a figure descending down the spiral stairs and stared.
The dress fit her as if it was tailored to her exact measurements. The heels, gave her extra height, preventing the dress from looking too long, but instead, it covered her legs to the exact length that it was as if she was gliding. The necklace accented the dress perfectly and strikingly contrasted against her chest, moving with her every breath. Sydney had curled her hair and arranged it on top of her head, clipping it with clips covered with real, tiny, diamonds. Delicate ruby and diamond earrings dripped from her ears.
Simple Elegance.
As Sydney descended the stairs she looked at the man sitting on a couch at the bottom of the stairs. Her breath caught in her throat. The black tux, accented his shoulders and broad chest. The pure, white, of his shirt struck against the blackness of the silk tie. She could remember the contours of his strong legs as she looked at his pants. His sandy blonde hair was natural and ruffled as it always was. She walked closer and stood next to him, looking into his eyes, becoming lost in the green. It was the eyes. It was always the eyes.
Sydney realized how entranced she was becoming and quickly looked away while Vaughn cleared his throat.
"Excuse me." A porter interrupted, embarrassed at having interrupted at such a private and personal moment. "Your ride is here."
Sydney looked up at Vaughn and he nodded to her. Together, they walked out of the lobby and into the limo. Vaughn handed the driver the address, a castle in Loire Valley.
"Ahh..." the driver said, exclaiming at the name of the castle, "Château de Chenonceau est belle!"
After acquiring some information about the Chateau and the owner from the driver, Sydney and Vaughn decided to just lean back and enjoy beautiful view. Half and hour later, the driver pulled into the gate, handed the guard the invitation and drove in. The Chateau was beautiful with rolling gardens and scenery. The sun was about to set and the sky was painted with beautiful oranges, reds, yellows, and tints of purple and blue all blended together perfectly.
The driver helped Sydney out of the limo and ran around to the other side to close the door for Vaughn. Sydney and Vaughn walked the length of the limo and at the front; Vaughn held his hand out to Sydney. She took his hand, and squeezed it lightly. Together, they walked into the back garden where Jacques Jacobins-Robespierre was waiting for his guests.
Mostly everyone was already there and despite them being on time, they were the last ones there. Jacobins-Robespierre saw that someone new was here, and walked over to meet them. Sydney and Vaughn met him halfway and he smiled warmly at them.
"I don't recognize you two, so you must be Mr. and Mrs. Dmitri Kolesnikov!"
"Monsieur..." Sydney started, but he waved her off.
"Non, we have all decided to speak English at this party!" Jacobins- Robespierre declared grandly, indicating at all the different regions everybody was from.
Sydney faked a small sigh of relief,
"Oh, how wonderful! I am no good at French, you see." She responded in a thick Russian accent.
"I see you have been working on your English!" Robespierre told her, as a compliment.
Sydney blushed and Vaughn cleared his throat. Robespierre tore his eyes off Sydney and looked at Vaughn.
"Mr. Kolesnikov," Robespierre greeted. "I am so pleased that you and your lovely wife could make this event..."
"Dmitri, please. And this is my wife, Ani."
"Ani...it means 'beautiful' is Slavic, no?"
Sydney nodded.
"It is obvious for all to see..." Jacques said, trailing off a kissing Sydney on the hand.
She giggled flirtatiously and Vaughn cleared his throat again as a clear warning to Robespierre. Jacobins-Robespierre, now understanding the hint, announced that dinner was ready.
They all walked inside towards the dining hall and started to sit at their respective place cards. Sydney now saw the man in the picture, and he sat down at the place next to Vaughn. Swiftly and discreetly, she switched her and Vaughn's place cards and sat down in the seat.
Throughout the dinner, she made passes at the tattooed man who had introduced himself to her as Joseph Barbagallos. She looked over at Vaughn who looked as if he was in pain. A baroness, much older than he was, was trying to seduce him and would constantly brush her hair from her neck, trying to look seductive.
She looked over to her left at Barbagallos who was already smitten with her. Whatever she did now didn't matter. No matter what, he would follow her into the hallway. Vaughn sat straight in his seat shaking his head to all of the Baroness' questions.
"Dmitri..." She whispered.
He looked at her and she leaned to give him a kiss on the lips. His green eyes widened a bit in shock, but he knew why she had done that.
The Baroness noticed the large engagement ring that was now flashing in her eyes, and sat back in disgust. She didn't talk to him or answer any of his questions for the rest of dinner, and he was grateful.
The dinner plates had been cleared away by the help and the guests all moved into the garden for dancing and entertainment.
"Wherever did you find such a lovely estate?" Sydney asked Jacobins- Robespierre in amazement. The sun had set and the sky was a dusky, purple blue. The stars had begun to twinkle in the sky and the gardens that had just been watered, glistened in the soft moonlight.
"E-bay," Jacobins-Robespierre told her jokingly and offered her a glass of champagne which she refused. Sydney laughed loudly in response and after chatting with him about the Countess Turovystn, she excused herself to find Vaughn who was standing near some rosebushes, surveying the guests.
Sydney tapped him lightly on the shoulder. He turned his head and she nodded to him. They both turned on their comm. links and James responded on the other end. They were situated and ready. After surveying the security cameras for a minute, James told Sydney to use the east wing of the house. It was secluded from the rest and there were no guards or staff in it.
Vaughn was now engaged in a conversation in rapid French with some businessmen and was looking around him, distracted. When he turned around to put his empty champagne fluke onto a tray the waiter was carrying around, he whispered quietly into his comm. link.
"Ten o'clock."
Sydney looked at him from across the garden and then to her ten o'clock where Barbagallos was alone, leaning against a stone wall, obviously drunk. Sydney lowered her hand down to her side and held out four fingers in a natural pose.
Vaughn nodded. He would wait exactly four minutes until he would head into the east wing to find Sydney.
After confirming that Vaughn understood her gesture, Sydney patted her hair and walked towards Barbagallos with nothing else on her mind and almost running into someone.
"Pardon me." The person said with a slight Argentinean accent.
Sydney looked up and their eyes met.
"I'm terribly sorry." She apologized, acting flustered.
"No. My entire fault, really." He said, and moved away, lost in the crowd.
Quickly forgetting about the encounter, Sydney slowed down her pace and walked languidly towards the stone wall, and leaning against it, she looked up at the now dark sky.
"It's beautiful isn't it?" She asked, inclining her head against Barbagallos.
"Beautiful..." Barbagallos answered, his eyes eying her hungrily.
"Do you attend Mr. Robespierre's parties often?"
"Yes. The man throws....fantastic...parties..." He slurred.
"This place is beautiful." Sydney said, gesturing towards the castle and the grounds.
"Would you like a tour inside?" Barbagallos asked her, an idea forming in his head.
"Oh, you wouldn't mind?"
"Non. Not at all."
Barbagallos took her arm and led her into the castle.
"Left or right?" He asked her as they stepped into the chateau. Sydney thought for a second.
"Right."
"No...I think we should go left."
"Why is that?"
"That is the eastern wing, Mrs. Kolesnikov. Entirely empty."
Sydney looked at him with a small smile and he smiled back, understanding her hint. Taking her arm again, he led her into the eastern wing and true to his word; the eastern wing was entirely deserted with not a person in sight.
Paintings and intricately woven tapestries hung on the walls of the long hall and Sydney walked around, admiring them until Barbagallos turned her around and pressed her against the wall, his hot breath breathing on her, kissing her neck and lips. She could taste the alcohol on his lips and smell it weighing heavily on his breath.
Sydney closed her eyes as she counted in her head. 'One more minute.' She told herself. 'And then, Vaughn will come save me.'
But the minutes passed and Vaughn wasn't there. Considering, knocking him unconscious by force because of where he was placing his hands, she decided that she would wait another minute. It wasn't part of the plan and it would be too visible if she knocked him out by force and he would remember.
No, she would wait. She had faith that Vaughn would follow through for her.
Vaughn was in the gardens by himself, looking at his watch anxiously. He didn't want Sydney to have to suffer anymore than she had to. Finally, the minute hand reached the exact position he wanted and as he got up to leave, the Baroness that had been harassing him at dinner appeared at his side, pulling him back into a sitting position.
"Where are you leaving to, Mr. Kolesnikov?" She asked, looking down at him.
"I have an important business meeting tomorrow morning. I think it would be best if me and my wife leave right now." He said, starting to get up again.
She pushed him down.
"It's so early. The party has just begun."
"No, I really must go find my wife."
"I don't think that you want to." She told him, looking sympathetic.
"And why would that be, Baroness?"
"Why, I just saw her enter the house with Mr. Robespierre's business associate. You can just imagine what they're doing in there..." The Baroness looked closely at his face expression. "Don't worry, Mr. Kolesnikov. I will always be here for you."
She ran her long fingernails through his hair and leaned down to kiss him. He turned his face away, and got up hurriedly.
"Excuse me, Baroness. I really must find Ani."
"No, no! It's my favorite song, let's dance." The baroness cried, grabbing him with a surprised amount of force and dragging him onto the dance floor.
Vaughn put up with her for a minute or two and when she turned to get them two glasses of wine, he ran into the house.
"James." Vaughn said into his comm. link. "Where is she?"
"Turn right." James instructed. "Up the stairs and down the hallway."
"Thanks. Tell Ana to leave now."
Vaughn ran into the hallway and found Sydney starting to squirm out of Barbagallos' grasp.
"Dmitri! This man is taking advantage of me!" She cried helplessly.
"What are you doing to my wife?" Vaughn shouted, turning Barbagallos by the shoulder and punching him in the face.
Barbagallos fell over and Vaughn bent down to spray him in the face. A bruise was beginning to form on his right eye and Barbagallos didn't move again.
"I'm running late! You'll have to prep him for me." Ana's voice rang in softly through the comm. link.
Sydney and Vaughn looked at each other and then down in Barbagallos in disgust.
"You do it." Sydney said, moving away.
"What? Why me?" Vaughn asked. Sydney looked at him pleadingly and he sighed loudly. "Fine...but you owe me."
Vaughn started looking for the tattooed and let out a sigh of relief when he didn't have to look farther than the man's back. Sydney turned around and looked at the tattoo in shock. It covered the entirety of the back and looked like a mass a scribbles and pictographs that had been crammed together to fit.
Sydney took off her necklace and went over the tattoo and after it glowed, signaling that James and Mark had receive the data in the station, she put it back on again and snapped pictures for a secondary source. When she was done she ran to the window that Ana was rapping at softly.
"Did you get it?" She whispered.
Sydney nodded and they both ran over to the man. After carefully administering the chemical, Ana gave him a shot to reduce the soreness and pain so that hopefully Barbagallos wouldn't notice until he undressed to go to bed the next afternoon. Ana leapt back out the window again and Sydney carefully closed the window after her.
Vaughn had put Barbagallos' shirt, jacket, and tie back on. He and Sydney both looked at the large bruise forming on his eye and they started to drag him toward the stairs, arranging him as if he had collapsed from excessive alcohol consumption and hit his face on the rail. Vaughn walked downstairs to the kitchen and when nobody was looking, he stole a bottle of whiskey, poured the majority of it into the bushes, and placed it by Barbagallos.
The two of them looked down, satisfied, and after Sydney had fixed her hair, wiped her lips and neck with a handkerchief, and straightened her dress, the two of them walked outside hand-in-hand.
Sydney and Vaughn arrived at the hotel twenty minutes later. Porters rushed out from the hotel to receive their bags and escort them into their room. When the porter opened the door to their room, Sydney almost gasped in surprised but changed it to a haughty sound of approval.
The porter left them alone after a generous tip from Vaughn. Sydney yawned,
"I think I'm going to take a nap."
Vaughn nodded and sat down at the table to study the invitation. The party would start at 7:30 for dinner and end well into the next day. The plan was the same: get the code, destroy the tattoo, and get out. But, now the situation was different and they would have to improvise.
A sharp rapping interrupted him and he whirled around in his chair to see where it was coming from. He breathed a sigh of relief. It was Ana. Getting up, he crossed the room and opened the glass door for Ana, James, and Mark who had climbed up the terrace.
"Did anybody see you?" Vaughn asked as he craned his neck around outside.
"Of course not, you've got the most private room in the hotel." Ana said stepping into the suit, her feet sinking in the plush carpet.
"Whoa...!" Mark exclaimed, surveying the room. "What the hell? How is this fair again?"
"What?"
"We've got the crappy motel two streets down." James explained.
The three of them walked around the suite eating food out of the mini bar, courtesy of the CIA. Later, they joined Vaughn at the table, discussing plans and going over the strategies.
Sydney, woke up from the commotion, and walked into the room quietly.
"Hey, you guys." She greeted.
"Hey." The three of them chorused.
"Did we wake you up?" Vaughn asked.
"No, no." Sydney assured him. "What are you guys talking about?"
"Tonight."
"Ah, I see." She said and walked back into the room to continue her nap.
Vaughn looked at his watch. They could leave in two hours and still be on time. Sydney hadn't waken up from her nap yet and he looked at the oak door that separated them. Tentatively, he reached out for the knob, and opened the door gently. She was curled up under the covers, her back to him.
He walked around to the other side of the bed and looked at her sleeping face. He didn't want to wake her up, but he would have to so that they could get showered, dressed, and get into their act. In less than two hours they would have to become Mr. and Mrs. Kolesnikov.
Bending down and lightly touching her shoulder, her eyes flew open and she looked at him. She sat up and wrapped the comforter around her.
"We're going to have to start getting ready." He told her. "You can have the shower first."
Sydney nodded and got up from the bed, walking over to the closet and pulling the door open. She reached inside and pulled out the dress. It was a silk, floor length red dress. The front had a V-neck cut and the back of the dress plunged down to almost the small of her back, with straps criss- crossing each other. The shoes were the same, crimson blood red and had tiny diamonds encrusting the buckle. For jewelry, they had decided to trade the camera locket for a large ruby hung on a chain. She looked at the ruby closely and saw a small, almost unnoticeable blemish that she knew to be the camera.
The CIA couldn't use any fake jewels. If that were discovered, their cover would be blown. It wouldn't make any sense that someone, who had recently come into a large fortune, would want to wear rhinestones to an important social event instead of showing off their real diamonds.
Laying the dress onto the bed, Sydney grabbed her bathrobe and headed to the bathroom for a quick shower.
Ten minutes later,
"It's all yours." Sydney called out to Vaughn, as she passed him, walking into her room and shutting the door.
Vaughn looked at his watch as he waited for Sydney in the lobby of the hotel where they had agreed to meet. He had already called a limo that was on its way. Scanning around the room, he saw a figure descending down the spiral stairs and stared.
The dress fit her as if it was tailored to her exact measurements. The heels, gave her extra height, preventing the dress from looking too long, but instead, it covered her legs to the exact length that it was as if she was gliding. The necklace accented the dress perfectly and strikingly contrasted against her chest, moving with her every breath. Sydney had curled her hair and arranged it on top of her head, clipping it with clips covered with real, tiny, diamonds. Delicate ruby and diamond earrings dripped from her ears.
Simple Elegance.
As Sydney descended the stairs she looked at the man sitting on a couch at the bottom of the stairs. Her breath caught in her throat. The black tux, accented his shoulders and broad chest. The pure, white, of his shirt struck against the blackness of the silk tie. She could remember the contours of his strong legs as she looked at his pants. His sandy blonde hair was natural and ruffled as it always was. She walked closer and stood next to him, looking into his eyes, becoming lost in the green. It was the eyes. It was always the eyes.
Sydney realized how entranced she was becoming and quickly looked away while Vaughn cleared his throat.
"Excuse me." A porter interrupted, embarrassed at having interrupted at such a private and personal moment. "Your ride is here."
Sydney looked up at Vaughn and he nodded to her. Together, they walked out of the lobby and into the limo. Vaughn handed the driver the address, a castle in Loire Valley.
"Ahh..." the driver said, exclaiming at the name of the castle, "Château de Chenonceau est belle!"
After acquiring some information about the Chateau and the owner from the driver, Sydney and Vaughn decided to just lean back and enjoy beautiful view. Half and hour later, the driver pulled into the gate, handed the guard the invitation and drove in. The Chateau was beautiful with rolling gardens and scenery. The sun was about to set and the sky was painted with beautiful oranges, reds, yellows, and tints of purple and blue all blended together perfectly.
The driver helped Sydney out of the limo and ran around to the other side to close the door for Vaughn. Sydney and Vaughn walked the length of the limo and at the front; Vaughn held his hand out to Sydney. She took his hand, and squeezed it lightly. Together, they walked into the back garden where Jacques Jacobins-Robespierre was waiting for his guests.
Mostly everyone was already there and despite them being on time, they were the last ones there. Jacobins-Robespierre saw that someone new was here, and walked over to meet them. Sydney and Vaughn met him halfway and he smiled warmly at them.
"I don't recognize you two, so you must be Mr. and Mrs. Dmitri Kolesnikov!"
"Monsieur..." Sydney started, but he waved her off.
"Non, we have all decided to speak English at this party!" Jacobins- Robespierre declared grandly, indicating at all the different regions everybody was from.
Sydney faked a small sigh of relief,
"Oh, how wonderful! I am no good at French, you see." She responded in a thick Russian accent.
"I see you have been working on your English!" Robespierre told her, as a compliment.
Sydney blushed and Vaughn cleared his throat. Robespierre tore his eyes off Sydney and looked at Vaughn.
"Mr. Kolesnikov," Robespierre greeted. "I am so pleased that you and your lovely wife could make this event..."
"Dmitri, please. And this is my wife, Ani."
"Ani...it means 'beautiful' is Slavic, no?"
Sydney nodded.
"It is obvious for all to see..." Jacques said, trailing off a kissing Sydney on the hand.
She giggled flirtatiously and Vaughn cleared his throat again as a clear warning to Robespierre. Jacobins-Robespierre, now understanding the hint, announced that dinner was ready.
They all walked inside towards the dining hall and started to sit at their respective place cards. Sydney now saw the man in the picture, and he sat down at the place next to Vaughn. Swiftly and discreetly, she switched her and Vaughn's place cards and sat down in the seat.
Throughout the dinner, she made passes at the tattooed man who had introduced himself to her as Joseph Barbagallos. She looked over at Vaughn who looked as if he was in pain. A baroness, much older than he was, was trying to seduce him and would constantly brush her hair from her neck, trying to look seductive.
She looked over to her left at Barbagallos who was already smitten with her. Whatever she did now didn't matter. No matter what, he would follow her into the hallway. Vaughn sat straight in his seat shaking his head to all of the Baroness' questions.
"Dmitri..." She whispered.
He looked at her and she leaned to give him a kiss on the lips. His green eyes widened a bit in shock, but he knew why she had done that.
The Baroness noticed the large engagement ring that was now flashing in her eyes, and sat back in disgust. She didn't talk to him or answer any of his questions for the rest of dinner, and he was grateful.
The dinner plates had been cleared away by the help and the guests all moved into the garden for dancing and entertainment.
"Wherever did you find such a lovely estate?" Sydney asked Jacobins- Robespierre in amazement. The sun had set and the sky was a dusky, purple blue. The stars had begun to twinkle in the sky and the gardens that had just been watered, glistened in the soft moonlight.
"E-bay," Jacobins-Robespierre told her jokingly and offered her a glass of champagne which she refused. Sydney laughed loudly in response and after chatting with him about the Countess Turovystn, she excused herself to find Vaughn who was standing near some rosebushes, surveying the guests.
Sydney tapped him lightly on the shoulder. He turned his head and she nodded to him. They both turned on their comm. links and James responded on the other end. They were situated and ready. After surveying the security cameras for a minute, James told Sydney to use the east wing of the house. It was secluded from the rest and there were no guards or staff in it.
Vaughn was now engaged in a conversation in rapid French with some businessmen and was looking around him, distracted. When he turned around to put his empty champagne fluke onto a tray the waiter was carrying around, he whispered quietly into his comm. link.
"Ten o'clock."
Sydney looked at him from across the garden and then to her ten o'clock where Barbagallos was alone, leaning against a stone wall, obviously drunk. Sydney lowered her hand down to her side and held out four fingers in a natural pose.
Vaughn nodded. He would wait exactly four minutes until he would head into the east wing to find Sydney.
After confirming that Vaughn understood her gesture, Sydney patted her hair and walked towards Barbagallos with nothing else on her mind and almost running into someone.
"Pardon me." The person said with a slight Argentinean accent.
Sydney looked up and their eyes met.
"I'm terribly sorry." She apologized, acting flustered.
"No. My entire fault, really." He said, and moved away, lost in the crowd.
Quickly forgetting about the encounter, Sydney slowed down her pace and walked languidly towards the stone wall, and leaning against it, she looked up at the now dark sky.
"It's beautiful isn't it?" She asked, inclining her head against Barbagallos.
"Beautiful..." Barbagallos answered, his eyes eying her hungrily.
"Do you attend Mr. Robespierre's parties often?"
"Yes. The man throws....fantastic...parties..." He slurred.
"This place is beautiful." Sydney said, gesturing towards the castle and the grounds.
"Would you like a tour inside?" Barbagallos asked her, an idea forming in his head.
"Oh, you wouldn't mind?"
"Non. Not at all."
Barbagallos took her arm and led her into the castle.
"Left or right?" He asked her as they stepped into the chateau. Sydney thought for a second.
"Right."
"No...I think we should go left."
"Why is that?"
"That is the eastern wing, Mrs. Kolesnikov. Entirely empty."
Sydney looked at him with a small smile and he smiled back, understanding her hint. Taking her arm again, he led her into the eastern wing and true to his word; the eastern wing was entirely deserted with not a person in sight.
Paintings and intricately woven tapestries hung on the walls of the long hall and Sydney walked around, admiring them until Barbagallos turned her around and pressed her against the wall, his hot breath breathing on her, kissing her neck and lips. She could taste the alcohol on his lips and smell it weighing heavily on his breath.
Sydney closed her eyes as she counted in her head. 'One more minute.' She told herself. 'And then, Vaughn will come save me.'
But the minutes passed and Vaughn wasn't there. Considering, knocking him unconscious by force because of where he was placing his hands, she decided that she would wait another minute. It wasn't part of the plan and it would be too visible if she knocked him out by force and he would remember.
No, she would wait. She had faith that Vaughn would follow through for her.
Vaughn was in the gardens by himself, looking at his watch anxiously. He didn't want Sydney to have to suffer anymore than she had to. Finally, the minute hand reached the exact position he wanted and as he got up to leave, the Baroness that had been harassing him at dinner appeared at his side, pulling him back into a sitting position.
"Where are you leaving to, Mr. Kolesnikov?" She asked, looking down at him.
"I have an important business meeting tomorrow morning. I think it would be best if me and my wife leave right now." He said, starting to get up again.
She pushed him down.
"It's so early. The party has just begun."
"No, I really must go find my wife."
"I don't think that you want to." She told him, looking sympathetic.
"And why would that be, Baroness?"
"Why, I just saw her enter the house with Mr. Robespierre's business associate. You can just imagine what they're doing in there..." The Baroness looked closely at his face expression. "Don't worry, Mr. Kolesnikov. I will always be here for you."
She ran her long fingernails through his hair and leaned down to kiss him. He turned his face away, and got up hurriedly.
"Excuse me, Baroness. I really must find Ani."
"No, no! It's my favorite song, let's dance." The baroness cried, grabbing him with a surprised amount of force and dragging him onto the dance floor.
Vaughn put up with her for a minute or two and when she turned to get them two glasses of wine, he ran into the house.
"James." Vaughn said into his comm. link. "Where is she?"
"Turn right." James instructed. "Up the stairs and down the hallway."
"Thanks. Tell Ana to leave now."
Vaughn ran into the hallway and found Sydney starting to squirm out of Barbagallos' grasp.
"Dmitri! This man is taking advantage of me!" She cried helplessly.
"What are you doing to my wife?" Vaughn shouted, turning Barbagallos by the shoulder and punching him in the face.
Barbagallos fell over and Vaughn bent down to spray him in the face. A bruise was beginning to form on his right eye and Barbagallos didn't move again.
"I'm running late! You'll have to prep him for me." Ana's voice rang in softly through the comm. link.
Sydney and Vaughn looked at each other and then down in Barbagallos in disgust.
"You do it." Sydney said, moving away.
"What? Why me?" Vaughn asked. Sydney looked at him pleadingly and he sighed loudly. "Fine...but you owe me."
Vaughn started looking for the tattooed and let out a sigh of relief when he didn't have to look farther than the man's back. Sydney turned around and looked at the tattoo in shock. It covered the entirety of the back and looked like a mass a scribbles and pictographs that had been crammed together to fit.
Sydney took off her necklace and went over the tattoo and after it glowed, signaling that James and Mark had receive the data in the station, she put it back on again and snapped pictures for a secondary source. When she was done she ran to the window that Ana was rapping at softly.
"Did you get it?" She whispered.
Sydney nodded and they both ran over to the man. After carefully administering the chemical, Ana gave him a shot to reduce the soreness and pain so that hopefully Barbagallos wouldn't notice until he undressed to go to bed the next afternoon. Ana leapt back out the window again and Sydney carefully closed the window after her.
Vaughn had put Barbagallos' shirt, jacket, and tie back on. He and Sydney both looked at the large bruise forming on his eye and they started to drag him toward the stairs, arranging him as if he had collapsed from excessive alcohol consumption and hit his face on the rail. Vaughn walked downstairs to the kitchen and when nobody was looking, he stole a bottle of whiskey, poured the majority of it into the bushes, and placed it by Barbagallos.
The two of them looked down, satisfied, and after Sydney had fixed her hair, wiped her lips and neck with a handkerchief, and straightened her dress, the two of them walked outside hand-in-hand.