Chap.18- Dismissed
Vaughn pounded his fist angrily against the door handle of the taxicab, startling the driver and causing him to swerve before gaining control again.
"Je suis désolé," Vaughn apologized and the cabbie shrugged keeping his eyes fixed on the road, his ears straining for any tidbit of conversation he could reach in explanation for this man's behavior. But the entire cab was silent.
Sydney looked over at Vaughn, worriedly. When she, Mark, James, and Ana were upstairs packing, Bridgette had called Vaughn to the study. With Vaughn acting like he was now, she didn't have to second-guess herself to know what she had told him.
Two hours later, the cabbie pulled into the airport and pocketed the large transportation fee happily, wishing them a safe trip and driving off. They boarded the jet and hours later, arrived at Logan Airport again, changing to the private plane that flew off in the direction of Los Angeles.
Vaughn and Sydney sat next to each other in silence while Mark, James, and Ana were in a separate section, playing poker and using lemon and lime wedges as chips. It was hard not to notice Vaughn's anger and it was even harder to refrain from asking him.
An hour had passed and Vaughn and Sydney were still sitting in complete silence, staring straight ahead at the fold away tray of the seat in front of them.
"Sydney..." Vaughn suddenly said quietly. "I know that you know."
"Your mother told you, didn't she?" Sydney asked.
"Yea," Vaughn said, nodding.
"Why are you mad at her?"
"She kept it from me for all of these years..." Vaughn answered, shaking his head in disbelief. "You wouldn't understand..."
Sydney let out a short bark of laughter that contained no humor.
"Vaughn. Think hard. I am the queen of having secrets kept from me by my parents."
Vaughn smiled in remembrance.
"How could I forget?"
"I don't know... But what I do know is that your mother kept it from you so that you would be safe...so that you would have a choice in life and not have to get caught up in this spy crap when you were little. She wanted to do what was best for you and you can't judge her. It's not fair, Vaughn."
He sighed.
"I know, Syd. I'm more worried than mad...more scared then anything, actually."
"She can take care of herself, Vaughn. You said so yourself." Sydney said, yawning. The whole day's events had caught up to her and her eyelids were weighing heavily.
"Tired?" Vaughn asked, yawning himself.
"Yea," Sydney laughed and she leaned to her left to rest her head on his shoulder, allowing her eyelids to close completely.
"Me too," Vaughn replied quietly and let his head fall to the right to rest upon Sydney's.
"How cute...," Ana murmured, as she observed Sydney and Vaughn. She looked back at James' and Mark's expectant faces and put down her hand of cards triumphantly, raking all the wedges in the middle of the table toward her. "Royal flush."
"Damn!" Mark exclaimed. "That was my last lime."
Four hours later, the small plane taxied into its terminal and the five of them hurriedly grabbed their bags and walked swiftly out of the airport. Vaughn immediately spotted the black, government-issued car and directed the others to it.
When the last car door was slammed shut, the driver quickly started the ignition and drove towards the Ops center where, they were told, Kendall and Jack were waiting to speak to them.
Half an hour later, the five agents were escorted to the conference room where Kendall and Jack were already seated and waiting for their arrival. Kendall pursed his lips and nodded absentmindedly.
"I'm glad your mission was a success. We received your photos of the tattoo and it's under analyzation currently, although there has been no advance in the code breaking so the trip to Venezuela will be necessary and moved up since we have been informed that Robespierre is looking for the young woman that we've already identified. It would be best to be a step ahead of him. I will inform you of your departure time." Kendall finished and looked at Jack, indicating him to begin.
"Our allies in France informed us of your arrival at their safe house in Normandy and we received no verification of your arrival in Rome, nor any contact from the safe house itself. You personally did not inform us of your whereabouts or your safety. We had no idea where five of our agents were for the past week!"
"We had been compromised, dad." Sydney began. "We had just entered the border to Italy and just as planned we saw a black car following us. Vaughn pulled over to the side of the road after three miles and the driver then signaled the address to us. When he got out of the car to check the brakes and the engine, he went to the front of the car instead of the back."
"Most engines are in the front..." Kendall remarked dryly.
"It was a beetle, Mr. Kendall." Vaughn intercepted with a dryness to match Kendall's own.
"I recognized the driver as a man from the Robespierre's party and he shot at us. Vaughn shot back and the man died from a gunshot wound to the heart. Then, we got out and we found our original contact in the trunk with severe multiple head injuries, broken limbs, fingernails pulled back. After burying our contact and disposing of the other man's body, Vaughn drove back into France and to the only place that he knew to go." Sydney continued, ignoring Kendall's remark.
"You should have contacted us. We could have informed you of a nearby safe house instead of putting the life of another agent that was currently residing at the safe house at risk!"
"It was a deserted road. I wasn't thinking straight...I didn't know where else to go." Vaughn replied
"As a field agent you always have to be on guard, always second-guess yourself." Kendall roared. "You're damn right you weren't thinking!"
"If it weren't for Vaughn, the four of us wouldn't be here right now. I'm tired, Mr. Kendall. Good-bye." Sydney said shortly. She got up to leave but then walked back to where Kendall was sitting and pulled out a file from her backpack that contained the pictures she had taken of the contact and the man that had shot at them. Slapping the file onto the table, she turned on her heel and left.
"Dismissed," Jack said to Mark, Ana, James, and Vaughn who were still sitting at the table.
The three junior agents rose from their seats and left the room. When Vaughn was about to leave after them, Kendall called him back into the room.
"Agent Vaughn, our French allies have also informed of your awareness of your mother's association with the agency. Is that true?"
"Yes."
"You'll need to stop by Gerard before you leave for security clearance."
"She's my mother! I don't agree with her association in the first place!"
"It's just routine, Agent Vaughn." Jack intercepted.
"Dismissed," Kendall repeated and Vaughn grabbed his suitcase and walked out the door furiously almost running into Sydney.
"Syd!" He exclaimed in surprise as he stopped short.
"Vaughn."
"I thought you were leaving."
"I was...but I just left my suitcase in the conference room, so..."
"Oh..."
"You probably have to get home to Lauren, right?"
"Lauren? Oh, uh...yea." Vaughn replied, his mind clearing.
"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then...or maybe even in the backyard."
Hey you guys! So sorry for the long wait, I've just been so caught up with homework and stuff and ughh! Math...i hate math....
But anyways, how was chapter 18? I know it was pretty short, but I wanted to get a chapter up quickly. I'll probably be able to get one up on the weekend or maybe even tomorrow so keep those reviews comin'!
Heh.
Vaughn pounded his fist angrily against the door handle of the taxicab, startling the driver and causing him to swerve before gaining control again.
"Je suis désolé," Vaughn apologized and the cabbie shrugged keeping his eyes fixed on the road, his ears straining for any tidbit of conversation he could reach in explanation for this man's behavior. But the entire cab was silent.
Sydney looked over at Vaughn, worriedly. When she, Mark, James, and Ana were upstairs packing, Bridgette had called Vaughn to the study. With Vaughn acting like he was now, she didn't have to second-guess herself to know what she had told him.
Two hours later, the cabbie pulled into the airport and pocketed the large transportation fee happily, wishing them a safe trip and driving off. They boarded the jet and hours later, arrived at Logan Airport again, changing to the private plane that flew off in the direction of Los Angeles.
Vaughn and Sydney sat next to each other in silence while Mark, James, and Ana were in a separate section, playing poker and using lemon and lime wedges as chips. It was hard not to notice Vaughn's anger and it was even harder to refrain from asking him.
An hour had passed and Vaughn and Sydney were still sitting in complete silence, staring straight ahead at the fold away tray of the seat in front of them.
"Sydney..." Vaughn suddenly said quietly. "I know that you know."
"Your mother told you, didn't she?" Sydney asked.
"Yea," Vaughn said, nodding.
"Why are you mad at her?"
"She kept it from me for all of these years..." Vaughn answered, shaking his head in disbelief. "You wouldn't understand..."
Sydney let out a short bark of laughter that contained no humor.
"Vaughn. Think hard. I am the queen of having secrets kept from me by my parents."
Vaughn smiled in remembrance.
"How could I forget?"
"I don't know... But what I do know is that your mother kept it from you so that you would be safe...so that you would have a choice in life and not have to get caught up in this spy crap when you were little. She wanted to do what was best for you and you can't judge her. It's not fair, Vaughn."
He sighed.
"I know, Syd. I'm more worried than mad...more scared then anything, actually."
"She can take care of herself, Vaughn. You said so yourself." Sydney said, yawning. The whole day's events had caught up to her and her eyelids were weighing heavily.
"Tired?" Vaughn asked, yawning himself.
"Yea," Sydney laughed and she leaned to her left to rest her head on his shoulder, allowing her eyelids to close completely.
"Me too," Vaughn replied quietly and let his head fall to the right to rest upon Sydney's.
"How cute...," Ana murmured, as she observed Sydney and Vaughn. She looked back at James' and Mark's expectant faces and put down her hand of cards triumphantly, raking all the wedges in the middle of the table toward her. "Royal flush."
"Damn!" Mark exclaimed. "That was my last lime."
Four hours later, the small plane taxied into its terminal and the five of them hurriedly grabbed their bags and walked swiftly out of the airport. Vaughn immediately spotted the black, government-issued car and directed the others to it.
When the last car door was slammed shut, the driver quickly started the ignition and drove towards the Ops center where, they were told, Kendall and Jack were waiting to speak to them.
Half an hour later, the five agents were escorted to the conference room where Kendall and Jack were already seated and waiting for their arrival. Kendall pursed his lips and nodded absentmindedly.
"I'm glad your mission was a success. We received your photos of the tattoo and it's under analyzation currently, although there has been no advance in the code breaking so the trip to Venezuela will be necessary and moved up since we have been informed that Robespierre is looking for the young woman that we've already identified. It would be best to be a step ahead of him. I will inform you of your departure time." Kendall finished and looked at Jack, indicating him to begin.
"Our allies in France informed us of your arrival at their safe house in Normandy and we received no verification of your arrival in Rome, nor any contact from the safe house itself. You personally did not inform us of your whereabouts or your safety. We had no idea where five of our agents were for the past week!"
"We had been compromised, dad." Sydney began. "We had just entered the border to Italy and just as planned we saw a black car following us. Vaughn pulled over to the side of the road after three miles and the driver then signaled the address to us. When he got out of the car to check the brakes and the engine, he went to the front of the car instead of the back."
"Most engines are in the front..." Kendall remarked dryly.
"It was a beetle, Mr. Kendall." Vaughn intercepted with a dryness to match Kendall's own.
"I recognized the driver as a man from the Robespierre's party and he shot at us. Vaughn shot back and the man died from a gunshot wound to the heart. Then, we got out and we found our original contact in the trunk with severe multiple head injuries, broken limbs, fingernails pulled back. After burying our contact and disposing of the other man's body, Vaughn drove back into France and to the only place that he knew to go." Sydney continued, ignoring Kendall's remark.
"You should have contacted us. We could have informed you of a nearby safe house instead of putting the life of another agent that was currently residing at the safe house at risk!"
"It was a deserted road. I wasn't thinking straight...I didn't know where else to go." Vaughn replied
"As a field agent you always have to be on guard, always second-guess yourself." Kendall roared. "You're damn right you weren't thinking!"
"If it weren't for Vaughn, the four of us wouldn't be here right now. I'm tired, Mr. Kendall. Good-bye." Sydney said shortly. She got up to leave but then walked back to where Kendall was sitting and pulled out a file from her backpack that contained the pictures she had taken of the contact and the man that had shot at them. Slapping the file onto the table, she turned on her heel and left.
"Dismissed," Jack said to Mark, Ana, James, and Vaughn who were still sitting at the table.
The three junior agents rose from their seats and left the room. When Vaughn was about to leave after them, Kendall called him back into the room.
"Agent Vaughn, our French allies have also informed of your awareness of your mother's association with the agency. Is that true?"
"Yes."
"You'll need to stop by Gerard before you leave for security clearance."
"She's my mother! I don't agree with her association in the first place!"
"It's just routine, Agent Vaughn." Jack intercepted.
"Dismissed," Kendall repeated and Vaughn grabbed his suitcase and walked out the door furiously almost running into Sydney.
"Syd!" He exclaimed in surprise as he stopped short.
"Vaughn."
"I thought you were leaving."
"I was...but I just left my suitcase in the conference room, so..."
"Oh..."
"You probably have to get home to Lauren, right?"
"Lauren? Oh, uh...yea." Vaughn replied, his mind clearing.
"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then...or maybe even in the backyard."
Hey you guys! So sorry for the long wait, I've just been so caught up with homework and stuff and ughh! Math...i hate math....
But anyways, how was chapter 18? I know it was pretty short, but I wanted to get a chapter up quickly. I'll probably be able to get one up on the weekend or maybe even tomorrow so keep those reviews comin'!
Heh.