Chapter 2: The Elevator
A/n: Thank you so much for the reviews! They truly make me so happy. Note this: when a quote is all in italics it's in Italian. So this chapter was the reason I wanted to write the story. Well it was my inspiration. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Woe is me, that Agent Vaughn isn't mine. Sigh. I call first dibs when he's for sale.
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The steely slam of the van door echoed down the alley, rising above the noise of the pub next to them. The bittersweet laughter of the men and cackles from the women chorused back, adding to the slurred speech and clinks of foamy glasses. Her arms swung in a beat as her feet crunched down the pebbly road. Sydney looked up to the cloudless azure sky, where dim stars competed in their twinkling glory near the eastern horizon, and she smiled. The stars always graced her with good luck.
She pressed the com link delicately in her ear, eyeing a river to her left just beyond a tangle of vegetation. I have a visual on the building, she canted, rotating her eyes to look in front of her. The colossal building loomed yards before her, piercing the sky and hiding her lucky stars.
All right, you know the drill, Dixon told her back. I'm almost in the lobby.
The plan was for Dixon to meet her in the lobby. According to this particular rogue organization, Preston Brock and Jessica Pierce were getting tours of this sanction as delegates from associate organizations. She brought her fingers up to run through her light brown wig, a color that reminded her of a kitten she had when she was younger. Her mother had bought her that kitten...
Sydney took the brief time she had walking from the van to the building to review her counter mission. The Ingress Codes were being held on sub-level three in room forty-seven. The only to access that floor was by taking a secret elevator buried in the depths of the building like an intricate tomb. Sydney and Dixon would go on the tour, get deep enough to find the elevator, have Dixon hack into the security and have Sydney retrieve the codes. So not to interfere with any signals that might get picked up, Sydney and Dixon would go radio silent while in the elevator. Sydney would grab the codes, dash to the elevator to meet Vaughn who was repairing the televisions on sub-level two to make a switch, drop Vaughn off at sub-level one, and meet Dixon back with the bootleg copy on the main level. Then, of course, they would walk out so nonchalantly that no one even bothers thank them for coming.
Sydney drew in a heavy breath, fantasizing about the enclosed quarters with Vaughn in the elevator. She could already see the devilish glint shining radiantly in his striking green eyes as they made the switch of the codes. Then, the elevator doors would close, and he'd lean in to kiss her with a passion that he's never felt for anything before...
The rumble of a car stalling knocked Sydney from her daydream. Who was she kidding? This was a serious mission she was about to partake in, probably the most important mission of her life. She could potentially bring down the alliance. It was all up to her. She could never live with herself knowing that she fumbled this mission because she was dreaming about a day that would never come. Perhaps if she completed this mission she could find what was missing from her life.
Finally she neared the door of the building. It's massive gray exterior reminded her of old, concrete buildings used for torture. But she was not afraid. Taking a firm grip on the icy handle, she pulled open the door as the wind blew a refreshing breath in her direction. Her wig messily framed her face, and she smoothed her skirt before strutting into the building.
Miss P-Pierce? a nervous man asked, sliding his glasses down his nose as he looked Sydney up and down.
Yes, I apologize for not being punctual, it's one of my flaws, Sydney bit her lip, using a British accent to playfully delight the young man. How she loved the acting part of her aliases.
Dixon stepped forward, taking her hand and bowing as he gently kissed it. One of very few, I am sure. Sydney blushed slightly at her friend's remark. His Spanish accent was perfect. He smiled at her as he loosened the tie from his neck.
Sh-sh-shall we begin the... the tour? the nervous man asked, taking quick glances between Sydney and the floor. Both Sydney and Dixon nodded eagerly. Very well, then. W-welcome to the Cork Biotechnology Company of Cork, Ireland...
He led them passed the front desks and into a white door on the far right of the lobby. The man proceeded to show them the company's main laboratories and explaining their accomplishments with great pride to Sydney, especially.
They turned into a dead end hallway, and Sydney found the high access only elevator at the end. And here is the last of the labs on this floor, he told them, turning in time for Dixon's fist to collide with his jaw. Bloody hell! he screamed, dashing into the lab. Dixon chased him down around the lab. The man darted out of the lab and pushed a button to commence closing the door, and rested panting against the wall. Suddenly Dixon popped out of the inches of open door left and began strangling the man. Meanwhile, Sydney crept over towards the elevator, casually leaning against the wall close to it.
She watched as the man struggled to reach another button, the choking making his whole body shake. With one last thrust of his arm, his fingers pressed the button and the elevator door slid open. A man jumped out of it, raising his gun at Dixon.
Sydney shouted, ripping the gun from under her skirt and shooting the elevator guard. Just after he collapsed, the nervous man Dixon was strangling slumped to the ground as well.
Thanks, Syd, Dixon said, running back down the hallway, headed for the security room. Beginning radio silence.
Sydney nodded at him and hurried into the elevator, pulling the dead man back inside of it. She pressed the button for sub-level three and saw Dixon rounding the corner as the doors closed shut.
The silence oozed into the room, a ride not short enough for Sydney, confined in an area with the man she just killed. He would have killed Dixon, she kept telling herself, I had to save him. Her eyes were locked to his face, his strawberry blonde hair sticking to the splattered blood on his face. It made her sick to her stomach. She couldn't tear her eyes away until the doors opened again; sub-level three. She had to put this man behind her in order to end the Alliance.
She carefully stepped over his legs and glanced up at the camera on the ceiling to her right. The red light had blinked off, and Sydney knew Dixon was switching the security tapes. Sydney crept forward along the wall, searching left and right for room forty-seven.
I'm back, Dixon's voice sounded in her ear.
I've found it, Sydney said, her hands running along the smooth wooden surface. I'm breaking the lock now. She whipped off her watch and slid off the glass top, revealing a complex electromagnetic lock picking device. She held it steadily to the key pad next to the door and started it; lights and numbers flashing fervently until all the correct digits were discovered. A click came from the door's inside and Sydney twisted the knob. She looked around the room; an office belonging to Frederick P. Jones. I'm in, she whispered, bringing her finger to her com link.
The safe's behind a painting.
Her eyes darted about the room, landing on the large painting behind the mahogany desk: bingo. Her fingers clasped around the frame and the picture swung to the side, a black safe now exposed. A simple spin lock. She pinned her face against the cold metal, listening as she twirled the lock, spinning it in the opposite direction when she heard it pop. After five numbers the pressure released and the safe door creaked open. She swallowed hard as she pulled out the only contents of the safe. She read the top page.
TOP SECRET
She opened it further, scanning down the pages in a rage. Codes after codes for each cell were listed. I got it, Dixon, she whispered, containing all her excitement. She closed the safe, spinning the lock shut and closing the painting. She slipped out the door of room forty-seven with ease and proceeded back to the elevator. She pushed the button to go back to the main floor, tingling with anticipation for her stop on sub-level two. All right, going radio silent.
Copy. I'll meet you on the main floor. The com link's connection ended and she pulled the earpiece out, massaging her ear.
The elevator silently opened, and Sydney stepped over several legs to get inside. One, two, three, four... Four legs? She looked down at the floor in an instant, her eyes widening as she saw two bodies crumpled on the ground. Someone else must be there, someone else must have killed another one...
A muffled cry emerged from the second body, and the person's face turned for Sydney to see. It was a girl, maybe eleven to fourteen years old, with long, wavy sand colored hair. Her faded blue eyes were spewing with tears, and her rosy cheeks illuminated them on her face. And before Sydney could do anything, the elevator started to ascend to sub-level two.
Why would someone do this to him? she whimpered helplessly. Why would someone kill my father? Her chest shook as she spoke, looking at Sydney for a desperate answer.
Oh no, oh no, oh please, God, no, Sydney prayed. She killed this girl's father. How could she do that? Kill someone's father? She was just as bad as her mother... She was no better than Irina Derevko, the murderer of Vaughn's very own father. What would he say if he knew Sydney had done this? He would tell her it wasn't her fault, she's not like her mother. Sydney did this to protect Dixon. She saved his life! Irina killed Vaughn's father out of protection of her job and reputation, not for a good man's life.
However, these were not the thoughts that were running through Sydney's mind as a crying young girl stared up at her. The elevator stopped and the doors began to open. Vaughn was waiting there. When he saw the dead man and his daughter lying on the ground, he gave Sydney a peculiar stare and opened his mouth to speak.
But she cut him off. I'll explain later, but we have to make this switch.
He raised his eyebrows at Sydney's Italian, stepping inside. But she'll see everything. We'll either have to kill her or take her into custody and –
No, we can't kill her. I already had to kill her father... There, she had told him. He knew, and she was still a murderer. How would he react? He would hate her, never talk to her again. She would pass by, and instead of a look of longing he would say, There goes Sydney Derevko, she belongs in prison with her mother.' Sydney would never find the missing thing from her life, nor would she ever make her dream a reality with Vaughn –
Well give me the codes then, and give these to Dixon. He handed her a stack of papers, the phony codes, their realistic appearance due to Jack Bristow's high ranking knowledge. Sydney switched the papers but her bewildered gaze never left Vaughn's face. Did he even hear her? She killed this man! And his daughter lay crying her heart out next to him. How could he not care?
she said. What are we going to do?
He finally looked, though reluctantly, at the deceased and the young girl next to him. I'll take her back with me. How did she even get back here? he asked curiously, looking back at Sydney.
We just can't kill her, she replied, ignoring Vaughn's previous question as guilt ran like poison through her body.
The elevator stopped at sub-level one, and Vaughn slipped the Ingress Codes into his coat. He bent over to pick up the girl, and lifted her as if she were air. No! Father! she cried, reaching back for him, but her body was weak and her struggle ended soon. The elevator doors shut, and her cries disappeared from the prominent silence. Her cries rang on, though, in Sydney's head, begging for her father's life back.
But at last, the elevator doors opened, and Sydney jumped out as quickly as possible, leaving behind the dead guard and trying to erase the image on his face from her mind. She straightened her skirt and wiped the look of shock off her face, meeting Dixon just before the door back into the lobby.
He smiled at her as she handed them the false papers. You know, he said, we don't get paid enough for this. He held the door open for her.
You have no idea, she muttered, smiling at him as she walked back through the lobby. That was a lovely tour, she told a plump woman at the front desk, we'll have to return sometime.
Dixon took her arm as they walked outside into the breezy night air, winking at her as he bid farewell, knowing they'd be united soon as Jessica and Preston would not. Sydney smiled and marched back down to the van. She would never return sometime, she was sure of that. She would never return to the place where she killed someone like that.
She kicked a pebble out of anger and watched it sail into the darkness, then looked up to the stars. Lucky stars? Ha! Her stars were lucky no more.
A/n: What did you think? Please REVIEW! You know you want to. I'll try to have chapter three out sometime this week.
Whitelighter Enchantress