Disclaimer: Surprise surprise, I don't own Alias.. or the characters.. or anything else related to the show. And I stole the title from a song by Thursday.. which also happens to be my favorite song, so don't sue meh.
A/N: Thank you for all of your reviews, they really made my day. I even revamped chapter two, and although I wasn't very happy with it in the first place, I'm still not so sure about it. Keep in mind, this is still in the [12 hours earlier] tense.
Tomorrow I'll Be You
"Jack," Katya began, her voice filled with amusement, "How good to see you again."
She felt the barrel dig a little deeper into her head. She could only assume that Sydney had called him, and that he already knew what had happened.
"You attempted to murder my daughter," Jack began through gritted teeth.
Katya smiled to herself.
"You also used me to get to Agent Vaughn," he spat venomously.
Correct in her assumption, Katya thought about her response carefully before proceeding, "Agent Vaughn was a security risk. I'm sure you understand."
Without missing a beat, she continued, "You should know that your daughter is very well-trained. Almost as though it is.. ingrained. You must be very proud."
Jack wasn't surprised that Katya knew about Project Christmas, he could only assume that Irina had filled her in. What he didn't know was whether or not she knew about his involvement within the Covenant, and if she did, whether or not she had told Sydney about it.
"Obviously, you know what I have done," Jack began matter-of-factly, "But I'm more interested in what you have done. Irina does not wish to harm Sydney. Why do you?"
Katya briefly considered the question before asking one of her own, "Tell me, did Sydney succeed in killing Lauren?"
Jack paused, unsure of where she might be taking the conversation, but decided that the answer was irrelevant anyway, "No, she didn't. Agent Vaughn did."
"Is that so?" she didn't bother to hide her surprise.
At that moment, Jack's cell began to ring. Without taking his eyes, or gun, off of Katya, he fumbled in his pockets until he found his phone. Katya listened intently to Jack's end of the conversation.
"Bristow," he answered brusquely.
"Hey dad. Vaughn and I are back in LA," came Sydney's voice.
Unsure of what to say, he replied, "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, we're fine. He's in the O.R.," she paused, and then continued, "Listen, I overheard Lauren talking about a few things, so I'm headed to Wittenberg for confirmation."
Jack froze. What exactly had Lauren said? But more importantly, did Sydney know what she was looking for? Dozens of warning flags popped into his mind as he tried to think of a way to dissuade her from going. Katya simply watched in curious amusement as his usually stony façade dropped to reveal torrents of shock, anger, and worry flood his face.
"Dad?" Sydney's voice startled him.
"Yes, Sydney, I heard you. You could be walking into a trap," was the first thing he could think of.
Sydney replied, and obviously had already thought of that, "Yeah, which is why I'm calling you. So you know.. if.."
"I understand, I have a few things to take care of," he said with a pointed glance at Katya, "I'll see you soon," Jack finished, unable to think of anything else to say, and hit the 'end' button on his phone. Perhaps if he hurried, he could beat her to Wittenberg.
"Are you surprised," Jack continued nonchalantly, as if the phone call had never taken place, "that Lauren is dead? Or that Agent Vaughn pulled the trigger?"
Katya didn't answer; she simply stared at him with a telling sneer.
Jack had been fairly certain that Lauren was not the one who stabbed Vaughn. Despite his feelings towards the young man, he knew that Vaughn was a capable agent and that he certainly would not let his guard down in the presence of Lauren. So, until that moment, he'd been puzzled as to what exactly had happened. Katya's reactions only confirmed his suspicions.
"I take it you were the one to stab him," Jack surmised.
Katya shrugged, "Perhaps."
"You," he stated, drained of his patience, "are coming with me."
He pulled Katya off the ground and guided her to his jeep, his gun never leaving her neck. He sped to the airfield in a desperate attempt to beat Sydney to Wittenberg, but because he had to escort Katya to a secure location, he knew his chances of doing so were very slim.
[Present time]
"When did you go to Wittenberg?" Vaughn asked, confused.
"Vaughn," she answered quietly, "There are some things I need to tell you. But I'd rather not discuss them here."
He nodded, unsure of how to react. "So," he began hesitantly, "You did find something in Wittenberg? Why didn't you tell Weiss?"
"You have to understand," she answered in a hushed tone, "We can't talk about it here."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the door..
"Yes, sir. I understand," Weiss said before he put away his phone.
Dixon had called him to confirm Vaughn's suspension, as well as inform him that Nadia Santos had escaped the safehouse. Just as he thought the day couldn't get any worse, it struck him that he would have to be the one to tell Sydney and Vaughn the news. Slowly, he dragged his feet down the hallway and quietly opened the door.
Sydney and Vaughn had been talking quietly, but stopped abruptly as soon as he entered the room. They both looked a little guilty, and he took a few moments to look at them.
"You guys planning my surprise party?" he joked, anxious to alleviate some of the tension, "Just remember, I like chocolate cake."
Sydney laughed, glad for the change of subject. Vaughn smiled, and mentally added another instance to Weiss's track record of poor timing.
After clearing his throat, Weiss began, "I guess both of you are wanting to know what Dixon said."
Turning to Vaughn, he continued, "You've been suspended, indefinitely. Actually you both have," he amended. Chancing a glance at Sydney, he said, "Dixon wasn't too happy that you and Jack went behind his back."
Sydney nodded; she really didn't care. She had no intention of returning to the CIA. Vaughn let out a deep breath and decided that they had let him off pretty easy. Unfortunately, the relief disappeared after Weiss's next bit of news.
"Dixon also got a call from the agents assigned to guard Nadia," he began hesitantly.
Sydney's eyes shot up in anticipation of what he was about to say, and she unconsciously tightened her grip on Vaughn's hand. Vaughn absently ran his thumb over her knuckles as Sydney urged Weiss to continue, "And?"
"And," Weiss obliged, "Nadia escaped the safehouse earlier today."
"How do they know she wasn't kidnapped?" Sydney argued, "I mean, we all know what Sloane is capable of."
Sydney couldn't believe what Weiss was telling her. Could the day get any worse? First, she was accused of blowing up the Ops Center and shooting Marshall in the process. Next, Vaughn was almost killed, and then she was almost killed. Then shortly afterwards, she learned that her entire life had been orchestrated. Now to top it all off, her long lost sister had disappeared at the hands of a madman. Just as she thought that the day could not, in fact, get any worse, Weiss confirmed his previous statement, "There were no signs of forced entry, and the bathroom window was left open, indicating that she left of her own accord."
Everything was getting to be too much for Sydney to handle, and she feared that she was on the verge of a breakdown. She took a seat in the chair and placed her head in her hands, her elbows resting on her knees. A few stands of hair fell in front of her face, sticking to the salty tears. Vaughn wasn't sure what to do, he knew that this would be upsetting for Sydney; however, he had a feeling that there was more to it than Nadia's disappearance. He reached over and ran his fingers through her fallen hair, gently tucking it in its rightful place behind her ear. He then moved his hand to caress her wet cheek, "Shh," he cooed, "It's okay, deep breaths."
Feeling rather uncomfortable, Weiss turned to leave the room after quietly stating, "I'm going to head over Ops and see what else I can find out. Call me if you need anything."
After Eric was gone, Vaughn turn to Sydney, concerned, "Syd, what else is bothering you? What was in Wittenberg?"
Several sobs escaped Sydney's lips at his second question, worrying Vaughn more than he already was. She wasn't sure what she wanted to say, and she really didn't want to discuss the issue in a hospital room with doctors and nurses wandering in and out. So instead, she stood up and moved onto Vaughn's bed, cuddling in beside him and burying her face in his shoulder. He didn't want to push her into talking about it, so he settled for holding her, gently rubbing up and down her arms until her crying subsided and she drifted into an uneasy sleep. As promised, a nurse came in the room and carefully maneuvered around Sydney in order to remove Vaughn's IVs. She offered a small smile before she left, leaving Vaughn to follow Sydney into a fitful sleep.
"You never answered my question," Jack affirmed.
With a raised eyebrow, Katya asked, "Didn't I?"
Jack's patience was wearing thin. If he did not need Katya's connections, she would either be in CIA custody or in Palermo with a bullet through her head. However, at that moment, they were both sitting in the living room of a nondescript safehouse in LA, arguing. He was confused as to why Katya had tried to shoot Sydney. Why had she gone against Irina's wishes?
"Irina does not want Sydney harmed. Why do you?" Jack demanded, clearly agitated.
"How do you know what Irina wants, Jack?" Katya asked with a coy smile.
Her question caught him off guard. Surely she would know that he has been in contact with Irina, especially after the incident North Korea.
Katya could almost see the wheels turning in Jack's head, and she momentarily wondered how long it would take him to figure it out.
"Where is Irina?" he asked warily.
She shifted in her seat and suppressed a smile as she answered, "I'm not Irina's keeper."
Jack was tired of her games, and he had a sneaking suspicion that things were not as they seemed.
Katya broke the silence, "I'm curious, Jack, why are you so desperate for Irina?"
"My business is none of your concern," Jack spat at her.
She narrowed her eyes, "Nor is mine yours."
"Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?" he asked angrily. He briefly considered how many slaps it would take to remove the grin from her face.
Katya's eyes bore into Jack's as she explained, "It means I will not answer any more of your foolish questions."
After a slight pause, she began again, "However, I may be able to think of some way to help you. You just have to let me go."
"And give you the chance to murder my daughter?" Jack scoffed.
Katya just smiled, "I think Sydney has already proven that she can take care of herself. She is, after all, Irina's daughter."
Sydney awoke to the sound of voices outside Vaughn's door. Glancing out the small window to her right, she noticed that it was gray outside, she also noticed the tiny droplets of water clinging to and falling from the glass, informing her that it was still raining. She didn't realize that she had been so tired. She carefully moved to sit up, but was prohibited from doing so when she felt a pair of strong arms tighten their grip around hers. With a satisfied smile, she laid her head back on Vaughn's shoulder. Sydney recognized one of the voices outside as Eric's, and she was almost sure he was talking to Dr. Adams. Her previous movements awakened Vaughn from his light sleep, just in time to see Weiss and Dr. Adams walk into the room.
"Hey," Weiss smiled at Sydney. Turning to Vaughn, he asked, "How you feeling?"
Vaughn looked at Sydney before answering quietly, "Better."
Dr. Adams then addressed Vaughn, "Good to hear. I'm going to take you down to radiology to have your chest x-rayed. If all goes well, we'll take that tube out and send you home."
Vaughn reluctantly allowed Sydney to remove herself from his grip and off of the bed. "I'll see you soon," she whispered, and placed a kiss in his hair before Dr. Adams helped him into a wheelchair and out the door.
Weiss cleared his throat after Vaughn and the doctor left and, with a slight hesitation, he began, "So when I went over to Ops, Dixon handed me this," he reached in his jacket pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper, "He told me it was addressed to you." He handed the paper over to Sydney.
"What is it?" Sydney asked, her eyes filled with curiosity.
"It's a letter," Weiss answered, "from Nadia."
A/N: These first two chapters were basically setting things up. Some of you may have thought Irina had Katya, but she will appear shortly. Chapter three will be up faster because I like it :P And then things will start to pick up. Let me know what you think, constructive criticism is always welcomed and appreciated.