Coventry, England
Syd, Vaughn and Weiss skirted the side of a huge factory, dressed all in black. Marshall had been right, there had been no cameras or guards in the outside fence of the complex and they had simply slipped through the main gate and ran towards the main building. There were several small buildings surrounding the factory they were breaking into, and as they crept silently through the night, Syd kept her eyes wide open, searching for any activity. The group stopped in front of a huge metal grate.
"This is entrance?" Vaughn asked looking at the grate. Weiss looked into a handheld PDA, displaying a map and nodded.
"Yep, right coordinates. This is the entrance. Let's go." He said cheerfully.
'How could he be cheerful at a time like this?' Syd and Vaughn thought. Weiss took a small, slender pole from his belt and turned the nozzle. A fine spray was coming from the pole and he placed it onto the grate. Weiss had sprayed a human sized hole in the grate but it looked no different. Syd and Vaughn waited patiently while Weiss then put away his equipment, took out his gun. Weiss, with his gun cocked in his hand, pushed the panel of metal and it fell inwards. He turned to Syd and Vaughn smiling.
"Ta da. Work of a genius." He said, grinning. He turned to go through the hole but his eyes widened as his whole body jerked suddenly. He stumbled backwards, his face expressionless. Syd and Vaughn looked confused and pulled him away from the door they had made.
"You alright? Have you been hit?" Weiss shook his head.
"No I'm fine. Just, I got dizzy. You know, the heat of the mission." He grinned. Syd and Vaughn looked relieved and climbed through the whole. Once he was left alone, Weiss looked down at his hand that was cluthed to his side, blood was smeared over it, thickly. He wiped his hands on his clothes and followed Syd and Vaughn. It was dark inside and there was no one to be seen. Weiss knew Sark had been there, he had been the one who had shot him, but he said nothing. The sooner they got the safe and got out, the better. He followed Syd and Vaughn who were picking up the small metal box.
"You need any help?" He asked, sidling over. They shook their heads.
"Just keep a look out." Vaughn said. Weiss did as he was told and turned away from them, his gun still clamped tightly in his hand. His side was beginning to ache painfully and his head was groggy. Whenever he blinked his eyes would cloud over and it would take him a while to be able to see again.
"I am not going to jeapordize this mission." He thought to himself. Gritting his teeth against the pain. He didn't notice anything until Vaughn and Syd shuffled past him holding the safe and motioned for him to follow. He walked behind them, still facing the inside of the factory. There was still no one about. It was as if they had wanted the safe to be taken. But that didn't matter right now. They had the safe and supposedly the intel contained in the safe. The mission was a success.
A van was waiting outside the complex for the team. Syd and Vaughn loaded the safe into it and then climbed in. Weiss lifted his foot to climb in after them but it sent pain spasming around his body. He lowered his foot quickly, gasping for breath and clasping his side. Syd looked worried.
"What is it?" She said, jumping down from the van. She pulled off the jacket that Weiss wore and saw the dark patch that was spreading over his black clothes. "Oh my God, Weiss you were shot. Why didn't you tell us?" Weiss' had felt strange as he tried to come up with a witty response.
"Tis but a scratch." He said, quoting from Romeo and Juliet. He broke into laughter but no one joined in. Tears started coming from his eyes as he laughed. Then, suddenly, he crumpled to the ground and lay still. Syd and Vaughn, shocked by this, grabbed an arm each and lifted him into the van.
"Drive to the nearest hospital. Quickly." Syd shouted at the driver, who did as he was told and the van sped off before Vaughn had a chance to close the door.
Syd and Vaughn walked into the Op Centre of the CIA building in LA. Dixon was waiting for them in the corridor and when they met him he said nothing but began walking. They followed him to his office and took seats on the opposite side of his desk. None spoke for a while as Dixon sat leafing through documents that lay on his desk.
"The mission was success." He said finally. Neither Vaughn or Syd could see how it was successful when their best friend had been shot and was lying in critical condition in hospital. "Apart from Agent Weiss' accident it seems everything went to plan. We have the intel, which seems only to be a document containing information about a Warehouse number 47 in downtown LA. It also contains some information about the assembly of the plane which is taking place in this warehouse." Syd and Vaughn nodded, taking the information in, although both were thinking mainly about their friend.
"I want you two to go to the warehouse, kill anyone who stands in your way. And stop them assembling that plane. If that plane is allowed to be built, no one in the world is safe. It could be sold to anyone which means every country in the world is at risk." He slid two folders over the desk and Vaughn and Sydney each took one, flipping through the contents. Dixon cleared his throat and the two agents took this as a sign to leave. They stood up and left his office with grim faces.
Once outside his office they breathed out. Syd looked worried about what Dixon had told them.
"What if this plane has already been built. There is no way for us to stop it. Even Marshall won't know what to do and I doubt they will leave a manual around." Syd said, her expression full of worry and pain. Vaughn took her hand in his.
"It'll be alright. They haven't had enough time to build it. We'll be fine." He hugged Syd, smiled at her and then left her outside Dixon's office.
Syd and Vaughn found themselves, once again, sneaking into a warehouse. It seemed empty but they were getting used to this by now. Maybe the Covenant just didn't believe in security?
There was a small door at the back of the warehouse and they slipped inside. The interior of the warehouse was brightly lit, displaying an emptiness except for a small crate in the centre of the room. There was no plane to be seen anywhere and Syd felt relieved. Again, there was no one around but they didn' t take any chances. They had thought no one had been there when Weiss was shot. Vaughn nodded to the box in the centre of the empty warehouse and they moved towards it, their guns raised, ready to shoot. When they reached the crate Syd bent down and pulled out a small crowbar from her pack. Vaughn frowned at her and she grinned.
"Never know when one of these will come in handy." Vaughn let out a small laugh and then turned his full attention onto scanning the warehouse for anyone. Syd places the crowbars tip in the small gap where the crate was sealed, then with all her might, she pushed it in and pushed down on the end she was holding. The top of the crate popped off and Syd peered inside. Her eyes widened and she let out a strangled cry.
Vaughn heard Syd's cry and turned round quickly. She was leaning over the crate, her eyes wide with terror. Vaughn too peered inside and was shocked by the contents. A large bomb was tucked neatly inside the crate. There was enough C4 strapped to it to take out several blocks. His immediate reaction was to take his phone out and call Marshall.
"Flinkman here." Said the voice on the other end of the line.
"Marshall. It's Vaughn..."
"Vaughn....how did your mission go? Are you still in the middle of it? So I could be talking to you while you are on a mission. How cool is that? Is it fun? Did you find the plane thingy?" Vaughn was impatient.
"Shut up Marshall." He shouted.
"Well, there is really no need....." Marshall began, but he was cut short by Vaughn
"Marshall, we are standing in a huge warehouse, with a bomb that is about to explode....in....two minutes. Even if we ran from the building we would still get caught in it because there is a lot of C4 in this thing." He could hear Marshall take in a huge gulp of air.
"OK. Just....just explain the bomb to me....just....explain it." He said, stuttering in his anxiety. Vaughn gently pushed Syd to one side who was frantically searching the bomb herself.
"Ok, we have...four wires all connected to a small black box. I don't know what that is. There are three separate bundles of C4 and the thing that is counting." He said, hurrying his words.
"OK, this is a basic bomb. Anybody wanting to make a cheap but effective bomb uses this. Simple design, very simple way to stop it. The wires...are they red, black, green and blue?" Vaughn held them in his hand.
"Yeah, yeah they are."
"Right, first thing to do. Are all the wires connected just to the black box? or to one another?" Vaughn checked.
"Just to the box." Marshall breathed a sigh of relief.
"Ok, this bomb is stupid. If you disconnet all the wires that lead to the bombs...it won't do anything. The bomb only explodes when the counter either counts down to the number or it is told there is an interferance. Luckily the wires are not connected which means the counter will have no way in knowing if there has been an interferance. It will count down, tell the box to explode the bomb and kaboom. But because you have disconneted the other wires...no kaboom. You get me? Disconnet the wires now." Vaughn was just about to do this when he heard Marshall's voice again.
"Ok, I am not one hundred percent sure that this will work though. It seems basic from here but they may do that to fool me, or you. So I will just say goodbye now, incase you know...the worse happens."
"Bye Marshall." Vaughn hung up and turned to Syd. She looked at him with despair.
"This is it. Moment of truth." He looked at the counter, 45 seconds. He grasped all but one of the wires and then turned to Syd. He leaned in and kissed her, wanting her to know how he felt before, if, they died. Then he pulled the wires. Nothing happened and Vaughn took this as a good sign. But the counter was still going. 25 seconds, 20 seconds.....every moment ticked past as Vaughn and Sydney sat helpless by the bomb. 10 seconds. Vaughn felt Syd's hand clasp his, he was glad for her presence. 5 seonds, 4, 3, 2, 1. Vaughn and Syd braced themselves, closing their eyes. But nothing came. Syd opened one eye and looked at the bomb. The counter was reading 00:00 and the bomb was undetonated. They both laughed, relieved they were alive. Vaughn leaned in to kiss Syd again but she pushed him away. He looked puzzled and she knew she had to explain herself.
"Remember that time in North Korea, when I told you I had slept with Will and was moving on?" Vaughn nodded, not wanting to hear the rest. "well, I moved on. I met this guy Tom at a restaurant. We've been going out for a month." Vaughn had to bite back the tears that were welling in his eyes. He could see Syd was near tears as well.
"I understand. I can't expect you to just be there. I married someone, right?" He got up and turned from her. Syd was about to talk to him when her phone rang. She plucked it from her pocket.
"Hello?"
"Agent Bristow?" A voice said from the other end of the line. She didn't recognise it.
"This is she."
"I'm afraid to say that Agent Weiss's condition has worsened. He drifted into a coma three hours ago."
"Thank you for informing me." She hung up and turned to Vaughn who looked curios.
"Who was that?" He asked. Syd couldn't help it now, she let the tears roll down her cheeks.
"Um...Weiss...he went into a c...a coma three hours ago." She managed in between sobs. Vaughn pulled her into a hug and they stayed that way for, what seemed to Vaughn, a lifetime.
"Syd, we need to get out of here. We could be attacked at any time." Syd nodded, drying her eyes. They picked up all their stuff and ran silently from the building.
Lauren and Sark sat alone in an office. Sark was watching a TV screen intently, seeing Vaughn and Syd disable the bomb he had left for them. He grimaced.
"It seems those two yet again escaped death. It seems your husband has a guardian angel." Sark said, a smile forming at the side of his mouth. Lauren was on edge.
"What? You think I told him that there was that stupid bomb in there. I was the son of a bitch dead as much as you do. As well as that cow Sydney Bristow." Sark smiled cruelly.
"I said nothing about you informing Agent Vaughn of the bomb. I merely said that he always seems to make it out of things unscathed. Although now I think about it, it is suspicious. When you planted that bomb, lucky how only the back blew up but when Vaughn was safely out of the vehicle the front exploded too. And the poison. That should have killed him unless it was a very, very mild dose. And now, you and me were the only people who knew of that bomb, but he dealt with it well didn't he? Knew exactly what to do." Lauren narrowed her eyes.
"I would never, ever try and save his life. I planted the bomb, I did not make it so if it was not working, it was through no fault of my own. The poison was put into soup, it was likely that the soup watered it down and he did not drink the full dose. As for that bomb. I know nothing of bombs, so how do you explain me telling him what to do? If you care to watch that video you will see a mobile phone cluthed to Agent Vaughn's ear. I was with you the whole time this was taking place, therefore, I was not on the phone to him." She glared at Sark as he grinned.
"I know Miss Reed. I was merely....having some fun." He chuckled at Lauren's face. "The plane is taking some time to assemble and my time will have to be fully devoted to that. However, if I am not present to..'run' things so to speak, everything will go to pot. Therefore, I suggest that we get some help. I have just received some intel that could ruin a person's reputation." Lauren looked intrigued, although she was slightly angry that Sark felt she couldn't be trusted with the affairs that he dealt with normally. Sark took a piece of crumpled paper from his pocket and slid it accross the table to Lauren.
"Please ring this number." Lauren looked at it, frowning. "Is there a problem.?"
"No...it's just, isn't this......?" Sark cut her off.
"Yes, yes it is. Just hurry up and ring it." Lauren dailled the number into the phone and waited. The phone rang for some time before it was picked up.
"Hello?" Said the voice on the other end.
Syd, Vaughn and Weiss skirted the side of a huge factory, dressed all in black. Marshall had been right, there had been no cameras or guards in the outside fence of the complex and they had simply slipped through the main gate and ran towards the main building. There were several small buildings surrounding the factory they were breaking into, and as they crept silently through the night, Syd kept her eyes wide open, searching for any activity. The group stopped in front of a huge metal grate.
"This is entrance?" Vaughn asked looking at the grate. Weiss looked into a handheld PDA, displaying a map and nodded.
"Yep, right coordinates. This is the entrance. Let's go." He said cheerfully.
'How could he be cheerful at a time like this?' Syd and Vaughn thought. Weiss took a small, slender pole from his belt and turned the nozzle. A fine spray was coming from the pole and he placed it onto the grate. Weiss had sprayed a human sized hole in the grate but it looked no different. Syd and Vaughn waited patiently while Weiss then put away his equipment, took out his gun. Weiss, with his gun cocked in his hand, pushed the panel of metal and it fell inwards. He turned to Syd and Vaughn smiling.
"Ta da. Work of a genius." He said, grinning. He turned to go through the hole but his eyes widened as his whole body jerked suddenly. He stumbled backwards, his face expressionless. Syd and Vaughn looked confused and pulled him away from the door they had made.
"You alright? Have you been hit?" Weiss shook his head.
"No I'm fine. Just, I got dizzy. You know, the heat of the mission." He grinned. Syd and Vaughn looked relieved and climbed through the whole. Once he was left alone, Weiss looked down at his hand that was cluthed to his side, blood was smeared over it, thickly. He wiped his hands on his clothes and followed Syd and Vaughn. It was dark inside and there was no one to be seen. Weiss knew Sark had been there, he had been the one who had shot him, but he said nothing. The sooner they got the safe and got out, the better. He followed Syd and Vaughn who were picking up the small metal box.
"You need any help?" He asked, sidling over. They shook their heads.
"Just keep a look out." Vaughn said. Weiss did as he was told and turned away from them, his gun still clamped tightly in his hand. His side was beginning to ache painfully and his head was groggy. Whenever he blinked his eyes would cloud over and it would take him a while to be able to see again.
"I am not going to jeapordize this mission." He thought to himself. Gritting his teeth against the pain. He didn't notice anything until Vaughn and Syd shuffled past him holding the safe and motioned for him to follow. He walked behind them, still facing the inside of the factory. There was still no one about. It was as if they had wanted the safe to be taken. But that didn't matter right now. They had the safe and supposedly the intel contained in the safe. The mission was a success.
A van was waiting outside the complex for the team. Syd and Vaughn loaded the safe into it and then climbed in. Weiss lifted his foot to climb in after them but it sent pain spasming around his body. He lowered his foot quickly, gasping for breath and clasping his side. Syd looked worried.
"What is it?" She said, jumping down from the van. She pulled off the jacket that Weiss wore and saw the dark patch that was spreading over his black clothes. "Oh my God, Weiss you were shot. Why didn't you tell us?" Weiss' had felt strange as he tried to come up with a witty response.
"Tis but a scratch." He said, quoting from Romeo and Juliet. He broke into laughter but no one joined in. Tears started coming from his eyes as he laughed. Then, suddenly, he crumpled to the ground and lay still. Syd and Vaughn, shocked by this, grabbed an arm each and lifted him into the van.
"Drive to the nearest hospital. Quickly." Syd shouted at the driver, who did as he was told and the van sped off before Vaughn had a chance to close the door.
Syd and Vaughn walked into the Op Centre of the CIA building in LA. Dixon was waiting for them in the corridor and when they met him he said nothing but began walking. They followed him to his office and took seats on the opposite side of his desk. None spoke for a while as Dixon sat leafing through documents that lay on his desk.
"The mission was success." He said finally. Neither Vaughn or Syd could see how it was successful when their best friend had been shot and was lying in critical condition in hospital. "Apart from Agent Weiss' accident it seems everything went to plan. We have the intel, which seems only to be a document containing information about a Warehouse number 47 in downtown LA. It also contains some information about the assembly of the plane which is taking place in this warehouse." Syd and Vaughn nodded, taking the information in, although both were thinking mainly about their friend.
"I want you two to go to the warehouse, kill anyone who stands in your way. And stop them assembling that plane. If that plane is allowed to be built, no one in the world is safe. It could be sold to anyone which means every country in the world is at risk." He slid two folders over the desk and Vaughn and Sydney each took one, flipping through the contents. Dixon cleared his throat and the two agents took this as a sign to leave. They stood up and left his office with grim faces.
Once outside his office they breathed out. Syd looked worried about what Dixon had told them.
"What if this plane has already been built. There is no way for us to stop it. Even Marshall won't know what to do and I doubt they will leave a manual around." Syd said, her expression full of worry and pain. Vaughn took her hand in his.
"It'll be alright. They haven't had enough time to build it. We'll be fine." He hugged Syd, smiled at her and then left her outside Dixon's office.
Syd and Vaughn found themselves, once again, sneaking into a warehouse. It seemed empty but they were getting used to this by now. Maybe the Covenant just didn't believe in security?
There was a small door at the back of the warehouse and they slipped inside. The interior of the warehouse was brightly lit, displaying an emptiness except for a small crate in the centre of the room. There was no plane to be seen anywhere and Syd felt relieved. Again, there was no one around but they didn' t take any chances. They had thought no one had been there when Weiss was shot. Vaughn nodded to the box in the centre of the empty warehouse and they moved towards it, their guns raised, ready to shoot. When they reached the crate Syd bent down and pulled out a small crowbar from her pack. Vaughn frowned at her and she grinned.
"Never know when one of these will come in handy." Vaughn let out a small laugh and then turned his full attention onto scanning the warehouse for anyone. Syd places the crowbars tip in the small gap where the crate was sealed, then with all her might, she pushed it in and pushed down on the end she was holding. The top of the crate popped off and Syd peered inside. Her eyes widened and she let out a strangled cry.
Vaughn heard Syd's cry and turned round quickly. She was leaning over the crate, her eyes wide with terror. Vaughn too peered inside and was shocked by the contents. A large bomb was tucked neatly inside the crate. There was enough C4 strapped to it to take out several blocks. His immediate reaction was to take his phone out and call Marshall.
"Flinkman here." Said the voice on the other end of the line.
"Marshall. It's Vaughn..."
"Vaughn....how did your mission go? Are you still in the middle of it? So I could be talking to you while you are on a mission. How cool is that? Is it fun? Did you find the plane thingy?" Vaughn was impatient.
"Shut up Marshall." He shouted.
"Well, there is really no need....." Marshall began, but he was cut short by Vaughn
"Marshall, we are standing in a huge warehouse, with a bomb that is about to explode....in....two minutes. Even if we ran from the building we would still get caught in it because there is a lot of C4 in this thing." He could hear Marshall take in a huge gulp of air.
"OK. Just....just explain the bomb to me....just....explain it." He said, stuttering in his anxiety. Vaughn gently pushed Syd to one side who was frantically searching the bomb herself.
"Ok, we have...four wires all connected to a small black box. I don't know what that is. There are three separate bundles of C4 and the thing that is counting." He said, hurrying his words.
"OK, this is a basic bomb. Anybody wanting to make a cheap but effective bomb uses this. Simple design, very simple way to stop it. The wires...are they red, black, green and blue?" Vaughn held them in his hand.
"Yeah, yeah they are."
"Right, first thing to do. Are all the wires connected just to the black box? or to one another?" Vaughn checked.
"Just to the box." Marshall breathed a sigh of relief.
"Ok, this bomb is stupid. If you disconnet all the wires that lead to the bombs...it won't do anything. The bomb only explodes when the counter either counts down to the number or it is told there is an interferance. Luckily the wires are not connected which means the counter will have no way in knowing if there has been an interferance. It will count down, tell the box to explode the bomb and kaboom. But because you have disconneted the other wires...no kaboom. You get me? Disconnet the wires now." Vaughn was just about to do this when he heard Marshall's voice again.
"Ok, I am not one hundred percent sure that this will work though. It seems basic from here but they may do that to fool me, or you. So I will just say goodbye now, incase you know...the worse happens."
"Bye Marshall." Vaughn hung up and turned to Syd. She looked at him with despair.
"This is it. Moment of truth." He looked at the counter, 45 seconds. He grasped all but one of the wires and then turned to Syd. He leaned in and kissed her, wanting her to know how he felt before, if, they died. Then he pulled the wires. Nothing happened and Vaughn took this as a good sign. But the counter was still going. 25 seconds, 20 seconds.....every moment ticked past as Vaughn and Sydney sat helpless by the bomb. 10 seconds. Vaughn felt Syd's hand clasp his, he was glad for her presence. 5 seonds, 4, 3, 2, 1. Vaughn and Syd braced themselves, closing their eyes. But nothing came. Syd opened one eye and looked at the bomb. The counter was reading 00:00 and the bomb was undetonated. They both laughed, relieved they were alive. Vaughn leaned in to kiss Syd again but she pushed him away. He looked puzzled and she knew she had to explain herself.
"Remember that time in North Korea, when I told you I had slept with Will and was moving on?" Vaughn nodded, not wanting to hear the rest. "well, I moved on. I met this guy Tom at a restaurant. We've been going out for a month." Vaughn had to bite back the tears that were welling in his eyes. He could see Syd was near tears as well.
"I understand. I can't expect you to just be there. I married someone, right?" He got up and turned from her. Syd was about to talk to him when her phone rang. She plucked it from her pocket.
"Hello?"
"Agent Bristow?" A voice said from the other end of the line. She didn't recognise it.
"This is she."
"I'm afraid to say that Agent Weiss's condition has worsened. He drifted into a coma three hours ago."
"Thank you for informing me." She hung up and turned to Vaughn who looked curios.
"Who was that?" He asked. Syd couldn't help it now, she let the tears roll down her cheeks.
"Um...Weiss...he went into a c...a coma three hours ago." She managed in between sobs. Vaughn pulled her into a hug and they stayed that way for, what seemed to Vaughn, a lifetime.
"Syd, we need to get out of here. We could be attacked at any time." Syd nodded, drying her eyes. They picked up all their stuff and ran silently from the building.
Lauren and Sark sat alone in an office. Sark was watching a TV screen intently, seeing Vaughn and Syd disable the bomb he had left for them. He grimaced.
"It seems those two yet again escaped death. It seems your husband has a guardian angel." Sark said, a smile forming at the side of his mouth. Lauren was on edge.
"What? You think I told him that there was that stupid bomb in there. I was the son of a bitch dead as much as you do. As well as that cow Sydney Bristow." Sark smiled cruelly.
"I said nothing about you informing Agent Vaughn of the bomb. I merely said that he always seems to make it out of things unscathed. Although now I think about it, it is suspicious. When you planted that bomb, lucky how only the back blew up but when Vaughn was safely out of the vehicle the front exploded too. And the poison. That should have killed him unless it was a very, very mild dose. And now, you and me were the only people who knew of that bomb, but he dealt with it well didn't he? Knew exactly what to do." Lauren narrowed her eyes.
"I would never, ever try and save his life. I planted the bomb, I did not make it so if it was not working, it was through no fault of my own. The poison was put into soup, it was likely that the soup watered it down and he did not drink the full dose. As for that bomb. I know nothing of bombs, so how do you explain me telling him what to do? If you care to watch that video you will see a mobile phone cluthed to Agent Vaughn's ear. I was with you the whole time this was taking place, therefore, I was not on the phone to him." She glared at Sark as he grinned.
"I know Miss Reed. I was merely....having some fun." He chuckled at Lauren's face. "The plane is taking some time to assemble and my time will have to be fully devoted to that. However, if I am not present to..'run' things so to speak, everything will go to pot. Therefore, I suggest that we get some help. I have just received some intel that could ruin a person's reputation." Lauren looked intrigued, although she was slightly angry that Sark felt she couldn't be trusted with the affairs that he dealt with normally. Sark took a piece of crumpled paper from his pocket and slid it accross the table to Lauren.
"Please ring this number." Lauren looked at it, frowning. "Is there a problem.?"
"No...it's just, isn't this......?" Sark cut her off.
"Yes, yes it is. Just hurry up and ring it." Lauren dailled the number into the phone and waited. The phone rang for some time before it was picked up.
"Hello?" Said the voice on the other end.