Lauren stepped out of her car into the sunlight. She was in the docklands area of Los Angeles, awaiting the arrival of a contact who was going to help her. Sark had left for Switzerland that morning where he was assembling his plane. Lauren had been left with specific orders to pick up the contact and take her back to their office. Her mobile phone began ringing. She rolled her eyes, knowing it was Sark who was ringing.
"Hello Sark." She said, obviously impatient.
"Has she arrived yet?" He asked, choosing to ignore the tone of voice Lauren had used.
"No. Oh wait. She's coming now."
"Good." And Sark hung up. Lauren mumbled something under her breath as she put the phone away, checked that her gun was well within her grip, and stepped forward to meet the oncoming car. It stopped inches from her and a woman stepped out.
"Hello Miss Reed. How is your husband?" The woman asked, sneering.
"Irina Derevko." Lauren said in a sing song voice. "Slips of the tongue doesn't it." Irina raised an eyebrow.
"I've always liked it." She retorted.
"What about Laura Bristow? Doesn't have the same ring to it does it?" Lauren laughed to herself at Irina's obvious anger.
"I heard that my daughter and your husband have rekindled their love. How bad you must be feeling." Irina smirked when a look of anger and jealously flashed across the younger woman's face.
"I thought you came here to work for me. Any more comments like that and the information I have on you could be leaked to anyone. It's a fine line to tread Irina." Lauren thought she had had the last word and turned back towards her own car, expecting Irina to follow her.
"It'll be Ms Derevko to you." Came Irina's voice from behind her.
Irina sat with Lauren in a newly furbished office. She had just been debriefed by Lauren on what she had to do whilst she was here. A lot of it involved killing her daughter and Michael Vaughn. She did not care for Michael Vaughn, it would be easy to kill him but she knew Sydney loved him and she could not do that to her. The other part of her work was kidnapp Marshall Flinkman who was to give his technical expertise to help build the plane. She was thinking about this when a plan began to form into her head. And it just might work.
"Is Mr. Sark coming back anytime soon? I would have thought that when I deliver Flinkman, he will want to be here." Lauren looked at her suspiciously but decided to give her the benfit of the doubt. Too much was at risk for Irina if she betrayed them.
"Yes. He is coming back the day after tomorrow. He wants to meet you again so I expect you to be here. 1 Twelve o clock on Thursday. And you will be expected to have Flinkman with you." Irina nodded.
"May I go now? I have a lot to do in the next two days." Lauren nodded and waved her head in the direction of the door. Irina got up and left the room. She knew exactly what she was going to do now.
Sydney was sitting by Weiss' bed with Vaughn when her mobile phone rang. She excused herself and made her way to the door.
"Sydney." She said, flipping the phone open and putting it to her ear.
"Hello Sydney." Came her mother's voice on the other end. Syd was speechless for a moment but Irina spoke again. "I have some important news and I only have a few minutes to speak so listen carefully.
"You can't just....."
"Shut up and listen Sydney." Syd was silenced and listened to her mother's hurried voice. "Lauren and Sark have blackmailed me into helping them with their plans. They want me to kidnapp Marshall Flinkman, kill Agent Vaughn...and you. They are attempting to build a nuclear weapon and they require MR.Flinkman's expertise. They also know that you and Agent Vaughn have been hot on their tails and want you stopped. I knew the moment they contacted me that I should tell you. I know that you have spent a lot of time and money in trying to catch those two, maybe now you will"
"Why are you telling me this?" Sydney asked, suspicious of her mother's motives.
"Because you're my daughter." Sydney was touched briefly but she then remembered everything her mother had done in the past. "Sark is currently in Switzerland but on Thursday at twelve o clock he will be back, in Los Angeles to meet with Lauren. I can give you an address. You can finally take them into custody." Sydney didn't know what to say. This could mean that the CIA finally had hold of Sark again and of Lauren who had been a mole. But it could be a trap.
"What do you want in return.?"
"They have some documents that could ruin me. I want them destroyed. But I can do that on my own. I want nothing in return. I do not like being blackmailed. That is my main reason for doing this."
"If I trust you, I ask you to do something for me in return." Sydney said, her voice full of resolve.
"I will do anything."
"Never, ever contact me again." Sydney hung up the phone without waiting for a reply. She knew her mother would be hurt, that was the point. If Irina could spend months, years without contacting her own daughter, then it could work the other way.
Vaughn was watching her as she sat back down.
"You alright?" He asked, a concerned expression on his face. Syd breathed in deeply and nodded.
"I'm fine." She sat back down, making sure not to look at Vaughn as she knew he was looking at her.
"What happened? Who rang you?" Asked Vaughn, not wanting to leave the subject alone until he found out what was bothering Syd so much.
"No one. Just leave it, I'm fine." With that she got up and stormed out of the room, out of the hospital and drove home alone, feeling bad for snapping at Vaughn.
Dixon, Jack, Sydney, Vaughn and Marshall all sat in the briefing room. Each of them was looking at a file containing all the information Irina had supplied. No one was speaking, everyone too engrossed in the information that lay before them. Dixon was the first one to speak, as he stood up and clicked a button that made an image appear on everyone's computer screens. The image showed a hotel. Sydney recognised it, it was only a few blocks away from where they sat.
"A room has been booked for two weeks under the name of Alysia Buckby. We now know this to be one of Reed's aliases. Vaughn and Sydney you will occupy the room next to theirs for the next few days, prior to the meeting. If Sark and Lauren have been tipped off and come earlier, then you will be there to record everything they say and do and if they attempt to leave you will use necessary force to bring them in." Vaughn looked over at Syd as Dixon spoke but averted his gaze when her eyes met his. "On the day of the meeting all the rooms around Sark's will be occupied by CIA agents. At exactly 11:58 room service will be called to the room opposite theirs. An agent will pose as the young man and will be able to catch them both if they leave. I want this to go off without a glitch which means Sydney and Vaughn, you cannot leave your room at all and all agent must use aliases. I have already booked your room under the names of Mr and Mrs P Scott. You are expected to check in in half an hour." Everyone gathered together their belongings and strolled out of the room. Vaughn was the last to leave.
Sydney sat on the bed of her room watching TV whilst Vaughn was in the bathroom. Their equipment was spread over the floor making it very difficult to walk in. Microphones were placed at various points on the wall that they shared with Sark and Lauren's room. Each of the microphones was connected to a small box that showed voice patterns and also to a tape recorder that would record everything that was said in the next room. A laptop was propped up on a chair by the window, it was showing images from the next room where they had installed cameras almost three days ago. Ever since then they had been relaxing in their room, watching TV, ordering room service, but taking great care not to talk to each other much. Today was Thursday and Sark and Lauren were expected to be at their room in less than an hour. Sydney was keeping an eye on the voice pattern boxes and on the cameras, both would show if someone was in the room and who they were. Vaughn was brushing his teeth and doing his hair, steering clear of Sydney for the day. In the last three days nothing at all had happened expect the day they had checked in and found that their room contained only a double bed which immediately meant Vaughn slept on the floor with a thin blanket and a pillow.
There was a noise next door and Syd darted over to the laptop. Two people were entering the room and upon zooming in on the camera, she saw that it was Sark and Lauren. Both were looking smug. She immediatley ran into the bathroom to notify Vaughn. He was standing with a towel wrapped around his waist, using a seperate one to dry his wet hair. Syd went weak at the knees but she recovered enough to manage a few words.
"Sark and Lauren. In room. NOW!" Vaughn sprung into action. He ran into the bedroom and pulled on some underpants, jeans and a tshirt. He then pulled his gun from a drawer and waited for Syd who was busy making sure the cameras and tape recorder were both recording what was happening in the next room. Syd then too grabbed her gun and they made their way out into the corridor and stood outside the door to Sark and Lauren's room. Six other agents had joined them. All were anticipating the capture of the couple.
Ten minutes passed as the eight CIA agents stood around the door to the couple's room. Their guns were cocked, their hands were shaking with the excitement. A noise came from the door they were facing, it was the turning of a handle.
"We wait until both are in the hallway." Whispered Sydney. All the agents retreated a little way to allow the pair inside to step into the corridor. The door began to open slowly and the agents braced themselves, some moving into half crouching positios, some poised to attack. The door opened wide and Sark came striding out with Lauren right behind him. It took them both a few, precious, seconds to realise what was going on but by then it was too late. The door had quickly been closed by the nearest agent and they were surrounded. With nowhere to go, and no means to defend themselves, they gave in. Sark and Lauren raised their hands into the air, looking glum. As handcuffs were placed on the two captives, Vaughn moved back from the crowd. Lauren had not even registered his presence, it was like he had never existed. But what could he expect? He certainly didn't want her to plead with him for forgiveness or anything. She had betrayed him, she should deal with the guilt that that brought. But he just wanted at least the slightest flicker of recognition, just so he could have the satisfaction of walking away and leaving her with Sark. Four agents, two to each prisoner, escorted the prisoners down the hall and out of the hotel. Two of those agenst were Sydney and Vaughn. As the prisoners were being put into seperate cars, Sark turned to Lauren and said loudly.
"I love you, my sweet." Lauren merely batted her eyelashes and smiled. Vaughn gritted his teeth, fighting the urge to punch Sark right in the face. Syd got into the car with Sark while Vaughn got into the car with Lauren, having insisted upon it. 'Unfished business' he had said.
Later that night
Vaughn stepped into the smoky interior of a bar. The place was pakced with people joking with each other, talking about their days and sharing drinks. Vaughn was alone. He pushed through the crowd, towards the bar only to find Sydney sitting there. At first he thought she was alone but as someone moved he saw that she was sitting with another man. He guessed this was her new boyfriend, Tom. He was contemplating leaving when he noticed that Tom was looking at him with a odd expression, as if he had seen him somewhere before. Syd followed Tom's gaze and saw Vaughn standing only a few steps away from her. There was silence. Tom didn't know who this man was, and Vaughn and Syd didn't know what to say to each other. Tom coughed quietly, indicating that Syd should introduce Vaughn.
"Oh. Tom this is Michael Vaughn. He works at my school." Syd explained. Vaughn stretched out a hand which Tom took, smiling at Vaughn.
"What grade do you take?" Tom asked, trying to initiate conversation. Vaughn didn't need to think, the school story had been used before by Syd and himself, Syd was a teacher of 4th Grade and he was a TA with 3rd Grade.
"I'm a TA, normally with the thrid grade." Tom nodded. Another silence fell between the group. Tom turned back to his drink, while Vaughn and Syd shot glances at each other.
"Michael. I didn't know you came to this bar." Said Syd. Vaughn frowned but still answered the question.
"My wife and I used to come here. When you were working at that other school for two years." Vaughn said, looking pointedly at Syd. Tom remained oblivious to the tension between the pair.
"This is where me and Sydney met." He said, leaning in to kiss Syd. She smiled lovingly at him when they pulled away. Vaughn couldn't take it. He stepped closer to Syd and whispered in her ear.
"I need to talk to you." Syd excused herself and followed Vaughn to a quiet area of the bar. For a moment they stood in silence. Syd could see that something was troubling Vaughn.
"Is this an attempt to make me jealous?" He suddenly burst out. Syd was taken aback at first but then thought for a moment.
"Is it working?" Vaughn looked at her hard for a long time before finally nodding.
"Look Vaughn, we've been through a lot. I understand why you moved on when i...went. Now I am doing the same, I can't spend my life wondering whether you are going to sweep me off my feet. Things can never go back to the way they were. I like Tom, a lot, but having you around is making all this harder....." Syd said, tearfully. They stood and stared into each others eyes before Vaughn leaned in and kissed Syd softly on the lips. Syd resisted for a moment but gave in, she had been wanting this for so long. They pulled away from each other to see Tom standing, watching them. He said nothing, but his expressiom showed his anger and hurt.
"Oh god. Tom, I'm so sorry. It...I don't....it's complicated." She said. Tom swallowed hard.
"I always knew you were too good to be true. I guess I just found the evidence for that." Syd edged towards him. "NO! Don't......have a good life with... Michael." Tom stalked off, leaving Syd stunned. Vaughn was lurking behind her, feeling bad. When Syd turned toward him, about to speak, he silenced her with another kiss.
At the CIA
Lindsey walked slowly into the corridor. A guard sat at a table, watching the monitors that showed another corridor and all the cells on that corridor that were holding prisoners. In one cell, Sark and Lauren sat, talking quietly among themselves. The guard looked up as Lindsey approached. He looked a little confused when he saw the pair of pliers in the man's hand but he did not say anything.
"Are you here to see the prisoners?" He asked, his finger poised on a button that Lindsey could only guess would open the barred doors and give him access to Sark and Lauren.
"I am indeed." He reached inside his jacket pocket, as if to get his security pass. The guard looked down for a brief second and when he looked back at Lindsey, he found a gun pressed against his head.
"Unfortunately, I recquire more than a questioning session." Lindsey pulled the trigger and the guard collapsed in a pool of warm blood. Lindsey looked down at his shoes, which had small droplets of blood on them. He then looked at his clothes which were also splattered with blood. He sighed and put the gun away. He pressed the button on the table and a barred door slid open, he walked through and stopped behind a camera. He tightened his grip on the pliers and then cut the wires. On the monitors behind him, one screen went fuzzy. He carried on walking, taking out each camera one by one. Then he stopped by the cell that was holding Sark and Lauren. Neither looked at all surprised to see him, they had not heard the gunshot, nor seen him disabling the cameras. They merely thought that he was here to question them. Lindsey said nothing to them but calmly opened the door. Sark's usually cocky expression had been taken over by one of confusion. Lauren looked exactly the same.
"I'm here to extract you both." Lindsey said. Lauren began stuttering about how he could not, they were prisoners and he would be betraying America.
"You seemed to have no difficulty doing that." He grinned and offered her his hand. Lauren took it and stepped out of the cell. Sark got up to follow but stopped when Lindsey raised the gun. He brought it down hard on Lauren's head and then turned it towards Sark. Sark's eyes widened in shock. He heard the gun fire, and then felt the bullet entering his body just below his lungs. He fell back, crying out in pain. Lindsey watched as he writhed on the floor, then he went still. Smiling, Lindsey took Lauren's limp body and walked out of a back door.
Guards rushed into the corridor that Lindsey had been in only ten minutes before. They had been monitoring the cameras and had seen when they all went blank. The dead guard was lying where he had been left, sprawled on the floor, in a puddle of thick red blood. One guard saw the sight and threw up then and there. Others rushed off down the corridor, to Sark and Lauren's cell. They found Sark lying alone in there, he looked dead but they checked for a pulse anyway. He was alive. The guards called for a medical team who rushed in with a stretcher and rushed Sark to the nearest hospital, where he would be under heavy surveillence. The guards then checked the rest of the cells and the corridors for any clue to where Lauren was, and who had taken her. All they found was a broken lock on the door to the corridor.
Syd walked calmly into Sark's hospital room. He lay propped up on the bed, staring off into nothingness. Two guards were standing outside his door, and another four where gathered inside his room. He was also strapped down to the bed. He looked slightly pleased when Syd entered and she gave him a disgusted look.
"I am not here on a social call Sark. I am here for information which you WILL give to me." She said, before he had the chance to open his mouth.
"Of course." He said, in the same sneering tone as Syd had often experienced before. "Happy to comply."
"Do you remember the person who shot you. Can you remember what he looked like at all?" She asked, clutching her notebook and pen in her hand, ready to write down what Sark said.
"Yes, I can remember quite clearly actually. When the man stepped up in front of the glass, I can recall, vividely, Miss Reed saying that it was someone called Lindsey. I can describe him if you wish." He said, taking in Sydney's shocked expression upon hearing this news.
"That will be all." She got up and left the room quickly. Once outside the room she dialled her fathers number.
"Dad. The man who kidnapped Lauren....it was Lindsey. I think he must be working for The Covenent or something." Jack said nothing for several minutes.
"I'll have two teams sent to Washington. One to his home, and one to his office, if he is stupid enough to go back." Syd nodded and hung up, fuming with anger.
Washington
Lindsey strolled through the doors to his workplace. He wore a smug expression, playing yesterday over and over in his head.
"I am a genious" He thought to himself. Sark was dead and he had Lauren. That is what the Covenant had told him to do and he had done it with mroe effiency that Sark ever had. Now the Covenant had Sark's money and not the annoying English man. It was an excellent plan, that he would have liked to take credit for. As Lindsey got closer to his office he began to notice odd things. People were moving away from him, others staring at him in disbelief. He also noticed that there were many more guards than usual, and all were keeping an eye on him. Anxiety spread through him like wildfire, what if they had found out what he had done? He pushed the thought from his head. It was impossible. He had been careful, he hadn't used his own access card, he had disabled all cameras and he had killed both witnesses. No one could have known. Just then something beeped. He looked down at what appeared to be a pager. It was flashing 911. The pager was linked to his alarm system at home, if anyone broke in, he would know about it first.
"They know." He thought. He lifted his head and gazed around the office. Everyone had been evacuated, leaving only the guards. He breathed in and cursed loudly, then reached inside his pocket. He knew that the guards were only armed with batons and pepper spray, he had the advantage. He took out his gun and pressed his finger into the trigger. Gunfire erupted and smoke filled the room, as bullets his the lights and computers. After a while the smoke clear and the gunfire subsided. One guard stepped out of the line that had enclosed Lindsey. He knelt beside the bloodied body of Lindsey and checked for a pulse. He wasn't breathing. He hadn't even managed to fire a single shot. The guard took out his radio.
"Sir. The target is dead. He attempted to fire upon us so we shot him down. We are going to proceed to search his office and the files on his computer." If Lindsey had really paid attention he would have realised that these were no mere guards,they were agents of the CIA, headed by Jack Bristow. The guard did not wait for a reply and his team immediately left the body and made their way to his office. Two medics remained with the body, putting it into a black bag and onto a stretcher. As the medics left, a small man in a suit got up from behind a desk. He glared at the retreating backs of the medics, then reached for his own phone.
"Yes, hello it's Porchovsky. Lindsey was shot at his office. He's dead. He must have left Sark alive on purpose, or by mistake." The man said, with a thick Russian accent. "Yes sir, i understand that Sark is now our main priority. Search and destroy. I understand sir." He put the phone away just as one of the guards came over to him.
"Sir you need to leave these premises immediately. It is not safe to be here at this time, we are conducting an investigation." The guard said. Porchovsky smiled.
"Of course. I'm sorry, I was in the bathroom when everyone was evacuated and when I came out I hid behind this desk. I'll be happy to go." This time when Porchovsky spoke, he had a perfect American accent. The guard nodded and watched as Porchovsky left.
Syd was sitting with Vaughn in the debriefing room when Jack walked in. He had a triumphant look upon his face.
"Lindsey went to work as usual this morning. He was confronted by my team and immediately attempted to fireupon them. He was killed before he could do any damage." Syd also looked pleased to hear about his death, but her expression changed when Vaughn spoke.
"Any news about the whereabouts of Lauren?" He asked. Syd's smiled disappeared, she could hear the concern in his voice.
"No. We assume that she is back with the Covenant. She will be keeping her head down for the moment, but I am almost certain that within a few months she will be a huge problem to the US government again." Jack said, deliberatly mentioning the fact that she was a traitor the US, and that she was working for the people they were working against. Vaughn got the hint and did not say anything more in the subject.
"Do you think that they will target Sark? After all he was the one who revealed Lindsey, and they had wanted him dead in the first place." Syd said. Jack thought for a moment.
"You're right. I'll have him moved to a secure location somewhere. Whether he is recovered or not."
Lindsey's house - Earlier
Jack's team moved into position around the house. There were agents covering all exits, including windows. Four agents stood around the door with a battering ram. One hit was all it took and the wooden door flung inwards. Immediately an alarm went off, and a screeching noise filled the silence. At that time in Lindsey's office, he was looking at his pager, which was telling him of the break in.
One guard went into the house and smashed the alarm system. The noise stopped and once again silence reigned. The rest of the agents filed into the house, carefully searching each room. Nothing out of the ordinary was found, and Lindsey was nowhere to be seen. One last door remained untouched. The agents crowded around it whilst one nervously twisted the handle. The door opened inwards to reveal a set of dark stairs leading down into a pitch black basement. The first agent looked at his team mates, they all nodded and he began to descend the stairs. At the bottom he could see nothing, not even his own hand in front of his face. Feeling around the walls he found a lightswitch and turned it on. What was revealed to the team shocked them. The walls were covered with pictures of Sydney Bristown, copies of the prophecy that bore her face were spread everywhere. Sheets of paper with details on her covered the floor and tables. A computer that was switched on had a desktop background of Sydney, and all the files on the computer carried information on her. her own CIA agent profile was sitting, opened, in the middle of the desk. Lindsey was doing some serious research. The first agent took out his radio.
"Mr Bristow. We've found something very disturbing down here. In the basement are endless files and pictures on your daughter. He has been conducting some sort of research into her, all of her missions are listed as well. I think you might want to come and check this out."
"I'm on my way. Lindsey is dead." Jack replied. The agent put his radio away and began searching through the files. Jack, meanwhile, went to talk to Sydney and Vaughn in the debriefing room. He wouldn't tell Syd about the findings until he had seen it for himself.
Jack had spent the whole day in Washington going through the files on Sydney that were in Lindsey's basement. He had been shocked about the depth of Lindsey's research. All of Sydney's aliases were listed, all the missions she had been on, her relationship with Vaughn. There were even some portions of himself and Irina. What he found most disturbing was the chronicles of her life, from when she was born. He had no idea how Lindsey had got his hands on that information.
Now Jack was back at the CIA. He sat at his desk, only metres away from Sydney whose head was buried in her work. As he watched her he came to the conclusion that he would not tell her about Lindsey's research. It would only upset her and she didn't need that. Sighing he turned back to his own work, his mind set.
Sydney and Vaughn walked hand in hand into the hospital room. Weiss lay on the bed with wires covering his body. A heart monitor beeped away relentlessly next to his bed. A chair stood beside his bed and Syd sat down. Vaughn stood beside her, looking at Weiss, almost with tears in his eyes.
"Hey Eric." Syd whispered. She took his hand in hers. "You've missed a lot. Lauren and Sark were captured, then Lindsey came and shot Sark and took Lauren away and then Lindsey got killed himself. It's been hectic." A doctor came in to check on Weiss.
"Uh, Doctor, how is he?" Vaughn asked. The doctor looked sad and bowed his head for a second.
"He's still in a coma. He lost a lot of blood and the bullet hit some majoy organs. Right now he had a 50/50 chance of survival but we're still hopeful. Any normal person would have died a lot sooner than this. He's a fighter." The doctor left. Sydney broke down into tears. Vaughn put a supportive hand on her shoulder but she brushed it off.
"I need to get some air." She jumped up from her seat and left the room. Vaughn sat down where she had been and began talking to Weiss.
Sydney strolled down the corridor, headed towards the doors. She went passed a door and stopped suddenly. Inside lay Sark, the CIA hadn't moved him to a secure location yet, even though he looked almost fully recovered. He was sitting up in bed reading Time magazine and grinning to himself. Syd felt a surge of anger and pushed open the door. Sark looked up in time to see Sydney rushing at him, her eyes full of madness. He barely had anytime to react before Sydney wrapped her hands around his throat and squeezed. Sark felt his oxygen supply being cut off and he clawed at Syd's arms, trying to stop her. Sark's face was slowly turning red, then purple. He let out a strangled cry, his arms thrashing about widly. Syd tighted her grip on his throat, tears falling out of her eyes. Sark's stuggles began to subside, she had almost killed him. Then she felt strong hands on her shoulders and she was being pulled backwards. Syd fell on the floor letting all her emotions out. Vaughn knelt down beside her and pulled her into a tight hug. Sark was coughly in the bed above them but he stopped for a moment to say.
"You need to keep your girl in a cage." Vaughn's own anger rose. He stood up slowly and turned to face Sark who was laughing quietly. Vaughn sneered and punched him in the face. He was instantly knocked out. Vaughn went back to Syd, helping her to her feet and walking her back to Weiss' room. Once inside he took out his phone and rang Dixon.
"You need to get Sark out of this hospital." Was all he said before he hung up.
Lauren sat alone in the basement of an old house. Lindsey had left her there when he had taken her from the CIA, promising that the Covenant would be along soon to collect her. The basement contained a bed, a TV, a radio and a toilet. Lauren was still wearing the same clothes that she had been arrested in, that she had worn in the cell with Sark. Sark. Was he dead? She had seen Lindsey shoot him at pretty much point blank range. The Covenant had obviously wanted him dead, maybe they just wanted information out of her before they killed her. The room she was in smelt. Damp staked its territory on every wall and on the ceiling. The toilet hadn't been cleaned for what seemed like a lifetime and her own additions didn't help. The TV only showed one channel, MTV. Lauren had been sat watching music videos for her whole time here. The bed was covered by a thin sheet and a blanket, with a small pillow filled with something hard. She was losing hope of even getting out of the basement. Lindsey had gone and never come back, although he had said he would be back before the Covenant would get her. All the food she had was a fridge full of tinned peaches and some chocolate bars. She had begun with three bottles of water, but was now down to only one. The only thing she had that was of any use was her mobile phone but she had no one to get her. The CIA would put her back in their custody, and the Covenant wanted her dead. There was no one who would help her. But then a though struck her. Vaughn might still help her. He was her only chance anyway. She pulled her phone out of her shoe where she had kept it during her time in CIA custody. She dialled the number she knew so well and waited.
"Hello?" Said Vaughn's voice on the other end. Lauren realised how much she missed him.
Vaughn sat perched on Sydney's desk. Sydney was busy working, her head bent low towards the keyboard as she typed furiously.
"It's a Friday. You shouldn't be working." He said watching her working. Syd sighed and looked at him.
"Yeah but if I don't do this then when I get back on Monday this will all be here for me to do and I will be thinking about it all weekend and it will make me feel bad." She turned back to her work and Vaughn rolled his eyes. He jumped down off the desk and came up behind Syd, taking her hands off the keyboard and turning her towards him.
"You could at least take a break. Come on, I am going to go and get some coffee, come with me." He urged. Sydney shook her head. Vaughn sighed and admitted defeat.
"Alright then, well I'll just go and get a coffee and if you want to join me you know where I will be." He grinned at her and walked away. He turned back to see that Sydney had once again returned to her work. He laughed quietly to himself and then walked away down a corridor.
Vaughn was halfway towards the cafeteria when his phone began to ring. He took it out of his pocket and flipped it open.
"Hello?" He answered. The voice on the other end surprised him.
"Michael. It's Lauren. I need your help." Vaughn was flooded with anger as he moved out of the corridor and into a small room, leaving the door open. He then turned his focus back to Lauren on the phone.
"What do you want?" He spat angrily.
"Michael, I need your help. Lindsey's took me away and locked me in the basement of some house. He said that the Covenant were going to come and get me. I think they want to kill me. Please, you have to help me Michael. I'm sorry for everything I did." Vaughn thought for a moment then took a breat and replied. Lauren was sobbing hysterically.
"Lauren, Lauren listen to me. I'm going to come and get you. Do you know anyway that I can find you. Saying that your in a house is not much to go by is it." He said, trying to calm down his wife. Lauren stopped crying for a second.
"Yeah. I always put a tracking device on my phones just in case something like this happens. They're Marshall's, he'll know the frequency that they emitt. Please, just hurry." Vaughn nodded.
"I will be there within the next twelve hours. Try to stay alive." And with that he hung up on her. Checking left and right he moved out of the room, still going towards the cafeteria for his coffee. As he disappeared, Syd appeared from behind a pillar, her face full of anger and pain. A tear fell down her face as she turned away and went back to her desk.
Vaughn strolled back towards Sydney's desk. She was still there working away and she looked like she hadn't moved an inch. She did not look up as she approached, neither did she say a single word as he placed the coffee he had brought her on the desk.
"Still working then?" He asked, laughing slightly. Sydney looked straight ahead, concentrating only on her work. Something wasn't right. "You alright?" He asked, leaning in to look at her face. Her eyes were distant, she wasn't even concentrating on her work properly.
"I'm fine." Was all she said. Vaugh continued to press it.
"You don't seem alright. Is something wrong. Have I done something wrong?" He asked, wanting to know why she was acting so strangely.
"Just leave it Vaughn." She said angrily, pushing her chair backwards and getting up. She stalked off towards the exit, leaving Vaughn staring after her in disbelief. He frowned and then got up and made his way towards Marshall's office completely unaware that Syd had stopped and was now watching him.
Lauren heard the car pull up outside the house. She held her breath, it could be Vaughn, but it could also be the Covenant, as Lindsey had said they would come for her. She moved closer to the door to the basement and listened. There were footsteps coming from the front of the house, only one set. Still she waited until she called out, she didn't want to give herself away. The footsteps stopped close to the door.
"Lauren?" Vaughn was calling out her name. Her heart skipped a beat. She couldn't believe he was actually here. After the way she had treated him she expected that he would just have sent a team to pick her up and take her back into custody. She also expected that he was now with Sydney. "Lauren? Lauren?" He continued to call out her name.
"Vaughn. Vaughn I'm down here. In the basement." She heard the sound of running feet. Then there was a scraping sound, the key was turning in the lock. Lindsey had obviously thought that she would not be found by anyone other than the Covenant so he had left the key in the lock. She backed away from the door and the handle slowly turned. The door was pulled open and Vaughn stood at the top of the stairs, staring down at her. The sunlight flooded in, blinding her momentarily. Vaughn held out a hand and she took it, walking up into the main house. They stood there for a moment, Lauren flooded with emotions. She beamed at Vaughn but he did not respond.
"Thank you so much. I'm so sorry for everything I did to you." Vaughn still said nothing. As her eyes adjusted to the light she studied his face. His eyes were full of malice and hate.
"Vaughn?" He pulled back his arm and then punched her square in the face. She fell back against the wall, gasping. He moved towards her and began throwing punches at her, targeting her stomach and face. Lauren fell to the floor crying, and in pain. Vaughn stood over his eyes wild, breathing heavily. He delivered another blow to her head which knocked her out and then took hold of her feet and dragged her out of the house.
Sydney sat in the CIA looking glum. Vaughn had been gone for almost the whole day. She didn't know where Lauren had been kept but from Vaughn's long absence she could tell that it was quite far away. She looked around the office, hoping to find Vaughn although she knew he wouldn't be there. She felt bad for getting at him but she just couldn't believe that he would go back to her after the three times that he tried to kill him, and all the lying and betrayal there had been. She turned back to her computer. Too low to work she decided to play solitaire instead. She was halfway through the game when she heard a commotion. Guards were rushing towards the entrance, yelling thing to one another. Syd, always curious, turned round to see Vaughn walking in through the doors. His hand was behind his back and as she looked she saw that Lauren was trailing after him, almost on her knees as Vaughn was dragging her rather harshly. Her face was swollen and bloodied, Vaughn had obviously let his anger out on her. Syd couldn't believe it. She had been wrong about him. He hadn't been going back to Lauren, he had been bringing her back to CIA custody. She got up and almost ran towards him. He let go of Lauren's arm, who was immediately handcuffed by the guards and let away. Syd flung her arms around his neck, spluttering with apologies.
"I'm so sorry that I doubted you Vaughn. I thought that you were going back to her." Syd said. Vaughn looked confused.
"How did you know that I was going to find Lauren." Syd smiled.
"I was going to go and get that coffee and I heard you talking. I heard you saying that you were going to go and get her. I assumed the worst." She grinned and then added. "It's what the CIA does to you." They both laughed loudly. Lauren looked distraught and she watched Vaughn kiss Sydney. She knew then that whatever it took, she would get revenge on the both of them. Especially Sydney Bristow.
Syd moved hurridly about her room, collecting together all her clothes and stuffing them into her bag. She and Vaughn had plans for the weekend, they were going to Santa Monica like they had said they would all those years ago. Syd was flushed with excitement. Then the phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Sydney. It's Dixon. We're picking up a signal from the plane Sark was supposed to be building. Looks like construction went underway without him. We need you in the office immediately. Vaughn has already been contacted." Dixon hung up before Syd could object. She flung her phone angrily on the bed. She was never allowed anytime to just rest, and be happy, work ALWAYS came first. Syd didn't bother unpacking again, she just grabbed her keys for her car and left the house. Vaughn was standing by his car outside her house, a grim look on his face.
"I guess you heard then." Syd said as she approached him. He nodded.
"Yep, it was so considerate of them to make us work on a Saturday. I mean are we the only agents around?" Sydney smiled.
"I know what you mean. We seem to do every job. I am sure that somewhere in the depths of the CIA are some more agents just itching to do some field work." Vaughn laughed slightly and then opened the door of his car for Sydney. She climbed into the car, followed by Vaughn. He twisted the keys in the ignition and the car rolled out of Syd's drive.
CIA
Syd, Vaughn, Marshall, Jack and Dixon once again sat around the table in the CIA briefing room. Syd and Vaughn had only arrived five minutes before but already they knew the seriousness of the situation. The plan had been built completely, and it was armed. Marshall had been keeping an eye on the signals that the weapon would emit and this morning they had reached their peak, which meant that it was armed. Dixon sighed as he slid two files over to Sydney and Vaughn.
"I know you don't want to do this but I want you two to find this thing. This weapon poses a huge threat. It could hit America, and take out a large area of us. Or, it could be launched from here to another country and then they could retaliate. That would be the best way to destroy both countries." Vaughn looked over at Syd who shrugged her shoulders, as if to say that they had no choice. Then Jack stood up.
"Dixon, I agree that this could be a serious problem but we are talking about sending my daughter to her probably death."
"Sit down Jack." Dixon said, raising his voice. "Sydney and Vaughn have nothing to worry about. They are simply doing a reconnassaince mission. They will report where the weapon is, a team that will be waiting will then go in and disable the weapon. She in in no danger." Jack glared at Dixon for a moment, then sat down once again.
"Sydney, Vaughn. See Marshall for Op Tech. You leave for San Fransico in half an hour." Sydney and Vaughn got up and left with Marshall. As they left they heard Dixon and Jack shouting about Sydney. Walking over to Marshall office Sydney turned to Vaughn.
"If it is just recon, why do we need Marshall's inventions?" Vaughn looked thoughtful for a while and then shrugged, moving away from her.
Vaughn and Sydney lay in the thick grass outside a nuclear weapons facility. There were four separate buildings, surrounded by a large electric fence. There was only one entrance which was heavily guarded. Each vehicle that went through was stopped, the driver had to show ID and a facility pass and the vehicle was searched. Four guards manned the entrance, each with automatic rifles. Cameras were positioned around the entranced, focused on the road. The place was inpenetrable.
Vaughn had binoculars clamped to his eyes, searching the facility. Vehicles were coming and going and all were heading for the same building. As Vaughn followed a lorry that had just entered the facility, he saw the doors to one of the buildings open. From his position he was able to see the plane. It was sleek and slender. It had already been painted in camoflage colours and the nose was facing towards the entrance. It was going to be used soon.
"I see it." Vaughn whispered to Syd, who pulled out her own binoculars and saw for herself the plane.
"Dixon. We've got a positive visual on the plane. Are the team ready?" Dixon didn't reply to a while.
"The team are moving into place." Syd was about to disconnet radio communication and leave but then Dixon spoke again. "But Sydney. We need you in there as well."
"Dixon no. I am not going in there. You promised my father that I was in no danger, that I didn't have to go in there."
"I made no such promise. Vaughn stays in his position. You go in alone, you'll find that Marshall gave you everything you will need. The team will come later." Dixon informed, impatiently.
"No. I am not doing this." Sydney said. Vaughn sat beside her, confused. He could not hear the conversation.
"You are an American citizen. Would you rather go in there and keep your country safe? Or do you want to see it become a barren wasteland where nothing lives? Because that is what will happen if you do not go in there."
"You cannot do this to me. I lost two years of my life. You cannot send me in there." At these words, Vaughn snatched the radio link out of Sydney's ear. He pressed it into his own.
"Dixon. You cannot make her do this." Vaughn shouted.
"Agent Vaughn are you really looking to lose your job today?" Dixon said cooly. Vaughn spluttered. He couldn't believe Dixon could be so insensitive. "I didn't think so. Please, let me talk to Sydney again." Vaughn handed the link back, looking defeated.
"Sydney. I can only say one thing. You are disobeying a direct order. You will lose your job." Dixon broke the communication link and everything went silent.
"Syd you don't have to do this. He tricked you into doing it. You have witnesses. You're father, me." Syd took a breath.
"Vaughn, as much as we don't like the situation we are in, we have been in worse. I have to do this. I'll see you later." Syd got up and ran away from Vaughn who lay in the grass staring after her.
"Syd! No!!" He shouted after her.
Sydney walked up to the facility entrance. The guards stopped her immediately, their guns pointed at her, ready to fire.
"This is restricted access sweety." One of the guards said, eyeing Syd up. She smiled sweetly.
"But it looks so cool. I bet it's a hard job keeping this place safe. I bet you have to be really strong." She said, running her hand over the guards bicep. He grinned at his friends. "Have you ever killed someone?" She asked. The guy looked tough.
"I sure have. I've killed plenty of people. I've probably killed more people than you'll ever meet in your life." Syd put on a face of mock awe.
"Wow. You must be really skilled." She purred. Then she looked at the facility.
"So what are you protecting?"
"They build bombs here. You know, what the army uses to bomb countries. All of that happens here."
"Wow. I dated someone in the army before. He drove tanks I think. He talked a lot about weapons. I sure would like to have a tour round here. I mean, we don't have to look at the bombs. We could go somewhere......quieter. Your friends will cover for you." The guard grinned, thinking he was the luckiest guy.
"Yeah. Things are pretty slow tonight. These guys will cover for me." He said, putting his gun back in the small hut. One of the other guards stepped forward, after encouragement from his friends.
"If we're going to all this length to cover for you. I think we should at least get something out of it." He then turned to Syd. "I'm sure you could give us all a bit of your time." He leered at her and Sydney found it hard to keep on her cheeky, seductive grin.
"Well. We'll wait and see won't we." The first guard took Sydney's hand and led her into the facility.
The guard took Syd to another small building. This looked like the staff lounge or something. There were chairs everywhere. A small coffee table with used mugs on and a counter that had a kettle and a microwave on. Sydney also noted that in one corner were the lockers. And on top of one locker was a uniform. The guard sat Sydney down on one of the chairs while he took the other. He put one hand on her thigh and turned to her.
"So." He said, breathing heavily. His breath smelt like stale beer and cigarettes. Syd was disgusted but she tried hard not to show it.
"So." She said, repeating what he had said. He chuckled to himself and then leaned in to kiss her. Syd pulled his head down and it connected with her knee, causing him to become instantly unconcious. She dropped the false smile and sneered at the guard who was now sprawled on the floor. Then she took the uniform from the top of the locker and put it on. In one of the lockers she also found a passs that would be helpful. She clipped it to her uniform and strolled out of the lounge building.
Sydney walked over to the building that contained the plane. There were one or two other people walking over there and she joined them, blending in. The group stopped outside the building, each person pressing their identity cards up against a small screen. Then a small door opened and this person was let it. Syd was the last person to enter. She pressed the card to the screen and it beeped twice. She froze, waiting for armed guards to come rushing at her but nothing happened. The door made a clicking sound and swung open. Relieved, she walked through it into a brightly lit room. The plane stood in the centre of it, with people dressed like her swarming all over it. Looking up, Syd saw a control room where a man in a suit was looking down. He caught her eye for a moment, winked and then turned away.
"What is with everyone in this place?" Syd though to herself. She moved into a quiet corner and then made contact with Marshall.
"Marshall. Can you see the image?" Syd asked, trying not to make it too obvious that she was talking. Before the mission Marshall had given Syd a small badge. This badge transmitted the images Syd saw to Marshalls computer so he could tell her where the control panel in the plane was and how to disarm it. "Marshall?"
"WOW. Syd, wow, do you see this? This is advanced stuff, I could take lessons from these guys, although, you know...evil geniuses and...I wouldn't...want to take lessons from them........I could become evil." Marshall said in his usual stuttering tone. Syd sighed. "Right. Ok. Can you see the bald man, leaning close to the plane? If you look closely you can see the panel. That is where you disarm the weapon. You need to get him out of the way."
"Easier said than done." She muttered walking over to the bald man. She climbed up beside him and peered at the panel.
"What do you want?" He spat, not turning to look at her.
"It's time for your break. I'll work on this now." She said. The man snorted.
"You? You work on this? Don't make me laugh. I am the only person who works with this." He turned to Syd and looked her up and down. "You are a girl."
"Yeah, I noticed that." Syd replied coldly. He sneered at her.
"No girl works on something like this." Syd was beginning to get annoyed.
"Clearly you haven't met me. Mr Sark assigned me to this. I'm sure if you ring him then he will tell you." The man froze at the mention of Sark.
"Mr Sark? He told you to work on this?" He asked, his voice shaky and frightened.
"Yeah. I don't think he would be too pleased if he could see you holding up his work." The man's eye went wide and he jumped down the steps, away from the plane. "He really doesn't like Sark." Syd looked at the panel. Lights were flashing at her, and the whole thing was a mess of wires.
"Marshall. What do I do?" She asked, peering closer.
"Ok, well it's simple. You see the computer screen that says armed? Well, press the blue button to the lower left of that and it is disarmed." Syd did as she was told. The screen went blank and then flashed, DISARMED. "Ok, now just pull out the wires at random, to make sure no one can rearm this thing. It also wouldn't hurt to you know, go mental on it. Hack it to bits." Syd began pulling out the wires and then she picked up a wrench and smashed the screen over and over. Happy that the job was done Syd climbed down from the plane and walked out of the building. But at the door she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Stop. Now." A voice said behind her. Sydney's heart sank. This was it. It was all over.
Syd stopped and turned to face the person behind her, slowly. When she was facing the person she saw that it was the man she had seen in the control room.
"Where are you going so fast?" He said, sternly. "We didn't get to talk." His features softened and he broke into a grin.
"Here we go." Syd thought to herself. She smiled sweetly at him.
"Come with me. We can get to know each other...a little better." He took Sydney's hand and led her out of the building. Once outside Syd used all her force to spin the man round. She took hold of his arm and half pulled half pushed him into the building's wall. He crumpled to the ground and Sydney ran. She slowed down when she came closer to the entrance. The guards who she had met earlier were still there and they all bunched close together when she came closer.
"So, is it our turn?" One said, stepping forward.
"No, you have to go to that building." She said pointing to it. "There was an attack and these men are killing people." The guards all looked wide eyed at each other and then nodded. They picked up their guns and ran towards the building. Syd smiled after them and walked quietly out of the facility. She met Vaughn back on the hill where they had been before.
"Ready to go?" He asked. Syd nodded and followed him to the meeting point where a car was waiting to extract them.
Sydney stormed into the debriefing room. Dixon and Marshall were already sitting there both with grim expressions on their faces.
"Sydney..." Dixon began, his voice full of regret.
"You had no right to send me in there. I was briefed for a completely different mission, I knew nothing about what I was meant to be doing there. Marshall had to talk me through everything." She paused for a moment. "There was no team to disarm the weapon was there?" Dixon shook his head slowly.
"But you have to understand, you are the best agent the CIA has, we couldn't trust a team to go in there and it would have looked too suspicious sending 10 men in. Would you have even done it if I had told you before?" Sydney thought about that.
"Yes." She said slowly. "If I had known exactly what I was meant to do, and if I was sure that I was safe then I would have done it. Why didn't you tell me before?" At that moment Jack walked in. He glared at Dixon for a moment and then focuesd on Sydney.
"Sydney, are you alright? I heard about what happened." Sydney nodded and turned back to Dixon. It was then that she noticed his left eye was swollen and bruised.
"Dad, you didn't...." She trailed off. Jack bowed his head.
"You could have died."
"But I didn't." Sydney retorted. Then Dixon spoke.
"Sydney I am truly sorry." He said softly. Syd nodded, accepting his apology.
"Well, the weapon is disarmed and I don't think anyone can really re arm it cos I smashed it up some. I guess we're safe."
"Thank you Sydney." Dixon said. Syd smiled slowly, she knew that he was in a hard position being the director of the CIA, she understood what he had had to do. Jack was still angry and scowled at Dixon.
"Well if you are alright...I'll be going then." Jack left abruptley. Sydney stood for a moment, not knowing what to say. Then she nodded at Dixon and followed her father.
As Sydney pulled into her driveway she saw Vaughn's car parked there. He was not inside the car and when she checked, the spare key was missing from it's place inbedded in the soil of the flower pot next to the door. She twisted the door handle and walked in.
"Vaughn?" She called out. The lights were all turned off and there was no sign of life. She felt for the lightswitch and turned the main lights on, the room was covered in rose petals. She let out a small gasp. Moving into the kitchen she found a note on the work surface. One word was printed on it in a small script; bedroom. Smiling to herself she took the note with her and the rose that had lain on top of it. She walked down the dark corridor towards her bedroom where a small light was glowing. She pushed open the door and found Vaughn sitting on the side of the bed, a bottle of champagne and two glasses in his hand. Sydney's smile spread from ear to ear. She flung her arms around his kneck and kissed him lovingly.
"Surprise." He said softly, he poured two glasses of champagne and put one into Syd's hand. "To our first breaks from work." He raised the glass and Sydney clinked hers against his. They both drank deeply and then set the empty glasses down.
"When did you do all this?" Syd said, looking about the dimly lit room. Petals were scattered over the bed and over the floor. The room smelt of flowers and candles were set out everywhere. There was even music playing quietly in the background.
"When you went into work to talk to Dixon. I came straight her and sorted this out. I figured you needed something special after what you had to do today." He smiled at her, his green eyes sparkling. Syd had never felt so much love for one person. She kissed him passionately and they fell backwards onto the bed together, caught up in each other.
Lauren sat alone in the cell that she had been put in by the CIA. Now that she was alone she had time to plan what she was going to do. The CIA has confiscated her mobile and now all she had left were her clothes which she had been wearing for over a week. Nevertheless she knew that she HAD to get herself out of her prison and sheer determination would help her through all the obstacles she faced. Her mind dirfted into other thoughts, mostly about Sydney Bristow. Anger welled up inside her as she thought about the woman who had almost single handedly ruined her life. Nothing had been the same since she came back. Firstly she had lost her husband, then her job in the CIA, and now she was being hunted by the Covenant, or so she thought. Lauren kicked out at the partly glass wall to the front of her cell. Immediately guards came rushing in, their guns drawn and pointed cautiously towards her. She sneered at them and flopped onto the bed in a resigned fashion.