"You're an unusual man, Mr. Vaughn."
Still sprawled on the floor and unable to pinpoint where exactly in the room Sloane was, it took everything Vaughn had to restrain the sarcastic comeback that rested on the tip of his tongue. He was still recovering from the last time he had ignored standard hostage-cooperation training.
"You see, I've been reading your file while I waited for you to rejoin us from your sleep. I must say, you had quite the career."
"You're bluffing," Vaughn snapped, before he could stop himself. "All CIA profiles are protected under the most superior encryption programs available and can only by accessed by computers on our secure network. There is no way you could access that information."
Sloane chuckled. "You share Sydney's naïveté for how the world works. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by that. No, we have an L.A. asset that has proven to be invaluable to us by providing Mr. Sark and I with whatever information we request."
He perched on the edge of a passenger seat, looking down at the man that had been essential in disassembling the agency he had once loved more than anything else, save his wife. The man who had, ironically, helped save SD-6 at one time. And the man who would, ultimately, be a key player in founding the new world of Rambaldi's prophecy.
"Recruited in 1994," he read. "Same year as Sydney, if you were curious. After The Farm, you were, oddly enough, assigned as an analyst even though you had excellent scores in field training. Moving forward, due in part to Sydney, you became the youngest senior officer of the CIA on record, and were reassigned as a field agent. Like I said, you had an extremely impressive career."
"Thank you, I know. And my career is far from over."
"Ah. We'll see, Mr. Vaughn. We'll see."
The door slid open again, and since Sloane seemed to be enjoying toying with him, he assumed someone else had come in. Frustrated, he mentally cursed his blindfold. It was a lesser but still well-developed form of torture, he knew, designed to keep a victim disorientated to make him more susceptible to his captor's wishes. From a technique standpoint, it made perfect sense. But that didn't mean he had to like it.
"We are nearing our destination," Sark informed Sloane, studying Vaughn's prone form with interest.
"Thank you," Sloane replied. "How is dear Sydney? I'm assuming she has awakened by now."
Vaughn stiffened.
"Yes, she has indeed," Sark replied, amused. The little game Sloane was playing with Agent Bristow's current arm decoration was unmistakable. "She refused to give even vague answers to questions I had until I gave her an update on her dear chérie. I was quite touched by her devotion."
Vaughn shifted restlessly on the floor, but remained silent.
"Ah, Mr. Vaughn did the same. I was quite impressed with that. Most men waking up from a concussion hardly remember their own names, let alone a second-hand foreign language."
They waited expectantly, but their prisoner simply refused to be baited. Sloane smiled, his genuine respect for the young agent growing. His even younger partner noticed his emotions, but managed to hide a very immature scowl. Why was it that even now, the insipid spy was succeeding in riling him like no one else on earth could?
Sloane stood, gesturing for Sark to proceed him, and picked up the syringe the guard had left on a nearby seat.
"Unfortunately, I'm going to have to cut this conversation short," Sloane said, bending and resting the tip of the needle against Vaughn's throat with one hand while holding him in place with the other. "We'll talk again when we reach our final destination."
Too weak to put up any semblance of a fight, Vaughn was unconscious before Sloane finished fully injecting the needle.
Review Responses
Jennycraig: :0 Wow! :blushes: You totally made my day! Thank you! I'm actually brand new to Alias fandom, so I've spent a lot of my time watching DVDs and reading transcripts to catch up with the rest of y'all. I missed the entire first season, and half of the second! lol
Ilovemypenguin: I toyed with adding more, but everything I tried to write didn't really work. Jack was insistent he was done talking, and well, when Jack insists on something, you obey him. lol
Arwen: Welcome back! Don't worry, there's plenty more of those. ;)
Linda: :crosses fingers: Have fun in your Pioneer Days! lol
Kay10197: Will do!
Anonymousthinker: LOL, poor Kendall! As he tells Jack, he has to protect everyone in Operations, which means any threat, however slim, has to be taken very seriously. Either that or he's evil. You'll find out soon. ;)
Em Mindelan: Oh no! What are you doing on the comp? Go to bed right now, young lady! The title sounds familiar…
Liz9: :whistles:
Kittyfantastico: I dunno. I'm kinda fond of Vaughn. I'm not sure I wanna give him up. Maybe you could just borrow him? ;)
Nattie700: :smiles and nods: Man! You're strict!
MJ: I adore all of your reviews, so no worries!