"Absolutely not! Did you hear a word I said earlier?"
"I would think, Director Kendall, that you would be interested in proving the innocence of an apparently condemned agent of this facility, especially if it saved not only him, but the best agent the CIA has to offer."
"Jack, yes I would, but-"
"Irina Derevko had her chance to betray us before. She didn't."
"Yes, but-"
"There is a saying, Director Kendall: 'When a man says the word 'but', he's stopped listening. Just let me explain."
Kendall fell silent, all but tapping his foot in impatience.
"I have already begun to spec this out," Jack said shortly. "We'd start in Russia, where Vaughn's investigations began. Irina would wear an undetectable bug that would allow me to hear everything she said as she met with the same operatives Agent Vaughn did. Agent Dixon and Agent Weiss would provide backup. She will not escape."
Kendall sighed. "Jack…"
"If you can come up with a reasonable explanation for vetoing this, fine," Jack said curtly. "But do not dismiss this on protocol."
Kendall leveled him with a measuring stare. I know exactly what you're plotting, Jack. But this would hold up to any face value scrutiny and I want them back, too.
"Fine," the Director said at last, his tone grudging and his body radiating reluctance. But the animosity Jack had felt towards Kendall was abruptly gone when he nodded to him.
Kendall had not been the only person sizing a man up.
"Hello," Will said slowly. Outside his doorway stood three men in black suits. There's something you don't see everyday.
"Can we come in?" Jack asked impatiently.
"What? Oh, yeah. Of course." Still flustered, Will stepped aside.
"This is Agent Eric Weiss. I believe you've met Agent Dixon."
He frowned, wracking his brain. "Ah. The Halloween party?"
"Correct," Dixon replied, flashing a smile designed to relax the man.
"Hey," Weiss said shortly.
"Hi," Will replied. "Hey, have you guys heard from Syd? She's been gone for two days and she told me she'd be
back yesterday. I tried contacting Vaughn, but I guess he's out in the field with her?"
The three men looked at each other.
"Sit down, Mr. Tippin," Jack sighed. "We've got bad news."
"Welcome home, Arvin!" Smiling broadly, Emily rushed forward to hug him.
Sloane chuckled, heartened by her cheer. "Thank you, sweetheart. What'd you do today?"
"Oh, nothing," she sighed. "Tended to the garden and straightened up a little. How was your trip?"
"Uneventful," he shrugged. "What's for dinner?"
"I was in the mood for Italian," she said lightly. "Brasciole."
"Sounds delicious," he answered.
"Of course it is," she teased. "But it could use the perfect wine to go with it."
He nodded and kissed her, inwardly pleased she'd been the one to make the suggestion, though he knew it was only because she would never willingly go into the basement. Spiders. "Then I'll go downstairs and find one, of course. But it might take a while."
She kissed him on the nose. "As long as it's the perfect wine, take as long as you like," she returned.
He strolled swiftly down the wine cellar, placing a bottle by the stairs to grab when he returned. With a quick glance behind him, he pulled a painting away from the wall and pressed the code into the keypad hidden behind it. A door opened and he stepped through without hesitation, waiting until it closed behind him before opening another door with a different code.
The first room was not soundproofed. The second was. His precaution was rewarded immediately after the second door opened.
"Are you insane?" Sydney yelled angrily at Sark. The two of them looked up in surprise as Sloane entered.
"Ah, Sydney. Welcome back to the land of the living," he greeted. She ignored him, clearly stunned.
"You want me to break into the joint task force office and kidnap my mother?"
"Your skills are proven, Sydney," Sloane said, his voice soothing. "If anyone could do this, it would be you."
"We would provide you with whatever resources you needed to succeed," Sark continued. He rose from the chair, tucked his hands into the pockets of his dress pants and joined Sloane in looking down at her.
Sydney shook her head, eyes wide as she studied them both. "No! No! I would easily be recognized! Hello? I work in that office!"
"So you're refusing, then?" Sark's tone was placid.
"Let's not be so hasty, Mr. Sark," Sloane reprimanded. "I'm certain Sydney just needs a little reminder of what's at stake."
He pulled out a cell phone and dialed.
All three men; Caplan, Vaughn and the guard, jumped at the jarring sound of a cell phone. Vaughn turned as much as his restraints permitted, straining to watch the guard as he answered.
It goes without saying that when a man holding a gun received a phone call, it was never a good moment for a prisoner.
Review Responses
Ilovemypenguin: LOL, well thank ya!
K4e: Stay tuned. ;)
Andi Horton: The Vaughn/Caplan moment really wrote itself. As I was brainstorming, I was surprised to realize that those two actually had a lot in common.
Kittyfantastico: :smiles and nods: ;) I think my suggestion is perfectly fair!
MJ: Ah, there you are! Sloane's threat served two purposes: he obviously needed someone to tell Vaughn that, and it also reminded Caplan just how ruthless he was. Clever for an evil old guy.
Kira: Wow! Thank you!
Nattie700: LOL, I must say that review is Exhibit A for my decision that the kilt doesn't rob you of sanity. For it to do that, you'd have to have some. ;) :whistles:
UKHoneyB: It's not that it isn't well thought of, I think, Vaughn being the CIA snob that he is just automatically assumes that his agency comes first for everything. ;)
MvsGirl: LOL! Thanks! ;)
Anonymousthinker: Ah, sleep. I vaguely remember what that is. I myself haven't tried this "sleep concept" for about 6 years. I'll do that when I'm dead. ;)
Chinkybrowneyes: It's almost like normal male bonding - without the beer! ;)
Leo's l'il sista: Hello again! :) Unfortunately I still struggle with reading post-Telling fics. :( Everytime I see that I get mad at Jj's apparent disrepect for his fans, whom he enjoys playing games with. No, I'm not bitter. ;)
2 or 10?