Magnificent Lies
The Confrontation
Sydney was curled up on her bed, lost in a daydream.
Vaughn at SD-6... She smiled in her sleep. She'd get to see him every day. She'd get to go on missions with him, sit through debriefs with him, maybe even be seen in public with him, depending... It was her dream come true. On the other hand, he would have to lead a double life, and she knew firsthand how hard that could be- and dangerous.
She was woken from her dream by the chirping of her CIA cell phone. (She had three, one for the CIA, one for SD-6, and a personal one. Needless to say, her purse was very heavy.) The caller ID told her it was Vaughn on the line. She looked over at the clock. 6 am.
"Syd? It's me."
"Hey. Did you talk to Kendall?"
"Yes. He's going to hold a meeting today about it. Can you be here by seven?"
"Yeah, I have the day off at SD-6."
"Okay. See you in an hour."
"Bye." Sydney hung up the phone and got out of bed.
At five to seven, everyone was present. Jack sat next to Sydney, and Vaughn sat across from her. Director Kendall was at the head of the table, standing behind his chair. It took about ten minutes to explain what Sloane's plans were.
"With Dixon out of the way, Sydney will have a lot more freedom during the missions." Vaughn explained. "But Sloane is going to be looking for a replacement as soon as he can." He paused. "Sir, this is an opportunity. If we can get another agent inside SD-6, as Sydney's partner, we will be able to take down the Alliance that much faster."
"I was thinking Vaughn could be the agent we send in. He-"
"Absolutely not." Jack cut in.
"Dad. Vaughn has more experience with SD-6 than any other agent we have. If we wait to train another, we will miss our window."
"We do not need another agent inside SD-6."
"Dad, last week SD-6 got access to files that are helping them contact Entierre a Espía Comprime. If we had had another CIA agent there instead of Dixon, the CIA would have gotten that information. Sloane wouldn't have."
"It's settled then. Jack, I'm overruling you on this one. I want Vaughn in there by tomorrow evening." Kendall said. "Jack, I want you to contact Sloane, tell him you have a replacement. Agents Vaughn and Bristow, go to Op Tech and find Agent Vaughn some supplies he'll need as a double agent." Kendall then left the conference room and headed towards his office.
Sydney smiled at Vaughn and started towards the Op Tech division, but Jack pulled Vaughn aside before he could follow.
"Agent Vaughn," he growled, "If I find out that you have in any way endangered my daughter, I will make sure you never see her again."
"With all due respect, Mr. Bristow, I wouldn't make the mistake of believing you are the only one here who cares about Sydney." Vaughn said sharply, and followed Sydney.
Jack watched Vaughn's retreating back with a glare, and headed down the hall.
Ten minutes later, he was passing through the triple-doors that lead to Irina's cell.
She was sitting on the floor cross-legged, eyes closed. Meditating. After a long moment she slowly opened her eyes to stare directly at Jack. He felt an involuntary shiver run down his spine. Irina gracefully rose and came to stand near the glass, arms crossed over her chest protectively.
"I need your help." Jack said, his eyes finally meeting her unreadable gaze. She didn't answer, but tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "They want to send Agent Vaughn into SD-6. As Sydney's partner. I'm concerned."
"I suppose Sydney is happy."
"That's what concerns me."
"Interesting." She said softly, tilting her head slightly.
"Care to elaborate?"
"It would seem that you are intimidated by Agent Vaughn. Or by his relationship with Sydney."
"They don't have a relationship."
No response.
"I'm trying to keep my daughter safe." He said, trying to defend himself against Irina's attempt to get into his head.
"I'm trying to keep mine happy." Irina smiled, knowing she had won again. Jack was so easy. Needless to say, Jack left immediately, leaving Irina alone to her thoughts.
She knew the key to Jack was his hidden fears. He was afraid and she knew it. He was afraid of Sydney being betrayed like he had been. He was afraid of being shut out of her life, afraid of being replaced. She could only hope that this wouldn't get in the way of Sydney's happiness.
After a half an hour spent in the Op-Tech division, getting the gear Vaughn would need as a double agent, he was all set with a high-tech watch, an assortment of different bugs and bug killers, and an emergency SAT-Comm radio.
"Thanks for helping me with all this, Syd."
"No problem. By the way, what is your alias going to be at SD-6?" Sydney asked, curious what she was going to be calling him at work.
"I'm not going to have one. The CIA thought it would be easier just to delete all their records of me instead of creating a whole new person. So I'll still be Agent Michael Vaughn."
"Nope. Just Agent Vaughn." Sydney smiled as Vaughn rolled his eyes.
"What did my dad want before?" Sydney asked.
"Oh, it was nothing." Vaughn said, busying himself by adjusting his new watch.
"Vaughn."
"You know, just the usual death threats and the like..." Vaughn smiled. "He worries about you."
"I know. It's just..."
"I understand." Vaughn said. They smiled at each other for a minute before Sydney cleared her throat and looked down.
"Well, I've got to go home. I promised Will and Francie I'd help them clean the apartment today." She smiled again, looking up into his green eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
He nodded. And the next day, and the next day, and the next day...
Okay, what did you think??? Seriously, please review!!!! I love reviews! Should I continue???