Magnificent Lies
The Past Resurfaces
A week later, Sloane called Sydney and Vaughn into the debriefing room. As they walked in together, Vaughn felt the same exhilarating rush he always felt when he was given a mission. He was curious to know what his first mission as a SD-6 Agent would be, the first test of his abilities as Sydney's partner.
Sitting down side by side across from Marshall at the long table, they waited patiently for Sloane to arrive. Marshall had just begun talking about his all-time favorite childhood superheroes (Wonder Woman being number one on the list) when they were saved.
Sloane clicked a button near his chair and a picture appeared on their screens. It showed a high-end hotel, and, judging by it's surroundings, it was somewhere in France.
"This," began Sloane, "Is the Montalembert Hotel just outside of Paris. Five stars, fifty-six rooms..." He flipped through a few pictures of the hotel, the pool, the city. "Owned and operated by Honorè de Mer." A rather fuzzled picture of a dark-haired, middle-aged man came up on the screens in front of them. "Formerly Mikhail Volkov, KGB. We have received intelligence in the past indicating he may have been an accomplice to the murder of a handful of CIA agents years ago. We only recently found him, thanks to a contact in Russia. Your mission is simple; run surveillance on him. If he is indeed the man we're looking for, we'll bring him in. He may still be a threat to the USA." At this last sentence, both Sydney and Vaughn fought the combined urge to roll their eyes and strangle Sloane at the same time. Marshall stood up at Sloane's signal.
"Well, this," Marshall said, taking a minute to fumble with the controller, "is the blueprints of the hotel, see the lobby and the entrance and the dining area and well, you get the idea. Now, our guy actually lives on the property, here." He zoomed in on an area of the blueprints to show a private suite with what must be a beautiful view over la Seine. Now, to do surveillance, you'll need a straight shot into at least one of the windows. And the only place you'll be able to get that from is the balcony of the Honeymoon Suite."
"Thank you, Marshall. So I've made reservations for Simone and William Lemire, a recently married French couple. It'll probably take a few days to get enough footage of him to make a positive ID, so we're sending you off for four days. Wheels up tonight at six. You have the rest of the day off to pack and prepare."
Vaughn could hardly believe his ears. Four days in a five-star hotel in France with Sydney Bristow. Just eating lunch with her for an hour made his heart light all day. He couldn't imagine how he'd feel after spending four days practically vacationing in France with her.
Sydney was thinking more or less along the same lines. It would almost be like they were normal people taking a normal vacation from their normal lives. And as for having to act like Vaughn's new wife... Well they'd just have to see how that worked out. She just hoped it wouldn't get weird or anything when they got back home to their real lives.
After leaving SD-6, Sydney and Vaughn went straight to the CIA, making sure to take enough detours to lose any tails, of course. Jack was already waiting for them in the parking lot.
"Sloane called. Said he was sending you on a mission to France, something about a former Russian spy?"
"Yes. We'll explain when we get inside."
In fifteen minutes, Sydney and Vaughn had explained their mission to Kendall and Jack.
"Why would Sloane have you waste your time checking up on a the possibility of a man who may have committed murder years ago? We know its not to avenge the lives of those operatives, and I can't fathom Sloane giving a damn about criminal justice. The only possibility I can think of is that this Volkov has information Sloane needs."
"He also probably wanted to test Vaughn out as an agent." Sydney added, agreeing with her father.
"Okay," Kendall said decisively. "For now there's no counter mission. If something comes up, you can always use your SAT Comm. radios to contact us. If there's an emergency, we have a safe house in Normandy maintained year-round by a CIA contact." He waved his hand to dismiss them, but just before they closed the door behind them, he called out. "Talk to Ms. Derevko. She might have some useful information to impart before you leave."
Irina was reading when they arrived at her cell. It was in Russian, but Sydney could translate the title. The Gulag Archipelago, by Alexander Solzhenitsyn. As Sydney and Vaughn approached the glass, Irina closed her book softly and came to lean against the wall.
"Hello, Sydney." She said. "Agent Vaughn." She nodded, acknowledging his presence.
"Sloane's sending us to France for our first mission as a team. He wants us to find a former KGB operative, one who operated years ago." Sydney explained.
"How long ago?" Irina asked, leaving the wall to stand closer to them, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. "I was on a personal level with many of the agents. I may be able to help you out."
"Sloane didn't say, but it seemed like it must have happened around twenty years ago. Twenty-five, maybe."
"What was his name?"
"Mikhail Volkov. He was a case officer..." Sydney trailed off. Irina had changed the minute she had said that name. Her arms moved down to cross over her chest, her eyes showed nothing, making it impossible for Sydney to read any emotion on her face. "Mom, did you know him?" She continued tentatively. She already knew she what the answer would be. When Irina got like this, she knew it was a lost cause. They'd never get an answer out of her. "Mom?"
"No." Irina said, and turned away.
After they left the cell, Vaughn turned to Sydney.
"I'm going to go pack up for the mission. I'll meet you back at SD-6 at say... 5 o'clock to prepare?"
"Sure. See you then." She turned and started towards the parking garage.
"Hey, Syd, wait. " She turned back around to face him. "It seems silly for us both to drive. If I pick you up from your house, you won't have to leave your car at SD-6 for four days." She smiled at him.
"Sure. You know where I live, right?"
"Yeah, it's on your case file." He had that file memorized, all seven pages by heart.
"So I'll see you around five?"
"Yeah." They stood smiling at each other for a moment until they realized what they were doing.
"Well I'm going to..." Vaughn began.
"I'd better..." Sydney started at the same time. They smiled again and went their separate ways, both anticipating the days ahead.
Sorry it took so long for me to get this chapter out, guys... End of the marking period, know what I mean??? Anyway, next chapter should be up on Sunday afternoon!!! REVIEW and it might get here sooner!!! hint hint