Hello guys! Part VII is up and it's just getting better and better LOL.
Sheeplover, alpine racer88 you guys are the best and whoever else, oh yeah,
abcdef and alias gurl, thanks for reviewing again. Hope you enjoy this as
much as I had fun writing it. Reg disclaimers apply got this up earlier
than I thought I would, hope you have a blast reading it, and I will return
the favor. Spread the word! The other side of the story is something like
never before. Leo's L'il sista!!!
Sheeplover: thanks for being so consistent! Love ya Alpineracer 88: yes, Sean Gaskin is Sydney's room mate, soorry if I confused you Abcefg: glad you enjoyed the plot movement, trying to keep things interesting, thanks Alias gurl: thanks for that long review, it was real kewl. Please keep reading Megvaughn2003- believe me, I'm an s/v shipper all the way, update soon aight! And thanks to all my other reviews, each of you are da bomb!!!
Part VII
Sydney gunned the engine of her vehicle as she sped down the free way. She usually was a pretty safe driver, but today, it seemed as though all pre-caution had flown our of her head and carried away on the wind that whipped her cheeks. The sound of her own rage pounded in her ears, blocking out any protests or whimpers that came out of the scared for her life, Jessica Cozier.
" Good," Sydney thought with satisfaction. Jessica had made the colossal mistake of messing with Michael. And naturally, that meant Jessica had messed with Sydney herself, since she'd always believed Michael and she were connected. Jessica should be scared, really scared.
" Sydney, Sydney! Stop this car at once!" Jessica ordered, her voice a bit more firm. " Do you want to be charged with murder?"
" Whoever said I was going to kill you?" but the tone of her voice suggested she hadn't let go of that option, just yet.
That shut Jessica up.
Sydney felt the beating of her heart resume a normal tempo as she let her guard down. She slowed the vehicle down so she had a less bumpy riding experience. It was a good thing too. A police car had turned onto their road. And if the police officer pulled them to the side, she would be charged with more than a speeding ticket. And Michael would probably not be very happy to discover she'd "kidnapped," his wife. That would lead to explanations. She'd have to re-embrace the feelings she'd worked so hard to tuck away, and she'd be right back where she'd started.
Bottom line: she couldn't let that happen.
Sydney turned onto a bumpy road. The smell of salt and fresh air greeted her as she pulled her car onto the pier. It was empty. The sun was morphing from orange to a deep red, and its' rays painted the cloudless sky in muted tones of pink and violet. It was close to dusk and therefore, she knew she had to move fast. The drug shipments would arrive, followed by police force that had set the trap. She had an official CIA license so it wouldn't be illegal to be on a crime scene, but if CIA found out, there could be weird evasive questions that Sydney didn't feel like answering at the moment.
The other thought was, if the trap didn't work. She might really get Jessica killed. And no matter how much she detested Michael's choice in partnership, she couldn't picture herself killing an innocent civilian. Think she was God's gift to beauty unfortunately did not serve as proof of someone evil, like Irena Derevko, or whoever was behind the whole SD-6 project.
She pulled her key out of the ignition and then pushed a button on her door panel that unlocked all the doors to the vehicle. But nobody moved.
" Why don't you get out of the car, Mrs. Vaughn?" Sydney suggested in more of a command.
" Why should I?" she demanded pretty strongly, her defenses up. It was as if whatever she'd tried to knock out of Ms. Cozier had returned to her the moment she was able to depict her surrounding.
Sydney was comforted when she remembered she had a gun in a holster in her pant leg. Jessica may be a civilian but she had dark intentions. That made her dangerous.
" Okay, if you want to stay cooped up in here, that's your business. I'm getting out," Sydney stated and then pulled herself out of the car.
The first thing she did after taking in the distinctive smell of the ocean waves, lapping against the rocks under the pier and the sight of the red fire ball that was descending toward the dark waters was to make sure she wouldn't be disturbed.
She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and edited the setting so her phone would convert all calls to her answering machine. She was about one-hundred percent sure the CIA would not be pleased with her choice, but sometimes, a girl had to do what a girl had to do.
Sydney was just putting the cell phone out of sight when her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Jessica's clacking heels. Sydney composed herself, reaching down to her pant leg, feeling the gun. It was amazing how much stronger she felt knowing she could blow off Jessica's head if it came to that.
" You've decided to join me, I'm touched," Sydney replied, her voice dripping with disdain. " Thought you were going to stay locked in the vehicle like a scared shitless piece of poultry."
Jessica shot her a blank stare.
" I meant to say you were a "chicken." I thought your sophisticated demeanor would allow you to understand a more elaborate term Excuse my foolishness, believing your sophistication went deeper than your outer appearance," Sydney sneered, standing with her legs a few feet apart, her hands planted on her hips.
" Cut the small talk, Sydney and get to the damn point of your dragging here against my free will. Then maybe I'll cut you some slack and not report this to the authorities," Jessica offered, and this hit Sydney because if Jessica did tell officials, she would have a lot of explaining to do.
" Okay, if that's how you want it," Sydney sighed, wanting to prolong the moment of torture. She would now have to come up with a different tactic. " I saw you with Sean Gaskin. Care to tell me what you were doing with him?"
" Oh, you know Sean, do you?" Jessica giggled, looking very amused.
" Yes. And I think you know I know him too," Sydney put in accusingly.
" Maybe I do, maybe I don't. But that's for me to know, isn't it?"
Sydney was getting that feeling in her fist. The feeling that she got when a guy got fresh with her while she was undercover. She wanted to knock her out. And with the amount of rage she currently had stored, she might have killed her. Sydney concentrated on getting to a safer level of emotion.
" I'm not playing twenty questions with you, Jess. Just tell me what I want to know and maybe I won't blow your head off," Sydney suggested, as though she were offering to do a good thing.
" Blow my head off? Aren't you talking a bit big there?" she grinned, not looking a bit scared. If she was, Sydney was ready to hand her an academy award because she sure was buying it.
" How do you know I'm just talking?" Sydney retorted with a grin.
" Well, whatever your problem is, I don't have time for it. I have a husband to get to, and I'm sure somebody would love to pick you up if you ever went out to a bar," Jessica preened, relishing in her evilness. " Let's get to it, shall we?"
" Okay, this is how it works," Sydney began. " I ask the questions, you stand there and tell me everything I want to know."
" Don't you know how to say please?" Jessica snickered, laughing cockily, taunting Sydney's bad manners.
Sydney had her back turned to Jess at the moment. She took that moment to pull the gun out of her holster and in the next second, she whirled around and pointed it at Michael's wife.
" Please?"
Seeing the gun, Jessica looked a bit shaken. But she was still too calm for Sydney's taste. She wanted to break Jessica in half. Obviously, she was going to have to think of another tactic.
But, she couldn't think of what else could scare a person than a gun being pointed at their head?
" Fair enough," Jessica finally replied, eyeing the gun as though she were trying to figure out if it was a fake one or not. " What do you want to know?"
" Tell me what you were doing with my roommate, if you're so sure you're in love with my ex-boyfriend?" Sydney commanded, aiming the gun directly at her chest.
" Would you believe me if I told you Sean is my ex-boyfriend?"
Sydney was taken aback. She hadn't expected this.
" That expression tells me you thought I was having an affair," Jessica pointed out, pleased with herself for keeping Sydney in check instead of vice versa. " Sorry, looks like Sydney strikes out again."
" Not quite. I still have the gun in my hand. And I still didn't get the answer to my question."
" I was visiting an old friend. Is that illegal in the state of California?"
" No, but you were doing more than visiting. And am I wrong if I assume this isn't the first time you've met with him after I came into the picture?"
" Oh Sydney, I have better things to do than get my old boyfriends back. Something you haven't seem to have accomplished yet," Jessica reminded her, coldly. Sydney was trying to make her feel like crap. Well, two could certainly play this game.
" You two seemed pretty friendly to me," Sydney added, trying to buy more time while she came up with way to make Jessica feel the way she was feeling at the current moment.
" And that's another thing. At least I have a life. What do you do? Come to a coffee shop and spy on your ex's wife. Honestly, don't you think that's pretty low and lame of you, even for Sydney Bristow?" Jessica continued. With the way Jessica was going, it seemed she knew how to break Sydney and she wasn't loving it too much.
" I ask the damn questions!" Sydney screeched, and cocked the gun, her finger on the trigger. One push on the trigger and Jessica would be out of her life. But could she do it? Could she really end the life of an innocent woman?
" Well, then start asking. I told you I have people to see, things to do."
" Why did you want to see, Sean?" Sydney asked then, the funnel of anger finally coming to a stop and her mind began to work its' way away from the mind-set of revenge.
" To catch up," she said simply, looking as innocent as a daisy on a spring day. " Really, I was just there to help a friend out."
" Doing what?"
" If I say something you're not going to expect, will you shoot me?" Jessica asked, but her tone suggested she knew Sydney would not harm a mouse. After all, Jessica thought she worked at Bristow Electronics. She didn't know she was a killing machine for the CIA.
" I'm open to compromise."
" Sean has a crush on you."
" What?" Sydney gasped, the shock impounding her whole body. It was like the words had the power to paralyze her body. And she couldn't understand why. What was Jessica? A witch?
" Don't be so surprised. What kind of idiot would stick around with a stranger when he's got a wife who loves him beyond reason?" she inquired.
This was another shock for Sydney.
" Wait a minute. Sean told me his wife was cheating on him and that's why it didn't matter if he was rooming with me. Besides, I don't believe you. I didn't have much interaction with him, and I still don't. We haven't had the time to even think of that happening between us," Sydney protested, wondering why she was getting defensive. Who was Jessica that she felt she had to justify herself to her?
" How long did it take for you to fall for Michael, Sydney?"
Sydney remembered that, it was clear as the moon that hung in the dark sky. It had been the moment she'd laid eyes on him. She'd fallen head over heels for the expressive green eyes, the shock of brown hair, his strong jaw line and lopsided grin. Add a sound coming from the handsome agent and Sydney was in love.
" That is none of your business."
" Well, deny it all you want but Sean wants you, bad. All I did was try and help him out. I mean, I'm the happiest girl in the world right now, even if I could have done without you coming back into this world. And I want to spread the wealth."
Sydney laughed at that like it was the funniest thing she'd ever heard.
" And just so you know, he's getting impatient, Sydney. After all, he was the star jock at our high school. He had girls begging for his attention."
" I see why you two fit so well together, you two are both clearly delusional," Sydney spit, still holding her gun steady.
" Please, is that the best you can do?"
" Oh honey, I'm not even trying," Sydney wanted to say but kept it to herself. Knowing Jessica, she might end up having to prove it.
" I guess this is what you get for assuming the worst of people. You got yourself a whole load of nothing and I still have my husband, waiting to climb into bed with him, and caress me in his loving arms," Jessica chuckled, pointing her nose in the air. " Next time, do a bit more research. You'll stay out of trouble that way."
Sydney was filled with anger, her eyes on the target, which she could still clearly see, despite how dark it was getting. She only had one split moment to rethink before her fingers, with a mind of their own, pushed the trigger and the gun went off with a bang.
The next thing Sydney saw was the figure in front of her crumpling to the floor.
Another shot rang out and Sydney fell to the ground as well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
" Okay, one more report to review and I can go back to the arms of my wife," Michael grimaced. He pulled over the last sheet and then tapped the finished stack against the table to straight them.
Like he wanted to.
After the alarming ultimatum he'd received from Jack, he didn't think he could look at Jessica and tell her he loved her any longer. From the moment Jack had said either pursue Sydney or forget she was ever part of his life, his life had turned upside down. He'd really thought he could do the right thing, but those words seared through his heart in a way he couldn't comprehend. He hadn't been able to go five seconds without pondering what he was going to do about Sydney. And it didn't help that Kendall had practically done everything but sign a restraining order in the meeting that had followed his confrontation with Jack. He could also tell Cowell was enjoying this way too much. The psychiatrist of an agent had rubbed it in his face and soul when Kendall had let the agent enter to confirm the information he' encountered.
Michael couldn't help but think why Cowell was so unhappy with him. Sure he'd given him a few lectures on respecting the more experience, a.k.a. superiors, but, for some reason, Michael was sure Agent Cowell had a grudge against him. He wondered if he and Agent Cowell had met before, maybe in another life time.
The last thing Kendall had said to him had sealed his day as the worst one since Sydney's disappearance. That staying away from Sydney would help her recooperate and help them put a closure to the unwanted tension and awkward conversations between him and Agent Bristow. To Michael, it just sounded like Kendall's best attempt at discretely saying, " go anywhere near Sydney, screw up any of my plans for her and I'll do worse than take you off the position of Sydney's opps officer!"
Micheal chuckled softly, a grave expression covering his face and that comment replayed in his head. Well that was one order he was going to have to disobey. He'd lost Sydney for two years. Now that she was back, he wasn't going to miss one moment with her.
So that was it? He'd chosen to re-pursue Sydney and give into what was deepest in his heart.
Or was it?
Michael began to review the case file of his new agent, none other than the annoying Agent John Stroban. He didn't have anything to do with John. He would deal with him tomorrow, the first day he would serve as Stroban's Operations Officer.
He rubbed his tired eyes and they drifted over to a delicate white picture frame as he leaned back in his chair. It was in the shape of a beautiful wedding cake. Contained beneath the ornament at the top was a picture of him and his beautiful bride on their wedding day.
Michael looked at himself and was puzzled by how happy he looked. His arm around Jessica's waist looked so perfect. Jessica looked extremely radiant, as usual, but then it had been genuinely meant for one man. It shook him to know it was because of his promise, his love and his trust that she'd been so happy that day.
Now, could Michael Vaughn, really leave this woman? Could he tell her his feelings had changed? Could he really live with himself.
At the moment, Michael wished he could be anybody but himself.
But, of course, that could never happen.
" No! Forget it! You're not going to do this. Get through the day. What's supposed to happen, will happen," Michael scolded himself. He threw John's file into a drawer and then proceeded to tidying up his cubicle. He was just shutting off his computer after spitting at the no access screen when he was approached by a British gentleman.
" Agent Vaughn?"
Michael dropped his jacket and then clumsily picked it back up, in his other hand was a suitcase. " You didn't hear him, you didn't see him," he told himself as he continued to get ready to leave. " Besides, you don't owe him any explanation, and he's the new guy. He should be answering to me."
" Agent Vaughn? Do you have a minute?" Agent Cowell demanded, standing in Michael's way.
Hmmm~~~ didn't seem like Michael had a choice.
" No, actually I don't. I'm late enough as it is. I really should be getting back to my wife," Michael apologized in his gentlemen way. " She's supposed to come in early and today is my turn to cook dinner."
" I'm sure you can spare a few minutes with me. Because we all know you haven't been very attentive to your wife since Ms. Bristow has returned," Cowell sneered, looking very standoffish.
That hit Michael's last nerve and he exploded.
" Okay, Agent Cowell! You may have managed to take over my job but you are still new to this organization and I will demand respect, for me and my privacy outside of the CIA."
" I understand," he murmured. " But you are the one who refused me a few minutes," he scowled next.
" I don't have to answer to you, if anything, you should be answering to me!"
" I will tell you almost anything you want if you'll just explain to me why you're still here," Cowell offered.
" I don't have to explain a damn thing to you!" he roared. This man was worse than Stroban. He wondered if a psychiatrist had the tools to drive a guy insane as well. Because he was slowly getting to that point.
" Hey, watch that tone of yours. I'm not here to be condescending to you or to play any , ""nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah,' games that you Americans are so fond of playing," Cowell told him, his voice becoming frighteningly calm.
Michael sat there and considered this before he re-opened his mouth.
" Then, what are you doing here?" Michael inquired, his voice getting quiet as well, but his guard was up.
" I am here to talk to you. I've been observing you since the first time you interacted with Sydney since her miraculous return. And I think you need help," Cowell diagnosed, and broke the news gently to the troubled- looking agent.
" I need help!" Michael raged, the calmness gone from his voice without leaving a trace. " Since when am I your patient?"
" I never said you were my patient, Agent Vaughn," Cowell replied, trying to keep his rage in check. " Not that it would hurt. After all, I am treating Sydney, it might do me some good to research on the people around her so I have a better idea of what I am dealing with."
" Well, whatever you're trying to do, Agent Cowell, I'm not interested. So you can just take your psychobabble and shove it! I don't need your help. I'm fine! You're the one who needs help!"
" Denial, just like this morning. I don't know if you're aware but keeping things in, and not facing them is going to hinder healing," Agent Cowell said in a I-know-what-I'm-talking-about, voice.
" Thanks for the heads up, doc," Michael drawled, sarcastically.
" And it will hinder Agent Bristow's healing as well," Agent Cowell added, wanting to get Michael to take him seriously and therefore as much as he didn't want to, he was going to have to hit a nerve. " Excuse my bluntness but how have you been feeling since Ms. Bristow came back into your life?"
" Let me guess, this is one of the twenty questions on your research list?" Michael chuckled, darkly, his green eyes narrowing. " Well, guess what, I'm not interested in your research. And what I have between Sydney is~~~ none of your business."
" Open yourself up, Mr. Vaughn," Cowell urged him, his accent getting thicker as his irritation increased. " I am not on the clock, I am just trying to help out a colleague."
" Oh no, don't you dare put me in the same class as you are!"
" Mr. Vaughn, you are the most stubborn pessimist I have ever met!"
" Well you are the most disrespectful, irritating agent I've ever had to deal with!" Vaughn upbraided. " I told you already, this is none of your business. And I have a place I must get to, excuse me."
" You may have gotten yourself out of it, this time but, I will be around. And the more you keep it inside, the slowly you will kill yourself. And next time when I ask you, I may not be as nice as I am now," Cowell threatened.
" Oh, I'm terribly frightened," Michael shuddered fakily. But then he began laughing when he saw the british agent looked immensely offended. " You are an absolute joke, Agent Cowell."
" I'm hurt that you think that, sir."
" Well, too bad. You better get on out of here or Kendall may think you're up to something," Michael sang when a beeping sound interrupted his thoughts and alerted his senses. " Excuse me, while I take this call."
" Suit yourself, Agent Vaughn. I have nothing more to say to you," Agent Cowell scowled and then stomped off.
Michael watched the Agent walk off and then hit a button.
" Agent Vaughn."
" Um~~~ Agent Vaughn, this is the Weiss."
Michael was comforted by his friend's voice and shaken at the same time.
" Hey, what's going on?"
" W~~ we have a situation," Weiss reported, his voice trembling.
" Go on," Michael told him.
" Well, I just got a call in my car. Looks like there was a drug shipment going down tonight and the L.A.P.D were on it."
" Well, that's interesting, but we're CIA, Weiss, what would that have to do with us? Unless~~~ it wasn't drugs," Michael said gravely, dangerous possibilities flying through his head.
" No, Mike, it was drugs," Weiss reported.
Michael was washed with relief.
" But that's not the part that concerns us," Weiss continued and a icy cold sensation flew down Michael's spine. " Aparantely Agent Bristow and your wife were there on the scene."
Michael lost all control and his body was overcome by a numbness and his phone slipped out of his hand and hit the ground with a clunk. Sydney and Jessica? Two of the people he cared for most in the world were in danger? This was more than he could bear.
" Hello? Mike, you still there?"
Michael came to a few seconds later. Being in the CIA had sped up his reaction time. He pulled himself together and bent down to pick up the phone.
" Yeah, I'm still here," Michael confirmed, his voice hard and mechanical.
" I'm heading over there now," Weiss told him. " I don't think we should notify Kendall until we're sure Bristow was affected."
" Or dead," Michael couldn't help but think. " Where's the location?"
" It's the pier that you can reach when you come off the highway," Weiss reported. " Are you coming down here?"
" Yes, I am. If you get there before me, call me and tell me if Sydney and Jessica are stable, and if I'm earlier, I'll do the same," Michael instructed him, pushing himself to think completely professionally.
" Okay, Mike. I'll see you on the Pier," Weiss concluded and then after a breath said. " I'm sure they're okay, Mike."
" Me too, but~~~ we're CIA, we're never out of danger, I've learned that now," Michael finished, his voice cracking. " I'm out, ETA 15 minutes." And with that Michael pulled on his jacket, flicked the light off in his office and jogged out of the CIA building.
He seated himself in the comfortable leather of the driving seat and cranked the engine. As he sped off toward the pier he thought, " Sydney, don't you die on me. Jess, don't you leave me this way either."
God, at the moment, it really sucked to be Agent Vaughn.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jack Bristow paced in his office. He was weighing the consequences and the benefits and finally, after twenty minutes of pondering he sat down at his desk and picked up the phone.
He didn't think he owed this woman anything, not after everything she'd put them through, but it didn't change the fact that she was Sydney's mother, and he knew Sydney may not forgive him if she died without saying good bye to the one who'd given her birth.
That was the only reason he dialed the number he'd been desperately trying to forget and was even staying on the phone to talk to the woman he hated beyond reason. The phone was picked up the third ring.
" Hello?"
" Hello, former wife of mine, this is Jack Bristow."
A noticeable pause in the conversation while he presumed Irina tried to compose herself as though she wasn't shocked.
" Oh, hello, Jack. Fancy hearing from you. What do you want now? Because if you're going to talk to me about the Rambaldi prophecy or ask me if I'm in love with Sark I will shoot you through the telephone lines," she warned him, ranting on, what she did best.
" Shut up and listen for a second, because you're going to want to hear this. But you have to answer one question first," Jack told her.
A noticeable sigh sounded on the line.
" Fine," she heaved. " What is it?"
" Are you ready to act like a mother?" Jack demanded.
No answer. He knew Irina would be shocked by that question.
" Maybe I should have mentioned I would fly over from France to kill you if you mentioned anything about my missing daughter," Irina cursed, her voice pained.
" Well, do fly over from France, because there is somebody who is going to want to see you," Jack told her in a calm but threatening tone.
" Why? Have you decided to get rid of me? Shoot the plane I'll be flying in with?"
" No, Irina, for once I am doing something that I don't want to do for the benefit of somebody else."
" And who is that lucky person you're showering with sympathy?" she snickered.
" You."
" Me? But, Jack, you hate me, I hate you."
" I'm not going to discuss anything else over the phone. But I'm giving you this chance, take it or leave it. I'll expect you to fly in by tomorrow evening," Jack told her firmly.
" Why should I go over there? How do I know you're not going to torture and kill me?" Irnia demanded, getting suspicious, but that was a good sign. If he just assured her this was not a dangerous mission she would come over.
" Because you'll regret it if you don't," he replied simply. " Have a night flight Ms. Derevko."
Click.
Jack put the receiver down and then took a deep breath. He gazed at the picture of Sydney he had sitting on his desk. She was so beautiful and so radiant. Even if most of the time she didn't shine it towards him, he knew what a pleased and happy child she was. Until now when Vaughn had left her.
" I'm doing this for you, Syd," he murmured.
For once he was acting like a father.
Okay, Part VII is finished!!! Tension! Hope you liked it. So, is Jess alive, or did Sydney shoot her, and is Sydney dead herself? Well, I guess you won't find out till the next Part huh? And you think Irina would come over? Hmm~~~ I think I left you with enough cliffies? But if you want more LOL. Thanks to all who have reviewed, please do so. And believe it or not, I am an S/V shipper so maybe I'll find a way to put them together. Just we need to have them wanting each other but be split, then when they reunite it'll be such a big deal!!! Anyway, please continue to review, remember, I don't write without it. Thanks and enjoy!!!
Sheeplover: thanks for being so consistent! Love ya Alpineracer 88: yes, Sean Gaskin is Sydney's room mate, soorry if I confused you Abcefg: glad you enjoyed the plot movement, trying to keep things interesting, thanks Alias gurl: thanks for that long review, it was real kewl. Please keep reading Megvaughn2003- believe me, I'm an s/v shipper all the way, update soon aight! And thanks to all my other reviews, each of you are da bomb!!!
Part VII
Sydney gunned the engine of her vehicle as she sped down the free way. She usually was a pretty safe driver, but today, it seemed as though all pre-caution had flown our of her head and carried away on the wind that whipped her cheeks. The sound of her own rage pounded in her ears, blocking out any protests or whimpers that came out of the scared for her life, Jessica Cozier.
" Good," Sydney thought with satisfaction. Jessica had made the colossal mistake of messing with Michael. And naturally, that meant Jessica had messed with Sydney herself, since she'd always believed Michael and she were connected. Jessica should be scared, really scared.
" Sydney, Sydney! Stop this car at once!" Jessica ordered, her voice a bit more firm. " Do you want to be charged with murder?"
" Whoever said I was going to kill you?" but the tone of her voice suggested she hadn't let go of that option, just yet.
That shut Jessica up.
Sydney felt the beating of her heart resume a normal tempo as she let her guard down. She slowed the vehicle down so she had a less bumpy riding experience. It was a good thing too. A police car had turned onto their road. And if the police officer pulled them to the side, she would be charged with more than a speeding ticket. And Michael would probably not be very happy to discover she'd "kidnapped," his wife. That would lead to explanations. She'd have to re-embrace the feelings she'd worked so hard to tuck away, and she'd be right back where she'd started.
Bottom line: she couldn't let that happen.
Sydney turned onto a bumpy road. The smell of salt and fresh air greeted her as she pulled her car onto the pier. It was empty. The sun was morphing from orange to a deep red, and its' rays painted the cloudless sky in muted tones of pink and violet. It was close to dusk and therefore, she knew she had to move fast. The drug shipments would arrive, followed by police force that had set the trap. She had an official CIA license so it wouldn't be illegal to be on a crime scene, but if CIA found out, there could be weird evasive questions that Sydney didn't feel like answering at the moment.
The other thought was, if the trap didn't work. She might really get Jessica killed. And no matter how much she detested Michael's choice in partnership, she couldn't picture herself killing an innocent civilian. Think she was God's gift to beauty unfortunately did not serve as proof of someone evil, like Irena Derevko, or whoever was behind the whole SD-6 project.
She pulled her key out of the ignition and then pushed a button on her door panel that unlocked all the doors to the vehicle. But nobody moved.
" Why don't you get out of the car, Mrs. Vaughn?" Sydney suggested in more of a command.
" Why should I?" she demanded pretty strongly, her defenses up. It was as if whatever she'd tried to knock out of Ms. Cozier had returned to her the moment she was able to depict her surrounding.
Sydney was comforted when she remembered she had a gun in a holster in her pant leg. Jessica may be a civilian but she had dark intentions. That made her dangerous.
" Okay, if you want to stay cooped up in here, that's your business. I'm getting out," Sydney stated and then pulled herself out of the car.
The first thing she did after taking in the distinctive smell of the ocean waves, lapping against the rocks under the pier and the sight of the red fire ball that was descending toward the dark waters was to make sure she wouldn't be disturbed.
She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and edited the setting so her phone would convert all calls to her answering machine. She was about one-hundred percent sure the CIA would not be pleased with her choice, but sometimes, a girl had to do what a girl had to do.
Sydney was just putting the cell phone out of sight when her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Jessica's clacking heels. Sydney composed herself, reaching down to her pant leg, feeling the gun. It was amazing how much stronger she felt knowing she could blow off Jessica's head if it came to that.
" You've decided to join me, I'm touched," Sydney replied, her voice dripping with disdain. " Thought you were going to stay locked in the vehicle like a scared shitless piece of poultry."
Jessica shot her a blank stare.
" I meant to say you were a "chicken." I thought your sophisticated demeanor would allow you to understand a more elaborate term Excuse my foolishness, believing your sophistication went deeper than your outer appearance," Sydney sneered, standing with her legs a few feet apart, her hands planted on her hips.
" Cut the small talk, Sydney and get to the damn point of your dragging here against my free will. Then maybe I'll cut you some slack and not report this to the authorities," Jessica offered, and this hit Sydney because if Jessica did tell officials, she would have a lot of explaining to do.
" Okay, if that's how you want it," Sydney sighed, wanting to prolong the moment of torture. She would now have to come up with a different tactic. " I saw you with Sean Gaskin. Care to tell me what you were doing with him?"
" Oh, you know Sean, do you?" Jessica giggled, looking very amused.
" Yes. And I think you know I know him too," Sydney put in accusingly.
" Maybe I do, maybe I don't. But that's for me to know, isn't it?"
Sydney was getting that feeling in her fist. The feeling that she got when a guy got fresh with her while she was undercover. She wanted to knock her out. And with the amount of rage she currently had stored, she might have killed her. Sydney concentrated on getting to a safer level of emotion.
" I'm not playing twenty questions with you, Jess. Just tell me what I want to know and maybe I won't blow your head off," Sydney suggested, as though she were offering to do a good thing.
" Blow my head off? Aren't you talking a bit big there?" she grinned, not looking a bit scared. If she was, Sydney was ready to hand her an academy award because she sure was buying it.
" How do you know I'm just talking?" Sydney retorted with a grin.
" Well, whatever your problem is, I don't have time for it. I have a husband to get to, and I'm sure somebody would love to pick you up if you ever went out to a bar," Jessica preened, relishing in her evilness. " Let's get to it, shall we?"
" Okay, this is how it works," Sydney began. " I ask the questions, you stand there and tell me everything I want to know."
" Don't you know how to say please?" Jessica snickered, laughing cockily, taunting Sydney's bad manners.
Sydney had her back turned to Jess at the moment. She took that moment to pull the gun out of her holster and in the next second, she whirled around and pointed it at Michael's wife.
" Please?"
Seeing the gun, Jessica looked a bit shaken. But she was still too calm for Sydney's taste. She wanted to break Jessica in half. Obviously, she was going to have to think of another tactic.
But, she couldn't think of what else could scare a person than a gun being pointed at their head?
" Fair enough," Jessica finally replied, eyeing the gun as though she were trying to figure out if it was a fake one or not. " What do you want to know?"
" Tell me what you were doing with my roommate, if you're so sure you're in love with my ex-boyfriend?" Sydney commanded, aiming the gun directly at her chest.
" Would you believe me if I told you Sean is my ex-boyfriend?"
Sydney was taken aback. She hadn't expected this.
" That expression tells me you thought I was having an affair," Jessica pointed out, pleased with herself for keeping Sydney in check instead of vice versa. " Sorry, looks like Sydney strikes out again."
" Not quite. I still have the gun in my hand. And I still didn't get the answer to my question."
" I was visiting an old friend. Is that illegal in the state of California?"
" No, but you were doing more than visiting. And am I wrong if I assume this isn't the first time you've met with him after I came into the picture?"
" Oh Sydney, I have better things to do than get my old boyfriends back. Something you haven't seem to have accomplished yet," Jessica reminded her, coldly. Sydney was trying to make her feel like crap. Well, two could certainly play this game.
" You two seemed pretty friendly to me," Sydney added, trying to buy more time while she came up with way to make Jessica feel the way she was feeling at the current moment.
" And that's another thing. At least I have a life. What do you do? Come to a coffee shop and spy on your ex's wife. Honestly, don't you think that's pretty low and lame of you, even for Sydney Bristow?" Jessica continued. With the way Jessica was going, it seemed she knew how to break Sydney and she wasn't loving it too much.
" I ask the damn questions!" Sydney screeched, and cocked the gun, her finger on the trigger. One push on the trigger and Jessica would be out of her life. But could she do it? Could she really end the life of an innocent woman?
" Well, then start asking. I told you I have people to see, things to do."
" Why did you want to see, Sean?" Sydney asked then, the funnel of anger finally coming to a stop and her mind began to work its' way away from the mind-set of revenge.
" To catch up," she said simply, looking as innocent as a daisy on a spring day. " Really, I was just there to help a friend out."
" Doing what?"
" If I say something you're not going to expect, will you shoot me?" Jessica asked, but her tone suggested she knew Sydney would not harm a mouse. After all, Jessica thought she worked at Bristow Electronics. She didn't know she was a killing machine for the CIA.
" I'm open to compromise."
" Sean has a crush on you."
" What?" Sydney gasped, the shock impounding her whole body. It was like the words had the power to paralyze her body. And she couldn't understand why. What was Jessica? A witch?
" Don't be so surprised. What kind of idiot would stick around with a stranger when he's got a wife who loves him beyond reason?" she inquired.
This was another shock for Sydney.
" Wait a minute. Sean told me his wife was cheating on him and that's why it didn't matter if he was rooming with me. Besides, I don't believe you. I didn't have much interaction with him, and I still don't. We haven't had the time to even think of that happening between us," Sydney protested, wondering why she was getting defensive. Who was Jessica that she felt she had to justify herself to her?
" How long did it take for you to fall for Michael, Sydney?"
Sydney remembered that, it was clear as the moon that hung in the dark sky. It had been the moment she'd laid eyes on him. She'd fallen head over heels for the expressive green eyes, the shock of brown hair, his strong jaw line and lopsided grin. Add a sound coming from the handsome agent and Sydney was in love.
" That is none of your business."
" Well, deny it all you want but Sean wants you, bad. All I did was try and help him out. I mean, I'm the happiest girl in the world right now, even if I could have done without you coming back into this world. And I want to spread the wealth."
Sydney laughed at that like it was the funniest thing she'd ever heard.
" And just so you know, he's getting impatient, Sydney. After all, he was the star jock at our high school. He had girls begging for his attention."
" I see why you two fit so well together, you two are both clearly delusional," Sydney spit, still holding her gun steady.
" Please, is that the best you can do?"
" Oh honey, I'm not even trying," Sydney wanted to say but kept it to herself. Knowing Jessica, she might end up having to prove it.
" I guess this is what you get for assuming the worst of people. You got yourself a whole load of nothing and I still have my husband, waiting to climb into bed with him, and caress me in his loving arms," Jessica chuckled, pointing her nose in the air. " Next time, do a bit more research. You'll stay out of trouble that way."
Sydney was filled with anger, her eyes on the target, which she could still clearly see, despite how dark it was getting. She only had one split moment to rethink before her fingers, with a mind of their own, pushed the trigger and the gun went off with a bang.
The next thing Sydney saw was the figure in front of her crumpling to the floor.
Another shot rang out and Sydney fell to the ground as well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
" Okay, one more report to review and I can go back to the arms of my wife," Michael grimaced. He pulled over the last sheet and then tapped the finished stack against the table to straight them.
Like he wanted to.
After the alarming ultimatum he'd received from Jack, he didn't think he could look at Jessica and tell her he loved her any longer. From the moment Jack had said either pursue Sydney or forget she was ever part of his life, his life had turned upside down. He'd really thought he could do the right thing, but those words seared through his heart in a way he couldn't comprehend. He hadn't been able to go five seconds without pondering what he was going to do about Sydney. And it didn't help that Kendall had practically done everything but sign a restraining order in the meeting that had followed his confrontation with Jack. He could also tell Cowell was enjoying this way too much. The psychiatrist of an agent had rubbed it in his face and soul when Kendall had let the agent enter to confirm the information he' encountered.
Michael couldn't help but think why Cowell was so unhappy with him. Sure he'd given him a few lectures on respecting the more experience, a.k.a. superiors, but, for some reason, Michael was sure Agent Cowell had a grudge against him. He wondered if he and Agent Cowell had met before, maybe in another life time.
The last thing Kendall had said to him had sealed his day as the worst one since Sydney's disappearance. That staying away from Sydney would help her recooperate and help them put a closure to the unwanted tension and awkward conversations between him and Agent Bristow. To Michael, it just sounded like Kendall's best attempt at discretely saying, " go anywhere near Sydney, screw up any of my plans for her and I'll do worse than take you off the position of Sydney's opps officer!"
Micheal chuckled softly, a grave expression covering his face and that comment replayed in his head. Well that was one order he was going to have to disobey. He'd lost Sydney for two years. Now that she was back, he wasn't going to miss one moment with her.
So that was it? He'd chosen to re-pursue Sydney and give into what was deepest in his heart.
Or was it?
Michael began to review the case file of his new agent, none other than the annoying Agent John Stroban. He didn't have anything to do with John. He would deal with him tomorrow, the first day he would serve as Stroban's Operations Officer.
He rubbed his tired eyes and they drifted over to a delicate white picture frame as he leaned back in his chair. It was in the shape of a beautiful wedding cake. Contained beneath the ornament at the top was a picture of him and his beautiful bride on their wedding day.
Michael looked at himself and was puzzled by how happy he looked. His arm around Jessica's waist looked so perfect. Jessica looked extremely radiant, as usual, but then it had been genuinely meant for one man. It shook him to know it was because of his promise, his love and his trust that she'd been so happy that day.
Now, could Michael Vaughn, really leave this woman? Could he tell her his feelings had changed? Could he really live with himself.
At the moment, Michael wished he could be anybody but himself.
But, of course, that could never happen.
" No! Forget it! You're not going to do this. Get through the day. What's supposed to happen, will happen," Michael scolded himself. He threw John's file into a drawer and then proceeded to tidying up his cubicle. He was just shutting off his computer after spitting at the no access screen when he was approached by a British gentleman.
" Agent Vaughn?"
Michael dropped his jacket and then clumsily picked it back up, in his other hand was a suitcase. " You didn't hear him, you didn't see him," he told himself as he continued to get ready to leave. " Besides, you don't owe him any explanation, and he's the new guy. He should be answering to me."
" Agent Vaughn? Do you have a minute?" Agent Cowell demanded, standing in Michael's way.
Hmmm~~~ didn't seem like Michael had a choice.
" No, actually I don't. I'm late enough as it is. I really should be getting back to my wife," Michael apologized in his gentlemen way. " She's supposed to come in early and today is my turn to cook dinner."
" I'm sure you can spare a few minutes with me. Because we all know you haven't been very attentive to your wife since Ms. Bristow has returned," Cowell sneered, looking very standoffish.
That hit Michael's last nerve and he exploded.
" Okay, Agent Cowell! You may have managed to take over my job but you are still new to this organization and I will demand respect, for me and my privacy outside of the CIA."
" I understand," he murmured. " But you are the one who refused me a few minutes," he scowled next.
" I don't have to answer to you, if anything, you should be answering to me!"
" I will tell you almost anything you want if you'll just explain to me why you're still here," Cowell offered.
" I don't have to explain a damn thing to you!" he roared. This man was worse than Stroban. He wondered if a psychiatrist had the tools to drive a guy insane as well. Because he was slowly getting to that point.
" Hey, watch that tone of yours. I'm not here to be condescending to you or to play any , ""nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah,' games that you Americans are so fond of playing," Cowell told him, his voice becoming frighteningly calm.
Michael sat there and considered this before he re-opened his mouth.
" Then, what are you doing here?" Michael inquired, his voice getting quiet as well, but his guard was up.
" I am here to talk to you. I've been observing you since the first time you interacted with Sydney since her miraculous return. And I think you need help," Cowell diagnosed, and broke the news gently to the troubled- looking agent.
" I need help!" Michael raged, the calmness gone from his voice without leaving a trace. " Since when am I your patient?"
" I never said you were my patient, Agent Vaughn," Cowell replied, trying to keep his rage in check. " Not that it would hurt. After all, I am treating Sydney, it might do me some good to research on the people around her so I have a better idea of what I am dealing with."
" Well, whatever you're trying to do, Agent Cowell, I'm not interested. So you can just take your psychobabble and shove it! I don't need your help. I'm fine! You're the one who needs help!"
" Denial, just like this morning. I don't know if you're aware but keeping things in, and not facing them is going to hinder healing," Agent Cowell said in a I-know-what-I'm-talking-about, voice.
" Thanks for the heads up, doc," Michael drawled, sarcastically.
" And it will hinder Agent Bristow's healing as well," Agent Cowell added, wanting to get Michael to take him seriously and therefore as much as he didn't want to, he was going to have to hit a nerve. " Excuse my bluntness but how have you been feeling since Ms. Bristow came back into your life?"
" Let me guess, this is one of the twenty questions on your research list?" Michael chuckled, darkly, his green eyes narrowing. " Well, guess what, I'm not interested in your research. And what I have between Sydney is~~~ none of your business."
" Open yourself up, Mr. Vaughn," Cowell urged him, his accent getting thicker as his irritation increased. " I am not on the clock, I am just trying to help out a colleague."
" Oh no, don't you dare put me in the same class as you are!"
" Mr. Vaughn, you are the most stubborn pessimist I have ever met!"
" Well you are the most disrespectful, irritating agent I've ever had to deal with!" Vaughn upbraided. " I told you already, this is none of your business. And I have a place I must get to, excuse me."
" You may have gotten yourself out of it, this time but, I will be around. And the more you keep it inside, the slowly you will kill yourself. And next time when I ask you, I may not be as nice as I am now," Cowell threatened.
" Oh, I'm terribly frightened," Michael shuddered fakily. But then he began laughing when he saw the british agent looked immensely offended. " You are an absolute joke, Agent Cowell."
" I'm hurt that you think that, sir."
" Well, too bad. You better get on out of here or Kendall may think you're up to something," Michael sang when a beeping sound interrupted his thoughts and alerted his senses. " Excuse me, while I take this call."
" Suit yourself, Agent Vaughn. I have nothing more to say to you," Agent Cowell scowled and then stomped off.
Michael watched the Agent walk off and then hit a button.
" Agent Vaughn."
" Um~~~ Agent Vaughn, this is the Weiss."
Michael was comforted by his friend's voice and shaken at the same time.
" Hey, what's going on?"
" W~~ we have a situation," Weiss reported, his voice trembling.
" Go on," Michael told him.
" Well, I just got a call in my car. Looks like there was a drug shipment going down tonight and the L.A.P.D were on it."
" Well, that's interesting, but we're CIA, Weiss, what would that have to do with us? Unless~~~ it wasn't drugs," Michael said gravely, dangerous possibilities flying through his head.
" No, Mike, it was drugs," Weiss reported.
Michael was washed with relief.
" But that's not the part that concerns us," Weiss continued and a icy cold sensation flew down Michael's spine. " Aparantely Agent Bristow and your wife were there on the scene."
Michael lost all control and his body was overcome by a numbness and his phone slipped out of his hand and hit the ground with a clunk. Sydney and Jessica? Two of the people he cared for most in the world were in danger? This was more than he could bear.
" Hello? Mike, you still there?"
Michael came to a few seconds later. Being in the CIA had sped up his reaction time. He pulled himself together and bent down to pick up the phone.
" Yeah, I'm still here," Michael confirmed, his voice hard and mechanical.
" I'm heading over there now," Weiss told him. " I don't think we should notify Kendall until we're sure Bristow was affected."
" Or dead," Michael couldn't help but think. " Where's the location?"
" It's the pier that you can reach when you come off the highway," Weiss reported. " Are you coming down here?"
" Yes, I am. If you get there before me, call me and tell me if Sydney and Jessica are stable, and if I'm earlier, I'll do the same," Michael instructed him, pushing himself to think completely professionally.
" Okay, Mike. I'll see you on the Pier," Weiss concluded and then after a breath said. " I'm sure they're okay, Mike."
" Me too, but~~~ we're CIA, we're never out of danger, I've learned that now," Michael finished, his voice cracking. " I'm out, ETA 15 minutes." And with that Michael pulled on his jacket, flicked the light off in his office and jogged out of the CIA building.
He seated himself in the comfortable leather of the driving seat and cranked the engine. As he sped off toward the pier he thought, " Sydney, don't you die on me. Jess, don't you leave me this way either."
God, at the moment, it really sucked to be Agent Vaughn.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jack Bristow paced in his office. He was weighing the consequences and the benefits and finally, after twenty minutes of pondering he sat down at his desk and picked up the phone.
He didn't think he owed this woman anything, not after everything she'd put them through, but it didn't change the fact that she was Sydney's mother, and he knew Sydney may not forgive him if she died without saying good bye to the one who'd given her birth.
That was the only reason he dialed the number he'd been desperately trying to forget and was even staying on the phone to talk to the woman he hated beyond reason. The phone was picked up the third ring.
" Hello?"
" Hello, former wife of mine, this is Jack Bristow."
A noticeable pause in the conversation while he presumed Irina tried to compose herself as though she wasn't shocked.
" Oh, hello, Jack. Fancy hearing from you. What do you want now? Because if you're going to talk to me about the Rambaldi prophecy or ask me if I'm in love with Sark I will shoot you through the telephone lines," she warned him, ranting on, what she did best.
" Shut up and listen for a second, because you're going to want to hear this. But you have to answer one question first," Jack told her.
A noticeable sigh sounded on the line.
" Fine," she heaved. " What is it?"
" Are you ready to act like a mother?" Jack demanded.
No answer. He knew Irina would be shocked by that question.
" Maybe I should have mentioned I would fly over from France to kill you if you mentioned anything about my missing daughter," Irina cursed, her voice pained.
" Well, do fly over from France, because there is somebody who is going to want to see you," Jack told her in a calm but threatening tone.
" Why? Have you decided to get rid of me? Shoot the plane I'll be flying in with?"
" No, Irina, for once I am doing something that I don't want to do for the benefit of somebody else."
" And who is that lucky person you're showering with sympathy?" she snickered.
" You."
" Me? But, Jack, you hate me, I hate you."
" I'm not going to discuss anything else over the phone. But I'm giving you this chance, take it or leave it. I'll expect you to fly in by tomorrow evening," Jack told her firmly.
" Why should I go over there? How do I know you're not going to torture and kill me?" Irnia demanded, getting suspicious, but that was a good sign. If he just assured her this was not a dangerous mission she would come over.
" Because you'll regret it if you don't," he replied simply. " Have a night flight Ms. Derevko."
Click.
Jack put the receiver down and then took a deep breath. He gazed at the picture of Sydney he had sitting on his desk. She was so beautiful and so radiant. Even if most of the time she didn't shine it towards him, he knew what a pleased and happy child she was. Until now when Vaughn had left her.
" I'm doing this for you, Syd," he murmured.
For once he was acting like a father.
Okay, Part VII is finished!!! Tension! Hope you liked it. So, is Jess alive, or did Sydney shoot her, and is Sydney dead herself? Well, I guess you won't find out till the next Part huh? And you think Irina would come over? Hmm~~~ I think I left you with enough cliffies? But if you want more LOL. Thanks to all who have reviewed, please do so. And believe it or not, I am an S/V shipper so maybe I'll find a way to put them together. Just we need to have them wanting each other but be split, then when they reunite it'll be such a big deal!!! Anyway, please continue to review, remember, I don't write without it. Thanks and enjoy!!!
