A/N: decided to use times because I thought it'd be more interesting. Hee hee. Thanks to alpineracer 88, sheeplover, pickynicky, megvaugh2003, abcdefg and everybody else! Please review!!!!! I don't' write without it! Thanks and please enjoy!!!! Lataz Leo's l'il sista!

" The other side of the story"

Part VIII

8:15 p.m.

" They have to be okay, that's it! No ifs or buts! They are going to be fine! They are both going to be alive!" Michael insisted as he pulled his car off the free way. Even though he wondered how that could be. Weiss had pretty much said they were dead, or seriously injured. What he wanted to know was why Sydney and Jess had been there in the first place! What had been going through their heads to come out here?

He shot a glance at the watch. Fifteen minutes pronto he had made it to the pier. He then raised his head and gasped as he pulled his car into the first part of the pier.

The pier was covered with police vehicles and official personnel. Michael was sure he saw five ambulances and two SWAT team cars. Seeing that was enough to disturb Michael's positive thoughts. He hurridely parked the car, braked hard and then wrenched his door open and got out of the vehicle. He turned around, pushed a button and locked the doors to the vehicle before he proceeded to the scene.

He scanned the area, but couldn't do so without shielding his eyes from the blinking red, white and blue glare made from the flashing lights from the police vehicle. He paused to let an agent on a cell phone pass by before he made his way to the mean who seemed to know what they were doing.

" Hey!" came an angry voice from behind Michael, who was trying to find Weiss in the mess of people swarming the dock. He didn't react. The next thing he felt was his collar being pulled on.

" Hey, you don't have to do that," Vaughn groaned as he came face to face with the man who turned out to be a member of the L.A.P.D swat team.

" Well then stay back and I won't hand cuff you. This is a crime scene. Only official personnel are even allowed in this area," he barked in a boastful sort of way. He then barked to a colleague demanding why they'd let Vaughn through. Something about get your sh** together, no more f***ing civilians.

" I'm aware of procedure, sir," Michael retorted and then pulled out his badge, which proved to be difficult considering the hold the man had on him. " Agent Michael Vaughn, CIA."

The expression on the swat member changed.

" Hey, George, sorry man," yelled another member who had jogged over to them, obviously ready to remove Michael from the scene.

" No need, he's cleared, CIA," " George," stammered, abashed.

" Okay, but we're watching to keep them out," the man told him, executed a quick salute and then went back to his post.

" George," then turned to Michael and let him go. " Excuse my harsh treatment, Agent Vaughn. It's just procedure."

" I understand."

" Usually we have police id'ing officials but the criminals we're dealing with and the wounded have made this an intense scene. We've had problems conducting an overview investigation of the scene and we've been out here for forty-five minutes. There's been civilians crawling all over the place."

" Well you guys have enough police cars that anybody on the highway can see something is going on," Michael reasoned, brushing his arms.

" But the kind of people we have coming down here is the unfriendly king. Friends, family, trying to kill us or going into shock finding out their precious loved ones were involved in such a business," George Gordez explained, shaking his head, his mouth a tight line.

" What was the operation you were trying to bust?" Michael asked then, trying to keep calm until he could get a hold of Weiss or other CIA personnel.

" Big shipment. 50,000 pounds of ecstasy," the member reported. " They've been shipping big amounts like this for months and we finally got enough info to get them. And we were successful accomplishing the mission."

" Well congratulations," Michael praised and then got to business. " How many teams have you got out here?"

" Sixteen police units, I think about thirty personnel from the L.A.P.D, five ambulances, five agents from the F.B.I and two SWAT teams, including myself," the member ticked off.

" No CIA?" Michael asked, not able to keep the surprise out of his voice.

" Well, we've had the arrival of one agent from your branch, who has actually annoyed us. Had he not been an agent we would have escorted him from the premises. We've figured you would be asked in if we had any doubt the shipment wasn't ecstasy and maybe biological weapons but, this was a technical drug bust, we kept it between us, the F.B.I and the Los Angeles police."

" Oh, I see," Michael murmured, and was awashed with relief when he realized the other agent had to be the arrival of Weiss. He pulled out his phone and began checking for messages.'

" That's why you must excuse it when I ask how the CIA found out about this in the first place," the swat member apologized formally. " Unless of course, there's more to this story than we've been told."

Then it came back to him. He was here because of Sydney, no, Jess, no Sydney.

" Agent Vaughn?"

" Oh, one of the personnel that were involved in the scene is a CIA agent," Michael replied, uneasily, his heart breaking to think he could be only a few feet away from her possible corpse.

' I see."

" And another one of them is ~~~ my wife."

"Agent Vaughn, I am very sorry to hear that," the swat member languished, pulling off his cap and held it to his chest. His heart going out to the agent.

" Thank you."

" I'll you the data we have now thought. We have present three casualties but they've been identified as two gang-bangers and one worker, member of the night watch of the dock."

" So, no females?" Michael demanded, taking all his effort to keep his voice steady.

" I'm happy to reply, none had been reported," he told him and the relief must have been on the agent's face because the next moment the member cautioned him. " But, we have some badly injured victims currently receiving first aid before being transported to L.A. hospital."

" I understand, thank you."

" Agent Vaughn, if you don't mind my asking," the member said then which got Michael's attention.

" Yes?"

" Just what would your wife been doing on here with an agent? I mean, we know we can't broadcast this operation but you ~~~ you must be careful with them from now on, next time you may not be so lucky," he warned Michael who nodded solemnly.

" I will remember that, and I intend to find out what they were doing here too," Michael told him. After all, he was Sydney's handler, at least in his heart and well he was Jessica's husband. They certainly weren't authorized by him to come here. Heck he was sure Jessica would be waiting for him at home, and Sydney, well, he couldn't say anything when it came to her. If she'd pulled this stunt and he couldn't have predicted it, it just proved he was losing his ability to read Sydney more each day.

" You do that, sir," George said smartly, and squeezed the agent on the shoulder. " Well, I must be getting back on post, I'm sure any of the people here would be able to help you find out where your wife and colleague is," he said uneasily, as he mouthed those words.

" Thank you, sir. I think I'll be all right by myself," Michael told him in agreement, nodded his head and then watched at the SWAT team member went off to chase another group of people who had a high chance of causing a riot.

Now it was time for him to do what he'd come there to do. He pulled out his phone again and checked for messages, not sure what he would do if he didn't find anything. But of course, there was nothing.

" Okay, Weiss is on the scene," Michael reminded himself, trying to keep his optimism up. " Or maybe another CIA agent has stumbled onto the scene," Michael groaned. Yeah, because he had told Weiss he'd call him if he found out something and vice versa.

After a few moments of pondering and pulling his thoughts together, he decided on giving Sydney's cell a call. Then if she answered, he would know she was okay. And if she was in trouble and she was undergoing care, one of the nurses might pick up the call.
Either way he would have more than he had now.

Michael took a breath, said a little prayer and hit speed dial #2. He cautiously put the receiver to his ear. It was ringing.

" Come on Syd, pick up the phone, pick up the phone!' he urged her with telepathy if that was even possible.

A pause.

" Syd!" he cried out.

" Hi, this is Sydney Bristow," replied the calming and familiar voice of his favorite beautiful, pretty giddy yet good at what she does, agent.

" Sydney, this is Michael," he said hurridely as though he knew he wouldn't have long to talk. But he was cut off by Sydney's voice saying, " please leave a message and I will return the call."

" Oh damn," Michael cursed. It was her answer machine.

" .Especially if it's you Michael," the message continued and then came to an abrupt clock.

Michael heard the annoying beep and then he turned it off. It shocked him to hear the last bit, which was obviously about him. Sydney's been in L.A for two months, yet the message to her answer machine was none other than the one he used to hear when his love didn't answer the phone. However, today, the sexy voice that would usually overwhelm him with love sent a shiver down his spine.

The same way it had done the day before Kendall had changed Sydney's status from, " Missing in Action," to " presumed dead."

That was enough to tear Michael apart. Body and soul.

' Oh Sydney," he cried, tears welling up in his eyes as the gut sinking feeling he'd never see Sydney again overcame his senses. " Oh Sydney." For some odd reason, he was sure, in that moment, she was dead. Just like he'd told Weiss that Kendall was going to give up. That he was going to have to move on.

And now, every atom in his rigid body was dying. Every joint in his body became numb as grave reality of the situation became clearer in his presently tormented psyche. He didn't even realize he hadn't thought of Jessica since the phone call. All he wanted was for Sydney to be all right.

He felt his knees give out. " Why? Why had she been here in the first place? What had been going through her head?" he groaned, as the what's, if's and why's preyed teasingly on the edges of his mind. He dropped to a squat and rubbed his trembling hands together but there was no warmth left in him.

He felt so damn helpless.

" Weiss, find me" Vaughn pleaded, too weak to stand up himself now that his body seemed to have given up on him as he had on himself. " I need you man."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

8: 45 p.m.

Weiss moved from one officer to the other for a while, getting mean looks from the officers. Not even the FBI was giving an inch of valuable information and Weiss couldn't say he was happy about that. Now he was standing near an officer who seemed young and dumb, maybe he would give him something to work with. After all, to the young people, the CIA demanded respect, right?

" Officer, may I have a word with you, sir?"

The young man turned to the agent and then smirked. Okay, so maybe the officer wasn't as dumb as Weiss thought he would be.

" All depends on what you're going to ask me, agent."

" Just a really quick question, have you seen a Michael Vaughn this evening?" Weiss inquired, trying not to lose his nerve.

" A who?" the officer named Wills, retorted, still signaling to his colleagues and barking replies and directions. The man was obviously busy or trying to get Weiss off his back.

" Agent Vaughn," Eric explained, getting a bit pesky. " He's CIA like me, with a badge, nice suit, brown hair, green eyes."

" You can describe him to me all you want but I don't think I've had the time to look at every guy's eye color tonight," the officer retorted, scribbling on a note pad. " And the answer to your question is, nope. You're the only CIA agent I've seen this evening," Wills told him, his eyes narrowing in suspicion as he gruffed, " I was under the impression the CIA didn't receive intel about this."

Boy was the CIA unwanted this evening. That was the 5th diss the Central Intelligence Agency had received that night. But Weiss knew that they hadn't been informed and hadn't it been for Syd and Jessica, they wouldn't have known so he decided to play by their rules, even though he didn't think he had to explain anything to him.

" Well, you are right. We are not here to investigate the drug bust. One of our agents seems to have stumbled onto the scene with a civilian who is a wife of one of our other agents and therefore, we got a call from the L.A.P.D chief asking us to make this portion, our business," Weiss said coldly.

" Well that is just strange," Wills retorted, the wheels in his mind turning. " If you didn't receive intel then why do you suppose she was here at this specific time? You don't think she had anything to do with this, do you?"

" We haven't had contact with Agent Bristow since this afternoon so we cannot really say. But that means we haven't concluded that the agent had anything to do with the drug shipment," he added quickly, knowing he was dealing with law enforcement. As smart as the CIA was conveyed, they had a reputation for knowing and doing things to possibly endanger the U.S. even if they weren't.

" What do you perceive happened then?" Wills demanded, pulling out his pad and pen.

" Most likely she was here to enjoy the pier, thinking it was a safe place. I think it's just a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time," Weiss stated, defensively.

" Well, we expect to get that in writing, if one of my colleagues haven't done so already," Will remarked, writing busily onto his pad.

" Wait, does what you're saying mean you don't think our agent was killed?" Weiss gasped, trying not to be too hopeful but it was impossible, this sounded like good news.

" You said it was a, "she," am I correct?"

Weiss nodded tentatively.

" We've had a report of three casualties since our investigation began an hour and a half ago, and they've all been identified as persons involved or having close relations with the gang, and of course, one civilian who was in the wrong place at the wrong time," the officer reported grimly, reviewing his notes.

Weiss didn't need to hear anymore. So Syd was fine! And it seemed, Jessica hadn't been reported as being dead, unless she was a man and they just didn't know about it.

" You might want to check with the other officers. They might have more information," Wills offered, looking apologetic. " And as for your agent Michael Voyd."

" Vaughn," Weiss corrected.

" Excuse me, Michael Vaughn, I still have no clue who you're talking about, I'm sorry."

" No, it's fine," Weiss reassured the young apprentice who seemed a bit frightened. " Thanks for your help, sir."

But the officer was already involved in another conversation when Weiss had uttered those words. This was getting on Weiss's last nerve. The L.A.P.D didn't seem to have much respect left for the CIA these days.

" Concentrate, Eric!" he scolded himself. What he needed to do was find Michael. He pulled out his phone and checked for messages. None, Vaughn must not be here then. He was about to hit the speed dial number for Agent Vaughn when the bustling people before him parted like when Moses split the Red Sea, and kneeling at the other end was Michael.

" Vaughn," Eric stammered, taken aback at seeing his friend this way. He looked like a wreck. Instead of being on his feet, interrogating every single person he could find for information on the women he loved, Vaughn was crouched in defeat.

Not exactly the way Weiss had hoped to find Agent Vaughn.

" Michael," Eric hollered, jogging over to his companion. " Vaughn!"

Michael raised his head and stared at Eric. Tears were spilling down his cheeks and his bloodshot eyes were still brimming with new tears. His features were tighter than was normal for a distressed Vaughn.

" Mike, hey man."

" Weiss," the broken-down agent managed to speak. " I was wondering when you were going to show up. I assumed I would get a call from you if you were here but I didn't have any messages so."

" Well, what matters is I'm here now," Weiss cut in swiftly. " Mike, you look like hell, like you've just seen Sydney's dead body," he commented a tad more gently.

" I feel like I did. I don't know why but I think Sydney's dead," he admitted in a whimper. Weiss waited for Michael to continue. " I called Syd's phone and~~~ she didn't answer. I mean if Syd was hurt, don't you think one of the docs would have picked it up?"

" So, you're telling me you're breaking down and assuming the worse because of a phone call?" Weiss asked in disbelief. " Listen to yourself man, that's pathetic," he cried a bit more hurtful than he'd intended.

" I thought so too, but after I heard the answering machine, I got that feeling man. That feeling I got when I somehow knew Kendall was going to call the search off. That undeniable feeling I had to come to terms with the fact I'll never see Sydney again," Michael said gravely.

Eric bit his lip in remorse as he reminisced that moment. That had killed Michael's last hope of ever seeing her again. And distraught hadn't been enough to describe Michael's emotions that day. He couldn't imagine who Michael must be feeling now, if he was going through that again.

" Hey Mike, look, I just got back from talking to one of the officers and he told me they still haven't reported any female casualties," he chirruped, hoping to lighten Michael's mood.

" I already heard that."

" Well then stop going into the dumps and let's go find your Sydney and your wife," Weiss suggested, and reached a hand out to his pal. " Come on, bud, I'm sure they're wondering where their favorite man is and then you can unleash all that fury onto Bristow and then~~~ you can make up," he said dryly, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Michael smiled. He'd thought Marshall was the only one who knew how to lift his spirits but Eric wasn't doing too bad a job himself. He found himself grabbing his friend's hand and with the support of his arm on his shoulders, Michael slowly regained the strength to resume his search.

" Sydney, Jess, I'm coming~~~ I'm coming."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

9:00 p.m.

" There is a bullet, but it just knicked your arm," the paramedic told Sydney as he examined the arm he held in his hand. " The ER doctors should be able to pull it out without causing you too much discomfort."

" Oh that's the best news I've heard today" she sniffed in typical Sydney fashion. " Hey! Ow!" Sydney winced the next second when she felt a stinging sensation penetrate the back of her neck.

" Sorry Ms. Bristow, this should take care of the abrasion on your neck," the other paramedic chimed in as he pressed a pad soaked in peroxide against her neck. He was attempting to clean the wound that she'd received when she'd fallen to the ground to dodge the bullet from the gang member's gun. It had been an instantaneous reaction for him when he realized she and Jess weren't one of them.

The paramedic pressed and cleansed for a few more moment before he patted the surrounding area dry. " There you go. I think that'll do it. But I recommend you get that looked at as well, it might do you good to have it debrided."

" Right," Sydney replied. Then she mentally pushed away the words he'd said and changed the subject. " How is Jessica doing?" she asked, as though she was sure they would know who " Jessica," was.

" Who?"

They didn't.

" The woman who was with me," Sydney clarified for the paramedic who'd been treating her back, but he seemed clueless. It was the one examining her arm who knew what she was talking about.

" Oh her," he blurted out. " Well, she was standing when I found her so I think she's doing fine. I didn't see any extreme injuries, she was able to walk to the rig, so there was no brain damage, or concussion. The only thing I was worried about was shock, since she's a civilian and might not be accustomed to these situations as you are. But either way, we're assuming the doctors will want to keep you two in observation for the night."

" Wonderful," Sydney retorted, rolling her eyes. A hospital stay, just what she needed.

" There you go, all done Ms. Bristow. That should hold out infection and keep the bullet stabilized until he get you to the hospital," the handsome EMT told her as he mobilized Sydney's arm expertly with gauze.

" Thanks, that does feel better," Sydney confided, smiling as she moved her arm around.

" Well, I'm glad. You're lucky that's all you came out of this with. Those gang members are serious business, they're not people to mess with, Ms. Bristow," he said seriously, as though he really believed Sydney had picked a fight with the gang members on purpose or something.

" I guess I learned that the hard way," Sydney shrugged. But the EMT only nodded. " Okay, I promise I won't get shot at again, and if I do, I promise I'll be dead," Sydney offered. " So you don't have to deal with my injured remains."

This tickled the young paramedic for he let out a hearty laugh.

" I'm glad you feel that way but mam, I'm just a paramedic, I'm just looking out for you. What you do with your body is your business, it is just my job to fix you up. So you shouldn't promise me anything, you should do that for yourself," he grinned, while he filled out a form he would hand the ER doctors.

" You're good at this," she praised. " And you know it, don't you?" she teased.

" Marc, got a minute?"

Marc, Sydney's handsome paramedic nodded. " Excuse me, miss, but my colleague wants me. I'll be right back, don't go anywhere."

" Yes, sir," she replied and watched Marc go talk to his colleague.

His leaving gave her a moment to contemplate her thoughts. So Jess was safe. Good. But somehow her being wouldn't allow her to fathom those emotions. But at least she wouldn't be brought up on murder charges. After all, she hadn't shot at Jess. And hadn't it been for her gun, she'd gotten both of them killed.

" No, Wyd, hadn't you let your emotions take over you would have thought rationally before you dragged Mrs. Vaughn over here," she chided herself. But how was she supposed to know that a real drug bust was taking place that evening? She'd only thought of that as a hypothetical situation! But now it was over and the only one who'd lost their lives had been the ones shipping the illegal substance.

Her next instinct was to call Michael, especially when she saw she had a missed call from him. She knew the phone had rang but it had been at a most inopportune time. But before she punched in Michael's number, she wondered what she was going to say. " Hi, My car ended up in a crime scene and your wife is with me?" Michael would go ballistic. But it was the truth, and besides, they were both going to be fine.

The approach of Marc with an officer but cut into her plans.

" Are you Sydney Bristow?" the officer interrogated in a testy voice.

" I am," she replied briskly.

" The EMT has granted me permission to get your statement, will you come with me please?" the officer requested.

" Of course," she told him.

" Sir," Marc broke in. " I hope we are clear that this girl is in GSW condition and I will not authorize any aggression, verbal or physical."

" Pipe down, sir. I am not going to strangle her, and she will be returned to your rig promptly after examination," the officer said in a nasal tone. He then re-turned to Sydney. " Ms. Bristow?"
Sydney smiled at the cute EMT to reassure him and then went over to talk to the officer who was standing by his patrol car.

" How may I help you this evening?" she asked sweetly.

" I understand you are the one responsible for killing one of the gang members. But we got the statement from the civilian with you and we conclude you acted in self-defense. I uh~~~ understand you've been shot."

" Yeah, but they told me it was mild," she spouted. " nothing life- threatening."

" I am honestly glad to hear that," he told her with genuinity. " After all, we weren't out to get you.'

Sydney let out a small chuckle to indicate it was water under the bridge.

"But there is something we can't ignore and so we are going to ask you some interrogation type questions," the officer began, in a tone that clarified he was coming to the reason of the conversation.

" I'm ready when you are, officer."

" I understand you are an agent of the CIA and that is why we must press what you were doing here on the crime scene."

Sydney's eyes grew wide. She'd gotten off on the Jessica part but now it was looking more and more like the L.A.P.D was assuming she had something to do with the drug situation.

Sydney went on and told the officer the truth, leaving out the part about how she'd practically taken Jess to the pier to do away with her. The officer wrote and nodded his head as she finished.

"Well, we'll see how the police will take this but I believe you had nothing to do with the drugs, and we know you couldn't have found out about it through CIA."

" Pardon me?"

" We didn't feel the need to involve the CIA so we didn't this time," the officer explained. " Well, I'm not sure what will come up but make sure to remain in this area until the investigation on this operation is closed, not to raise suspicion on you.'

" I will, sir."

" Well, that's all I have for you today. Thank you for your cooperation, and keep in touch," the officer concluded with a smile.

" I will, sir, thank you."

The officer smiled and went on his way. Sydney let out a breath. Good, at least the police believed her. She thought she was going to lose her nerve! But now it was over and things were looking better.

" Okay, now to deal with Michael," Sydney groaned and punched in his number. She might have pulled the wool over the eyes of the police but she wasn't confident she could do the same with her ex-boyfriend.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

9:30 p.m.

" You heard the police, Vaughn. If Sydney and Jess are on the scene, they'd be with the paramedics," Weiss exhaled as the two men approached the area where the rigs were parked.

" I know that, but I don't know if I'm ready. What if she's a mangled mess? Or what if she's not breathing? I don't know if I can handle watching them do CPR," Michael protested.

" Okay Mike, you're going to have to do it sometime tonight, and personally, I think you should do it sooner. So get a grip, let's flash out I.D's and take charge of this place," Weiss boomed, enthusiastically.

Michael didn't know how to object so he followed Weiss who just had to approach the bully version of the police officer.

" Yeah, no mayo. No Mayo! All right, get back pronto, all this b.s. is making me hungry, I'm out," the officer barked into his phone and then put it away. He realized Michael and Weiss standing there and glared at them.

" What do you want?"

" To enter the scene," Weiss barked bossily.

" oh yeah, and why should I let you two in?" he sniveled, folding his arms.

" Because we have clearance, Agent Weiss, CIA, and this is Agent Vaughn, also CIA," Weiss spoke for both of them, shoving their cards at the officer. He gave the cards a look and must have come to terms with how he couldn't push them away. " Okay, put the cards away. You said you were CIA? What business do you have here?"

Oh did they have to do this again!?

" You wanna know why? I'll tell you why!" Michael upbraided, pushing Weiss behind him, coming forward. " Because my ex-girlfriend and my wife are back there. And my ex is also CIA. So why don't you get the hell out of my way before I report improper behavior toward a Federal agent!" Michael cursed.

" Okay, you're free to go in," the bully of an officer stammered, looking clearly shaken.

" Thank you," Michael said, getting more cordial. He then looked at Weiss. " Let's go."

Agent Vaughn was back.

A ringing noise broke through the commotion. Michael hastily put his hand into this pocket and retrieved his phone, hoping to god it wasn't Kendall. He didn't need his boss on his back. He looked at the screen and gasped.

It was Sydney!

He answered it and whispered. " Syd?"

" Hi uh~~~ Micheal. Look sorry about calling you at this time but I just wanted to tell you, I'm with your wife."

Michael's heart leapt. Both Sydney and Jessica were fine.

" Listen, my car was totaled and even if we're both okay the EMT's want us taken to the hospital. So if you can, get to the Los Angeles pier as fast as you can," she insisted in her commanding tone.

" Where are you?" Michael inquired, his voice shaking badly. He was losing connection. " Hold on a sec, I can't hear you," he informed her and moved until he got better frequency. "There, okay," he added, and looked up.

There was Sydney, standing only meters away!

Their gazes met.

In unison their faces registered surprise, they put their phone away. And then Michael barreled over to her, pushing away anybody who stood in the path between him and Sydney. He didn't stop a moment and pulled her into his arms.

" Oh Sydney!"

" Hello to you too, Michael," Sydney laughed, a bit perplexed, having no idea what Mike had been going through. " Didn't expect to see you so soon. I guess you already got a call."

" Yes, we did, God Sydney, I thought I was going to find you dead!" he cried, beads of sweat from his forehead mingling with his new tears.

" Dead? Aren't you being just a tad dramatic?" Sydney teased, wiping away his tears, pulling herself out of his embrace.

" If you heard the phone call Weiss gave me, you'd understand why," he argued but too relieved to muster any anger towards her.

" Weiss is here too?"

" Yeah, he's back there somewhere," he shrugged, cocking his head towards the back.

" Well, and I thought CIA wasn't involved in his, who else did you bring?"

" No one," Michael answered. " We would have liked to come as civilians, especially since Jess is down here but then the officers wouldn't let us through," then he added. " Does she know?"

" Who? Jess?" Sydney scoffed and shook her head. " No, I told the personnel how Jessica doesn't know I was CIA. You're still one of the many employees at, " Bristow Electronics," she assured him, putting " Bristow Electronics," in finger quotes.

" I don't' know how you managed that but, thank you," Michael thanked with deep gratitude.

" Please Vaughn, this is the least I could have done. After all, I'm the reason this even happened," Sydney reminded him, apologetically.

" Yeah, excuse the bluntness of my question but why were you two here in the first place?" he cried, a bit angrily, his green eyes stern with worry.

" I was having a conversation with your wife and I came here because the wind clears my head," Sydney said truthfully, but the truth really sounded lame.

Michael stared hard at her but in a moment, his expression softened. " If that's what you said happened, Syd, then I believe that's what happened to her. Besides, I don't really think you could have anything to do with drugs anyway."

" It's nice to know you still have that confidence in me."

" Well just because you were gone for two years doesn't indicate that you have gone over to the dark side," Michael grinned, liking the normalcy of the situation. " So, it looks like you're okay, except for you arm. Did you break it?"

" Um no, actually I have a bullet in me but they said it's not a big deal. I'm going over to the hospital to have it removed," she reported with a smile.

" Well you sound pretty optimistic. I just, God, I thought I was going to lose you again," he grimaces, his voice cracking as raw emotions made an appearance. Then he pulled Sydney into his arms and wept.

Sydney couldn't help but wonder what she was going to do to Vaughn if she went to England. And after hearing these words, there was no way she was going to be able to tell him she was transferring.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

9:45 p.m.

Not that far away, Jessica was on her feet, grown tired of entertaining the EMTs with her good looks. She was not looking for anything in particular as she let her brown eyes swerve around the scene. She was overwhelmed by it all. Had it really been this big?

" Next time I see Sydney, I will teach her a lesson!" Jessica's brain cried within her skull. She would teach Bristow not to mess with her.

" Where is that bitch anyway?" she fumed, totally forgetting that Sydney was the reason she was still standing. She move on between the rigs, eyes peeled for Michael's ex when she saw a familiar shock of brown hair.

Jessica didn't need to see his face to know who it was. It was her love, Michael. Jessica felt awashed by something that felt like love. Her next planned move was to job into his arms and let him kiss away the pain. But the woman in his arms stopped him.

" Oh no you don't, Sydney," Jessica growled and stomped over to her husband. But when she was in position, she looked weary and very weak. Did she mention, she wasn't just gorgeous but excellent at deceiving? " M~~ Michael?"

Michael turned his head, knowing it was Sydney who had spoken. And gasped.

" Jess?"

Jessica nodded her head. Then on cue, she stumbled. Michael moved to catch her in his arms while Sydney watched in all happen in concealed agony.

" Whoa, Jessi, careful," he scolded her.

" Sorry, I'm feeling a bit light-headed," she admitted. Then she looked over at Sydney and she let out a piercing scream. As if she was looking at her worst nightmare.

" Hey, Jessica, calm down, it's just Sydney," Michael cooed. " Calm down."

But Jessica didn't calm down. She instead had worked herself up too much and was going into shock. She murmured something to Michael and then her eyes rolled back. Jessica's body felt even heavier in his arms.

" J~~~ Jess?" Michael whispered.

" I heard some screaming, is everybody okay?" an EMT asked briskly, joining the group.

" Yeah, except my wife, she just lost conciousness," Michael told the EMT in a calm, all-business tone. He didn't want to lose it, at least not right now.

" So the shock finally got to her," the EMT nodded knowingly. " Okay, why don't you carry her to my rig and we'll get her the care she needs at the hospital," he declared.

" Okay," Michael replied, glancing at Sydney.

Sydney really wished Michael would stop looking at her out of what looked like pity.

" I understand you are her husband, would you like to ride along?" the EMT asked then, gently.

" Um~~~" Michael murmured, torn between the unconscious Jess and the gun-shot inflicted ex who had saved his wife.

" Go on," Sydney urged him. " I'll be fine."

" You sure?" Michael protested, worridely.

' Yeah, I've got a rig that will take me, you~~~ go with your wife."

" Sir?" the EMT asked testily, getting impatient.

" Yes, I will be riding with her," Michael replied before he lost his never and then went off with the EMT, not looking back once at Syd.

Sydney couldn't say she wasn't shocked. Part of her had wanted Michael with her. Part of her had actually believed Michael would chose her over Jess without any nudging.

Obviously, she'd been wrong.

" There you are, Ms. Bristow!"

Sydney did a 180 and came face to face with a freak out Marc.

" Oh, hi."

" I've been looking all over for you. The officer told me he got your statement minutes ago. I thought you were arrested!"

" No, I'm sorry, I had to talk to some other people."

" Well, are you ready now?"

Sydney bit her tongue to hold back her tears then nodded. " Yeah, I'm ready to get away from all this."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While in France

A handsome French man sat on the edge of the bed in their hotel room and watched Elana Jean-Michel hurry from drawer to drawer, throwing things into her suitcase. He had been asked to just sit and not interrupt her but he couldn't go much longer without asking where she was going? And why she couldn't tell him.

" Elana, my dear?"

Elana a.k.a " Irena Derevko," shot angry eyes at her "boyfriend. " What is it?"

" I was just wondering when you are going to tell me what the meaning of all this is?" he complained, drumming his fingers on his knee, with his free hand he sipped wine from a glass.

" I don't have time to explain, I already told you that," she stated stubbornly, stuffing some toiletries into a tote bag.

He knew her answer would amount to something of that sort.

" At least tell me when I can hold my beautiful Elana again," he cooed, coming up behind her and put his arms around her waist, and nuzzled her shoulder with his head.

Big mistake.

Irena pulled out a stun gun. She pushed the young man off of her and threw him against the bed.

" You won't," she replied simply.

" What? I don't' understand?"

" You won't ever find me so don't come looking for me," she told him. " Just think as if I am dead." She pushed the trigger and in a few seconds, the French man was out.

Because it was true. In a few moment the alias, Elana Jean-Michael would no longer exist. And had she not gotten over to L.A by tomorrow evening, Jack might come after her and then Irena Derevko might not exist either.

But Irena was painted. She'd actually grown close to the young man. But duty called.

She grabbed her two bags and hurried down to the lobby and checked out. Outside, she was immediately met by a taxi.

" Where to madamoiselle?"

" To the airport," she said breathlessly, " as fast as you can."

Okay, Part VIII is up now! Hope you enjoyed it!!! So, what happened to Jess? And what is Sydney going to do about Michael and England? Well, I guess you're not going to see until next week! Just wanted to say thanks for your support! I love ya'll so much. Please keep reviewing! I'm also a writer on fictionpress.net as Kristina Toffland so please check out my stuff there too. Anywho, please keep reviewing and I will definitely return the favor. Okay, talk to ya lataz.