Alternate Termination
Sequel to Alternate Existence and Alternate Infatuation. Sydney and Michael finally had a perfect life. A real family with no lies. Friends who knew the truth. And then they lost it all.
Chapter 5: Topaz and Silver
Disclaimer: No, Alias is not mine. Nor is Sydney, nor Vaughn, nor Irina, nor Jack, nor Khasinou, nor Kendall. But Jeffrey is! He's all mine! No touchy!
A/N: Sorry this took me so long to undate! Well, long for me. My boss is working my ass off, five days a weeks when I'm only supposed to be working three...I'll do the best I can to get the next chapter up soon!
A/N: Looks at Nat like she's a hyper four year old Uh…no. My kitty is an incorrect use of the phrase…if it's not BAD MR. KITTY! then it's just not the same…But, let me know when you get your e-mail figured out and I'd be honored to get a beta reader! I'm extremely lax when it comes to proofreading my own stuff, and my best friend claims to not have the time to read all my stuff right now (she'll read it this summer 'cause I'll make her!) so my stuff rarely gets proofed.
A/N: s, I'll let you know when we get to the part that I think ya'll will kill me for…Oh, whoops…I just realized what this chapter consists of…ya'll will, I think, progressively kill me for the next, oh, three chapters, I believe. Enjoy!
A/N: One more thing. A huipil, by definition, is a hand-woven blouse worn by girls in Mexico in which the colors and patterns represent ties to their village, ect. Use your imagination, okay?
Kendall was alone in his office, working on some case files, when the phone rang.
"Kendall," he answered briskly.
"Director," a familiar voice said. "I have some intel you might find curious."
"How did you get past my secretary with that cryptic bullshit?"
"Sorry, man," the voice guffawed. "This is Antonio Verdes."
Ah, one of those annoying superior types who stayed on your ass for five years then retired to Mexico and thinks you're best buddies. Although, Verdes had proven a useful contact on several occasions.
"Yeah, how's Mexico?" Kendall asked. He could afford a few minutes to placate the man.
"Well, seems to be crawling with your agents. Dead ones."
"There's that bullshit again."
"Right. Well, I was in Mexico City the other-well, last night, and I would swear-those agents listed as dead a month after I left-These people looked just like 'em. Bristow's daughter…Sydney. And Michael. Vaughn," Verdes elaborated.
A little too much tequila, Kendall decided. Too bad the man was still completely lucid.
"I'll look into it," he promised
"Great, 'cause…oh, this is a secure line, by the way. But, look, I followed 'em all the way out to Rodriguez Road-you know, that old cow trail outta town-A big adobe apartment building."
"Got it," Kendall said, hanging the phone up gently. "Get me Jack Bristow," he bellowed to his secretary.
Jack must have been standing just outside the door, because he appeared in the office and closed the door moments later.
"Yes?"
"Have a seat, Jack. I have a proposition for you," Kendall said.
"If it's about the arrangements for the Lexington's, there's a safe house in West Virginia that can house them for a few months, until we can get their aliases in place," Jack said.
"Good. But I wanted to advise you of the intel I just received. Antonio Verdes, you remember him? He's in Mexico City. He claims to have seen two of our presumed dead agents last night."
"As I recall, Verdes could function quite well stone drunk," Jack commented disdainfully. He paused, and his eyes narrowed. "Sydney and Vaughn," he said, not quite a question.
Kendall just nodded.
"This is a valid lead, Jack. I want you to go to Mexico. Officially, it's just reconnaissance, you understand."
"But Jeff and Misty…"
"Agent Weiss can handle that. If Vaughn and Sydney are in Mexico, I, for one, want to know why."
Jack might have laughed at Kendall if his thoughts hadn't been so similar. Kendall was such a badass, an immoral ass, and every other kind of ass in the book, but for some reason he had a soft spot for Sydney. He probably just didn't come in contact with many sixteen-year-olds, let alone sixteen-year-old spies.
"When do I leave?"
"As soon as I can tear a plane away from Langley."
The tiny apartment felt so familiar. He'd never seen it before, but the were little touches that felt familiar. The multi-colored huipil-like throw folded neatly over the arm of the warm toned beige sofa instead of draped across it. The simple topaz and silver frame, devoid of any tell-tale picture. An old watch set carefully on a high shelf.
The occupants would be home soon. Until then, why not kick back and enjoy the cheap Mexican beer in the fridge?
That was how she found him. On the couch, with his feet on her coffee table, with a bottle of the awful watered down tasting beer Vaughn had become so fond of in his hand.
"Dad."
Sydney's voice rang with defeat. She started for the couch, then detoured to the kitchen to snag a bottle of Vaughn's beer.
"How'd you find us?" she asked, dropping to the couch and taking a long swig from the bottle.
"Former CIA, tailed you last night," Jack replied.
"I knew it. Tell him sunglasses make a shitty disguise," Sydney said, her voice level.
"Sydney…"
"I go by Carmen here," she corrected quickly.
"Well, Carmen, care to tell me why you're still alive? Not that Kendall and I weren't delighted by the possibility, but to your son and your friends, you're dead."
Sydney shook her head slightly.
"I was protecting them," she said, looking defiantly at her father, warning him not to challenge that.
"You didn't answer my question. Let's try again. Why did you fake your death?" Jack said slowly.
Sydney took another long swig from the bottle, turning it up and emptying it.
"Khasinou found me. Found Alex. He threatened to kill him, then come back and kill Michael, because of me. He wouldn't have stopped there, either. Even if I'd disappeared, he'd still have come back for Vaughn…"
"Sydney, excuse me for intruding on your parental policies, but you abandoned your son."
"Dad, I unknowingly lived a lie for eight years. For ten years after that, I tried to convince my mother I was still innocently living that lie. I did not want my son to grow up like that, even if it meant losing his parents."
Sydney shot to her feet and paced until she stood in front of her father.
"Someone's threatening Alex now, or you wouldn't be here."
"Sloane has decided…he wants Alex now," he said hesitantly.
"Jeff, I swear, if you don't tell me more than you have, I'm telling Eric she was here."
Misty stood firmly in the doorway, staring him down.
"Miss, I told you this is Sydney's secret…"
"Sydney is dead, Jeff. And her mother, whom you both led me to believe was dead, was in the safe house that no one was supposed to know we were in, insinuating that she killed some guy I've never heard of. But you knew him, Jeff. Tell me why," she demanded.
Jeff paused, then put a hand to his head.
"Sydney was…she…Laura Bristow was an alias. Irina Derevko was Russian KGB, and the best Syd can guess was that she was an accident. When Derevko left, for some reason, she took Sydney with her and convinced her her father was dead. She was only eight, it must have been pretty easy. When Sydney was sixteen, the man she knew to be her mother's boss insisted she begin training. Khasinau wanted to train Sydney as a spy."
"Oh my God…" Misty muttered. "I knew…I mean, she was always…wow."
"Syd didn't get out of it until she was twenty-six," Jeff added.
"Wait…wasn't that when she…"
"She joined the CIA after Arvin Sloane tried to get at her by way of…" He paused, looked down guiltily, then met Misty's eyes again. "Me."
Misty's eyes widened.
"That car wreck…dammit, Jeff, you told me it was a car wreck! You lied to me, Jeff! Why! Why the hell didn't you tell me the truth?"
"Because you didn't know Sydney!" he yelled back. "If you'd known I'd been grabbed by Sloane's goons because of Sydney, you'd have hated her! And Syd was my best friend, Misty, and after all we'd been through together, I didn't want the woman I loved to hate my best friend!"
Misty shrank back, taken by surprise. Jeff never yelled at her. But it was true, what he said. She would have hated Sydney for putting Jeff in danger. Then. Now, having spent time with Sydney, and Michael, and Eric, she could understand. But then…
Misty shook her head slightly. Those three, and Alex, had become so much a part of her life that the thought of hating them, or never really knowing them, was just too much right now.
"I'm sorry, Jeff," she said softly. "You're right. But…you're still not telling me something."
"I've told you everything important, baby." He put a hand on her arm. "We'll be okay. Alex and Emily will be safe. I promise you that."
Hehe…heating things up just a little here. Jack and Kendall know Syd and Vaughn are alive. Misty is forcing her husband to fill her in on things that pertain to the well-being of her surrogate son, and proving that she is not the weak-minded character under pressure that I feel she was portrayed to be prior to this. And I just love the name Carmen. Don't ya'll? I just love it. That's a name for a future fic, I think…I don't like the name I use for Vaughn, later, but to me it seems kinda humorous…Next chapter, though! Review please!
