Falling into a roll, she escaped under the gate just before it closed down on her. She took a sharp breath in as a piece of the gate scraped into her back. The roll finished with her on her hands and she pushed herself up. Taking a quick scan of the area around her, she pushed the com in her ear.

"Phoenix to Merlin, I need an extraction now."

Static filled her ear and she worried that she still was not within range for base to pick up her signal. Then she heard a voice she felt she hadn't heard in a long time.

"Phoenix, this is Shotgun. I'm within one hundred feet southeast of you. I've got you covered. Merlin is out of communication range. I think it's the high frequency within the Military Base."

"Vaughn," she whispered and allowed herself to smile slightly. Pushing her com again she replied quickly and dashed towards him while keeping stooped close to the wall. Twenty meters ahead she could see him against the forestry.

Looking once more at her surrounding area, she sprinted towards him.


"We just lost communications with Sydney." Marshall looked up from the computer.

Clenching his teeth, Vaughn bounced slightly on the balls of his feet. The hundreds of missions he had participated in could not diminish his anxiety. No doubt Sydney could finish the job as well as any of them, but it didn't mean he didn't worry.

"Try again."

"Vaugh…"

"Try again. Marshall, how can she just suddenly go radio silent?" Vaughn leaned forward and stared at the computer that held Sydney's last coordinates. Two days out in a Russian Base to get a small micro chip that had the potential to knock out all computerized intelligence for thousands of miles. It was a deep cover op that kept them in little contact with their man on point, this time it was Sydney.

"Merlin to Phoenix, Merlin to Phoenix, do you copy?" Marshall shook his head when he got no response.

Grabbing his gun, Vaughn checked it for bullets and slapped the magazine back into place. "I'm going out there. She couldn't be too far. Be ready for an extraction."

"Agent Vaughn I advise you not to go out there." a gritty voice came into the com in his ear. It was Sloane who was sitting miles away in his office. "What happens if she comes back and we can't find you?"

"Go to hell." Vaughn growled and exited the van. Pointing the gun, he swung around to survey the area. He kept low to the ground as he ran out towards the Russian Military Base. Finding the exact door they had planned for Sydney to come out of, he again surveyed the area. Nothing…

Suddenly the gate to the exit began to shut. He took two steps forward and gripped the handle of the gun hard. A body rolled out of the exit just as the gate sealed its self shut. He recognized the person immediately and heard her voice on his own com.

"Phoenix to Merlin, I need an extraction now."

He breathed in deeply and smiled. His heart slowed down from its racing pace and he pushed down on his com. "Phoenix, this is Shotgun. I'm within one hundred feet southeast of you. I've got you covered. Merlin is out of communication range. I think it's the high frequency within the Military Base."

He watched as she dashed towards him. Keeping an eye on her, he kept a close watch over the surrounding area. She had twenty yards where she had absolutely no cover from the building's walls or the trees around it.

As she got within thirty feet of him, something caught his eye. Bringing his gun up, he tried to get a better look. Over on the southeast wall he saw a shadow shift just slightly.

Two grunts brought his attention back to where he had last seen Sydney and his eyes went wide in horror as she collapsed to her knees. A dark deep red began to stain her cameo jacket as she looked blankly at him. "Syd? Sydney!"