Chapter 5 Pick your Battles and your Lies.

"Syd?" Vaughn murmured.

"Mmhmm?" She groaned from the other side of the bed.

"Did you hear that?" There was another large thump outside their bedroom.

"No." She listened for a moment, and heard it again. "What was that?"

Vaughn rolled out of bed and pulled on his boxers. "I don't know." The kitten (still unnamed) jumped off the bed and went to the door of the room. There was another bump, and then voices. The kitten hissed, and backed away from the door. "That's not a good sign," Vaughn whispered. "Animals can tell when something's wrong."

Sydney stepped out of bed and quickly grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants off the floor. "Did you hear Nadia come in?"

"Yeah, around midnight. Eric was with her." Vaughn stole silently over to his backpack and took out his gun.

Sydney shook her head at him. "Put it back," she whispered. "If whoever it is has a gun, they're more likely to shoot if they see you with one."

He hesitated, and then set it down next to the door. "Just in case." He looked at her. "Do you have anything in here we can use as a weapon?"

Sydney crept over to her closet, and extracted a wooden baseball bat. She passed it to Vaughn, figuring he probably had a better swing. She dug around quietly for another minute, and produced a small pocket-knife, which she placed beside Vaughn's gun.

Vaughn pressed his ear against the crack in the door. He heard voices, heavily accented. "Have you found anything?"

"No. You think these kids know anything about Sentinel?"

"No. Probably not. But Jack Bristow does."

Vaughn pulled back. "They're looking for information your father has. Something about 'Sentinel.' What do you want to do?" He turned to her, keeping his eye on the door.

Sydney shrugged. "I'll call Nadia's cell. The ring might scare them off, if they think we're up. And we can warn her, and Eric." She called Nadia, and explained the situation in hushed tones.

After a few minutes, Vaughn shook his head. "They're still here." He whispered. "They're thinking about checking in the rooms." Suddenly, the noise from the main part of the apartment got louder. Vaughn grabbed Sydney's arm, and pulled her behind him. She gave him a look, signifying her disgust as his macho attitude. "You know I can kick you're a right?"

"Now is not the time. And you don't have a baseball bat." He pushed Sydney onto a spot of wall between him and the door. She reached down and opened the pocket knife, and then palmed it. The door creaked open slowly, hiding Sydney more as it opened. A man came in gun drawn. Vaughn quickly swung at him with the baseball bat, knocking the gun from his hands, and then knocking him to the floor. Another man burst in, and Sydney disarmed him with a quick roundhouse kick. She brought him down to his knees with a solid punch to his midsection. Weiss and Nadia came running from their room, both out of breath. The two men knocked them aside and bolted for the door. "Two came after us. They ran like you're two.

Vaughn and Nadia made to run after them, but Sydney and Weiss pulled them back. "Let them go." Sydney tried to catch her breath. "They were just after information."

"They tried to kill us!" Nadia exclaimed.

"No. They just wanted us out of their way." Weiss sat down on the bed, breathing heavily. "I really need to get into better shape."

Sydney walked out into the main area, and checked the door. "They picked the locks." She stated. "Time to get a deadbolt." She flipped on the light.

Vaughn looked at the door. "You've been living alone for a year and you don't have a deadbolt?" He looked at her reproachfully. "That's not terribly safe."

"I'm a spy. Generally, I can take care of myself. And I'm not living alone now."

Vaughn didn't press the issue. "Why would they come here now? It doesn't make sense. If they were looking for information your dad had, they would probably know you were a spy."

They all sat on the couch, Sydney and Nadia curled up against their respective boyfriends, thinking. "They must be desperate for the information. Maybe they're running out of time." Nadia thought again. "But coming at night doesn't make sense. I mean, they know that you're a spy. They probably know I'm a spy. Why not pick the locks during the day, when no one is around? They'd have more time to look, and less chance of getting caught."

"Unless they weren't looking for just information." Vaughn commented.

"What do you mean?" Sydney glanced at him, confused.

"It's three o'clock in the morning. You're home. You're probably dead asleep. What better time to kidnap an agent?" Vaughn pulled her closer. "They could use you as leverage to get information from your dad."

Nadia nodded in agreement, and then thought for a minute. "When they went to leave, they both grabbed bags from near the door. They were full." She looked around the apartment. "But nothing's missing. That means they brought stuff in with them. More than they would have needed to pick a lock. Maybe it was something to make you go more easily. Chloroform, rope . . ."

Vaughn got up and started toward the bedroom. "What are you doing?" Sydney, Nadia and Weiss rose from the couch and followed him.

"I'm calling your father. We need to let him and Sloane know what happened." Vaughn knelt in the hall just outside Nadia's room, and picked up a cloth. He sniffed it carefully. "Chloroform." He glanced up at Nadia. "They weren't just after Sydney."

About fifteen minutes later, Jack pulled into the driveway. By that time the four agents were dressed, and Sydney and Nadia were more than a little freaked out. He rapped on the door, and Weiss answered. "What are you doing here? Sydney are you okay?" He stared anxiously at his daughter.

"I'm fine dad. Not even bruised." She smiled reassuringly.

Jack turned back to Weiss, now standing next to Nadia at the counter, where they were making sandwiches. "What are you doing here?" He repeated.

Weiss and Nadia looked up like deer caught in the headlights, mouths full of peanut butter sandwich.

Jack looked between the two of them. "Oh." He opened his mouth to say more, and then decided against it. He glanced at Nadia. "Your father is on his way. I suggest you think up a suitable explanation."

Sydney and Vaughn snickered behind Jack's back. At that moment, the doorbell rang, and Sloane came in. "What's going on? Is everything alright?" He looked at Weiss. "Why are you here?"

Sydney mercifully saved Weiss and Nadia from an uncomfortable explanation. "Eric lives next door, he was just over for the night." No lies there, Sydney thought smugly. "Someone broke in while we were sleeping, presumably looking for information."

"What information?" Sloane enquired.

"Something regarding Sentinel." He watched Sloane and Jack carefully for any reactions. They exchanged a quick glance. Vaughn waited a moment. "Do you mind telling us what Sentinel is?"

"It doesn't concern you." Jack snapped at him.

"Someone broke in and just tried to kidnap my girlfriend and her sister. That concerns me." Vaughn retorted.

Jack glanced at Sydney. "They tried to kidnap you?" He glared at Vaughn. "You didn't mention that over the phone."

"Only possibly." Sydney interjected. "We're going on conjecture, nothing more." Sydney glared up at her boyfriend. "Vaughn's overreacting."

He stared at Jack. "I found a cloth with chloroform on it." Vaughn glared back at his girlfriend. "There's not much conjecture necessary."

Sloane was inspecting the door. "Why don't you have a deadbolt? That would have prevented them from getting in."

Sydney rolled her eyes. "So, are we done?"

"No." Jack sat down at the kitchen table. "You need to stay somewhere else for a while." He looked at Sydney and Nadia as they seated themselves. "They could be back."

"I agree." Sloane joined the agents at the table. "This isn't a safe place to be anymore. We can put you both in a safe house, for the time being. Until this is all finished with."

"Whoa. Back up." Sydney took a deep breath. "I am not moving to some safe house for an undetermined amount of time."

Nadia stepped in. "I agree. We're obviously quite capable of protecting ourselves here."

"Besides that, we'd be no safer in a safe house than here. If someone really wants to find us, they will. And after the beating we gave those men tonight, I don't think they'll be back."

"I would still feel better with you two in a safe house." Sloane commented.

"Well, I couldn't care less about how you feel. This is my home. I'm staying."

"Ditto." Added Nadia. Both girls leaned back and crossed their arms over their chest, identical stubborn expressions on their faces.

Jack knew better than to press the issue any further. They were as stubborn as all three of their parents. "Alright. But first thing tomorrow, I want you to install a security system, with an alarm." He glanced at Vaughn and Weiss. "Perhaps it would be best if you two moved in temporarily." He stressed the last word in particular. When Sydney opened her mouth to protest, Jack cut her off. "I understand your ability to take care of yourself better than anyone. However, they may bring more men next time, and you will be safer the more of you there are."

"I agree with your father." Vaughn directed his comment at Sydney. "Besides, Weiss practically lives here anyway." He smiled at her sweetly.

The smile had its intended effect. Sydney gave in. They sat for another few minutes, discussing the night's events. When Sydney and Weiss started to fall asleep, Jack decided it was time to go. He and Sloane left, graciously giving all four agents the next day off.

The two men walked out together. Sloane looked at his sometime friend and enemy. "How did you do that? Get Sydney and Nadia to go along with the security system, and agents Weiss and Vaughn moving in?"

Jack smiled. "You pick your battles. And your lies, as I'm discovering."