Disclaimer: I don't own Alias.

Love and War
Master List

Kendall shiny bald head reflected the dim artificial lights that lit the cell and the hallway that bordered it.

"Jack," he barked, "Where have you been?" Jack didn't bother to point out that he did have both a pager and a cell phone, and that he could have been reached at any time. This was good, because Kendall didn't give him a chance to answer anyway. "As much as I hate to break up this little chat," he continued sarcastically, "We have a meeting now regarding new intelligence we just received." Without waiting for Jack, he glanced at Irina for a moment, then left.

Irina studied Jack while he watched Kendall's retreating back, a look of disgust apparent on his face, then met his eyes as he turned back towards her. The interruption had given Jack a chance to close up; his eyes were again hard and unforgiving. She turned away, ending the conversation, and he left a moment later, leaving Irina alone in her cell to rerun their conversation in her mind, to dissect it and use it to her advantage the next time they spoke. Each time Jack came in to see her, she got stronger, more powerful over him as she learned how to break him down. It was unfair, she knew, and she hated doing it to Jack, but it was her leverage.

And leverage was what was keeping her in the game.

In the briefing room, Sydney and Vaughn sat across from each other at the long bare table, looking at each other, each wondering why Jack was so uncharacteristically late, while Kendall had resumed his position at the head. Jack seated himself a chair away from Sydney and waited for the debrief to begin.

"Now that everyone's here," Kendall began, looking pointedly at Jack, who then felt himself wanting to roll his eyes at Kendall's apparent need to demean and overrule everyone around him. He denied himself that pleasure, though, and vented his aggravation instead by glaring at Agent Vaughn, who was still smiling at Sydney. "We can begin. An hour ago, we received information regarding a Rambaldi artifact. Referred to by his followers as "The List," the document is said to be a reliable archive of all the Rambaldi Artifacts ever created. It supposedly contains information about where each is hidden, and instructions on how to assemble them into the Rambaldi Machine. Resources were able to confirm this intel, and we also know how to find it. There's a map, hidden on the island of Moloka'i." Everyone nodded, they knew from their extensive training in geography that this was a small island in Hawaii, just northwest of the main island.

"What's the catch?" Sydney asked, getting a confused look from Kendall that prompted her to elaborate. "This is Rambaldi we're talking about. If he created a sort of master list of all the artifacts, chances are he's gone to a lot of trouble to keep it hidden.

"He did. It is hidden in a cave he's carved into the side of the still active Kaupulehu Volcano." This elicited a little disbelieving smile from Sydney. The more she knew about Rambaldi, the crazier he seemed. "Your mission is to retrieve it. I've got your op-tech all worked out, plane tickets on a commercial flight that leaves in three hours, and you each have an alias all set up. Vaughn, Sydney, you are going to go in as an engaged couple trying to spend some time with Sydney's family before the wedding, with Jack as Sydney's father." Kendall paused, waiting for any questions. Sydney looked like she wanted to say something, so he focused his attention on her. "Yes, Ms. Bristow?"

"It's just, last time Rambaldi had a map, my mother helped us solve it. Without her help…" She trailed off, then looked her father straight in the eye. "I think we should take her with us." Kendall seemed to ponder this for a minute, then turned to Jack.

"Jack?" he asked. Jack shrugged, obviously not eager to make any decisions regarding his ex-wife. "I'll get another ticket. Go pack your stuff, meet back here, at Ms. Derevko's cell, in an hour and a half."

Sydney opened the door to her apartment twenty minutes later, and looked around for Francie. It was a Wednesday, Francie's one day off in the week, so Sydney would have the chance to say goodbye before she left.

"I'm in here!" Francie called from the kitchen. Sydney put down her bag and walked into the room to find Francie and Will at the kitchen table, eating lunch.

"Hi guys."

"Uh oh." Francie said. "You're home early. Really early."

"Thanks for the warm welcome!" Sydney scoffed jokingly.

"I know. I'm sorry. It's just, whenever you come home in the middle of the day, it's always because you have to pack for a bank trip." Francie said with a sad smile. "So where are you off to today?"

"Austria." Sydney said. "One of our biggest private finance clients is trying to totally reinvest his assets." She made up the lie easily, even though it hurt her to have to do it. After Danny's death, though, she found it a little bit easier, because she knew she was protecting Francie's life. Francie just shook her head sadly.

"Girl, you've got to get a better job. Those guys at the bank are trying to run your life for you." You have no idea… Sydney thought.

"I know. But when I get back I'll make it up to you. I know you've been wanting to go to the fair that's coming in to town…" For the past week, Francie had been dropping hints about the event.

"Would you really?" Francie asked, breaking into a huge smile. "When do you get back?"

"I'm not quite sure. There's not telling how long it's going to take to get this guy's money straightened out."

"Okay, call me when you know!" Francie said, then started clearing the dishes. Will cleared his plate and smiled knowingly at Sydney.

"You need some help packing?" He asked, wanting to know what was really going on that was drawing her away on a mission.

"Sure." Sydney replied, happy to finally be able to tell someone in her normal life the truth. They walked together to Sydney's room, and Will pulled her suitcase out from under her bed. When they were sure Francie couldn't hear them, Will started asking all the usual questions.

"Austria?" He asked, unzipping the case.

"Hawaii, actually." She replied, opening her closet and selecting the first item. "The CIA's sending me in to get another Rambaldi Artifact." She wished she could go into more detail, but Will didn't have the same clearance level she did. There was a few minutes of silence as they threw things into the suitcase.

"Is Vaughn going?" Will asked, trying to seem nonchalant.

"Yeah, he's going. So is my father, and my mother too. All of us undercover as one big happy family." She said, smiling. "My parents are going to have to act like normal parents for a while."

"What's Vaughn going to be, your brother?" Will asked, fishing for more information. Will knew that Sydney wasn't interested in more than a platonic relationship with himself, but he couldn't help being jealous of her handler, who was lucky enough to be going to beautiful Hawaii with her as her fiancée.

"My fiancée, actually. We're going on a trip with my parents to get to know the family before the wedding." She said, trying not to make a big deal out of it, seeing how uncomfortable Will looked. She put yet another tank top into her bag, pressing down the stack of clothing to push the air out and make room for the pair of denim shorts she was trying to squeeze in. The rest of the suitcase they had packed with the essentials, along with a few things that might come in handy. "I think that's everything." She said, zippering the case shut. "Thanks."

"No problem."

Vaughn was the first one to enter Irina's cell. Irina was reading, but put down her book when she saw him standing on the other side of the glass.

"I wasn't expecting anyone else today." She stated, a simple sentence that required a reply. Vaughn nodded.

"I know. I heard Jack came by earlier." He replied in an almost friendly tone. It had been hard to work with Irina at first, but now he found himself wanting to like her, to trust her.

"Yes." She paused, and examining his face she could see he was curious as to the nature of Jack's visit. "He wanted to discuss something I told Sydney while we were in India." She smiled, knowing it would only peak his interest.

"What did you tell her?"

"More or less, I told her you loved her." Irina almost laughed as Vaughn's expression turned from curious to horrified as his brain registered what she had said. He had opened his mouth, about to speak, when Sydney came around the corner and came through the gated hallway to stand near Vaughn. Without even looking at his face, she could tell he was wearing an odd expression. When he turned to face her, her suspicions were confirmed as he swallowed hard and cleared his throat.

"Hey." He said, trying to remain calm. He couldn't believe that he had trusted Irina to keep her mouth shut. What had he been thinking?

Sydney looked from Vaughn's face to her mothers, shooting Irina a questioning look. Irina slowly shrugged one shoulder, her face only showing an amused tilt of the lips. Sydney swung her attention back to Vaughn.

"What? What's going on?" She questioned, narrowing her eyes at Vaughn as she tried to read deeper into his expression. But soon his green eyes were back to normal, showing none of the cloudy shock they had before.

"Nothing, um, I was just going to fill Irina in on the mission." Vaughn said, taking a deep breath.

"Mission?" Irina cut in. "Where are you going?"

"Hawaii. We're going to Hawaii."

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