Thanks to my beta for her scuba and combat expertise. And thank you to all of you who reviewed!
(And a special thanks to Charrise for chapter titles one, two and three! )
-Depths-
"This is the most ridiculous idea you've had in a long time, Julian. It's incredibly risky." Lauren's tone was biting, but secretly she couldn't have been happier.
"Listen, Love, I need your assistance here. I can't do this by myself and you know it." A smile spread across his face before he continued, "Besides, I rather enjoy your company."
Lauren didn't respond as she set down her bag and headed purposefully towards Sark. The extra sway to her hips spoke clearly of her intent. She was three feet from him when he put up his hand to stop her.
"Are you sure that you don't want to run to your dashing husband? He is just down the street, after all. I'm sure he wouldn't mind a quick conjugal visit. That is, unless he's too busy pining for Bristow."
Rage flared in her eyes, but her tone remained even, "Don't mention that fool to me, you know how I despise him. He can have his precious Sydney… that is, if I let her live." The glint in her eye turned predatory as she continued her advance toward Sark. This time he didn't stop her.
He loved the way her mind worked.
""
Syd, Weiss and Vaughn sat huddled around a corner table in a small café, going over the final details of their mission. Sydney's brow creased as her head bent over a map of the local coastline. A single lock of hair fell into her eyes.
Vaughn noticed immediately, but fought the urge to sweep it back in place for her. No, it would be best if he kept his distance, didn't touch her. Who knew unruly hair could play such hell on his resolve?
The waiter approached them as they were preparing to leave. He carried a single rose in his hand and wore an effusive smile on his face.
"For you," he declared with a flourish as he presented the rose to Sydney. He tilted his head toward the rear of the café where a handsome young man was seated at a small table. "Your beauty has caught the eye of our Nikkos."
Sydney flushed and Vaughn's heart sank as he turned to see a veritable Greek Adonis. He was dark, muscular, and, with Vaughn's luck, a descendent of Apollo himself.
"My god, Syd, that's the most handsome man I have ever laid eyes on. Can I go out with him if you don't?" Weiss piped in as Vaughn shot him a glare that would have killed most mortals.
Sydney's face flushed a deeper shade of red as she gave a short nod to Nikkos in appreciation for the gift.
""
"Could she be any more shameless?" Vaughn erupted as he paced back and forth, wearing a hole in the floor of the room that he and Weiss were sharing.
"Could you be any more annoying?" Weiss groaned, as he rolled to one side of the bed, making room for Vaughn.
"Didn't you see her out there? She was flirting with that sleazebag!"
"So? The girl is entitled to do whatever the hell she wants."
"She is not! This is a mission! We are supposed to conduct ourselves accordingly!" He fumed while violently searching through his suitcase to locate his pajamas.
"She thanked the guy for giving her a rose. Even if that was flirting, she's not compromising the mission. Now if you don't calm down I'm going to switch rooms. Which may not be a bad idea, considering I'd rather share a bed with Sydney than you any day." He briefly contemplated the notion that Sydney might be sharing a room with Nikkos, but opted not to mention that. The more vesuvian outburst from Vaughn, the less sleep for him. Weiss closed his eyes as Vaughn threw himself into the bed with an exasperated huff.
"And don't even think about spooning me," Weiss warned. "If I wake up and there is less than two feet between us, there's going to be trouble."
""
"Piece of crap!" Weiss irately threw the equipment into the sand. It landed with a soft thunk. "Damnit! I was hoping that would have made a louder noise. It wasn't nearly as satisfying as an angry and violent throw should be."
"Well," Sydney sighed, "I guess we'll just have to do without surveillance. There's no time to get new equipment." She looked at Vaughn. "Let's just get this thing done." He nodded in agreement.
"Alright, you two. I guess you're going in blind, then. I'm sure you'll be fine." Weiss patted Sydney on the back and handed her a mask. "Besides," he continued, "This gives me some time to explore that ice cream stand I saw down the road. Mmm… triple chocolate Delta cones. I'm drooling already."
Vaughn rolled his eyes. "While you go get your ice cream, we'll just be in the depths of the sea saving the world."
"Thanks buddy," Weiss smiled and walked in the direction of the chocolate without a backward glance.
Sydney and Vaughn looked briefly in his direction then grabbed their gear and strode purposefully into the surf.
After ten minutes of swimming, they knew they were close. The coastline's topography lent itself well to secreting anything smaller than a human being. The sea floor was littered with huge blocks of black rock, interspersed with places where the overlapping piles gave way to smooth silt and sand. The minimal sunlight that filtered through to this depth lay eerily upon the ghostly rocks, creating impossibly black shadows that stretched along the sea floor.
They could not be far from the artifact. Sydney swam slowly along the bottom for fear of missing the entrance. The surrounding rock was cracked and split in numerous places, but the crack directly in front of her caught her eye. She looked again. There was something wrong with the perspective in that crack. She swam slowly toward it, and when she was right up to the rock, she saw what it was. One edge stood out almost two feet from the other side, and there was an opening that ran back into the rock. It seemed to go no more than two or three feet and ended in a blank wall. Staring more intently, she saw that it actually wound deep into the rock. Sydney and Vaughn slipped quickly inside, careful not to brush against the sharp walls that surrounded them.
The tunnel lasted almost twenty yards before the close confines gave way and they found themselves in an open cavern. Even as the beam from Sydney's headlamp passed over the delicate wooden chest, Vaughn began to swim toward it.
Though firmly wedged to the outcropping, Vaughn made quick work of the impediment with Marshall's laser cutting device. Marshall, Sydney thought to herself. How does that man always know intuitively what technology they would need to complete a mission? If he could forgo the government retirement plan and benefits he could make a fortune as a soothsayer. Yep, I can definitely see him with a crystal ball and some big hoop earrings…
A niggling tinge of fear cut short Sydney's musings. Something wasn't right.
Slowly and methodically she began a visual sweep of the cavern. The deep umbrae cast by her solitary light source only added to her trepidation. She couldn't see a damn thing.
It wasn't until she angled to return to Vaughn that she saw them. Two dark-suited divers emerged from the blackness behind him. Before Sydney could even make a sound, one of the figures delivered a sweeping blow to the back of Vaughn's head. Sydney looked on helplessly as he slumped unconscious over the chest, his breathing device floating quietly into the sand of the sea floor.
The second intruder was approaching her rapidly. She reached for her dive knife and with one powerful kick she lunged at the figure. Cutting wickedly with the blade, she felt it strike and glance off his air tank, and then they were in a clinch. Time seemed to slow as she locked eyes with her adversary. Sark. Bastard. He jerked and she fought to maintain her hold on him.
Sark's accomplice came in from her left, attempting to dislodge Sydney's breathing device. She ducked under the swing and delivered a sharp elbow to the gut. Her hand found the weight belt release and gave a quick tug. As the belt fell away her opponent's altered buoyancy sent them shooting to the top of the cavern, effectively removing them as a threat.
Sark took advantage of her distraction and twisted free from Sydney's grasp, simultaneously reaching for his weapon. Sydney was faster, halting his movement by driving her shoulder into his chest. Again they grappled, but this time Sark had the advantage as they attempted to neutralize their respective weapons.
She didn't have time for this. How long could Vaughn last without air? The seconds ticked away mercilessly in her head as she struggled with Sark.
With all of her strength, she jerked her knife upwards. The cutting edge made contact with a hose. Hissing air bubbles suddenly flooded her vision as Sark released his hold immediately, grasping wildly about for his alternate regulator.
Without a second thought she swam toward Vaughn. He was still unconscious. She needed to get him out of here. She needed to get him oxygen. Shit. Where was his breathing device? There was no time to look for it. She quickly thrust her own into his mouth.
No response. She pressed her mouth to his and gave him a short burst of air before locking an arm around his chest and starting toward the tunnel.
Sark and his accomplice had vanished, along with the chest. Sydney couldn't be bothered with that now. Nothing would matter if she couldn't get Vaughn out of there.
Once free of the cave, she burst to the surface with a deep, gasping breath. She drug Vaughn's head out of the water a half second later, and to her horror saw that he wasn't breathing. Sydney struggled to keep Vaughn's head above water while maneuvering into position to perform mouth-to-mouth.
One breath. Nothing. Second breath. Nothing. Then, suddenly, Vaughn began coughing violently. At least he was alive. She grabbed the material at the back of his neck and kicked toward the shore.
Ten minutes later, with one arm firmly locked around his waste, Sydney drug Vaughn from the surf. He slumped to the sand on all fours in another fit of coughing. Sydney collapsed beside him, still sucking in large gulps of air and attempting to slow her racing pulse.
Vaughn rolled onto his back and closed his eyes. He reached blindly for Sydney, grabbing her around the wrist and pulling her towards him. His arms snaked around her back and he drew her in tight to his body. She sunk into him willingly, needing to reassure herself of his presence. She buried her face in the crook of his neck and fought valiantly against the tears that began to prick behind her eyelids.
He held her closely as his hand stroked from the crown of her head to the small of her back, lifting only to make the trip again.
"Thank you." The hoarse voice that came from him was barely recognizable.
Sydney's only response was to bury herself deeper into his embrace.
"You saved my life, Syd. Thank you."