-Best Laid Plans-

The next morning Sydney was seated in Dixon's office reviewing contingency plans with the director when a frazzled Marshall burst into the room looking for all intents and purposes as though he had just completed a marathon. His cheeks were pink, his chest was heaving, and he appeared to be on the verge of collapse. He attempted to speak through wheezing breaths. "Mr… Mr. Dixon… Sir… I…"

"Marshall," Dixon ordered, "breathe."

Nodding vigorously, Marshall lifted a finger to signal that he only needed a moment and then leaned over, putting his head between his legs, audibly sucking in air.

Sydney tried hard not to laugh, finally placing a hand over her mouth and coughing into it awkwardly. The poor guy had gotten himself incredibly worked up on what must have been the jog from his office – a whopping 200 feet. Perhaps he should get out more. Try a little exercise.

"Mr. Dixon Sir… I… We recorded a call from Mr. Sark to Mrs. Vau... er, uh… I mean, Ms. Reed. They've taken the bait, Sir. Hook, line and sinker. Not… not that they're fish or anything. I mean, Ms. Reed does have unusually large lips, but I don't know that it would necessarily qualify her as a cold-blooded aquatic vertebrate. Although…"

"What time?"

"Two hours from now."

Dixon and Sydney began to move towards the door but Marshall's next words stopped them cold.

"There's something else," he added, "I've been examining the manuscript page with the information on the 'Golden End,' you know, to try and find the code… to figure out how… well… there appears to be… something else."

"What do you mean, 'something else'?" Sydney asked warily.

Marshall shrugged, "I don't really know."

""

"Alright team," Dixon addressed the black-clad field agents who stood before him, "intel leads us to believe that our targets will be approaching site 4B within the next half-hour. That does not leave us much time. Bristow, Vaughn – you're on point. As soon as Lauren enters the building, Stevens, Taylor, Pierce and Nickels – you secure the backdoor. Weiss and Gray – you will act as our on-site surveillance. Move out."

As the team broke off, Weiss suddenly realized that he had no idea who these other agents were. Somehow everything he did always involved his small clique of agents. Where did all these other people come from… and hello… who is this lovely lady walking towards me?

The absolutely stunning creature in question extended a graceful hand, "I'm Natalie Gray."

Weiss took it readily and attempted his most disarming smile, "Very pleased to meet you Agent Gray, I'm Eric…"

"Weiss," she finished for him, her brown eyes shining with mischief. "I know who you are."

"Ah, I see. So, word of my yo-yo abilities precedes me?" he asked casually, feeling an inexplicable reluctance to release her hand.

"Sure. If that's what you want to call it," she patted his cheek and breezed by him, leaving a flustered and smitten Weiss in her wake.

""

Sydney and Vaughn loitered outside of a tiny, non-descript restaurant half a block from 4B. Neither had broached the subject of their previous evening, finding it vastly more desirable to bask in the awkward and wordless tension that had draped over them like a heavy blanket from the moment they found themselves alone.

A cool breeze washed over Vaughn, ruffling his hair. He made a fist and held it in front of his lips, blowing gently into it. Sydney caught a glimpse of his chiseled silhouette out of the corner of her eye. He was unshaven and sunken black circles rimed his tired green eyes. A hard knot formed in her stomach. She knew that she was the cause. For a moment the thought occurred to her that she still loved him; that she always had and that regardless of whether or not it was good for him -- or good for her -- that she always would. But if she had learned one lesson in her life it was that attachments could be fatal. They put your mind in the wrong place at the wrong time. They resulted in exposure, in vulnerability; neither of which they could afford. They had a mission to complete.

""

"Is everyone in position?" Jack's voice crackled through their earpieces.

"This is Mountaineer, Boy Scout and I are in place."

"Hooter has the back exit secured."

"Wolverine here. North exit secure."

"Trinity and Retriever are on the hill," Natalie reported from the surveillance van before switching off her comm.

"Trinity, huh?" Weiss inquired with a sidelong glance as he adjusted a dial on his equipment, "As in the Matrix?"

"I kick a lot of ass," Natalie responded with a dangerous grin, causing Weiss' eyes to widen slightly. "Retriever?" she countered with amusement. "As in the dog?"

Weiss sought desperately to control the flush that rose to his cheeks, "I'm very loyal."

She laughed outright at his response. "Good to know."

"It's a quality that is hard to find," he defended.

"It is true that I find the majority of the men I encounter on this job are charismatic, charming, affectionate, honest, and have a good sense of humor. But dog-like faithfulness, that's rare."

Weiss was mystified by this woman. For the life of him he couldn't tell whether the glimmer in her eye was for his benefit or at his expense. But he knew one thing for certain. He was looking forward to the challenge. He straightened to his full height and puffed out his chest. "And I'm the whole package."

Natalie arched an eyebrow, "Oh, are you?" Her voice was low and enticing.

Weiss spoke on his exhale and winked, "You betcha."

She turned to face him and regarded him appraisingly. As her eyes traveled leisurely over him, Weiss struggled to passively await her assessment. After a moment she nodded decisively. "Alright. Tell me a joke."

"A joke?"

"Yes, a joke. If you claim to have all of those qualities, then I'm going to have to test them," with agonizing slowness she drew out the challenge, leaning into his space, "one by one."

Weiss swallowed hard. The air around him was immediately charged with a heightened awareness. Intellectually, he knew that she was teasing him; but that knowledge did absolutely nothing to assuage the indefinable pull he felt toward her. A pull that grew stronger by the minute. "That's a lot of pressure." His voice had a breathless quality that he attributed solely to her proximity.

"Don't I know it," she grinned and leaned back in her chair, her eyes dancing with humor.

He cleared his throat. "So… two muffins are in an oven. The first one says, 'Damn it's hot in here.' And the second one replies, 'Holy shit! A talking muffin!'"

She cocked her head with an exaggerated frown, "Maybe you're charismatic."

A high-pitched beeping drew their attention back to the mission. Focusing on the monitor in front of her Natalie spoke softly, "Incoming."

As Weiss followed the blinking green dot across the monitor, Natalie put her hand to her earpiece, "Base Ops, we've got her signal approaching. She's four blocks out."

"Copy that."

Weiss and Natalie watched silently as Lauren made her approach to the facility. As she rounded the corner, Weiss sang to no one in particular, "They're here."

Instead of stopping, however, the signal proceeded past the building and continued east, beginning to increase speed. Scrambling for his headset, Weiss updated the team, "We've got a problem. She's moving past you. She's heading down Moorpark."

""

Sydney looked to Vaughn and nodded silently before speaking, "Base Ops, we're going after them."

"On foot?" Weiss asked incredulously. "Syd, we know you're superhuman, but at the speed she's traveling, Lauren must be in a car. You can't catch her on foot."

"We won't have to," Vaughn responded as his eyes fell on the black Ducati parked down the street.

Following his gaze, Sydney smiled, "It even seats two."

Running full tilt, the pair reached the bike in a matter of seconds. Vaughn bypassed the anti-theft immobilizer system while Sydney worked on the ignition. The engine roared to life and Sydney nodded for Vaughn to hop on behind her. She gunned the engine and accelerated into traffic just as Vaughn wrapped his arms tightly around her waist. He spoke into his comm., "Where is she now, Eric?"

"Laurel Canyon."

Sydney veered to the left. "Shortcut," she called over her shoulder as she took a double flight of stairs.

"Ne-e-xt t-tim-m-mme I'm d-ri-i-i-ving."

"No one likes a back seat driver," Sydney grumbled under her breath as she cut onto a side street.

"They've stopped. Four blocks ahead on your right. There's no movement."

Slowing their approach, Sydney and Vaughn saw a black sedan stopped in front of an alley. They quickly parked the bike and looked for interior movement. Nothing.

Vaughn let his frustration seep into his voice, "Where is she?"

"What's happening? The signal's gone. It just cut out."

Sydney and Vaughn cautiously advanced on the car with their side arms drawn.

"The car is empty and we never saw her get out," Vaughn informed the rest of the team. He looked to Sydney, "I'll keep going down the street, you check the alley. See if you can spot Lauren. She has to be close."

The alley was narrow and teeming with people. Although it was early in the day, music blared from a nightclub nearby adding to the cacophony of people talking and horns blowing and the din of the large, crowded city.

Following Vaughn's directive, Sydney threaded her way through the steady stream of people, testing doors and checking behind dumpsters. She continued in that vein for the length of the block until she was convinced that Lauren was gone. "Base Ops, she's not here. I'm going back to the sedan."

"Affirmative, Mountaineer. Boy Scout, you better head back too."

Silence.

"Boy Scout, do you copy?"

Silence.

Forgoing caution, Sydney raced back to the spot where she had left Vaughn, feeling fear rise in her throat with each step. The car was gone. Panting into her comm. she hissed, "Where the hell is the car? It was just here."

""

Sydney sat at her desk staring blankly at the pile of folders stacked in front of her.

"Still nothing?" Weiss asked quietly, placing a conciliatory hand on her shoulder.

Her body slumped in defeat, "Less than nothing. It's like he just vanished."

"He didn't vanish, Syd. We'll find him."

She sat for a moment longer before standing abruptly. Without speaking, she headed briskly toward Marshall's office.

Weiss stood for a moment and watched her departing figure, his heart breaking for her. Just as he was about to turn away and return to his desk he felt a presence beside him. His body stiffened instinctively at having his personal space invaded. But when a familiar citrus scent made its way to his nose, he relaxed instantly.

"So what's their story?" Natalie asked as she came into his field of vision.

Momentarily distracted by her nearness he cleared his throat, stalling for time, "Who?"

Natalie nodded in the direction in which Sydney had just disappeared, "Bristow and Vaughn."

He gave her an innocent look, "What makes you think there's a story?"

Not buying it, she simply rolled her eyes in amusement.

Weiss sighed heavily, "You know Romeo and Juliet?"

"I've heard of them."

"Well, they've got nothing on those two. Family hatred isn't even the tip of the iceberg."

""

"Marshall," Sydney addressed him as she walked into his office, "where are we on locating Vaughn?"

"I'm working on it as fast as I possibly can. Cashew?" he asked without looking up from his monitor, continuing to type furiously.

Sydney shook her head and approached him from behind. Looking over his shoulder she recognized a city grid of 4B and the surrounding area.

"I find that a little something salty can be a nice variation from my usual sugary treat. Snacking actually helps me work, need to keep all of my extremities occupied…"

"Marshall," Sydney was firm, "what about Vaughn? What have you found?"

He glanced up and immediately resumed his work at double the pace. "Right. Focus. We've got to get Vaughn back. We'll find him you know, Syd. I figure that it's actually a mathematical guarantee because you're on the case. I mean, with your determination and personal attachment – he's as good as here. I'd probably be the same way if the man that I loved was kidnapped after I had just found out that his marriage was a fake and I could … uh… I mean, well I…" Marshall began to sputter as the implications of his statement finally caught up with his brain. He quickly reached for his handkerchief to mop his brow as he refocused on the task at hand. "I have been going over our recording of this afternoon where the signal cuts out. I hypothesized that there had to be some method behind the aborted signal…like maybe jamming by some kind of remote trigger, so I attempted to isolate the frequency. I managed to triangulate a location using...well, you get the idea. Anyway, I've just about… there. That's our location. I'll take this to Director Dixon right away."

Sydney scanned the screen, memorizing the address, "I'm going to Culver City."

"Uh, Agent Bristow… the odds of Agent Vaughn being at this location are infinitesimal…I mean, it's counterintuitive to return to a location that they know we can trace, actually if you calculate…"

"He's there Marshall," she cut him off with grim determination.

Catching the look on her face he didn't argue. "How do you know?"

"Because he has to be. Because I can't loose him," her voice broke slightly as she fought for control, "not again." Taking a steadying breath, she turned on her heel and headed for the door.

"Uh, Agent Bristow…" Marshall called after her, "don't you think you should at least tell Director Dixon where you are going?"

"You tell him," she said without stopping. "I'm going to get Vaughn."

""

Consciousness returned to Vaughn slowly. On his fourth attempt he finally managed to pry open one eyelid. Shapes and colors blurred before him, unrecognizable and indistinguishable. The only thing he knew for certain was that he had a pounding headache. Blinking furiously in an effort to bring the room into focus, Vaughn tried to identify his surroundings or recall at least some portion of what had happened to him.

A sharp jab to the kidney caused him to grunt and drew his attention. "Stay," a thick, guttural voice commanded.

Vaughn lifted his head from his chest and concentrated on the figure before him. Standing guard and looming ominously over him was the ugliest, meanest-looking human being he had ever seen. He was built like a crate, his bulging arms covered with tattoos. He wore a gun belt and a handmade holster designed to hold an Uzi machine gun, which was tied to his thigh western style. His three front teeth were gold.

It was a few seconds before Vaughn realized that there were bindings preventing his arms from moving. He fought ineffectually against the restraints as the ox approached him and injected the contents of a syringe into his arm. Fire burned the entry point and spread rapidly through the right side of his body. Vaughn clenched his jaw hard against a scream.

A noise from outside the room caused them both to turn suddenly. The door swung open. Bright lights scorched his eyes and Vaughn reeled back, blinking. Haloed in shimmering bright lights was Sydney. He squinted and stared as the hulk moved toward the threat.

With an inarticulate roar the guard lunged at Sydney, fists like iron swinging at her head. She ducked, nimbly dodging inside the blows and then kicked hard, making a satisfying crack when she connected the toe of her boot with his kneecap.

Growling, he fell to the floor, both hands instinctively reaching for his shattered knee. Sydney took advantage of his distraction, planting a brutal uppercut that landed solidly on the gorilla's jaw and sent him skidding across the concrete floor until his skull made contact with a nearby brick wall.

Shaking his head to clear it, the guard flailed wildly for his weapon. Sydney anticipated the move, taking two long strides before reaching across her body and grasping the wrist of his gun hand, lashing out with two fast lefts, slamming into the corner of his jaw, just under the ear. The blows snapped the goon's head back causing him to spin, falling face forward onto the concrete floor.

Sydney stood and crossed quickly to Vaughn, reaching out to cup his cheek gently. "Vaughn?"

Vaughn struggled to raise his eyes to her face. Whatever the guard had given him, it was making both his cognition and motor skills sluggish.

"Syd?" His voice was rough and unsteady.

"Come on, lets get you out of here." Sydney reached down, slit the bindings on Vaughn's arms and pulled him to his feet. He swayed dangerously, anchoring himself to Sydney, fighting against the increasing blackness as she led him out the door. As she made her way through the building, Vaughn followed blindly, knowing that he could trust her. He tried to keep steady but couldn't stop himself from lurching against the wall periodically as he attempted to navigate a narrow hallway and descend a flight of stairs, his pallor worsening with every step. The last thing he remembered was Sydney's face as he collapsed into her arms.