Crazy For You
by Whitelighter Enchantress
Chapter 1: OvertureA/n: Welcome to Crazy For You, a production by Whitelighter Enchantress. This production stars Sydney Bristow, Michael Vaughn, and the rest of the crew during early Season 3 (Sydney knows Lauren and Vaughn are married, and Sark hasn't escaped yet). So everyone goes on an undercover mission to put on an off Broadway run of "Crazy for You" in order to investigate the activities of a mysterious group known as Omega. It kind of fits under several genres so expect anything. Rated PG I guess, maybe PG-13. This is also posted at SD-1.
Disclaimer: I do not own Alias or anything to do with Alias. It all belongs to JJ Abrams. You think if I give him a cookie he'll trade?
Lights, Camera, Action!
Some things just never change. It can be a childhood scar on a knee, or how an aunt never ceases to leave lipstick on the cheek she kisses, or even the monotonous routine of feeding the cat. But for Sydney Bristow, it was the bitter taste of stale coffee. Even after a two year disappearance, nobody seemed to bother to make a new pot during the late morning – (they were at the CIA for goodness sake; the most intelligent human beings of America couldn't figure out how to make fresh coffee?) – an act that always bothered her, seeing as Sydney was always the last one to get around to filling her cup. She reluctantly finished off the last gulp of the agonizing, cold liquid, hiding a contorted face she normally would have made. But she had to be professional; she was in the CIA.
She mocked herself internally. There she was, Sydney Bristow: Super-Spy, pondering coffee amidst an important meeting. Shouldn't she be paying attention to Dixon? Director Dixon, she corrected herself.
She sighed, staring at the man who was once her equal. And then there were the things that had changed completely...
There stood Dixon, explaining something that Sydney should listen to, his strong hands directing in the air in front of him. Sydney couldn't believe how well he was succeeding at the single parent life. It was amazing his transformation after losing his wife, Diane, in only two years. Sydney couldn't imagine such a change in herself after losing someone she loved so dearly. But then again...
Her eyes wandered down to the people seated at the surrounding table. Her father, Marshall, Carrie, Vaughn, Lauren, and finally Weiss next to her. They meandered back to Vaughn, who's forehead was wrinkled as he stared intently at Dixon, listening with one raised eyebrow. How she yearned to press her lips softly against his wrinkled forehead, for him to smile up at her and then meet her lips with his own, and for them to be so focused on each other that the world would stop spinning.
Sydney's vision was clouded by rain, however, when a diamond-clad hand interrupted all thought processes by simply touching the object of affection. Lauren's delicate hand began to massage Vaughn's forearm, causing him to glance at her and smile briefly. Sydney was sure that Lauren was just smiling right back at him. No, not a smile, a filthy smirk that said to Sydney, 'Ha-ha, he's mine now,' which deserved nothing but a brutal stabbing for Lauren. As far as Sydney was concerned, no one but herself should be stroking Vaughn's arm that way.
And that was definitely the grandest of the changes. It was not the different emotion from her father. It was not the fact that Carrie was pregnant with Marshall's baby. And it was not the fact that she had a newfound friend in Eric Weiss. It was that Vaughn no longer loved Sydney; that he had abruptly – and wrongly, might Sydney add – chosen to give up on them and take a new wife.
Technically, it's not his fault, a small voice taunted Sydney in the back of her mind. While she mentally bashed this voice with a hammer, she bit her lip in knowledge that the voice was right. Vaughn thought that Sydney had died; he only moved on. But I didn't die! she wanted to scream. I was taken! But there was nothing more she could do.
Vaughn had dropped her off to pack for a trip to Santa Barbara, a trip both of them were in great anticipation for. They both knew their feelings of love for one another would emerge. But when Sydney arrived in her apartment, a message from Will told her that Francie was an evil clone, and they proceeded to fight to her death. Unfortunately, Sydney had collapsed in the process, and woke up in an alley in Hong Kong two years later.
She had no recollection of the two years, yet she wished she had. Who had taken her? Why? What could Sydney possibly have that someone would want? I'm obviously not the best agent here if I can't even pay attention in a mission briefing... She took the guilty pain with humility.
However, what she wanted to know more than ever was why Vaughn could not wait. He didn't wait for her. She returned and he had married someone else, this Lauren Reed, who's British accent made Sydney want to choke herself to death. She absolutely despised everything about that woman all because of her position. What should have been Sydney's position. There was never supposed to be a Mrs. Vaughn who's name wasn't Sydney Anne Bristow.
And so she went on, staring at Lauren, naming all the things she hated: her bushy eyebrows, how her hair was a different color than them, her overbite the size of Texas –
"You'd think a terrorist leader would have a more creative alias than the White Russian," Weiss whispered to Sydney, interrupting her current thoughts. "That sounds like a fricken drink."
She nodded lightly in response, finally knocked back into the meeting. She reluctantly released her eyes to look at the screen behind (Director) Dixon, upon which a large picture of a man was projected. Sydney recognized him as Viktor Yudin, a known terrorist throughout the Europe and Asia, and of growing infamy in the Americas. He must be the White Russian, Sydney assumed.
While his projected image intrigued Sydney slightly, she ripped her eyes back to Vaughn and Lauren. Lauren had – thankfully – removed her hand from Vaughn's forearm, yet had brought it to unbutton her coat. She took it off and placed it around the back of the seat, revealing a shirt that had been hidden before. She changes her clothes more than a Barbie, Sydney decided. She also decided that Barbie had gone home from her play date with the wrong Ken. This Ken had already been worn down with another, had accessories only to that other, and belonged only to that other. British Bitch Barbie would have to get someone new. Sydney internally snickered at her new nick name for Lauren.
"And how about you, Sydney?"
Sydney's eyes immediately darted to Dixon, and she noticed that everyone's eyes were focused on her. She couldn't contain a light blush that formed on her cheeks. "Well..." she began slowly. Inside she was smacking herself in the forehead for not paying attention. Why had she been daydreaming about Vaughn and mocking Lauren? Why?
"Don't be modest," Weiss said, "you know you're a good singer and dancer."
She gave Weiss a glance of thanks. "I'm not bad, I suppose." Sydney was utterly confused. What did her singing and dancing abilities matter? Was this still the Central Intelligence Agency, or had it turned to an office talent show?
Meanwhile, Dixon asked Vaughn the same question, to which he responded that he was a little rusty. "Oh, Michael, you aren't rusty at all," Lauren beamed at her husband. It took Sydney extreme restraint to not openly mock the British Barbie.
Weiss adjusted in his seat and leaned into the table. "So what does singing and dancing have to do with the mission?" he asked, much to Sydney's delight. They obviously knew no more than she did.
Dixon cleared his throat. "We have finally linked activity of Omega to a small theater in New York City." And then it clicked; the White Russian was the leader of this rogue group. And they would have to somehow put two and two together and prove their existence, capturing them all in the process. But how would they get close enough to do that? Dixon continued. "You will be going undercover as actors, actresses, backstage crew, etc., to put on an off Broadway production of the musical 'Crazy for You.' You leave tomorrow for Detroit at seven AM sharp. There you will receive your alias, further instructions of this mission, and dance and vocal training. Any questions?"
No one raised his or her hand or replied, though Sydney was bubbling over with questions. She scolded herself. Why hadn't she been paying attention?
Dixon dismissed the meeting, and everyone promptly fled from the room. Sydney's eyes followed Vaughn out the door until Weiss came into view. They were among the last to leave. Sydney and Weiss walked slowly together until Sydney was out of range of the office. "Okay, I admit, I wasn't exactly focused in the meeting. I need you to answer some questions for me."
Weiss gave her a cheesy grin. "Me? Better behaved than the great Sydney Bristow? Never!" Sydney stared at him for a moment in desperation. "Okay, what questions do you have?"
"Well... Could you just start from the beginning of the meeting and tell me everything that happened until Dixon asked me about my singing and dancing?"
"Wow, you really weren't listening, were you? Uh, sure. Let's go grab some lunch and I'll explain everything." She followed Weiss to his desk, where he grabbed a pathetic paper bag lunch, and then to Sydney's desk. He sat down opposite the desk from her and emptied the bag's contents onto the desk top. Sydney rolled her eyes at him. "Okay," he started, taking a bite of his sandwich (which Sydney was surprised to learn was not peanut butter and jelly). "I'll just give you the quick summary. We're going on a mission to New York City. We'll be acting in a musical."
"Thank-you, I know that."
"Hey, who's doing the explaining here? That's what I thought. Anyway, a few days ago, several members of the cast were mysteriously murdered. This is part of the link to Omega. But the director went crazy angry after them and he fired a great deal of his cast. This gave the CIA the perfect opportunity to step in. Not many people are likely to audition for the roles because, one, they're scared of the director, two, there isn't much time left to rehearse until Opening Night in mid-January, and three, because several major Broadway shows are beginning their auditions during the production of this musical. And the musical is only running for three weeks, anyway. Real actors want more exposure, I guess."
"Okay, that I understand, but what exactly are we doing once we get our parts?"
"We get those details tomorrow in Detroit, but the major goal is to find as many people as possible who may work in Omega, and if we're lucky, find our lead to the White Russian."
"Who's real name is Viktor Yudin?"
Weiss shrugged. "We're not exactly sure, but it's most likely. He's had ties to Omega in the past."
Sydney nodded solemnly, taking it all in. She felt rather skeptical to this entire mission, partly due to the mockery of everyone as an actor, and partly to the uncertainty of the ties. What if Omega was not truly involved? What if the White Russian was not related to the happenings in New York or even Omega at all? She supposed it did not matter either way, the CIA always tended to find something in these situations. Or perhaps, she mused, there was something deeper in this assignment that no one yet was made aware of. Perhaps the CIA had an alternate endgame to prepare for while its agents toiled around for a few months.
Now she wanted major involvement. "You know what?" she asked Weiss as he wiped dribbled mayonnaise off his chin. "I think this mission will be a good one."
"Whatever you say, I mean, you are the master at this game we call life."
She chuckled, looking away briefly. It was no surprise to her that her eyes settled on Vaughn at his desk. Naturally, Lauren stood by his side and they chatted casually. "Am I now?" she asked in a mumble, staring at what had been stolen from her. "Sometimes I'm not exactly sure."
Weiss followed her gaze and found Vaughn and Lauren – the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow – and promptly moved in front of them to block Sydney's gaze. "Hey," he said, forcing her to look in his eyes. "You just concentrate on your job. Try not to let yourself get absorbed in your emotions. Just think of it as breaking up; you'll get over it eventually, right?"
She nodded idly as he patted her shoulder in comfort, all while thinking of her disagreement with his statement. Sydney refused to think of it as a breakup, and she did not think this was something she was able to simply "get over."
Weiss had opened his mouth to speak again, only to close it as Jack Bristow appeared at Sydney's side. Jack glanced at Weiss with distaste before turning to Sydney. "I just wanted to tell you, Sydney, do not worry having to move all your furniture again. The facility in Detroit will suffice, and your apartment in New York will be fully furnished. Agent Weiss, shouldn't you be reviewing that paperwork I sent you?"
"Yes, sir," Weiss nodded eagerly, straightening up. Sydney raised her eyebrow playfully at his fear and whispered a thanks to her father. "Okay, he definitely just came over here to say that he hates me..." Sydney laughed, shaking her head. "But he's right, I should go. Remember what I said, though."
It did turn out to be something she continued to ponder as the day went on, and even into the evening while she packed. The realization finally hit her that she was leaving for several months. She quickly did the math; early October to early February, four months. Four months? That was all the time to prepare for a musical? She guessed that was a result of the crazy director. Four months? She would live in New York City for that long. She would be away from home for all that time. That part she did not mind so much; this new apartment she lived in felt nothing like home to her anyway. She missed her old apartment, her old friends, her old life...
If this had been two years ago, she would have been lying to Francie, telling her how another bank was opening and she needed to help them set up for a few months. She would later take Will aside and tell him the truth, and he would smile, hug her, whisper in her ear how much he would miss her, and of course to be careful. And upon arriving in New York, Vaughn would whisk her away to his apartment where she just knew Francie would be jealous of their torrid activities. But no, she remembered, it wasn't Francie. It would have been Allison.
She shook herself away from that direction. That path was something she should not dwell on anymore.
After a pleasant surprise to find all the clothing and accessories she wanted had been packed into several suitcases, she quickly changed into her pajamas and collapsed into her bed. She snuggled tightly into the warmth and comfort of her blankets and took a moment to think before falling into a deep sleep. She hoped that she would receive a role in the musical that would give her close contact with Vaughn. It was hard to imagine what type of casting there would be due to that fact that Sydney did not know the story line of the musical, but with or without a plot, she imagined herself in several close situations with Vaughn and drifted off with a grin implanted on her face.
A/n: I hope I'm off to a good start and that I've interested you enough to want more. If you don't know the story of Crazy for You don't worry because I'll explain it in the next chapter. And might I suggest the soundtrack while I'm at it. I love it! Okay, enough about that. Please review and give me your thoughts!
