Flesh, Glass, and Steel

A/N: Sorry about the wait, I've seriously had an INSANE schedule. SOLs, Finals, end of school, and my relatives came. This was ready last week but my little cousin has been on my computer constantly playing a game. So this is a little short but I have no time what-so-ever. Tomorrow I'm leaving on vacation for a week and a half but I'll try to post the next chappie. Anyways, here's chapter 2.

Sydney opened her eyes and waited while her eyes adjusted to the darkness surrounding her. Her head ached and shooting needles of pain coursed through her right arm. She didn't recognize what was around her. Her eyes lighted upon a human-like figure next to her, whom she recognized as Vaughn. Suddenly everything came rushing back in painful detail. Santa Barbara, the crash, Vaughn's confession. The confusion and fear of those moments, with the added pain in her arm and head, returned as panic. Only years of training and experience allowed Sydney to control it and regain her rational thinking. As confused and as scared as she was, she couldn't worry about what she'd just learned, right now she had to focus on her current situation. The pain in her head increased. Her right arm was pinned painfully behind her against what she thought might be the passenger side door. Her body was turned toward the driver's seat, where she had been talking to Vaughn right before the accident. Vaughn, himself, was shoved up against her, his head against her shoulder, from the impact of the truck against the driver's side door. He seemed unconscious and there was blood covering much of his face, but Sydney wasn't quite sure whether it belonged to him or herself. His body was curled around the indention of the door and his left leg, what she could see of it, was bent at an odd angle away from his body.

"Vaughn?" Sydney whispered, her voice hoarse. "Vaughn?" She tried again shaking him gently with her free hand. She got no response. She needed to call someone, anyone. Frantically she searched for her cell phone before remembering that Vaughn had convinced her to put it in the trunk with the bags. 'After all,' he'd said. 'This is our trip, work isn't going to interfere.' Glancing down in exasperation she saw Vaughn's phone in his hand. Sydney grabbed it and dialed the first number that came to mind.

"Jack Bristow." a voice said from the other line, its volume making her head throb.

"Dad?" she murmured. The pain was beginning to overpower everything else.

"Sydney? What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Dad…I-Vaughn, he's…no…Santa Barbara-"

"Sydney! Sydney! You aren't making any sense. Where are you? What happened?"

"A crash, Dad. Vaughn and I…going to…Santa Barbara…my head really hurts…." Sydney couldn't piece her thoughts together. The ache in her head was unbearable. She felt dizzy and she realized that the jagged edges of the cage of steel and glass around her were fading. Darkness enveloped her once again, although this time she almost welcomed the promised escape from the physical and mental strains of her current reality.

"A crash, Dad -"

Those words sent a chill down Jack's spine.

"Vaughn and I…going to…Santa Barbara…my head really hurts…." Jack waited a moment.

"Sydney?" he pleaded urgently. "Sydney!" Jack got no response but the line stayed connected, and he assumed that she'd passed out. Leaving the phone off the hook he strode out of the office. Seeing Marshall, he called out, "Marshall, I need you to run a trace on my line. I need a location."

"Sure. Um, well, I was, uh, trying to impress Carey, um, now would you say -"

"Marshall. Now, it's important."

"Uh, yeah, sure, anything you say Jack - uh, I mean, um, Mr. Bris-"

"Marshall!"

"Yes, right away, uh, sir."

Jack walked off, leaving Marshall, and quickly found who he'd been looking for.

"Weiss, has Vaughn called you recently?"

Weiss turned around at his desk to see the stoic, older man standing behind him.

"No, not recently," he said. "We talked this morning before he and Syd left for Santa Barbara. They're on vacation, remember?"

"I know that. Sydney just called me; she said something about a crash and Vaughn. I couldn't understand her."

"Well, where are they now?" Weiss asked, standing up and running a hand through his hair.

"Somewhere between here and Santa Barbara. I'm having Marshall run a trace on the call now; he may be able to pinpoint a location. I just need your help. Something's not right and we're the only two healthy enough to something about it."

"Damn it!" Weiss muttered under his breath. "Of all the time for everyone to get themselves possessed, shot, and incarcerated…."

"Check up on Marshall and call me if he gets a location. I need to speak to someone." Jack said turning and walking out of the office.

Jack walked down the dim corridor, stepping in front of a small cell. The guard unlocked the door allowing Jack to enter and shutting the door behind him.

"I'll call when I'm done here." Jack said. The man before him stood slowly from his bunk.

"Jack," Sloane said, wearing his trademark secretive smile. "To what do I owe this lovely pleasure?"