Chapter 20
The doctor came into the room. Turning to look at him, Vaughn and Sydney both saw him pick up her chart, study it for a little bit, and then put it down.
"Okay, Ms. Bristow, we're going to take you in for an X-Ray real quick to check how well the surgery went." A few more nurses came in and helped transfer Sydney from the bed to the wheelchair. "This shouldn't take too long, sir. If you just want to wait here, that'll be fine." Vaughn nodded as the doctor pushed Sydney out the door.
"Call him," Rebecca said.
"It's been nearly twenty-five years. What am I going to say? 'Hi, Michael, it's Daddy. If you don't remember I abandoned you as a child and had been deceiving both you and your mother in excess of two decades. How's it going?'"
"There's no need to get snippy," Rebecca said back to him.
"I'm sorry, but there's nothing to say. What's the code of conduct in contacting someone that has believed that you were dead for so many years? I don't know what it is."
Rebecca glared at Bill. She unclipped his phone from his belt and handed it to him. "Call him."
Bill stared down at the phone as Rebecca walked away. Sighing, he clipped it back on his belt.
The doctor returned with Sydney around a half-hour later. With the nurses' assistance, he transferred her to her bed and began to examine the first x-ray. Vaughn could see confusion on the doctor's face as he pulled out the next x-ray and began to look at it, too.
"This is impossible!"
"What is it?"
"I'll be right back."
The doctor left, taking the x-rays with him. Vaughn looked at Sydney inquisitively. "What was that?"
"I don't know."
Minutes later, the doctor returned with the x-rays. Taking a small, lighted screen over to Sydney's bed, he put one of the films on it. Vaughn could see little chunks of bone that had been broken off of the large bone and several cracks in other areas.
"This," the doctor said, "was taken after you were brought here after your accident. Do you see just how extensive your injuries were?"
Sydney nodded in conformation. Replacing the film, the doctor showed her another x-ray.
"This was taken when we took you to get examined earlier." The picture showed only a few hairline fractures here and there. "I left here to make sure that these were the right films, only to be assured that they were. Part of how we know is that these pins that we had to put in when we fixed your bones correspond to where they were put. This is your bone. The rate at which it has healed is a record. If this pace keeps up, you should be out of here in a week or so. Is there anything I need to know about how this happened?"
Vaughn sighed and looked at Sydney, who nodded. Pulling out his phone, Vaughn contacted Kendall to fax over a non-disclosure and confidentiality form. After the doctor had signed them, Vaughn explained the basics behind the pill that he had been giving Sydney.
One week later…
"Just a few more steps. Come on, Sydney, you can make it." Vaughn watched as Sydney finished her physical therapy for the morning. After being led to a bench where she put on her shoes, Sydney got into the wheelchair, and Vaughn pushed her out the door and drove her home.
The drive was relatively silent. The radio was playing songs that neither of them was listening to. Sydney was the first to speak. "Do you remember when I told you I wanted to have some adrenaline pumping again?"
"Yeah."
"I guess this goes to show you should be careful what you wish for."
Vaughn nodded in agreement. When they arrived at his house, Vaughn helped get Sydney into the wheelchair and into the house. After they were inside, Vaughn helped get Sydney settled in. "Remember to keep your leg elevated," Vaughn told Sydney. Putting her leg up, Vaughn went into the kitchen and grabbed the ice pack, and using an elastic bandage, secured it to her leg. "Vaughn," Sydney said quietly.
"Yeah," Vaughn responded looking at her.
"Thanks."
"It's no problem."
"I know. Just, thanks."
Vaughn settled down on the sofa next to Sydney. A few seconds later, he felt the weight of her head on his shoulder. He could feel her body moving slightly with each rhythmic breath she took. Laying his head on hers, Vaughn joined Sydney in a deep satisfying sleep.
Bill watched from the back row as Hannah was sentenced to 100 hours of community service and ordered to complete a drug rehab program. The ride home was blanketed in silence, minus the sound of Rebecca's sniffles. When they finally got home, Hannah stormed into her room, slamming and locking the door once inside, Rebecca went to their bedroom and continued her crying. That left Bill to confront the man that had found a way into their house.
"Hey, Jim, it's been a long time."
"Yes, it has," Jim said nodding. Never one for small talk, Jim got down to business. "How'd my information get leaked?"
"What?"
"The CIA stormed my house while I was away. They took my wife. Only four people knew my location. Irina knew, but I can't seem to find her. My mother knew, but she died a week ago. I knew and you knew. Who'd you tell?"
"It was Irina who sold you out. She gave the CIA the location of the disk."
"So it wasn't you?"
"No."
"I hope you're telling me the truth."
"I promise you. I am."
"Okay." Jim eyed Bill cautiously. "I'm meeting with a contact to get new identity papers."
"Who?"
"Julian Sark."
The next day at work was Sydney's first day. Kendall wasted no time in pleasantries when he announced the next meeting. The small group filed into the conference room where another man no one recognized sat.
"James Markster. He goes by Jim. Mr. Markster has just used a procedure that Mr. Sark informed us of in his interrogation to contact him. He desires new identity papers. Using Sark's intel, we set up a meet."
"What's the intention of setting up the meet?" Sydney asked.
"Mr. Markster was once known as Joseph Lube. If you recall from the disk that Ms. Derevko supplied us with, Mr. Markster was one of the agents that pretended to be a CIA agent, but was actually a member of the KGB she helped extract. We thought we had found his location, so we sent a team in after him. We managed to capture his wife. From what we understand, Mr. Markster has very good contacts. So good, in fact, that he can contact Osama bin Laden himself. So in addition to being an enemy of the United States, Mr. Markster could also be instrumental in the ending of the war against Afghanistan and be responsible for bringing those involved in September 11 to justice.
"Our mission is to, using Sark to ensure the meeting goes as planned, trade the papers, and then apprehend him once the trade is complete."
"We're just going to let Sark go?" Dixon asked in disbelief.
"This wasn't my choice," Kendall said. "When I informed the NSC that we had this opportunity, my authority was superseded by Mr. Lindsey here."
Mr. Lindsey stood up. "I've contacted my superiors, and they agree that this is a necessary evil. However, Sark won't just be let free, he'll be wearing a tracking chip, and Mr. Dixon will escort him posing as his protective detail."
"Sir, with all due respect, Sark is going to find a way to escape," Sydney said, outraged.
"We're taking every possible countermeasures to make sure that that doesn't happen."
"I guarantee that by the time this mission is over, we'll have lost Sark."
"Your apprehensions are duly noted."
The meeting dismissed, and as Sydney wheeled herself out of the room alongside Vaughn, she muttered quietly, "What an a."
"No kidding," Vaughn replied.
"Heck, I work for him and I've got to agree," a voice with a British accent said behind them. Vaughn stopped and turned slowly, while Sydney pushed hard on one wheel, doing a 180. "Lauren Reed," Lauren said shaking Vaughn's hand, and then Sydney's.
"I'm sorry," Sydney said, blushing slightly. "I didn't mean for that to be heard."
"It's perfectly fine. And you're right. He is an a." All three of them laughed, and after they were out of sight, Lauren pulled out a phone. Pressing 4 until she heard a dial tone, Lauren said quickly, "Contact initiated."
…TBC…