"A Killer Plan"

PG-13

Drama

Knowing the truth about your friends could prove deadly. Sydney's new friend has a deadly secret that may affect her and those she loves.

Words in italics are translations for the foreign languages used.

Chapter 3: The box of Romanofski

VENICE

Sydney and Vaughn entered the large home of Brian Fratzenburg simply yet cautiously. Sydney wore a long black strapless dress that fit her slender frame perfectly. It was accented by Marshall's necklace and matching earrings. Her diamond ring and wedding band confirmed that she and "Mr. Spencer" were in fact married. Vaughn's black tux was paired with his custom-made cufflinks and his own wedding band.

"Syd," he whispered into her ear, "I love you."

"Sydney's eyes shot wide open in shock and they slowly closed in happiness. She smiled gently, touched his cheek, and whispered back, "I love you too."

They mingled with the other party guests and scoured the room for Fratzenburg. At one point, Vaughn laced his hand with hers and squeezed it gently. She looked over at him and grinned happily. He happiness soon diminished when she saw Fratzenburg across the room.

"Sweetheart," Sydney said getting into character, "maybe we should go introduce ourselves to Mr. Fratzenburg. We wouldn't want to be rude."

Vaughn looked confused until he noticed Fratzenburg and agreed to put their plan into motion. The approached another partygoer and he took over. "Ciao, sono Robert Spencer. Cerco il signore Fratzenburg." Hello, my name is Robert Spencer. I'm looking for Mr. Fratzenburg. The man pointed towards him and Vaughn thanked him. "Ringraziarla." Thank you.

They made their way across the room calmly. "Ciao Signore Fratzenburg, sono Julia Spencer." Sydney addressed him as she smiled sweetly. He smiled back and Syd continued to charm him until she believed they were "in" with him. They knew that no one ever got to view Fratzenburg's art collection unless they were close, personal friends. Syd casually brought up precious art and he mentioned his prized Da Vinci painting in his library. "Dove la biblioteca è?" Where is the library? Fratzenburg led her and Vaughn to the dimly lit room. Sydney quickly noticed the painting above the fireplace, "Dipingere bello." Lovely painting.

"Sì è. È olato dipinto da Da Vinci." Yes it is. It was painted by Da Vinci.

With that response, Vaughn took the initiative to knock Fratzenburg unconscious with one of his cufflinks. Sydney made her way to the painting and slid it to reveal the safe. She used the descrambler and waited impatiently for decode the combination. Meanwhile, Vaughn moved Fratzenburg to the painting for fingerprint analysis. "Why we couldn't just make a copy of his fingerprint; I don't know," Vaughn said struggling. Sydney laughed and helped him put Fratzenburg in place. The descrambler beeped, signaling it was done. Sydney pressed Fratzenburg's right index finger in place and the safe unlocked.

"I'm giving him the second dose. We only have five minutes."

"Okay, I have the box." Sydney lifted the small square box from the safe and shut the door. She slid the painting back into place and helped Vaughn position Fratzenburg in a chair. They left the library and exited the building to a waiting car that would take them to the plane.

As Vaughn drove, Sydney peered down at the box. It was a deep cherry color and was intricately carved. It was no larger than a videocassette, but seemed so important. She then found herself looking down at the wedding band that graced her finger. She smiled and sighed gently. Vaughn looked over at her and grinned. As he looked back towards the road, he placed his hand on hers to comfort her.

LOS ANGELES

"You're trip was a success," Sloane said addressing Sydney and Vaughn. "There is only one problem with the box, Margaret?"

"Yes, well," Maggie began, standing to address the group as a whole, "the box seems to be intact. It also seems to be the real thing."

"What do you mean 'seems'?" Vaughn asked.

"Well," Maggie continued, "we can't open it. Not without the key. We do know who is supposed to have it, however. A Sr. Alonzo Fernandez. The only problem with that is we need his private address. There is only one place we could find it, Madrid."

"Madrid? Who has it?" Sydney asked.

"Well, we were thinking that the Bank of Madrid would have his name on record since his business is run from there. There is a possibility that his address is in the computer, however, you may have to break into his safety deposit box to get it."

"Sydney, Vaughn and Dixon will go to Madrid to retrieve the address. After that, we will send a team to that location to retrieve the key. Marshall and Margaret will brief you on the details of the trip in the lab, I have a very important phone call to make."

With that, Sloane dismissed the group and departed to his office. Maggie, Marshall, Sydney, Vaughn, and Dixon made their way to the lab where Marshall stumbled over instructions while Maggie showed the team the gadgets they would be using.

Maggie informed Sydney that they would have radio link between the two of them at all time during the mission. Sydney seemed pleased, but the ringing of Maggie's cell phone interrupted the two. She excused herself and made her way out back before answering it.

TBC...

Okay, a little longer this time. Now, review. Please. My ego needs a little bit of a boost and a good review will do that for me. School's almost out so that means there will be more chapters, faster, I promise.

Here's a quick glimpse into next chapter: Ground Rules...

"Mr. Sloane," a woman with a deep Russian accent whispered into the receiver, "There are going to have to be some ground rules if we are going to continue working together."

"But of course miss-"

"That is the first rule. Never say my name when there is a chance someone could hear."

"Yes, I will try to be more cautious."

"Now, I only have three rules; one, you know, the others are; never contact me, I will contact you, and, do not tell me how to do business. Are we clear?"

"Of course."

"Do you have any questions for me, Mr. Sloane?"

"Just one, how will you do it?"

"I never kill and tell, Mr. Sloane. The one thing I have never shared with anyone is how I kill my targets. Besides, it usually comes to me in the moment."