A/N: Sorry, I know it's been awhile, and to make not adding on in awhile, I decided to make this chapter a little longer. Thank you all for reviewing! And I promise a cyber cookie to the hundredth reviewer! :)
Oh, and a little aside about the most recent Alias. I really think I died a little inside when I heard that Sloane might be Sydney's father. If that happens…I don't know what I'll do… I'd love to hear your alls comments as well! Thanks again.
Chapter 11
A field full of NSC agents met Jack upon his arrival. He could tell from his position at the wheel that doors had been shoved down and windows broken, but he didn't see any sign of Sydney or Vaughn. Jack looked up as his eyes met those of Lindsay who had just stopped in mid-order to stare at him in surprise. He yelled an order Jack couldn't make out but understood it when agents completely surrounded the vehicle, guns poised.
Lindsay grabbed a megaphone from a nearby agent and thrust it in Jack's direction. "Come out of the car, Jack."
Jack knew he had no other choice but to comply. For safety measures he stuck a gun in his jacket and stepped out of the van. He raised a second gun before he threw it down to the ground and one of the other agents came to collect it. Jack walked slowly towards Lindsay who gave him a smug smile.
"We meet again." Jack said nothing so Lindsay continued. "I don't think I'll ever understand you, Jack. Jumping into a situation such as this to save your daughter. I guess her abilities to maneuver your emotions and betray your trust are not dissimilar to your trust in Irina—" before Lindsay had a chance to finish his sentence Jack had issued a controlled punch to Lindsay's face that threw him to the ground. Jack heard the safeties of the guns around him being released as Jack simultaneously removed his gun from his coat and aimed a direct course to Lindsay's temple.
Lindsay turned over from his hunched over position in the grass to face his assailant as he cradled a bloody nose.
"Send them home," Jack ordered. Lindsay looked back at Jack as he battled visually for any type of dominance or leverage he could use against this man, but he found none.
"Lower your weapons and pack up," Lindsay complied with frustration.
"Sir—" One of his men protested.
"Do it, all of you, now!" As the men slowly began to retreat towards the van that Jack had arrived in. "Alright Jack, you got what you wanted. Now what?" Jack didn't answer but once he was assured that every man that had arrived had left and disappeared down the road he turned his attention back towards Lindsay.
"Give me your earpiece," Jack demanded. Lindsay was slow to comply but he did what he requested. Once Jack had it, he promptly stepped on it.
"You know, Jack, you never cease to amaze me," Lindsay stated as he looked up from the tiny mechanisms that made his earpiece work that now lay sprawled across the ground.
"Good," Jack said dully before he promptly slammed the butt of his gun into Lindsay's head and knocked him out cold. With some difficulty, Jack dragged the heavy man into the house, and after locating some rope, he took to tying the man's hands and feet. When he had finished, Jack searched the house for some sort of evidence to what had happened to Sydney and Vaughn.
Apparently they weren't in the NSA's custody, otherwise Lindsay wouldn't have been there when Jack arrived, but there was still a question of whether or not they were injured, wherever they were. Suddenly Jack heard movement behind him and turned around. He cocked his gun at the same time the man behind him did, as both focused on their target with deadly aim. But their realization forced the guns to be lowered and amends to be made.
"Where's Sydney?" Jack demanded.
"She's not here?" Vaughn asked as he looked around briefly as if expecting her to pop out. "We had to separate. I figured she'd come back here," Vaughn stated.
Jack seemed to think about this. "We can't stay long. The NSC will come looking for him." Vaughn looked over at Lindsay, but knew better than to ask what happened.
"We'll give her an hour, but if she doesn't show, we're going to have to move on and hope she contacts us." Jack seemed about enthused about the idea as Vaughn did. Both men hoped she'd show up soon.
* * *
"Anita?" Sydney said as her eyes focused to the dark figure in front of her. "What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you," Anita said her eyes narrow. "I want answers and I want them now." Sydney met Anita's gaze solidly before she delivered a swift kick to Anita's hand that caused her gun to land in a pile of leaves mere feet away.
Sydney delivered a kick to Anita's stomach that jumped back and delivered a kick of her own. Hers hit Sydney in her already aching injury and Sydney fell to her knees gasping for breath.
"Who are you working for?" Anita demanded.
Sydney looked up at her with her hand still holding her stomach. "What are you talking about? I work for the CIA," Sydney answered between breaths.
"Then why did you flee after the mission?"
"It's complicated."
"Explain." Sydney slowly explained the fact that the NSA believed she had killed a man during her missing years and were looking for her for questioning. She also told Anita that the mission had been a set up by the Covenant in order for them to take her into custody for reasons that were still unknown to her.
Anita kept an eye on Sydney's facial features the whole time trying to determine if this girl could be lying. She knew of Sydney's involvement in taking down SD-6 and also knew that in doing so she had to be a master liar, but for some reason Anita believed that Sydney was telling the truth.
"Then I apologize. I was under orders to see if I could find you after you went missing. I knew of this safe house from past dealings in France, and thought I'd check it out. I was on my way there when I ran into you," Anita said as she helped Sydney to her feet.
Sydney nodded and they began walking in the direction of the safe house. With up most confidence that Anita was trustworthy but still holding a secret, Sydney told Anita of her suspicions that there might be a mole within the agency. Anita was quiet for a while before she said anything.
"Look, everything I'm about to say," Anita said stopping, "is not to leave these woods." Sydney nodded her confirmation and waited for Anita to continue. "I'm a double agent."
"For who—?"
"The FBI," she assured. "We have reason so believe that the Covenant has employed several spies in various CIA facilities to keep updated on the latest events. We traced one to the facility in Swift County. Michelle Jacobs."
Sydney looked at Anita sharply. "The Director works for the Covenant?"
Anita nodded. "We confirmed it three months ago. It's my duty to find out what she's up to. As of now, I am unsure of what that is, but she also seems to have connections to someone higher up. It's a possibly that this connection may be with someone in the LA office."
Sydney shook her head firmly. "No, I can't believe that."
Anita nodded as if expecting such an answer. "Still we should be careful, you must of all. That is if your recount of the false contact is accurate. If the Covenant wants you, we need to find out why."
They continued in silence and as the house came into view, Sydney began to search the premises with her eyes trying to see some sign of life. From what she could tell, the NSC had departed which made her suspicious. She took out her own gun and approached the house quietly.
She went to the back door and Anita followed. With a quick whoosh of air the door opened and Sydney stood there with her gun pointed at whatever figure planned on moving. She instantly saw her father and Vaughn seated at the kitchen, both of which rose upon her arrival.
"Sydney!" Vaughn shouted with relief. Meanwhile, Jack had taken out his gun and had it trained on Anita. Anita stopped where she was, but she didn't look intimidated by the action.
"Dad, it's okay," Sydney assured him as he lowered his weapon slowly. "This is Anita." Jack's eyes bore into hers as he remembered their earlier conversation, but Sydney shook her head ever so slightly so that he'd know things were okay.
"Anita, this is my father, Jack Bristow, and my old handler, Michael Vaughn." Vaughn winced mentally at being referred to in such a causal way, but he could hardly blame her. After all, that's all they were now. They were friends formed as an old acquaintance because time had changed.
Anita nodded at both of them and then Jack spoke. "Do you have a vehicle we can use?"
"Yes," Anita answered, already aware of the situation. "I even have an old contact that will probably allow us to stay at his house for awhile—"
"No," Sydney said shaking her head. "We need to get back to LA."
"What?" Vaughn asked with surprise. Sydney quickly retold all the information that Anita had relayed to her.
"Even so, we can't risk you going back to LA. The NSA would apprehend you before you even left the airport," Vaughn protested. "And furthermore, you can't go back and act under the direction of a Covenant agent."
Sydney's eyes narrowed. "I did it with SD-6 and I can do it again."
"It's different this time. The Covenant wants you for whatever diabolical scheme they're planning and your own director can organize that."
Jack and Anita listened to this argument in silence until Jack couldn't take it anymore. Apparently his daughter had something in mind that made her think she could return to duty without being killed, and that was something he wanted to hear before making any sort of decision. "What do you have in mind, Sydney?"
"As of yet, the NSA doesn't have any concrete evidence that I murdered Lazarey," Sydney said thoughtfully.
"Syd they don't need—"
"So to make up for that," Sydney said as she flashed Vaughn with a glare, "we'll create an alibi. Dad, do you still have your Bulgarian contact?" Jack nodded. "Good, then we'll arrange it with him and say that I was at the club the night Lazarey was murdered. Plus, it's imperative to doctor the photo that will become evidence if not altered. Is it possible to do that?"
Jack motioned yes with his head, but Vaughn was still doubtful, to put it mildly. "Sydney, I can't believe you're even considering this. There's about a million things that can go wrong. It's not worth the risk."
Sydney was tired of being cooped up and in hiding, that's partly what spurred her angry answer. The other reason was Vaughn's inability to tell her something important. She definitely wasn't oblivious to his unfulfilled attempts of speaking to her. She hated secrets, and out of all the people, he should know that most of all. "Do you have another plan? I've designed missions before, Vaughn; I know what I'm doing. So unless you have a solution that doesn't involve us sitting around here playing the waiting game, I suggest we leave now." Vaughn quieted immediately. In response to his silence, Sydney headed back for the door in which she came and the four of them disappeared into the woods.
* * *
"How did it go, sir?" The office was smoky the man noted when he entered.
"Not well. I don't want to deal with that man's incompetence any longer." His boss sat in a chair, his back to him. Half the room anyway was shaded in darkness so it wouldn't have mattered. At that moment, a cloud of smoke floated up in the obvious source of the cloudiness in the room.
"I understand, Sir. What are your thoughts?" He asked, with a cool air in the suffocating room.
"We wait. We need to follow them, see what their plan of action is." His boss's voice was unreadable except for the apparent disappointment.
"I'll be waiting for your orders." The man said before leaving the room.
* * *
"Thanks, Anita. I really appreciate this," Sydney said as she slipped the last few strands of her newly colored black hair into a ponytail on the back of her head.
"Just remember our deal," Anita emphasized.
"My lips are sealed," Sydney said with a smile as she posed for her partner with her new identity on display.
"Perfect." Sydney and Anita made their way down the steps towards the living room where the men were waiting. Anita's contact proved to be an eighty-five year-old man; a retired FBI field agent. He had white hair, a little whiter than her father's but less of it. Laughing lines wrinkled his face, and two empty slots that would be reserved for teeth hung empty on either side of his four front teeth. Sydney assumed that he had lost him during torture in the same ways Sydney had lost her molars. Sydney shivered a little as her tongue subconsciously brushed over the empty slots in the back of her mouth.
Vaughn and her father waited there. Sydney almost burst out laughing at the fact that Vaughn's hair had been completely bleached to a stereotypical California blond that actually gave him the look of a surfer. Sydney was so sure that the first words out of his mouth were going to be "totally" or "dude" that when it didn't happen it was all she could not to laugh at the mismatched voice and identity.
Her father's disguise was equally different, but not in a humorous way like Vaughn's. His gray hair had been colored a dark brown. It reminded her of when she was a girl. The few times she saw her father in between his business trips she remembered his dark youthful looking hair. The disguise actually did make him look at least five years younger than his real age. Her innocent memory of her father made her feel warm until she remembered that his hair most likely turned grayer with age and stress of the job, and those less frequent visits he made became shorter so that she didn't even know what his hair color was at any given time anymore.
"Thank you so much for letting us stay here," Vaughn said uncharacteristically of his hair.
"It was my pleasure," the main said as he stood, but hardly with frailty. Surprisingly, his voice held a hint of a Spanish accent, which made Sydney do a double take between Anita and Mr. John Simmons, as Anita had introduced him as. "Are you sure there's nothing more we can do for you?"
"No, it's nice enough of you for letting us stay here, but we've got a flight to catch," Sydney thanked. Jack led the way out the door with Vaughn behind him, followed lastly by Sydney. "Thanks again, Anita, Mr. Porter," she said with a wink at Anita. Anita's eyes widened slightly but Sydney closed the door before Anita could say anything.
Smiling, the old man looked at his granddaughter. "I like her. She's good."
* * *
Nobody said a word at the airport or on the airplane. They all had taken separate taxies to the airport and remained situated in different parts of the airport. When it was time for them to board, they all had different seats on the same plane, but Vaughn was quite angry with the man who sat next to Sydney. The heavyset man seemed to be the kind of businessman who slept around because work ties didn't allow him a successful relationship at home. The man rarely took his eyes off Sydney's chest, except when dinner was served. The outfit she was wearing wasn't even sexually provocative, even to Vaughn, but the man seemed fascinated with her.
As an agent of course, his first thought was that this man was a spy, but his clumsy actions and sloppy manner that resulted in the spaghetti stain on his pants made Vaughn think otherwise. Sydney sat for most of the flight sleeping or listening to music, while Vaughn spent most of the time watching her do those things until he finally feel asleep.
Touchdown jolted both agents awake as the dark outline of LAX airport came into view. Nothing else felt closer to home. The outline of the control tower and the white lights illuminating from inside the airport had always been Sydney's first view of her hometown when she got back from a mission. The airport had always been reassurances that yes the mission was over and yes she had made it home safely, but now the airport offered one final test before she could make it home. NSA agents would be combing the perimeter for head or tails of her, so everything would depend on her making it to a taxicab without being caught.
The flight attendant made an announcement that it was clear to disembark, and the three agents among the crowd of commuters joined the exit line separately. None of them had checked any bags at the gate, so all of them would be assured a direct path to the exit as long as they didn't meet up with any agents.
Jack, Sydney, and Vaughn were all wearing sunglasses that corresponded with their outfits, and Sydney's business suit definitely did not make her stick out. She traveled past the people waiting to board down the isle without spotting a single agent, that is, until she ran smack into one. He was dressed in jeans and a Hawaiian shirt, something that couldn't have been anymore conspicuous in the section of the airport that dealt with European flights.
"I'm sorry," the man said, while taking the time to take a good look at her.
"Je m'excuse, je ne parle pas l'anglais. Je m'excuse," Sydney said in her most convincing French. The man nodded uncertainly, Sydney didn't think that this man knew one word of French, which would be to her advantage. The man walked away and Sydney headed in the opposite direction, but she knew he was watching her every move. She moved calmly and steadily down the corridor. She didn't want to look back, because she was afraid that it would arouse suspicion.
She had already passed the baggage claim and was at a point in her destination that she could look back subtly, but when she did, she saw that the man in the Hawaiian shirt was speaking conspicuously to himself with a hand to his right ear. Sydney instantly jumped into the crowd of people that had just picked up their baggage and were heading for the exit. She never looked back, and now she was thankful her hair was a dark color so that she didn't stick out.
She held her hand up and signaled a taxi. A yellow and black vehicle broke away from the pack and sped eagerly towards her. With relief she opened the door and got in.
"Where to, Miss?" The driver asked her.
"Randolph Street," she answered allowed, but to herself she murmured a different word that meant the same thing: home.
* * *
Lauren slammed down her phone is frustration. She had followed every lead to its extent and had found nothing. When Michael didn't want himself found, he was good to seeing that he wasn't found. Lauren stood up and stretched briefly before tensing. She had heard the front door open and close. Since Michael wasn't home and she wasn't expecting company, she immediately jumped into spy mode.
Moving silently to her drawer, she removed her gun from the false bottom and headed for the stairs. She moved noiselessly down the stairs with her back touching the wall until she hit the bottom where she rounded her gun towards the foyer only to reel back in surprise.
"Michael?" Lauren said stuffing her gun into her jacket so that he wouldn't see it. He turned around from his position at the open closet door as his wife ran into his arms. She engulfed him in a hug and then kissed him passionately on the lips. Vaughn returned the kiss, but it ended almost as quickly as it started.
"Where did you go? Why didn't you call?" Lauren said beginning her bombardment of questions.
"It was a last minute mission," Vaughn said repeating his rehearsed story. "I wanted to tell you but you don't have clearance. I'm so sorry Lauren, I didn't mean to make you worry." Vaughn took her in his arms again, but felt an odd shape pressing against his body. Before he could identify what it was, she pulled away.
"I'm so glad you're safe."
"I'm just happy to be home."
* * *
"Will you do that for me?"
"Jack, this is insane. I can't allow this."
"Sydney needs this time to find out the truth, and not wait for the NSC to complete their fishing investigation."
"We don't know if it's a fishing investigation. We know nothing about what happened to Sydney, and if the NSA wants to investigate—"
"The NSA doesn't care how they get that information and you know it."
"Bring the replacement to me and I'll decide whether or not it'll work."
"I appreciate it."