A/N: It's only a little after Memorial Day, I didn't completely break my promise. Anywho, here's the next installment. Thanks once again to all who reviewed and all who will continue to review?!?!?! Well, read on, none the less!
Side Note: I've noticed that in a lot of people's stories the quotation marks are winding up as a weird series of symbols and letters. It comes from loading your story up as a word document. To prevent that (and make it easier on the readers) all you have to do is instead of saving your chapter as a word document (.doc) save it as (.htm). Just go up to file, click, and hit Save As Web Page. I have only found this to work with Microsoft Word or Word Perfect. I'm not familiar with any other products. I hope this helps anyone who's interested!
Chapter 15
"Do you have any idea what Jay meant when she said "Laura's Ring?" Dixon asked Jack a few hours later.
"None. I have a feeling though that once we figure that out, we'll know who the mole is," Jack said as he leaned back in the chair in Dixon's office tiredly.
"Go home, Jack. You need to rest. We're doing everything we can to locate Sydney."
"I had the same assurances two years ago."
"Yes, and you took the investigation into your own hands and ended up in prison. I shouldn't have to tell you that all missions are cleared by me."
"You don't know what it's like to do nothing," Jack said with frustration.
"My kids were kidnapped, Jack, I know exactly what it's like," Dixon said angrily. "And when that happened I dutifully stepped down to ensure their return. You informed me about the tape to give Sydney an alibi, and I allowed it's passing. Now you can give me the courtesy of doing the same again." Jack considered this, and all in all he knew he was in the wrong, but the most he could manage to give Dixon his understanding was a curt nod.
Sark was more than pissed at this moment. Not only had Lauren gone against his orders, but she also knew that he would protest to this sort of treatment and she locked him out of the room. Sark gave up tapping on the glass, pulled out his gun and shot the doorknob straight off. It fell with a clatter on the third shot as Sark kicked it out of his way so that he could enter the room.
"That's enough, Lauren," Sark said keep his gun leveled on Lauren and not on Sydney. Lauren met his gaze with steady eyes. Without one single word she handed the taser to Sark and left the room. Sark glanced at Sydney who seemed to be trying hard to focus on what was going on, but couldn't seem to be able to find out why the torture had stopped. Sark left the room in disgust.
"What in bloody hell were you doing in there?" Sark asked her once they were back in the hallway and the door was shut.
"Interrogating," Lauren answered defensively.
"We have our orders," Sark said angrily. "You went above and beyond what was necessary. Until we get the go-ahead from the boss, I expect you to remain controlled."
"Fine," Lauren answered back calmly, "but my question to you is, are you waiting for the go-ahead, or are you just protecting her?"
"This job cost me my father and everything I own. Do I really need to answer that?" Sark asked.
"Just checking, love," Lauren said as she quickly kissed him on the lips before she walked down the white hall.
"Laura's Ring…Laura's Ring…Laura's Ring…What the hell does that mean?" Vaughn asked as he circled the words over and over on a piece of paper. Dixon had just debriefed them on the latest turn of events and Vaughn was unable to get those two words out of his head.
Laura's ring was betrayal, that's all it was, Vaughn thought. It symbolized disloyalty, dishonesty, and a sham of a marriage, but in connection with a wife who was KGB, what else could it symbolize? It completely summed the mole anyway.
Vaughn jumped as his phone rang. He answered it eagerly.
"Vaughn?"
"Hey, sweetie, how are you?" Lauren's voice came as a disappointment, but given the situation, not unexpectedly so.
"Not well. We've got no leads on Sydney whatsoever," Vaughn said as he subconsciously wrote Lauren's name underneath "Laura's Ring." "How's Virginia?"
"Hot, humid, and boring. I miss you."
"I miss you too. When will you be coming home?"
"I don't know. My meetings have been postponed because the director has the flu, so I might be here awhile."
"That's not fair," Vaughn said indifferently.
"I know, I don't like it anymore than you. But when I get back, we'll go out to dinner at that French restaurant you love."
"Sounds good," Vaughn agreed.
"I love you."
"I love you too, good-bye." Vaughn hung up the phone and sat there staring at the paper with the words "Laura's Ring" and "Lauren Reed" staring back at him. Vaughn's eyes suddenly went wide. The initials were the same, but that was only a coincidence. Right? Vaughn suddenly needed some reassurance of what was happening. He picked up his phone again and ended up having to dial three times before he connected to the right number because his fingers were shaking so badly.
"National Security Administration, how can I help you?" Vaughn heard the secretary answer.
"Hi, my name is Michael Vaughn, I work for the CIA. My wife works for the NSC and I haven't been able to get in touch with her. I was wondering if you could tell me if she was there," Vaughn said lying easily.
"Just a moment, Mr. Vaughn for the call trace to be completed…Alright, Agent Vaughn, what is your wife's name?"
"Lauren Reed."
"One moment please." Vaughn waited impatiently for the annoying classical music to stop and the woman's voice to come back on the phone.
"I'm sorry, sir, but the NSC isn't having a meeting, and there is no record of a Mrs. Lauren Reed visiting our facilities in the last four months." Vaughn felt his heart drop as he fumbled a thank-you before hanging up. Four months? Lauren hadn't visited the NSA in four months? She seemed to be gone once a month to Langley, but she hadn't been there in four months.
"No, this can't be happening," Vaughn said as he stared down at the paper, but the message seemed so clear, so obvious now. She married me for everything Laura had married Jack for.
"'If you want to call me, call my cell.'" The statement had seemed logical at the time. She would be in meetings more than she would be in her hotel room, but this whole time it was just a way for her to ensure that he would not find out her secret.
"No, it's not true," Vaughn said shaking his head.
"What's not true?" Weiss asked with a mouthful of donut.
"I've gotta go home for a little while," Vaughn said ignoring his friend's question.
"Vaughn what is it?" Weiss asked, perplexed at his friend's reaction.
"Tell Dixon I'm on my lunch break!" Vaughn called as he made his way towards the door.
"It's ten-thirty in the morning!" Weiss yelled back, but Vaughn was already gone.
Sark and Lauren stood on the roof of the building, neither of them saying a word. This was the moment when they'd move onto the next step, when the leader of the Covenant would finally be revealed to them. Their boss's pilot had just informed them that they should be arriving within ten minutes.
Sark had watched as Lauren made a call to Vaughn just five minutes before. Funny how sympathetic someone could sound when they really didn't mean it, but after all, he should know. He'd done it enough in his life. He had always played the second man. The man that if died, no one would so much as give him a proper burial if the situation didn't accommodate his death. It seemed as if that was the only personality he could hold, and that was the thing about himself that he hated most.
"They're here," Lauren stated. She was staring him, watching his reminisce with a lop-sided grin on her face. It was amazing how normal she looked when she smiled like that. It seemed as if the housewife she so dutifully played with Vaughn was actually true. She was no longer a murderer or a woman who could kick any normal guy's ass if she wanted to, she was a church-goer and a PTA mom that would scold her husband for letting the kids watch violent Saturday morning cartoons. It was just amazing how unlike that traditional woman Lauren really was, but how deceiving that smile betrayed her to be.
The platform on top of the building became gusty as the helicopter descended. Lauren and Sark backed up slightly to stay out of the pilot's way. Finally the helicopter touched the ground and the blades began to slow down. The side door opened and there seemed to be a bustle inside until finally a man dressed in a business suit came out, that really looked too uncomfortable for his taste in clothing. It seemed more likely that he would have been brandishing loud Hawaiian shirts rather than CIA protocol black suits.
"McKenas Cole," Sark said recognizing the man in slight surprise.
"Sark, I believe. Tell me what is it short for? It's gotta be Shark right? Just without the 'h?'" Cole said, his egotistical smile broadening on his face. "And you must be Mrs. Reed, or would you rather be called Mrs. Vaughn?"
"It's Reed," Lauren said sharply.
"I like independent woman," Cole said suggestively.
"It's a shame they don't like you," Lauren replied coolly.
"Ouch, baby, that burns, but I like your style—"
"We should probably head inside, we have business to attend to," Sark interrupted, getting annoyed with his new employer.
Cole didn't move but his grin deepened. "You think I'm the head of this whole thing. I'm honored, to be sure, but our boss here makes my break-in to SD-6 look like child's play. Gentleman and lady," Cole said making dramatic gestures with his arms. "Let me introduce to you our boss."
A slim woman with dark hair stepped out of the plane wearing a white blouse with an unbuttoned black jacket and long black pants. She stood there for a moment, satisfied as all three people took in her presence before she let her eyes focus on Sark.
"Hello, Sark, nice to see you, again."
It was official; Vaughn had completely ransacked his own house. The only thing was, he had found nothing incriminating. He didn't know whether to be reassured or not. If Lauren wasn't really a double agent and she really wasn't at Langley, it could mean she was having an affair, but Vaughn didn't think the latter was too likely. In this business you may have a likelier chance of being cheated on because your not home all the time, but the chances are better that your wife is a double agent.
Vaughn had searched the bedroom including the closet and the drawers, as well as the bathroom, the study, the den, the kitchen, the living room, and the dining room, but he didn't find one speck of evidence anywhere. Vaughn began to believe that this whole thing was a witch hunt and the only good that may come out of it was that the house would be a whole lot cleaner by the time Lauren came back.
Vaughn sat down with his back to the bed. He had loosened his tie and placed it on the doorknob an hour ago, and the top few buttons of his ironed shirt were undone to ventilate any heat he may have created during his search. He had one knee up with his arm dangling across it while the other knee lay down with his hand by his side. He sat there with the bed retaining the full support of his body as he stared at his dresser drawers. It was then he realized how surprise he had been when he reached into Lauren's drawer and hit the bottom so quickly.
He quickly berated himself for not noticing that earlier as he crept back over to it on his hands and knees. He reached his hand back inside the drawer as his knuckles once again banged the bottom because of its unexpected shallowness. Slowly he moved his hands towards the back of the drawer and the moment that his hand hit the back of the wooden cover, the front of it shot up revealing a passport, some extra gun cartridges, and a few stacks of bills with various signs and symbols on them from different countries.
Vaughn almost mechanically pulled out the passport. The name was registered under Lauren Geyser and the passport itself had been completely filled up. As he flipped through the pages he found dates and countries that corresponded with the exact times and places that he and Sydney had traveled to. Here were also some of the locations that Lauren traveled to instead of Langley. This tiny book answered all his questions; was the response of almost two houses worth of searching. Lauren Reed was a traitor.
With agonizing slowness Vaughn picked up the phone and called the first number that came into his mind.
"Weiss."
"I need you to tell Dixon to call a meeting," Vaughn said.
"Okay, Mike, you've got to tell me what's going on now."
"Just tell him, I'll be there in fifteen minutes." Vaughn hung up before Weiss could say anything else. Somehow he had to figure out how his wife most likely knew where Sydney was at this very moment and was at least partly responsible for Sydney's missing two years.