A/N: Well, here's the next update! Not even a week has passed! Aren't you proud? Millions of thanks once again to those who reviewed!

Grouchy: Thank you, I did!

Carmindy: Sorry, that was a typo. I try to search my chapters for mistakes before I post, but sometimes I miss a few. It's supposed to be "closing eyes."

Tina: He better not be! No J.J. Abrams wouldn't do that. Vaughn is a very important character in Alias. I actually heard that Will wasn't coming back, not Vaughn.

Eyghon: I think the closest thing to what you're trying to say is "This rocks." That's the only slang I can think off. I'm glad you like it, and who knows, I am thinking about putting Irina in, I just haven't figured out exactly how.

WARNING: There is some sexual content in this chapter. It's not too bad, but I felt you should be warned.

Chapter 20

If frustration was high at the Rotunda, anxiety was higher. Jack Bristow had spent the last couple days in the same suit and was so irritable, that even Dixon had stopped giving him reassurances.

Vaughn was caught in the same position. Now and then between the dead ends on the search for the Passenger, he would call some of his sources and ask for updates, but Covenant activity was quiet. It was as if they had disappeared off the face of the Earth. To top it off, it had been five days since he was last in contact with Nadia. He had left a couple e-mails demanding updates, but she had yet to reply.

Vaughn was ready to scream. It had been nine days since Sydney had been kidnapped. From a nine-day point of being MIA there was usually only continuous decline. A sudden ache bean to tremble through his body as he remembered the sight of her house burnt and filled with ashes.

Vaughn leaned back in his chair while holding an uncapped blue pen to his check as it unknowingly gave himself a slightly discolored freckle. Slowly he opened his eyes before throwing his pen down on a blank pad of paper. His dark blue coat jacket was thrown unceremoniously over the back of his chair as the white shirt and matching blue pants continued to bunch up and wrinkle. Not to mention that his five o'clock stubble was growing outwards in a slightly untamed beard. Vaughn was falling a part.

Vaughn looked up over his desk and around the office until he suddenly realized that Weiss was standing up and waving trying to get Vaughn's attention. Vaughn stood up and strode over to him.

"What's going on?" Vaughn asked hoping to get a lead.

"Sark just called."

20202020

Sydney awoke two hours after Lauren had brought out the equipment feeling for the first time on a mission since her training days, worried and confused. She couldn't remember what she had said or what they had asked her, which meant they had every advantage they could possibly gain and if they had gotten the answer they wanted, it would mean they wouldn't need her anymore.

Lauren entered the room a few moments later, her smile all too wide.

"I actually believe you now, that our questions we're exceedingly difficult for you to answer. I am still confused as to why you deleted your own memories."

Sydney's face-hardened even though inside she was shaking. She didn't erase her own memory, did she? And what exactly had she told Lauren, if anything? Lauren wasn't revealing anything about the question session and it was driving her crazy.

"It was only to ensure that you wouldn't find out what I know," Sydney said confidently. So confidently in fact that Lauren's smile fell a couple degrees. Apparently Lauren was prepared to relish in the fact that Sydney had no idea what she was talking about, but Sydney's response made Lauren doubt how much Sydney might or might not know.

"Well, it was a nice try."

20202020

Ten minutes had passed since the meeting had ended and Vaughn had e-mailed Nadia. He now stood pacing anxiously. Nadia knew something about the Passenger, and that information could save Sydney's life.

Sark had called requesting an exchange. Sydney for the Passenger. Vaughn didn't know why Sark thought the CIA had the Passenger when in actuality none of them knew what the Passenger was. Sark requested a trade that was to take place in two days. That gave them two days to locate and retrieve the Passenger and hopefully determine its value before passing it along to the Covenant. Doing all those things in that short amount of time was impossible. And of course, if the CIA was unable to see this through, Sydney would be killed. If only Vaughn could figure out why the Covenant thought the CIA knew who the Passenger was, then he may be able to find it and the trade would no longer be a problem. But he didn't want to do a thing until he talked to Nadia.

Suddenly his mailbox appeared with a screen saying that he had one new message. He clicked on it. It was from Nadia and all it said was "I'm coming."

20202020

Sydney sat in her torture chair fully upright. The restraints that had dug into her wrists and ankles previously were still in place. Blood trickled out of her nose, though she didn't think it was broken and she could feel both sides of her face push against her natural skin as they swelled twice their normal size. It was all thanks to Anna Espinosa.

This had been going on for about an hour, Sydney would guess. Ever since Anna had gotten back from wherever she was to wherever this was. Not that Sydney hadn't expected this kind of thing long ago, but she definitely expected it now since Sydney had lied about the coordinates.

Sydney was getting to the point where she didn't care. As much as she missed Vaughn and her father, there was no life left for her back home. It wouldn't make any difference if she died now, or two years ago. The CIA had failed their first rescue attempt, and now Sydney had been relocated, tortured, and left alone with only bits and pieces of her life that Lauren, Anna, or Sark decided to divulge. She just wanted this to end and she didn't care which way the end came anymore.

"You're tired of this life, aren't you?" Anna asked, breaking into her thoughts. "I can see it in your eyes. Every game becomes boring when you've played it over and over again, but this is a game we cannot leave." Anna stepped to Sydney's side as her hands swing slightly at her hips.

"You were marked by Rambaldi if not by the Prophecy, by the scar on your side. As I am too," Anna stated as she lifted up her left hand to give Sydney a full view of the eye of Rambaldi. "And I have a feeling only one of us will survive this," Anna whispered into her ear before smiling evilly and leaving the room.

20202020

Besides the long hours, the crappy pay, and the fact that your life is threatened every time you walk down the street, the CIA is an okay place to work. The part Vaughn hated most however was the cloak and dagger crap. Why did everyone have to put everything into code? Nadia's words "I'm coming" did not tell him a thing to anything! Very little restraint was keeping him from punching the next person he saw.

To his luck, it was Weiss. And punching Weiss was like punching a sandbag that no one was holding. It would be a soft hit, but it would come right back at you and hit you in the face.

"What do you say we take a load off tonight and—"

"Weiss—"

"Hey let me finish, you may like the idea. So how about we take a load off and have a huge bonfire!" Weiss said with a raised eyebrow.

"A bonfire?" Vaughn asked skeptically.

"Yeah, and we can burn all of Lauren's stuff, and roast marshmallows. Just like in your boy scouting days. What do you say?"

"You're crazy," Vaughn said but with a slight smile. Weiss was always good for a laugh. Suddenly Vaughn caught a movement on the other side of the room. A block of six guards had entered the Rotunda. The middle row had someone blind folded and handcuffed, but Vaughn recognized her instantly. Her dark hair and lean figure was unmistakable, even a mile away. It was Nadia.

"What in the world?" Weiss asked when he realized that Vaughn was no longer paying attention to him. Vaughn shot off across the room to the other side, as he followed the guards down the hall where the interrogation rooms were located. Vaughn knew that at this moment he shouldn't dare trying to talk to Nadia. The person he needed to find was Dixon. Vaughn needed to know what was going on.

He found him coming down the hallway a short time later, heading for the interrogation rooms.

"Dixon, what's going on?" Vaughn demanded.

Dixon gave Vaughn a slightly confused look. He didn't understand why Vaughn seemed to be more worried and confused than anxious to know who the woman was.

"She's a walk-in. She claims her name is Nadia and that she had information about the Passenger." Vaughn wanted to shout out that he knew that part, but he knew better than to arouse suspicion.

"That's all she said?" Vaughn asked as he stared at Nadia through the one-way mirror. He wished he could get her attention, but because of the mirror, he knew that would be impossible.

"Yes," Dixon confirmed while still giving Vaughn a questioning eye before brushing past him and into the questioning room. By this time, the blindfold as well as the cuffs had been removed. Vaughn headed to the front of the mirror to listen what was being said.

"I apologize for your treatment, but after September eleventh we were forced to bump up security measures," Dixon explained. Nadia only nodded her understanding.

"Your name is Nadia?" Dixon asked for confirmation.

"My name is Nadia, but that is beside the point. I came in here not to be interrogated by the CIA, but to help my sister. I'm aware that she's in the possession of the Covenant and that they have made a deal with the CIA for her return for the Passenger."

"How did you—" Dixon began.

"I am the Passenger," Nadia continued as if she hadn't been interrupted.

Dixon fell silent and Vaughn could only stare back at her with wide eyes. Vaughn had known that she had been hiding something form him, but something that big? Vaughn didn't know whether or not to shout out with joy or punch something in anger. How and why had Nadia kept such a huge secret from him? And what did this mean? What was Nadia's purpose in Rambaldi's puzzle?

"How do we know that you're the Passenger?" Dixon asked as he looked at her with doubt.

"It's in the Bible. You're going to have to trust me on this because frankly we don't have enough time for you to verify it. The Covenant wants me and if that'll bring Sydney back, I'll make the trade." Nadia said looking into Dixon's eyes with honesty and courage.

"Why does the Covenant want you?"

Nadia sighed. "There's a serum. I don't know where it's located but when it's injected into me, I'll be able to give out the location of the Sphere."

"Where is the Sphere?"

"I don't know," Nadia answered tiredly. "This information is built into my DNA. Only the serum will trigger the location."

"The CIA will need to verify all this."

Nadia looked at Dixon sharply. "Verify it? You don't have time to verify it. If you didn't know any of this there's no way to confirm it without the serum and there is no time to find the serum."

"We can't send you to make a trade and risk Sydney's life in the process without some sort of evidence that what you say is true," Dixon argued.

"You want evidence?" Nadia bit back. She took the end of her navy blue shirtsleeve and rolled it up the elbow. "Here's your evidence." Nadia turned her forearm around to reveal Rambaldi's eye.

"What was it like for you?" Lauren asked Sydney. Anna had finished her method of torture ten minutes ago. Sydney up to this point had been starved, beaten, electrocuted, and her memories violated. Now Lauren decided to torture Sydney's emotional side, mainly, by using Vaughn.

"Would he brush the hair away from your face and then cup your chin and bring your lips to his? Would his lips suddenly leave yours and make damp imprints down your neck? Would the kisses continue down your chest and linger slightly on your bellybutton? And when you made love would he be gentle and receptive to your every movement?" Sydney by this time had closed her eyes and instead of focusing on Lauren, she closed her eyes and imagined her and Vaughn together. It was almost exactly the way Lauren described it but better.

Sydney felt Lauren's cold hands grab her jaw and she forced her eyes open. "Because that's how he did it with me." Sydney was hurt by that comment, but not as much as Lauren probably had hoped.

"But he meant every moment when he was with me. Every kiss, every whisper, every action he did was meant only for me. He loved me," Sydney whispered.

Lauren responded with a quick punch to Sydney's already swollen eye and Sydney cried out. "Reality smarts doesn't it? But you have to face it. If Vaughn really loved you so much, why did he marry me? Why did he betray you to me? Why did his hands touch my body in the same way that his touched yours?" Lauren's smile deepened when Sydney neglected to make any quick come back. As much as Sydney was trying to avoid the physiological blows that Lauren was throwing at her, she couldn't help but ponder on those questions. The hurt was apparently evident in her eyes because satisfaction was evident on her face.

"Sometimes love is only skin deep."

"The trade will take place in Krauss, Germany. The location is an old abandoned stadium. We are allowed a team of five snipers and one tactical team of three people. The trade will take place at 4:30 pm. Nadia and Sydney will proceed across the field each accompanied by one person from the appropriate agency. Opening fire on any side by either side will break the protocol of the exchange and all previously set conditions will be null and void." Dixon paused to pick up another piece of paper.

"The sniper team will consist of Agent Norris, Agent Weiss, Agent King, and Agent Hanson. The tactical team will be Agent Vaughn, Agent Keenan, and myself. Agent Bristow has agreed to accompany Nadia down the field. Any questions?"

Vaughn raised his hand. "Sir, I would like to be on the sniper team." The room filled with silence, and Vaughn was sure that he could feel Jack's eyes on him. Dixon too was giving him on inquiring look.

"Alright, Agent Vaughn. Agent Weiss, you will switch to tact." Vaughn slowly raised his eyes to look at Weiss's and he only saw anger. Vaughn quickly turned away and focused back on Dixon.

"So we have any new developments in Sydney's location?" No one produced a sound.

"Then we are going ahead with trade, but Nadia is not to get in the hands of the Covenant. I want tactical strategies planned out. We'll meet back here in two hours."

Everyone filed out of the room quietly, but once Vaughn left Weiss was on him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Mike?" Weiss demanded.

"I'm doing what we're all working to do, save Sydney," Vaughn answered vaguely.

"Bull, you switched with me because you're hoping to take a shot at Lauren," Weiss stated. "Look, I know she betrayed you, she betrayed all of us but you're going to have to keep your head out there." Vaughn looked away.

"I need to know, Mike, that if Lauren is at the stadium you'll control yourself, because if you fire you'll be risking everyone's life, including your own, and Sydney's."

"Vaughn looked at Weiss coolly. "I'll be fine."

"Fine," Weiss said to himself. "Fine people don't volunteer to sniper their wife."