A/N: I apologize for the lack of posts, once again. For all the enjoyment of summer, it's been very busy for me. Anywayz, I thank all of you who reviewed. The positive feedback really helps me keep this going. You all are great for taking the time to review. Thank you once again!

Previously on Alias: Sydney has Vaughn dress up as Nadia in order to capture Sark. Dixon becomes injured during the mission. Nadia and Irina have agreed to go in search of the serum in hopes of thwarting the Covenant's need for the Passenger.

Chapter 28

"Dixon! Dixon, do you copy?" Sydney repeated into her com. She looked at Weiss who was behind the wheel. "Something went wrong."

Weiss looked worried too but shook his head. "He gave us an order. We have to follow it." Sydney nodded, unsatisfied. "Are the trackers still moving?"

Sydney picked up the hand held tracking device that lit up the webbing of roads in a pale green color on the LCD screen. The trackers on the car and on Vaughn were currently heading in the same direction and showed up on the screen as a blinking yellow dot. "Yeah, they're heading east. Take your next left." Weiss rounded the next corner going at least fifty which caused Sydney to reach for the small plastic handle located above the door.

There was a shout and the sound of shuffling coming from the back. "Watch the turns, Houdini," CIA team leader, Agent Brian Patterson, said from the back of the van.

"Sorry, Falcon," Weiss apologized using Patterson's codename.

"They're heading into the industrial district," Sydney said after a few minutes of driving.

"Twenty bucks says they're heading for some abandoned warehouse," Weiss hypothesized. Sydney gave Weiss an odd look that he caught out of the corner of his eyes. "What? It's standard procedure. It least it seems to be that way ever since Superman. Or was it Batman? Doesn't matter, but like I said; you'd think bad guys have a list of abandoned warehouses in every city."

"Weiss, when this is over, I'm personally going to help you find a girlfriend," Sydney promised. Weiss's conclusion about the activities of superheroes did nothing to reassure Sydney of how he had been spending his nights as of late.

"So that's all I have to do to get you to help me get a date with one of your hot friends is to tell you about my sad, sad, little life?" Weiss asked, seeming to perk up at the idea.

Sydney rolled her eyes. "Weiss, when you start using superheroes as a basis for your theories at work, I think it's more of a plea for help."

"Hey, just because I've been unsuccessful in my attempts as of late, doesn't mean I can't get a girl on my own," Weiss protested, thinking that Sydney might pity him.

"I didn't say that," Sydney replied. "I just think you've been less motivated lately to play the dating game. Unless you want to include your invitation to Vaughn—"

"That wasn't desperation. He would have said yes if he didn't still have feelings for…"

"They've stopped," Sydney said interrupting him. It had been a full minute since the yellow dots had moved and from the looks of the area, they hadn't stopped at a stoplight. "Vaughn's moving." Sydney looked up and looked around.

"See the car?" Sydney asked her eyes focused on the black car resting on the side of the road about three hundred feet from where they were stopped.

"Yes, what building is he in?" Weiss asked, looking around as if expecting to see him.

"The one on the right." Weiss and Sydney both looked up towards the large building. As Weiss had guessed, it looked like a six-story warehouse and it looked abandoned. With a squeal of the tires, the car suddenly pulled away from the curb, its tail lights dimming as it headed down the street.

Sydney looked down at the tracker as Weiss asked, "Are you sure Vaughn's not in the car?"

"According to the tracker he's inside the building. I'm trying to locate building schematics." Sydney pushed some keys on the tracker and waited as blueprints of the building appeared in green. "Third floor, fifth office on the left from the stairs."

"Confirm Falcon," Sydney said into her com to the CIA team in the back of the van.

"Copy that, Mountaineer."

"Alright," Sydney said reaching for her gun and doing a last minute check over her black tactical gear. "Let's do this thing."

28282828

Vaughn fiddled with the ropes around his wrists as he looked around the office he had been left in. Men unknown to him, but one's he assumed to be Covenant, had escorted him to this office and promptly searched him for bugs and hidden weapons before tying him securely to a chair and leaving the room.

His fingers gripped around at the knots trying to find a weak spot in them. It was painstaking work since each attempt caused the ropes to rub deeper into his wrists. He sure hoped that Sydney and Weiss knew where he was. Since the Covenant had failed to locate Vaughn's bug, he knew that he shouldn't completely give up hope.

Vaughn stopped his escape attempt and listened. A rhythmic tapping seemed to gradually be getting louder. As the sound increased it became more distinct. It sounds like high heels, he thought. What if it's…No, it can't be…Seconds later however, she appeared. Vaughn felt his heart stop. Lauren Reed had just walked into the room.

She looked the same as the last time he saw her. Her blond hair flowed almost perfectively over her shoulders. She was dressed professionally in a suit he remembered watching her get dressed in and taking off, many times before. Yet there she was showing no signs of recognition towards him. Thank God for Sydney, Vaughn breathed with relief. If his disguise could fake his ex-wife, well, maybe Sydney could quit her job at the CIA and assist people in theater or something. Nah, Sydney would never even consider that. But then again, Vaughn wasn't even sure that Lauren didn't recognize him. She could just be pretending for the time being. He couldn't be sure and that made him uneasy. Not to mention that he was still angry that the last time they had seen each other she'd been shooting at him as he attempted to rescue Sydney. Vaughn hoped that his anger had not progressed to his face. Vaughn feared that if he made direct eye contact with her, she may end up recognizing him. He was actually relieved when Sark walked in after her. Sark gave him something else to focus his gaze on so that Lauren wouldn't get suspicious.

"Nadia Santos, it's wonderful to finally meet you. The CIA has gone to great lengths to keep us from meeting, but it has been all for nothing. Rambaldi meant for you to be found. For the secrets he gave you to be revealed." He looked quickly at his watch. "With that said, I feel we should get started." Vaughn looked back and forth between Lauren and Sark, trying to figure out what these two were talking about. Vaughn knew that Nadia was the Passenger, but what exactly the Passenger was supposed to do, he had no idea. Unfortunately, Vaughn didn't have enough confidence in his ability to conceal his voice, and was therefore forced to remain silent.

Lauren meanwhile had left the room temporarily. He could hear her fiddling around with something outside, but had no idea what she was doing. Sark meanwhile, kept a close watch on him. Lauren soon returned with a syringe filled with a bright green liquid. She held the syringe up to the light and put pressure on the plunger slightly so that a narrow line of liquid came out to clear the air bubbles. Vaughn swallowed hard as Lauren approached him with it.

He was dying to know what it was, but he didn't have the courage to ask. Lauren smirked as she turned to his left arm and rolled up the sleeve. Vaughn was suddenly grateful that Sydney had taken the time to shave his arms. Though it looked weird, they were much more passable for women's arms than his coarse arm hair would have been.

Lauren carefully searched for the vain in the bend of his arm with her finger.

After finding one to her liking, she moved the syringe from her left hand to her right before plunging the needle directly into the vain. Vaughn watched in horror as the contents of the syringe slowly decreased till all of the liquid dispensed into his arm. Lauren removed the needle and stood back with Sark to watch.

Vaughn didn't know what was supposed to happen. The liquid as far as he was concerned, wasn't doing anything, which made sense since he wasn't the Passenger. Vaughn suddenly worried that if he didn't start doing something, his cover would be blown.

Lauren and Sark were watching him expectantly. Grabbing at straws, Vaughn lowered his eyelids and feigned unconsciousness.

"Do we know how the message is going to be revealed?" Vaughn heard Lauren ask.

"We cannot be sure of anything," Sark replied. Vaughn suddenly had the feeling that Sark was no longer buying his disguise, but before he could react, he heard a phone ring.

"Yes?" The voice belonged to Sark. Vaughn wished he could see Sark's reaction at the moment, but on the off chance that Sark was still buying his act, Vaughn decided not to take the risk. "I see." Silence filled the room following Sark's statement. Vaughn had the feeling that they were debating something by watching him.

"Come on," Sark finally spoke

"You don't fully intend to leave her here!" Lauren demanded. "You've given her the serum. If you leave her here the CIA will—"

"The CIA deceived us."

"How are you so sure?"

"Because Nadia Santos, as far as we're aware, is incapable of being in two places at once," Sark said calmly.

Lauren seemed perplexed by this. "Your source is positive about the identification?"

"The serum should have taken effect by now. Under the circumstances it seems reasonable." Vaughn suddenly heard the sound of the safety being released on a gun somewhere in front of him. The moment the gun fired, Vaughn did the only thing he could do. He forced all his weight to one side of the chair and waited expectantly for the floor to meet his body.

He hit the floor hard, and he grunted as he did so. The bullet however, had missed its target. He opened his eyes deciding to give up his façade, and found the wig he had been wearing laying a few inches from his head.

"Michael—" Lauren exclaimed.

"Agent Vaughn—" Sark shouted simultaneously.

"Vaughn!" Vaughn looked up and saw Sydney and Weiss standing at the door. Behind them, Vaughn could make out the rest of the CIA tactical team.

"Drop your weapon!" Weiss shouted at Sark.

"Well, it would seem that we're at a bit of a stalemate, Agent Bristow," Sark commented calmly to Sydney.

"Oh yeah, how do you figure that?" Sydney demanded.

"Another step into this room and it's over for Agent Vaughn," Sark stated.

"You shoot Agent Vaughn, and it's over for both of you," Sydney growled, tightening her hold on her gun.

"But you're not going to take that risk, are you?" Sark asked smugly. Sydney shifted her gaze down to Vaughn before turning back to Sark. Before anyone could react, Sydney fired a shot that hit Sark straight in the leg. He tried to fire at Vaughn, but his leg couldn't support his weight. As a result, he fell and Sark's shot buried itself harmlessly into the cement wall.

Weiss instantly jumped on Sark while the other agents filed into the room to take care of Lauren. Sydney went to Vaughn's side and began untying him.

"Are you alright?" She asked him softly, her eyes filed with concern.

"I'm fine," Vaughn replied getting gingerly to his feet. He broke away from Sydney, his eyes focused on Lauren.

"You're making a big mistake, Michael," Lauren said meeting his gaze. "I've always loved you."

Vaughn closed the distance between them. His fists were clenched at either side, but his face was disturbingly serene. "The biggest mistake I ever made was marrying you. I trusted you with my life once, but I've never loved you like I loved Sydney Bristow. I never want you to set foot near me or Sydney ever again." Everyone in the room had the opportunity to hear those words if they had been listening. Vaughn however, placed his lips to Lauren's ear to make sure that she was the only one who could hear his next words.

"And I promise you, that if you should escape out of custody, that I will not hesitate to kill you on the spot." Vaughn pulled back assured that he had made his point.

Lauren's eyes narrowed and her voice dropped to a dangerously low tone. "And I promise you, Michael Vaughn, that you will see me again. What I did to Sydney," she said lifting her eyebrows in Sydney's direction, "is nothing what I'd do to her if I were to find her again."

"You won't get that chance," Vaughn said through clenched teeth.

"For your sake, I hope you're right." Lauren left him with a view of her half smile and raised eyebrows before being pushed out of the room in chains.

28282828

"Here you go ma'am. Two keys. Your room is on the fifth floor." Irina gave the man one of her charming smiles of appreciation, before turning back to her daughter and handing her a key. Irina's previous research on Rambaldi led her to believe that the serum could be found from a private collector in Slovakia. Irina and Nadia had succeeded in obtaining forged passports from one of Irina's contacts in Germany. Irina sighed, she had not told her daughter what had happened during that meet.

"Irina, long time no see!" Alwynn Selik greeted in his native tongue. He had pleasant gray hair and the beginnings of a rough grey beard to boot, but that did nothing to stop him from giving Irina a kiss on the cheek.

"Yes, too long," Irina responded back in German with a smile.

"Twenty years and I don't hear word from you! What am I to think about that?" Alwynn says laughing. "How's Jack?"

Irina managed to keep her smile. "He's doing great, Sydney too."

"Ah, yes, Sydney! How old is she now?"

"Thirty-two."

"I cannot believe it! And you look no older than that yourself! Why have you not brought her to see me?"

"She's been tied up with work," Irina explained. "Unfortunately, my visit to you is not a light one. I must ask a favor of you."

"Anything, Irina. You know I love to help you in anyway I can."

"I need passports to get across the border. Me and Sydney." Alwynn's smile faded.

"Irina, do not tell me Sydney has joined this work?"

"It was not by my request."

"Ah, but if she has lasted this long, she must then be as good as her mother," Alwynn said smiling once again. "Alright then, do you have her picture?" Irina handed over a picture of herself and Nadia to the man. "Your daughter is beautiful, Irina. Her features are without blemish."

"Thank you, Alwynn," Irina said with pride.

"Let me just take these to the back, and I'll return in one moment." Irina nodded as Alwynn's figure disappeared. She looked around at the cluttered shelves filled with assorted antique knick-knacks, books, and clocks that had stopped working at various times on their faces.

She sighed as she bent down to remove the gun from her calf before shoving the barrel into the space between her shirt and jeans behind her back. She really had no desire to kill this man. He had been a good friend to her during the years she had been working for the KGB. He'd always been reliable and had never ever let her down, but now the risks were different. Jack and Arvin could easily be on her tail. She needed to make sure that she couldn't be traced.

"Here you go," Alwynn said handing Irina the two passports." You are now, Americans. Just like you've always preferred. You're Patricia James and Sydney is Rachel James."

"These are fantastic, Alwynn. Thank you so much—for everything," Irina said as she reached back to put the two passports in her back pocket.

"My pleasure, Irina. It is always a delight to see you again!" Alwynn said. Irina felt a tug of guilt as her hand clasped around the gun. She really wished there was another way.

"I'm sorry, Alwynn. You've been a great friend to me," Irina said to him before ripping the gun out and placing a bullet cleanly between the eyes. Alwynn fell to the ground with a look of confusion on his face and horror in his eyes. It was like his face never had time to reach the realization of his eyes. Irina sadly stepped over her friend and went to the computer. She expertly erased the hard drive, grabbed the pictures of her and Nadia and headed for the door. She gave one last sad look in Alwynn's direction before leaving the room. This was one of the times she really hated her life.

"Mom? Are you alright?" Irina looked over at her daughter and allowed a slow smile to spread across her face.

"Yes, I'm fine." Nadia nodded still puzzled by the look on her face. It looked sad and filled with regret. She really wondered what she had been thinking about. The elevator in front of them abruptly dinged and opened. Three guests filed out only to have Irina and Nadia take their places.

Their journey to the fifth floor was unobstructed. Their room was located at the end of the hall, and Irina took the initiative to use her key. She slid the key card into the slot and pulled it out. The LCD screen flashed green and Irina stepped in.

The room was big and tastefully decorated, but still nowhere near the caliber of a suite. The red carnations in the vase on the counter however, were a nice touch to blend with the carpeting. The room had two beds with a nightstand in between. Irina did an initial sweep, while Nadia went to the bathroom. When she came out, she found her mother pushing in the chair at the desk located by the window. Nadia guessed she had just examined the space underneath the desk.

"So, where do we go from here?" Nadia asked, taking a seat on one of the beds.

"We'll meet with Nassir Valerija tonight. If everything goes well, he'll be able to tell us the location of the serum and we'll make sure there is nothing left," Irina stated.

"I'll be glad when this is over," Nadia sighed.

"We both have made many sacrifices to get this far," Irina said joining her daughter on the bed and putting her arm around her. "I will not let everything fall apart now."