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Chapter Twelve:
Face to Face
Vaughn walked silently, a step behind the agent who was escorting him. Stopping briefly to confer with the guard, Vaughn took a deep breath. The last time he had seen Lauren everything had been normal. They were just any other married couple.
He had refused to see her after her arrest. Six years and not one exchange between the two…until now.
They were moving again. Step after step, getting closer to their destination. With each step, Vaughn filled himself with more and more resolve and determination. He would speak to her only about the information they needed. No getting suckered into any mind games that she might want to play.
The agent stopped and so did Vaughn. Turning, he looked into the cell.
A brief look of surprise crossed Lauren's face. "Well," she said softly, approaching the glass. "The CIA must really need my help if you are here, Michael. I never imagined that you would agree to my terms so quickly."
Vaughn got straight to the point. The sooner this was over, the sooner he could walk away. "The CIA needs to know the whereabouts of any facilities from which the Covenant operates from."
Lauren's head cocked slightly. "The CIA? Not we? Are you not with the agency anymore, Michael?"
"From where does the Covenant operate from?"
"No!" Lauren burst out violently. "No, this works both ways. You answer my questions and then I will give you what you want. Now, are you not with the CIA anymore?"
"Why are you interested in what I'm doing, Lauren?"
"I've been in here six years with barely a word spoken. Forgive me if I'm craving a little human conversation."
"Fine." Vaughn relented. "I quit the CIA five years ago. Now, the whereabouts of Covenant facilities. What do you know?"
"Why?" Lauren asked.
"Excuse me?"
"Why did you leave?"
Vaughn exhaled loudly. "You really want to know?"
"I wouldn't ask if I didn't."
"I left the CIA because I moved overseas…and before you ask, it was Australia."
"Hmm," her eyes narrowed slightly. "How come now is the first time that we've seen each other since…."
"Because I had no intention of ever setting eyes on you again." Vaughn replied, bluntly.
"But did you not want closure? Did you not want to hear my defence, or give me a chance to explain? I was your wife—"
"Stop right there." Vaughn interjected. "You were never my wife and there was no explanation you could give me that would justify your actions." He drew in a deep breath. "Now I've humoured you long enough. Tell me the locations of any Covenant facilities."
"Why are you so desperate to know, Michael?" Lauren pressed, with a malicious edge to her voice. "What does the CIA want to find out?"
Vaughn stared silently at her, his expression hard.
"Last question, I promise. Trust me." Lauren let out a spiteful laugh. "Because if you tell me exactly who or what the CIA is looking for, I may be able to give you something specific, instead of sending you in a wild goose chase. The choice is yours, Michael."
Vaughn was getting suckered in and he knew it. He was about to tell Lauren to get lost when an image of Sydney flashed across his mind. An image of her upset and shaking after one of her countless nightmares.
She needed answers. They needed answers. And to get them he would play any game that Lauren wanted.
"We are searching for a missing child." Vaughn said. "One whom the Covenant has in their possession."
Lauren's eyes widened slightly. Her last ever contact with the Covenant had been a phone call saying that the fertilization was complete, but that Andrian Lazarey had been extracted. And then she was asked to complete the seemingly simple task of taking him out.
"You know about the child? The Second Coming?" A smile grew on her face. "They did it. They really did it. Incredible. The essence of Rambaldi alive and breathing today." Her eyes suddenly narrowed as something occurred to her. "And you are looking for her. There could be only one reason for you doing that."
"Lauren, don't." Vaughn said warningly.
"You know I can't say that I'm surprised. It was only a matter of time before you went running back to her." She looked pointedly at his ring finger. "I suppose I should even thank you for waiting until my side of the bed was cold."
"Lauren, are you going to help or not?"
She sighed. "Fine. I'll tell you what you want to know."
"Here you go Syd." Weiss offered her a mug of coffee as he sat next to her on Dixon's couch.
"Uh, no thanks." Sydney shook her head. "I'm fine."
Weiss placed the mug down on the table in front of them. "He's going to be fine, Syd."
Sydney looked at him. "I just feel so sick, you know. That he feels that he has to face her. I'm also furious that we have to turn to her for help. That the safety of Ana depends on her. Is it just me or is there something really wrong with that?"
"Yeah." Weiss agreed sombrely.
"Before I tell you anything, I am going to want assurances that I will get something in return."
Vaughn paused before answering, collecting himself. He'd had just about enough of Lauren's stalling. "Like what?"
"Like maybe a few extra blankets and pillows. Perhaps being allowed to spend some time outside. And even the occasional book to read."
"Fine." Vaughn sighed. He knew that he had no authority to sanction these requests, but they were not extravagant. Dixon would agree to them in an instant if it meant getting some information.
"Ok." Lauren looked at him. "Now this intel is six years old, but it's all I know. There is a facility in Prague. It is kind of a communications security station. All emails and electronic transmissions are sent through its computer system to ensure that they cannot be traced. If this child…" Lauren paused, her expression thoughtful. "What is their name?"
Vaughn blinked, surprised by this question. "It's Ana."
"Oh well, if Ana has been mentioned in any communiqués routed through there, there will be a record of it on the database. But you will need to move fast. The hard drive is wiped clean every few days to enure the sanctity of the information being sent and the facility is heavily guarded."
"Is that all?"
Lauren nodded. "I never actually visited any Covenant facilities and don't know of any of their whereabouts. I was given directions via my handler…I'm sure you know the drill." Lauren smirked. "Though we managed to keep it entirely professional." She composed herself and continued. "I knew about this Prague facility so that I could make contact through it."
Vaughn nodded. "Ok. If this intel turns out to be accurate, I am sure that the CIA will send their appreciations."
He made to walk off, but stopped when Lauren called out.
"What about you, Michael? What about your appreciations?"
"Now that's a problem," Vaughn said, looking over his shoulder. "Because how can I possibly appreciate someone who is nothing to me but a pebble in my shoe, discarded a long time ago." He looked at his agent escort. "I'm done with the prisoner."
A team was dispatched to Prague that night and Sydney couldn't help but let the hope build up inside her. Even given their source of information, she felt that this was it.
That maybe, within a few days, Ana would be with her.
"Weiss was asking questions this morning," Vaughn said to Sydney the next day as they sat waiting in an office.
"About what?"
"About why you refused to have a drink with him last night. He wanted to know what happened to the Sydney who used to sit him down and make him drink a bottle of tequila with her."
"I never…" Sydney trailed off, a smile on her face. "So what did you tell him?"
"Just that you were worried about all this Ana stuff etc. You know the usual stuff."
"Thanks." Sydney replied, reaching for her phone. She had been methodically checking it since the team left late the night before.
"Syd." Vaughn put a hand on hers. "Weiss promised that he would call as soon as—"
He stopped talking, interrupted by the door opening. With expectant expression, the two of them watched as the doctor sat down opposite them.
"Sydney, Michael…" her face broke into a smile, and both Sydney and Vaughn felt their hearts skip a beat. "Congratulations."
"I want to tell my dad."
"Huh?" Vaughn turned to her, surprised by her sudden comment. The two of them were walking back to the car from the doctor's office, elated at the confirmation of the news.
"I know I said that I wanted to keep quiet, but I would really like to tell my dad. Your mum, too."
Vaughn shrugged. "Fine with me. You know how I feel about this. If you weren't here stopping me, I'd probably be taking out full page ads in the Los Angeles Register."
Sydney laughed as she opened the passenger door to the car. "If I wasn't here stopping you, Vaughn, you'd have absolutely nothing to advertise."
That night there was still no concrete news from the team in Prague. Apparently there had been some difficulties in infiltrating the building. It was obvious that the Covenant did not want any unauthorized access to this particular facility.
Given that Weiss was working late, Sydney called Jack, asking him to come over.
"What is it?" Jack asked, after he had arrived and when the three of them had settled down in the lounge.
Sydney smiled, taking a quick look at Vaughn before answering. "We have some news."
"What kind of news?" Jack inquired, his eyebrows piqued with interest.
"I'm pregnant, dad." Sydney announced, taking Vaughn's hand in her own.
"Oh." For a second Jack looked shocked, before composing himself. "You're pregnant…is it Vaughn's?"
"No dad, it's Sark's." Sydney didn't even attempt to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. "What were you thinking? How could you even ask me that question?"
"I know…I'm sorry…it's just that…"
"What?" Sydney asked warily.
"Sydney, Vaughn, there is something that you need to know."
A/N: Just a note to let you all know that there is only five more chapters to go.