Same Disclaimer Applies. I have been way too busy this past week and am
sure to be for the next three weeks. Hopefully I'll have time to write
more than I already have. Don't forget to review if you want to, never
turn down the feedback.
BOGOTA, COLUMBIA
Sloane's office relished in the shade the tinted windows bestowed in difference to the mid day sun and its heat. His lower back protested at the position he had been sitting in all morning. The expensive orthopedic chair was obviously flawed. He shifted for the forth time in as many minutes before giving up and walking to the small wet bar on the other side of the room.
The Brandi he sipped lit a fire down is throat, emptying into stomach, clearing his thoughts like nothing else. He was tired of the perpetual failure of his people to find Irina. He had never been exceedingly impressed with her intelligence or skill. In fact, he thought her talents to be highly overrated and generic. Of course he discounted her ability to fool both he and Jack as the entire thing had been orchestrated, not by her, but the KGB.
Sloane made his way back over to his desk; looking at his chair distastefully, he remained standing.
"Has Mr. Larkin arrived?" He asked into his phone.
"Yes Sir he just did." A voice replied.
"Send him right in please."
Moments later the door to the office opened to admit an expressionless Darius Larkin. Sloane indicated the chair in front of the desk and watched his employee sit stiffly.
"Mr. Larkin, what is the nature of your job?" Sloane asked easily.
"I find Irina Derevko and maintain surveillance on the Los Angeles prospects." He responded.
"You've been unsuccessful in your endeavors to find Derevko; however, I feel I have been very understanding where your persistent failures are concerned. But I do not take kindly to prospects being reported missing and unaccounted for." Sloane walked toward the seated man.
"So you can imagine my frustration when your report crossed my desk this morning. Your team has lost Jack Bristow. Is my understanding that he disappeared, nowhere to be found, correct Mr. Larkin?" Sloane sat on the edge of the desk with unassuming grace.
"It is Sir. We lost track of Bristow, his evasion tactics are highly involved." Larkin's demeanor didn't change.
"It's called CIA training Mr. Larkin." Sloane's lips formed the words bitterly. "You don't rattle very easily Mr. Larkin, which is why I hired you. However, should you fail to find Jack Bristow I'll not only make sure you rattle, I'll break you myself."
Sloane returned to the windows at the side of the room, signaling Larkin's moment to exit. Time dragged on while Sloane watched the sun move further away from the center of the sky. Thoughts flooded his mind as he tried to pick the perfect solution to his problem.
OUTDOOR BASKETBALL COURT – L.A.
"D-up, D-up."
"Watch the pick."
"Shot!"
"Off the boards. Off the boards, rebound."
"Yo man, double dribble."
"What? That was so not a double dribble." Vaughn said indignantly.
Weiss threw his hands up. "Come on, you guys saw that." He turned to the other CIA personnel playing with them, including the newly healed Will Tippin.
"Hey guys, John, Chris and Rod have to get home and Bartley, Keats and I have to be back at work. See you next week." Vaughn palmed the ball, watching the guys leave the court.
"You totally double dribbled." Weiss jabs at Vaughn.
"Weiss, shut up." Vaughn chucked the ball at him and grinned.
"Hey, thanks for inviting me out. Is this like a weekly thing?" Will asked around a mouthful of water.
"We try to get out once a week but sometimes work gets in the way." Vaughn told him.
"Or Mike's hockey." Weiss quipped.
"Let's shoot the ball around before we call it a day." Vaughn steps back out onto the court. "That's if you two don't have anything else to do."
"Well, as a matter of fact, I have a date." Weiss announced.
"No kidding." Vaughn raised his eyebrows as Will got the rebound.
"Yeah, you better watch out, you're not the cute one anymore." Will and Vaughn both stared at him. "She's a real woman." He received not response. "Her name is Sarah, she's pretty; she's a make-up artist." Neither Vaughn nor Will utter a word. "Oh, common guys, we live in L.A. it's not like many of the good looking people aren't in entertainment."
"Yeah, hey she sounds cool. Good for you buddy." Will patted Weiss on the shoulder and walked in the other direction."
Weiss turned and called after him. "She's real; I'm not making her up."
"Maybe she'll give you a drawer." Vaughn said as he passed Weiss on the way to their bags.
"Ha, funny. Speaking of which, how's the move going? You decided when you're going to get the nerve up to ask her to marry you?" Weiss caught the ball chucked at his head.
"Seriously, you're thinking of proposing to Syd?" Will's surprise lit his eyes.
"I haven't said anything about marriage and neither has Sydney. We haven't entered a race to the alter that I know of; we're taking it slow and becoming comfortable with each other. I can see eventually asking, just not in the immediate future." Vaughn shot Weiss a glare.
"Seemed pretty comfortable to me." Weiss returned.
"Really Weiss, shut up." Vaughn shook his head.
"Well, I think it's great. Sydney's really happy." Will declared then added. "Which makes me happy cause I don't have to kick your ass."
"Thanks." Vaughn cracked a smile. "Do you have anywhere to be Will?" He asked.
"Umm, yeah, I have a date too." Will looked at them over his water-bottle.
"Really." Weiss' comment was colored with minor shock. He was surprised Will would be interested in dating a mere month after the ordeal with Francie.
"Yeah....no." Will shrugged. "My sister's forcing me to watch movies with her. Apparently I'm still recovering." He laughed at himself.
"Is she hot?" Weiss asked nonchalantly.
"I thought you had a date." Vaughn accused.
"Always good to have a back up plan." Weiss informed.
"Hey man, that's my sister." Will's mock indignation drew chuckles from the other two.
"So, what are you and our resident spy-girl doing tonight?" Weiss dropped the ball into his bag and zipped it up.
"I'm thinking of taking her to dinner, assuming she wants to go out." Vaughn wiped his face with the hem of his t-shirt.
"Oh Michael, you're such a romantic." Weiss teased.
"Weiss-" Vaughn was interrupted.
"Yeah, I know, 'shut up Weiss'." Weiss mocked.
"I'd better go before my sister decides I'm dead in a gutter somewhere. Later kids." Will waved and walked to his car.
"Later Will." "See ya Will." Vaughn and Weiss chimed simultaneously.
PATIO- L.A. RESTAURANT
"The evenings are so much nicer than the days. At least you get a break from the sun. I don't know how you guys played basketball this afternoon." Sydney began the conversation once she and Vaughn were seated at their table.
"There is something about challenging the heat of the day that makes the game more fun." Vaughn answered truthfully.
Sydney rolled her eyes. "Did you speak to Kendall today?" She changed topics absentmindedly.
"Only when I went to check in at the office this morning. I turned my pager off after I left the building. There's talk of a situation brewing in Jakarta. The laborers are preparing another uprising; Langley is trying to decide how to approach the problem without getting their hands dirty." Vaughn fidgeted with his napkin.
"Aren't they always looking to keep themselves from appearing in the equation." Sydney stated with a tone of irony.
"Anyway, Kendall seemed pissed."
"Kendall always seems pissed." Sydney smiled.
Vaughn chuckled. "He was muttering about it being a bad time for your father to take a vacation."
"The vacation was forced on him; to be honest I'm surprised he couldn't talk them out of that particular stipulation of his promotion." Sydney's expression became thoughtful.
"Maybe he needed it. He has been slightly distracted lately." Vaughn tried to shed light on the bazaar behaviour.
"That's what worries me. He kind of just checked out of life. I have a feeling this has something to do with my mother but I can't seem to piece it all together." Sydney gently touched her wine glass.
"Why do you say that?" Vaughn leaned forward with interest.
"He was receiving gifts from my mother a month ago. He had Marshall trying to uncover anything anomalous about them but he couldn't find anything. And then when Kendall told us about the action Sloane executed against my mother my father seemed actually worry." Sydney's eyes widened with the inflection in her voice.
"I didn't notice anything." Vaughn's forehead creased.
"He was gripping the chair's arms so hard I thought he would leave with them." Sydney's hands gestured emphatically in front of her. "But beyond that, there is just something in his eyes and voice that has my mother's name written all over this." Sydney shook her head in exasperation.
"Your father is a big boy Syd. He can take care of himself." Vaughn held her hand reassuringly.
"You don't understand Vaughn. It's not just my Dad; my parents lose their rational thought when they're together. If my father is as distracted as I think, my mother is likely facing the same problem." The two were oblivious to the activity around them, their table becoming its own island amidst the chaos of the restaurant.
"Which makes them a perfect target for Sloane." Vaughn concluded.
"Don't get me wrong, I want my mother to pay for everything she has done; for betraying this country, but I can't say with certainty I want to see her dead anymore, she helped us find my dad and she gave us Sark. And Arvin Sloane is not going to be responsible for bringing my mother to justice. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction." The last words were venomous.
"Then I suppose we have our work cut out for us." Vaughn almost laughed at the befuddled air Sydney exuded. "We'll just have to find your mom before Sloane does which doesn't promise to be an easy task."
The couple smiled at each other before Vaughn broke the silence. "So tell me about your day."
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BOGOTA, COLUMBIA
Sloane's office relished in the shade the tinted windows bestowed in difference to the mid day sun and its heat. His lower back protested at the position he had been sitting in all morning. The expensive orthopedic chair was obviously flawed. He shifted for the forth time in as many minutes before giving up and walking to the small wet bar on the other side of the room.
The Brandi he sipped lit a fire down is throat, emptying into stomach, clearing his thoughts like nothing else. He was tired of the perpetual failure of his people to find Irina. He had never been exceedingly impressed with her intelligence or skill. In fact, he thought her talents to be highly overrated and generic. Of course he discounted her ability to fool both he and Jack as the entire thing had been orchestrated, not by her, but the KGB.
Sloane made his way back over to his desk; looking at his chair distastefully, he remained standing.
"Has Mr. Larkin arrived?" He asked into his phone.
"Yes Sir he just did." A voice replied.
"Send him right in please."
Moments later the door to the office opened to admit an expressionless Darius Larkin. Sloane indicated the chair in front of the desk and watched his employee sit stiffly.
"Mr. Larkin, what is the nature of your job?" Sloane asked easily.
"I find Irina Derevko and maintain surveillance on the Los Angeles prospects." He responded.
"You've been unsuccessful in your endeavors to find Derevko; however, I feel I have been very understanding where your persistent failures are concerned. But I do not take kindly to prospects being reported missing and unaccounted for." Sloane walked toward the seated man.
"So you can imagine my frustration when your report crossed my desk this morning. Your team has lost Jack Bristow. Is my understanding that he disappeared, nowhere to be found, correct Mr. Larkin?" Sloane sat on the edge of the desk with unassuming grace.
"It is Sir. We lost track of Bristow, his evasion tactics are highly involved." Larkin's demeanor didn't change.
"It's called CIA training Mr. Larkin." Sloane's lips formed the words bitterly. "You don't rattle very easily Mr. Larkin, which is why I hired you. However, should you fail to find Jack Bristow I'll not only make sure you rattle, I'll break you myself."
Sloane returned to the windows at the side of the room, signaling Larkin's moment to exit. Time dragged on while Sloane watched the sun move further away from the center of the sky. Thoughts flooded his mind as he tried to pick the perfect solution to his problem.
OUTDOOR BASKETBALL COURT – L.A.
"D-up, D-up."
"Watch the pick."
"Shot!"
"Off the boards. Off the boards, rebound."
"Yo man, double dribble."
"What? That was so not a double dribble." Vaughn said indignantly.
Weiss threw his hands up. "Come on, you guys saw that." He turned to the other CIA personnel playing with them, including the newly healed Will Tippin.
"Hey guys, John, Chris and Rod have to get home and Bartley, Keats and I have to be back at work. See you next week." Vaughn palmed the ball, watching the guys leave the court.
"You totally double dribbled." Weiss jabs at Vaughn.
"Weiss, shut up." Vaughn chucked the ball at him and grinned.
"Hey, thanks for inviting me out. Is this like a weekly thing?" Will asked around a mouthful of water.
"We try to get out once a week but sometimes work gets in the way." Vaughn told him.
"Or Mike's hockey." Weiss quipped.
"Let's shoot the ball around before we call it a day." Vaughn steps back out onto the court. "That's if you two don't have anything else to do."
"Well, as a matter of fact, I have a date." Weiss announced.
"No kidding." Vaughn raised his eyebrows as Will got the rebound.
"Yeah, you better watch out, you're not the cute one anymore." Will and Vaughn both stared at him. "She's a real woman." He received not response. "Her name is Sarah, she's pretty; she's a make-up artist." Neither Vaughn nor Will utter a word. "Oh, common guys, we live in L.A. it's not like many of the good looking people aren't in entertainment."
"Yeah, hey she sounds cool. Good for you buddy." Will patted Weiss on the shoulder and walked in the other direction."
Weiss turned and called after him. "She's real; I'm not making her up."
"Maybe she'll give you a drawer." Vaughn said as he passed Weiss on the way to their bags.
"Ha, funny. Speaking of which, how's the move going? You decided when you're going to get the nerve up to ask her to marry you?" Weiss caught the ball chucked at his head.
"Seriously, you're thinking of proposing to Syd?" Will's surprise lit his eyes.
"I haven't said anything about marriage and neither has Sydney. We haven't entered a race to the alter that I know of; we're taking it slow and becoming comfortable with each other. I can see eventually asking, just not in the immediate future." Vaughn shot Weiss a glare.
"Seemed pretty comfortable to me." Weiss returned.
"Really Weiss, shut up." Vaughn shook his head.
"Well, I think it's great. Sydney's really happy." Will declared then added. "Which makes me happy cause I don't have to kick your ass."
"Thanks." Vaughn cracked a smile. "Do you have anywhere to be Will?" He asked.
"Umm, yeah, I have a date too." Will looked at them over his water-bottle.
"Really." Weiss' comment was colored with minor shock. He was surprised Will would be interested in dating a mere month after the ordeal with Francie.
"Yeah....no." Will shrugged. "My sister's forcing me to watch movies with her. Apparently I'm still recovering." He laughed at himself.
"Is she hot?" Weiss asked nonchalantly.
"I thought you had a date." Vaughn accused.
"Always good to have a back up plan." Weiss informed.
"Hey man, that's my sister." Will's mock indignation drew chuckles from the other two.
"So, what are you and our resident spy-girl doing tonight?" Weiss dropped the ball into his bag and zipped it up.
"I'm thinking of taking her to dinner, assuming she wants to go out." Vaughn wiped his face with the hem of his t-shirt.
"Oh Michael, you're such a romantic." Weiss teased.
"Weiss-" Vaughn was interrupted.
"Yeah, I know, 'shut up Weiss'." Weiss mocked.
"I'd better go before my sister decides I'm dead in a gutter somewhere. Later kids." Will waved and walked to his car.
"Later Will." "See ya Will." Vaughn and Weiss chimed simultaneously.
PATIO- L.A. RESTAURANT
"The evenings are so much nicer than the days. At least you get a break from the sun. I don't know how you guys played basketball this afternoon." Sydney began the conversation once she and Vaughn were seated at their table.
"There is something about challenging the heat of the day that makes the game more fun." Vaughn answered truthfully.
Sydney rolled her eyes. "Did you speak to Kendall today?" She changed topics absentmindedly.
"Only when I went to check in at the office this morning. I turned my pager off after I left the building. There's talk of a situation brewing in Jakarta. The laborers are preparing another uprising; Langley is trying to decide how to approach the problem without getting their hands dirty." Vaughn fidgeted with his napkin.
"Aren't they always looking to keep themselves from appearing in the equation." Sydney stated with a tone of irony.
"Anyway, Kendall seemed pissed."
"Kendall always seems pissed." Sydney smiled.
Vaughn chuckled. "He was muttering about it being a bad time for your father to take a vacation."
"The vacation was forced on him; to be honest I'm surprised he couldn't talk them out of that particular stipulation of his promotion." Sydney's expression became thoughtful.
"Maybe he needed it. He has been slightly distracted lately." Vaughn tried to shed light on the bazaar behaviour.
"That's what worries me. He kind of just checked out of life. I have a feeling this has something to do with my mother but I can't seem to piece it all together." Sydney gently touched her wine glass.
"Why do you say that?" Vaughn leaned forward with interest.
"He was receiving gifts from my mother a month ago. He had Marshall trying to uncover anything anomalous about them but he couldn't find anything. And then when Kendall told us about the action Sloane executed against my mother my father seemed actually worry." Sydney's eyes widened with the inflection in her voice.
"I didn't notice anything." Vaughn's forehead creased.
"He was gripping the chair's arms so hard I thought he would leave with them." Sydney's hands gestured emphatically in front of her. "But beyond that, there is just something in his eyes and voice that has my mother's name written all over this." Sydney shook her head in exasperation.
"Your father is a big boy Syd. He can take care of himself." Vaughn held her hand reassuringly.
"You don't understand Vaughn. It's not just my Dad; my parents lose their rational thought when they're together. If my father is as distracted as I think, my mother is likely facing the same problem." The two were oblivious to the activity around them, their table becoming its own island amidst the chaos of the restaurant.
"Which makes them a perfect target for Sloane." Vaughn concluded.
"Don't get me wrong, I want my mother to pay for everything she has done; for betraying this country, but I can't say with certainty I want to see her dead anymore, she helped us find my dad and she gave us Sark. And Arvin Sloane is not going to be responsible for bringing my mother to justice. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction." The last words were venomous.
"Then I suppose we have our work cut out for us." Vaughn almost laughed at the befuddled air Sydney exuded. "We'll just have to find your mom before Sloane does which doesn't promise to be an easy task."
The couple smiled at each other before Vaughn broke the silence. "So tell me about your day."
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