A/N: I'm baaaaaaack! Thanks for reading the last chapter! I am thrilled you liked it! Was on writer's block, terrible thing I tell you but I'm back to pushing out and creating all this SV stuff! I know, post-telling is over but I have decided I'm going to finish my fics so hope you'll read and maybe I'll find someway to incorporate Season 4!! HEE HEE
Without further ado, may I present
Moscow Nightmare (Part III)
Vaughn slumped down in his seat, then pulled himself back up before the President turned back around.
He was seated in a beautifully elegant yet professional room that really did remind him of the Oval Office at the White House, from it's egg-shaped room, it's large oak desk, to the huge windows the President was currently looking out of, his hands clasped behind his back.
"Come on Sydney, where are you?" he thought, frantic. He knew Sydney was able to take care of herself but things didn't look good. He'd already sent morse code to the JTF asking about Sydney and all their news had been positive. The tracer was working and the guard was out. And Vaughn didn't have to ask to know Sydney didn't really have a stomachache.
So where was she?
He pulled back the cuffs of one of his sleeves and examined his watch as the President droned on and on about his childhood, how he'd started out, how he'd managed to get up to his position. Lastly, he was trying his darnest to convince Vaughn's alias he had the potential to be as great as himself.
Vaughn ran a hand through his light hair and blew out a breath, his other hand on the butt of his stun gun.
Four minutes. He had four minutes to knock him out, meet up with Sydney and drag the unconscious President to the truck, then they had only a window of two hours to get him to a hospital and have the device deactivated.
"...and your ability to speak so many romantic languages can definitely be an asset in taking a job which deals internationally as ours will, all you have to do is brush up on your Russian, Mr. Vartan," Pres Belzarin beamed as he turned around, looking as if he was in his own little world. "Which should be very a very easy task for someone who can speak French, Italian, and Spanish."
Vaughn didn't hear him. His eyes were trained on the exits, trying to plan the easiest way out while at the same time, his mind was running with episode after episode of what could have happened to Sydney, each more horrific than the last.
"You are not a man of many words are you Mr. Vartan?" Belzarin frowned, but with amusement. He was currently pouring himself some whiskey into a glass. Then he took a sip of his own before he poured another and handed it to Vaughn, who would have objected if he hadn't screwed up and getting suspicious looks from Belzarin.
"Your country is prosperous, so ahead of the world when it comes to nuclear technology, yet you haven't tried to impress me once."
"Ah well..." Vaughn stammered, then took a tiny sip to stall time. "I am young, even if I am American. And you are aware I am here to observe things and the way you run your organization here."
Belzarin studied Vaughn's expression with scrutiny and he was sure he'd blown it. But at the last moment, he let out a half-hearted grunt followed with a, "I guess that makes sense."
Vaughn visibly relaxed and he slumped even deeper in his chair. "For an instant, I thought you were not a CONRU member."
Vaughn swallowed as he felt the color of his face shirt. "Really? What did you think I was?" he inquired, trying to join in good humor.
"Quite honestly, Mr. Vartan, I thought you were actually from one of your intelligence agencies, like the...CIA, that is American?"
Vaughn couldn't help it, he coughed. That could have given him away or added to his suspicion but that was the last thing he'd expected the President to say. Somehow he laughed it off, feeling he sounded pretty convincing himself, "Really, Mr. Belzarin, you have a wonderful sense of humor. Have you done anything to make the Americans upset?"
Belzarin gave him what could only be classified as a dubious glance.
"I mean...you have kept to the order and regulations drawn up between Russia and the UN council," Vaughn immediately corrected himself now positive he looked like a bumbling idiot.
Vaughn saw a flash of resentment flit across the President's suddenly grave expression. "It doesn't matter if you follow regulation or not. It doesn't matter if what you do is right or wrong. The Russians are going to always be a dangerous group of people in the Americans' eye and if you're not CIA, I am pretty sure someone from the CIA does know and is monitoring our every move as we speak."
Vaughn couldn't beat to hear the bitterness in his throat. He'd joined the CIA right after college not only because he'd been a rebel and wanted excitement in his life, not because it was a good paying job. It wasn't even because his father had been a federal agent either, though he didn't doubt that had been the inspiration behind his final decision. He'd simply joined up because he was tired of just watching the news about terrorist attacks or informed by a color code that national danger levels had risen. He wanted to find out exactly what was going on, and wanted to be a part of what was being done about it. He'd wanted to join the good guys and defend the country he loved so much.
And he did know that despite all the good the CIA really did...federal agents were considered almost as if they were men and women free to do things everybody else would be arrested for: lying, spying, breaking into security systems and manipulating them, stealing and tapping phone lines, just to name a few. But this was the first time Vaughn got to hear all this first hand, and he couldn't say he was enjoying it.
He became very quiet, and felt more remorse than anger. He closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment only on the sense of touch, the way his fingers tightened around the stun gun. He tried not to dwell on the fact that he was about to do something that could get a regular citizen thrown in jail for ten years. He knew he probably had less than two minutes to do the job, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to pull it out and shoot the poor man.
"I mean I'm betting the CIA had something to do with the murder of Andrea Lazarey," Belzarin cursed, his old but handsome face, flashing with anger. "Probably gone on their gut instinct or intel before they realized that if they'd just thought for a second that they were misinformed."
Vaughn squeezed his eyes shut, trying to think of what he was supposed to be doing, not that he was just about to break many codes of CIA protocol if he did what he was going to do.
His fingers shook as they loosened from the gun and went instead into his pocket where his badge was. Then he whispered, "request radio silence till rendezvous time," into his secret microphone and shut it off. Maybe he could just explain that the CIA he detested was actually trying to save his life, that he was one of the good guys.
"David Belzarin," Vaughn said suddenly in his very Russian-sounding accent. It must have sounded pretty real because the President looked at Vaughn with real fear in his eyes. Vaughn stood up and flashed the official badge at Belzarin. "You are correct, the CIA has been monitoring this meeting and they sent me and my partner here."
Belzarin backed up and stumbled behind his desk. "Yyou're a federal agent!"
Vaughn nodded his head. "The reason why we are here is because we received intel from a doctor who believes that a weapon was implanted into your body without your consent. This weapon is a deadly biological weapon and it is the device that was put in your ear during the surgery you believed was for a cochlear implant."
Belzarin shook his head and began moaning in disbelief. "No...tthis can't be true. You're just trying to do what you did to Lazarey. You want to get rid of me and put an American in my place, control everything!"
"Sir, that is not true," Vaughn corrected in a severe tone. "The CIA is actually trying to keep another Lazarey from happening. It is a terrorist group called "The Covenant," that wants you dead. We are here to extract you, take you to our facilities so they can deactivate the device and remove it, then plant the actual implant into your ear."
There was a pause and Vaughn was sure Belzarin believed him.
"No, this is crazy. You can't be serious!"
"We are sir," Vaughn put in firmly then held out his hand. "Well you come with me sir?"
"No!" he screamed. "I don't trust you! How do I know your intentions aren't the same as this so-called terrorist group?"
"Sir, I told you, I am a federal officer of the Central Intelligence Agency and I am here to save your life. Now you have two choices sir, you can either come with me quietly and reward me for being honest with you and blowing my cover or..." Vaughn pulled out his stun gun and pointed it at Belzarin who turned as white as a ghost, his pupils huge in their blue irises. "I will shoot you with this and knock you out. Either way sir, you're coming with me."
"I am not!" he retorted and reached for his phone. "Now you have ten seconds to get off this property before I call in security and make you!"
Vaughn cocked the trigger and then came around the desk and grabbed the back of his collar. He then laid the barrel of the gun against his chest. He had tried to be human about this and had gotten nothing in return. He was through being nice Agent Vaughn. "Mr. Belzarin, you don't seem to understand. There is a ticking bomb inside of you that once it explodes will not kill only you but anyone in the same room as you. The virus will also live to infect anyone who comes in contact with your remains for twenty-four hours. And you're right, Russia and the US may have some bad blood but I'm not about to stand here and watch a massacre because the CONRU President is stubborn," he said through gritted teeth.
"So, you're going to kill me, then what, dispose of my body in one of your experimental chemical chambers?" he demanded, looking quite calm and haughty for someone who believed was going to have his head blown off in a few minutes, eyeing the gun that laid near his rapidly beating heart.
"Actually, this is a stun gun and I'm merely going to put you to sleep. It'll be easier to get out of here with less resistance coming from you, and this is pretty strong so you probably won't have to see me until after you're lying in recovery," Vaughn cajoled him. "And unfortunately, all I can do is shoot you. I don't have a hypodermic so I'm going to have to do it this way. And maybe you can uh...forget everything I told you. Or pretend that you forgot from the blow of the gun. I went radio silent before I told you everything so if you don't say anything, then I won't."
David's smirk disappeared and he actually seemed to have gained an understanding.
"All right Agent Vaughn, go ahead and plug me. I don't want to see where I'm going as I don't really have a liking for the CIA," Belzarin sighed and closed his eyes.
Michael held the gun a few inches back and pulled the trigger. Belzarin was out immediately and suddenly his body felt very heavy in Vaughn's arms. But Vaughn fought the pain from straining his muscles till he gently lowered Belzarin's body to the floor. He checked his watch. He'd done it with one minute and thirty seconds to spare. He shoved his badge back into his pocket and returned signal to his headphones. "Hello," He called, "this is Boy Scout."
He heard murmured voices in the background then a cursing voice that he realized sounded like Weiss before he came back onto the frequency.
"Boy Scout," this is Base Ops, do you copy?"
"Copy Base Ops," he said briskly. "What's going on back there? Is something wrong?"
"Uh yeah...where the hell have you been? You all of a sudden went radio silence on us!"
"I know...it seems somehow I got disconnected," Michael lied. If they'd hadn't heard the request then he certainly wasn't going to tell them. "Is the team here? I haven't heard from Sydney. Is she okay?"
Suddenly a door came crashing down that made Vaughn stray from his phone conversation for a second. He pulled out his gun, ready to ply the next guard who ran through the door.
"Freeze!" Vaughn cried out which sent Weiss at Base Ops into frenzy, and screaming into his ears.
"Vaughn!"
Michael gasped. It was Sydney who'd run in looking absolutely freaked out and out of breath, now dressed in cami's, her hair tossed up in a messy bun.
"Sydney!" Vaughn gasped and threw his gun back into its' holster before he went up to her and put his arms around her trembling shoulders. "God, I was so worried about you. Base Ops told me that you were find but you didn't show up. You didn't call in, I thought the guard had gotten you!"
"No, I'm fine and I knocked out your guard too, so there's no problem there," she said briskly then looked behind Vaughn and noticed the body sprawled on the floor. "So you've taken care of Belzarin?"
"YYeah," he confirmed. He stepped back to dodge the arm Sydney was using to signal a team in. The extraction team quickly and efficiently put him onto a stretcher, said something to "mountaineer," and hauled him off the premises. Vaughn watched then as Sydney pulled out a cord that was attached to her belt and hooked herself on the window.
"Syd, what are you doing? Can't we use the door?" Vaughn asked gently, knowing Sydney loved the adrenaline but had to admit she had a tendency of overlooking the easiest way to solve a situation.
Sydney glared at him, half surprised, half irritated. "Didn't Weiss inform you of what's going on?" she demanded as she hooked herself to the window ledge then faced Vaughn and began looping him into a holster so they could rappel down the side of the building.
"No...I went radio silent for a few minutes. Belzarin had issues with the CIA and I was trying to be the good guy," Vaughn finished quietly then waited a second for Sydney's backlash.
"In other words you blew your cover. Vaughn! What the hell were you thinking? And here you were blaming me and coming down hard on me for not recognizing the Vice President. But you blew your cover!"
Weiss was chiding him at the exact same time on the other secure line.
"Um...yeah. Ok, so I screwed up but you still haven't answered by question. What's going on?"
"I don't have time to explain it to you," she argued as the tightened the ropes, giving it a quick yank that made Vaughn cry out as pain rushed between his legs. "Sorry but I don't have time. You can either put up with or go down there with the rest of the team, I'll meet up with you at the rendezvous point."
Vaughn stopped wincing and glanced at Sydney. He could tell she was really worried about something and he wasn't about to leave her side.
"No, I'm in. Just next time...try not to yank so hard."
Sydney tried to smile but it was obvious something was bothering her. Instead she said, "Medical services will take care of that," then hoisted her body out the window and planted her feet firmly against the structure. Vaughn landed next to her and then the two of them slowly descended down the side of the building.
Sydney motioned to the window below them and they split so that they were out of view. They were in enough crap already; they didn't need more guards to attack them. They shot each other a look then leapt to the ground. Next they crawled away and didn't speak a word until they couldn't hear the murmurs from the meeting.
Sydney stood up and began shedding the cords and unattached the holster from her body. Vaughn handed her his part and then he followed her as she moved stealthily between the trees until she came to what looked like a small lake.
"What were they doing here?" he wondered. His heart began to race and the cold Russian breeze sent a shiver down the back of his neck. He couldn't help it, erotic thoughts formed in his head when he looked at Sydney who looked so sexy in the moonlight. Something about the way the shadows danced across her face and the way the moonbeams made her eyes glisten made his hands sweat. He didn't notice that she had pulled a package out and unwrapping it till he heard the paper.
Vaughn's eyes grew round when he saw the bomb in the hands of the love of his life. "SySyd, what the hell is that thing doing in your hands?"
"It's a bomb," Sydney hissed as she messed with a pair of pliers and clipped a wire. "I found it on the guard I plugged, and get this, the Rambaldi insignia was on it."
"Tthat means the Covenant can be behind this," Vaughn whispered as though she hadn't figured that out yet. "Does that mean the Covenant was trying to steal David Belzarin before us?"
"Actually, Marshall informed me that this little thing has enough power to annihilate Belzarin and the rest of the CONRU members," she informed him and the color drained from his cheeks.
"In other words, it could have been...us," Vaughn closed his eyes to suppress his tears. "Oh god, Syd!" He began choking as though someone had taken hold of his brachio tube and given it a good squeeze.
Sydney looked unfazed as she tossed the device into the water. She then checked her wristwatch then yanked on Vaughn's arm. "We've got less than one minute to get 80 feet away from this thing, come on!"
Vaughn let Sydney steer him away. Then there was a huge explosion that rocked the ground they were standing on. He forced Sydney to the ground and covered her with his arms to protect her from the blast and comforted her with soothing words as the ground rumbled beneath him. Sydney gluing herself to his body was the only bright moment during the whole event.
An explosion! Yes, I think that was pretty exciting enough! And next part we can get back to the SV fluff, yes? Thanks for reading, hope you'll continue to do so.
Lataz,
Kris (Total Vaughn Lover)