O O O O O

Chapter Six: Just another lie, another bank, and another enemy.

"There's something you should know."

"What?" Sydney asked, confused.

"Your mother never killed Vaughn's dad." Jack said. "Vaughn's father had gotten in some trouble and Irina agreed to help him out in exchange for his newborn daughter. The KGB had wanted Irina's daughter, but she wouldn't let them have her. So instead, Irina took Vaughn's sister, Evangeline, to the KGB. Bill took Nadia to the orphanage. She faked his death."

"But my father didn't leave my sister all alone." Vaughn said. "He kept an eye out on her and with Jack's help, infiltrated the KGB and got my sister out. They've been traveling a lot now, staying away from Prophet Five."

"You knew all of this?" Sydney asked Vaughn. "You knew all along and never told me?"

"No!" Vaughn snapped. "Your father just told me today."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Sydney asked, turning to her father.

"Because I knew that this information would only make you trust your mother more. She is not a woman who can be trusted." Jack said coolly.

"So why are you telling us this now?" Sydney asked.

"They've been conducting an investigation regarding Prophet Five. They've gathered a substantial amount of intel that they believe we could use. Bill still has to contact me, but we want to set up a meet so we can get that intel." Jack said.

"What do you want us to do?" Vaughn asked.

"Bill said that he has a safe deposit box in France. In order to access it, we'll have to take a small sample of your DNA. Inside that box will be some of their work." Jack answered.

"And how do you know this isn't some sort of trap. You could be sending Vaughn right to Prophet Five." Sydney argued.

"Trust me Sydney. If there is anyone I trust more than you, it's the Vaughns." Jack said. "We'll be flying over France in a few hours. We'll make a stop there to refuel and I've got to check in with some contacts. That should give you enough time to retrieve the intel and get back to the plane."

"You can't be serious." Sydney said. "Vaughn has just been through some major surgery. It's not safe for him to move around."

"I know that. I've got a vial of Vaughn's blood from the hospital." Jack said, reaching into his breast pocket and handing Sydney a small vial full of red liquid. "I'm sending you and Dixon."

O O O O O

Sydney stormed out of the conference room after her father had finished. She was angry at him for waiting so long to tell them the truth.

Carter was sitting with his friends and their fathers, while Isabelle was sitting with her friends. They looked up as Sydney came into the compartment.

Vaughn followed closely behind her, listening to her mutter angrily in Russian.

"Syd." He grabbed her arm.

"What!" She hissed.

"Hey, I'm on your side, remember?" Vaughn said gently.

"I know that… I just can't believe that he kept something like this from us. Do you know how much this could have changed things?" Sydney said.

"I know…" Vaughn sighed. "Believe me, I know. But right now all I want to focus on is being back here with you and with our kids." He grinned. "I can't believe that. We have kids."

"Yeah." Sydney said softly, returning the grin. "And I'm sure you're happy to hear that Carter loves hockey." Vaughn chuckled. "He'd just gotten back from practice when we were taken." Sydney's face fell.

"Hey," Vaughn lifted his hand to her face and slowly lifted it so he could look into her eyes. "All that matters is that we got out of this alive."

Sydney nodded. She and Vaughn took seats next to Carter and Isabelle.

"So, you're our dad, huh?" Carter said

"Yeah." Vaughn said awkwardly.

"Well… nice to meet you." Carter stuck out his hand.

Vaughn slowly shook it.

"I'm Carter and I guess I'm your son. I'm turning 16 next February."

"And I'm Isabelle. I'm turning 14 in December." She smiled. "Though, unlike Carter, I go for the less formal method of a hug."

Vaughn chuckled and gave his daughter a hug.

Dixon soon went over to Sydney. "Sorry to interrupt, but we have to get ready."

Sydney kissed Vaughn goodbye and went to change for the mission.

Vaughn and his children sat in awkward silence for a few moments before he spoke. "So, you play hockey?"

Carter nodded and the two fell into a deep conversation about their favorite sport. 15 minutes later, the plane began to descend.

"Are we back in Tucson already?" Isabelle asked, looking out the window.

"No, we're just refueling in France." Vaughn answered.

"We're in France?" Isabelle squeaked. "No way! I've always wanted to go here."

Vaughn chuckled at her enthusiasm. "We'll have to come back some time and explore the city. You'd love it."

"You've been here before, dad?" Isabelle asked, trying out the name.

Vaughn smiled at his new title. "I was born here. My family lived here until I was 18." He replied.

"So we're French?" Isabelle asked. "I never knew we were French."

Dixon and Sydney walked through the compartment shortly after they had landed. Sydney was dressed in a black tailored suit with a light blue shirt and high heels. She also wore a short blond wig.

"Mom?" Carter asked, baffled by her new appearance.

Sydney sighed. "I'm just going on a little retrieval mission, nothing big." She said softly. She gave Carter and Isabelle hugs. She indicated for Vaughn to follower her as she walked into the next compartment where Dixon was waiting for her.

As Vaughn slowly got up, he felt a small pain in his side, but he just ignored it. Sydney smiled when he walked in and wrapped her arms around his neck. Vaughn leaned in and gave her a small kiss.

"Nervous?" He asked, placing his hands on her waist.

"Never." She grinned.

"You'd better go." Vaughn said reluctantly.

Sydney nodded and disentangled herself from him. She grabbed her purse and exited the plane before she had a chance to run back into Vaughn's arms.

Vaughn smiled as he watched her walk away, already portraying her alias. He knew that things were going to work out.

O O O O O

Sydney and Dixon walked purposefully into the Hanso Foundation Bank.

"We would like to see the manager." Dixon said in a perfect French accent, flashing his fake id.

The receptionist nodded and quickly dialed a number. Minutes later, the man stepped out of the nearby elevator and greeted them.

"Welcome, welcome. My name is Hugh McIntyre." The short, fat, balding man shook their hands enthusiastically.

"Henry McGregor. And this is my business partner, Alicia Allende." Dixon said.

"I understand you are here to pick up a few files for a client."

"Yes, and I cannot stress the urgency to make this a quick as possible. We have a flight to catch." Sydney said in a snobbish British accent.

"I understand." The man said, nodding his head. "Follow me and we'll take you to our private vaults."

They walked down a series or corridors before they reached the vault. The manager pressed his palm up against the scanner and looked into the ocular identification device. Ther was a short hiss and the door swung open.

"Now, what number vault is it?" he asked.

"L11." Dixon said gruffly.

"Alright, here we are." The man said, reaching the box. "The card please."

Sydney handed him the card the CIA had forged. McIntyre pressed the code and then swiped the card. There was a soft beep and he slid the compartment open. He handed the box to Dixon who set it on the table, opening it slowly.

Dixon cursed loudly in French. "There is nothing here!" he hissed. "What is this? We have done a lot of work to ensure that our client's property be protected and it just disappears!"

"I… that's not possible… this vault have the highest security. We have cameras, alarms… everything. I don't understand how this could happen."

"Well I suggest you start trying to understand or our client will be forced to move his business elsewhere." Dixon said. He checked his watch and pulled out his cell phone. "I will have to inform him immediately of the situation."

"No, no, no, no, no." McIntyre said quickly. "We will have this taken care of. Don't worry we will find the documents."

"I trust that you do that. We only have 15 minutes until we have to leave for our plane. I will have to call the pilot and tell him we are running late." Dixon punched in the numbers for Marshall.

McIntyre pulled out a small green and orange handkerchief and wiped his sweaty forehead. Dixon walked to the end of the long vault, for a little more privacy. This was Sydney's cue to approach McIntyre.

"Excuse me… Hugh." She said, fluttering her eyes. She made sure that McIntyre couldn't see anything Dixon was doing. "I read somewhere that you had just moved some things from this room down to Vault 5 on request. Would it be possible that our clients manuscripts were accidentally taken down to the vault?"

"Well, yes, that is a possibility. How did you know about the move?" He asked suspiciously.

"Mr. McIntyre, do you really think that I wouldn't keep tabs on the bank? Our client is very strict when it comes to security." Sydney laughed.

"I see." He scratched his head. "Well I don't see how that would happen, but it's possible. I'll go and check in Vault 5 right now. But I'm afraid that you will have to step out of the vault until I get back."

Dixon banged his hand on the vault. This was the sign they had composed to show that Marshall had temporarily shut down the cameras in his vault. They had exactly 90 seconds.

"I don't care what they say. We can't leave until I get these files. You have to understand that." Dixon paused, pretending to listen to the pilot's reply. "WHAT! We have to wait for another plane? But that would take hours…"

"Um… maybe it's best if we just stay put. My associate has a bit of a temper." Sydney said sheepishly.

"Yes, good idea. I'll have to send the guard down here though." He pulled out his cell phone and summoned the guards as he walked briskly to the next vault.

During the whole conversation, Dixon had made his way over to box B7E4W. It was amongst the more sophisticated safes, which required a DNA sample. He slipped his finger into the vial of Vaughn's blood and brought it to the lock when he banged his hand against the wall. After a few seconds of silence, a small click was heard. He waited until McIntyre was out of sight before he pulled out the files and slipped them into his jacket.

Seconds later the guards walked in. "You don't have to be here. We're leaving." Dixon said abruptly, walking quickly toward the exit. They had almost reached it when gunshots rang out. Dixon was hit in the shoulder.

"Henry!" Sydney shouted.

"I'm ok, let's get out of here." The two agents ran out to the car.

The sun was beginning to set and cars littered the street in the rush hour. This was the absolute worst time for a shooting. An unfamiliar brunette stepped out of the shadows and fired at Sydney. She ducked, avoiding the bullets. Sydney pulled out her gun and took a few shoots before civilians blocked her target.

"We're never going to get out of here in that car." Dixon shouted. The car was surrounded by other cars.

"Plan B." Sydney shouted. She jumped onto the seat of an awaiting motorcycle. As soon as Dixon was seated, she took off, weaving through the maze off cars.

O O O O O