Muddy Poodle: Thank you for your feedback.

I need to give a huge apology for the huge space of time between updates. I have been crazy busy on teaching rounds and my wonderful computer decided to chuck a tantrum and refuse to work. I should hopefully be getting the PC back today or tomorrow, so it should be regular updates from now on.
Again, I am so sorry.

Disclaimer: The title of this chapter comes from the song 'This World' by Zero 7

Another Dream Is Shattered, Another Day's Begun

After a night of restless sleep, Vaughn made his way into the Rotunda early. He felt responsible for the disaster of the Krakow mission and was desperate to feel productive.

Arriving at his desk, he carelessly tossed his briefcase down, knocking Summer's photo frame off and onto the floor. It landed with a small crash, breaking into several pieces.

"Sh…" Vaughn swore, kneeling down. What a way to start the day…

His thoughts came to abrupt halt as his stomach turned over with a nauseating roll. Because there in front of him, amongst the pieces of a gift from his daughter- the gift she asked him to take to work- was a recording device. A recording device that was in no way CIA sanctioned. A device that could have recorded his discussions of the Krakow mission.

A recording device with a definite purpose.

Numbly, Vaughn gathered up the debris. Unsure of what to do, he placed it into the top drawer of his desk.

He had no idea what to think. Sure, he knew what his head was saying, but he could not, not in his heart, bring himself to believe it. It could not be true. Summer could not have placed that device into the photo frame. There was not a chance that Summer was even aware of it.

"I thought that maybe you could put it on your desk at work. It might brighten your workday if need be."

Vaughn shook his head. Summer was his daughter. She wouldn't do something like this- she couldn't do something like this. There was no reason in the entire world that would explain Summer turning against her family. Not one.

Dropping into his seat, Vaughn buried his head in his hands. What on Earth was he going to do?

'You have to speak with her. You need to ease your mind.' As Vaughn came to this realization, something else occurred to him. Summer's car. It hadn't been in the driveway when he left for work. Did that mean she was still at Mitch's…or somewhere else?

Turning on his computer, it took a few seconds to access the GPS navigation system. Within a minute he had located Summer's car. To his dismay, it was nowhere near the Flinkman residence- it was on the other side of town.

With a few hits of the keyboard, Vaughn sent the data to his Palm Pilot and then jumped up from his desk.

"Hey," Weiss's laughing voice came from across the Rotunda, as he was walking in. "Leaving already?"

"Got something I need to do," Vaughn called back.

"But—" Weiss stopped short as Vaughn run past him. After a second he shrugged. He's find out what was going on soon enough.

Summer stretched out languidly, allowing herself to enjoy a few contented seconds. It was then that the memories of the day before came flooding back. Overhearing her dad and Sydney, making a run for it, Mitch…

Her eyes flew open. She had spent the whole night at the motel. They could know by now. She couldn't waste another second. She had to get away. Now.

Her eyes trained on Mitch's sleeping figure, Summer gently pulled back the covers and climbed out of the bed. The idea of just leaving him made her feel horrible, but she had no choice. It was for his safety as much as it was hers.

It took only seconds for her throw on her clothes, grab her keys and then—

"Summer?"

At the sound of Mitch's voice, Summer froze at the door, her hand hovering over the knob.

"What are you doing?"

She refused to face him. "I told you. I have to leave."

Mitch threw back the covers, jumping out of the bed. "And I told you that I couldn't let you do this alone."

"Mitch," Summer's tone was forceful. "You are not coming."

"So, you were just going to leave without saying good-bye?"

Summer turned around. "I…I didn't know how to say good-bye."

"Then maybe you shouldn't go," Mitch said, walking up to her.

"I have to."

"Then I don't give a damn what you say, I am coming."

"Mitch, I do not want a repeat of the conversation last night."

"Summer, I am coming. Nobody should have to go about this world alone."

"You. Are. Not. Coming." Summer tried all she could to contain herself.

Mitch put a hand on her shoulder. "Try and stop me."

Summer paused as she drew in a deep breath. "Mitch."

"Yes?"

"You mean the world to me and so I need to apologise."

Mitch frowned, confused. "For what?"

"For this." Bending her arm up, Summer slammed her elbow into his head- hard. It was enough of a force to knock him unconscious and he fell to the floor with a dull thud.

"I'm sorry," Summer whispered and then turned back to the door. She needed to get out of town as soon as possible. But, before she did, there was one more stop that she needed to make.

Vaughn heart skipped a beat as he saw the spot, indicating Summer's car, start to move on the small screen. Pulling to the side of the road, he took a minute to track the car's movement.

It wasn't long before he got a hunch of where she was headed. Her direction- the destination made perfect sense.

And if he was right, then he was going to beat her there.

As Summer pulled into the car park at V.O.J Insurance, she failed to notice that the other car there was one that was very familiar to her.

Stepping out of her car and slamming the door shut, she started to make her way to the front door. She had taken all of three steps when she heard the voice.

"Summer."

She stopped short. Taking a few seconds, she drew in a deep breath before turning around and facing her father. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to ask you…something." He appeared to be struggling with his words. "It kills me to do this…but I have to."

Summer did her best to keep her expression blank. "Ask me what?"

"That photo frame you gave me. The one you asked me to put on my desk at work. Did you…did you know that there was a microphone in it? A microphone that would have recorded every conversation I had by that desk. Conversations that would have contained extremely sensitive information in regards to missions."

Summer's stomach dropped. He knew about the photo frame. She was toast. She was…

Vaughn, reading the expression on his daughter's face, felt his blood turn to ice. "Oh Summer…I don't understand why you would…who got you to do that? Because—"

"You don't understand?" Summer broke in, angry. How dare he sound so disappointed in her. He had no right. "You don't understand? Why don't you just stop it, dad?"

Vaughn blinked. "Stop what?"

"This- this act that you've got going."

"What act?" Vaughn sounded truly bamboozled.

"Don't!" Summer held up a hand. "Stop playing with me. I know the truth!"

"The truth?" Vaughn took a step towards her. "Sweetheart, what are you talking about?"

"Don't patronize me with all the sweetheart business. I know everything. You can stop this ridiculous charade now."

"Summer," Vaughn's tones was serious. "I have no idea what you are talking about. So could you please start shedding some light on this situation? Because if you do not have a very good explanation for what you did, then you are going to end up in a lot of trouble."

"What I did?" Summer exclaimed indignantly. "And what about what you did?"

"Sum—"

"No, dad! I know what sort of person you really are. I know about Sydney, too. What the two of you are capable of. And I am sorry, dad, but I am not the one who is in trouble here. I am not the enemy here."

"Summer, where on Earth is all of this coming from?"

"The walls are closing in, dad. I know who you really work for and it's time that you knew who I worked—"

"Oh Summer. I told you never to say anything."

The Earth shifted under Vaughn's feet when he saw who had spoken. When his eyes connected with eyes that were so cold they looked dead. Eyes that belonged to someone who was supposed to be dead.

"Lauren," he managed to utter. "You're…"

"Didn't think that you could finish me off that easily, did you Michael?" she replied with a self-satisfied smirk.

"Mum," Summer spoke up and Vaughn felt as if he would be sick. To hear his daughter refer to that woman as 'mum'. It was so, so wrong. "I'm sorry. But he—"

"No," Lauren snapped. "No excuses, Summer. I gave you specific instructions and you have disobeyed them. And for that," she paused as she pulled a gun from her back pocket. "You will both have to pay…how does it feel to be on the opposite foot, Michael?" she asked with a smile, before firing off two perfectly aimed shots.

A/N: Just a note to let you know that there will only be three more chapters in this fic.