Collision Course

Sydney sat across from Vaughn on the plane, both reviewing their mission specs
and op
tech before as the pilot announced that they were ready for take off.
"Ok," said Sydney, as the plane climbed into the air and headed to Berlin to
take them to
their scheduled meeting with Mallory Crawford. "So we go in as Russion
intelligence
agents with constraints on what we can legally do- so we want her to steal this
weapon for
us," she said, summarizing the description in the mission specs.
"Yeah," said Vaughn, "I think that's a good way to play it. I don't think
there's anything
else we could play that's more believable." He closed his file folder and
looked at Sydney,
taking her hand in both of his. "Syd, are you ok with this? I know Rambaldi
has always
been a tough issue for you. Are you all right?" The concern for his soul mate
was evident
in his eyes as he spoke, and added softly, "I'm here for you, if you need me."
"I know," said Sydney, looking away from Vaughn and tucking a lock of her brown
hair
behind her ear and looking out the window of the plane as she spoke, "I honestly
don't
know how I feel about all this. I guess I'm just trying not to focus on the
Rambaldi aspect
of this mission." She paused a moment, then sighed and turned to face Vaughn
again.
"Vaughn, can I tell you what worries me the most about all this?" Vaughn
nodded, and
Sydney eagerly continued, "What bothers me about all of this is that the agency
would give
this mission to APO and involve Sloane in the quest for another Rambaldi
artifact. I mean,
doesn't that seem strange to you?"
"Yeah, I know," he said softly, holding her hand still and speaking in hushed
tones, not
that there was anyone to hear them since they were alone on the plane. "I
thought
Rambaldi was one of the exceptions to what or who he could work with. But there
has to
be something they're not telling us- some reason they chose APO for this mission
and
chose to involve Sloane in the search, right?"
"Did you notice something when Sloane was briefing us? He mentioned he knew
Mallory
Crawford from `personal experience'. I just have my doubts about whether or not
we can
trust him," Sydney said, her obvious uneasiness coming through in the tone of
her voice.
Without hesitation, Vaughn whipped out his cell phone, and began to dial. "I'm
going to
ask Weiss to keep an eye on what goes on back at APO while we're out here," he
said, as
Sydney nodded her approval. "If Sloane is up to something, we need to know
about it.
Otherwise, who knows what we could be walking into."

Wiess' phone began to ring, and the caller ID revealed it was Vaughn. He picked
up the
phone and asked, "Hey, dude, what's up?" He smiled, then asked, "You and Syd
already off
on your magical romantic getaway?"
Vaughn could not surpress a laugh, even considering the circumstances. "Weiss,
I need a
favor from you. I need you to keep an eye on Sloane. With all this Rambaldi
business
coming up again..." his voice trailed off, and Weiss immediately picked up where
Vaughn
left off.
"Say no more, Vaughn," Wiess said, reassuring Vaughn. "Actually, I was already
keeping
my eyes open. If I notice anything you guys need to know, I'll call."
"Thanks, Wiess, we'll be in touch," Vaughn said, ending the call. He then got
up from his
seat and moved to sit next to Sydney, taking her file out of her hands, closing
it and
setting it aside. He wrapped his arms lovingly around her and pulled her close
to him.
"Wiess has it under control," he said, softly stroking her hair.
"Thanks Vaughn," Sydney said softly, resting her head against him and sighing
again- this
time from contentment, not frustration. "I just have such a bad feeling about
all this."
"I know Sydney, I know," he replied, holding her tight. They both closed their
eyes a bit,
trying to conserve their energy for the difficult mission ahead, until the
pilot's message
came over the speakers, that they were about to land in Berlin. Vaughn got up,
grabbing
their bags, and putting away their mission briefings. "Well," he said, looking
at Sydney as
the plane began to descend, "are you ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be," Sydney replied, feeling the plane touch down and
come to a stop.
"Let's get this over with."

***** END OF PART 2*****