Title: The Courier

Author: DOKChairman

Time/Spoilers: Don't know; it's a future fic. Assume everything up to "Truth Takes Time" is fair game.

Disclaimer: I don't own Alias, at least not at this moment. There was this brief period of time back in '01 where JJ briefly lost the rights to the show to me in a poker game, but he liquored me up on alcohol and somehow managed to convince me that a pair of threes was good enough to beat a full house. That bastard. Just think of all the things I could have accomplished by now if I still ran this show... Damn you JJ!

Warning: This ain't your typical fic. It's bloody, violent, action-packed, full of language, possibly inappropriate humor (actually, this one is a certainty), sex (at least in my mind there is), and maybe, just maybe, some S/V action thrown in. If this don't float yer boat, or send your trailer rockin, don't read on. If, however, you don't mind an adrenaline fueled romp (hehe, I said romp) then please continue at your leisure. Oh, and did I mention that there would be Action Vaughn and Devious Sark? No? Ok, good then.

A/N: First, for anyone waiting for new Angel Dark, you're gonna just have to wait longer. I'm very disappointed in the lack of response that I got. So many people told me to continue the story, and yet when I finally put out a new chapter, I got only like 5 reviews! Suffice it to say, I really don't feel like writing it right now. So, I'm doing this instead. Hopefully, this will get a better response than AD, but I doubt it.

Chapter 1: Handling Emotions

CIA Special Agent Michael Vaughn was pissed. No, that's not quite right. Pissed didn't even begin to describe the level of anger that was coursing through his body like molten lava. He was absolutely livid. That was the word he was looking for. He was livid beyond any measurable level. It was quite possible this was the angriest he had ever been.

Why was he so angry? Under any other circumstances, that might have been a perfectly logical question to ask. However, these weren't your normal circumstances.

No, these were Sydney-circumstances and those circumstances were never normal.

Vaughn stalked up to the man that he had been looking for the last half hour. He had checked his office and had found him not there; which had served to only increase his anger. He then checked the myriad conference rooms hoping to catch him ending a briefing, but he had not been there either. And finally, he had checked the JTF's operations room to little success. Vaughn knew that he was coming dangerously close to completely exploding.

It wasn't until he happened to be storming past one of the break rooms on his way to the JTF's elevator bank that he had found the object of his harried search. Of all the places to find the head of the joint CIA-FBI task force, he had to find him in the break room eating a jelly donut.

For some reason, just seeing Assistant Director Kendall sticking a jelly donut into his gaping maw served to inflame his anger even more. A god damn jelly donut! Didn't he know what was in those things?

Vaughn wasted no time in getting to the point of his arrival. He spat out angrily, "I want a mission!"

Kendall, who was busy wiping a blob of jelly off his mouth, fixed Vaughn with one of his patented glares. "Excuse me, Agent Vaughn, but as you can see I'm a little preoccupied here."

Kendall's emphasis on his level of rank did not go unnoticed by Vaughn. But Vaughn didn't care. Vaughn pulled out the plastic, Government Issue chair and sat down across from Kendall. He rested his elbows on the Formica tabletop and leaned his head forward. Slowly he repeated his statement, "I...want...a...mission." Vaughn's voice was angry and full of emotion.

Kendall sighed. Why was it that no one respected his authority? It was like they all thought they could just go off all willy nilly on their own.

"May I ask, Agent Vaughn, what brought on this sudden urge to gain field experience?" Kendall asked in a patronizing tone.

Vaughn snapped, "It's personal. I just want a mission to get away from L.A. for a few days."

Kendall frowned, his forehead temporarily blinding Vaughn with the harsh glare of the flourescent lights up above. "The CIA is not in the habit of sending their agents on missions of national security simply so that they can 'get away for a few days'."

"Look, I don't care what kind of mission you send me on just as long as it's as far away from L.A. as possible." Vaughn said pleadingly.

Kendall contemplated Vaughn's words quietly. Finally, after a few brief moments of thought, Kendall said, "Perhaps I do have something for you. There is a retrieval mission on tap for Thursday. I believe that Agent Bristow is available to accompany you..."

Vaughn's back immediately straightened, his eyes darkened, and his hands gripped the tabletop in an iron grip at the mention of Sydney's name. He seethed out between clamped teeth, "No! I do not need Agent Bristow to accompany me. I asked for a mission for myself. Alone."

"I'm not so sure that is such a good idea, Agent Vaughn. Sydney Bristow and you are two of the CIA's best agents, and you make an excellent team. Apart, however, you are lessened. You especially, Agent Vaughn. I'm not so sure you have enough field experience to conduct a mission on your own." Kendall's voice was oozing with doubt.

Vaughn narrowed his eyes at Kendall and pinned him with a heated glare. Vaughn's voice lowered as he barely managed to contain his anger. "I can handle a mission on my own. I do not need Agent Bristow to baby-sit me. I have been in this business longer than her you know. I'm fully aware of what I'm getting into."

Kendall still seemed unsure. "That may be true, Agent Vaughn, but I'm still hesitant to send you on a mission on your own. I realize that you have all the necessary qualifications and that you have been on numerous field ops over the last few months, but that doesn't mean you are ready to go solo." Kendall stopped and then added, "Besides, even if I wanted to send you on a mission, the nearest planned op isn't until Thursday and that's two days away."

Vaughn slumped slightly and the fire in his eyes dimmed. Two days? He couldn't wait that long. He needed to get out of L.A. as soon as possible. If he didn't, there was no telling how things would play out. That was a risk he couldn't take. If the CIA wasn't able to send him away, he'd have to take matters into his own hands.

Vaughn sighed, wiped a hand through his hair, and then moved to get up. He was about half way out of his chair when Kendall suddenly said, "However..." Kendall's voice trailed off. A look of trepidation crossed the man's face and Vaughn was immediately intrigued.

Vaughn prompted, "However?"

Kendall hesitated briefly, but finally concluded his statement after only a slight pause. "However, there is a courier mission to London leaving in three hours."

Vaughn's face brightened and for the first time in almost three hours, his anger lessened and he felt relief. "That's perfect. A courier mission sounds easy enough and it's just the kind of thing I need to get out of town."

Kendall shook his head. "I don't know... Being a courier is somewhat outside your realm of expertise, Agent Vaughn. It can be very dangerous."

Vaughn sobered quickly. "I understand that, sir." Vaughn made sure to add the right level of respect to his voice. It sometimes paid to kiss ass; even if that ass did belong to Kendall.

"I don't think you do, Agent Vaughn. Courier missions are normally carried out by SAS personnel. They are the only ones trained well enough to handle the kind of dangers being a courier entails." Kendall cautioned.

Vaughn swallowed nearly imperceptibly. Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea. He had no idea that being a courier was so dangerous. He should have known better though. Especially considering the number of times Sydney had to intercept a courier during her many missions with SD-6. He was starting to realize that maybe he was getting in over his head.

But no, Vaughn needed to get away. He just had to. "I understand the dangers involved, sir. I want to do this."

Kendall sighed. "Very well. I suggest you make whatever arrangements necessary for your departure and..." Kendall paused and looked at his watch. "...be back here by 3:30. That's an hour and a half for you to do whatever necessary. You'll get the mission specifics when you return."

Kendall stopped and then shifted uncomfortably. He grimaced and said hurriedly, "Now if you'll excuse me, Agent Vaughn, I must use the restroom."

Kendall stood up and quickly walked out of the break room. Vaughn, meanwhile, stayed seated. He exhaled violently in relief. Thank God! He had been really worried for a few minutes that Kendall was never going to agree to send him on a mission.

Now that that was out of the way, he just had to contemplate what he was going to tell Sydney. If anything.

He groaned in frustration and rested his head against the cool plastic of the table. How did things get so screwed up? That was a question he was going to need to answer by the time he returned from his trip.

**********************

"You've got to be kidding me?" Vaughn balked incredulously.

Kendall nodded his head gravely. "Regulations, Agent Vaughn. All couriers must have their package secured to them at all times."

Vaughn picked up the sturdy handcuff and raised it to attention. "I understand that, but is this really necessary? Do I really need to have that thing handcuffed to my arm?" Vaughn then pointed at the medium-sized, titanium briefcase lying on the desk in front of him.

Kendall sighed and asked pointedly, "Correct me if I'm wrong, Agent Vaughn, but were you not the one that came to me to ask for a mission? Because if you are having a problem with what I'm suggesting, then I'd be more than happy to assign this to someone else; leaving you stuck in L.A."

Vaughn shook his head emphatically. "No! That's all right. I'll wear it; I just thought they only did that kind of stuff in the movies."

Kendall frowned disapprovingly at Vaughn and Vaughn blushed embarrassedly. Kendall continued on, "So, as I was saying, once you arrive in Heathrow you'll be picked up by Agency personnel and transported to the embassy. Once there, you'll drop off the package with the Chief of Station and come back home."

Vaughn asked curiously, "And what is the package?"

Kendall's face hardened subtly and he said curtly, "That's classified, Agent Vaughn. All you need to worry about is delivering the package and completing your assignment."

Vaughn had figured that Kendall wouldn't tell him what was in the package so he wasn't surprised when Kendall shot him down. Kendall droned on, "Do you have any questions?"

Vaughn answered, "Yeah, when do I leave?"

"You'll leave for LAX as soon as your bodyguards get here."

Vaughn was taken aback at that news. "Bodyguards?"

Kendall smiled thinly. "Yes, Agent Vaughn, bodyguards. Couriers always travel with at least two other agents in support. You'll be traveling with three. To better ensure the package gets where it needs to be."

Vaughn should have been insulted by the implication that more agents were needed because he was the courier, but he was too busy questioning whether or not he had gotten in over his head again. He didn't need to leave L.A. that bad...

Kendall cleared his throat, breaking Vaughn out of his internal ruminations. "Agents Willard, Simkin, and Holly should arrive shortly. In the meantime, I have business to conduct. Excuse me."

Vaughn nodded distractedly and Kendall walked away. Vaughn sat down heavily in the black office chair, the springs groaning under the new weight. He quietly stared at the briefcase in front of him and absentmindedly fiddled with the silver handcuff.

It was after a few minutes of blissful quiet that his thoughts were interrupted by a voice he would know anywhere. "When Sydney said she wanted to see you in handcuffs, I don't think this is exactly what she meant, Mike." Eric Weiss said jokingly.

Vaughn groaned and glared up at his best friend. "Ha-ha. That was so funny."

Weiss grinned and sat on the edge of Vaughn's desk. "I thought so too. Glad you appreciated it." Weiss looked down at the briefcase and a frown crossed his jovial face. "What are you, the Agency's UPS man now? Why the hell are you going on a courier mission?"

Vaughn growled, "I don't want to talk about it."

"Does Sydney know you're doing this?" Weiss had his suspicions that whatever was bothering his friend stemmed from his gorgeous, but complicated girlfriend. When he saw Vaughn's reaction to Sydney's name, he knew his suspicions were correct. Mike flinched and his eyes hardened whenever her name was mentioned.

Vaughn growled again, "No, and she doesn't need to know either. This is something that I'm doing on my own."

Weiss couldn't pass up an opportunity like this. "Awww, did poor Mike and Sydney have a fight?"

"Shut up, Eric."

Weiss grinned. "A lover's spat perhaps? What you'd do, forget to leave the toilet seat down?"

"I said, shut up, Eric."

"Come on, Mike! You guys are so sickly sweet together that it's only whenever you guys fight that I get any kind of enjoyment out of life."

Vaughn had had enough. He threatened, "Say one more word and I'll tell Kendall that it's you who's putting laxatives in his jelly donuts."

Eric's eyes widened and he hissed, "You wouldn't dare!"

Vaughn grinned predatorily, "You know I would. Now shut up about me and Syd and go find someone else to bother."

Weiss groaned and mumbled to himself as he walked away. He managed to shoot Vaughn a death glare before he walked out of sight. Making himself feel better at least.

Vaughn watched his friend walk away and then turned his attention back to the briefcase. He once again fiddled with the handcuff as he thought about the days past events. He couldn't believe that Sydney had said those things to him. He had never been more angry before in his life and he knew he was doing the right thing by leaving town. There was no telling what he would say or do if he stayed.

Vaughn was brought out of his ruminations by the sound of heavy footfalls. He looked up in curiosity and his green eyes settled on three men walking towards him purposely. The three men stopped in front of his desk and Vaughn hurriedly stood up out of his chair. He could only assume these were the SAS agents.

The man in the middle of the three addressed Vaughn immediately, "Agent Michael Vaughn?"

Vaughn nodded his head in confirmation and stuck out his hand. The man in the middle grasped it firmly and gave it a short pump. He then let go and introduced himself, "I'm Agent Willard." He then pointed to the man on his left and then the man on the right and said their names respectively, "This is Agent Simkin and Agent Holly. We'll be your escorts."

"Right. Umm...so I guess we leave now?" Vaughn asked, seeking confirmation.

"Yes." Willard then drew Vaughn's attention to the handcuff. "You'll need to put that on now. I'll hold the key and only unlock the cuff on arrival at our embassy."

Vaughn sighed. He really didn't want to put that cuff on. Grudgingly, he picked up the steel piece of metal and clasped it around his right wrist. With the lock firmly in place, Vaughn's fate and the fate of the package he was delivery were permanently intertwined. Whatever happened to that package, happened to him now.

As he was walking out of the door of the JTF, he asked himself for the millionth time since he had confronted Kendall why the hell he had agreed to be a courier. And for the millionth time he got the same answer: he had no fucking clue. He just hoped he survived this mission. He and Sydney had some unfinished business to solve.

P.S. I will continue this only if I get at least 7 responses (from different people!). This story is really an experiment. It's my first pure action piece. I know it doesn't seem like it now, but things will really pick up in the next chapter. If you like, I continue, if you don't, I stop. It's real simple. I'd like to continue this but I ain't gonna if nobody's reading. So tell me what you think.