A/N: Sorry peoples, I've just been so busy. And then with Isabel I lost power for a little while. Anywho. Here's the next installment. Please Add-on soon!
Chapter 5
Michael Vaughn didn't really know what a week's suspension would be like until he faced it. Kendall saw to it personally that Vaughn was not to be informed on the latest news in the Sydney Bristow case. Weiss however, was nice enough to call him when he got home from work, but until then, Vaughn's insanity was getting the better of him. He was berating himself mostly for his angry outburst, but also for the CIA's blindness. Had he been in the same situation again, he may have not have left, but he would have made sure that the CIA saw the stupidity in the accusations they had made.
When the long week had ended and Kendall permitted his return, Vaughn jumped into the work of finding Sydney. A few leads had turned up in Switzerland but ended at yet another wall. Jack Bristow had been driven head first into his work as he researched every lead in the hope of finding Sydney. However neither man was able to find more than the next. Then, the first good news Vaughn had heard in weeks surfaced a week after his return to the office. Will Tippin was awake.
Vaughn headed to the hospital as soon as he had heard the news. He was eager for a chance to prove Kendall and Devlin wrong, and what way would be better than to present him with a witness of the incident.
He flashed his badge at the receptionist the moment she tried to hold him back and proceeded to room 619. He slowed his pace and placed his badge back into his pocket and walked into Will's room. When Vaughn entered, Will was lying at a twenty-five degree angle in his bed, watching the TV blankly. Vaughn could see the tip of some bandages protruding from under the sheets that were located just above his stomach. Will only glanced briefly at Vaughn when he entered the room.
"Hey," Vaughn said at Will's silence.
"Hey," Will repeated, his voice sounding hoarse. Will reached for the remote and turned off the TV. He then picked up the controller for his bed and raised it another twenty degrees. He winced a little as he did this.
Vaughn opened his mouth to begin his questioning, but Will beat him to it. "Is she dead?" Will whispered, not looking at Vaughn in the eyes.
Vaughn decided to tread carefully. "Is who dead?" Vaughn asked gently.
"Sydney," Will said softly.
"Why would you think that she's dead?" Vaughn asked.
"I'm a investigative reporter, Agent Vaughn, not an idiot," Will scoffed. "Sydney would have come talked to me herself if she was able. Is she or is she not dead?"
Vaughn closed his eyes. "We don't know." Will turned away. "Will, we need to know what happened. What do you remember about that night?" Vaughn asked opening his eyes.
Will didn't say anything for a moment, and just when Vaughn was going to propose the question again, Will began speaking. "I had been working all night on researching this girl, Allison, whom I believed to be the double. I took a break and went to the bathroom and discovered the medicine in the bathroom. Everything sort of fell into place. I figured it had to be Francie who was the double, so I pulled out my cell phone and called Syd. She didn't answer, so I left a message. I came out of the bathroom and armed myself. Francie and I were fighting, and then she…" Will stopped. "She cornered me in the kitchen and stabbed me. I remember feeling the pain of the blade. But the oddest thing happened before I blacked out," Will said.
"What?" Vaughn asked.
"I recall the sound of Francie—I mean Allison, crying. That's the last thing I remember," Will finished.
Vaughn's heart sank. There was nothing in Will's story that disproved the CIA's theory that Sydney was a traitor. "Will, did Sydney ever leave the house suspiciously? Or did you ever hear any questionable phone calls or messages?"
Will looked at Vaughn sharply. "No, why?"
Vaughn cursed himself for asking that question. The last thing he wanted to do was upset Will over the possible of Sydney's treachery. "I'm just covering all odds."
Will's look hardened. "Don't lie. You know something that you're not telling me. What's going on?"
Vaughn sighed. "The CIA is following a lead that Sydney may have been working as a double agent for Sloane."
"What?" Will exclaimed. His surprise was so much that he shot forward in his bed, causing him to grunt in pain. "You've already proved that Francie was the double! Why are they accusing Syd too?"
"The problem is, we can't prove that the women found dead in Sydney's apartment was the real Francie or the double," Vaughn explained.
"What do you mean? The eye scan—" Will objected.
"Inconclusive. There are protein reducers that can be used to minimize protein counts to their normal levels. As far as evidence is concerned, the real Francie is dead and the identity of the double is unknown."
"That can't be!" Will protested. "That Allison girl, she had to be the double. She couldn't have been the real Francie!"
"I believe you, Will! I do! But there's no evidence that the CIA will believe to back it up," Vaughn said, releasing his frustration.
Will was silent. "What evidence is there? What happened that night when Sydney got home?"
It was Vaughn's turn to turn away. "We don't know for sure Will, but from the condition of the house, there was a fight that apparently ended in the bedroom. That's where they found Francie's body."
"And Sydney?"
Vaughn stumbled over his description as he recalled the scene in his head. "A-a mirror lay broken across the room from where Francie was found dead. A gun lay near it. Blood samples were taken from some of the glass fragments. It was—it was Sydney's."
"And the CIA has no leads?" Will asked despondently.
"We've had a few," Vaughn said, giving a brief description of the trip to Colorado.
"Any leads on Ravine?" Will asked.
"No, a phony name. Nothing more," Vaughn said.
"Ah-hem," a voice said from the doorway. A nurse was standing there looking agitated. "You may work for the CIA, Sir, but you've stayed with our patient for far too long. You can come back another day."
Vaughn nodded. "Thanks for the help, Will. When you're better, the CIA's going to want a full detailed recount of that night."
Will nodded. "I understand. And keep me informed okay?"
"Of course," Vaughn replied. Vaughn walked past the nurse and outside where he opened the door to his car and sat. He did not reach for the keys, and he did not start the car. He just sat there. He was no closer to finding Sydney than he had been forty-five minutes ago when he walked into the hospital in anticipation of a lead. There didn't seem to be an end in sight any time soon.
*~*~*
A few days passed before Vaughn heard from Will again. Apparently it was still going to be a few weeks before he was well enough to be released, but that was not the purpose of Will's call.
"Vaughn, could you spell Loan Ravine's name for me?" Will requested.
"Sure," Vaughn said in confusion as he did what Will had asked. There was a pause and the sound of pen scratching on paper.
"Are you sure that's it?" Will asked.
"Yeah. No wait—" Vaughn said thinking hard. "It was Loan S. Ravine."
"That son of a bitch," Will muttered over the phone.
"What?" Vaughn asked, feeling slightly excited that a lead was about to present itself.
"Your Loan S. Ravine is none other than Arvin Sloane. He just rearranged the letters in his name to form another."
