At this hour of the night, the Rotunda was fairly deserted. Sydney, sweeping her hair out of her face, marched up to the first person she saw. "Agent Sydney Bristow, requesting to see prisoners Derevko and Vaughn."
The man she had spoken to turned. "Agent Bristow, we've been expecting you. I'm Agent David Reyes."
He led Sydney down a steep flight of steps and through a barred gate. At the foot of the steps was a guard station. A female guard was on duty. Agent Reyes spoke briefly to her, the motioned to Sydney. "Monica will take you to then."
Monica stood, pushed in her chair, and exited to the right of the guard station. Sydney followed her. Monica pressed her hand to a biometric scanner and the gates slowly rolled up. Sydney stepped through. Monica nodded, then gestured to the cell on her right. Sydney turned, and was face-to-face with Vaughn.
"Miss me?" he asked, almost comically. "I missed you."
"No, you didn't. If you missed me, you would have come home instead of running off to Peru."
"Straight shot to the heart, no messing around for this girl."
"What did you to do Julia?"
"Ah, Julia. She's so beautiful, Syd…"
"You may address me as Agent Bristow," she said frostily.
"She's so beautiful. You must have raised her right. What I wouldn't give to be able to call myself her father."
"If you'd stuck around…" Sydney started, but didn't bother to finish her sentence.
"I know, I know, blame it on my lack of experience and lack of desire to parent someone."
"You certainly never questioned my desireto parent. I guess you just assumed I had it."
"Look, Syd, I know I've screwed up. I know that. God, I should have never left the AOCJ."
"Why did you live the AOCJ?"
"All the usual reasons – money, power, fame. You should have heard the things Anton Dovbroyek promises. God, it was going to be good. And Julia could have helped us get it."
"You will not use my daughter for your insidious purposes."
"She's my daughter too!"
"Not anymore," Sydney said fiercely. "You gave up that right a long time ago. Do you know what her favorite song is? No, you don't. Do you know when her birthday is?"
"May 9," Vaughn said, surprising both of them.
"You weren't there for her when her first best friend moved away. You weren't there for her when a boy broke her heart. You weren't there for her after the fire. You're not her father anymore. If we're comparing father figures, Sloane is better than you."
"Don't say that."
"It's true, and that's why it hurts. I have nothing else to say to you."
Sydney turned and said to the guard, "I'm finished with the prisoner."
"Please, Syd, let her come see me. Please."
"That's a decision Julia will have to make herself."
The gate rolled up, and she was gone.