Disclaimer: I don't own Alias
Previously on Why Can't I?...
Together, the two girls searched for 'Vaughn, W', after concluding that 'Bill' would be short for 'William'.
"Bingo!" Francie screamed, pointing to the name she had just read. "But Syd, this book is pretty old - they might not live there anymore."
"There's only one way to find out mate." And Sydney picked up the phone and dialled the number that was listed under to the name.
"Hello?" On the third ring a gruff voice greeted Sydney on the other end of the line.
"Uh, hello? I was wondering if there was a 'Bill Vaughn' there..."
"Who the hell is this? What sick kind of joke are you pulling?"
"I just want to speak to him, 'cause I think he may have known my mum!"
Sydney looked over at Francie, and shot her an exasperated glance. She pointed to the phone and then rolled her eyes, silently telling her friend that the person she was talking to was a complete and utter loser.
Francie shrugged her shoulders, as if she was saying, 'what can ya do,' and scooted over next to Sydney in an attempt to listen to the conversation.
The long uncomfortable pause of silence on the phone was broken by a sigh from the stranger on the other end.
"Sure..! He may have known your mum. But known being past tense!
"What do you mean? Did you know my mum?"
"I don't even know who this is? And who the hell is your mum?
"Oh, sorry! I'm Sydney. Who's this?"
"Michael... Vaughn."
"Oh! So is Bill your dad?"
"Was my dad. He's dead now. He died a few years ago. Why would he know your mum?"
"I don't really know, that's the problem. I've got a book of mum's and it has your dad's name in it. But we only found the name after we accidentally wet the page. It was written in like, invisible ink or something!"
"We? Who's we?"
"Whoops. Francie and I. Francie's my friend. Say 'hi' Francie!"
"Hi," Francie said sheepishly.
"Um, hi..." Michael said, replying to Francie's greeting. "But why is my dad's name inside that book?"
"That's why I phoned. To find out why."
From downstairs, Sydney heard the doorbell ring. Francie's parents had come to pick her up. Syd gave her friend a quick hug, and Francie let herself out of the room, only turning back to signal to Sydney to call her. Sydney nodded in reply.
"Francie's going now," Sydney said into the phone. "She says bye."
"Oh, ok then. Bye back... So back to the book, what's with that?"
"I was hoping you could tell me."
"Why don't you just ask your mum?"
"Because she's not here."
"Oh, are your parents divorced?"
"No! I would ask her but I can't. She's dead."
"Really?"
"Really. Why do you sound so surprised?"
"No reason. I just don't know anyone else who has lost a parent around my age. How old are you?"
"Thirteen. You?"
"I turn fifteen next month."
"Wow. That's pretty cool. So, what did your dad do? I want to know how mum knew him."
"He was a uh, an agent in the ASIS (Australian Secret Intelligence Service)."
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah, he died in action."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"Nah, don't be. That was eight years ago. How about your mum?"
"Mum was an English professor. She died in a car crash seven years ago. You see, my dad gave me some old books of hers for my birthday, and I accidentally found some stuff written in them. And I don't think my dad meant for me to find this stuff, and now I really want to find out what it is."
"I gotcha. Is there anything else written in there other than my dad's name?"
"Uh, I haven't actually checked. There might be though!"
"Ok, I'm not sure about you, but this is kinda strange."
"Yeah, it is."
"Do you want to find out if there is anything else written in there?"
"That's a good question..."
"So?"
"I just don't understand how my mum and your dad would have known each other. I mean, mum was a teacher and your dad was an agent... "
"I with you on that. But there's only one way to find out how they knew each other."
"I suppose."
"Hey? Do you want to meet and find out?"
"Uh... I don't know."
"We can find out why my dad's name is in there."
"Alrightio... I hope you don't mind, but I looked up your dad's name in the white pages and it was in there. It's kinda an outdated version but is your address still the same?"
Sydney read out the address listed in the book.
"Yep, that's right. Do you live near?" Vaughn asked in reply.
"Kinda," Sydney said, "About ten or fifteen minutes walk I think. I live on the other side of the park."
"That's good then. We'll meet in the park. How's the dog pen?"
"What! Why the park?"
"I have never met you before, so you may be an axe-murderer or something trying to scope out my house..." Michael answered with a laugh.
"Plus, how did you find the names in the book? Didn't you say it got wet?"
" Yeah, the book accidentally got wet."
"Sure sure... But it might get a little bit difficult if we worked indoors with water. So why not the park?" Micheal responded with a smirk in his voice.
"Fine. And it was an accident!"
"Alright, if you say so. So tomorrow, can you meet at the dog pen?"
"I suppose. What time?"
"Midday? How will I know that you're Sydney?"
"You'll know. I'll be carrying a book."
"Ok, I'll see you tomorrow then."
"For sure. We'll find out the reason."
"Yep. Oh! Wait a sec! What book is it in?"
"Alice in Wonderland, first edition."
"That spoils it! I was thinking it would be in Lord of the Rings or something more masculine like that. But Alice in Wonderland! That like, puts my dad's name to shame!"
"Come on! Alice in Wonderland is a great story. And, my mum was an English teacher." Sydney smiled. "But anyways, I'll see ya tomorrow Michael."
"Ok, hoo-roo."
And with that, they both hung up.
Quick as a whistle, Sydney phoned Francie, and filled her in on the conversation.
"Ok Sydney, what if he's an axe murderer?" Francie asked her friend, wondering about her mate's safety.
"I don't think he is... But that's why we're meeting in the park – where there are tons of people." Sydney slowly said. "But I'll tell you tomorrow if he is!"
"Well have fun then, talk later?" Francie said.
"For sure! Love ya."
Sydney returned the phone back to its hook, and jumped into her bed. Tomorrow she was going to meet Michael Vaughn. Tomorrow she was going to find out about the books. Tomorrow she was going to find out about her mum without her dad knowing.
And with that, Sydney smiled, snuggled downinto her bed and drifted off to sleep.
A/N: With Bill Vaughn's job, I didn't really think that one through. I was just going to say he was CIA, but then I realised, duh, this is set in Australia and I don't think Australia's version of CIA is called CIA. So I panicked just a tad, but then I found out that there is an ASIS (Australian Secret Intelligence Service) and that's why Bill Vaughn works there. :)
Feel free to review though and let me know your thoughts.
Till next time, Cheerio