Disclaimer: I don't own Alias...
A/N: Thanks for the feedback.
Previously on 'Why Can't I'
Standing upright, Vaughn reached for his ear again and spoke into his shoulder. "This is Boy Scout checking in. Cameras and bugs are hot and ready to go," he said, "are we transmitting?"
"Yes, good job Boy Scout. C'mon home."
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Doubting the man, Vaughn had stood and checked his own phone and instantly became even more protective of Sydney, laying a hand on her shoulder as if to remind her that he was still there…
---
Vaughn trembled at the memory, and reminded himself of the vow he'd made – to give the man justice and to give justice to the man who he'd later found out had killed hundreds of innocent people, had killed his father, had killed Sydney's mother and, had most likely killed Sydney as well.
Vaughn walked inside the door and carelessly chucked his keys into the dish on the sideboard. Flicking the light switch on the wall,he flooded the room with fluorescent light – an un-homely touch to a home away from home.He checked his wrist-watch, and realised that it was time to check-in, so he reached for his phone and pressed speed dial.
"Agent Bristow."
"Jack, it's me."
"Have you reached the safe house?" Jack asked.
"Yes. Have you got anything from the cameras or the bug?"
"No, not yet. Did you see anything suspicious?"
Vaughn paused for a moment, unsure of what to say.
"Vaughn?"
"No... Jack, is there any chance thatyou received wrong intel and that the library isn't one of Sloane's fronts?"
"The source was a reliable one. And I've seen some people entering the library that are known to have direct links to Sloane. We'll just have to watch and see what happens."
"Do you think there's any chance that she-"
"No, as much as I wish she wasVaughn, I wouldn't count on it Agent Vaughn."
"Oh, ok…" Vaughn flipped the phone closed and threw his bag onto the table. Reaching into it, he pulled out his lap-top and moved to the couch. He turned on the machine and waited for it to load so he could commence the write up of the report from the mission.
Trying his hardest to concentrate, Vaughn's mind was constantly drawn back to the story-telling in the library, the little kids and memories from the past.. He lent back into the couch and held his head in his hands, annoyed at himself for his lack of focus. Closing his eyes, he tried to recall the incidents from the library, but instead drifted off into a light sleep…
"Where is she?"
Vaughn fell backwards from the door, allowing room for the person to step inside.
"Where is she?" the stranger repeated. "What have you done with her?"
"I'm sorry sir, I don't know what you're talking about!" Vaughn said, edging further and further away from the man.
"You've got her! I know you do!" The man leant forward and snatched his arm out, grabbing hold of Vaughn's shirt. "Tell me where she is!"
"Michael? What's going on down here?" Mrs Vaughn asked, appearing at the bottom of the stairs. "Michael!"
She ran to her son and clawed at the hand that clutched ever-so-tightly on the shirt. "What the hell are you doing? Get out!"
"Amadine?" The stranger lowered his hand and looked long and hard at Mrs Vaughn. "Amadine? Is that you?"
"Jack?" Mrs Vaughn asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Um," he said, uncomfortably reaching to fix his tie and straighten his sleeves. "My daughter is missing and she was last seen in your son's company, so I thought…"
"You thought that Michael kidnapped her?" Mrs Vaughn asked, pulling her son into her arms.
"Well, yeah." Jack looked away, avoiding Mrs Vaughn's and Michael's eyes and cleared his throat. "What am I supposed to think?"
"C'mon into the kitchen," Mrs Vaughn said walking past him and closing the front door. "I'll make you a cuppa and we'll tell you what we know."
- - -
"So what are you saying? She just jumped into the car with a stranger?" Jack asked.
"No! It wasn't like that!" Vaughn said, raising his voice.
"Well, you explain what it was like then, young man!" Jack said, matching Michael's tone.
"Jack…" Mrs Vaughn raised an eyebrow at him.
"Wha?" Vaughn asked, confused at the warning between the grown-ups. "What the?"
Mrs Vaughn laid a hand on both Jack and Michael's, and began to explain the situation.
"Michael-my-boy, this is Jack Bristow. He's Sydney's dad and also used to work with your father. We used to be quite good friends, then after your father died we just kinda… feel out of touch."
"Are you saying that you used to be a – what my dad used to be? And are you still a…?" Michael was unsure of what to say or what to call 'it'.
Jack exchanged a look with Mrs Vaughn and replied bluntly. "Yes."
"Oh," Michael said, looking down at his hands.
"So young man, do you understand this now? Considering what I do, and now that Sydney's missing, it is quite a big deal. If the last person was to see her was you-"
"And me," Mrs Vaughn said interrupting Jack. "I was there with Michael."
"Are you saying that you both witnessed what happened, and encouraged Sydney to hop in the car? Jack asked them both, shocked by this new piece of info. "You should know better, Amadine!"
"Michael told you Jack, it wasn't like that at all. We weren't to know that her father was involved in intelligence or that her father was you. To me, she was just a normal teenage girl trying to find out some information about a mother she hardly remembers. You have to look at it from her point of view and from ours!" Mrs Vaughn said, trying to explain to Jack what it was like
"What do you mean she was trying to find out information about her mother?" Jack asked.
Vaughn took a deep breath and began to explain to Mr Bristow the circumstances under which he met Sydney. "The other day Sydney called me because she had found my father's name in a book. She looked up the white pages and called, and we organised a meet so we could find out why my father's name was in a book that her mother had owned."
"Oh no," Mr Vaughn said, burrowing his head into his hands. "No!"
"What's the matter?" Mrs Vaughn asked him, concerned at the emotion the man now showed.
"That book - I didn't know Sydney had found it. I used to buy them for her mother and I gave them to her for her birthday after Tracey - Sydney's nanny -suggested I give her something with sentimental value – something that her mother had loved. I sent them to her, and Sydney discovered some hidden messages in them written in invisible ink. I never knew they were there!"
"Oh," Mrs Vaughn said, patting Jack's shoulder awkwardly.
"I had them analysed and it was discovered that the message had been written about two days earlier – a day after I had sent them. The books must have been intercepted in the mail and for what reason I didn't know!" Jack hung his head. "I brought them home and put them in my library, thinking that Sydney wouldn't find them. And she did. And now it makes sense. Someone knew that Sydney would investigate it, and they planned for this to happen!"
"It's not your fault Jack," Mrs Vaughn said, "We'll find her."
"The only explanation I have come up with is that Tracey betrayed us."
"Tracey?" Michael asked. "As in Tracey the nanny?"
"Yes," Jack nodded. "Tracey, I believe played a major part in all of this. She came to us after Sydney's mum died. She suggested that I give Sydney the books so I sent them to her because I was away for her birthday. Sydney told me it was Tracey that had 'accidentally' spilt the fluid on the book, and it must have been Tracey that told Sydney that the book was in the library because she was the only person I informed. She set Sydney up! And then when I got home this evening, the house was trashed and Rex was left outside. Everything adds up to Tracey."
"But what about the man at the park today? He was the one who said you were caught up with business and that you had sent him to pick Sydney up." Michael asked.
"Tracey's accomplice I'm assuming. It's just that - Sydney knows that I'd have called her!"
"Yes, she thought you would've. But her mobile was out of range. She checked because the man told her that was the reason why you had sent him."
"Are you telling me that this-this man, manipulated you into believing him?" Jack asked, standing in his place.
"No sir." Michael shook his head. "I didn't believe him."
Jack did a double take. "What?"
"I didn't believe what the man was telling us. I had an instinct about-"
"Oh what? You had a measly 'instinct' about a man-" Jack said, interrupting Michael and being interrupted in the process.
"Jack!" Mrs Vaughn stood up in her place. "Sit down and let him finish."
"This better be good," Jack said sending intimidating glares in Michael's direction.
Michael cleared his throat and continued on with what he was saying before. "After Sydney had checked her phone, I checked mine because I remembered something at school. Marshall, one of the guys in my grade is always playing these gags-"
"Point being...?" Jack mockingly asked.
"Jack…" Mrs Vaughn warned him again.
"Marshall can somehow hack into people's mobile phone and can send them hundreds of messages, or change their ring tone or-," Michael paused for emphasis, "Jim the reception so that the mobile phone has none. So, todayat the park,I checked my mobile and there were five bars of reception."
"And you still let Sydney go with him?" Jack asked.
Mrs Vaughn cleared her throat, indicating that she wanted to speak. "The man had answers to each and every one of our queries and assured Sydney that he was friends with you. The real clincher was that Tracey was sitting in the man's car. Between Tracey and her mother's books, Sydney was caught – hook, line and sinker
"Poor Sydney. You know, Rex, her dog is in the car, pining for her." Jack looked out the kitchen window at his car, seeing the puppy sitting on the passenger seat resting its head on the wound down window.
"Can I get him?" Vaughn asked, hopping up and moving for the door. "I'll let him inside."
"You can have him if you want him. There's no point me keeping him – I'm barely home. At least if he stays here with you, he'll be looked after."
"Really? Thanks, I'll get him." Vaughn headed out the door.
"Thanks Jack," Mrs Vaughn said, "Is there anything we can do for you?"
"I don't know. Did you recognise the man at all?" Jack quizzed her.
"No, never. I didn't know him at all." Mrs Vaughn said regretfully.
"Oh…" Jack disappointedly said.
"But we do know his name," Michael said, re-entering the room with Rex. "He told us."
"Really?" Jack asked.
"Yeah, Arvin Sloane. That's what he told us his name was. Arvin Sloane." Michael recalled, his mum nodding madly beside him.
"Oh no." Jack said, a panic stricken look on his face.
Vaughn woke with a start, taking a moment to realise where he was. Seeing the laptop had fallen to the floor, he lifted it back up and settled back down into the couch. He looked at the the empty blank screen, placed his hands on the keyboard and unenthusiastically began typing up vague details from yesterday's mission.
A/N: I hope everyone had a great Easter and ate plenty of choccies! Feel free to tell me your thoughts on the latest chapter!
haylee: Ta for reviewing. And with the whole 'woot' thing, I'm not sure as to why people say it. I didn't even realise I said it very much!
28dOOMDoom28: Thanks mate! I hope you enjoyed all your Cadbury. The best chocolate EVER, I reckon :)
Till next time, Cheerio!