M. Bourne
"Vaughen!" Bourne's voice was more coarse, he woke up with his throat hurting and his noise slightly stuffy. But of course, it couldn't stop him.
The agent spun at his call, she waited for him to reach her.
"Morning," she looked slightly surprised as he made it down the hall.
"Yeah, hi," Bourne motioned for them to step inside her office.
"You seem eager today-"
"I need you to look in that folder and tell me what you see when you read that information."
Vanessa looked down at the yellow folder and opened it.
"C'mon, Vaughen, I don't have all day."
She took the first page out and held it closer to herself, reaching to sit in her chair as her eyes were glued to the information.
She began to shake her head. "I-I don't understand-"
"Keep reading, Vanessa," Bourne was getting slightly impatient, he knew Darla would come running with the coffee that he desperately wanted right now.
She continued to read in silence, Bourne watched as her eyes would glide over the page from left to right.
Her mouth slightly dropped open, but no words came out. Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked up at him.
Bourne smiled. "Well, good luck with that," he quickly patted her shoulder and left.
He paced quickly down the hallway, not looking back when he heard her call his name.
As he practically skipped down and passed the desks he noticed an empty one.
"Where's Darla today?"
"She had an errand to run, she told us that she had already told you before you left," one of his employees answered as they passed by.
Bourne never remembered even seeing Darla today. He wondered where she could have possibly gone.
But who's going to make me that coffee?
He continued back to the office, sniffing and pouting.
~~~
Vanessa Vaughen
But this doesn't make any sense...
Vanessa's eyes re-read the same words of information again and again and again. She wondered if it was really true.
She turned to her desktop where she typed in the name William Warner.
Nothing came up, only articles on a man named Walter Warner.
She picked up her phone and dialled the only person she could think of at this moment.
Luckily they answered on the second ring. "Miss me already, V?"
Vanessa sighed, shaking her head even though nobody could see her. "Listen up, Matty, I've got something you might never believe."
"Can't go the agency, Vaughen. Pretty sure Bourne's going to kill me."
"Well then, I'll come to you," she cringed looking up to see what he would say.
A reluctant noise came out of him before he agreed. "Fine, fine..."
Vanessa drove the subway all the way to the apartment Matthew had been staying in since his time in New York. It was a quieter place than her apartment and what she considered to be perfect for a man in Matthew's condition.
She didn't even knock on the door but entered. Matthew was standing by the counter and looked at her all confused.
"Please, do come in," he said sarcastically.
Vanessa shook his comment off and quickly rushed to open her folder where she showed him the same sheet Bourne had given her.
"I don't understand," Matthew took the sheet and scanned it more closely.
"I didn't at first either, but you have got to see this."
She opened her tablet and tried searching the same name: William Warner.
"See, nothing comes up."
Matthew inched closer. Vanessa noticed he had only changed into comfier loungewear since the last time she saw him. She made a note to ask him how he was doing later.
"Wait, so, let's connect all of the dots," Matthew pulled up one of the taller chairs to sit on, "William is Kaufman."
Vanessa held her breath, nodding her head. "Warner's brother."
Matthew's eyebrows pinched together. "So, wait a minute, that's not his name."
"That's why I'm confused. His registered name is J. Kaufman. The J stands for Joshua."
"We need to figure out why he changed his name."
Vanessa sighed, she started pacing again, the thoughts and possibilities spun.
"I have an idea," she walked closer to Matthew, "what if he needed to change his name."
Matthew sat considering it, "but why?"
"Well, Walter is a dangerous man. He's been doing terrible things ever since... well, a long time. What if the whole reason Kaufman did change his name is because he feared his brother wanted to do something to him or wanted something from him?"
Matthew took a moment to soak it all in. "So, you're saying that you think Warner might have threatened Kaufman to the point where he had to run away and change his whole name?"
Vanessa went back to the paper. "Not even that, it's documented that Kaufman has no known family, but here it said that William had a wife and even a child."
Matthew shook his head. "But why would he leave his wife and child to just run away? Wouldn't he take them with him, especially if they could be in serious trouble too?"
Vanessa sighed. "If only we had more information."
Matthew bit his lip. "What if we're reading this wrong, though? What if Kaufman was actually paired up with Warner all along and this was his plan? What if everything that had happened to our systems and to Giselle and Charlie were all because Warner was getting his information from a direct source?"
Vanessa began to pace again. "See, I don't know. I don't want to believe that. Kaufman was a great man, and you saw his body yourself."
Matthew looked down. "I know. You're right. How could he have died?"
"We know he was shot. We also know it does trace back to Warner."
"Let me re-phrase that: Why did he die?"
Vanessa looked at him. "I'm guessing for the same reason why he ran away and changed his name and entire life."
Matthew looked back down at the sheet. "A wife and son, and who knows what had happened to them. "
Vanessa paused. "What if they're still alive."
Matthew looked up at her. "Why is that relevant."
Vanessa kept thinking. "What if they know something, or can lead us closer to Warner. If they know something, it can lead us that much closer to getting our friends back."
Matthew looked down. "How do you plan on finding them?"
Vanessa paced. "What's that thing you can do to find your family online?"
Matthew shook his head. "What?"
"That thing, you know, you see ads all over tv about how you can find your family's past and stuff."
"That ancestry DNA stuff?"
"YES! Exactly!"
Matthew's face dropped. "And how exactly do you plan on getting DNA from a dead man?"
Vanessa's excitement deflated. "That's the sad part."
"What?"
"We're going to have to go pay a visit at the morgue."
Matthew gave her a face as if asking if she was serious. When he realized she was serious, he could only say a few words in the most subtle tone. "Absolutely not."
"Oh please Matthew, please?"
"Never in a million years." He continuously shook his head.
"Please Matthew, I'm begging you to come with me. I can't do this alone." Vanessa was pretty sure there would be tears soon.
"Vanessa, I-" he looked at her face and sighed. "Even if I wanted to, I couldn't, remember? Doctor's orders."
Vanessa stood straight, her voice sounded small and quiet. "But what if this gets us our friends back? What if this helps us finally put an end to our mission? Please, Matthew, we have to try, and I can't do this without you."
Matthew didn't look at her, he was silent as he was taking a moment to think about it.
"Please?" She whispered, desperate for his help.
He sighed. "Fine. Alright. But I'm not going to enjoy it."
Vanessa could only smile. "I know, this isn't easy for me either."
He looked at her, his eyes only filled with sympathy.
Vanessa slightly shrugged, swallowing the lump in her throat. "It's my job. I have to take the good things and the bad things."
"Our job," he got off of the chair. "Okay, let's just go. The sooner, the better."
"That's the spirit," she tried smiling.
A/N
k who's playing Christmas music already?
cuz I am fs.