Vanessa Vaughen
Vanessa felt like sinking into her chair until she slipped under her desk and fled from the humiliation.
"You alright there, V?" Matthew, ever so helpfully, asked.
Vanessa blinked, turning her head slightly so she could face him. "Mmhm," she pressed her lips together and tried smiling.
"Do you want me to-"
"Oh no," she began shaking her head, cutting off Matthew's question, "it's alright."
He tried saying more, but her hand motioned for him to stop. Vanessa's heart began to sink with her.
"Well, are you just going to sit there and think about it?"
Vanessa looked at him again. "Is there any other choice?"
Matthew shook his head slightly, spinning his chair to look back at the large desktop screen. "There's a mission we need to work on. Now, c'mon, get your head in the game and worry about Bourne later."
Vanessa watched him lean himself forward as he tried searching for more on Kaufman's results. A crack of a smile came through as she watched him clicking through profiles and reading every bit he could.
"You're not at all one bit worried that Bourne will call off this mission?"
Matthew scoffed. "Didn't he already do that once?"
Vanessa shrugged, thinking back to that phone call. "I guess."
"And did it work?" He was still scrolling through the documents, his chin resting on his hand.
"No," Vanessa sighed, "no it did not."
"Is it going to work this time?"
"Not unless he fires me," she mumbled, playing with her fingers in her lap.
Matthew spun to face her. "I doubt it very much that Bourne is going to fire you because you found out about his biological relatives."
"What if it gets him really angry. I mean, I would be angry if somebody else ever found out my-" she paused, taking a glance at his patient look.
"Your what?" He asked, genuinely curious.
Vanessa looked back down. "My biological father."
Matthew continued to look at her, but Vanessa didn't dare to make eye contact. She knew if she would continue to think about the possibilities, nothing good would come out of it.
"You know, it's not a sin to be angry," Matthew said slowly as if he were picking out his words carefully, "It's what you do with that anger that can turn out to be a sin."
Vanessa continued to stay quiet, allowing him to continue with his thought.
"I'm sure it's uncomfortable for Bourne right now, and I'm sure some part of him is still angry. But I'm almost positive that he's going to do the right thing and make sure that Walter Warner is going to get taken down, and that we can get our friends back."
Vanessa smiled at the mention of their friends.
"I think the most important thing to do right now, is to keep going. Too many things got in our way last time and it was all too much, that's why it got pushed aside. But just because it's too much for us doesn't mean we can't give it all to Jesus so He can help us. If we continue to do what's right, we can make it, but only with His help."
Vanessa's smile only brightened when she finally looked up at him and saw his eyes.
"Look at you becoming a preacher-man," she teased.
Matthew chuckled, shaking off her comment. "Alright, alright, we've got work to do," he spun back around.
Vanessa continued to think about his words for a moment. "You are right though. We need to keep focus, nobody is going to be able to stop us."
"That's the spirit," he gave her a wink.
As they got back to searching documents and going through their information, a soft knock on the door sounded.
Darla poked her head through and looked straight at Vanessa. "Ready for that interview?"
Vanessa nodded, standing up. "I'll be back in a bit and see if I can get anything out of that kid that's going to be useful," she said to Matthew.
Matthew stayed seated. "Hey, go easy on the poor fella, he's been through a lot."
Vanessa nodded, noting that down. She turned and left through the door, following Darla.
"He'll meet you in the conference room soon," she informed her.
They split up and Vanessa went down the hall and found the door that lead to the conference room.
Let's see if you can help us finish this thing.
Blake Farmer
Blake's hands shook, he tried squeezing them as he followed the lady through the office once again and down a hallway.
"She's already in here," Darla informed him, "don't be nervous, Agent Vaughen is here to help you."
Blake didn't say anything, only inhaled a deep breath and nodded his head.
She's here to help me and my friends... She's going to help me and my friends....
Darla opened the door and there sat the woman at the end of the long table. The rest of the room was large, empty and quiet. The walls were all glass windows overlooking the rest of the busy streets.
"Agent Vaughen, this is Blake Farmer," Darla introduced, she motioned for Blake to go further inside as she inched out and closed the door shut behind her.
"Blake," the woman said with a gentle smile, "I hear we have a lot to talk about."
Blake shook the woman's hand, realizing she might feel the shakiness. When she motioned for him to sit beside her, he tried taking more slow and steady breaths.
"Agent Vaughen," he began, but the woman quickly cut him off.
"Please, Vanessa is fine," the same smile didn't seem to dissapear.
Blake nodded in understanding. "A lot happened between the time I ended up in the gang to where I am now."
Her smile grew into a concentrated look, she had all of his attention. "Would you mind if I recorded this?"
He shook his head no.
"Okay, there," she set the device on the table in front of them, "so let's begin, how did you end up with Warner in the first place?"
Blake looked down to the shakey hands in his lap. "Agent, with all due respect, I don't see how that's any relevant. I know it could get you a lead, but you have to understand that the only thing I want you to know is about the others that were there and where they are now. That way we can move forward."
The agent's eyebrows pinched together. "The others?"
"You need to know that they're not with Warner right now, they're actually safe-"
"I don't understand, how about we start from the beginning and you can tell me everything."
Blake sighed. He really didn't know where to begin or how much he should reveal. She didn't need his life story, she needed to get the right information in order to help save Carmen, Julia and Jacob.
Vanessa saw the pained look printed on his face. "Listen," her voice was gentle, "I know you've been through a lot, but we need everything you can remember. It doesn't matter how relevant you think it is, that information could possibly save your friends."
He looked up at her and saw the care in her eyes, it made his nerves ease down.
She sat up a little straighter and the concentration was shown again. "Alright, let's start from the beginning. How did you end up with Warner in the first place?"
Blake cringed and looked away. His heart felt like it was about to jump out of his body.
"You can talk to me," she said, her eyes smiling at him.
"We needed the money," he started, "and a guy offered me some..."
"Go on," she urged.
He told her everything. From the moment he got there to being beaten up to meeting Jacob and going for a hunt on a Subway in the middle of New York. He told her about Carmen and the chase. He told her everything he knew about Warner and every location he was at. He told her about his own life and his mother back at home. He told her about the motel and about Julia and a guy named Jorge. He told her how he got here although he never mentioned 'the lady' or Darla helping them out.
"Are your friends still at the motel?" She asked, pulling out a notepad to start writing stuff down.
Blake shrugged. "Last time I checked, yes."
"Okay, thank you so much, Blake," she smiled, finishing her note on the pad.
"You are going to help them too, right?"
Vanessa looked at him, putting a hand on his arm. "Don't worry, we'll find them. We're going to make sure they're safe and then bring them home."
Blake smiled, feeling the tears in his eyes. "Okay, thank you," he whispered.
A/N
one down, only four more to go...
and then a few others ;)