Threshold has not been in its best state. Molly is completely rattled and shaken after giving the order to strike the plane where Andrea Hutton and Senator Tallman were in. Of course, deep inside she's taking it pretty seriously but she never lets anyone sees that in her. After all, she is the head of Threshold. She is there to lead.
Fenway and the others are in the break room having coffee when Molly came in. An immediate silence followed her entrance which she ignored. She focused on not spilling her coffee as she blocked out the awkward silence and the eyes staring behind her.
"Hey, Caffrey, how are you feeling?" Ramsey finally asked breaking the silence.
Molly turned around to face them. "Exhausted, to be honest, but I can manage", she answered with a smile.
"Well, that is refreshing", Fenway remarked catching Molly's attention and slightly breaking her temper meter.
"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked.
Ramsey and Lucas both looked at Fenway eyeing him to stop while it's not too late but Fenway is the kind of person who will say what he wishes to say and they both know that.
"I'm just saying that any normal person will be completely devastated about what happened with that plane. Considering that you're the one who gave the order to take it down, you're doing awesomely fine", he answered.
"Awesomely fine? I get it. You're still upset that I made that deal with Sgt. Adams. I am no murderer and I would not certainly choose to kill Andrea but I was given two choices: let them land in Mexico and ordered our men to apprehend them there which will probably take…I don't know…weeks with the hassle of coordinating with Mexican government and the flight to get them there and the process of actually locating them in Mexico by the time our team gets there. By that time, they have probably infected hundreds of people that we know nothing about and would make our problems worse or; I pull the trigger at that moment before they can land to prevent the first option from happening. You are a brilliant man, Dr. Fenway. If you can think of another option other than those two then come to me and let's argue about it. In the meantime, I suggest you get back to work and find the miraculous vaccine we're all been waiting for so I wouldn't have to make that kind of decision ever", Molly snapped and walked out of the break room.
Molly passed by JT by the door who has been standing there for some time just listening to them. JT came in and shut the door.
"Look, I am entitled to have an opinion about things. If you're going to scold me about…" Fenway started but he was cut off.
"No kidding. Ever since you got here you've been a pain in our asses, and I am sure that you're aware of it but Molly insisted in keeping you because she believes in your talent. When the leak came out, everyone pointed at you solid, even Andrea, but Molly said no, she doesn't believe it", JT said.
"I know that. You don't have to remind me", Fenway muttered.
"Blowing that plane off is the hardest decision Molly ever made in her life", JT said.
"Harder than ending Adams' life?" Ramsey asked.
JT looked him directly in his eyes. "Yes", he answered which silenced the mathematician right away. "Andrea Hutton was not just a friend to Molly. Andrea Hutton was her godmother", he finally revealed.
"What?" Lucas exclaimed.
"I didn't know that", Fenway muttered.
"Of course, you didn't because they wanted to keep it classified and secret. Molly isn't called 'administration darling' for nothing. When Molly's father disappeared, her mother had a hard time raising three children on her own. Molly, being the youngest and has a long way ahead of her, Andrea offered to take her until her mother became financially stable. Molly lived with Andrea for more than ten years in D.C. I remembered one time, Andrea was asked if she and Steve were planning to have children of their own. Andrea looked at young Molly sitting on her desk studying the political map of the United States. She smiled and said no, they are not planning on having that because they already have one", JT explained.
"Dr. Caffrey", Lucas said.
"That's right. Steve even wanted to change Molly's last name. She was supposed to be Molly Anne Hutton but Andrea disagreed. She said it would be too much for her family even though Molly's mother already agreed to it. After Molly graduated, Andrea hoped she would follow her footsteps but Molly decided to become a contingency analyst and they part ways. Threshold was the reason they were brought together", JT added.
"Are you saying that the reason Threshold was chosen was because Andrea Hutton was Caffrey's godmother?" Ramsey asked.
"No. Her plan was chosen because it was the best there is. Molly didn't know Andrea was involved until she was brought here. Funny thing is, I was supposed to take Andrea's job after she retired but she reassigned me here not because the threat of the aliens is so great but because of Molly", JT answered.
"What do you mean?" Fenway asked.
"She wanted me to look after her. She wanted me to have her back. Andrea couldn't do it herself because people will see it as favoritism and she couldn't afford losing their belief in Molly's capabilities as a leader. Right then and there I saw it in her eyes, the love she had for her and every time I saw the two of them talked together, I could see it in Molly's too. That was the last thing Andrea asked of me and I intend to keep it. Shooting that plane was no joke for Molly and I don't want you think otherwise because her second mother was in that plane. She chose the lives of billions of people in this planet over her own desire so I don't want to hear any of you trying to push her to the limit again because she's already broken and when this whole thing is all over, I have no idea how in God's name I would pick up the pieces to fix her", JT answered.