Alex looked around anxiously for the rest of their team. They were supposed to be at this gate, she had looked at the flight board numerous times the moment she had stepped off the plane. Derek had taken JJ down to claim their luggage while she waited, which didn't make things any easier on her, that much was certain.
"Has there been any word on the delay?"
Alex looked down into the upturned face of a petite brunette, seeing that she was trying to keep her worry from showing on her face and failing miserably at it. "I haven't heard anything. Is there someone that you're meeting on it."
The young woman nodded. "My girlfriend, Hannah, is on that plane with her best friend, Grace. We're going to VidCon together, but we couldn't all fit on the same plane. Our managers said something about there also being a criminal behavior convention occurring at the same time? Though obviously in different venues."
Alex nodded a little. "Yes, that was why our group was separated, too. Our technical analyst seemed quite glad that she would be able to catch a few panels. I see that the board hasn't been updated," she murmured as she gestured towards the monitor, which still proclaimed that the flight the rest of her tea, was on was supposed to be on time.
"Hey, Alex, come over here and talk with Mamrie and me." She turned her head to see Reid and Mamrie huddled close to the window, looking at Mamrie's phone. Frowning a little, she drifted over towards them, the brunette at her heels, and an intense feeling of foreboding swept over her as she stopped on Reid's left.
"Hey, Ingrid, we haven't heard anything yet," Mamrie said, not looking up at them. It felt nice to put a name to the face, and she tried to smile encouragingly at Ingrid, even as she took in the way that Reid's eyes kept darting between them and the phone in Mamrie's hands. "Here, Alex, I want you to look at this."
Mamrie thrust the phone into her hands, and she tried not to fumble with it too much, since she didn't want to drop it. Finally feeling comfortable with it in her hands, she took a look at the screen and swallowed her gasp. Glancing up at Reid, she saw his almost imperceptible nod and swallowed thickly as she fixed her eyes on the screen once more. It didn't seem possible, since none of the televisions in the area were reporting the news that she was looking at. "That is very interesting. Is there any way that we can confirm what we've just read?"
"I'd say talk to Penelope, but she's not available right now. Perhaps we could try reaching Kevin, and see if he has access to more information than we currently possess." Alex fought to keep her voice even and placid, knowing that Ingrid was standing next to her, her body humming with nervousness as she looked between them all, trying to get a read on the situation.
"That sounds like the best course of action," Reid replied as he pulled out his own phone, quickly tapping away at it before bringing it to his ear and heading towards the newsstand across the corridor from them. Alex knew that he was doing that to protect Ingrid's feelings, but a part of her wanted to know exactly what he was saying to Kevin.
"Is there something going on that I should know about?" Ingrid asked, and Mamrie looked at her, arching an eyebrow, before shrugging just a tiny bit.
"I'm certain that it's nothing. Flights get delayed all the time," Alex quickly said, trying to put some certainty in her voice, but feeling like she had failed in her efforts. "But Reid's calling home and having one of our technical analysts check on a few things before we go about worrying about anything."
Ingrid nodded a little, before looking to Mamrie for confirmation. The younger woman nodded encouragingly, and Alex felt herself relax almost imperceptibly, even though she was incredibly worried about Erin and the others. A part of her had been looking forward to reconciling with Erin a little more on this trip, even if they were focused mainly on the business at hand, and the thought that that chance had been cruelly torn away from her by Fate deeply saddened her.
Reid strode up to them moments later, almost at the same time that an official from the airline approached them. "You were waiting for Flight 404, yes?" the woman asked, sounding official and cold. She nodded, looking to see that JJ and Morgan had joined the little huddle, both of them looking extremely concerned. "Come with me, please."
Ingrid let out a little gasp, clutching Alex's hand tightly as they followed after her. Alex glanced around at the people that were waiting by their gates, taking in the way that a few of them gave them perplexed looks, while a few of them smirked, thinking that their little group was in trouble. Alex felt her own anxiety begin to claw at her throat as they were led into a sterile looking room, and she knew that this was the confirmation that she never wanted.
"Can you tell me what's going on?" Ingrid asked the official, and the woman gave her a pitying look before shaking her head and exiting the room. "Where is she going?"
"She's most likely not the person in charge, and so can't tell us what's happening. She just needs to get us all together in a safe space," Morgan said tonelessly as he stretched out in his chair. Though his pose looked casual, relaxed, Alex could read the microexpressions on his face that told her he was just as worried about everything as she was. "We just have to be patient and wait for more information from the right officials."
Ingrid pouted and threw herself into a chair, looking like she was about to throw a fit. Mamrie met Alex's eye and shook her head a little, which kept Alex from saying something sharp to her. "Ingrid, you know that he has a point. And if they're friends with Alex and Spencer, most likely they're with the FBI, too, which means they know what they're talking about."
"I guess," the young woman said, her face still in a deep frown. Ingrid glared at all of them before turning her chair so that she faced the wall, obviously trying to keep control of her emotions.
Mamrie let out a soft sigh as she shook her head and scooted closer to Alex. "She's always been a little high strung, try not to think less of her."
Alex nodded. "I get it. I dealt with people like her while I was working full time with the FBI. It's hard to deal with your feelings when you feel like everything is going to hell around you."
Mamrie pursed her lips together before crossing her arms across her chest. Reid leaned over into their space, and gave them a searching look. "No one knows what is going on right now, other than the flight went off the radar about an hour ago. For all we know, they had to make an emergency landing on a small, not well charted, island and we'll be hearing their emergency beacon soon." Alex knew that he was trying to be reassuring, and she was grateful for that, since she couldn't find that same optimism in her heart at that moment.
