Chapter Ten

8 pm- San Antonio Airport

Teaspoon and Sam were both on hand to greet the members of Alpha Team. They stood on the tarmac and watched as the MCAT jet made its drop out of the Texas sky, make its descent, and then touch down. Sam let out a low whistle as he got a better view of the sleek, state-of-the art aircraft that taxied down the runway toward them.

"We are goin' to have access to all the neatest toys," he grinned at his father-in-law as the plane came to a stop a short distance away from them, and the pilot began to power down.

Teaspoon chuckled, "That we are, Son, that we are."

The two men sobered as the door to the jet opened, the boarding platform lowered, and Vin Tanner stepped out of the plane. Teaspoon smiled as he recognized agents Coulter, Standish, Wilmington, Sanchez, Dunne, and Jackson. Teaspoon was more than pleased with the Alpha Team members Chris Larabee had chosen to send to Texas to evaluate the new recruits. He and Sam stepped forward to meet them.

"Welcome to San Antonio," Teaspoon greeted them. Sam echoed his greetings with one of his own.

"It's good to see you again, Teaspoon," Vin grinned as the two men shook hands.

"Don't let him lie to you," Wilmington quipped from behind Tanner, "He only came along so he could have a little extra one on one with his woman."

"Shut up, Buck." Vin and Kelli said together, causing laughter to abrupt around them. Even Teaspoon chuckled as Sam looked on in puzzlement.

"Son, Captain Tanner and," The older man explained to his son-in-law, pointing to Kelli, "Agent Coulter here are married."

Sam grinned, as he shook hands with Vin, and nodded at Kelli, "I hope you won't mind me pickin' your brains about what it's like workin' together. Y'all will meet my wife, Emma, in a bit."

"Not at all," Kelli assured him. "Vin and I have been down that road and crashed a time or two. We'd be happy to fill you in on the gory details."

"Thanks," Sam said.

After introductions were completed, Teaspoon gestured to a couple of black SUV's parked next to the hangar, and dropped two key rings into Tanner's hands, "Those SUV's are for your use for the duration of your stay in San Antonio. If y'all are ready to go, follow us, and we'll take you to your accommodations."

"Lead the way," Vin tossed Josiah the other key ring, as the Alpha Team members followed Cain and Hunter to the vehicles.

"I hope we arrive at our accommodations soon," Ezra commented to Vin and Kelli as Tanner followed the truck driven by Cain, "I'm famished,"

"Wouldn't surprise me if Teaspoon doesn't have a Texan-size feast setup for us," Vin told him, "Texans' are pretty big on hospitality."

Ezra rolled his eyes, "The size does not matter to me, so long as it is hot and succulent."

"Size always matters Ezra," Kelli shot him a grin, earning her a glare from the Southerner, and an impish wink from her husband.

Behind them, in the SUV driven by Sanchez, Nathan commented, "What do you think of Cain, Josiah?"

"He seems amicable and capable enough," Josiah said as he maneuvered the SUV into the left turning lane behind Tanner and Cain's vehicles, "but until I have the opportunity to evaluate him in action, I'm going to restrain from giving my professional opinion."

"Fair enough," Jackson glanced at Buck and JD in the back seat, "The two of you have any thoughts on Cain?"

"He has a good record," Wilmington mused, "Obviously Travis and Chris think he has what it takes to be a MCAT Captain, or else he wouldn't have been offered the position."

"That's true," Nathan agreed.

"Anyone else notice we appear to be heading out of town?" JD asked, as he gazed out the window, effectively changing the topic of conversation.

The three other agents fell silent, as they too, glanced out their windows at the fading lights of San Antonio.

"I can just imagination what's going through Ezra's head right about now," Josiah said, exchanging a grin with Nathan.

"Forcing me into 'glorified babysitter' servitude was bad enough, now I'm subjected to endure roughing it as well?" Buck's impersonation of Ezra, elicited howls of laughter from his fellow agents.

Forty-five minutes later, the three vehicles passed under a wrought iron arch with the scrolled words, "Hunter Acres" written in the center of it.

"Good Lord, it appears our accommodations are going to be rustic in origin," Ezra exclaimed as he caught sight of the sprawling log and stone ranch house with a wraparound porch, large bay windows, and at least three enormous chimneys.

"Relax, Ezra," Vin cautioned, "I'm sure Hunter has indoor plumbin' and clean sheets."

Kelli chuckled at the ungentlemanly snort Standish made, as Vin parked the SUV next to Cain's truck, and killed the ignition. The trio got out and joined Hunter and Cain in front of the vehicles, while they waited for Josiah to park. Emma was waiting on the porch. Sam took the steps two at a time to greet her with a kiss, before Emma flashed their visitors a warm smile.

"Welcome to Hunter Acres. I'm Emma Cain. I'm sure you all must be hungry. Rosaria and I have prepared a late supper for you to enjoy. "

Teaspoon led the MCAT agents into the dining room where a Tex-Mex meal of beef and chicken enchiladas, tacos, Spanish rice, mixed salad, Apple Empanadas, and Caramel Flan awaited them. Hunter waited until his guests had helped themselves, before dishing up his own meal. For the next several moments silence ensued as the hungry agents enjoyed their meal.

When he had eaten his fill, Teaspoon leaned back in his chair, and studied the men and women seated around the table. "I hope y'all don't mind, but I told Travis I'd put y' all up here for the duration of your stay in San Antonio. We are all in for some late nights over the next week and I felt that havin' you in close proximity would allow us more of an opportunity to work together. Besides, I thought y'all would be more comfortable out here in the country, than in some stuffy hotel rooms in the center of town."

Hunter watched with amusement as six pairs of eyes settled on Standish, who simply said, "Thank you for your generous hospitality, Teaspoon. I'm sure my associates and I will find the accommodations not only comfortable, but satisfactory as well. "

"You practice that speech a lot?" Teaspoon asked with a grin.

Ezra shrugged, "Not often enough, obviously."

After supper was finished, Emma bid everyone good night, and then headed to her and Sam's house. Once their guests had deposited their luggage into their assigned rooms, the group gathered in Teaspoon's study to go over the new recruits' personnel files.

"Obviously they are all highly skilled and experienced, or else they wouldn't be under consideration. So we'll highlight some bits of info for you," Teaspoon told Tanner and the others, once everyone was seated, "Analytical, decisive, Emma Cain, Texas Ranger, Criminal Intelligence Division, is one of the best profilers in Texas. James Hickok's jacket makes him a poster boy for a S.W. A. T. pamphlet."

"Louise McCloud, Homicide Detective in Saint Joseph, Missouri, and her investigative skills are outstandin'," Sam took up where Teaspoon left off, "William F. Cody's long range sniper scores are impressive. His Army Ranger trainin' as a helicopter pilot will be an asset to Charlie Team as well. Killian Kidd, DEA, his undercover experience has given him lots of opportunity to study drug activity south of the border. "

Teaspoon caught the glance Tanner and Coulter shared. He knew Cody's skills with a rifle would be of particular interest to both agents; as Tanner was renowned throughout law enforcement for his shooting skills, and Coulter was one of the best markswomen he had ever seen. He tuned back in to Sam as his son-in-law continued,

"Running Buck Cross, DEA, is fluent in several languages and a master in martial arts. Beatrix Lopez, LAPD Gang Unit, has an in depth knowledge of criminal gang activity. Marcus Jones, US Border Patrol, has extensive knowledge of drug cartels and mule operations. Noah Dixon is a forensic specialist and profiler, as well as bein' an instructor at Quantico."

"I'm looking forward to having a conversation with Dixon," Josiah interrupted Sam, "I've been hearing a lot of good things out of Quantico about his method of instruction."

"So have we," Teaspoon commented, "Ike McSwain's skills will be of particular interest to you, JD."

"Why's that?" Dunne asked.

"He's well known for his computer skills and technical know how. I think he might just be the man to be Charlie Team's Satellite Communications Computer Specialist," Teaspoon told him.

JD smiled, "I'll be sure to keep that in mind when I do my evaluations."

"You do that." The older man grinned at him.

"You've got quite a group here," Vin stated. "On paper, all have the necessary skills, but do they have what it takes to be MCAT? I know…,"

A collection of snorts, coughs, and a loud 'we' from Nathan, erupted in protest of his using 'I know'.

Tanner rolled his eyes, "As I was sayin', we know from experience that what makes a cohesive team is how well its members works together," He gave Kelli's hand a squeeze, and looked at each of his brothers in turn, "Each of us has a valuable role within the group. We all know what is expected of us in any given situation. It's goin' to take some doin' to mesh these newbies into a unit. Commander Larabee and I agreed that it is goin' to take a minimum of ten days or more, to make the proper evaluations."

"We're prepared to do whatever it takes to make a team MCAT can be proud of." Sam told him.

"Good," Vin said, "'Cause we have our work cut out for us."

"Let's hit the hay then. Mornin's goin' to come all too soon." Teaspoon suggested.

Sam bid the visiting agents and his father-in-law a good night and went home. Teaspoon waited until his guests had turned in, before going to bed.