Alison sat at her desk trying to absorb all the new Red Shadows information. Technically she was still assigned to the terrorist sect in Paris, but since there were no new updates there, she thought she would be proactive and read as many as the reports that had come out of the attack that she could.

She finished reading one and placed it on her desk. She then sat back and processed what she had read. It seemed like there were dozens of CIA operatives that had given their opinions and theories, but Alison wanted to get a handle on what her thoughts were. The Red Shadows had set off two explosions at the times that corresponded to their two previous attacks. But the locations were what puzzled her. Why Hawaii and Atlanta? If they wanted a simultaneous event that occurred six time zones apart, than they might have been forced into focusing on Honolulu. But if the Red Shadows wanted to remind the US public of their previous attacks, why wasn't DC targeted?

And what about the bomb that never detonated in Boston? Was that a sign that the Red Shadows were getting careless? Regardless, what did Boston Harbor and the Bank of America building in Atlanta have in common? Were they signaling a potential threat against the US banking system? She thought back to when Cobra had tried to destroy the world currencies. In his post-mission brief Flint said that Vaughn had made the comment that they had learned from Cobra's mistakes. Had they found a better way to cripple the financial system?

Alison stayed lost in her thoughts until she heard her name being called. The CIA Director, Tom Rollins, approached her desk. She instantly went on alert. "Stuart and his team are currently tied up chasing down a couple of leads. Can you come with me to the briefing and report on their findings?"

"Absolutely," Alison replied. Ever since she had returned from Paris, she had been trying to get into the Red Shadows investigation. She hoped this might be a chance to do so.

"Good. The meeting is in half an hour."

Alison wasted no time collating the reports in front of her into a manageable pile. Since she hadn't come up with her own theory that felt right to her, she made notations that outlined the most popular theories of the moment. She then jotted down other critical points until it was time to attend the briefing.

Alison walked into the war room and wasn't surprised to see Hawk and Flint seated at the long table. About half of the Jugglers' seats had been taken. Hawk was deep in conversation with General Cavanaugh, while Flint looked on with a frown.

Shortly after Alison had taken her seat, the room filled up and the meeting began. They wasted no time getting to the heart of the matter. The Chief of Staff to the President was the first to speak. "The President is currently grilling the heads of Hawaiian Electric to find out how the Red Shadows were able to cause a second power outage in this country, so he asked me to receive this debriefing. Since I know we are all extremely busy, let's keep this short. The number one question he still has, is how did we let this happen again? I thought the Red Shadows were eliminated as a threat."

Hawk was the first to speak. "We never said we had eradicated the Red Shadows threat. We may have captured Vaughn, and a handful of their operatives, but," He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as the Chief of Staff waved for him to stop.

"I really don't want to spend my limited time hearing a bunch of excuses. The president wants a written report outlining all the inadequacies that led to this." He again waved for quiet as Hawk and the other generals began to balk at the request. "His words, not mine. But let's move on. From what I understand the consensus is that this was another warning from the Red Shadows. If that is the case, when and where are they going to attack next?" The Chief of Staff asked.

Alison nearly laughed at the absurdity of the question. Hawk looked at Director Rollins who nodded and faced the Chief of Staff. "I'm sure you understand that is not an easy question to answer. We have a list of what we consider to be high-target areas that might give an indication as to where. But to pinpoint an exact time at this point is impossible."

The Chief of Staff stared down the director. "You and I both know how," he paused as he considered his next words, "demanding our president can be. The question I asked you is exactly what he asked me. I can't tell him our answer is a list of popular locations and a calendar."

Director Rollins scoffed. "Oh, so now the President wants to hear my opinion? I thought he had no faith in the CIA."

"Tom, this is no time to get into a pissing match," Hawk cautioned.

"General Abernathy is correct. Can't you at least narrow down the time frame? Are we looking at an imminent attack? Or one that's farther down the road?" the Chief of Staff asked.

Director Rollins nodded at Alison who read from one of the sheets of paper in front of her. She did her best to quickly condense the pages of notes into a short summary. "Based on the information we were able to gather from their Headquarters in Idaho, they seem awfully fond of sending a message. We think the bomb left at Boston Harbor is the biggest clue that they intend to disrupt Fourth of July festivities. If we consider the location of the two other attacks as a clue, a prime target is the Peachtree Road Race that Atlanta holds on Fourth of July or the firework display that Honolulu puts on. But those are total stabs in the dark. Atlanta is a city of nearly a half million people, with major sporting events, concerts, and festivals that would all be ripe targets for terrorists. Oahu has more than five million tourists a year. Attacking one of their wide-open beaches would leave hundreds of casualties."

The Chief of Staff scribbled down notes and then looked up. "Okay. I'll have the president reach out to the governors of Georgia and Hawaii, as well as the mayors of Atlanta and Honolulu. I'll them to step up security for the high-profile events on the Fourth of July."

Director Rollins nodded, "That's a good start, but I think we need to give serious consideration to expanding the scope. What if the bombs were left in random locations and had nothing to do with telegraphing their next location? Then we would need to consider the large Fourth of July firework displays in the major cities like New York, DC and LA."

Alison decided to add her thoughts as well. "And again, we're making a big assumption that something is even going to happen on the Fourth. As we all know the Red Shadows attacked the Pentagon six months to the day after they triggered the East Coast Blackout. If they're planning the same thing this time, an attack would happen right before Thanksgiving."

"Which is normally when the United States is on high alert," the Director added.

The Chief of Staff closed his notebook. "Well, that works for me. At least it is something to report to the President."

"Sir, that is only one hypothesis of many. And we still haven't narrowed down potential targets," Alison reiterated.

"What's the most likely target at Thanksgiving? The Macy's Parade?" The Chief of Staff asked. "We'll make sure that New York has enough funds and manpower to extend their police presence."

"Sir, you're missing the point," Hawk pleaded but the Chief of Staff waved him off.

"We have a month until the Fourth. Keep your ears open, and if you hear something credible let us know. At least now the President is going to be happy doing something."

The Chief of Staff stood up, indicating an end to the meeting. He left, along with a handful of the Jugglers, but the rest of the room stayed behind, their faces showing various levels of disbelief. Hawk looked at Director Rollins. "We can't just sit here and hope for the best."

"I have no intention of doing that." He stood up and waved at Alison to leave with him. Alison looked at Flint and told him she would see him later at home.

"What can I do to help?" Alison asked once she and Director Rollins entered the hallway.

"Right now I need you and Sean to continue on your assignments. I can't have all of my resources diverted to wild goose chases."

"What about Vaughn? Has anyone interrogated him?" Alison asked.

"That's where Stuart's team is right now. Not only are they questioning him, but they are going over the visitor's logs to see if anyone of note stands out."

Alison nodded. "If you need help with that, I do have some experience of interrogating prisoners from my days on the Joe team."

"I think Stuart has a pretty good handle on it, but I'll keep it in mind."

It was a frustrating answer, and unfortunately Alison spent the next several days feeling like a spectator at her jobsite, while others got to do important work. There was a silver lining three weeks after they had returned from Paris, as they learned that the French military had apprehended several members of the terrorist organization that Sean and Alison had been spying on. A few day later, based on the information they had gathered during their days in Paris, as well as what the French had learned after they infiltrated the hideout, the Joes raided an affiliated cell's home base in Texas, taking several more suspected terrorists into custody.

The following day Director Rollins called Alison into his office to tell her that he was giving her a chance to interrogate Vaughn. Alison wasn't sure if it was because her assignment had come to an official close, if it was due to the Director being pleased with her work, or because the Fourth of July was less than a week away and people were getting nervous.

The next morning Alison pulled up to the gate at Fort Meade. She flashed her credentials and then proceeded to a second checkpoint that included a more in-depth study of her ID and papers. The well-armed guard told her to stay put while he checked with someone on the inside. Alison stared at the concrete barrier in front of her and refrained from making the comment that she wasn't going forward even if she wanted to. After a few minutes, the guard came back and told her she could proceed. It took another few minutes for the barrier to be moved out of her way.

Her destination was only a few hundred yards away, but she had to proceed through a third checkpoint. This time there were multiple armed MPs to greet her. They gave her a pat-down and told her she wasn't allowed to bring anything into the prison. She had been prepared for that possibility and had memorized most of Vaughn's folder. "I'd like to take notes. Can I at least bring in paper and a pen?"

"No Ma'am," the closest MP replied. "They will be provided to you if needed."

She went through a metal detector and was finally allowed to enter the facility. However, she was stopped again in the small lobby area. They collected her ID and told her to take a seat and wait for further clearance. It was a painful thirty minutes as she had nothing to occupy her time but her thoughts. Luckily for her, she had a lot to think about. Finally, a man was buzzed through one of the doors and he walked over to her. "Mrs. Faireborn? Sorry for the delay, but we have strict protocols here. The good news is that you are now in the system so future visits shouldn't take as long."

He waved her through the door he had come through and explained that the facility had not only been rebuilt but fortified after Zartan's prison escape. Alison was brought into a sparse room that had a table, chair and what she assumed was a two-way mirror. She took the seat while her escort stood guard in front of the door. She watched as Vaughn was led in to the room on the opposite side of the mirror and secured to the single chair that was bolted to the floor on his side. She turned to her escort. "Can I get a pad of paper and a pen?"

"Absolutely." He rang a bell by the door, and it was immediately opened by yet another MP. The two men spoke quietly. The MP nodded and returned a short time later with the paper and pen.

Once Alison had the items, she took her time getting settled. She was more than ready to begin the interrogation, but she thought the delay would rattle Vaughn. She stalled for a few minutes more and then began. "Good morning Mr. Vaughn. I have a few questions for you."

"Oh good. I always like a break in my monotonous routine. But do hurry, I have a Mah Jong tournament in forty-five minutes."

"How long this takes depends on how much you cooperate. I want to talk to you about your group's attack on Honolulu and Atlanta."

"First off, since I've been in here for over a year, I no longer have a group that I am associated with. Secondly, even if I did, how could I possibly have any recent information on them?"

"A man in your position normally has connections unknown to us."

"I wish that was true. But I'm afraid it isn't. The only wealth of information I currently possess is a summary of every Law and Order episode I have seen since I've been in here."

"Don't be coy. My coworkers made a list of your visitors since you've been here. A 'Dee Nadel' has come to see you quite frequently. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that anagram translates to Dela Eden, an ex- associate we've been trying to apprehend."

"Don't you find that ironic?" Vaughn asked.

"What? That Dela used a lame alias?"

"No, that Law and Order is one of the most popular shows in here."

Alison sighed in frustration. She kept her composure and continued to quiz Vaughn, but it quickly became apparent that he was going to be of no help. After an hour she nodded to her escort, who unlocked the door and led her back outside.

She returned to Langley and reported to the Director who wasn't surprised. "Don't take it personal. He's been playing games with us for months."

Alison was still disappointed. However, she didn't dwell on it too long as she had a second item on her to-do list for the day. She had suspected for several days that she had returned from Paris with a surprise souvenir, and she wanted to go to her OB-GYN's office to confirm it. She got permission to leave work early to go to the doctor's office.

A positive pregnancy test confirmed her suspicions and she drove home with a huge grin on her face. She had been thinking about the future and what to do after her year with the CIA was over and with this it seemed like the final piece of the puzzle fell into place.

Flint set the dining room table and he glanced over at Marissa who was engrossed in the picture she was coloring. She had claimed that she hadn't had a chance to finish it in daycare, and wanted to work on it until it was perfect.

Flint walked back into the kitchen and checked on the food that was heating. It was only glorified take-out but considering how busy he and Alison had been since they had returned from Paris, the fact that the three of them were able to eat dinner together was a win. Based on the conversation he had with Hawk earlier that day, he had a feeling that nights like this might be few and far between over the next few weeks.

The front door opened and Alison walked in. Flint picked up on her good mood right away. "I guess the Vaughn interrogation went well?"

"No, that was a disaster. But I received other good news today."

Before she could continue Marissa ran into her arms waving her drawing. "Mommy! I made Big Bob!"

"Big Ben, sweetie," Alison corrected. Now Flint understood why the picture was so important to Marissa. They had been talking on and off about rescheduling their London trip that had been canceled in wake of the Red Shadows news. Flint grimaced. Alison told Marissa to go wash her hands before dinner. Once she was out of the room she asked. "What's the matter?"

Flint sighed. "It's not looking good that I can get the time off anytime soon."

Alison was afraid that was going to happen. "Okay, we can postpone the trip." With a smile she added, "Although if we wait too long we're going to have to buy four airline tickets."

With a confused look, Flint asked. "Who's the fourth?"

"We don't have a name yet, and I don't know if it's a boy or girl, but we would need to bring Marissa's sibling."

Flint did a double take and then grinned. "Sibling? You're pregnant?"

Alison matched his smile. "I stopped by my doctor's office on the way home. So, yes, we're finally having another baby! I guess all we needed was a Parisian holiday."

Flint let out a holler and pulled her into his arms. "Oh, Alison, I'm so happy. How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine, but it's still early. I'm not due until mid-February."

Marissa joined them and wrapped her arms around their legs. "Why so happy?"

Flint began to reply but Alison shook her head. She picked up Marissa and gave her a kiss. "Mommy got good news at work today."

"You get bad guys?"

"Not today, but we're getting close." Alison put her down. "Go sit down, we'll get your dinner."

Alison pulled Flint into the kitchen. "I don't want to tell her yet. It's too early and you see how she is about London. I don't want her asking every day if the baby is here yet."

"Okay," Flint hugged her tight. He was so happy he would have agreed to any request she made. "I love you Alison."