A/N1: Second part! Thank you to all of you awesome people who left a review or kudos! You do know how to make a girl happy! As always a huge thanks to my amazing beta! And I sadly don't own MacGyver! Please enjoy and don't miss out on some exciting news I have in the end notes!
"Riles. Hey, Riles."
The words penetrated the wonderful dream she had been having about a super-fast computer and someone who was massaging her neck. Sitting up she saw Mac in his workout gear holding a takeout bag and two cups of what she hoped was coffee. Handing her the bag and one of the cups he said, "Blueberry muffin, your favorite, and a coffee, just the way you like it."
"Thank you!"
Mac grinned at her, "So the General has arrived and right now he and Jack are both in the workout room. I'm almost worried that Jack's going to have a heart attack trying to be all muscle man."
Riley giggled at the image. "It almost makes me want to hack into the security cameras to see this for myself." She looked at the clock to see if she actually had time to do it but quickly realized that if she didn't get a move on, she was going to be late. As she moved to the bathroom to get ready for the day, she brought her food with her. "I've got to deliver Mrs. Williams to the breakfast meeting then I'll be back up and we should have enough time to finish our search and for me to access her laptop."
Thankfully the morning went smoothly, and Riley was able to make her way back upstairs to join Mac as they broke into Mrs. Williams room yet again. Nothing much had changed, besides for a blow-up doll that was sitting on the couch. Mac looked at Riley, "I'm not even going to ask."
"Ask what?" Bozer inquired over the comms they had put in that morning. "You know I can't see unless you tell me."
While Mac explained what they saw Riley found the laptop and got down to business. She installed a link back to the Phoenix and started going through the data while Bozer could also see the data. They found nothing that pertained to the General or any breaches of top-secret information, but they discovered that Mrs. Williams was pretty mad at another lady in the DAR for some infraction that Riley didn't really understand.
"From what I can see from the laptop it looks like she's clean. The only place we haven't had a chance to search is her phone." Riley announced as she cleared any traces of her having been on the laptop.
"I was afraid of that," Matty said as she joined the conversation. "Keep your eyes peeled, and Jack, don't do anything stupid." All she got in response was a cut off snort of laughter.
"Crap," Riley complained as she looked at her phone as it chimed a reminder, "I've got it book it or I'll be late." She made it just in time for the meeting room doors to open and to walk over and grab Mrs. Williams purse and bags.
"Thank you doll! You have been so precious." She smiled at Riley, "Do you think you could help me distribute gifts for some of the members of a committee that I'm the chair of?"
"Anything you need, ma'am," Riley responded with a smile. Riley had been worried that her manners wouldn't be good enough for the older ladies of the group, but so far everyone had been very complementary.
"Great! I know you'll find me right after the business meeting, then we can grab the gift bags right before the luncheon. Speaking of the luncheon, will you be eating it with us? And did you get breakfast?" She asked these question as she made her way through the throng of people. Riley wasn't sure where they were going but was making sure to keep up and not lose her in the crowd.
"Yes ma'am, my husband grabbed breakfast for us, and I'm going to meet him for lunch also."
Mrs. Williams stopped and turned around, "It's so great that he's already coming with you, will he be at the banquet tonight? I know we have a couple of excellent awards that we're giving out."
"He will be! Mac is former military, so he's very interested in the awards."
Beaming Mrs. Williams patted Riley's arm, "It brings me great joy to see a young couple supporting each other like this. My dear Roy, bless his soul, was like that. You know, one of the secrets to a good marriage is that you both need to support each other's hobbies even if they bore you to tears."
Riley gave a small smile as she checked her watch, hoping that one day she really would get to have what the Williams seemed to have had. "Yes ma'am, now we need to get a move on because we have to get you to the business meeting." The next few hours were spent with Riley being bored out of her mind and trying not to show it. The ladies were discussing and quibbling about the specific wording of an insurance policy, and it was driving Riley mad. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Matty sitting with a group of what she assumed were other members of her chapter. When they finally called for the lunch break, Riley quickly got the gifts and helped Mrs. Williams pass them out.
After the gift bags had been distributed Mrs. Williams called her over holding up the last gift bag, "And this, my dear, is yours! You've been such a big help to me. Now go and enjoy lunch with your Price Charming."
"Yes, ma'am." Riley said smiling at her and holding her gift bag. She headed up to her room where Mac and Jack were waiting with food Mac had gotten from a nearby Culvers.
"I thought you were keeping an eye on the General?" Riley asked as she grabbed her hamburger, fries and the shake that she had ordered.
"He's in the pool right now. I figured if I showed up for both a morning workout AND swim time, he might get a bit suspicious. Plus, Bozer's got his eye on him through the security cameras, and he'll let me know if he moves." He took a big bit of his burger, "So what did the old lady get ya?"
"I know you mother taught you to eat with your mouth closed." Mac said disgustedly.
Opening the bag she pulled out small bottle of Jack Daniel's whisky, a silver bracelet that would go wonderfully with her blue dress, a couple of TNDAR reusable straw, a small pin, and a card. "That's really thoughtful of her. I wished I'd thought to bring a gift for her." Riley carefully packed up the items again and sat down to quickly eat her food.
As they ate they continued to go over the plan for tonight trying to get everything done before Riley had to run again. The afternoon business session went better than the first and it was soon over, but the pages had been asked to help set up the room for the dinner that night. After she delivered Mrs. Williams to her room Riley got on her comm, "Can someone get me a listening device really quick? I can bug the spot where the General will be sitting."
"Give me a minute, and I think I can make one," Mac answered. "Hey Jack, can you bring me your cellphone?"
There was a pause before Jack's voice came across the comms, "First, no! Tear up your own phone if you want to mess something up, 'cause I am not making another trip to the Genius Bar. Second why do we need a listening device when yours truly will be there to observe in person?"
Bozer chimed in, "I hate to say it, but I think Jack has a point. Unless you can plant it on the General himself, I don't see how a listening device would be too much of a help. But I'll have a few sent over from the Phoenix in case one of y'all gets a chance to plant them.
"Thank you, Bozer, for being considerate of my cell phone!" Jack grumbled.
After helping decorate the hall for the banquet Riley reserved her and Mac's seats so they could keep Jack and the General in their sights then hurried up to the room to get ready for the big night.
The dress Riley had chosen with Bozer's help was a deep blue with a sweetheart neckline and a full skirt that swished as she walked, but she had also made sure that it was one that she could move in if she had to. Once they were ready she and Mac had their picture taken by the official photographer and Riley dropped Mac off to wait in line with his ticket to get in, while she went to find Mrs. Williams.
"Is that your sweetheart over there?" Mrs. Williams asked as Riley approached her.
"Yes, ma'am, it is."
Mrs. Williams took Riley's elbow and turned her around to face Mac. "He is very hunky with that nice tux on, and you look absolutely stunning young lady. Now would you mind introducing an old woman?"
Riley smiled, amused at the antics of the older lady. For some reason the older ladies always seemed to like Mac. "Of course, Mrs. Williams I would be delighted to."
"Hey Mac." Riley called getting his attention. She then motioned him over. Ever the dutiful agent he quickly assumed the doting husband role.
"Yes sweetheart?" He asked putting an arm around her.
"I would like to introduce you to someone. This is Mrs. Williams, who I am paging for this weekend." Riley introduced the two.
Mac took Mrs. Williams hand and shook it, "It is an honor to meet the lady that Riley has talked about so highly this weekend."
Mrs. Williams laughed a rich laugh, "You are a flatterer young man!" She patted his hand, "Thank you for supporting Riley, she is an absolute dar-ling", She winked at the play on words. "But I'm betting you knew that already." With another pat on his hand she let him go. "Well, we had all better be getting to our places!"
"Yes, ma'am." Mac agreed and walked back over to enter the ballroom.
Once the opening ceremonies were finished Riley was able to take her seat beside Mac. They could see the General and Jack several tables over talking animatedly. Seated at their table were several other pages and Riley's new friend Cordy who was sitting on the other side of Mac. The theme for the evening was the celebration of each chapter's regent and the presentation of the awards for honors earned. So, they were able to watch Matty walk in, dressed resplendently in a green shimmery gown which looked magnificent on her. Once the food arrived Riley finally had the opportunity to remote hack Mrs. Williams cell phone. Cordy had pulled Mac into a conversation and was distracted so Riley was finally free to snoop around. She found no evidence of Mrs. Williams being the General's contact, so pretending like she was taking a phone call Riley quietly said into her coms, "Mrs. Williams is clean. Do we have any other leads?"
Bozer answered, "Nothing concrete, just keep a close eye on the General."
Riley put the phone down. Cordy looked past Mac at her, "Is everything ok?"
Smiling Riley said, "Yes, it was just the dog sitter. Jack's being a good boy." She said as she turned back towards Mac. Riley could see Jack across the room rolling his eyes at her, so she decided to have a little fun with him. "Sometimes he likes to cause problems with the neighbors." That remark got her the middle finger from Jack. They continued with the small talk until the State Regent called the meeting to order.
Jack was the first to receive his award. "This year's winner for the distinguished citizen award goes to Mr. Jack Dalton. Mr. Dalton has honorably served our country in both Afghanistan as well as in Iran and Iraq. He continues to serve our country by volunteering in veterans outreach programs," Mrs. Winchester, the state regent, announced. A round of applause went up from the crowd. "Please step forward and accept your award Mr. Dalton.
Riley could tell that Jack was nervous as he made his way to the stage, but his speech went very well. "As a veteran I want to thank you for this great honor. I try my best to hold the same hand out to people leaving the service that was offered to me. So, thank you for this." With a nod he started to leave but a page stopped him for pictures with the State Regent.
General Dunkin's award was next. Riley didn't pay much attention to what he said as he accepted the award as she was far too focused on his actions. She was surprised when Cordy left the table, but figured she had to use the bathroom. After his photo was taken the General set his award down at his seat and started to make his way out of the ballroom. The older lady sitting next to Jack was holding his arm and talking to him animatedly, which prevented him from following the General, Matty was across the room and too far away to follow, and Mrs. Williams was at the podium speaking so Riley had to stand beside her chair in case Mrs. Williams needed her for anything as was protocol, which left Mac to tail the General.
A few minutes later over coms Mac announced, "I'm pretty sure the swap just took place. The General just gave Cordy a flash drive and then vanished into the bathroom. I think Cordy's headed back into the ballroom."
"Jack, I want you to get to Mac's position and when the General emerges guide him out to the parking lot. We have a tac team waiting to take him into custody. Riley, I want you to stay with Cordy, but don't do anything, we're running her to see if she has any accomplices or if she is just a go-between," Bozer ordered.
Quietly Riley muttered, "Copy." Once Cordy returned Riley scooted over to sit beside her and in a quiet voice asked, "So, are you going to the page party after this?" Out of the corner of her eye she watched Jack make his way out of the banquet room.
"Wild horses couldn't keep me away," she giggled a bit manically. "It's often the best part of the weekend and I have a doozy of a story I can't wait to be shared with the rest of you guys."
"Would you mind if I tagged along with you? Mac's not feeling that great so he headed back up to the room to rest, and I'd hate to bother him." Riley thought she saw Cordy's smile dim a bit.
"I wouldn't mind at all! In fact, we can scoot up there as soon as you get Mrs. Williams back to her room."
Riley airily waved, "She's already dismissed me for the night. So, I'm all yours!"
"Great!" Cordy exclaimed. Riley might have believed her if Sam hadn't taught Riley the tricks that she had.
"Great thinking," Bozer praised through the comms.
The meeting continued on for thirty more minutes, which felt more like thirty hours to Riley. She noticed that Jack had slipped back into the room and she noted that he didn't look ruffled or anything else, so the General had either gone peacefully, or Mac had already subdued him. As soon as the flag was retired for the evening and they were dismissed, Riley grabbed Cordy's hand. "Let's go, I don't want to be too late!"
"Don't you want to go to your room to change?" Cordy tried to be subtle, but Riley saw right through it.
"If Mac's sleeping, I don't want to disturb him. He's one of those people that takes forever to get back to sleep, if he's woken up, especially if he isn't feeling good."
"Don't you want to get out of that dress. I mean it's gorgeous but has to be annoying." Cordy tried once more.
Once again Riley ignored Cordy blatantly trying to get rid of her. "It's actually really comfy. That's why I chose it, well that, and the fact that is has pockets!" Riley smiled brightly and demonstrated the pockets. "We can stop by your room if you need to. I don't mind." The panic that flashed across Cordy's face spoke volumes.
"No, it's ok," Cordy tried to play it off. "My dress is just as comfortable as yours is, but unfortunately it doesn't have pockets."
As they walked up to the suite where the party was being held, Riley pulled an old trick she had picked up in high school, texting without looking. With her phone still in her pocket she typed in 'search her room' to Mac.
"I got your text; we're headed to her room now. Is it empty, or is she sharing?" Mac said over the comms.
"So do you have to share your room with any other pages, or were you lucky enough to get a room to yourself?" Riley asked.
"I'm alone right now, my roommate had to leave early; family emergency."
"Oh no! Well, I hope it was nothing too severe." Riley said, meaning every word. "But I have to admit I love being able to have a room to myself is so much better!"
"Got it, room is clear." Bozer said.
They had reached the suite where the party was being held. Megan the lady in charge of all the pages greeted them, "Welcome! Welcome! Grab some food, a drink, and find a seat." There was an ice tray filled with canned drinks and a small buffet set up with fruits and various other snack type foods. Riley helped herself because the stuffy banquet food hadn't been all that great and she was still hungry, she then took a seat beside Cordy who had only gotten a drink and was fiddling with the top it.
"Are you ok?" Riley asked softly, nudging her to catch her attention.
"Hmm?" Cordy looked startled. Then she plastered on that fake smile, "Right as rain, as my daddy would say!" She paused and her smile faltered. "Riley, have you ever done something that you knew was wrong, but for all the right reasons?" She looked imploring at Riley.
Opening her mouth to reply Riley was stopped by a loud commotion at the door. "The party has arrived!" Announced the girl that had just entered, followed by several more pages. One peeled off from the group and plopped down beside Cordy and said, "You'll never guess who I saw downstairs!"
Cordy once again assumed the giddy persona she had before, "It has to be a movie star!"
Inwardly Riley groaned, she had almost had her!
A loud clap sounded bringing everybody's attention to the front of the suite. Megan stood there. "First and foremost, I would like to thank you all for your service to the DAR and for all of your help this weekend. Without your hard-work we would not have been able to put on this conference!" She paused as all of the attendees clapped and cheered their enthusiasm. "So tonight we will be playing two games, one for fun and the other for all the stakes!" Again, Megan had to pause for the clapping to die down. "The first game is the guess who submitted the page story." All around the room girls giggled, "And the second game is known as the purse game. This is where we have you get into groups and call out a letter of the alphabet and whichever group holds up an item that starts with that letter gets a point and the group with the most points wins." Cheers went up, "All right let's get started."
Another member of the page committee, Amy held the container that the stories had been placed into sat down and pulled the first story out and started to read. "Picture this, I was standing in a busy lobby of a hotel. This very hotel in fact, when another page walks up to me bends over and asks, 'Can you see my underwear?' So, there I was staring at another woman's butt in the middle of a busy lobby."
Everybody speculated about who the writer was before the girl revealed herself. She laughed, "The funniest part is that she's at the conference right now!" Everybody laughed.
"The next is, 'This one time at the page/junior retreat I had to share a bed with another girl. So, I wake up in the middle of the night to her petting my hair shushing me. I was too sleepy to do more than pull away, but her hand followed me! Thankfully after a few more seconds she scooted back over to her side of the bed. The next morning, I asked her about it, and she was like, I guess I thought you were my kid." Amy laughed, "I've never heard that one before." A few guesses were made before Cordy raised her hand.
"And it was at my very first retreat too!" She exclaimed. The group burst into more laughter.
"Ok," Amy pulled out another piece of paper laughed and set it aside. "OK, I know who this is, she doesn't wear any underwear under her spanx." Amy held up her hands in a calming gesture. "I know I find it gross too." And so, the stories went on. While half listening to the stories Riley hatched a plan to either get the flash drive Mac had witnessed the General handing off or getting Cordy to confess.
When it was time to break into small groups for the purse game Riley immediately turned to Cordy, "Partners?
"Sure!"
"So Cordy, I have to tell you that I am a tad bit competitive, and I really want to win this to see what our prize is."
Cordy nodded and started pulling items out of her purse, while Riley did the same with hers. "I'm in it to win it."
The game started and they won a few points with C for compact, and p for peppermint. Then Amy called out F. Riley let her eyes get big and she grabbed Cordy's arm. "F for Flashdrive? Do you have a one?" Cordy hesitated for a second, looked at other teams franticly searching and pulled out a flash drive from an inner pocket earning them the point. Surreptitiously Riley studied the flash drive and grabbed a similar one from her own bag and when the next item was called Riley switched them without Cordy noticing. The game continued with them losing by one point. Riley slipped away to the bathroom so she could report in.
"I have the flash drive the General slipped Cordy." Riley quietly said into the comms.
"Great job," Matty's voice said in her ear. "Do you need to hand it off?"
"I've got a plan. I'll need Mac in our room and maybe Jack as well. I'm going to try to get her to go back there. We can have one of our guys bring in room service, I can hand the flash drive over, and then hopefully we can get who her contact is out of her." Riley said while keeping an ear out for anybody else needing the restroom.
"Sounds good," Bozer said. "I'll get some guys headed in with food. You got any preferences?"
"Setting up the room," Mac chimed in.
"You know I've got preferences," Jack added.
Riley rolled her eyes at the mirror and tuned Jack's commentary out as she rejoined the party. She sat back down beside Cordy as another girl who Riley thought was named Katie commented, "So why is it that the girls that still have their period have to wear white?" She received several murmurs of agreement. "Like why couldn't they have picked black or have the pages be the older ladies who don't have to worry about blood getting all over their pretty whites."
"I bet it was an old lady who was so far into menopause that she forgot what it was like having a period!" Another girl added in much to the agreement of the others. "As for having the older ladies be the pages, they might fall and break their hips in these shoes!" She then held up her stilettos for everybody to see. Another page chimed in, "Heck I'm liable to break my hip in those!" Everybody erupted into laughter.
"Well as enjoyable as this has been, my assignment starts early tomorrow, so I've got to get some shut eye." The page who was visiting from Virginia said and others murmured their agreement.
Riley took that opportunity and turned to Cordy, "Mac texted me while I was in the bathroom. He's feeling much better and the silly man has ordered too much room service. Want to come up to my room and split it with us?" Riley could see that Cordy didn't really want to, so she pulled her trump card. "And it's a bit of a thank you for being such a great help to me this weekend, and Mac ordered some cheesecake after hearing how much you enjoy it."
After a slight hesitation Cordy nodded, "I'd be glad to."
"Great!" Riley exclaimed. "C'mon let's go." They made their farewells and were on their way.
Jack was lounging in the desk chair in Mac and Riley's room as they waited for the two ladies and room service to arrive. He smirked at the King-sized bed, "I never did ask, so who slept where?'
Mac resisted the urge to roll his eyes at Jack's behavior, "That is none of your business."
"Excuse me?" Jack's eyebrows climbed up his face. "I have a vested interest in both of you."
Mac knew that the best way to get Jack off a topic was to change it so he asked, "How do you want to approach this?"
Jack thought on it for a few seconds, "I think she's just a pawn, she's too nervous to be the mastermind behind it. I say we use the old charm and get her to break that way." Mac nodded, that made sense to him.
A swift knock interrupted their discussion then the sound of the unlocking door. "Hey Mac, I'm back with Cordy." Riley's voice got louder as she entered the room. She stopped abruptly and stared at Jack like she didn't know him.
"Sweetie, this is Jack Dalton, we met down at the bar a bit ago." Mac introduced Jack like they didn't already know him. "Turns out we probably served together."
"You received the distinguished citizenship award tonight." Cordy said, recognizing him from earlier.
"Yes ma'am, that would be me."
"Thank you both for your service." Cordy said earnestly.
Mac shifted uncomfortably. He didn't like it when people thanked him for serving. He had joined to be able to help people. He was thankful that he was saved from having to respond when a knock came from the door. "I'll get it," Riley called out. Mac recognized the tac team member dressed as one of the hotel's staff behind the large room service table. Riley accepted the delivery, and he handed Riley a note, she 'signed', and the table was pushed into the room. The Phoenix team member caught Mac's eye tapped one end of the table then touched his ear. They had bugged it, great so everything Cordy confessed would be recorded. With a flourish he lifted the cover off the table showing all of the food underneath. Once everything was uncovered and Riley had 'tipped' him and passed off the drive the 'waiter' nodded and quietly left.
"Now this is real food!" Jack said happily, filling his plate while the other three were a bit more restrained. Bozer outdone himself and had sent them a mini taco bar with all the fixings. With his mouth full of food Jack said, "now this is some good eatin'." Bits of food flecked out as he spoke. Mac resisted the urge to make a smart remark about table makers and pigs.
It was quiet for a bit as everyone ate so Mac decided to ask, "So how did you become a member of the DAR?"
Cordy smiled and wiped her mouth with her napkin; she had manners unlike Jack who Mac sometimes wondered if he was raised in a barn. "Funnily enough I first heard of it through a TV show called 'Gilmore Girls'. One of the characters was a member and I remember thinking; hey I can trace my ancestors back to the Revolutionary War too! So one day I decided to look it up and there was a chapter located near me, and the rest is history!" She laughed and took another bit of her food. "For the most part I'm glad that I joined."
Like a shark sensing blood in the water Jack homed in on that statement, "What are some parts that make you wish that you hadn't joined?"
Her face clouded over, and she looked down, "I'd rather not talk about it."
"Is it that bad?" Riley asked gently. "I just joined but if the organization is that bad, I don't want to keep going."
"Oh no!" Cordy exclaimed. "It's not that exactly." She sighed, "I've just made some bad decisions lately that seem to keep compounding upon each other." She looked around, "Sorry, I shouldn't be burdening you with all of this."
"It's fine sweetheart," Jack said gently.
Mac chimed in, "I always feel better after sharing with Riley." He gently touched Cordy's hand that was resting on the table. "You don't have to worry, we're safe people."
Tears leaked out of Cordy's eyes slipping down her face. "I think I've made a huge mistake." She said looking down at her lap not meeting anybody's gaze.
Riley cleared her throat, "You're not the only one who's made bad decisions. One of mine landed me in prison for a while."
Cordy's head whipped up, "For real?" She gasped.
"For real." Riley nodded. "I feel like I know what I'm talking about when I say that everyone makes bad decisions. It's how you deal with the consequences of the decision that matters."
After taking a deep breath Cordy started, "Well I really like to play poker, and usually I'm pretty good at it. Then I hit a streak of really bad luck and before I knew it, I owed the casino a lot of money." She took a sip of her water and continued, "One day this guy approached me saying that if I did a few jobs for him that he would absolve the debt for me. I knew it had to be something bad for the money that they were paying me to get out of debt, but they seemed like fairly harmless jobs. I would be told to take boxes or envelopes to other people, so basically, I was an errand girl." She shrugged, "Except for tonight." She paused. "Tonight, was different, Mr. Blue said that the rest of my debt would be cleared, and I would earn two thousand dollars if I did him a favor tonight. I was supposed to get a flash drive from General Dunkin after his speech and then tomorrow I'm supposed to drop it off when they give me the details." More tears fell down her pretty face, "I know it's probably illegal, and what happens if I get caught? What will it do to my career? And I know my parents will disown me! Much less finally finding true love! But I don't have a choice! What can I do?"
They had her, Mac realized, he looked at Jack who nodded, it was time to wrap this up and pass her on. Jack gently laid his hand on her shoulder. "Honey, I've got some good news and some bad news."
She looked up bewilderment written on her tear-streaked face. Riley placed her hand on Cordy's other arm. "We're with the government." Cordy moaned and fresh tears fell down her face."
Mac added, "But you're going to be okay."
"But…" She started to say.
Jack gently squeezed her arm, "In a minute some of our friends are going to come in and take you back to our office where you will be questioned. They are very nice people; I will even be there if you want me to be. Just tell us what all you know, then it will be like none of this ever happened. No debt, no scary people, and no more dropping off of packages." Jack looked at her and could tell that she was getting ready to hyperventilate, "Take a deep breath for me." She did as he asked. "Now keep that up and it's all going to be okay."
Cordy nodded, "Thank you." She whispered A knock came from the door and two tac team members entered and escorted her out of the room.
The three of them sat quietly for a few minutes. Jack broke the silence. "So tell me, did y'all share the bed or what?"
"Jack!"
The next day Riley finished out her assignment with Mrs. Williams, who she had come to enjoy working for. As she helped the older lady load her suitcases into the car Mrs. Williams asked, "Are you on the Facebook?"
"Yes, ma'am. But I'm not on it very often, my job keeps me pretty busy." Riley replied as she shut the trunk.
"Well, I'm going to send you one of those 'will you be my friend' things. I do hope that you will accept, it's been such a pleasure getting to know you. Now I've got to get going I've got a wine testing in Napa to get to before I fly back to Tennessee in a few days!" She hopped in the passenger seat and the driver pulled out slowing only for Mrs. Williams to wave at Mac who came out of the hotel with their luggage.
"Ready to go?" Mac asked as he approached.
"Yes! Do you have." Riley started to say when Mac passed her backpack to her. "Thanks! I'll just be a minute; I've got to get out of this white dress." She came back a few minutes later dressed in her normal outfit of distressed black pants, a black band shirt, black jacket and black boots.
"Think you could wear anymore black Riles?" Mac teased as she climbed into the passenger side of his Jeep.
"Well, now that you mention it, I could have added a few black bracelets," Riley joked. "So, have you heard what's going to happen with Cordy?" Riley had found herself liking the girl and hoping for the best. Jack had sat in on the interrogation and she knew Matty had been called in to make the big decisions. Mac pulled out of the parking lot onto the highway to take them back to the Phoenix.
"Jack called while you were finishing up with your DAR thing. She told them everything she knew which included some actionable intel, and the entire chain should be going down. As for Cordy, since she didn't knowingly break any laws, her involvement will be cleaned up and all traces of her debt will be erased. She should be good if she, to quote Jack 'keeps her nose clean'."
Riley nodded; it was all one could ask for.
A couple of days later Riley rapped on the door to the War Room before slipping in. Matty was sitting on a couch working on her tablet, but she looked up when Riley knocked.
"So, I kinda enjoyed the whole DAR thing," Riley admitted as she sat down on the opposite end of the couch. "I would be interested in actually joining if I'm eligible."
Matty smiled at her, "Good, because I had my friend go ahead and the research on your family history. You'll be happy to know that you actually do have at least a couple of ancestors that fought in the Revolution, and." Matty paused for effect. "While we haven't been able to definitively prove it yet, we believe that one of your ancestors was a free black man."
Riley was surprised, she had thought that maybe she might have one qualifying ancestor on her father's side, but not an African-American one. She leaned in, "Tell me more!"
A/N 2:I hope you enjoyed this little tale! Please let me know any thought you might have. So there is two parts of my exciting news the finally part of my epic three show crossover is finally finished! I can hardly believe it myself since I thought of this part first then wrote all the other pieces seeing if anybody beside me would be interested. So that will be up in several weeks. Zorro, why so long you ask? Well my amazing beta will be preoccupied by going to Disney with me!