Sophia walked into Cameron's room to find her brother and husband talking to General O'Neill. "Hey, there's our girl," Finn said with a smile. "Cam was just introducing me to General O'Neill. General this is my wife…"
"Sophia, we've already met," Jack said with a smile.
"I'm sorry General if I knew you were going to be here I would have brought you some lunch," Sophia said as she set down her bundle of fast food.
"Well I've got to be going anyways. Boys I await your answers. Sophia nice to see you again." Jack placed his hat back on his head and walked out.
"Answer to what?" Sophia said as she passed out the food.
"The General has offered us jobs working in Colorado Springs, for NORAD," Cameron explained before taking a huge bite out of his hamburger.
"You two are going to work for NORAD?" Sophia said in disbelief. "What about flying?"
"Fie I think you better than anyone else can understand how dangerous flying is," Finn said stating the obvious. "This'll be a change. A good thing for all of us."
"Alright, if this is what you two want," Sophia said sounding unconvinced. "I'm going to go to the bathroom, I'll be back."
"I don't like lying to her Cam," Finn said after his wife left the room.
"Neither do I, but this is the opportunity of a lifetime. Do you really want to pass it up?"
OoOoOo O oOoOoO
Cameron and Finn ate their lunches arguing back and forth like they always did unaware that Sophia had fallen asleep on one of the chairs. "Hey," Cameron said bringing Finn's attention to his sleeping wife. "What are you going to do with her?"
"I didn't know what to do before and I still don't know," Finn said setting his meal aside he still wasn't very hungry. "She deserves better than this. She shouldn't have to sit at home and wait for bad news."
"She always wanted our jobs."
"She deserves our jobs more than we do."
OoOoOo O oOoOoO
12 weeks post crash
"Cam just let me help you," Sophia offered as she watched her brother struggle to get off the couch.
"I'm fine Sof," Cameron said grunting as he tried to make it to the bathroom.
"It's okay to ask for help."
"No, it's not."
"Finn lets me help him." Sophia was keeping a close eye on her brother from the kitchen making sure he wasn't going to do anything stupid.
"Finn is your husband," Cameron said leaning up against a nearby wall knowing that he wasn't going to be able to make it. Taking a deep breath he looked back into the kitchen to find it empty, Sophia was on his other side ready to help. "Thanks," he said not wanting to make a big deal of it.
"No problem." Sophia said with a smile. After helping Cam she led him back to the couch and slowly helped him get comfortable. "You need anything?"
"Nah, I'm good." Cameron smiled at his sister sitting next to him. "You going to visit Finn today?"
"Later I have to go run a few errands. You going to be okay?"
"I got it covered."
"Yes you do," Sophia said getting off the couch. She grabbed her coat and headed out.
OoOoOo O oOoOoO
Sophia pulled into the military base and made her way down a hall way that seemed to last forever. "I don't want to do this," she whispered to herself before walking in. "General Hadley," she said walking in.
"Sophia," he said with a nod. "Alright lets see it?"
"It?"
"You got shot didn't you?" Sophia held up her sleeve and her shirt. "Twice?"
"It's harder to explain getting shot twice to your brother and husband, so I left one out."
"Well have a seat, he have another job for you."
"NO!" Sophia screamed. "You said you'd find someone else, that I had six months!"
"I'm sorry but you know the area, the people, you are the one for the job." General Hadley said passing her a folder. "You'll be in and out in under a week. Your brother-in-law can take care of things on this end. I'll make sure he can have the time off."
"I have conditions, " Sophia said flipping through the folder.
"You always do, let's hear them," Hadley said offering Sophia a chair.
"I need more guys, double."
"Who do you want?"
"Cragier, Lowick and Wright."
"Craiger is in Iran."
"I'm not doing this without Craiger."
"I'll see what I can do," Hadley said.
"No," Sophia said passing Hadley back the folder. "Craiger will pick me up at the Moscow International Airport this time tomorrow, if he's not there I'm going to fly right back home." Sophia scribbled a short note on a posted note, passed it to General Hadley and left for the hospital; this was going to be a tough one to explain.
OoOoOo O oOoOoO
"There is my girl," Finn said when Sophia walked into his hospital room. "How is Cam doing being back at home?"
"Struggling, he won't let me help him."
"Sounds like Cam," Finn said adjusting in bed.
"Listen, Finn I know I told you that I was going to be home for six months?"
"Ya, I remember."
"I lied," Sophia said sitting on her husband's bed. "I just got a call on the way over. One of my co-workers was killed over the weekend. I'm going to go France to pay my respects to the family. Are you going to be okay?"
"I'll be fine Fie, don't worry about me. When are you going?"
"Tonight. General Quinn was nice enough to get me a flight over in a carrier. I'll be back in a week."
OoOoOo O oOoOoO
Sophia stood in the Moscow International Airport bar in short dress. A man came over and leaned towards her ear and asked, "How much?"
Sophia turned and replied, "Too much for you."
"I can afford it," the man said leading her outside to a waiting SUV that she got into on the passenger side.
Once the door was closed she turned towards the driver, "Next time you can be the prostitute Craiger."
"Well we both know I look better in a dress," Craiger laughed. "How was your flight?"
"Boring," Sophia said as she slipped into the back seat and began changing into something more comfortable. "What's the plan?"
"Lowick and Wright are waiting on the southern boarder as our exit, also because they are too well known in the area. Smith and Johnson are already at the target area because they've never done a job on this continent and you and I are going to meet up with them in two days because were are going to take the back roads in and granted our contacts are still good, we won't be shot on site."
"My contacts are perfect," Sophia smiled as she slinked back into the front seat, it's yours that always seem to get us into trouble."
OoOoOo O oOoOoO
"So how is your husband?" Craiger asked as the two companions walked along a spartan dirt road. "I haven't heard you talk about him for a while."
"He's good, he just got transferred to NORAD," Sophia said which caused Craiger to snicker. "What?"
"Remember that job I told you that I did in South America?"
"Yeah?"
"I was working for NORAD, or that's what I told people. I was looking for a good place to put up an observatory," Craiger said as he loaded his pistol.
"What are you saying, it's a cover?"
"Sorry if I busted your bubble. Why don't you ask Hadley to get in on it, you probably have the clearance for it."
"Yeah, but my husband thinks I work for an NGO, and before that I worked for the UN. If I told him what I really did it would open up a whole can of worms."
"He lied too," Craiger pointed out passing Sophia the loaded gun.
"What would your wife say if she found out you weren't a foreign economic analyst? That you're a mercenary for hire by the US government."
"Point taken."
"Okay new topic," Sophia said tucking the gun into her belt. "How are you're boys?"
"Trouble, and lots of it, and there is another on the way."
"You knocked up your wife again?"
"Hell yes."
"How far is she along?"
"About a month, she told me over the phone two days ago."
"So how do you know it's a boy?"
"I've got four boys, I don't know but I'm going to put my money on another boy," Craiger said looking down at his compass. "My wife really wants a girl, I think we're going to keep having kids till she gets one."
"That could be dangerous."
"I love my kids but once we hit seven I'm going to take myself out of the gene pool. A girl would be cool though, and I wouldn't have to worry because she'll have so many brothers to look after her."
Sophia smiled and continued down the road in silence for a few minutes, as she thought of other things to talk about along their path. "Craiger?" she asked.
"Yes Mitchell?"
"We're friends right?"
"Yes Mitchell, we are friends. Where are you going with this?"
"I was wondering what your first name is? I'm getting tired of calling you Craiger."
"Rules Mitchell, rules."
"I know Lowick's name."
"How?"
"Took me the better part of a year, but on the last job he caved."
"That chicken. Alright what do you think it is?" Craiger asked as he loaded another gun.
"Steve?" Sophia asked.
"STEVE!"
"I'm guessing that's not it."
"No, it's actually David."
"I can see that, you look like a Dave, or Steve, maybe Mark."
"Well I told you mine, you tell me yours," Craiger said.
"You've got to guess. I had to."
"Um… April?"
"April is a month not a name."
"Good point. Okay…Jane."
"Wow."
"I got it right?"
"Jane is my middle name, my first name is Sophia. My brother calls me Sof and my husband calls me Fie." Sophia stopped and turned to her partner. "Well now we know all each other's secrets."
"I guess we do," Craiger said as they approached a larger hill. "Now if your contacts are any good our ride should be right over this hill." Craiger handed off the second gun. They reached the top of the hill, at the bottom of the hill sat a beat up Jeep. "Good job Jane," Craiger said with a smile. "Let's get a move on. We don't want to keep Smith and Johnson waiting."
OoOoOo O oOoOoO
Craiger and Sophia pulled into run down village. Craiger pulled the car into an old garage and turned off the engine. "Nice digs," he commented as he got out.
"You really know how to show a girl a good time Smith," Sophia said to her counterpart. "Where is Johnson?"
"Here," Johnson came out of the back room with guns in tow. "Nice of you to join us."
"Let us get this show on the road. I want to get back home by the end of the week. Preferably without a load of holes in my body," Sophia said grabbing a vest and gun from off of a workbench. " Craiger and I are going to take point, you two are going to put down cover fire. Once the target is taken is taken out we will meet up with Lowick and Wright will pull us the hell out of there. Then we're all on our way back from where from we came." Sophia finished suiting up; the four jumped into a sewer opening under the jeep and headed down the tunnel system. They didn't talk for the rest of the job. They went in, did the job and then headed back into the tunnel. It took them two hours in a dead run to reach the exit point. Lowick helped pull everyone into the helicopter.
"Craiger, David," Sophia said frantically trying to put pressure on his gunshot wound. "Think of that baby girl you're going to have. She's going to need her daddy to protect her from all her brothers," Sophia yelled over the sound of the helicopter blades cutting the air.
"I'm fine Jane," Craiger said with a smile. "Lowick come give Mitchell a hand, she's bleeding."
"Smith, Johnson, pad that wound of Cragier's. All right Mitchell let us take a look at you," Lowick said pulling Sophia to the side. "Wright we're going to have to make a pit-stop a long the way. Any military hospital will do."
OoOoOo O oOoOoO
"Hey Jane," Craiger said as he slowly made his way down the hospital hallway. "So I was supposed to be in China this week doing conference calls. How am I going to explain being shot in the side to my wife?"
"I'm supposed to be in a funeral in France. At least you can pull a civil unrest call. I've got 100 stitches and three bruised ribs."
"I'd go with falling down the stairs, it's a classic," Craiger suggested.
"Sounds good. I'd go with car crash, just don't let your wife see the hole."
"Thanks," Craiger smiled sitting down on a bench in the hallway.
"You ready to head out? The plane leave in about an hour," Sophia asked adjusting her sling.
"I'm going to stay behind, let myself heal a little. The wife doesn't expect me back till Sunday."
"Okay. Well I guess I'll see you on the next job. David Craiger."
"Maybe not Sophia Jane Mitchell. I'm thinking I'm going to go get a job at NORAD," he smiled." You think they'll re-hire me?"
"Not if I beat you to it. I know what you're saying though, this job is not the most stable one can get."
"Well let's say 'See you around'?" Craiger asked.
"Sounds good. Well I better get going. I'm glad you're okay and I hope that kid of yours turns out to be a girl."
"If it's a girl I'm going to push for the name Jane. It's really starting to grow on me."
"How are you going to explain THAT one to the wife?"
"Get going Mitchell," Craiger said with a friendly smile. "See you around."