Hawthorne's private jet was returning to Virginia with the Little Rascals on board. Alex was making cups of tea in the gally and looked to Charles, who was asleep on the sofa, then to Hugh, who was reading by himself in the corner. She approached him and handed him a cup.
"Oh, thank you," he said as he looked up to her holding out the proffered tea.
"You looked like you could use it," she said with a grin. She then returned to her seat at the table across from Reid.
"So, we tell them together?" Reid asked.
"Yeah, I think that might be best," she said. "Besides, Aaron depends on my point of view." She smirked before she sipped her tea.
"Right, of course," Reid said back jokingly. "I should speak to Garcia beforehand, right? Give her a heads up?"
"Considering Penelope, I would say so."
"And the others?" Alex asked. "Are we in agreement?"
"Definitely."
"Okay, you do that, and I'll go clear it with the boys." Alex got up and went to the sofa and slowly slid Charles' legs off.
Charles jolted up as his feet hit the ground. "What the–"
"Oh good, you're awake," Alex said, then sat next to him.
"Are we landing?" Charles asked groggily while scratching the side of his head and leaning over to look out the window.
"We are roughly two hours out," Hugh said as he slid the bookmark in place and closed the leather binding. "She obviously has something to speak to us about."
"Oh good," Charles said as he crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and leaned against Alex's shoulder.
"Preferably awake," Alex said, nudging him. "Spencer and I have been talking about who to get to help us since we won't really be able to work this ourselves."
"And who did you come up with?" Charles asked while stifling a yawn.
"I assume Paul Roman," Hugh said.
"Give that man a cigar," Alex said.
"Who else?" Charles asked. "Grace Kincade?"
"No, she's in the State Department now," Hugh said.
"No way, really? Good for her."
"What about Reggie Washington?" Hugh suggested.
"He's leading that op in Laos," Alex said.
"Then who?" Charles asked.
"I was actually thinking of asking The Major," Alex said.
Charles slid off the couch and laid chest down on the floor.
"What on earth are you doing?" Alex asked.
"I have to get started on my push-ups now. You know that that man loves to enforce calisthenics."
"You must admit he's perfect for this assignment," Alex said. "He saved your ass a time or two."
"One, two, three–" Charles counted.
Alex tapped him with her foot. "Come on, you know you don't have to do that."
"I know better than to mess with that Marine," Charles said. "I was there when he got shot in the arm. His blood was red, white, and blue."
Hugh put his book down on the table in front of him. "Remember that one time he had to dig for that microchip in that one man's intestines? He was eating a piece of apple pie an hour later."
"Well, nothing is as American as apple pie," Reid said as he joined them.
"Is Penelope on board?" Alex asked.
"Yeah. She will be fine." Reid looked down to Charles then back to Alex. "What's going on?"
"I told him about The Major," Alex said.
"Don't worry, Charles," Reid said as he crouched down in front of him. "As long as he gets to shoot someone, he will be fine."
"That's what he's afraid of," Hugh said with a grin.
Alex moved to the front of the plane to join Charles while Hugh and Reid played chess together in the back. "You handling everything okay?"
"As well as I can, I guess," he replied. "I just worry about how all of this is hurting Sondra and the kids."
Alex squeezed his arm and gave him a side hug. "Everything will work out. It has to."
"I hope so." He sat up in the seat. "Shouldn't you be making some calls?"
"Oh, yes. I was going to call The Centurion first." Alex pulled out her phone and dialed.
"Hello?" Roman answered.
"Hey, Paul, It's Alex. Do you have a sec?"
"Anything for you! Oh, how is little Charlie doing?"
"She's great. But something came up, and I need your help."
Roman grunted with effort.
"Do you need me to let you go?"
"Oh, no, I'm good."
"What are you doing?"
"Just hanging around. But what's this thing you need help with?" He listened and nodded along. "That works for me. And I should be done with my current assignment by tonight. So, email me the details, and I will be there as soon as I can."
"Thanks! You're a lifesaver."
Roman slid his phone back in his pocket, then reached up to the rope he was dangling from and continued to pull himself up. Loose gravel and rock fell from where he locked the cable holding him, and he looked down into the endless dark cavern below him. "Oh, Roman, old boy, if you survive this, you are definitely getting pissed tonight."
Alex put her phone down on the table and turned to Charles. "Did you want to do the honors?"
"Are you kidding?" He pulled away from her. "I wouldn't dare. Who knows what kind of mission he is on right now? He is probably trudging through the corpses of all the people he killed. Or he's taking down several armed guards alone while trying to gain access to someone's secret lair."
"Oh, Charles, you watch too many movies," Alex said as she shook her head.
"And I've lived a few," Charles countered.
Major Mitchell moved carefully and quietly past dangling vines. He paused for a moment to wipe the perspiration from his forehead. He grabbed the middle of his shirt as it clung to his muscular chest and moved it back and forth, allowing air to cool his body from the humidity. He retrieved the new device and gripped it in his hand, and closed his left eye to take aim.
He let out a groan in exacerbation as he heard his phone ring. "Mitchell," he answered gruffly.
"Hello, John. It's Alex. I hope I'm not catching you at a bad time."
"Oh, hey, Alex," he said, dropping the previous annoyance. "I was just working with this new shooter. It hasn't been what I was hoping for. But that doesn't matter right now. How can I assist you?"
"I am in a bit of a pickle, and I am putting together a team of people I know I can trust."
"You can count on me."
"I hoped you would say that. I will send you all the details."
"Roger that." He put the phone down on the table and went back to aiming. He pulled the trigger, and water drizzled in front of him. He looked at the hose attachment in his hand. "Gentle mist, my ass." He touched the delicate petals on the row of flowers in front of him. "This sprayer is too strong. It will ruin my gardenias. Ba!" he exclaimed as he tossed the hose to the ground. He then picked up the bottle next to him and sprayed a mist over the flowers in the greenhouse.