The Merry Band got a group text from Mrs. Gage.
Carter is here. All hands on deck.
Kenann responded: Judy and Andy too??!!
Yes, dear. <3
Woo Hoo
It had been a month since they had all met together at the mansion. It was like a family reunion as cars pulled into the large gravel drive and others arrived on foot. Mrs. Gage and Granny stood on the front landing, holding hands and smiling broadly. There was a lot of hugging, backslapping, and, in Rough’s case, tail wagging and barking.
As the group jostled their way into the mansion, some with luggage, the noise level was cacophonous. Mrs. Gage and Granny, pausing again to survey the crowd, glanced at each other with pleasure. Message shared. All their chicks were under one roof again.
Everyone instinctively turned in to the parlor to the right, milling around, completing all the unfinished greetings. Not a prime target of welcome, Carter made his way to stand with Mrs. Gage.
“How have you been, Gabrielle?”
“I have been well, John. And you?”
“Oh, you know, parties all around.” He looked straight ahead, evaluating each interaction in the crowd.
Mrs. Gage grinned and thought, I do believe Mr. Carter has made a joke.
“Well, Mrs. Gage, will you call this meeting to order? No sense in embarrassing myself by even trying.”
“I am at your service, Mr. Carter.” She immediately and quietly took command of the room.
How does she do that? Carter thought.
Everyone found their spot. Blade plopped down on the floor in front of Andy and Judy, who smiled at each over his head. CJ Baer and Leticia sat in the background at the library table near the patio doors. Danny Mac and Kenann claimed the oversized lounging chair with Rough at their feet. Angelo pulled up a library chair to join the circle. Danny was pleased to see he was showing signs of feeling included. Granny sat on the other side of Judy and patted her leg. Carter and Jake stood at attention, unconsciously flanking the room like sentinels.
Mrs. Gage surveyed the room and smiled. She stretched out her arms, welcoming them back together. “Well, here we are again, dear ones. I’ve called for some refreshments, but while we wait I will turn the floor over to Mr. Carter.”
Carter turned to a side table at his back and retrieved a stack of leather-bound booklets. He gave them to Andy, who passed them around. Mrs. Gage sat on the arm of Danny Mac and Kenann’s chair, resting her arm on the back.
“What you have in your hands is our play and the cover story we will use across Europe.”
Judy made a sound deep in her throat. Andy pulled her ponytail.
Carter cleared his throat. “I know some of you think this unconventional cover is silly, but it suits our purposes very nicely. And, therefore, we will all embrace it with enthusiasm.” He looked pointedly at Judy, raising an eyebrow.
Her face was a mask but she dug her fingernails into Andy’s knee, where her hand lay.
Carter continued. “I met with my Washington team before coming to Memphis and was asked to brief the Security Council in return. Our operation is strictly recon at this point.” He turned to Mrs. Gage. “I need to meet with you regarding our itinerary and perhaps we can share resources?”
“I am always at your service.”
“Our goal is to infiltrate the high rollers in global commerce. As the saying goes, we are going to follow the money. They aren’t the ones carrying the automatic weapons, but many of them are financing unrest for their own purposes. If we can stop them, we can cut off the head of the snake.”
Granny spoke. “And hopefully this time, at the end of the day, there will be no blood spilled.”
Carter sneered at her. “Losing your nerve, Granny?”
The proverbial pin dropped in the room.
Granny simply raised her hand to stop Danny Mac, Kenann, and Judy, who had all risen off their seats. She stood herself and approached Carter very deliberately. “Mr. Carter, up to this point I have overlooked your disrespect and arrogant remarks. But since this is not my first rodeo, I will not tolerate it again. Do we understand each other?”
Carter knew he had made a tactical error. “Yes.” He paused. “Yes, we do.”
“You just see that you do, young man.” Her look pinned him to the wall behind him. She turned and resumed her place beside Judy.
After a pause that felt like a year to Carter, he finally found the spit in his mouth to continue. “As I was saying, we will be travelling in some distinguished but crafty circles. It is going to take all of your wits, as you did in Alexandria, to gather intel then reconnoiter and put the pieces together in order to find the patterns that we need.”
Kenann spoke. “When do we start? I got a government paycheck this week and I haven’t done a doggone thing. I don’t like charity.”
Carter interjected, “As you well know from past experience, you will earn every penny you draw.”
“Be that as it may, when do we start?”
“I need to confer with Mrs. Gage on final arrangements, but if all goes as planned we will be leaving in one week for Washington. The scripts in your hand outline the part each of you have been assigned. I need you to have your lines ready to go out of book by the first of December. We will be having a command performance for the duke and duchess of Cambridge on December 22nd.”
Blade sat up straight. “William and Kate!?”
Carter grinned down at Blade. “The very same.”
“Whoa!” Blade turned to look back at his mother. “Mom, can I go with them? Please!”
“Blade, you know we start homeschooling in January.” She smiled indulgently at him.
Mrs. Gage looked at Jake. She realized that had become her reflex, and that in itself made her uneasy. She would think about that later. She turned her attention to Blade’s mother. “Leticia? Would you consider coming with us and homeschooling Blade on the road?”
Andrew laughed and said, “Yeah, buddy, we need at least one token kid.”
Blade beamed at Andy.
Carter interrupted the revelry. “Ladies and gentlemen, if you remember I have final say in this operation.”
The silence could have been cut with a knife.
Cue crickets, Carter thought ruefully to himself. “So if Mrs. Daniels is agreeable, I would like to offer Blade a job.”
Blade shot out of his seat. “Really? What is my title?”
Very seriously, Carter responded, “Secret agent.”
“Sweet!” He whirled around and ran back to his mom and CJ. “Come on, Mom? Please?”
She looked up at Carter with a question in her eyes. He nodded. “We will think about it.”
“Mom!”
“We will think about it,” she repeated with that mom tone that said the discussion was over.
Carter regained the focus of the room. “Mrs. Gage has made arrangements for everyone’s property to be looked after while we are away.” He turned to Mrs. Gage.
“It appears we may have another home to monitor.” She nodded.
CJ had been quiet to this point. He had grown accustomed to keeping an eye on Leticia and Blade. He did not want to stop now. “Got room for one more, Mr. Carter?”
Carter appeared to consider this. “I anticipated this possibility, and if Mrs. Gage does not have you otherwise engaged, I would be happy to have you join us.” They both looked at Mrs. Gage.
She remained solemn. This was all business. “I can spare him on my other interests, John. That is agreeable to me.”
Carter replied, “That appears to settle it, then.” The others turned back to smile and welcome CJ aboard. Carter continued. “Well, ladies and gentlemen, while Gabri…uh Mrs. Gage and I iron out details of our venture, I suggest you begin a run-through of your lines.”
Mrs. Gage rose from the arm of the chair and went toward the door. She squeezed Jake’s arm in passing. It warmed him to know she was sensitive to him and his irritation that she was leaving with Carter. That touch reassured him completely. He picked up his script and said, “Okay, fellow thespians, shall we begin?”