Chapter 69

Present – Jack – Conference room

Ira drops a bombshell - Masha has been abducted! Ivan somehow figures it out and begins to cry. Alexi and Mira comfort him while I rush to Ira and demand, "What the hell! Who has taken her?"

Ira states, "Mr. Reynolds of that I could not yet ascertain. However without any doubt she was abducted. There are protocols which we operationally pursue and she has not followed our procedures."

Ira opens her mouth to continue when Jens interrupts, "Perhaps there were problems transporting Zarika to the hospital?"

Ira glares at Jens and says...

Present – Ira and Mira – Conference room

Ms. Donaldson is an annoying female saluki! First she threatens to force us to leave her compound (as if she could possibly do that) and now she doubts the veracity of my words. I glare at her and respond, "I cognate my assistance is not appreciated. I will continue with my repast."

I park my derriere at the table and commence to consume this wonderful stew of beef. Jack further demands, "What the hell are you doing? Tell me what you know!"

I glance at him, continue to consume sustenance and inform him, "Mr. Reynolds, someone has gravely insulted us today. Her actions have demonstrated that we are not appreciated. Our primary mission is the protection of Ms. Morgan. Every time we attempt to render other assistance, that certain person immediately takes offense. So henceforth we will only perform our primary mission."

My sister Ira has played this hand masterfully! I am waiting for the results and I do not have to wait long ... Mr. Reynolds glares at Ms. Donaldson and begins to yell at her; Ms. Donaldson yells back...

Present – Liz – Conference room

Okay this bullshit has gone on long enough. Yes Jens was and has been too heavy handed with the twins which is something you simply don't do. Everything works much better if you treat them with respect. And now it's come full circle and bit her in the butt. Ira has incited a fight between Jack and Jens and I'm going to fix it.

I step between the two of them and...

Present – Todd – Conference room

Liz Morgan makes the mistake of stepping between Jack and Jennifer just as Jennifer takes a swing at Jack. Liz Morgan goes down like a sack of potatoes! That is a tactical blunder as Ira jumps up from the table and Mira heads toward Jennifer. I need to contain this situation so I do the only thing I can. I put both fingers in my mouth and let loose with an ear splitting whistle, then I nock an arrow and draw my bow...

Everyone stops and looks at me as I rotate my aim point between Jennifer, Ira and Mira to let them know I mean business. Jack unnecessarily explains, "I think Todd wants to make a point."

I nod my head, look at the three women and determine that I had temporarily quelled the fight. I slowly release the draw on my bow as Ira helps Liz Morgan up.

I begin to sign and Jennifer translates, "I am disappointed in all of you. You call this a team even though you bicker and fight so much. Jennifer, you have been hostile toward Mira and Ira because they threaten your position as the alpha female and consequently you have not utilized the assets that they bring to the table. And Mira and Ira, you need to be more open with your intelligence. We were lucky today that only one of the team went down. We could have lost everything because you chose not to share."

Jack interrupts, "Todd, what the hell does this have to do with finding my wife?"

I turn toward Jack and sign as Jennifer translates, "I was getting to that. I observed SA Hotchner slip out of here this afternoon and I have a good idea that he's responsible for the disappearance of Masha."

Jack swears, "I'm going to kill that bastard!"

I grin and continue, "Well you could probably do that but then you would go to jail and your family would lose their father. Besides, you do need to step up and take more of a leadership role on this team. You know Ben better than anyone else and they should be listening to you."

Jack questions, "What about that bastard Hotchner?"

I smile and sign, "Don't worry about him, he's my problem and when I get done with him, he's going to wish he'd never done this."

Mira and Ira offer, "Todd, we would be happy to assist you."

I look at them and sign, "No, the best thing for you to do is to instruct Alexi in the use of the bow for our upcoming mission. Now I am tired and I still have work to do tonight to get Masha back here. Everyone else here needs to make up with each other. Good night."

Present – Jens – Conference room

Todd leaves the room. Well, that's a first: Getting told off by a mute person! But damn him, he was right! I look at the Liz and apologize, "Liz I'm sorry I accidentally hit you."