LUCINDA GATES’S FLIGHT TO Los Angeles had been delayed by bad weather, but when it was ready to leave, there was another delay — Agent Wolfe was not there in the group for the takeoff; so everyone waited...

To make it up for the delay, the scheduled-driven Gates was inside the private jet, discussing the Fundraiser program with her three key female staff. She stopped to read an ambiguous text message — from Agent Harrison on her cell phone...

'We have been compromised — but the kids are alright.'

She excused herself and went out to the jet’s exit door, and called out to one of the Secret Service agents from a group waiting outside. Wachowski ran up the stairs to meet her...

“Agent Wachowski, where is Wolfe? We have waited for the past forty minutes, why are we not taking off? We need to be in LA — there is a lot of pressing matters to attend to there.”

“I am sorry, Ms Gates, there is no confirmation yet — we are all still waiting for Agent Wolfe.”

“Has she called?”

They turned to glance at an approaching Secret Service vehicle. Lucinda Gates sighed. “Speak of the devil.” She went back into the jet. Wachowski descended fast down the stairs, went to the car. Wolfe alighted — and the junior agent spoke...

“Agent Wolfe, Ms Gates just asked — when we are taking off?”

“There is no takeoff!”

The stern-looking Head of the Secret Service snapped back. She then looked at all the agents gathered.

“All of you wait here!” Wolfe paced up the stairs leading to the plane and found Gates with her staff inside.

Wolfe was internally calming herself down, she walked up to the minibar — and poured two drinks in shot glasses, picked them along with the bottle of the aged McCallan scotch. Lucinda Gates was noticing her — she had not seen Wolfe drinking before in the White House, or neither in front of her.

Gates anticipated that it must be regarding Agent Harrison’s text — that she just received earlier...

‘Wolfe knows something.’

“Excuse me, ladies, please step out off the plane, I need to speak to Ms Gates in private.”

The staffs left and Wolfe looked over at the two female flight attendants — and shooed them away too.

She sat across Gates and slipped a glass towards her while she heard, “I don't drink when I am working.”

Wolfe smiled in derision. “You might need it.”

Wolfe next took out an envelope from her breast pocket of her suit, pulled out three photos. She turned two photos face-down in front of her — and revealed the third to Gates like a game of cards...

The agent finally found a loop to confront the president’s Confidential Assistant — with a photo of Gates and Agent Sian Harrison stepping out of the women's prison — that was secretly taken by Agent Iris Green...

“Were you spying on me, Wolfe?”

“Just explain this, Ms Gates.”

The older woman’s voice shook slightly. “Yes, I went to see Dr Morris.”

“Why?”

Gates bit her tongue, thinking of an excuse — but soon Wolfe turned up the other two photos face-up — the first was Big Joe's. The other photo was of the injured Joana, cradled by Marlin in his arms in the street battle of New Orleans...

“Does it have to do with them?”

Gates clenched her own fist hard until it was pale while staring down aghast and speechless at the three photos. Wolfe pointed at Marlin's image, speaking in a simpleton manner...

“This feller and that Dr Morris, I know. We had put them both behind bars, remember? But now, he is on the loose. The other two are also rebel terrorists. They are all involved in terrorist groups — conspiring to overthrow the government.

“So Ms Gates — where do you fit into all of this?”

Gates spoke out louder. “Stop pretending, Wolfe — you know who those twins are?”

“Hmm yes, I supposed that they both are Samantha Cory's suckers — but too bad — the President has issued an order that they are also treacherous terrorists. Madam President too has not given me any direct orders yet, nor has told me personally to isolate those twins — from the rest of the rotten eggs.”

“My command still stands to kill off — whomever that endangers both the President and is a threat to National Security!”

Gates trembled slightly when she heard that — and she rambled out a response...

“Please don't do that, Agent Wolfe — not to Sam and not to me — Madeline Cory had a problem dealing with her cheating husband long ago — and since then, she had punished Samantha instead, by discarding the twins the moment they were born.

“Those two siblings were separated from birth and through circumstances of fate and false blame — they have both ended up as so-called terrorist groups, confabulated to the mass media by Madeline Cory herself!

“You know that very well enough — that it is her aspiration ploy of power-play to stay in office — come on, don't you know that by now, Wolfe!!?”

Lucinda downed her drink — and poured another single malt scotch by herself.

Wolfe now allowed her to speak. “There is a big gap of difference between blind loyalties, and using one’s commonsense — but Agatha, I want you to do the right thing now!”

The agent felt insulted by her mordant remark...

“Look here Ms Gates — I am not authorized to rationalize my orders — especially when it was given by the President herself.”

“Good — then do the sensible thing like I have been doing this time around — no one here is overthrowing the Government (or what so ever) — and, why I visited Dr Morris, was to find the twins’ whereabouts — I just want to protect the children of Samantha Cory from further harm, that's all!”

Wolfe was made silent momentarily.

Her hauteur attempts to ambush Gates was diminishing with the militating woman, now dominating the argument — while sipping the scotch Gates further elaborated to her yet to come importance...

“One day, I will reunite the mother with her two grown-up children — and I will take them far away, from Madeline's reach.”

Agatha Wolfe then poured herself another drink and mumbled the quandary...

“Fuck, because of you, I now got four dead agents — killed two hours ago in Mississippi, by the Aryans Sisterhood! Agent Harrison is now on the way back to Washington with the two suspects!”

Wolfe tapped her fingers on the photo of Joana and Marlin for Gates to see — Gates finally had the acumen of what the misconstrue text message from Harrison was all about...

But she was also relieved the girl — was still alive.

“What are you going to do about it, Wolfe — hand them over to Cory?”

“Yes, that is what I am going to do — and also, I am going to retire Agent Harrison, her time is up — and next is you — Ms Gates...

“...you will not have any further clearance access to my Secret Agents personnel to do your errands — nor will you get any first hand classified information on the DHS and NSA database pertaining to National Security,” Wolfe said, baring her teeth with her authority.

Lucinda Gates had created a mole in the Secret Service — and Wolfe had to contain the situation before it blew over.

“What happens after that Wolfe, you will still go and exterminate Cory's own grandchildren for her like a grunt you were once before — shooting children up in the Middle East, as human target practice?” Gates had stumped her again.

“Fuck you. Ms Gates — look at the situation you have put me in! You are in concordance to be the next Vice President — but see what you have done behind our backs!” Wolfe declaimed with perturbation...

Wolfe was upset, and she was about to drink her glass of McCallan, but Lucinda Gates clasped Wolfe's wrist that was holding the shot glass — looking into her eyes with an intense stare — and articulated an importuned suggestion...

“Then take the moral high ground by keeping the girl always in your custody, Wolfe — and never let Cory know that you have her. Go — lock her up in one of your safe-houses and throw away the keys! But, keep her alive because when someday soon, when Cory falls over — and if I become President — and I am going to make things right...

“Now listen to me here carefully, I can groom you into politics, Wolfe — only if you stop thinking like a jar-head war veteran, and start getting a little ambitious — from this day onwards!”

She clinked Wolfe's glass with hers — before releasing her wrist...

“Cheers!”

Gates drank up — and the agape Wolfe was looking at her leaving her seat, to continue her agenda for the tomorrow’s fundraiser in LA.

***

The jet flew in LA airspace a few minutes later. Lucinda Gates sat alone since the takeoff — still in deep thoughts, staring out of the window. She had typed a text message into her phone and was contemplating. She looked at it again — and pressed the ‘send’ button...

She still distrusted the askew Wolfe’s allegiance to President Cory — and she could not take the chance, with the capture and execution of either of Samantha’s twins...

Two thousands of miles away at the border of Mississippi, Marlin was driving — with two sleeping passengers in the Secret Service black sedan. The phone in his pocket vibrated. He saw a text message...

'Once in D.C., You take the girl and run.'