Chapter 13: The Greek Squad (Part 2)

Thompson walked into Grounded, the vibrant smell of the coffee piercing his nostrils. He couldn't stop thinking about Jacob's briefing and how he had been basically direct about the mission.

Jacob basically gave him the kill order on Elias. For some reason, this order only made him more determined. Elias wasn't just some other object of this mission. He was just friend and Thompson was going to make sure he was going to do all he could to rescue him. It didn't matter if he was going to be some kind of obstacle to the mission, he wouldn't just kill his friend like that. It didn't matter how much necessary it became.

"Cappuccino, please." He noted to the barista, who had given him a courteous smile before returning to her work.

"And the name?" The bartender asked, looking back up at him , the same courteous smile still resting on her face.

"Thompson." He said, his voice practically low in a whisper.

A few minutes later, his order was ready. He grabbed the coffee and headed to a part of the restaurant to nurse his drink carefully.

As he settled into his seat, his mind wouldn't stop getting tormented by thoughts of the war, of Elias, and for some reason, of his wife.

The day after he became promoted to Brigadier General, Elias had been the second person he told after Alex. Just like Alex, Elias had been incredibly happy for him. He could still remember Elias's lowly whisper that day

"I've seen the work you've managed to do in this settlement, Tom. If anyone deserves it, it's you."

His mind shifted to his wife for some reason. Maybe it was the lame scenery or the flowers he could see through the glass walls but he couldn't get her out of his mind the unsnat he started to think about her. He couldn't help but feel like he had abandoned her for something else. It didn't matter that the something else was him trying to prevent the country and probably the continent from the biggest catastrophe since The Black Death.

A familiar voice called from the counter, evident pain and frustration laced in it. He looked up at the counter and saw her, looking as rattled as anything. Even though he couldn't see her face, he knew exactly who she was. Lena had made a lasting impression on him for some reason that he could identify her from anywhere. He could tell, even with her back turned to him that she looked immensely distressed. He rose from his seat and headed to the counter.

"Any problem here?" He called, stopping only a few steps behind her. Lena turned to look at him and amidst the look of recognition that hit her face, he could tell there was a lingering frustration about something else.

"Tom! Hey! How's it going?"

Thompson's eyes darted to Lena's hands and he could see her credit card wedged into the fingers of her left hand and her right hand wrapped around a cup of coffee.

"Is everything alright here?" He asked, turning to look at the barista.

"No, it's fine. It's my card. I don't know why the reader keeps rejecting it for some reason. And for some reason—" Lena continued, looking through a handbag strapped around her arm. "I thought I—still had some—change here but I couldn't find—"

Thompson watched her steadily for a while. She looked incredibly composed as she rifled through her bag but he could tell she was losing it inside.

"It's fine." He finally said, pulling out his card and giving the barista a brief smile. "You can add her bill to mine."

Lena's glassy eyes looked up at him. "Tom, no. I seriously couldn't—"

"It's fine. Really. I'm happy to do it."

"You're literally saving me here. Thank you so much." Lena said, her voice filled with immense gratitude.

The barista took Thompson's card and swiped it against the reader. A while later, she handed it back to him.

"I am really grateful" Lena said, fixing her hand back properly against her handbag. "I wish I could wait and chat but I have a—a thing."

"It's fine." Thompson responded, a slightly amused smile on his face as he watched Lena grab her cup one more time.

"See you around , Tom." Lena said. She threw him a wave and just as quick as she had walked in, she left the coffeehouse.

Thompson watched her go, the smile of amusement still lingering on his face.

When Thompson returned to the Command Center, he expected to see additional faces other than the people already there.

"Greek Squad still not here yet?" He asked, his hands fixed in his pockets.

"You think they got lost?" Aaron asked.

"I hope so. CIA operatives are a pain to work with." Hera said, her words practically coming out in a mumble.

"Hey!" Shane said, turning to Hera. "Offense taken."

"My mind still isn't fully made about you yet, Emerson." Hera retorted.

"Oh, come on guys. I'm sure it won't be that bad." Thompson said, a blatant hint of reassurance in his voice.

Like his words were some kind of summoning spell, the familiar creaky sound from the door above penetrated the air.

One after the other, they all dropped from the ladder, dusting their clothes and their pants.

"You people better be harboring Bin Laden in here." Elijah said, wiping sweat off his brow. "There's no reason for a base of operations to be this—THIS."

Thompson narrowed his eyebrows, studying the three operatives who just walked into the room. They looked exactly like their pictures, maybe slightly older. Elijah Kane, for instance, had some kind of air of authority around him. Lucas Lane on the other hand had a slight stubble around his jaw, a feature that was absent in his headshot. Trinity looked just as they had imagined. Stern, silent and mean looking for some reason.

"You must be Elijah Kane." Thompson called, walking towards Elijah, his hands outstretched.

"And you must be—The famous Thompson Holbrook." Elijah responded, taking Thompson's hands.

Thompson narrowed his eyes.

"You see, when you become a Brigadier General at the age of thirty four, people tend to notice." Elijah responded, a brief smile playing on his face. His eyes turned away from Thompson and landed straight on Hera.

"Hera Snow." He said, moving closer to her. "The headshots do not do you any justice."

Eyes moved slowly towards Elijah and his bright eyed squad.

"Oh, come on. Did you guys really think you would get briefed on us and it won't be vice versa?"

Lucas moved forward, walking straight towards Aaron.

"And you must be the tech guy." He said, flashing a smile at him.

Aaron nodded. "Right. Aaron Johnson."

"Lucas Lane." Lucas responded. "Whatever Superman joke you're about to make, trust me, I've heard it."

Aaron laughed, pushing his glasses closer to his face.

"I like them, by the way." Lucas said, still holding Aaron's hand in a handshake.

"What?" Aaron asked.

"Your glasses. They compliment your eyes."

Aaron swallowed, feeling a wave of warmth around his face.

"So." Elijah started, his voice cutting through all the side noise and directing all attention to him.

"Let's get started, shall we?"