Suzie Elliot, Evil Genius?

Chapter 23

The dye just wouldn't come completely out. Suzie had tried three different times to bleach the color out, and now had hair that at least was lighter, though it had some weird bluish tints to it. Definitely punk rock. Yilin, to her credit, didn't bat an eye when she saw it, nor when she was asked to help get it out. But now Suzie had to go back to school, and she didn't want to stand out from the way she normally looked. Simone and Casey would definitely notice.

She had arrived home early the previous day, and immediately gone to sleep until noon. She had sent many e-mails from the airports in Colombo, Dubai and New York, and was now finally able to check on replies. Melissa already had the lab getting organized, with most of the equipment installed and the rest ordered. That was excellent news, as Suzie was hoping to get that project up and running as soon as possible.

She also received word from Helmut that the sub was safe back at the base, and that they were in the process of putting all of their gear onto a freighter, he just needed a destination. But the good thing was that any time she wanted, the base in India could just disappear, and she could breathe a little easier.

Even better, she had a call from her parents the night before. They sounded like they were in a busy area, so she thought maybe they were in an airport. They sounded tired, but they were alive, so she was very happy to hear their voices. The call was messy, as she was crying all over the phone, and she could tell her parents were doing the same, but it felt so good to talk to them she really didn't care. They told her they would be home in a few weeks, but that they were healing after an accident at the irrigation site. Suzie wanted them home now, but she really didn't care at this point.

So now she was ready for school. Still tired from jet lag, and feeling a little nervous with her hair, she was energized with all she had been able to accomplish. Suzie ignored all of the stares when she walked down the hallway. The blue would fade, and nobody would remember anything in a few weeks. For now, she was happy and confident, and was ready to take on the world. When she got to class, she waved to Simone who was already seated, then stopped by Joe's desk. Oh, wait, Mr. Kelly's desk. That might take some time to get used to again.

"Did you know you could buy a whole island if you wanted to?" she whispered in his ear as she leaned over.

He almost spit out his coffee.

The trip home had been quick and painless for the Team Fire Ant members. They had all piled into a pair of cabs and gone to the embassy, where they were finally able to talk to a shocked official until he got their identities straightened out. They were then given new paperwork, and put on planes back to Washington, which took almost 48 hours by the time they were done. But, they were home. No more torture, no more cold cells and tiny little cots. Even the meals on the planes seemed to be extravagant compared to the prison food. Even better, she was able to call Suzie from Frankfurt, and say hi. It had been a hard conversation, but she had missed her so much it was like a physical shock to hear her voice.

But every minute they were coming closer to having to answer questions about the future. She felt worse for George, as they held hands all the way home, and she felt like she was squeezing tighter and tighter the closer they got. By the time they got to New York, George's fingers were turning white.

In New York they were met by a liaison who escorted them through customs to a waiting private jet that took them down to Washington DC. A short limo ride later, they were all ushered into a debriefing room with Major Dillon. Nancy was quite sure this wouldn't be fun.

Six hours later she was exhausted. There was question after question about how they were released, about the submarine they were on, about the people they saw, and about the identity of their rescuer. Since they didn't really know anything other than the letter signed by Petra, which they didn't share, they could only offer a few observations. As a whole, the team was surprised that there was very little asked from them about their time spent in the prison. She didn't hold out much hope for their continued employment with the agency.