+18 - eps 28-32 - On the sixth installment of the Blackbird series, Cassidy sends Gillian and her team with Brock and Russel to Tampa, Florida, to look into the death of a girl while winter storm Jonas beats the East Coast. But this seemingly ordina...
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The team was grateful to find the Pilatus still in the hangar, so they didn't have to load their cases and bags out in the freezing wind. They were about to board when a taxi stopped just outside the massive sliding doors and Hank jumped out of it with his go-bag.
"Wait! I'm coming!"
The others turned around, surprised to see him there.
"Doctor?" said Gillian. "You okay?"
He joined them by the steps to the jet, panting. "Al said there's a case."
The others frowned at such a sudden devotion to work on a stormy Friday. Hank flashed a tight smile.
"She may have mentioned the location."
As the others scoffed, Aldana's phone buzzed with an incoming text and she showed it to Gillian with a questioning frown. "Russ is coming?"
Gillian replied as if commenting on the weather. "Oh, yeah. He and Agent Brockner. Cassidy's call."
"Can we wait for them onboard?" asked Tanya from inside her winter jacket.
As soon as they boarded, Fred took over the coffee machine. He saw Gillian's hopeful look and scowled at her.
"What. You didn't bring your precious Helen to make her precious coffee for you?"
The others laughed at Gillian's hurt face—she knew Fred was completely immune to death glares. The sniper scowled deeper. She arched her eyebrows. He snorted. She grinned.
Aldana came to sit in front of her, and Tanya sat across the aisle. Ron joined them while the girl set her computer on the side table.
"So what is it this time, Reg? A suspicious poodle on a VIP beach?"
"All I know is that it's a road kill, probably committed by a serial, and the victim's a Senator's relative," Gillian replied. "T's got the file, so we should ask her."
"In a minute," said the girl. "Let me try to finish a couple of searches I'm running, and I'll be able to give you something more."
Fred was about to speak when they clearly heard a squeal outside the hangar.
"That'd be Russ," said Ron with a smirk.
Aldana rolled her eyes. "Poor Brockner," she muttered.
A moment later, Russell's voice thundered from the door. "HELLO, TEAM!"
"Dude, get in so we can close that door," said Hank. "It's frigging cold."
Russell took his usual time to shake hands and pat shoulders, while Brock waited patiently in the line to get to a seat. Tanya hurried to point at the one opposite hers.
"Here, sir! Welcome on board!"
Brock couldn't but smile back at Tanya's grin, and sneaked past Russell and Ron to get to the pointed seat. He let out a heartfelt sigh at being alive and in one piece, and glanced across the aisle. He was surprised to find Gillian's mild smile.
"Don't worry, sir. The nightmares caused by a winter ride with Russell last only a couple of years," she said.
He arched his eyebrows instead of answering. Basically because she'd talked to him in a normal way he'd never expected, and that surprised him even more than her smile.
Aldana patted and pushed Ron and Russell to the seats behind hers as the pilots boarded the Pilatus.
"Fasten your seatbelt, Dorothy," said Fred, following the other two.
"Because Kansas is going bye-bye," said Gillian and Tanya at the same time.
The hum of the steps and the door coming up made them buckle up their seatbelts. While the Pilatus rolled smoothly out of the hangar toward the runway, Gillian locked her eyes on Aldana's knees, her lips still pursed in what was left of her smile at Brock. It didn't make sense at all, but the simple fact of seeing him was enough to curl up her lips. That was what really scared the hell out of her. That no matter the circumstances, his simple presence was a good thing. Always.
