Mr. Lasalle

Chapter 7 - The Ambush

"Good morning Jayden. It's time to get up."

"Mommy, you're still here?"

"Yes son. I thought I would walk you to the corner today."

"Okay mommy. I laid my clothes out over there." Jayden says as he points to his desk chair.

"Oh green. My favorite color" Sonja exclaims!

After breakfast Jayden walked hand in hand with his mother. He had already learned that once they left the house there were certain questions he could not ask.

They had many secret words between them. This morning his mother told him to have a good day. He knew that meant that she would not be home tonight. He always wondered where she went but she had told him more than once that she couldn't tell him. This, he thought, explained why they went out for pizza Saturday. His birthday was next week and it appeared that his mother would miss this one too.

Sonja arrived at her desk about 10. She walked down to the secure file room to get her travel documents, weapon and the other needed materials. She decided to move the thought of the long flight to Cairo, Egypt to the back of her mind. The airplane rides were the least favorite of her exciting job. Three hours later the out brief concluded. The seven team members took off to their intended routes.

Sonja would be flying out through Atlanta. She was laughing long before her flight landed. The southern drawl floating around her immediately caught her attention. Her thoughts turned to Christopher LaSalle and to her trip with Jayden to Mrs. LaSalle's farm. Jayden had followed Chris around like a lost puppy. They had gotten up early to fishing early Saturday and only made it back at 4.

"Hey you guys were gone a long time" she says to the two of them.

"Oh mom, look what I caught"! Sonja wasn't sure whose smile was more broad – LaSalle's or her son's.

She had looked around and saw Mrs. LaSalle looking at her. She wanted to get up but she wasn't as fast as Mother LaSalle. Sonja did not want to hear what she had to say in spite of the fact that she realized that she was correct.

She must have dozed off because heard the captain announce their final approach to Heathrow.

She was more than pleased that her flight to Cairo was on time. She was concerned as she boarded when she recognized the co-pilot. This was one time that the 'sister code' did what it was supposed to do. The pilot quickly looked to the passengers behind Sonja and greeted the elderly couple warmly which allowed Sonja to proceed quickly to her seat.

She noticed the first two air marshals as they boarded. She had gone into the employee lounge to meet them earlier. She would be carrying her weapon on this flight. International passengers were a challenge for airline security. They often spoke in their own language which sometimes allowed them a leg up.

Sonja was posing as a former Olympian coach on this mission. Even on her flight to Britain she was watching old film from the 2012 Olympic games. She loved Gabby Douglas and knew almost every move that she made on the beam and the floor exercise. She needed some mastery of the sport just in case someone asked.

She was wearing glasses on this trip and had her hair braided. She watched one woman who boarded the flight and looked a little shaky. Sonja picked up her pen and made a quick note and handed it to the last air marshal who boarded after the woman. She would learn at the end of the flight that it was the woman's first flight back to the Middle East since she was a little girl and that she was nervous about meeting her husband and his family of an arranged marriage.

Percy was beat once she landed in Cairo. She quickly walked to the secure area and signed off on the Air Marshall's summary. She was more than ready to take a shower and go to bed.