Pappy reached for a hunk of toast and a cup of hot chocolate. He downed both within seconds. He waved to his father, who watched him leave, deep sadness in his eyes. Like any father, all he wanted was happiness for his son and perhaps a grandchild or two to dandle on his knee before he was too old to enjoy the event.

Inside their barracks, Hawkins rebuilt the fire. “I don’t see any point in going back to bed, do you, guys?” he asked. The others agreed as they curled up by the fire.

“So, what should we talk about?” Zoe asked. “Or, do we pretend this is a campfire and tell ghost stories?”

“I have a better idea. Why don’t you guys tell me about Mr. Rainford and what really brought all of you here? It boggles my mind that you’re all friends,” Hawkins said as he moved a little closer to Slick. Probably for extra warmth.

Sam’s predecessors looked at her. She shrugged.

“There’s four more of us,” Olivia chirped.

Hawkins digested that information. “That makes eight!”

“Yep. Our ex was a honeymoon junkie,” Zoe said.

“It was a hell of a honeymoon.” Kayla laughed. “Six weeks to the day, three for the courtship, three for the honeymoon before the jerk divorced each of us. We assume he operated the same way with the other four, but we don’t know that for sure.”

“I hacked into the FBI computer when we were at Quantico,” Sam said. “I didn’t exactly hack, but I did what I wasn’t supposed to do by accessing certain files. I think that’s another reason I washed out. I knew I wasn’t going to pass the physical part, so I threw caution to the wind and did it. I’m not sorry. Hey, If I hadn’t, the five of us wouldn’t be here right now discussing this unsavory subject. You’d probably be here, though, Hawkins, and you’d probably be paired up with Team Five. Admit it, we’re the best of the best. That’s not a real compliment if you consider our competition,” Sam said.

Hawkins stretched out his long legs. “What’s your game plan? I know you have one. I’m volunteering my services. Hey, you might need a guy to shill for you.” The others burst out laughing.

Sam threw another log on the fire. “We go on R&R for thirty days when we’re finished here. We’re going to go after him as a group and give him a taste of his own medicine. We don’t have a plan yet, but we’ll come up with something during the next six months. And we’ll definitely consider your offer, Hawkins,” Sam said.