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it was my turn to nod. “There will be plenty of time for that when we get to DC.  You can go back to sleep if you want.”  She adjusted her body and brought her seat back up so she was sitting straight up like I was. 
    “No, at least not until we get back up in the air.”  She leaned back into the seat back and groaned.
    “You really need to eat something or at least drink some water?”
    “Probably a good idea. Vodka, on a semi empty stomach not a good combination.” Once again she had me smiling. Her hair was in tangles and her eyes had dark circles under them. If only she had a mirror, she would probably scream at her appearance.  Strangely enough she looked amazing to me.
    “Can I get up and use the restroom?”
    We were still at the gate, but they had closed the doors to the plane. I hesitated but nodded my head.  I was able to flag down and attendant and ask for something to eat for Alison.
    She returned, her hair combed and her face fresh. The attendant followed behind with a sandwich and soda for her.
    “Are we staying in DC,” she asked in between bites of food.
    “Not sure,” I was being completely honest with her. I didn’t know what would happen once we landed in the Nation’s Capital. All I was sure of was that I was in charge of keeping her safe and that was what I planned on doing.
    “If my opinion makes any difference what so ever in this, I would like to go home. I do have a funeral to go to.”  Her face was full of sadness. I had forgotten, as much as we believed Tom had sold out to the other side, he had still been her friend and her boss.
    “Your opinion counts Sonny. But I am going to do what it takes to keep you safe and if means taking you somewhere other than Albuquerque to do that then so be it.”  Her look of sadness did not change but she did seem to understand.  She sat quietly for a few minutes. She watched as the rest of the passengers settled in their seats and the plane pulled back from the gate..
    “You keep calling me Sonny why?” she stared at me with her intense green eyes and I couldn’t tear myself away from them.
    Honestly, I wasn’t sure why. I shrugged my shoulders.  “Fits you.”   She appeared to be satisfied with my answer.  It was the truth. It fit her.  Her smile, her eyes, her demeanor. She was a happy person, Sunny at heart.
    The plane finally took off and I could breathe a small sigh of relief. Although I didn’t think anything would happen to her in London, there was no way to be sure.  As the force of the takeoff pushed us both back into our seats, I could feel my weapon in its holster. I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to need it and for that I was grateful. But once we landed in DC I wasn’t sure where that road was going to take us.
    We made small talk as we flew across the Atlantic.  I wanted to ask her about her job, but I couldn’t. After a little small talk, she focused on the movie and seemed to forget the world around her.  I wasn’t sure what the movie was, but I did notice she didn’t laugh when everyone else did. It ate at me to see her so sad and quiet but I focused on the task I needed to complete and that was my report on what happened in the market. If anything, I was anal about my reports.  There was no one behind us so I felt comfortable turning on my small hand held device and getting a least a portion of it done.
    I spent about an hour working on it, filling in as much as I could about the exchange that took place between Alison and her contact in Tel Aviv. I remembered it vividly. I was trained to do that, but for some reason this exchange was so clear to me. As I replayed it in my head I could remember her hair blowing in the soft breeze. She wore a light blue shirt and white pants.  Her hair was loosely tied back with a white ribbon.  I closed my eyes to replay everything in my head. I wanted every detail in writing.  I wanted to note everyone that stood around Alison and the man.   I had scanned