Instant Connection

28

Mike lays asleep on the couch as Jakes tickles his face with a bow tie, asking if he can tie one. Mike swats the fabric away from his face as he gains consciousness. Jakes asks the question again as he looks down at the younger agent.

"I can tie a regular tie." Mike groans out.

"Yeah, you and everybody else. It's not a special... thing."

Mike lets out a sigh, "Why are you harassing me?"

"Why are you sleeping on the couch? Don't you got a room?" Jakes retorts with a chuckle.

"Yes." He says, slowly rising up.

"Morning, Mikey." Charlie softly says as she walks over to join the duo, "Stairs give you some trouble last night?"

"Yeah. Flat ground's fine, but the whole foot over foot thing, I don't know how you guys do it. What's with the dress up?" He finishes as he gets a look at their attire.

"DOJ's giving Paige her big award." Charlie answers, taking a sip from her red tumbler.

"That's today?"

"Yep, that's today. You comin'?" Jakes asks, fiddling with the bow tie.

"Yeah. Hey... Johnny knows how to tie a bow tie."

"That'd be great, if Johnny was home."

"He didn't come home last night?" Charlie glances towards him.

Mike opens his medicine bottle and pours the remainder onto the coffee table, and notices he is running low.

"No, and with Sid gunning for us, I was under the impression that sleeping at Graceland wasn't optional. I figured Stella would be keeping him in line."

Mike grabs one of the pills and takes it, taking a sip of Jakes' silver tumbler.

"Everything's optional, DJ." Briggs chimes in as he enters the room, wearing a suit and tie. "It's all just a matter of reconciling one's parameters."

"Thank you, Confucius. I'll remember that next time I'm being assassinated. That's my coffee." He says, pointing to Mike, who continued to jug the dark liquid.

Mike shoots him a thumbs up as he continues chugging the coffee.

"You know, I haven't been seeing much of Stella lately, either. Is she even going today?" Jakes asks.

"I don't know, but I brought you a suit, Mikey. Saved you a trip up Everest." Briggs tries to lighten the mood.

"Thanks."

"You all right?" Charlie whispers to Briggs.

"Yeah. First rate, Chuck."

"First rate, huh? What about the Armenian-flavored sin eating?" Mike asks, turning towards him.

"It's a new day, Warren." With that Briggs turns and walks out of the room.

Charlie quotes what Briggs said, and Jakes warns that it can't be good.

LAST NIGHT...

Johnny and I had grabbed some Hector's and were sitting on the hood of my car.

"Absolutely not, Johnny! It's too risky." I snapped.

"I don't have a choice. Carlito wants Sid in Mexico, so I gotta get him there. Homeland is looking for him at the border, so I have to take him through the tunnel."