Sally's Secret

Chapter 8

Much as Maria wanted to sit in the lounge and soak up information about how International Rescue worked and get some kind of feeling for the personalities of the Tracy men, she felt it would be shirking her duties. She leaned over to Sally and whispered, "Isn't there something I should be doing now?"

"Well, the cookies you made yesterday are gone. We could go make some more."

Maria found it odd that making cookies again was a higher priority than cleaning or laundry, but Sally was the boss. Still, it wasn't necessary for her to move again so soon. "We? You really should rest."

Sally stared at her for half a beat. It made Maria a little nervous. Had she overstepped her bounds? "You're right. Let me know if you need anything."

Maria patted her knee and slipped out of the lounge silently. She whipped up another batch of chocolate chip cookies and a batch of peanut butter cookies. The last two cookie sheets were still baking when she heard Sally's voice carry down the stairs.

"Maria! Virgil's inbound now. We're doing that supply run before he gets called out again!"

Scott's voice came next. Maria wasn't sure whether he was there in person or it was over comms, but he was quite loud and sounded rather cranky. "She doesn't go down to the hangar without one of us with her at all times."

"She has a name, Scott." Sally's voice was much quieter, and carried what Maria thought might be a note of reprimand. "And I wasn't planning to send her down there alone."

Maria was glad she didn't have to face Scott right now. Staying out of the hangar didn't sound like a hard thing to do. She would do her level best to mind his rules. She looked around the kitchen at her cookie-making mess. Did she have time to clean any of it up? "How much time do I have, Mrs. Tracy?" she called up the stairs, remembering to be less familiar with her boss when Scott might overhear.

"Fifteen minutes, but would you be a dear and come help me with the stairs now?"

"Of course." Maria practically threw a pair of batter-encrusted beaters into the sink as she dashed to the staircase. When they made it to the kitchen together, Maria tried to steer Sally to sit in a dining chair. "Sorry about the mess. I can get most of it clean before we go."

"I'll help," Sally said. Then she noticed the kitchen counters filled with cooling cookies everywhere. She gasped. "Oh my! You made peanut butter and chocolate chip that fast?"

It was probably more likely Sally just didn't realise how long Maria had been down here. Maria chuckled. "Maybe if I can build up the reserves, I'll have time later for laundry or something." The timer went off and Maria removed the last two cookie sheets from the oven. She washed the bowls, measuring cups, and utensils, while Sally transferred the cooled cookies to platters. Maria swept some spilled sugar from the floor and glanced at her watch. "Time?"

Just then, Virgil walked in, wearing his uniform. He had a green sash the same color as his Thunderbird, and a big laser mounted on his shoulder. "You two ready to go?"

Maria nodded and reached behind her back to untie her apron strings.

"Hungry, Virgil?" Sally asked him.

He grinned. "You know me, Grandma."

"Well, we saved some breakfast in the fridge," Maria said. Then she remembered that leftovers weren't popular with Tracy men, so she added, "Or there's cookies." She gestured to the two platters piled high.

Sally pulled one of the baggies of breakfast sandwiches from the refrigerator and handed it to Virgil, evidently guessing which of the options he'd prefer. He ran them through a short zap of microwave and took a bite. "Mmm."