"It's been... difficult."
The raven-haired beauty brushed a few stray hairs out of her face as she looked at her dining partner sadly. She had barely touched her chicken roti, but had managed to go through two glasses of wine... and was nearing the bottom of her third.
"I can imagine," the man across from her said, taking another sip of his own wine.
This man knew her well. He'd hired her right out of high school for two reasons: 1.) he knew her father and owed him a favor, and 2.) because he realized the young girl had the potential for greatness.
And she had never failed to disappoint.
She was unlike any woman Grissom Montag had ever seen. She had a thick skin on her and the ability to solve problems with ease. She was extremely left-brained, preferring to think through things logically, rather than losing her head like most women would. After a few years, she'd risen through the ranks of Sandcrawler Securities and become Grissom's head of maintenance.
And, when Griss found that his new group of friends - Vanguard International - needed the services of a maintenance technician, there was no one he thought better suited for the job than Charlene Montoya.
But Vanguard has a way of weighing you down... especially with all the loss suffered over the past year and a half. It's enough to wear down anyone...
...even a woman as valiant and thick-skinned as Charley Montoya.
"It's not just Kris, though, Griss..." she sighed, leaning back in her chair as she folded her arms across her chest. "It's everything. It's Danny flipping out. It's Mick going nuts. It's Grimm leaving. It's Phil and Leslie, you and Bri... it's everything, y'know?"
A small tear ran down her face. Grissom slowly reached out a hand, lightly touching her arm.
"My dad is dying," she whispered after a moment.
"What?" Griss asked, his eyes widening as his breath caught in his throat.
"You know what a smoker he was," Charley whispered. "His lungs just can't take much more. The doctors give him a week at the most."
A heavy silence hung between the two as Grissom let the words sink in. Finally, he managed to bring himself to break the stillness.
"Is there anything I can do?" he asked.
"Let me go, Griss," she said finally. "I need to be with him."
"Of course," the merc responded, nodding responsively. "What else?"
"Let me go... for good, Grissom," she said, more tears running down her face. "I won't be coming back to Vanguard... or Sandcrawler. I'm going to help my brothers... maybe open up an auto repair shop in China Lake..."
"Bullshit," Grissom said sternly, but softly. "A'int no way I'm gonna allow that. You're not just an employee, Charley. You're family. That may not've meant much to me before... but I'll be damned if I'm gonna let you out like this."
Charley smiled. "That's really sweet of you, Griss," she said softly, placing a hand on his stubbly cheek. "I've always thought of you as another brother. But you don't have to do this..."
"I know," Grissom said. "I want to."
As he spoke, a checkbook and pen appeared on the table. Before Charley could open her mouth to stop him, Grissom was already scribbling an amount onto the check, ripping it out of the book and handing it to his friend.
"And I won't take 'no' for an answer," he said, slipping it into her hand.
Slowly opening the check made Charley light-headed. Her eyes widened, her breath stopped, and her heart skipped a beat. "Griss..." she mumbled, completely at a loss. "I--I don't know what to say."
"You don't 'ave to say anything," he said with an air of finality. "Javier Montoya was a good friend of mine and 'e shall not be soon forgotten. As for that, 'owever," he continued, indicating the check, "I want you to spend on you. Take an extended vacation - as long as you need. When you start to miss it, there's always a place for you at Sandcrawler Securities... if you're interested, that is..."
Without saying a word, the Hispanic beauty stood to her feet, crossing to where her employer sat, and kissed him lightly on the cheek. Tears streaming down her smiling face, she struggled in vain to find the right words to say.
But she didn't need to. The look in her eyes - that twinkle that Grissom had not seen in a long time - was reward enough for the adventurer.
Holding her hand to her mouth, Charley cried a bit more, than waved a soft goodbye to her 'brother'.
"G'bye, love," Montag answered, taking her hand and kissing it lightly.
With that, Charlene 'Charley' Montoya turned and walked out of the Joe Caribbean restaurant in the La Perdita International Airport to catch a train back to the States.
And Grissom Montag sat, running his three-fingered hand over the small crucifix that hung from his neck, whispering a silent prayer for his friend...
