Luckily the coffee pot was on a timer, so there was hot coffee awaiting him. He poured himself a cup and turned, thinking to go back into the living area to sit on a comfortable chair and enjoy the peace and quiet of the house, such an odd thing.   He was most of the way into the room when he realized he wasn't alone. He squinted in the early morning darkness and saw a shape sitting in one of the lounge chairs. Ah, Leroy. But why wasn't he up in his room?

Stephen approached the young man and Leroy's eyes fluttered open.

"Oh, hey," Leroy said with a yawn, rubbing his stubbly jaw. "I was hoping I could talk to you."

Stephen sucked some coffee and nodded.  "Let's both drink a cup of coffee without speaking a word to each other and then we can talk, okay?" he said, leading the way back to the coffee pot.  He topped off his cup, inhaling the steam so none of the caffeine got away and then filled a cup he passed to Leroy.  "Remember," he said.  "No words 'til the cups are empty."  Then he took a chair with a view of the valley below and sank into it.  He and Doni were going to start going to bed earlier, it was his only hope.  He wasn't as young as he used to be and he had no intention fo giving up making love to her until almost dawn so earlier to be was the only answer.  That or retirement and it was dicey at the moment which way he'd lean.

He thought about it absently as he finished his cup of coffee and got refill for himself and Leroy.  Then he started a fresh pot and returned to the great room.  He was as awake as he was going to get for now.  "So, what's on your mind?"

Leroy had spent the time of contemplation staring at his boots. Now he looked up. "I need some advice. And maybe some reassurance. Not sure about some things, and well, I'd better just tell you I guess."

"Yeah, just telling me is usually best," Stephen said, noting the stubble and the bloodshot eyes.  Whatever else you said, this was a dedicated man.  "What's the problem?"

Leroy did his best to distill the story down. He had some ability at this given he'd been a cop. So it was pretty clear by the time he explained it. "So when we saw that the guy who bought the psi gizmo was Adrian Blakesley, well.. It gave us a turn, let me tell you. I figured there'd be a, you know, some sort of logical explanation, but when I asked him he pretty much told me to go, you know, go jump in a lake, it was none of my business. And now apparently this hot shot magician has it and I haven't told Blakesley yet because I wondered, you know, if I ought to let him know where it is."

"And Betty Jo was with him?  And didn't seem worried about it?" Stephen asked.

"She didn't know the whole story, I don't think. But yeah, she seemed okay with it. I didn't have a chance to talk to her privately, though." He hesitated then added, "In fairness I told him I'd tell you guys and he didn't seem to have a problem with that.  At least that's what he said."

"He meant it," Stephen said.  "How much sleep have you had lately?"

"I dunno. A couple of hours or so. Why? I smell don't I? I need a shower."

Stephen laughed.  "Well why don't you get a shower and a couple of hours of sleep in a bed while I make a few calls.  Then I'll let you know what I think.  THe most I can say right now is that it's possible Ian isn't in this for himself.  But we'll see."

"Okay. Don't let me sleep too long, okay? I'm gonna be kind of zoned out when my head hits that pillow."

"I'll make sure," Stephen said.  He watched Leroy head up the stairs, passing Marc on his way down.  He eyed Marc closely and decided Dinah was probably behaving for the moment.  He wondered if there was a way to make Dinah's enforced idleness easier on everyone and then put it aside.  "Morning," he said, as Marc sat down with his coffee.  "Want me to wait 'til you're on your second cup?"

"No, the suspense is killing me. This has something to do with Leroy I'm thinking."

Stephen nodded.  "Yeah, and Ian and Betty Jo and most likely Blackheath and the Zoo and stolen plans for a psi gizmo.  Sure you don't want the coffee first?"

"Okay, maybe I do need more coffee." Marc got up for a refill and took Stephen's with him for a refill.  After he'd sucked half of his cup down, Marc nodded for Stephen to continue. "I doubt I want to hear this but go ahead."

Stephen related what Leroy had told him.  "I think Ian's acting for Blackheath if you want the truth.  Though either way he would have told Leroy to butt out.  But I don't like the idea of some gizmo that can do what Leroy says Friday says this thing can do in the hands of someone I don't know and trust.  Do you know Abner Friday from the Institute?"

"I've met him a time or two. He seems the usual befuddled genius. Not a clue how to find his sock drawer but brilliant in his field. If it's his toy.. well, we'd best take it seriously."

"Okay well in that case, I think I'm going to call Rimes and see if we can get int o see him today, preferably this morning.  Seeing as how you're so much more suspicious than I am I'd like it if you'd join us.  I'll take Leroy along ans expand his horizons.  Impressive man is Leroy.  Maybe he could go to work for Rimes."

Marc laughed. "Why do you hate the guy?"

"Leroy?"  Stephen asked.

"No, Rimes. Leroy is the kind of guy who once he gets onto something won't let it go till he's well and truly satisfied and knows all there is to know about it and understands it more. Poor Rimes. But yeah, let's expand Leroy's horizons by all means. He's wasted sitting around bored. Next thing you know he'll be nosing around our stuff."

"Well if you can figure out how to keep him around and working for us, go for it.  Otherwise I'm thinking having a guy in our quarter at the zoo would be a good thing.  Rimes won't last forever, you know."

"Yeah, good point. You call Rimes while I commune with the coffee some more."

Stephen laughed and pulled out his cellphone.  When he hung up again he had an appointment with Rimes for lunch, about noon he said.  "He's on the hill later this morning, and expects to be testifying again this afternoon but he said he'd be happy to grab a hotdog with us."

"Jeezus I'm glad we have a decent cook now. We could take him a rubin and present it as an offer of good faith."

They both got dressed in power suits, and Marc tossed Leroy out of bed and told him to dress like a cop. That turned out to be a mistake but it was too late to change it. The three of them appeared on Capitol Hill at the appointed time.

"Gee, I've never made it up here before," Leroy said as he looked around admiringly. "A bit bigger than Little Rock."

"Yeah, a bit," Stephen said.  "Ah, there he is, just like he said, dripping mustard on his tie."

Rimes looked up as they approached.  "The best dogs in DC, I'm telling you," he said.

"I'll stick with pastrami," Marc replied with a laugh as they shook mustardy hands. "This is a friend of ours, Leroy Saunders. Leroy, Geoffery Rimes.  Stephen here has something to talk to you about."

"That's what I appreciate the most about you," Rimes said, leading the way to a more private spot on the steps of the Capital.  "You never waste time on small talk.  So what's on your mind today?"

"Well," Stephen said, "I heard a story this morning and it's missing a punchline.   The ones I've thought of I don't like," he said and then told him what he knew.  "I think Ian's acting for Blackheath, but from what I'm hearing, the plans aren't in the UK anymore."

Rimes face had been expressionless since Stephen had started explaining and stayed that way for a few minutes after he finished.  He was obviously thinking as he finished his hotdog and wiped the mustard off his hands and his tie.  He tossed the napkins into the trash and then said, "Betty Jo filled me in early this morning.  She thinks the same thing.  That's who he called when they were stolen."

"Betty Jo filled you in?" Leroy asked, frowning. "How's ... why..."

"She and her sisters work for me now," Rimes said.  "It's recent and she's never mentioned it to Ian."

Marc's eyebrow rose. "That was fast work. So, I guess we can go home now, knowing you have everything under control."

Rimes studied the traffic for a moment or two.  "No," he said finally.  "I don't think I do.  There's something going on she's not telling me.  However, now that you've come to me I can legitimately go to Blackheath and suggest, in light of the connection here, that Betty Jo work with Lord Avery on the recovery of the plans."  He grinned.  "Which will make their day I'm sure."

"You recruited anyone else I know?" Stephen asked.

Rimes shook his head.  "Not yet.  I'll let you know if I do, though.  If that will make you feel more comfortable.  The purpose isn't to spy on you but to hire people who have had exposure to true paranormal phenomenon and who react sensibly to it.  I'm also open to recommendations," he added.

"If we've brilliant ideas we'll let you know," Marc replied with lips twitching. "So, Leroy here has something he's supposed to get to Ian which will give him a good idea where the plans are."

"Yeah, he's got some kinda magical locator spell he's gonna do on evidence I collected from the site."

"Then I'd take it to him...sometime tomorrow morning or late this evening, since it will take me that long to get things in place with Blackheath," Rimes said.

"Okay, I'll stall as long as I can. At least until tomorrow morning London time."  Leroy yawned. "I can use the sleep anyway."

"Thanks," Rimes said and handed him a card.  "Call if you need anything and I'll let you know when it's set up. So, anything else?"

Leroy handed Rimes a card with his own cellphone number on it, and the Little Rock Police Detective part scratched out. "Sorry, haven't had time to get something better.  Geez. I'm amazed they didn't cut off my cellphone," he said,  frowning, thinking about it.

Rimes laughed.  "They will.  I'm glad you called me about this.  I appreciate it."

"Sure. We done? I'm going to bed," Leroy announced.

"Sure," Marc replied. "Off you go. Talk to you later."  Leroy zapped out.

Rimes looked at Marc and raised an eyebrow, waiting.

"What?" Marc asked.

"That's what I was wondering," Rimes said.  "Perhaps the mustard's messing with the vibes."

"Too little coffee," Marc replied. "Good kid that. He's growing on me. Lost his job helping us out. I wonder if this is what it feels like to have your grown son out of a job and moving home..."

Rimes looked at him for a minute and then nodded.  "Could be.  I don't have any kids so I can't say.  But I do know where there's coffee if you'd like some."

"Sounds good to me.  Stephen?"

"Oh yeah," he said.  "Lead on."

Edwards, still holding his master's coat and hat, answered the bell. He blinked, looking first at Betty Jo, secondly at Emma and thirdly at Luke Arrington, all looking like business as usual, standing on Lord Avery's stoop.

"Is his lordship in?" Luke asked politely.

"I'll see. Please come in out of the cold and damp," Edwards replied and showed the three of them into the drawing room.   He carefully closed the double doors and left the three of them where they were then hurried toward the study, passing Hermione in the hallway. He was too intent on alerting his master to potential disaster to think where Hermione might be headed.

In point of fact Hermione was headed straight to the drawing room where she'd left a book a bit earlier when Ian had wanted privacy in his office/study.  So when she threw open the double doors to the drawing room she blinked with surprise to see who was there.

Ian, having been successfully alerted to the situation walked into the drawing room on her heels, quick enough to see Hermione freeze where she was, making Ian almost barrel into her from behind.

Ian, his face set showing no expression at all beyond polite interest stepped around his frozen apprentice and dismissed her from his mind for the moment.  "Ah the Friary arrives. And with reinforcements?"

"I apologize for dropping by," Luke said.  "I wanted to bring you the autopsy report and to up date you on some developments."

"Please allow Edwards to take your coats and have a seat. Hermoine?" he said. "Do stir yourself and either take a seat or go on with whatever it is you were doing."

Edwards collected coats as the others began to settle. Ian remained standing.

Hermione flushed and took a seat off the to the side retrieving her book on the way.  Betty Jo and Emma parted with their outerwear and sat on either ends of the sofa, leaving the chair at positioned at a right angle to them to Luke.  Luke handed his coat to Edwards and passed a folder to Ian before taking a seat.  "Nothing unusual in it beyond the fact that no bullet was recovered nor was there any sign of an exit wound."

"Unusual that," Ian replied glancing through the folder.  "And your reason for bringing Ms DuBois along?"

"Mr. Rimes informed us late last evening that he had been briefed on this matter as a result of Mr. Saunders concerns by Stephen.  Hence he has seconded Ms DuBois to act as his liaison with you in your efforts to recover the plans given that it would seem they are now in the US."  Luke paused and then added blandly, "I wasn't aware she was a member of the Zoo until he called."

Emma looked over swiftly at Luke and then away again, her lips quivering.  Betty Jo reacted not at all.

"Ah, you've had a change of employment since last we spoke?" Ian asked looking straight at Betty Jo.

"Yes," she said, meeting his look.  "Very recently, in fact."

"That would be, what, yesterday?" Ian pressed.

She lifted her chin and said without inflection, "Officially it was at noon, Wednesday last.  I reported yesterday.  I know you're delighted, of course.  It's a promotion and I'll be working with Billie and Bobbie."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I am indeed delighted as to both." Then he turned his head toward Arrington. "So, I'm also delighted to leave the retrieval of the package to the professionals. Feel free to call me if you need a liaison in the future. Is that all?"

Luke studied his hands for a moment before saying, "Of course, if that's how you would prefer it.  I was, however, under the impression that you had an interest in finding whoever took them and in the plans themselves from a professional perspective.  Without your direct involvement it's very unlikely you'll have a change to study them."

"Ah, I see. And who would I be expected to work with to retrieve them? I ask because I've apparently very limited data on just who is working for the Zoo as of today. And are you yourself assigning a liaison?" Ian asked Arrington.

"Ms DuBois for the Zoo.  We have no plans to assign anyone else," Luke said.

"I see," Ian replied turning his gaze back to Betty Jo. "I'm awaiting a return of some important clues. Once I have them I'll contact Ms Dubois. If that's all right with her."

Betty Jo pulled a card from her pocket and passed it to him.  "Where I'm staying London.  You have my cellphone number already, I believe."

"I thank you, Ms DuBois." Ian was ignoring the hint of a smile on Emma's face and the confused and slightly terrified look on Hermoine's.

"Good to see you again, Arrington."  It was a dismissal.

No one argued with it.  "Thank you, Lord Avery, for your cooperation and help," Luke said as he stood to go.  "It is most appreciated."

Ian allowed Edwards to show them out, himself standing where he'd been staring at the carpet, apparently unnoticing that Hermoine still sat in the chair off to the side.  She stood finally and taking the book with her stepped past him towards the door, a murmured  "Excuse me,"  her only words.

He didn't seem to even notice. Then, after a moment he sighed and poured himself a solid dollup of scotch.  A discreet knock on the door behind him made him sigh. "Yes?" he called.

Edwards stuck his head in. "Ever so sorry, sir, but Mr. Patricio and Mr. Saunders are here to see you. They assure me you will want to see them."

Ian nodded absently. "Yes, show them into the study. I'll be there in a moment." He pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and hit  a number on his speed dial. She answered it on the second ring. "Ms Dubois. Leroy and Lis are here with the evidence. I thought perhaps you'd like to be here when I attempt to locate the plans."

"Thank you.  It will take me about twenty minutes of that's alright," Betty Jo said.

"Certainly," he replied and shut the phone down. He called mentally for Edwards. When he arrived Ian said, "I'll be in my room for a bit. See that Lis and Leroy are made comfortable. And alert me when Ms DuBois arrives. Show her in here please."

It was twenty minutes later, almost to the second, that Betty Jo rang the bell of Ian's townhouse.  She'd drawn on years of undercover experience to get through the previous meeting and his frozen politeness.   Hopefully it would get her through the rest of this without betraying  herself.  Lis and Leroy knew about their relationship and there was nothing she could do about that.  Still, she doubted if either would make an issue of it.

She found a smile for Edwards as she handed him her coat and he left her in the drawing room.   The drapes were open and through the windows she could see the garden at the back of the house, somber and brown while it waited for spring.  She took a deep breath and wrapped calm around her like a shield as she composed herself to wait.

He joined her only a moment or so later. He stepped through the double doors and quietly closed them behind himself. "You look well," he said. Then hesitated, finding his command of language insufficient to the task at hand.

She turned from the windows, her hands clasped behind her back and smiled.  "Thank you.  You do also."

"I wanted to speak to you privately for a moment. I'm sorry if you find it difficult, but, well, I needed to ask you...if this is uncomfortable for you, to work with me I mean, I'll tell Blackheath to sod off."

"No," she said slowly.  "It isn't difficult except for a not unnatural degree of awkwardness...that is, I expect, mutual.  Will it be uncomfortable for you to work with me?"

He flushed slightly. "No. I'll be fine. In that case, then, shall we join Lis and Leroy? I'm sorry but Hermione will be there as well. This is a learning opportunity I do not wish to force her to miss."

She smiled again.  "You've nothing to apologize for.  If you prefer I can wait here."

"Entirely up to you."

"Then I'd rather join you," she said.

"This way then," he said, and held the door open for her to precede him. "My study," he informed her.  When they arrived Lis and Leroy were chatting amicably with Hermoine, well, if chatting with Leroy when he was asking questions every other second was ever amicable.

"So like will you be as powerful as Ian when he gets done with you?" Leroy was asking as Ian and Betty Jo walked in.

Hermione laughed and shook her head.  "Hardly," she said.

"Don't be so modest, Hermione," Ian said with a frown. "So, gentlemen, have you brought me something? Oh, and thanks so much for siccing the Zoo on me."

Leroy colored. "I warned you," he replied defensively.

"So you did," Ian agreed. "At any rate, it's done and done with. So, let me see what you have."

Leroy pulled out an evidence bag which contained a piece of cloth. "I wiped down the lock and where I thought he also might have touched."

"Excellent. Thank you.  Hermoine, we need to link minds, so I can show you how I'm doing this."

She took a few breaths to focus and then nodded.  "Okay."

He grabbed her mind in his and drew it on, despite her gasp of surprise. She always seemed to be astonished, no matter how often he did it.  The two minds regarded the cloth now spread out on Ian's desk. He took both their minds and dove into the cloth, searching for a signature that Dinah might have compared with DNA but was something quite different, although just as unique. Ian created the construct, set it into his vision  and began search outward, taking her mind with his. It was similar to an out-of-body experience as both minds could, for a second, look down and see themselves standing there as if nothing whatever were happening. Then the two souls streaked off westward, crossing an ocean in a second, slowing down over a large city, then questing,.. questing.. He showed Hermione how to search and waited for her to look.

She shoved away the distractions of the moment and concentrated, getting her bearings in a place without them. Then she tethered a delicate mental line to the construct and set it loose, following it northward and further west into the snow covered and frozen regions of upstate New York, following the long finger of Lake Champlain through the Adirondack Mountains.  The construct stopped there, just south of the Canadian border over a remote location high in the mountains in the midst of the national forest.

Then, like a rubberband snapping to its normal shape, their consciousnesses zipped back at speed to their bodies.  Ian had laid a map out on his desk earlier, now he opened it up and looked. "There. We can get a more precise location once we're nearer. We'll need cold weather gear, I'm afraid."

Betty Jo sighed and nodded.  At least it wasn't the Newark bus station again.  "When?" was all she said.

"How soon can you be ready?  Say two hours?" Ian looked around at Leroy, Lis and Betty Jo in turn.

They all nodded. "Well, lucky Laz ain't going along, we'd hear bitching for the entire rest of the op." Leroy added grinning.

Betty Jo smiled at the thought.  Hermione looked like she wanted to know Laz who.

"I really don't see a need for you two to come along. Just have all your gear ready here. And Betty Jo and I'll go and be out of there in a flash. But just in  case you guys be ready for backup."

"Good idea," Lis agreed.

Leroy frowned. "I wanna go."

Betty Jo gave him a look.  "So?"

"Leroy, I promise if there is gunfire I'll zap you straight into it," Ian offered with a sigh.

Leroy perked up at that promise and everyone took off to collect gear and prepare.

Betty Jo needed every minute of the two hours.  She reported to Rimes, raced through Harrods for boots and a parka and then back to the hotel to change.  Then back to Ian's townhouse and smiling hello to Edwards.

Ian had changed into ski wear that was black rather than colorful. A parka was thrown casually over a chair  back.  He was sitting at his desk studying the terrain when Edwards showed her in. He was alone.  "I suppose you have weapons," he said.

She nodded.  "Yes, though I fervently hope I won't need them."

He nodded. "Let's go then. We're going to arrive a few miles from where I sensed the man who collected the plans. That way, with a bit of luck, we can assess the situation without anyone realizing we are there. Then, once we see the layout, we'll see if we can't just zap in and zap back out with the plans."  He donned his parka and his gloves and held out his hand to her.

She laid hers in it, her gloved palm against his and heard the soft incoming and then out going whoosh of air as they left his home and reemerged in the Adirondacks, in six inches of fresh powder, the wind stinging against her cheeks.  She blinked in the sunlight and then withdrew her hand from his, waiting to see what his next move would be.  In this arena he was leading and all she could do was follow.

He led her over to a windbreak of low bushes that would also serve as cover just in case someone was watching the area. He closed his eyes and sent his consciousness off questing, ever so gently toward where he sensed the compound was just across a low hill. He made his way forward carefully, tentatively. Ever so gently a tendril of himself made its way toward the house.

And then something snapped. He fought to get back to his body but it was too late. The world went black.

Betty Jo stifled a gasp as Ian's body collapsed suddenly beside her.  She dropped to her knees and removed a glove, feeling for a pulse and fighting down a rising feeling of foreboding.  She found it, ignoring the leap of her own at the feel of his skin and allowed herself a small sound of relief.  She pulled off her other glove and fished in her pocket for her cellphone, flipping it open and praying for coverage.  No god smiled on her.  She closed it and started patting Ian's pockets looking for his.  When she found it she had to manhandle his body to get her hand into the pocket. She flipped it open and powered it on, hoping against hope that his provider was better than hers.  It beeped at her and she grinned seeing the little antenna icon light up.  Then she made a sound of annoyance and fished her phone out again, not having memorized the number she needed yet.

She was scrolling down through her contact list, watching carefully as the numbers flashed by when the sounds behind her registered.  But by then there was nothing she could do, even as she dropped both phones and reached for her gun something crashed down on her and she saw starry white points of light that beckoned her to follow down deep into the velvet blackness they winked against.  She fought back and might even have won except something hit her again and this time the blinding pain of it made the blackness her friend and she went willingly into it.

The headache she had when she woke up was as blindingly painful as the hit on her head had been, making the disorientation of not knowing where she was even worse.  She opened her eyes carefully and then shut them again against the glare of light that stabbed like a knife, a small unwilling moan escaping her.  She wanted more than she'd ever wanted anything else in her life to give back in to the blackness.  It was there, close by, promising her relief and the temptation sucked at her will.  Finally, desperate, she opened the door to the pain and opened her eyes at the same time, both requiring a massive act of will that left her nauseous.  She kept her eyes open only by dint of conscious effort and slowly tried to sit up.  The attempt left her shaking and sweating with no reserves left.  SO she sat still, waiting for her heart to slow and her stomach to behave.  Then she looked around.

She was in a room without windows, lit by an overhead fixture.  She was sitting up on a bed, placed against the wall furthest from a door that was slightly ajar beyond which seemed to be a closet.  The floor was covered in worn area rungs that from the look of them must have once been beautiful things, with glowing jewel like colors of blues and reds and greens.  There was a table and two straight chairs.  And another open door that led to a bathroom.  She blinked in confusion and looked again.  There was no other door.  No other exit from the room she was in.  And there were no windows, nothing in the ceiling or what she could see of the floor that even hinted of egress or ingress.  It was possible, she told herself that there was a door from the bathroom but she doubted it.

She was wearing her parka still, but her gun was gone and so was everything else she'd carried in her pockets, including her cellphone, wallet, passport and badge.  She was trying to stand, to get to the bathroom, hoping for a cloth to put on the lump she knew she had on the back of her head when her skin started to prickle and tingle and the small hairs on her arms and neck lifted, sending adrenalin rushing to her stomach.  In the center of the room a shape began to form, a crumpled body she knew was Ian's even as it took shape and behind it another one, another man, erect and tall, wholly conscious and the definition of handsome as sin.

"Well," the man said, "I see you've come around.  I must apologize for the enthusiasm of the welcome you received.  Generally visitors come to the front of the house so my people were a bit startled."

"Who are you," she asked.

"Ah, that's right, we haven't been introduced, Ms DuBois.  I'm Bradford Collins."  He glanced down at his feet as Ian began to stir.  "Oh good, he's rejoining us."

Ian groaned and then his eyes snapped open.

"Adrian Blakesley. Whoever would have guessed you'd appear. And with an officer of the law, yet."

"You always were all bluster Collins," Ian replied, through teeth gritted against pain.

Betty Jo felt compelled to proffer a correction.  "Not anymore.  Would it be an imposition to ask if ah might have an aspirin or two?"  She glanced at Ian on the floor and amended that.  "Or four?"

Collins grinned.  "I am always happy to oblige a beautiful woman."  He glanced down at Ian who was struggling to a sitting position.  "He's just having trouble getting his mind back in his brain.  It will pass quickly I expect."

"I'm fine," Ian muttered, obviously inhabiting a fantasy world as he was green-faced and wobbly even just sitting up.

"What am I to do with you two? Ian, you've never known when to give it up."

"True," Ian replied ruefully.  "But then I've always bested you, so I see no reason to doubt I will again."

Collins' shoe made violent contact with Ian's side and the mage gasped in pain, as he curled up into a fetal position.

Betty Jo closed her eyes and then opened them again.  "Ah'm sure ah'm most impressed.  But ah'm also sure that however delightful ya'll found doing that, ya'll must know that as an antidote for impertinence it is universally held that with dominant males violence is ineffective.  It tends to more firmly entrench them in their currently held position.  Ah'm told it's a guy thing."

Collins turned to study her.  He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned a shoulder against the wall.  "Do tell," he invited her.

"That's all," she said.  "Just something they told us in leadership training the other week.  Ah just thought ya'll'd be interested in why kicking him in the kidney isn't going to impress him."

"I kicked him in the kidney simply because he annoyed me, not because I expected to impress him. Frankly, I don't care if I do. I'm simply trying to decided how best to kill the two of you. He's notoriously hard to kill, you see."

"Ah understood that too," Betty Jo said.  "Ah also see that as an outlet for ya'lls annoyance it was less than impressive.  Still," she went on judiciously, "ah now must confess to a bit curiosity as to why killing us is ya'lls preferred method of hospitality?"

"Well I wasn't actually offering hospitality," he said, a hint of self-deprecating regret in his voice..  "In fact, given my wish to not appear an unreasonable man, I'll tell you what. I'll just seal you both in here. Sorry, that you'll die quite soon. Mr. Blakesley there will simply go into a sort of hibernation. And who knows, I might want to turn him into a sort of slave and make him work for me. That would be amusing you have to admit.." He looked down at Ian who was glaring at him.

"Sorry, your powers are blocked down here, Ian. You're as weak as a kitten. Have fun for the next few hours. I'll be thinking about you."  With that Collins winked out.

Ian cursed.

"I guess that means no aspirin," Betty Jo said sadly as she rose and headed slowly and carefully for the bathroom.  No towels but there was toilet paper she was pleased to note.  She made a pad of some and drenched it in cold water.  Holding it to the lump on the back of her head she returned to other room.  "Would you like a hand up?" she asked.

"No thanks, I'm fine right where I am," Ian replied, not having moved an inch from the way he'd landed after he'd been kicked.

She eyed him for a moment and then took off her parka, hanging on a hook in the closet and then resumed her seat on the bed where she removed her boots.  Then she laid down again, the wet toilet paper back against the lump and closed her eyes gratefully.  She figured by the time he was ready to talk her headache would be manageable.  And if not, she'd cope.  She was good at coping.

She'd fallen asleep and woke up to the sound of someone prowling the room. Ian was up and moving, and moving like he really was feeling fine. She watched him for a time as he paced back and forth, obviously deep in thought and unaware she'd awakened.  She thought about saying something and decided not to.  Instead she sat up and retrieved the disintegrating paper from the bed and went went back to the bathroom.  She returned feeling considerably better.

He was looking at her as she walked back over to the bed. "I'm sorry I got you into this. I obviously underestimated Mr. Collins and his megalomania."

"You didn't get me into this.  But I appreciate it.  Any ideas on getting out of here?  Unfortunately none came to me in my dreams."

"This place is like a .. like a bottle - stoppered up. I cannot draw power from the earth, nor from the sky. Not even from the air, as if I do that I use up what oxygen he's allowing in here and we're dead - or at least you are. Nor can I send any sort of alert to Lis or Leroy. I think the only thing we can do at this point is hope they can storm the castle."

"Okay.  And you're thinking Lis will be able to figure out where we are?" she asked.

"They know about where we are. Let's hope Lis is better at magic than he lets on."

Back at Ian's townhouse in London, Lis was pacing and Leroy was napping in a chair, because he could sleep anywhere,o anytime on demand, lucky devil. Hermione walked in to check on them, Edwards coming in right after her to announce dinner.

"I don't like it," Lis said as he stood.. Leroy, yawning, got up too. Hermione stood between them. "So, he's okay, isn't he?" Leroy asked her.

She looked at them.  "I don't maintain a link with him."  She looked at the clock.  "But if it were me I'd start thinking of alternative plans," she said turning to go into dinner.  We can talk over food," she said, smiling at Edwards.

"Oh good, I always think better with a full stomach," Leroy commented.

Lis frowned. "Does anyone you know maintain a link with him?" he asked Hermione.

"No one," she said simply.  She picked up her spoon and took a bite of soup.  "But can't you go where we traced the plans to and then work outward to pick up his aura?  His signature?"

"Well, that doesn't seem that smart. If they captured him, or he's in trouble there, we'd just be walking right into it," Lis replied, pondering the problem as he consumed soup.

"Why is it the English always start with soup? Don't they believe in salad?" Leroy wanted to know.

"Traditionally," Hermione said, "salad was served at the end of the meal.  It's appearance at the beginning is a recent innovation.  Soup was served first to fill the stomach with less expensive food so that those eating would require less of the more expensive or difficult to obtain foods, like meat."

"I knew it was a plot," Leroy commented darkly.  "So, what are you thinking, Lisandro?"

Lisandro, who'd been frowning down at his soup replied, "I'm thinking I try to reach him, and if I can't, well, then we know for certain he's in trouble."

"And then what," Hermione asked.  "I'll help anyway I can," she added, as Edwards brought the fish course.

"Fish," Leroy commented examining his plate.

"And then I'm going to do what I do best," Lis replied. I can sort of see into places. I'll send my consciousness in and see what I can see."

"Okay," Hermione said, "just tell me what you need."  She took a bite of the halibut in a sun-dried tomato and balsamic vinegar reduction and smiled.  "Very good.  Ian's cook has a nice way with fish, don't you think?"

"I just need a quiet spot," Lis replied glaring at Leroy who'd just opened his mouth, no doubt to ask yet another question.

"Geez. I just like to know these things."  Leroy was looking grouchy.

Hermione laughed and ate her fish.  "Of course," she said after she swallowed.

The main dish, a nice roast beast, was more to Leroy's taste and he stopped complaining.  But he did spend some time thinking. "We don't have enough guns."

"Huh?" Hermione said around a mouthful of potatoes.

"Can you even aim one?" Leroy wanted to know, looking Hermione dead in the eye.

"Nope," she said.  "Never even held one.  Me mage, not merc."

"I'll teach you if you like," Leroy offered. "You really should know how to defend yourself in every why don't you think?"

"You Americans and your love affair with penis extensions," Lis muttered.

"Hey! I take that personally!" Leroy complained.

"I suppose it would be a good thing to know," Hermione said.  "More roast beef?"

Finally dinner was over and ther three of them reconvened in Ian's study. "I need quiet, Leroy." Lis announced.

"Look, I'm a southern boy, we talk alot, but okay, okay I'll hush."

"Perhaps you'd like to take a cigar outside while he works," Hermione suggested, holding out the humidor.  He already had a brandy.

"No thanks, don't smoke." he replied. "Nice brandy, by the way."

Lis shook his head and glared. "Silence!" he finally shouted at Leroy.

"Hey, she asked the question this time. So, like, you're like your daddy, huh?"

Lis growled and Leroy grinned. "Okay, just askin'."

Lis concentrated then, shutting both Leroy and Hermoine out.   He followed the trail that was Ian and Betty Jo, crossed the pond then found his way northward almost to the Canadian border.

Hermoine felt a touch on her mind. It was a request to lock in to Lis so he could up the power.  She took a cleansing breath or two and then joined with him, merging easily. Leroy was invited in next. The three then soared downward, spiralling like a bird to come to rest on a high wall, that surrounded a large, heavily armored and armed compound. Lis sent a trail of thought inward. All of them saw the black dark box in the basement from which nothing whatever escaped.

Then suddenly they were back in the drawing room, their consciousnesses returned to their bodies.

"Holy shit," Leroy commented.

"A psychic cage," Hermione said thoughtfully.

Inside the cage Betty Jo was back on the bed, leaning against the wall doing her best to think of nothing beyond the trivial.  Behind her eyes the headache had receded to a just a wisp of a thing.  Thinking of it led her to open an eye and check on Ian, no longer pacing but still thinking, intently.

"There is one way I know of to raise energy in such circumstances. You might find it repellent however."

"Oh?  I'm listening."

"Sex magic," he replied. "I attempt to harness our body's energy from orgasm into a shot at blowing a hole in this place big enough that we can escape through it."

Something turned in her eyes for a moment and then was gone.  "There is nothing about sex with you that I find repellent just as there's nothing about you I find repellent," she said, her voice soft.

"That may be, but it is using sex as a tool. Some people seem to think that is not allowed."

She flushed scarlet.

"I'm sorry," he offered quietly. "I wasn't intending to.. I just need you to tell me you understand what we would attempt. If you do not wish to do it, then I will not. I might possibly try masturbation instead."

"No," she said, "I'm the one who's sorry I left you with that impression.  I understand what you're suggesting and I am perfectly willing to do it."

"All right." He joined her on the bed. "I'm sorry if I hurt you. It simply never occurred to me that you would..."

"That I would what?" she asked, shifting to give him room on the bed.

"That you expected an exclusive relationship," he explained as his hand reached out to trace her jaw.

She closed her eyes, leaning into his touch.  "It never occurred to me that you wouldn't think I would," she said, her eyes drifting open to look at him.  "I'm sorry."

"I've missed making love with you, and not being able to touch you..." he said just before he kissed her.

"I know," she whispered as she flowed against him, her mouth melting under his, the taste and scent of him a drug spreading like wildfire through her veins.  When he let her draw breath she leaned back enough to focus on his face. "Is there anything I need to know that I don't already to get this right?" she asked.

"Hold back on your orgasm, the best one, as long as you can. I need to do the same. We should time them to occur together if we can," he replied, as he magicked off their clothes.

"Whatever you want," she said, kissing him, suddenly starved for the taste of him, her hands gliding over the planes of his back, tracing the line of his spine, allowing the delight of the feel of him to capture her.

They knew one another, and now relearned that lesson, finding the places that made them both gasp with delight. As he felt her approaching her first orgasm he backed off on what he was doing, and whispered, "No. Remember. Stay at that plateau for as long as you can without.  Stop wait..." She'd felt him heading toward his own climax and froze as he'd asked her to. "Now, again," he directed.

It was exquisite, it was torture. To come so close to release and then purposefully back off. She was gasping, sweat pouring off her as she concentrated. He the same, frequently freezing in position as he fought for control over his body.

And outside, Lisandro, back with a combined mental joining with Hermione and Leroy, watched the compound from their mental perch, waiting for something, anything, a sign, a hint, anything at all.

He was making her bones melt with the pleasure, lavishing it on her, setting free an abandoned wanton contained in an uninhibited part of her she'd never known before, building passion and need and desire upon each other to a height that had her frantic and clinging to sanity with her nails.  Then he was in her mind, warm and alive, a vital living presence she entwined with, that swept her up, sensation building on sensation, cocooning the feelings buffeting her, both feeding and containing them, compressing them into an even hotter conflagration.  The presence of him there was the net she needed to let go completely and follow him, join with him, be totally with him, as fully present, as totally vulnerable as he was, plunging together into the fire they'd built.

And she knew when he reached the point he could no longer control it all, saw the explosions in his mind, just as she felt the beginning of his physical explosion and she felt him tell her to release her own, to let it go completely, to feed the passion and the need and the joy and the hope and to... And she felt her body arching, as his plunged into her yet again, all restraint gone in him, all gone in her too. And as she saw him reach the nadir of his climax she saw a word in his mind, it fired with the power of what they were doing and it flared and the next thing she knew she was hearing real explosions.

Outside Lis had about a 10 second warning regarding what was about to happen. He reached into Leroy, flipped a switch Leroy didn't even know was in his mind, and wham, power was pouring in from the earth and then out of Leroy and feeding the lightning strike that was cutting a true, straight line to intersect with a pure blue line of fire that was shooting up heavenward from deep within the compound in front of them. Leroy gasped and finally figured it out.  Then the compound was exploding, people running for cover.

Betty Jo left the real explosions behind as her own crested, her scream only a dimly heard sound that marked her loss of contact with all reality outside of the flowing cascade of molten golden pleasure that swept through every nerve in her body, flooding her mind and sending lightening through her veins; the only thing anchoring her to this world the feel of the man in her arms.  It was a long time before she knew anything else, before any other reality or thought could find entry into her awareness past the feeling of peace that had engulfed her as the wave of pleasure receded.  When it did it began with the knowledge that the bed she was in wasn't the bed they'd started in and the ceiling above her wasn't the one that had been there either.   She didn't care.  The feel of him laying next to her was enough to make those details irrelevant.

When she opened her eyes again Ian was leaning over her saying her name. "Betty Jo, darling. Hey. Come back."  Once he saw her eyes focus on him he smiled. "You did wonderfully, darling. We're at my place and safe. You just lay right there and don't go anywhere."

"I don't think I could," she murmured softly, smiling at him.  She reached a hand up to touch his face, her fingers clinging to his skin.  Then she smiled again and her eyes drifted closed.

The moment he was certain she was all right he magicked on some clothes and zapped himself down to his office. Leroy wasn't there, Lis was sitting pale and tired looking behind the desk. Hermione was sitting rag-dollish in a wing chair. "You two all right?" Ian asked.

"What the hell was that?" Lis asked. "My head feels like it has a hole in it."

"Be glad you don't have a real one in it. We, uhm, we did sex magic to blow a way out of a trap. But, well, there was something about Betty Jo I didn't know. And then you joining with us and feeding us power... Where's Leroy?"

"He's off trying to follow Collins. A car took off out of there. We're pretty sure the plans are with Collins," Lis explained. "I'll help him when he calls."

Ian nodded then turned to Hermione. "Are you all right?" he asked her gently.

She nodded.  "Just tired," she said.  "How about you and Betty Jo?"

"Good," he smiled at her. "You did really good, Hermione. Thanks. And Betty Jo is fine, just, uhm, in the glow place. Lis, let me know if you hear anything from Leroy. I'm gonna get a shower and check on Betty Jo and then I'll be ready to find him again if we need to."

"You didn't blow out your wattage, as it were, after that?" Lis asked, rather surprised.

Ian grinned. "You guys pumped me right back up. Well, not that portion of my anatomy but the rest anyway.  Later."  He zapped back to his room to check on Betty Jo.

She hadn't moved much, if at all, since he'd left.  She opened her eyes to look up at him and registered the fact he was dressed.  It had her instantly alert and sitting up. "What?" she asked.

"Collins got out of the building and is on the run with, we hope, the plans. Leroy's trying to follow him but if he loses him we may have to do a magical thing again to find where he went. You can just stay there if you want. I'll let you know if anything changes."

She leaned back against the headboard a wry smile lifting the corners of her mouth.  "Good, because I've neither then energy, clothes nor inclination I'd need to move."

"Good. You just rest. We need to talk soon, but when you are feeling better. I'll have Edwards go to Harrods and pick you up some clothes. You just rest right there."

"I've clothes at the hotel," she pointed out.  "And there's nothing wrong with the way I feel.  Frankly I don't think I could feel better."

He smiled at her and sat down on the bed. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," she said.  "How are you doing?"

He laughed. "I'm great, really great. Leroy used his Awakened talents and channeled energy to us. Some of it flashed into me so I'm wired for sound at the moment.  Handy things, channelers. Blew the damn place apart he did. Remind me to kiss him when I see him."

"Alright," she said with a grin.  "I will.  Maybe I'll kiss him too."

"No. You can just kiss me."

It stilled her for a moment, while she searched his face.  "Ian..." she started and then stopped.  Then she moved towards him, her hands gripping his shirt, her mouth lifting to his.

He didn't make it back downstairs for some time.

She lingered in bed after he'd left for a while and then headed for the shower.  Edwards, wonderful man that he was, had left clothes for her on the newly made bed while she was in the shower.  He'd even remembered her toiletries and make-up.  For that he deserved a raise.  She drew the brush through her hair one more time and then went downstairs.  They were all in Ian's study, except Leroy who was still playing some version of follow that car with Collins.  The thought that she needed to call Rimes flittered across her mind briefly, along with the loss of all her ID, her wallet and passport and her cellphone and were pushed away as she entered the study.  "Hullo," she said looking around.

"You don't look any the worse for wear," Lis commented. "You okay?"

"Fine," she said.  "How are you guys?"

Lis nodded, "I'm fine. A bit scorched around the edges, but fine."

"Just tired," Hermione said.

"Thanks for what you guys did," Betty Jo said, taking a seat.

"Oh well, it's what you and Ian did that was amazing.  The power you two generated sexually," Hermione said, as if recounting an observation of a fascinating laboratory experiment, "was...astounding really.  So much greater that what we generated.  I'm really glad I saw it, it gave me a much better understanding of the potential inherent in sexual magic."

Lis had sat up and was paying strict attention. Ian, who'd had his nose in a book, looked up. "I beg your pardon?" he asked a bit absently.

"I was just saying," Hermione told him, "that the energy you and Betty Jo generated using sexual magic was exponentially greater than what you and I generated when you were teaching me.  And that seeing it gave me a much better understanding of how powerful sexual magic can be."

"Ah," Ian said, ignoring Lis who looked like he expected more, lots more. "Yes, well, we'll talk about it more, uhm, later. Privately," Ian added definitively.

"Uhm, sure," Hermione said.

"Would a cup of tea be possible?" Betty Jo asked.  "And uhm, I should call my office."

"I think a cup of tea would be perfect. I'll have Edwards bring us some in the, ah, drawing room. If you'll wait for me there?" Ian smiled at Betty Jo.

She rose gracefully and nodded before she left the room, closing the door carefully behind her.  She leaned against it for a moment as she considered her options...no cash, no plastic and no passport or ID.  All of which added up to zip options. She definitely needed to call Rimes, she realized and swore fluently under her breath.  Then she straightened her spine and went to the drawing room.

He joined her there after only a few moments, those she'd spent pacing. "I'm sorry about that," he said the moment he'd closed the door behind himself. "I've worked hard with Hermione to make her understand that what we did was clinical, not the least bit personal. It .. She didn't mean to embarrass you."

"No, I'm sure she didn't," Betty Jo said.

"But she was absolutely right. What we did, the amount of energy we raised was... extraordinary. There were several things going on during it that I only in retrospect am beginning to understand."

"Oh?" she said.  "Such as?"

"You have a structure in your brain that locked into my spell. Only two magicians could raise that much power. You may be a latent magician; you've got the genetics. I remember you telling me about your father, but until that moment I'd never seen... well, I'd never looked because I didn't want to .. invade your mind."

It was so far from the last thing she'd expected that it threw her. "I beg your pardon?" she said.

"You helped me generate that energy. Beyond the sex. Your mind joined with mine to create the spell," he explained.

She began to respond but stopped when Edwards arrived with a tea tray. Both were silent until Edwards, with a slight bow to the both, withdrew.  She took the cup he poured for her automatically, raised it to her lips and then stopped and returned the cup to the saucer with a clatter, untasted.  "So that means what?" she asked.

"It means ... I'm not sure. I suppose that depends if .. that is... we... uhm..."

"If we what?" she asked finally, her voice clipped.  "If we became student and teacher and had more clinical, impersonal sex?  Is that what it was today?  Just two magicians in a tight spot?  Clinical, an academic exercise? Nothing personal?"

He watched her for a second then took a seat across from her. After a moment he said, "I also told her that if two magicians were, uhm, committed, or in love, or otherwise, uhm, involved, the energies raised were logarithmically, enhanced by the commitment of their mental and bodily bonds. I think it might be somehow related to the bonds Awakened couples can develop." He stopped speaking and waited for her reaction, unmoving and unemotional.

Betty Jo went still as his words moved past the anger that was simmering, ready to boil over.  She wanted badly to shake her head just to see if that would clear up her confusion, only she didn't think it would.  "So," she said slowly, feeling her way forward as if through a maze, "you're saying it wasn't just two magicians.  You're saying it was because of something between us?"

"Yes, I think that's true."

"And what do you think that might be?" she asked.

"That we mean more to each other than a casual relationship. I can't speak for you, of course, but that is certainly true on my part."

"You're right," she said after a moment, "my interest in you, my feelings for you...those certainly aren't casual."

He nodded, and sipped his tea. "Therein lies the difficulty. You can only accept a relationship with me that includes an agreement on my part to have sex with no one else but you.  For my part, I have an apprentice who has now been shown in brilliant detail how powerful sex magic can be."

Betty Jo remembered the cup in her hand and swallowed some of her tea, suddenly parched.  "And," she said.

"And since it saved our lives, I'm of the opinion that I should teach her what I know of it."

"Ian, I..." she said.

"Yes?" he asked quietly.

She looked at her hands for a moment and then said, "What does teaching her what you know of it entail?"

"At this point, I'm not sure. It is something that has to be experienced to understand. If she feels our lesson was enough, then perhaps it will only entail the theoretical. If not..."

"And if not you'll have sex with her again," she finished for him.  "Clinical, impersonal, academic sex," she added, her voice as quiet as his.  "And basically what you're saying to me is that if I can live with that then you're willing to commit to an otherwise monogamous relationship?"

"Yes. I understand it is not what you want. But it is all I can honorably promise at this point in time."

"I understand that.  I just don't know if I can live with it.  And before you say anything it's not a jealousy thing or an insecurity thing, but a kind of communication thing, that I'm saying something to you by sleeping with you about who I am and what's between us and think that you're doing the same thing.   And that would be even truer now."

"I never thought it was about jealousy," he replied meeting her eyes. "For you it is commitment. For me, up until now, for a very long time indeed, it has been about loneliness. With a few dollops of duty, which is how I look on Hermione. I'm a teacher. The Rose and Cross is about helping the magical community share knowledge and learn from each other. I think its head should be willing to teach now and again. Although, I will admit, not necessarily have an apprentice. But as I do at this moment, it is required of me that I help her, instruct her, guide her, in what I know. She is only the second I've agreed to take on in centuries."

She thought about what he was telling her for a long time before she spoke.  "I am glad you shared that.  I wondered.  It helps, knowing that.  Maybe it will be enough.  I don't know.  It's not a line I've ever blurred before," she said.

He nodded. "I understand. Give it some thought. As will I. Would you like some privacy now?"

She shook her head.  "Actually I need to go back to the hotel to make some calls.  I need to deal with the loss my passport and things."

He nodded. "Yes. I'll call a cab. I dare say Mr. Arrington can have it all sorted for you in very short order."

She ignored that and reached for his hand.  "Look, I don't know much right now except that I want you in my life and I want to be in yours.  So I want very badly to find a way to work this out.  And if my job is complicating that tell me now."

"If that is what you truly want, then we will find a way to make it work. As for your job, I admit to being a bit ... surprised to know you'd found new employment. But frankly, for me, the authorities are all the same. Which one you choose to work for means little to me. I'll cooperate with them when I can and I will refuse when I cannot."

"Then do you think, before you call the cab I can't pay for, that you could just hold me for a while?"

He stood and walked to her as she arose from her seat. Then they were in each others arms.