Three days later Terry was starting to think maybe they were finally going to catch a break.  They had finally gotten a lead, a hint of a clue about the penthouse and on the missing agents. Then the phone rang.  When he hung up he waited until he was sure he had himself under control before he did anything else.  When he was he called Coop and told him and then called the others, the same short mental burst, the same message as before.  When they were all there he gave them the news and told them he didn't think he could stop them from shutting the operation down this time.  And he got the same four implacable faces in response.  They weren't leaving.

Ian zapped in then, and his eyes found Betty Jo first.  "Are you all right?"

"Yes," she said, her eyes devouring him.  "Are you?"

"Yes, of course," he said, walking over to wrap her up in his arms.

She clung to him, wondering if she'd ever let go again.  His arms around her felt more like a haven than they ever had before.

"I came to take Terry to a meeting at the Refuge. Are you coming?" Ian asked her softly.
 
Her eyes closed briefly and then met his again.  "I wish I could," she said.  "I'll try to be here when you bring him back."

He hesitated, then nodded acceptance. "Terry, you ready?"

"Yeah, whenever you are, Ian."

Ian reluctantly let her go, and was still staring at her when he and Terry winked out.

Stephen returned with Rimes, pulled out of a meeting on the Hill with the greatest of difficulty, as Ian returned with Terry.  Coop was already there with Trev.  Marc was there as well, seizing the excuse to leave the company of women completely focused on babies.  "So," Stephen said, taking a seat, "what happened?"

Terry briefed the recent death of the informant and now the discovery of her young son Danny's body at the desert location Terry and Diane had used as a meeting point. "Obviously they're thumbing their noses at us, letting us know they're onto us."

"Jesus," Stephen said.  "Who are these guys?"

"Diane said they were getting ready for a visit from someone high up in the organization. But we've no idea who that is at this point. And, the Jos and Leroy are refusing to pull out because they're thinking they might have a lead on the two missing agents. I'm not happy about it, but I'm not sure how we can force them to give it up."  Terry shook his head tiredly.

"Pick them up and physically move them," Stephen suggested, looking at Rimes who wasn't saying anything.

"Well as a last resort," Rimes said finally.  "Terry if we pull out what will DEA do, can you speculate?"

"They're not gonna leave those agents. It ain't happenin'."

"So if we back out they'll go back in?" Rimes said.

"Yeah."

Stephen looked over at Marc. Marc had stood and was staring at the taped CCTV feed from the casino, from near the elevators to the private suites. Stephen stopped looking at Marc and looked at the screen.

Marc said, loudly, over every other conversation in the room. "Keep the god damn DEA out. I want these bastards."

Silence descended as everyone, including Trevor who'd been holding up a wall near the back of the ops room, stared at Marc.

Everyone except Stephen who was staring at the monitor.  As the people on the screen entered the elevators he said, his voice hard as stone, his face implacable, "This meeting's over.  Ian, Rimes, my office."  He stood, knowing Marc didn't need an invitation and found Trevor.  "Lock us down and then join us."  With that he left the room, not waiting to chat. 

"Get Laszlo" he said to Tommy without stopping, going straight to his desk and the bottom drawer and the scotch bottle.

Marc held out a hand for a glass of that scotch the moment he walked in the door. "Tommy, ask Rimes and Ian to wait a minute," Marc said, then shut the door giving himself and Stephen a moment of privacy. "We'd better decide how much we're going to tell Rimes."

"Enough to make it clear this isn't negotiable, and that if he wants my help he'll keep the god damn government away from us.  After that we'll see," he said and downed the scotch.

"If military intel finds out about Ocala we'll never get free of them," Marc replied. "We explain much about these folks and... I don't trust Rimes to be able to keep it quiet. Despite the fact he might want to. And then there's Coop and Terry. I've no idea how much pressure the government could exert on them."

"What are you suggesting?"

"I guess I'm suggesting we tell Rimes nothing, that it's not negotiable and he'll just have to trust us. And we'll have to make sure their contact with anyone who might accidentally let slip our past dealings with these folks is minimal."

"We're going to have to tell him something.   I think we give him the bare fact that she's a mass murderer and stonewall on the rest."

"You're the one who's gonna have to live with the consequences," Marc replied. "I'll let you lead, but they aren't getting their hands on Ocala."

"Oh I agree.  And if the bare fact isn't enough, then we just confine them here until it is," Stephen said, pouring another drink.  "And we get Coop and Terry out of here before this goes any further.  We aren't playing anymore."

"No, we're not."

Stephen nodded and did what he rarely did.  He called Tommy on the phone and told him to send Ian in and to ask Rimes to wait a few more minutes.  A second after he hung up he responded to a knock on the door with a curt 'come in' and poured two fingers for Ian.

Ian strode in, looking the questions he already obviously had. He accepted the drink. He sat. He waited.

Stephen glanced at Marc and at his almost imperceptible nod said, "We're taking over.  That was a woman named Rosalind DeCara, presumed dead when Home blew up.  Also, known beyond doubt as the person who launched the attack that resulted in the death of over a million people and the destruction of Home."

Ian drank his scotch, thought a moment, then said, "I want Betty Jo out now."

Marc gave him a remarkably understanding look. "She's said she won't leave."

"Not an option," Ian replied.

Stephen was equally understanding.  "In a few minutes Laz will be here, along with Trevor, so we can figure out what we're going to do.  Before that I have to cut a deal with Rimes.  At the moment I'm not committing either way, but I swear to you that if we can't extract all four of them, especially the sisters now, we'll find a way to keep them safe until we can. From what I know now my best estimation is that if we pull them out we tip our hand.  And we can't pull one without pulling at least the other two sisters."

"What you don't seem to understand, Stephen, is that I don't give a bloody damn about your operation, so tipping your hand is of no consequence to me."

"Then what do you plan to do?  Drag her out by the hair?" Stephen asked. 

"It's a thought."

"Even if she'd give up on the agents what makes you think she'll let you pull her out while her sisters stay in place?"

Ian met Stephen's eyes without blinking. "I'm not giving her an option. Her sisters are.. they are free to choose."

"Well if it comes to that I'd like to watch, for the education you understand, in the superior management of stubborn, strong-willed and independent-minded women," Stephen said, his tone as dry as it ever got.

"Feel free to take instruction as you will," Ian shot back.

"What if," Marc offered quietly, "what if you were there to provide extra protection?"

Ian hesitated, poured himself some more scotch, and turned to look at Marc.

"I'm listening," Ian replied.

Marc looked over at Stephen.  He shrugged, "Penthouse suite, all British pomp and aplomb. Who can resist a Lord."

Stephen studied his nails for a moment.  "And while they think you're in your penthouse suite, you can be guarding her at the apartment.  When she's working you can keep an eye on her on the casino floor.  We can also move Tobie and Chance up if we need to."

"Vegas?" Ian asked like they were asking him to check into a flea-bag hotel in Timbuktu.

"See? How many others of your set go there? You'd be a catch. And you can sit at a baccarat table and keep an eye on them and sleep in the apartment if that makes you happy," Marc added. "Just till we can get things set up."

"Twenty-four hours, thirty-six at the most," Stephen said. 

Ian frowned at each of them in turn. "I'm taking her out of there at the first sign of trouble."

"With our blessing," Stephen said.  "I have no interest in justice for the deaths of a million people at the cost of more civilian lives."

"And frankly I want them all to myself," Marc added.  "Although I might be willing to share with Stephen."

"Do we have a deal?" Stephen asked, reaching for his phone.

"For now," Ian grudgingly acceded.

Stephen nodded and told Tommy to send Rimes in and have Laz and Trev wait.  He also poured another round and a drink for Rimes, that he passed over as he took a chair.   He bought a second or two to gather his thoughts by taking a sip and then looked at Rimes.  "I just to going lay it out.  And believe me, it isn't negotiable.  It's take it and stay or leave it and get out."

Rimes relaxed back in his chair and nodded.  "I'm listening."

"We're taking over in Vegas.  I'm not telling you why and I won't answer questions on the subject beyond saying that the woman who got on that elevator is a murderer responsible for the deaths of over a million innocent people.  Now the deal is this.  No questions, no interference and whoever else we get we turn over to you, but that woman is ours.  If you leave that deal on the table and walk out of here, every other deal is off the table and the relationship is over, forever."

"And what role do we play if we let you take over?" Rimes asked.

"As Stephen said, you can have everyone but the one woman. Or perhaps I should say, everyone except her and possibly whoever brought her in. You can have all the ruddy glory, which should get you scads of money to expand the Zoo and put you on a better footing with your international counterparts," Marc replied.

Ian, looking a bit rebellious, at least kept his lips shut.

"I was referring to the role you had in mind for us in for the actual operation," Rimes said.

"Keeping out of the way," Marc replied.

"And keeping everyone else out of the way," Stephen added.  "Both when and after it goes down."

"You're implying you're planning to turn Vegas into a battle zone," Rimes remarked, sipping his drink.

"I doubt it. They'll take it elsewhere and we'll follow," Marc replied, reaching for the scotch bottle. "Way elsewhere."

Rimes gave him a hard look and then turned his attention to his glass.  "So we just pull out?  What about Leroy and the women?"

"We'll keep them in place until our people are set up, to try to not give the game away. Then they'll be pulled out to safety," Marc replied, he and Ian communing silently.

Rimes nodded and went back to looking at his glass.  Finally he tossed the rest of his booze down and set the glass on Stephen's desk.  He looked at Marc and then Stephen and nodded.  "You have a deal."

"Thank you," Stephen said and stood up.  He extended his hand and didn't flinch when Rimes hesitated a second before taking it.

"Knowing you all is an experience," was all Rimes said.