Stephen sent Tommy to get the conference room ready along with a rapid series of other instructions, then poured a drink for himself and his two guests.  When they were settled he said, in a tone of friendly warning, "He won't be any easier until this is over and she's home safe.  If you can deal with that then this will be a lot easier for everyone."

"I'm good with that," Coop replied. "I thought he was remarkably calm under the circumstances. He must see us as .. well, never mind."

Stephen laughed.  "Oh he does.  But he likes you better than Blackheath I think."

Rimes snorted.  "Now there's a recommendation."

"Are you sure he realizes we aren't them? I wondered there for a bit," Coop said with a grin, sipping on his scotch appreciatively.

Stephen laughed.  "Good question.  Now, as I said I'll set up an ops center here that we'll tie in with Terry Marsh in Vegas.  Do either you want to stay here for the duration?"

Coop looked over at his boss. "Can you spare me to stay here? It might be well worth it for the education."

Rimes nodded.  "One of us should and I clearly can't."  He looked at Stephen.  "I appreciate this."

"Yes well, while it's just us boys there's a few things we should perhaps make sure are clear between us.  The first is I personally have a higher tolerance for bureaucrats than either Ian or Marc so I'd rather you just called me when the occasion arises," Stephen said.  He continued on smoothly, allowing no time for a reply to that.  "The second is you really aren't in a position to deal with these sorts of situations and while I'm happy to help I think it would better if you were able to deal with them so I don't have to...generally speaking anyway.  So we should maybe take the opportunity this affords us to spend some time figuring out how to do that."

"So it's not just Americans Ian can't stand," Coop said with a grin. "I'd like to see him talk to Blackheath some time."

Stephen rolled his eyes.  "No, not just Americans."

Rimes studied his glass for a moment.  "You are remarkably generous."

"No," Stephen said, "I'm not.  First, I am in your debt as you know.  More importantly, I think if we manage this right then I will continue to be in your debt because you will be handling a lot of things instead of me.  I unfortunately will still be involved no matter what because what you will find is that even if you make an arrest, in this case for example, you have no means of holding them, or bringing them to trial, not to mention ensuring they serve whatever sentence is imposed, so you will still need us.  At least for now.  Dealing with criminals who are also talented was never going to be something that was just handed off to you guys.  And there will be those times when you simply don't have the manpower or the firepower, even after we get your agency staffed and trained.  So there needs to be a division of labor, and clear lines of communication with an established chain of command.  And those thing....well I will not allow them to develop haphazardly as each crisis unfolds because that puts lives at risk."

Rimes nodded.  "You're right of course.  There are a large number of things we...I haven't thought of because they haven't occurred to me or I am operating from the wrong set of assumptions.  So if you're serious about this offer..."

"I am," Stephen said, interrupting, "but it's an offer that is being tendered to you personally and not to the US government.  I can not and will not enter into either negotiations or contracts with any state or entity of a state because these things rarely remain within a single jurisdiction as the matter of Dinah's kidnapping demonstrated.  Those things will be your problem.  But I can and will make and honor agreements between individuals that commit my people to certain things.  If you can live with that then we can proceed."

Coop shared a look with Rimes then said, "We're authorized to facilitate ad hoc agreements as necessary, so if you are willing to work directly with us, with any agreement to be reviewed in the event of a change in management, as it were, I think we can do business."

"That implies you expect to write this down and exchange signing pens."

"We'll be creative and call it a black op," Coop replied.

"That works," Stephen said with a grin.  "Want another drink?"

A knock came at the door then and Trevor stuck his head in the office. "Sorry to interrupt, but we've set up the Ops Centre for you and I though perhaps you might like to move the discussion to there. Also, the Jos, Leroy and Terry have arrived and are awaiting you all there."

"Thanks Trevor.  I believe you know Mr. Rimes, but this is Cooper Stone.  Coop, this is Trevor St Cyr, who handles all the security here."

"Hullo Rimes, how are you. Mr. Stone, good to meet you." The two shook hands.

"Another Brit," Coop said with a sigh.

"We're that bad?" Trevor asked.

"He's been dealing with Ian in a bad mood," Stephen said.  "In fact, just so you know, right now Ian's remarkably like Marc was when Dinah was missing."

"Ah. Well," Trevor said cheerfully, "hopefully Ian won't almost kill you two. He packs a rather unsettling punch, does Ian. Right this way."

Trevor led them down the hallway past the Awakened Ops Center to a smaller room which was set up similarly. Cal was there still putting finishing touches on things. The Jos were there, and Leroy was busy chowing down on a hamburger he'd apparently brought with him. Terry was standing in the centre of the room, looking rather owlishly at everything.

"Nice to see you again, Mr. Marsh.  If you've any questions about anything, Trevor or Cal will be happy to answer them for you," Stephen said, including Coop and Rimes in the last.  We can get started when Ian and Marc get here."

"Thanks," Terry said, immediately cornering Trevor and asking a ton of questions. Cal was in his element explaining all the tech.

Marc strode in about then grinning. "Hey, good to be back. Good to see you Stephen." Marc pulled a rather startled Stephen into a hug after the handshake.

Stephen hugged him back and then checked behind him.  "No Dinah?  Or is she up with the babies?"

"She and Doni are talking babies. I ran for the hills. Where's the scotch?"

"My office.  If you'll follow me I'd be happy to share some with you,"  Stephen said, leading the way.  "And explain," he added as soon as they were out of earshot. 

"Oh yeah, that I gotta hear," Marc said with a laugh. They both took drinks and clicked glasses. Slumping down into their usual chairs.   "The Jos look good. But then they always do."

"Yeah, well that's true.  You might want to lend some fellow feeling and support to Ian.  Betty Jo has him terrified, though I suspect he'd deny that characterization.  And is partly why I sent the SOS."

"Oh? So they still are together? I gotta say that surprises me. I figured he'd have frozen up and backed on out of that."

Stephen stifled a snort.  "They're living together and she's enciente, as the French say.  Which is a problem since she's also undercover for Rimes on a job that's way over their heads, hence this little gathering."

"Jesus. And Ian is coherent?"

"Barely.  Mostly because he has to be coherent to express his rage at Rimes for not knowing as much as Ian thinks he should know to have launched an undercover operation against what appears to be a international drug and money laundering ring run by the talented, fronted out of a casino in Vegas.  And, moreover, an operation they took over from the DEA when they lost two agents.  I'm not sure he's wrong, though I have some sympathy for Rimes who is a difficult position."

"And what exactly is it you think I can do?" Marc asked.

"I want you to take a look at Bobbie, Billie and Terry's minds and see what their brain structures will support.  I'm hoping we can at least set up some sort of telepathy link.  I was going to turn Christopher loose on them and see if he likes them as much as he liked Leroy's.  Who knows, we may get lucky."  Stephen shrugged and then waggled his eyebrows.  "Other than that, well the dragons tell me they'll be mating in a few days, within the week at most, so I thought you might want to visit a few days.  I imagine yours will be returning for that."

"Oh yeah, we came in on 'em, wouldn't let us leave without them. You have no idea how much of a pain-in-the-ass they can be. Particularly when they're horny."  After Stephen laughed Marc added, "How is Chris doing? He wasn't all that pleased when I left. I'm kind of surprised he didn't pop off after me."

Stephen sighed.  "Let's just say it got a lot better after Doni delivered.  But he misses you a lot.  You won't get away without spending sometime with him."

"Oh I will. I promised him that. For now, let me have a look at Billie and Bobbie. Since she's Betty's twin I'm thinking Bobbie will be the easiest. And Terry, who's he exactly?"

"I gather he's the one on site who runs the operation.  I haven't inquired too deeply yet, but since we're taking over I will.  He seems capable and very bright.  None of them have the slightest idea what they're into here.  Not even the Jo's or Leroy really.  It has the potential to make Grand Isle look easy," Stephen said.

"Yikes. Not good. Leroy's a cop. He's just hardwired to think he can save the world. And Betty, well, she's so new to the whole talented thing, despite her father.  It's different when it's you."

Stephen just shook his head and passed Marc the scotch bottle.  "Remind me to tell Tommy to lay in a supply.  I'm thinking Ian's gonna need it and if he doesn't I will."

Marc grinned.   "Okay, so the plan is to see if we can facilitate the Zoo doing most of it and giving them some talent if we can. Are we also recruiting for them? Maybe Chris wants a job."

Stephen sighed.  "I'm committed to helping them staff up and train as well as to establish some sort of something for when they run into these sorts of situations...ones where they really can't handle it without us.  I don't think we -- I anyway -- have any alternative.  And I've asked Tommy to find Tobie and Chance to help out on this one.  They should be here anytime now."

"Good idea. Maybe Paul wants to sign on for grins. You could perhaps talk Lis into helping now and again although I doubt he'd want a permanent job there."  Marc finished his drink. "Okay, bring on the brains."

"There's Laz's whole network of talented merc's was what I'm thinking," Stephen said, as they headed back to the new ops center.  "Laz would kill me if I tried to recruit Paul."

Marc was laughing when they walked in. He hugged the Jo's and did complicated handshakes with Leroy.  "And you must be Terry," he said to the other fellow there. "Welcome to the Refuge. I understand you want me to mess with your brain."

"I... I do?" Terry wore a worried frown.

Leroy laughed. "Don't worry. Look at me! Oh, wait..."

Stephen waved Leroy away.  "What we want to do, in order to give you as much of an edge as we can, is see if you've got the brain structures that will support psi abilities,"  He broke off as Tabitha brought Christopher into the room.  "Although he's small, Christopher there is our secret weapon."

Christopher wasn't interested in brains at the moment.  He was squirming madly in Tabitha's arms, his arms waving frantically for Marc to hold him.  "Me!," he demanded.  "'Old me!"

Marc held out his arms and Christopher zapped into them. "Hey sport. I got work to do, you know."

"I help!" Christopher said, planting a wet kiss on his face. 

"Well that simplifies things," Stephen murmured.  "Terry, what will happen, if it's okay with you, is that Marc and Christopher are going to poke around in your head, looking at your brain itself.  Think of it as a weird sort of x-ray.  Once they know what's there we'll know what we can set up.  You, of course, can refuse any or all of it."

"Will it make me want to dress like Leroy?" Terry asked.

"You should be so lucky," Leroy hissed.

Terry laughed. "All you're doing is looking at this point right? Does it hurt?"

"Nah. And yeah, we're just looking," Marc replied.

"All right, just let me okay it before you, uhm, do anything."

"Right," Marc replied. "Ready Chris?"

Christopher nodded, delighted.  Then he went diving into Terry's mind, taking Marc with him, just like old times.  He had obviously learned a few things in pre-school on St. Michael's, because he was a bit more organized in his explorations now.  He made broad sweeps that worked their way deeper into Terry's brain, but always heading unerringingly towards where the two hemispheres intersected.  Then he began a much more detailed examination, pausing to point things that interested him out to Marc, using simple mental pictures to explain where he had no words.

"Yeah, Chris, I see," Marc said out loud. They looked a bit longer then exited Terry's brain without scrambling it altogether.

"Okay, so I think maybe we can rig something for you. You're never gonna be able to teleport I'm afraid, but I think we can give you telepathy, if you want it. You'll have to learn to filter and stuff, it can get intrusive if you don't, but that way you don't have to worry about wires and cell phones and stuff to reach Leroy and Betty Jo, at least. And with luck Bobbie and Billie, since their parentage is possibly a good indicator that they will have something similar."

Terry just looked at Marc, trying to take all that in.

"It's up to you," Stephen said.  "I'd suggest you try it and see how it goes but there's no way to be sure it would be reversible."

"True," Marc agreed. "I might be able to shut it off but I can't guarantee that."

Terry looked over at the Jo's and Leroy. "And this will help me keep them safe when they're undercover right?"

"That's the plan," Stephen said.  "The idea is the better you're communications and the more secure they are the safer you all will be.  It also makes it easier for us here to monitor what's happening and to communicate with you when we need to.  And you with us if things start to break up."

"It's a good idea," Betty Jo said.

"All right then," Terry said, not sounding all that sure. But it was enough for Marc who tended to take worried confusion for acceptance. His mind dove back into Terry's and Christopher laughing happily followed him in. It was done in just a moment and then they were back out.

"How do you feel?" Marc asked.

"I.. I don't feel any different," Terry replied, frowning.

Stephen waited with air of one who knew and wasn't disappointed.  In a matter of seconds Terry began to look startled and then confused.  "How are you now?" he asked, glancing at Marc.  "Marc can show you how to filter it all and how to shut it out all together."

Leroy grinned. "Yeah, that's me." 

"Man..." Terry said, looking over at Rimes and Coop. "I guess I just took the job."

"Well that works," Rimes said.  "We can talk about the details another time."

"I agree," Stephen said.  "Billie, Bobbie, you two ready?"

"Sure, honey,' Bobbie said, her lips twitching.  "We're always ready, didn't you know that?"

"Bobbie, if your mind is like Betty's I'm just gonna switch you on, okay?" Marc asked.

She nodded.  "Sure.  I kind of expected that."

"Right. Billie, since you aren't a twin, we'll take a look round with you. Ready Chris? Lead the way."

Christopher giggled and started chewing on his fist.  Then he was inside Billie's mind, working inward like he had with Terry's.  As he went, he took a few detours but his general direction was still towards the point where the right and left lobes met.  When he got there he examined the connections between the two carefully.  As he traced them he got more and more excited, bouncing in Marc's arms and trying to explain what he was finding to Marc.  Then he sped upward and out of Billie's mind, saying aloud to Marc "You fix.  Different, but you fix, then can share."

"Right," Marc said and came out of Billie's head long enough to say, "Looks like your brain is very similar to Betty and Bobbie's. So? Is it a go?"

She nodded, her eyes huge.  "I guess so."

"It'll be okay," Leroy said to her. "He knows what he's doing. He did it to me and Betty Jo, you'll be fine."

She smiled.  "Yeah, I know.  Go ahead, honey.  I'm fine."

Marc didn't wait any longer, he dove into her brain and threw the switch. Then without hesitation he dove into Bobbie and threw hers too.  Afterwards as he and Chris emerged from them, he said, a bit wearily. "There ya go. Happy Chris?"

Chris giggled and took him into Betty Jo's brain, heading without stopping for his favorite place.  Then he chortled again.  "See," he said, pointing and began to construct a matrix into which he wove Betty Jo, Marc and himself.  Then he fiddled with the connections for a moment and added the other two Jo's.  "See," he said again, making the matrix visible and pointing to it while he extracted himself and Marc.  "See!" he kept saying as the matrix began to explode into activity, rearranging itself, creating an entirely spontaneous set of complex connections.  "Different.  Can grow!"

"Great work, Chris," Marc said, examining the matrix. "We'll have to show them how to set it up. How to connect in others maybe," Marc was saying as Ian walked through the doorway to see the matrix there glowing and Betty Jo transfixed as she and her sisters looked at it and felt the connections in their minds.

Christopher looked at Ian and chewed his fist.  "Him too?" he asked Marc, his tone hopeful.

"He's different Chris," Marc said. "But give it a shot."

Ian opened his mouth but too late, Chris was already diving in.

Christopher took a minute to get his bearings and then began to explore Ian's mind.  When he got to the hemispherical joinings he chortled with delight at the complexity of the structure.  Then he began to sort through them, obviously looking for something he was sure was there.  When he found it he began reconstructing the connections, maintaining the richness and complexity while simplifying the strands, strengthening them somehow.  When he was satisfied he flew out and joined Ian to the matrix still dancing in the air. 

Ian felt for Betty Jo, separating her out from her sisters, touching her mind softly, like a caress.

Her eyes flew to his, her smile luminous.

Christopher, watching, frowned for a moment and then dove back into Ian's mind, taking the connection between him and Betty Jo and, anchoring it at both ends, created something like sockets that he plugged each end of the link in to.  He considered his handiwork and made a few minute adjustments to the ends, then plugged them back in.  "Better now," Christopher said, clearly pleased with himself.  Then he seemed struck by a thought.  He looked at Marc, saying, "Can stay on or need to turn off, too?"

"We'll let them decide, shall we?" Marc suggested to the child. 

Christopher nodded and settled back in Marc's arms, watching his creation.  "His is fun," he pronounced.

"Well," Stephen said, exhaling, looking at Ian, "that's the first time he's complimented anyone."

The matrix faded as Marc waved a hand. "Man I can use a drink."

"Yeah," Stephen said.  "Why don't you all get settled and I'll see about it.  He glanced at the sisters and added, "and some alternatives," as he left the room.

Betty Jo hesitated a moment and then crossed to where Ian was standing.  "Hi," she said softly.

"I'm gonna kill that kid," Ian replied.

"Why?"

"Maybe I should kill Marc instead. Let's that child screw around with people's privacy," Ian said, taking her hand and pulling her along behind him down the hallway to an unused room where he pulled her in with him and slammed the door. "I'm sorry."

"Oh," she said eying him.  "Okay."

"He doesn't understand how adults... relate. It ... I'll try to figure out a way to block it for you."

"Why don't you ask me first if I want it blocked?"

For the first time since Chris had messed with their minds, Ian met her eyes. "You don't?"

She stifled the urge to scream at him and just shook her head no.

Ian backed up and put his butt on an empty desk. He crossed his hands on his chest. "Okay. What do you want?"

"To leave it there," she said.   "What do you want?"

He sighed and looked down at his shoes. "I don't want you to feel trapped."

"Damn it, stop worrying about me for a minute and just tell me what you personally want!"

He regarded her for some time finally saying, "I don't know."

"Do you want to block it until you know?" she asked after considering his words.

"Christ," he finally said. "No!" Then more quietly. "No. I don't... I want you to be safe. I want to know you're safe. I need to know you're safe, and I'm guessing Chris picked up on that. But..."

"But you don't want to impose?" she asked, taking a step towards him.  "You don't to crowd me into things?"

"True," he replied meeting her eyes. "And things... things seem to be pushing us together and I don't want it to happen that way, if it does. I want..  I want you to be happy. Fulfilled. Not feeling as if your choices are constrained."

She eyed him for a minute.  "I don't feel as if my choices are constrained.  I do, though, take an enormous amount of comfort in knowing you're there for me.  I feel safer and am glad as I can be Christopher did what he did.  Like you, I don't want you to feel like you need to do things just to make me happy or cater to my fears.  But what I wonder if you're getting is that I want you there, that close, because I love you and because my world makes more sense to me and it feels more secure.  Only perhaps my needing you in that way leaves you feeling trapped and I don't want to do that."

"All right, if you find comfort in it then we leave it in place and on. Perhaps after this operation is over we can talk regarding a more long-term plan. Will that work for you?"

She nodded, smiling at him, and took another step towards him.  "After this is over we're definitely going to talk," she said.  "About a number of things, including how you and I can learn to actually communicate.  It's amazing to me that for two people who can really and truly read minds we eschew that in favor of the sort of mind reading people who can't read minds for real use and that usually doesn't work very well."

An eyebrow rose. "Which just shows, I suppose, how truly impossible it is to figure someone's thinking out no matter how many tools one has. I'm sorry. I'm being an ass."

"So, should I come closer or just stay where I am?"

"Closer would be nice, if you don't mind."

"Not at all," she said, moving into his arms.

"All right, we keep things as they are, and know that I love you and want you back safe, and then afterwards we consider our options on this.  Is that all right?"

"Yes," she said, putting her arms around his neck.  "Now was that the only reason you brought me in here?"

"I'd like to ravish your body but I think it's probably better if you work on that metaconcert thing Chris set up so you, your sisters and Leroy stay safe."

"Unfortunately you're probably right.  Still a kiss in lieu of ravishment would help with the disappointment."

"And serve as a promise on future ravishment?" he suggested.

"Exactly," she said, pulling him closer.  "A taste of things to come," she added against his mouth.