If Susan could see him now, fidgeting with the lapel of his tux in the middle of this charity gala, she would probably see it as nervousness. Jitters.

Will wasn't nervous.

He was restless.

And quite frankly, he was tired of this.

Just another mission in a different country in a different city.

He'd already crossed Johannesburg off his list.

He wouldn't find her here.

Time to move on.

But he couldn't. Not yet anyway. There was a silent auction he had to infiltrate first.

He moved further into the elegantly decorated ballroom and tapped the rim of his glasses to activate the camera hidden inside the frame. He turned slowly to give the camera a chance to capture everyone in a high resolution and Standish to identify the players here in the room from back in his van.

"Oh crap." Standish must have spotted him over the camera feed a second before Will did. "Oh man, Will. I didn't know, I-"

Will pretended to scratch his ear to turn off his comm device, deactivating the camera in the same move. Susan would probably make him regret that but he couldn't care less right now. This was probably an encounter that didn't need any witnesses.

After a last careful glance around the room, he made his way over to the bar, careful not to lose his cover.

Jai stood behind the bar, continuing to hand out drinks as if he hadn't spotted his former teammate. Will knew better.

"Bourbon. Single barrel." Will ordered as soon as he reached the bar.

Jai sighed, as if resigning himself to his fate. He wordlessly prepared the drink and slid it over the bar top. But before he could pull his hand back, Will grabbed his wrist with considerable strength, trapping it between them.

"Where is she?" He asked coldly.

Jai pretended not to be fazed. "I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about, sir." He said smoothly.

The pressure on Jai's wrist intensified and he couldn't help but wince at the unexpected pain.

"Don't make me ask a third time. Where is she?" Will's voice was dangerously low.

"You know I can't tell you." Jai hissed. He used his trapped hand to pull Will closer over the bar top and squinted at him. "Are those my glasses? What did you do to them?"

Will abruptly let go of Jai's wrist, took his drink with his other hand and downed it in one go.

"Thanks." He said as he slammed the glass down between them and took a step back from the bar.

Jai was torn. He wanted to call out to the man he would at one point probably have considered a friend. Maybe not a friend. But they had been halfway there. But then again they both had a mission. And if anything, Jai was a consumate professional.

Will took a hard look at Jai. He opened his mouth as if to add something to lessen the sting of their encounter. But then he heard it from all the way across the ballroom.

He'd have recognized Frankie's musical laughter anywhere.

Jai saw Will's whole body tense, then relax a second later. The transition was so seamless that anyone else would have probably missed it. When their gazes met again, Will's cover was perfectly back in place.

:::

Frankie wouldn't lie. She loved undercover missions. But after nearly four months of serving as Vincent Santiago's arm candy she was glad this was about to end tonight. When she had met him, he'd been the number two to one of the biggest aspiring criminal entrepreneurs on the West Coast. And thanks to her influence and more often than not interference, she'd built him up to be the number one. Not that he'd ever know even half of what 'Layla' had actually done for him.

She looped her arm through his and caressed his bicep with the other, sending him a beaming smile in the process.

"You okay, baby?" He asked.

Yeah, she really wanted this to be over, she thought to herself.

"Fine." She reassured him.

"Don't worry." He smiled down at her. "We're just going to make a small purchase and then we'll be out of here. Just enjoy yourself." He grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter and handed it to her, before taking a glass to himself.

"To us, baby." He toasted her, clinking their glasses together. "I wouldn't be here without you."

Don't I know it, Frankie thought sardonically as she took a sip of champagne and used this moment to let her eyes sweep across the room. She spotted Jai behind the bar.

Good, so he had gotten her message.

She had been operating on her own for the last months, just how she had wanted it. But having familiar backup tonight would come in handy.

Vincent possessively slung his arm around her waist and pulled her with him as he made the rounds around the room, greeting various business contacts and friends. If anyone in this business could be considered a 'friend', Frankie thought.

And then they stood in front of him.

Rick Suarte.

Rich, powerful and in possession of a list with very sensitive information. A list he would auction off tonight and the sole reason they were here.

"Ah, Vincent." Suarte clapped him on the back before taking Frankie's hand in both of his and pulling ot towards his mouth. "And you brought your beautiful Layla." He planted a kiss on her hand, held on to it for a moment longer than necessary, then released it.

Douchebag extraordinaire, Frankie thought as she kept herself from wiping her hand on her dress. Instead she sent him her most saccharine smile.

She used the moment the men were engaged in small talk to let her eyes wander across the room again. Something was off.

She could feel it.

Almost as if someone was watching her.

She felt the hair at the back of her neck stand up.

Please God, no.

It couldn't be.

She cast a furtive glance in Jai's direction and spotted him instantly.

Will.

"Layla, babe." Vincent tried to get her attention.

"Yeah?" She turned back to him as he looped his arm around her waist and pulled her close.

He inclined his head towards the retreating back of Suarte. She followed him with her eyes as Suarte stepped into a side room guarded by two of his men.

"Rick and I are just going to step aside for a moment to discuss business, okay? Gabe is going to keep you company." He referred to his brother who had up until now stood by the sidelines and was making his way over to the couple.

Frankie nodded at him and let him press a quick kiss to her lips.

"Hey." She gently grabbed his neck and pulled him down to her. Frankie might not be into PDA, but Layla definitely was. She kissed him longer than she actually felt comfortable with. "Go get 'em."

Vincent smiled at her before he too made his way to the side room. Frankie watched as he discreetly let himself be padded down for weapons and then stepped inside. Only then did she consider her options.

She had to be quick. There was Gabe on her left, already making his way towards her. And Will on the right. And judging from the look on his face, she would not be able to ignore him. But she didn't know if he had spotted her 'bodyguard'.

Time for a tactical retreat.

:::

Will had reactivated his glasses and observed the whole interaction from his place by the bar, playing the casual bystander for anyone who might notice him. His team and Susan in particular were probably furious with him by now. He hadn't bothered to activate his ear piece to find out. If Frankie was here… He couldn't miss this opportunity.

He'd seen the way Suarte had taken Frankie's hand and especially that he hadn't immediately released it. God, she looked beautiful tonight. Her floor length nude coloured gown showed just enough skin to be intriguing yet classy. And when she moved he saw the slit in the side of her gown going impossibly far up her leg. It was mesmerizing.

He followed her with his eyes after her boyfriend went after Suarte. The deal was going down now. In the other room.

Time for plan B, he decided.

He kept watching as Frankie walked up to a man on her left, young, Hispanic, broad built. He thought about reactivating his comms to get more info on him, but decided against it.

Not yet.

First he had to know what Frankie was doing here.

She laid a hand on the man's arm, smiled up at him and whispered something into his ear. Then she left in the direction of the lady's room. The goon's eyes on her all the way.

Will waited for twenty seconds, but tall, dark and handsome made no move to pursue her. Then he switched off the camera in his glasses and followed her.

:::

Frankie paced the tiles in front of the sinks.

Fuck.

She felt like a sitting duck. Although meeting him on her terms had seemed like a good idea thirty seconds ago, she now began to regret it.

Too late, she thought as the door opened and Will stepped inside.

He cast a quick look around, making sure they were alone and turned the lock.

Only then did he look at Frankie. His gaze was dark and intense and she didn't know what to make of it. He looked... different. Not necessarily older. But wearier and less cheerful than she remembered him.

God, she had missed him. So fucking much that it was tearing at her insides to see him again.

She watched him, her mouth suddenly dry.

"What are you doing here? Who's your boy toy?" Will asked and broke the silence. He sounded different too.

"Jealous?" Frankie asked provokingly.

But Will didn't rise to the bait. "Should I be? I figured that PDA was for that other guy's benefit. Probably heats things up between the sheets."

Frankie wouldn't give him the satisfaction of admitting it, no matter how right he was. She had slept with Gabe on occasion. Both for fun and because she thought she needed it in case she'd ever have to throw a wrench between the brothers. And the fact that Will had picked up on it just from witnessing their short interaction-

Her thoughts were interrupted when Will stepped up to her, so close that Frankie had to tilt her head up to keep his gaze.

"Who is he?" He asked again, his tone anything but indifferent now.

"Hasn't Standish told you by now? Or whoever is manning the comms?"

His slight hesitation clued her in.

"You're offline." Frankie shook her head. That was a stupid and risky move if ever she had seen one. Going offline during a mission. She shook her head. Then she slowly reached up, letting her fingers trail over his jaw and up towards his ear.

She could see gosebumps forming on his neck at her touch, but Will didn't move a muscle.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked softly.

Frankie didn't respond, instead she reached further up and activated his ear piece. The onslaught of voices as soon as she did so made him wince, but he kept watching her, never letting his gaze waver.

"Jesus, Will, what the hell-" Standish. "We're blind here, man."

"Will, what is going on?" Susan. More put together, yet more worried. "Will? Say something! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay." He rasped.

Frankie's hand was still on his cheek. She gently moved it over his skin towards his glasses. She held his gaze for a second, then tapped the frame to trigger the camera built within.

"What?"

"Is that?"

"Frankie?" Will groaned inwardly. Great, Ray was there, too.

"Hi, guys." She smiled timidly and waved at the tiny camera.

Will had to take a step back and removed the ear piece. Even from a few feet away Frankie could hear her former team's squeals.

"Guys, keep it down, okay." Will said determinedly. "And try not to turn me deaf, will you?" He shook his head and put the ear piece back in.

"What are you doing here?" Frankie asked, getting back to business.

"The list." Will said.

"That's it?"

"What, did you think I was here for you?" Will couldn't help but snap.

"Will!" He ignored the voices in his ear. "We got intel that-"

"Where did you think that intel came from, dumbass?" Frankie interrupted him. "The trade is happening right now and Vincent-"

"The trade is happening right now?"

"Will, you were supposed to be there. What are you doing in the bathroom with Frankie?"

Will abruptly turned off the glasses and his comms. This mission was a mess.

No.

He was a mess.

:::

Back at their temporary command center, Susan whacked Standish over the head. "What do you think they're doing?"

"Uh, guys." Yume cut in. "He shut us off again." The young woman tapped her keyboard in frustration.

"We really need that list, guys." Ray's voice sounded over the speaker.

"Can we access him remotely?" Susan asked.

Standish rubbed his palms together. "We can try."

:::

"Look. Vincent is in there right now, getting the list. But the longer we stay in here, the more suspicious Gabe is going to be."

Will shook his head. "Don't worry about Gabe."

Frankie's eyes widened. "What did you do?"

"He'll be fine." Will said and took a step in her direction.

"He wasn't going to follow me in here." Frankie pointed out.

"Since when do you care?" Will asked hotly. "Your motto's always been 'shoot first, never ask questions'."

And besides, as soon as Will had figured out that Frankie had slept with him, he couldn't hold himself back. But she didn't need to know that.

"What was your plan anyway?" Frankie demanded to know. "Because right now, I can't see it working. Instead you're about to blow my cover."

Will was still moving towards her until he was well in her personal space and Frankie had to look up at him to keep his gaze.

She had to force herself not to show any reaction to his proximity. This was not her Will. The ever trusting, heart-on-his-sleeve goofball. Instead he seemed to have a new focus. It made him more intense, more... dangerous.

And then his hands were around her neck and his lips on hers.