Roger found Ross sitting despondently at the hotel bar, toying with the ice in his drink. He sat down and ordered a scotch.

"Well, no wonder the police seemed reluctant to help us find Holly!" he said.

Ross looked surprised. "Why? Have you finally got a lead?"

"I think so," and Roger related what he had just learned from the woman at the market. "We are going to have to catch this guy today and make him tell what he knows."

Ross, ever the law-abiding citizen, squirmed in his chair. "When you say "We", I guess you mean just you and me, and not the police?"

Roger smiled for the first time in days, in old cocky way. "Are you scared?"

"Frankly, yes, a little. These guys seem pretty dangerous. "Ross emptied his drink in one big gulp. "But if what you say is true, about them buying the police out, then we have no choice but to go it alone. We can't leave Holly with these men."

Roger looked at Ross, realizing how scared but determined he was. They had never gotten along, but he knew that Ross really cared about Holly. After all, before becoming his mother-in-law, she had been his fiancée. Roger pushed the thought aside with a shudder; this was just too awkward, even by his standards.

They decided to go back to the spot on the beach where Holly was kidnapped and to hide as soon as the sun went down. Until then, Roger would try to find weapons and Ross would make sure that Blake would stay out of harm's way.


Roger had instructed Ross to meet him at 6PM sharp at the market entrance. He patted the inside of his pocket for the third time, making sure the guns were still there. His connections at the CIA really pulled trough for him once again, he thought with relief. He had even thought about asking some of his old colleagues to be a part of the intervention, but he knew that the US government would not risk being a part of such an operation. Damn politics, he muttered under his breath, looking for Ross among the tourists.

To his consternation, he suddenly spotted his daughter coming straight towards him, waving. He quickly tried to come up with an excuse as to why he was there, while silently praying that Ross would not turn up before he got rid of her. He soon realized that Ross was actually following her with a contrite air.

Blake finally reached her father and punched him on the arm, looking furious. "I can't believe you were going to do this without me!" she exclaimed.

Instead of answering, Roger looked at Ross, waiting for an explanation. The latter raised his hands helplessly. "I never stood a chance; she knew something was up as soon as I walked in the hotel room."

Roger shook his head in disgust and pointed his finger at Ross's chest. "One of the things that I despise the most about you, Ross, is that you are a lousy liar."

He turned away from them and started walking towards the beach, only to turn around abruptly. "You only had one thing to do, only one," he whispered in a controlled voice, "and you screwed it up!"

He turned to his daughter and tried to scold her, even though she stared back at him defiantly. "You want me to have to worry about you too, is that what you want?"

Blake looked a little taken aback; she had not thought things trough as usual. Roger continued:" I only have two guns, which means that one of us is going to do without. I vote for Ross," he snarled.

"Daddy!"

"Don't you Daddy me!" Roger paused, thinking. "Fine, you two take the guns, and do exactly as I say."