At 11:00 that night, Tiny knocked on the door to one of the private second floor rooms before opening it for the visitors. A bodyguard came first, casting a critical eye around. He paused, sizing up the trio of men closest behind Ezra. Two more sat in the far corner. "Who's armed?"

Chris, Buck and Vin acknowledged their status, while Josiah and Nathan shook their heads. Ezra didn't react.

"Why is there a reporter downstairs?"

Buck smiled. "The kid will be thrilled you called him that."

"He is having a drink. He is my guest. I expect he is about to become a regular since becoming infatuated with one of my waitresses. It is tiresome but should be profitable." Ezra replied. "He is unofficial, I assure you. Are there further questions, or may we proceed?"

The guard stepped back, and Ortiz entered the room. Ezra moved forward to greet him, and froze, as Inez Rocios stepped in behind. He regrouped quickly, but not before Ortiz could gloat in the realization he had scored a direct hit with his first move.

"I believe you know Miss Rocios."

She could not bring herself to meet his eyes. "Hello Senor Standish."

"It is a relief to see you. I feared you had perished several years ago."

"I was – fortunate. I do regret misleading you on that day."

"You disappeared." Even his best poker face was not enough to hide the hurt in his voice.

"I – I had no choice."

"Please my dear. Mr. Standish clearly is at a loss. Feel free to explain all of the circumstances."

She turned on Ortiz with a spark of fire coming to her eyes. "No hay necesidad de hacerle pasar por esto."

"English my dear. Show respect for our host." He raised a hand and she leaned back slightly. Ezra moved with surprising speed to block any action.

"If she doesn't wish to discuss it, then she does not need to."

Ortiz grinned again. "As you wish. Now, come. We have business to discuss, do we not?" He moved to a seat, Inez following behind. Ezra took her arm to assist, and Ortiz was on his feet in an instant.

"Laying a hand on my property is a very quick way to meet your maker Standish."

"I beg your pardon – your property?"

"The lady belongs to me."

Ezra could hear Nathan's low growl behind him, and silently offered a prayer that he would stay out of this.

"I believe you are incorrect in that. Sir. It is quite impossible to own another person in this country."

"Yes, and you are such a strict proponent of upholding the laws of your country."

"There are issues of humanity and civility that go beyond anything written by the courts."

Ortiz laughed. "Yes, of course. Your high moral standard is notorious, as it that of all gangsters."

"Why do people insist on labeling me in that manner?"

Inez spoke quietly. "He is correct Senor Standish. I belong to him."

Ezra stared, hoping the hurt was not obvious. "I will reluctantly concede you might belong with him, if that is your choice. But you do NOT belong to him."

"My family owed him much money. Far more than could be paid back."

"Loan shark on top of everything else. Lovely little set up you have for yourself." Buck couldn't stay out of the conversation any longer, despite the dirty look he got from Ezra for his intervention.

"A business man, just as your Mr. Standish is."

Inez continued, ignoring the others and speaking only to Ezra. "My family would have lost everything. It would have been most unpleasant for my brothers. Father offered me as payment for the debt. Senor Ortiz took me back to Mexico after the fire. There was no reason for you to know any of this."

A colourful variety of curses broke out behind him, but Ezra couldn't make any out over the pounding in his ears. He wanted more than anything right now to have her father in front of him, alongside of Ortiz, so that both could be suitably dealt with. It took several seconds for him to realize Inez was still speaking to him.

"… so I will stay until it has been determined the debt is paid."

"So, not slavery Senor Standish. I would say 'indentured servitude', while not completely accurate, is closer to the term you seek. The English have such an elegant way of disguising things, no?"

Ezra pulled his eyes away from Inez reluctantly. "What is the value of the debt?"

"She is not for sale."

Ezra took several quick steps closer. "She is not a commodity. I do not seek to buy her, merely the debt. What is its value?"

Chris took a step forward sensing Ezra was about to push his antagonist past the breaking point.

"Steady Standish. We just got you healed up from one bullet. Don't need to be putting any fresh holes in yourself."

"There is no sum you could offer me. My ventures at home are more than profitable enough that I have all the money I need. Wealth is no longer my goal."

Ezra stared, unblinking. "You seek power and possessions. It is your nature. You are looking to expand your holdings and enhance your status. Therefore, I have to ask, what about ventures here? In the United States."

Josiah was the first to catch on to where this was headed. "Ezra, son. You don't want to be doing that."

"This is not your concern Mr. Sanchez." He didn't take his eyes of Ortiz. "The debt cleared in return for The Ace of Spades."

"No Senor! You cannot do that." Inez gasped as the others stood motionless.

"Straight trade? No other terms?" Ortiz was grinning openly at the hold he had over this gringo.

"If I were to accept the concept of you taking over the business, I would ask only that you offer to keep the current staff for the operation. It would be to your advantage, as they are good people who know the running of the club."

"They are loyal to you. They would be difficult."

"I would talk with them."

Ortiz walked over to Inez, raising his hand and running it softly down her cheek. She turned her head, flinching, but did not step away. Ezra was finding it almost impossible to remain passive.

"It is a fascinating offer. I would have to have my business manager look over your books, insure that I am not being cheated on the deal. He will come by later to do so, and I will give you an answer then. Come Inez. We have our own business to attend to. If I am to lose you, I intend to make our remaining time memorable."

Ezra's eye seemed to go almost black. "If she is – damaged, in any way – a price will be extracted from you. I trust you understand me?"

He smirked at Ezra in response, who could only watch helplessly as Ortiz and his men left. Inez could not bring herself to look back at him.

"You can't be serious about that Standish?" Buck was the first to risk speaking to him.

Ezra had not moved from his spot. "What choice do I have?"

"You said it yourself. He can't own her." Nathan challenged. "We can have him arrested, or deported."

"For what? Inez will feel she has no choice but to honour her family's responsibility. She will deny any charges we level, and he will be left free to not only carry on, but to sue us all for slander."

Josiah moved to face him. He stood calmly, waiting for Ezra to look up at him before placing his hands on the younger man's shoulders. "You certain about this? I know how much The Ace means to you."

"It means nothing."

Vin was about to add his own opinion but was shut down by Chris. "He's made up his mind. Leave him be." He walked up to Ezra. "You have your priorities straight?" Ezra merely nodded. "Think he's going to let you take your stuff outta there before he takes over?"

"I shall ensure I recover anything essential before any further meetings occur. There is little else beyond a few personal keepsakes that would mean nothing to him."

"I know it's not what you have in mind for yourself Ezra, but we can always use another hand at the agency." Vin offered. Buck quickly seconded the suggestion.

"Your consideration is appreciated, but I do not believe Miss Rocios would elect to remain here as long as Ortiz is resident. And to be honest, I am not sure I would survive the experience either. If you will all excuse me, I have preparations to make." He walked out without looking back.

"Damn it Chris. This ain't right."

"No shit, Buck. What the hell are we supposed to do about it?"

"We can all tell what the bastard did to her. That's rape and abuse, any way you cut it. And he not only walks away from that but takes Standish down in the process."

The turmoil was clear on Chris's face. "I repeat Buck, what the hell do we do about it?"

"Take the bastard out." It was a matter-of-fact statement that didn't surprise Chris but caught the others off guard.

"Kill him? Are you crazy?" Nathan demanded.

"It's what he'd get if the court convicted him."

"I'm sorry – did I miss the trial portion of this execution?"

"Come on Jackson. You know he wouldn't be convicted on what we can prove. But you also know he's guilty."

"Not going to be party to a lynching, no matter who is on the receiving end. It ain't happening."

Buck looked at him. "Don't recall saying I needed any help."

Josiah tried to bring things back to reality. "It won't work. They'd make sure the blame came back to Ezra, and he wouldn't stop them. He's not going to let anyone else take this on."

"She that special to him?" Vin asked quietly, knowing the answer.

"Seems so. I knew there was someone. He got drunk enough just the once and let that slip. Didn't know who, or anything else but that she was dead. Kept saying he was too late. Guess he's not about to make that mistake again."

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tbc