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On with the show...

It was the longest ten minutes of Allura's life. She sat in a chair, staring out the tenth story window of the hotel room. It was dark in Freetown now, and all she could see was the blinking lights of the city. She sighed deeply. Many would consider her a patient person, but waiting around was not her strong suit. Her mind began to wander to what was going on outside of the hotel and her current precarious situation. Her team was still out there. Hunk and Pidge were somewhere in Freetown. Certainly they had already heard the news. She wondered if they were holed up somewhere like she and Deirdre were. Then there was Keith. He and Lance were still on the run.

She wished she could talk to him. Even when he came down hard on her, or when he was overbearing, just having his calm and collected presence was a strength that Allura drew from. She had come to depend on it. He always seemed to have the right answers. She sorely needed some answers right now. The knock at the door made her jump.

Deirdre rolled off of the bed where she had been flipping through news stations. When she opened the door, a tall, scrawny man with a well manicured beard and a fake tan walked into the room. He had two bags flung over his shoulders.

"Geez, Marquis, it's about time."

The man scowled at her, clearly not happy to be there. "Relax, Dee. I had to get some things together." He dropped the bags on the bed. "Two housekeeping uniforms. Complete with..." he reached into one of the bags and pulled out a short, black wig.

Deirdre smiled. "Perfect." She grabbed the bag and began rifling through it.

Marquis leaned against the wall, watching her. "That will get you downstairs and out the doors. What will you do then?"

"Don't worry about that, Marquis. We've got that covered."

"Fine." Marquis pushed himself away from the wall and moved toward the door. "Let's be clear. Our business dealings are done. For good. And I was never involved in any of this. Anything that happens now is on you."

The red head narrowed her eyes at him. "Of course, Marquis."

Without another word, Marquis made a hasty exit. Allura crossed the room and began examining the other bag on the table.

"Here," Deirdre tossed the black wig to Allura. "I think you'll look good with black hair."

Romelle sat at the kitchen table, staring into her coffee, gently tapping the muzzle of the pistol in front of her. The cabin was painfully quiet save for the ticking of an antique analogue clock over the refridgerator. The waiting was just as unbearable. Romelle was a doer. A fighter. But Sven was hurt and vunerable. He was the love of her life and she would do anything to protect him. She leaned back in her chair so that she could see into the living room. Sven was snoring softly on the sofa, having finally succumbed to the pain medication she has found in the bathroom cabinets.

A car engine outside made her straighten up. Getting quickly out of her chair, she snatched up the gun and moved slowly and deliberately into the living room to the window. Peering through the closed curtain, she saw a man get out of a black sedan and walk causiously up the front walk to the porch. She moved quickly to the door. She could hear rustling on the other side. Taking a deep breath, she swung the door open, pointing the pistol at the unexpected visitor's chest.

Before she knew what was happening, the man grabbed her wrist, wrenching the gun out of her hand. Now she stood unarmed staring at the barrel of the pistol.

"Nothing." Lance said quietly as the car drove slowly down the dirt road. It had been twenty minutes since they had left Hawkins' estate. He had already contacted Hunk and Pidge and was relieved that they were safe and on their way back. Unfortunately, he had been unable to get Allura or Deidre on the line. He glanced at Keith who was staring forward. His hands held the wheel in an irongrip. Lance knew Keith well enough to know what he was thinking. Keith was the one who had sent Allura and Deirdre into not only Freetown, but the very place where they had been last seen. Lance knew that the commander was worried. And more than likely blaming himself.

Truth be known, Lance was worried himself. He knew that Deirdre and Allura were perfectly capable of taking care of themselves, but if they were unaware that they were now fugitives, then they certainly wouldn't know that they were sitting ducks. They could be taken off guard and hauled in before they even knew what was going on. He shook his head. There was no time to think that way now.

"Okay, look," he finally said, "assuming that they know that they are in danger, they will find a way out of Freetown. And they may just be hiding out and had to turn off their communicators."

The commander nodded, solemly.

"Keith, I know that your first instinct is to go riding into Freetown on your white horse and handle the situation yourself." He paused to make sure Keith was listening. Keith's expression told him that the commander was not convinced that he shouldn't turn the car around and head back into Freetown. Lance sighed. This was no time to tiptoe. He was going to have be straighforward with his friend. "Look, Keith, it's time to put your money where your mouth is."

"What are you talking about?"

"It's time to prove to Allura that you trust that she can handle business if she needs to."

"Of course I trust her."

Lance nodded. "Then put your feelings aside for a minute. And don't give me that 'I don't know what you're talking about' look. It's me you're talking to, Keith. I've known what's been going on with you for a while."

"Lance..."

"And I know how highly you hold that code of yours. But I gotta tell you, bro, you really need to resolve this whole business – one why or another."

When Keith finally spoke, his voice was soft and resigned. "I know."

His commander's admission took Lance off guard. It's a start, anyway. Now if I can just...

"But I don't have time to be concerned about that right now." Keith said.

So much for that.

"There are too many lives at stake now." He continued. "We'll regroup with the others at the cabin. We'll give Allura and Deirdre a couple of more hours. If we don't hear from them by then, we'll review our options."

Lance nodded. Keith was back in commander mode, now. His renewed detatchment, even if it was a ruse, was comforting to Lance. They were going to need Keith at the top of his game if they were going to get out of their mess. Distractions were not an option. And Lance knew that was true about himself as well.

Keith pulled the charger onto the gravel drive leading to the cabin. Once the sun had set, his visibility had deminished significantly. As he cleared the trees in front of the cabin, he saw the black sedan.

Lance saw it at the same time. "What the hell?"

A quick glance around told Keith that neither the Hummer nor the bikes were in the driveway. He narrowed his eyes at the black car in front of the house. "I see it." He stopped the car halfway down the gravel drive and cut the engine.

"What now, Boss?"

Keith answered him by reaching into the backseat and retrieving two automatic pistols that they had found in the trunk. He handed one to Lance who grinned at him.

"Hell yeah!" He crooned.

"We go in quiet, Lance. Sven and Romelle are still in there."

Lance nodded. "You got it. Let's go."

"I cannot believe that the women who clean are made to wear this." Allura stood on her tip toes to get a better look at herself in the bathroom mirror. The dresses that Marquis had brought them were nothing close to being modest. The skirt hiked up almost to her rear while the halter top left little to the imagination. At least the shoes were flats. The worst, however, was the amount of make-up that she and Deirdre were forced to pile onto their faces just so that they wouldn't be recognized.

Deirdre joined her in the bathroom, still tucking her red hair up under the bright pink wig that fell to her shoulders. She was wearing a similar outfit but seemed to be, at least to Allura, more comfortable in the skimpy dress. "Let's just say that the ladies who wear these do more for the guests than just changing sheets." She shrugged. "Some of the patrons that stay here have...um, unusual appetites." She grinned wickedly as she gazed at Allura's jet black pixie wig. "You look good with black hair. I bet Keith would like it. For a few hours anyway."

The Princess stopped fussing with her lipstick and stared at Deirdre who immediately realized that she had mispoken. "Oh, sorry. I just assumed that you were..." She paused. "So you and Keith have never..."

Allura flushed a deep shade of pink and wished she could climb under a rock. "No, we've never..." She really had no desire to go on, or to keep the conversation going where it was obviously heading.

Now focused on the bright red lipstick in her hand, Deirdre shrugged. "Well, I can't say I'm too surprised. Keith's kind of a stickler for the rules against fraternization."

"Yeah, no kidding." The words were out before Allura had realized that she had said them. "I mean..."

"It's alright. I get it." Deirdre puckered her lips and blew herself a kiss in the mirror before looking back to Allura. "Ready?"

Allura nodded, relieved that Deirdre was not going to press the issue any further. She took one more glance at herself and sighed loudly.

The pair of them went to the front door and picked up the bags that Marquis had brought the clothes in that now contained their own clothes and the weapons that would be impossible to hide on their person.

"Okay," said Deirdre as she opened the door and peered into the hallway, "all we have to do is get downstairs and outside. The Hummer should still be parked on the side of the building."

Allura gave her a nervous laugh. "You make it sound so easy."

Deirdre returned a smile. "Piece of cake."

There was a certain thrill that pumped throught Lance's veins when they were on a mission. It was no different now as he crouched in the brush under an open window that lead to the kitchen. A quick glance told him that the kitchen was vacant. Whoever the black sedan belong to was probably in the living room. Fortunatly with only the moonlight to illuminate the porch, he could see Keith moving slowly up the steps toward the front door. If he hadn't known that Keith was there, Lance would never have seen him coming.

Regardless of their skills as pilots, and, Lance would be the first to say, they were top of the line, it was these moments when they truely excelled. Stealth and prowess had been their specialty in the Academy. Before they had ended up on Arus, he and Keith were being groomed to be black ops. Lance had to laugh at the irony. They were now being hunted by the very team that they would no doubt be leading had they stayed on Earth.

Lance caught a glimpse of Keith who made a single gesture with his hand. Lance nodded and stood, quietly making his way through the window. The kitchen was dark, but he could hear voices in the living room. He glanced at his watch. He had ninety seconds. Even without being able to see him, Lance knew that Keith was moving in through the foyer. They had the element of suprise. The downside was that they were going in blind. They had been unable to get any visuals in the living room, so they had no idea how many people were in there or what kind of dangerous position Sven and Romelle were in. Forty-five seconds. But if they had learned anything from being chosen to pilot Voltron, it was how to work on the fly. He went to the far side of the room to the door that opened to the hallway that led to the back of the house and served as rear entrance to the living room. Ten seconds. Gripping the automatic pistol, he took a deep breath and made his move.

He knocked open the door with a loud bang and bolted into the living room. As expected, Keith had also moved in. Standing in front of the living room, Keith mirrored his own stance, gun in hand.

"Keith! Lance!" Romelle jumped off the couch where she had been sitting with Sven. A lone man, who had been sitting in the chair across from the sofa with his back to the doors stood up quickly, brandishing his own weapon.

For several seconds, the three men stood sizing up the now precarious situation. It was Sven who finally spoke. "Everybody stand down!" He ordered.

That was the moment when Lance recognized the stranger. "Richie Vanderlough." He lowered his gun and holstered it.

The large, dark haired man lowered his own weapon. "Lance McClain. It's been a long time."

Keith moved into the room to stand between the two men. "What are you doing here?"

Richie laughed. "I live here. This is my cabin."

"Oh course," Keith said. "but Deirdre said that you were off planet."

All humor vanished from Richie's face. "Yeah, about that. Deirdre told me that you had called her for help. And since the two of you have an uncanny ability to get her into trouble, I decided that I might need to come back. Imagine my overwhelming suprise when I find out that you are suspected in the murder of General Graham, and that she is now on the run as your accomplice. I figured she'd come here."

Lance's jaw ticked. "You have no idea what you are talking about, Vanderlough." He suddenly felt the urge to punch the bigger man.

"Oh, yeah? So those are not your pictures plastered all over the news?"

"Alright, everyone," Keith interjected. "let's just calm down. Look, Richie, Deirdre agreed to help."

"Yeah, nobody forced her." said Lance.

Richie shook his head. "You two are like a bad penny. You just keep coming back. You knew that Dee wouldn't be able to say no to you. And everytime she gets involved with you, she gets into trouble."

"So now you are her hero?" Lance scoffed. "Coming in to save the day."

"Apparently somebody has to."

The two men stared at each other from across the room.

"Okay, okay." Sven finally cut in. "Put your dicks away. From where I'm sitting, we're all on the same side here."

"Where's Deirdre?" demanded Richie.

Two motors coming down the drive turned everyone's head. A glance out the window confirmed that Hunk and Pidge had made it back from Freetown.

"What's going on here?" Hunk questioned when he walked into the room.

"Long story." Keith announced.

Pidge took a quick assessment of everyone in the room. "Have you heard from Allura and Deirdre?"

Keith shook his head. "Not since they first got to Freetown. I can only guess that they've turned their communicators off."

"You've seen the news?" asked Hunk. Everyone nodded. "So what now, Chief?"

Keith glanced at Lance who nodded. "They are both capable of making it out of there. Let's give them a little while longer. They'll contact us when they can."

"Typical." Richie crossed his arms. "Leave her hanging in the wind, as usual."

"Nobody's leaving anyone hanging, Richie." Keith ground out. "If we don't hear from them soon, we'll go in after them."

Allura stared at the numbers on the elevator as it clicked down slowly. She resisted the urge to get violent when a well-dressed man who had gotten on at the eighth floor had stood so close she could smell his toothpaste. He had not so subtly put his hand on her rear, and she wanted nothing more than to punch him. It disgusted her how some men found themselves entitled to grope women. Or perhaps she was just used to being treated with respect. The men that she surrounded herself with were nothing like the crude men that she had encounted since arriving on Earth.

Finally, the elevator dinged for the last time, and they made their way into the lobby of the hotel. She and Deirdre both stopped in their tracks at the overwhelming number of police officers and Garrison soldiers milling about. She took a deep breath. Easy, Allura. Just move like you belong here. She reached over and squeezed Deirdre's hand. They were going to get through this.

Together, they moved through the lobby, sidestepping the uniforms. For the most part, they remained unnoticed. As they neared the door, Allura's aprehension began to disapate. They were going to make it. Until the other shoe dropped.

Just before they reached the door, a man stepped out in front of them, taking Deirdre by the arm. He was not in uniform, but looked more like one of the hotel's sleazy guests. "Hello, sweetheart. I need you to come up to my room. I need some extra towels."

Deirdre tugged at her arm, but he didn't give. "I'm off duty."

He grabbed her harder. "I'm an important man here, darling. Your boss will not be happy if I'm not happy."

"Screw you." Deirdre ground through her teeth. She grabbed his wrist and twisted away from him. He reached up and grabbed her hair, yanking the pink wig off her head.

Before he could react, Allura moved forward quickly putting the whole weight of her body behind the punch that landed on his jaw. The man staggered back. The commotion had definitely drawn attention. Deirdre stood exposed, her red hair unraveling from the band that had held it in place.

"Let's go!" commanded Allura, already moving toward the door.

Deirdre was on her heels as they broke into a full sprint out of the hotel. Suddenly, there was a group of uniforms chasing them down. As they neared the corner of the street, Deirdre dug in her pocket and produced a set of keys. Even before they made it to the Hummer, she had the doors unlocked and the engine running. She took the driver's seat while Allura climbed in next to her. Without prompting, Deirdre mashed her foot on the gas and peeled into the traffic, nearly sideswiping two cars.

Allura tried to catch her breath as she turned to look out the back window. The soldiers who had been following them were now scrambling to get to their own vehicles. She turned back to the front and sunk into the seat. It would be too late. She and Deirdre would have disappeared by the time they got on the road.

At Galaxy Garrison Headquarters, Wade walked down the dark corridor leading to the bowels of the building. He had never actually been in that part of the building. Only maintenence made their way down to the lower levels. There was no fear that he would run into anyone this far down. It was getting late in the evening and only a skeleton crew was working at the present.

He shifted his duffle bag to his other hand as he approached the last door leading to his destination. There was a lone man sitting at a desk. Wade wondered idly what the young man had done to earn the graveyard shift security detail. He quickly dismissed the thought. In a few minutes it wouldn't matter anyway. The man stood at Wade's approach and saluted him.

"Sir, what brings you down here at this late hour?"

"Just doing a security walk-through."

The man nodded only quick enough to see Wade pull a pistol of his waistband and put a bullet right between the young man's eyes. Blood spattered the wall behind him as the guard fell back and to the floor behind the desk. Without reaction, Wade bent over him and pulled his clearance card from the front of his shirt. He slid the card in the scanner and waited patiently as the computer read his clearance. The light turned green, and Wade let himself in.

It took nearly ten minutes for him to finish. He had attached the device to the gas powered heating unit and dragged the poor sucker who had been blessed with the graveyard shift into the room next to it.

Content that his plan would go off without a hitch, he smiled to himself for his own genius. There would be no way that they could be discern cause of death of a man whose body had been completely desimated. The blast would see to that. He finally left the room and began his trek back down the dark corridor. Pulling a communicator out of his pocket, he pressed the button.

"Everything is in place. Are you ready?" Wade said.

"Yes, Sir." The voice on the other end confirmed.

"Good."

Wade took the elevator back to ground floor and walked quickly through the lobby and into the still night. With one more maniacal grin, he reached into his pocket again and pulled out the detenator. Without one more thought about it, he pushed the button.

The blast shook the building, but was in no way strong enough to damage the infrastructure. What it did was cause panic and scramble among the skeleton crew at HQ. From where he was sitting, Major Lawrence felt the jolt and knew that it was time. Silently, he stood up and walked toward the door. With one look back, he pressed the emergency release button by the door as he left.

The metal gears ground loudly as the barred gate slowly moved to one side. Finally able to foresee his own freedom and his revenge on the cursed Voltron Force, Lotor smiled wickedly and walked out of his prison.

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