12:26am PST

I've been up way too late.

Liz stared at her watch as she waited for the hotel elevator. She was emotionally wrung out after talking to the grieving Bauers, and she had stayed at the safe house much later than she had planned. She hadn't realized how isolated and guilty Jack felt until she finally got him talking, and once he started, she hadn't wanted to stop him. Hour after hour passed, filled with words spoken in anger and pain until they weren't talking about the Drazens or Nina anymore, they were just… talking. Liz couldn't remember the last time she'd had a conversation with someone without wondering if what she was saying could compromise her mission, or scare off the person she was talking too. Jack understood, in a way few could. Hazards of the job, sacrifices made, friends lost.

And as the conversation progressed, Liz realized something that had eluded her. This was why Jack had his affair with Nina during his separation. This connection, the lack of walls that field agents built to protect the ones they loved. That was a thing so rare that to find it, even for a moment, was to hold onto it, to blind yourself to any danger. In Nina, Jack had found someone who understood him in a way Teri never would. And Nina had used that information to destroy him.

Liz shuddered, wondering what she would have done in Nina's place. Because it was a valid question when she thought about it. What has Nina done that I haven't, or wouldn't? Undercover for years, never really knowing exactly what the next assignment would be, it had to be nerve-wracking. Liz had done long-term assignments before, but nothing like this. Liz had to admit that over the last few days, she had had become somewhat awed by the whole production and the dedication Nina had shown.

God, I've gotta get some rest.

The elevator doors opened, and a single passenger emerged, passing her without a second glance. Liz entered, and after hitting the button to her floor, she sagged against the back wall, her thoughts drifting to what she had to tomorrow. No today, she corrected herself silently, now it's today. Today I have to deal with Nina.

Liz was mentally running a checklist of what she needed to do before meeting with Nina when her phone rang.

"Genova."

"It's, Ryan Chapelle, did I wake you?"

"No, I was just getting back from the safe house, what do you need?"

"I think I've found something. Something we should check out before you meet with Meyers."

The drowsiness that had come over Liz dissipated, as she stood up straight. Curiously, she asked, "Did Milo or Michelle come up with something on that laptop she was using?"

"I have no idea what they have or haven't found, not my area. But I was looking at Nina's financials and I think I found something."

Curiouser and curiouser, since when does Ryan Chapelle do grunt data sifting?

"Genova, you still there?"

"Yeah, what do you have?"

"A house."

Liz paused, "A house? What house?"

"Nina's I think. About the same time she moved to L.A. it looks like she set up a business bank account I think can link to that alias we found in Drazen's laptop. It was used to purchase and maintain a small house just outside the city limits."

"Where did the money come from? Nina's not stupid enough to use her own."

"Not sure yet, but mostly it looks like it's from a numbered account overseas, there are regular deposits coming from it to cover the checks for the mortgage and utilities. Occasionally other deposits, could be business expenses."

"Clients deposit the money in the numbered account, and from there it goes where it's needed?"

"Looks like."

The elevator door opened. Liz hesitated, she was desperate for leads, but she needed to get some sleep. She couldn't afford to look tired when she met with Nina.

Ryan continued, "I'm sending the address to Mason and Almeida, they're putting together a team to go over there, but I thought you might want to join them."

Liz held the door open with her hand and began to step out, prepared to tell Ryan to just have Mason update her first thing, and then she stopped. She couldn't do it. She needed to see that space, that house, where just maybe the real Nina lived.

I need to get in her head.

"Are you asleep, Genova? Do you want the address or not?" Chapelle's tone was weary and clipped.

Liz let the door slowly close in front of her. "Give it to me."

She hit the button for the parking garage and waited for the elevator to start.

1:13am PST

"Is it on the next block, Michelle?" Liz asked as she made her last turn.

"Should be," Michelle Dessler replied, "It should be the on the left-hand corner, just before the next intersection."

"I see it." Liz slowed the car slightly as she drove past turning the corner. "Everything looks empty, I'm gonna park and head on in, how far behind is the team?"

"Tony said they'd be there in about fifteen, twenty minutes, he had to wait for the forensics unit. They were still at Nina's apartment."

Liz slowly parked around the corner from the house and looked around the neighborhood. It seemed very quiet; the homes were nice, but not too expensive. Not quite upper-middle class, Liz estimated. "OK, tell Tony I'm heading in, but I don't see anything that strikes me funny, looks like everyone's in for the night. As you should be, Michelle, how long has this shift been for you?"

Liz listened to Michelle's laughter and paltry excuses while she scanned the street. There were few vehicles parked in driveways, but all the houses had garages so that wasn't too surprising. "I'm sorry?" Liz asked as she realized Michelle had asked her a question.

"I said, do you think you'll find anything?"

Liz stepped out of the car and began to walk to the house, still scanning the neighborhood.

"Hard to say. After, what, three days, we've come up almost empty with her home, her work station, her safe deposit box, her gym locker… But if she thought this was a real 'safe house' we could get lucky. Some paper records, maybe a safe or an additional lap top or a cell phone. Heck, I'll take a stray fingerprint at this point." Liz reached the front door and looked around it, "We're sure there's not a secondary security system?"

"As sure as we can be from here. We ran the name on the business through the local security companies and only got the one hit. They've disabled the alarms remotely, you should be fine."

Liz pulled on a pair of gloves and pulled out her lock picks, "I'm gonna hold you to that, Dessler. If I wake up the entire neighborhood, I'm blaming you."

"Fine, just… Liz?"

"Yeah."

"Be careful."

Liz smiled, "I will, just tell Almeida to hurry it up will ya? Empty houses give me the willies."

Liz heard Michelle laughing again as she ended the call. Replacing the phone in her pocket, Liz quickly popped the main lock and started on the deadbolt. Both were standard commercial locks, it didn't appear that Nina had done much upgrading. Probably smart, Liz mused, nothing set off radars like having the heaviest secured house on the block. Neighborhoods like this, she figured people have locks, they have standard commercial alarm systems, and if they want to get fancy, they have a dog. And Nina never struck Liz as the fancy type.

The lock gave way, and Liz slowly entered the house, gun drawn. Keeping her movements soft and light, she began to sweep the house. It was single-story, three bedrooms, and two and a half baths. Liz quickly moved through the living room and kitchen areas. She paused for a moment, listening, before moving down the main hallway to the bedrooms. One of the bedrooms was set up as an office, a few filing cabinets (empty), a desk (also empty), no computer, but there were a few stray chords that indicated there may have been one at one time. The master bedroom had a full size bed (no covers), no chest of drawers, and no clothes in the closet. The third bedroom was completely empty. The whole set-up screamed clean-up job, the house was immaculate. Liz glumly realized she wasn't the first person through the place.

But she was obviously the only one there now. Holstering her gun, Liz began a more thorough examination of the office space. She was feeling around the center desk drawer for a false bottom when she heard the front door open.

Liz froze, checking her watch. Only ten minutes had passed, it was too soon to be Tony. Cursing, she pulled her gun and moved to the door, pulling it almost completely closed. She could just make out the shapes of two men, bulky, wearing jackets, one was carrying a gun, but neither struck Liz as being overly professional. They were making too much noise.

Her phone rang. Liz jumped and silenced her phone, shutting the door. She knew she had seconds, minutes maybe if they got the wrong room first. She knew there were the two men she saw inside, but she needed to know if there were more. Looking out the window into the front yard, Liz saw a van parked out front, the driver staring away and down the street. Cursing, she pulled the switchblade she kept in her pocket and opened the window. Slicing through the screen, she jumped out and crouched under the window, getting her bearings. Moving quickly, she turned to the side of the house and headed toward the back yard as she heard the men inside shout. They'd discovered the window.

Liz heard the van door open as the driver rushed to the house to join the rest. Realizing she couldn't break for her car without being seen, Liz turned to the backyard. Just as she was about to head for the dark hedge line at the yard's border, the world exploded into light.

Someone inside had hit the floodlights, illuminating and eliminating the path she was about to take. Ducking behind a trash can at the side of the house, Liz strained to hear what was going on. She heard an almost inaudible whisper as the patio door slid open and she heard three, no four, distinct voices come onto the back porch. They were all American-accented, at least one of them southern.

"Where is he?" Number One.

"Came out the window, he can't have gone far." Number Two.

"I checked the back shed before we went in, it's padlocked, he couldn't be in there." Number Three.

"Check the bedroom windows-" Number Four, the Southern Gentleman.

Number Two began to argue, "He sliced through-"

"I mean the other rooms; he might have doubled back in. Danny, y'all go back that way and run 'round the house. I'll go this way; we'll meet in the front. Caleb, Jake, go through the inside of house again. We got screwed on this deal and I want to know by who," Apparently the Southern Gentleman was in charge and he sounded pissed.

Damn, I know that voice, Liz thought.

Danny, Caleb and Jake agreed and Liz could hear the footsteps as the men began to split up.

1:26am PST

"She's not answering." Tony looked at his phone, a worried expression on his face.

"What?" The agent driving asked.

"I was calling Liz to tell her we were still ten out, she won't answer."

"That's not normal, Liz always answers."

"Unless she can't," The agent behind Tony said. "Maybe there was someone at the house and she's sitting on him."

The driver shook his head again, "She would have called us, or Dessler, and Dessler would have called-"

"I don't care," Tony cut in, a sinking feeling in his stomach, "drive faster."

1:27am PST

Liz held her position, praying that the Southern Gentleman left the backyard before Danny reached her. Danny was moving slowly, but Liz was finally able to see him as he turned the corner from the backyard. Christ he's a kid! He couldn't be more than eighteen, twenty tops, his build was muscular, but not too bulky. He held his gun awkwardly, like an unfamiliar tool. Who the hell are these guys? Shifting her position, she waited until he was where she wanted him. Just as he began to lean over the cans, she sprang up, swinging her pistol in an arc that connected with his nose, breaking it.

With a spray of blood, the kid went down in a heap. Moving as silently as she could, Liz dragged his body back into her hiding place. Stepping back, she took a quick look. There was a little blood on the ground, but she couldn't readily see the kid. It would have to be good enough.

Liz quickly ran into the backyard and up to the side of the porch. She nervously peered in through the sliding door. Damn idiots have all the lights on! Good for me, bad for them. Liz could see the entire kitchen and living areas, one of the men was leaning on the kitchen island his gun on the counter in front of him. He was turned away from the porch; the other was… sitting on the couch?

Suppressing the inconvenient urge to laugh, Liz took a chance. Picking up a stone and taking few steps back, she threw it at one of the empty bedroom's windows with a sharp crack and ducked back down. Predictably, both men snapped to attention, giving each other "Did you hear that?" looks. Motioning to his partner, the man in the kitchen picked up his gun. Liz watched as Couch Man took off for the back of the house as Kitchen Man moved slowly into the hallway, taking his time.

Moving onto the porch, Liz slowly pushed open the patio door straining her ears to hear if the men inside reacted to the soft sound. Hearing nothing but the sounds of footfalls and doors being opened in the back, Liz entered the house, swiftly moving to a position by the wall that separated the hallway and the kitchen.

"I don't see anyone, Jake, the room's empty." Back bedroom. Caleb.

"Well look again and try the master again, too, I'm gonna go out back." Jake. Hallway.

"Danny and the Sarge are going over it." Gentleman's "the Sarge," huh? OK…

"Well I'm going over it again, besides this guy probably beat out of here and is halfway 'cross town by now." Liz listened to the heavy footsteps as Jake neared the hall entrance. As he turned the corner and took another step, Liz quickly moved behind Jake and clocked him with the butt of her gun.

She broke the larger man's fall as best she could, and was about the drag him out of sight when the familiar southern voice drawled, "Well, Lizzie Barrett, or whatever your name is, what are you doing here?"

Liz's head shot up and for the first time she saw the face of the man Jake had called "Sarge." The familiar southern voice belonged to a stocky, blonde, military groomed man that Liz knew only too well. Her heart sank as she looked at the gun he had drawn on her, but she kept her tone neutral. "Thomas Leighton, when did you get back in town?"

"About a year to the day that you killed my bother, bitch, now drop your gun. Now."

Liz slowly put her gun on the ground and stood with her hands in front of her. "How do you know it was me, Tom?" She asked, trying to stall. She heard footsteps behind her and Caleb came into the room.

"What the..? Sarge, what's going on?"

"Ask later, get her gun." Caleb complied, and Leighton moved closer to Liz, still holding the gun steady.

"I asked you a question, Tom. How do you know it was me? There were a lot of agents there that night."

Thomas leaned in further, "If you're here, why do you need to ask?"

Liz barely had time to register the remark when Thomas swung his arm and everything went dark.