"So," Ryan began as he sat behind his desk, "you guys know the nuts and bolts about the results of our little pre-dawn raid, but I think John and I can fill in a few details if you have any questions." He looked at the others expectantly with raised eyebrows and they all nodded back.

"Okay, so big picture – we arrested a total of fourteen people at the scene… and there was, of course, that one fatality." He glanced purposefully at Devitt, who closed his eyes and dropped his head. "You'll be pleased to know that it's been judged a justifiable shooting and, ah, Roy, we have your gun ready for you when you leave."

Devitt nodded his thanks; Mike had turned to his colleague with a concerned frown. He'd remembered the biker, but had forgotten that Devitt would have undergone a firearms discharge review.

"Turns out the deceased… one, ah, Lester John Porcelli," Ryan continued, picking up one of the many forms on the desk in front of him, "known as 'Porky' - even though he was a beanpole, of course – was well known to law enforcement in this part of the state."

"He sure was," Manley chimed in. "In just the short time I've been here, I arrested him twice – once for a D&D and once for assault. He spent a month in the clink for the D&D but the assault charges were dropped so he walked."

"Yeah, he was also accused of rape and forcible confinement, but we couldn't get enough evidence, so that case was still open. I guess we can close it now," Ryan said with no small amount of satisfaction as he dropped the sheet of paper to the desk.

For the next while, Ryan and Manley filled the others in on the identities of the fourteen arrested at the Crocker Ranch, the arrest and arraignment of Sheriff Lassiter and his deputies, and subsequent investigation into the extended Crocker family. So far, another nine members of the drug and human trafficking cabal had been arrested and charged, with more on the horizon.

Nodding agreeably, pleased with the progress made in such a short time, Mike asked, "Scott, you, ah, you mentioned something about almost all of the news being good. What did you mean by almost?"

The Eureka police chief inhaled loudly. "Well, we're pretty sure we got the… the brains, I guess you could call it, of the operation… but John and I think there's a missing link somewhere."

"What do you mean?" Devitt asked.

"Well, from what we've been able to figure out about the way their operation was run, and we don't just mean bringing the H in on the ship and all that… No, we're talking about the entire distribution operation, which, by the way, that drug dog confirmed was run out of the barn, like we all thought. They've been doing this for years and for the most part they've been flying under the radar."

"Yeah," Manley confirmed, "I mean, other than the rumours, which I told you guys about, they've been able to keep things pretty well under wraps, which is shocking considering the depth and breadth of all this. And they've been making millions in the process."

"Yeah, millions that they have been very… shall we say, circumspect with," Ryan picked back up. "I mean, you couldn't tell from looking at it that the people that own that ranch we raided have enough money to buy and sell all of us, and our respective police departments, with millions to spare. They weren't flashy with it, which is a big reason, I think, for their success. And they seemed to have shared the wealth, so to speak. That keeps a lot of mouths shut.

"But something in the back of my mind has been telling me there's something we're missing. Someone somewhere who… greased the wheels for them and allowed all this to go on under everyone's noses for so long." Ryan shook his head and shrugged. "But, so far, we haven't been able to find a connection anywhere… other than Lassiter…"

Ryan sat back, glanced at Manley and smiled dryly. "So, anyway, John and I are about ready to say goodbye to our end of all this. The Feds have taken over completely now, and they're in the process of getting Interpol involved. As far as we've heard, they haven't been able to get anything out of the ship's crew yet – they're mostly foreign nationals, of course – Thai, Chinese and Filipino – and none of them claim to speak English." He shrugged with a dry laugh.

"What are the odds, do you think, that Stuart Sullivan and Danny Cutler are still alive?" Healey asked somberly.

"Well, we talked to the Feds about that," Ryan began softly and slowly, "and they don't want to go on the record with it right now, of course… it's too soon… but we were told not to keep our fingers crossed. Seems they've seen something like this before and the, ah… the results weren't, ah…"

A pall settled over the room and for a few long seconds the police officers sat quietly, each lost in their own thoughts. It was Mike who broke the silence. "Well," he offered gently, "at least Craig Steen got a second chance at life." He stared at Steve. "And we stopped them from –" His throat constricted and he couldn't get the words out.

With a small warm smile, Steve briefly touched his partners arm and squeezed. The others glanced away discreetly.

"Um," Haseejian cleared his throat, looking at Ryan, "we, ah, we heard from Mongo that this has been going on for a long time? Did you find out anything about that?"

Manley leaned forward, glancing at Ryan before he spoke. "Well, everybody's been pretty closed-mouthed up to now… family loyalty and all that. But the Feds are going to start offering deals to the first ones who start talking, so hopefully all that'll come out in the end."

"Oh, ah, yeah, speaking of Mongo," Ryan broke in with a chuckle, "just a little wrinkle in all this I think you'll find… interesting – oh, and by the way, he's still in the hospital, of course, but he's agreed to talk like a parrot – they're giving him immunity. Anyway, I don't know if you're aware, but he shares the last name, Porter, with Craig Steen's fiancee? Turns out they're like fifth cousins or some damn thing – I can never figure that stuff out – and they don't even know each other, never met – and it's just a coincidence – a real coincidence," he reiterated to the skeptical detectives and they chuckled, "that they're related. There's almost as many Porters in this neck of the woods as there are Crockers."

Ryan leaned back in his chair. "That's about it, gentlemen. Any questions –?"

There was a sudden loud knock on the office door and Ryan looked at it. "Yeah?" he yelled and the door opened slightly.

"Oh, sorry," a deep male voice was heard, "didn't know you had company."

"It's okay, Dick," Ryan replied, "what do you need?"

The door opened a little wider; Healey and Haseejian looked up at the newcomer who was still hidden to the other three San Francisco detectives.

"Ah…?" the voice said uncertainly and Ryan glanced at the others.

"Sorry, fellas, this'll only take a second. The joys of being the chief," he chuckled as he got up and circled the desk to the door, stepping into the hall and closing it behind him.

Mike felt a hand on his arm and a hard squeeze. "Mike…" Steve's voice was faint but frantic in his ear. He turned his head to look into his partner's wide eyes. "That's one of them," the young man whispered feverishly, "that's one of the voices."

Mike's hooded eyes snapped to Healey and Haseejian; they'd heard Steve too and had straightened in their chairs. Both Devitt and Manley leaned forward, every fibre on alert.

His blue eyes narrowing, Mike asked quietly, "Are you sure?"

Biting his bottom lip, Steve nodded, breathing heavily through his nose.

Mike looked at the two sergeants and put up a hand in a calming gesture. They both sat back, feigning relaxation, as the door opened again and Ryan returned to the room.

"Sorry about that," he apologized as he crossed back to his chair, "it seems I now have a meeting with the mayor this afternoon."

Mike leaned forward and gestured with his head towards the door. "Who was that?"

Ryan's brow furrowed and his head inclined, confused by the question. "Ah, that was one of my Robbery lieutenants. Dick Robertson. Why?"

Ignoring the question, Mike asked, "How long has he been with the department?"

The police chief sat back slightly, glancing quickly at the others before staring at Mike again. He shrugged. "I don't know… twelve, fifteen years, I'm not exactly sure. Why?"

"How well do you know him?"

Ryan was getting visibly concerned. "Since he started here," he almost snapped. "What the hell is going on? Why are you asking me this?"

Mike glanced quickly at Steve then met Ryan's eyes again evenly. "Steve recognized his voice."

The chief looked slowly from one partner to the other. Steve stared back silently. "Recognized from where?"

No one moved. After a few tense seconds, Ryan blinked slowly. "Oh my god," he breathed, his eyes sliding slowly towards the inspector. "Are you sure…?"

Steve closed his eyes briefly and nodded. "He was one of the two that dragged me down into the… cellar and tied me to the wall. I heard them talking to each other. I don't think they knew I was conscious."

From the corner of his eye he could see Mike watching him, a small proud smile on his lips.

Devitt leaned towards the desk. He stared at Ryan determinedly. "So what do we do?"

Ryan, eyes wide and stunned, shook his head and exhaled loudly. "Um, well, ah, we have to detain him…"

"Does he have a short fuse?" Haseejian inquired gently and Ryan's head snapped up, the anger in his eyes quickly disappearing when he realized what the sergeant was asking.

"No… no, he doesn't… at least I don't think so. But he does have his weapon on him, I just saw it." He put his head in his hands. "Oh god…" Manley, sitting beside him, put a comforting hand on his back.

Devitt, who had been staring silently at the floor, looked up. "Scott, we need you to make sure he stays in the building. We want to do this without fanfare, of course. Can you make sure he remains here?"

Nodding slowly, Ryan reached for the phone, picking up the receiver and dialing three numbers. "Mary?.. Yeah, can you tell me if Dick Robertson's still in the building?... Yeah, okay thanks." He hung up, nodding. "Yeah, he's up in Robbery. Listen, fellas, there's a… there's a lot of ways to get out of this building. And if he gets wind of us coming up there to talk to him, he's gonna bolt. He's not stupid; he'll know what it means."

"So what do you suggest?" Healey asked.

Ryan gave it some thought. "He, ah… his car's parked in the back lot with everyone else's. He drives a dark blue Monte Carlo." He looked at Devitt. "Roy, you don't know what he looks like, so I think you should come with me up to Robbery. John, can you take the front door?"

Manley nodded.

"Dan, if he's gonna bolt, he'll either go out the west door, which is closer to Robbery's end of the building, or he'll try to get to the back door to the parking lot. Can you cover the west door on your own?"

Healey nodded, his right hand going instinctively to the holster on his hip.

"Norm, that leaves the back door to you. Is that good for you?"

"And me," Steve interrupted, and every eye in the place snapped in his direction.

Mike was the first to respond. "You don't know what he looks like and you haven't got a gun –"

"I'll go with Norm," Steve shot back almost angrily then his features softened. "I have to be in on this, Mike… I have to be."

After a long tense second, Mike nodded. "All right."

"Okay, let's do this," Ryan announced as he got to his feet. "But remember, gentlemen, we're only detaining him to talk to him, right?" He looked at the young inspector. "I'm not saying you're wrong, Steve, it's just…"

Steve nodded with an understanding smile. "I know, I know…"

Ryan continued towards the door as the others got up. As Mike began to stand, Devitt spun towards him. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going with -"

"You're not going anywhere."

Mike's face turned dark. "Roy, I'm –"

"You're not a hundred percent, you don't have a gun and at this moment, because you're on sick leave, I'm your superior officer. And I'm not about to bring you back to Dr. Cavanagh for the third time and have to explain to him what you did again."

Everyone watched the brief, albeit one-sided stand-off. Steve reached out and touched his partners arm. "Stay here. We'll get him."

With a heavy sigh, Mike sat back down. "Come back in one piece… all of you."