"Try not to look so nervous" Kayo's voice whispered through the ear piece, as Brains gave a slight push to the revolving doors at the entrance to the hotel. "See if you can make it a bit more dazed instead – unfocused."

"Easier said than done." Brains muttered, knowing his microphone would pick it up. He had a small camera secreted in a button and knew that he was under any number of watchful eyes: EOS, the GDF, Kayo herself. It was reassuring, but left him no less exposed. He wanted to get this over with but instead of striding to the desk and getting his room key as quickly as possible Brains forced himself to slow down – to amble rather than rush.

It took an eternity to reach the check –in desk, and the cheery member of staff manning it.

"Reservation for Hackenbacker" He said, trying to keep his eyes forward and not to turn to scan the lobby. The Hood said he would be watching but it was unlikely he would be sat in reception, hiding behind a newspaper with eye holes cut out. Still, the feeling of imagined eyes made the back of his neck tingle and he barely paid any attention to the information the lady was giving: he would have no use for the pool or breakfast after all. It probably fit into the repression of him being confounded anyway. He took the keycard with a small smile of thanks and drifted to the elevator.

"8th floor" Kayo reminded him when he hesitated in pushing the button. EOS had made sure he would be allocated a room that suited their needs, and some of the others would already be in place and had been for some hours.

The doors slid shut. "Any sign?" Brains asked to the empty room as it started it's speedy ascent.

"Not so far, but that's to be expected. Stick to the plan. Get to the room and stay there. We'll be ready to strike when he shows."

"And if he doesn't?"

"He will. And in person. He won't want to miss this opportunity and he won't trust anyone else with it. Trust me."

The elevator pinged, doors drawing back before Brains could say that how much he trusted her judgement: Kayo was a force to be reckoned with when she set her mind to something. Some years ago she decided the Tracys would Be Safe and she worked tirelessly to ensure that. Now she had decided that the Hood's freedom was Over and there would be no obstacle or setback that would stop her achieving that. I would only be a matter of time but Brains fervently hoped the time was now, before the Hood could hurt anyone else.

The corridor was empty, thick carpeting muffling his footsteps on the way to his designated room. The corridor stayed stubbornly empty as his key beeped, letting him peer cautiously into the room. Even though there was no way that the Hood could have spotted him entering the hotel, found out his room and beat him there while he was travelling in the elevator. But for his peace of mind he still checked in the bathroom, wardrobe and under the bed.

"What now?"

"Watch some TV or something. The hard part is done."

Scott was waiting again. Scott always found waiting the hardest: he could tackle any problem or any challenge as long as he was actively doing something. He certainly couldn't do John's job: eternally waiting to see how things played out would drive him round the twist and there was just too much time to think about how things might go wrong.

Five was almost back to full working order and once it was John would be chomping at the bit to get up there again, no matter what the doctor's said. It was a full time job keeping little brothers in check, making sure they didn't push too hard or too soon. Scott was thinking about having a chat with Brains and EOS to see if there could be a couple of 'delays' to the refit, just to make sure Five wasn't ready before John was, so he didn't have to tell him he couldn't go back on duty yet.

Right now though Scott would have gladly swapped this thumb-twiddling waiting for that conversation with John. He was ensconced in a room across the hall from Brains, silent camera feeds rerouted by their helpful AI to his own TV. It was a boring show – only four people had passed in the last forty five minutes, none stopping nearby. And not even an ad break.

This was it, their opportunity to catch the Hood and put an end to all his shenanigans. There had been an itch under his skin for a while now, ever since the Hood had ramped up the aggressiveness of his operations and Scott had let it go on for far too long, had let the danger far too close. John may be well on the mend but Scott hadn't slept properly since. Next time they might not be so lucky.

Scott's nerves were at breaking point when a smartly dressed business man marched swiftly down the hall. He overshot slightly as if he didn't quite know where he was going and took a couple of paces back to rap firmly on Brains' door.

This was it! Scott pressed himself up against his own door, peering through the spy hole.

"I see it Scott," Kayo said in his ear. "EOS has locked down the elevators but we need him just a bit more contained. As soon as Brains lets him in I'm ready to strike."

But something wasn't right – The Hood wasn't going in, despite the fact that Brains was holding the door wide open. Scott really wished he had a feed into the conversation over there. The Hood took a couple of steps back, was turning...

"Go!" Scott cried "He knows!" He flung open the door so fast it bounced and almost hit him in the back as he rushed through it, hurtling into the corridor and dragging the master criminal down to the floor. He wriggled and wrestled, desperate to get away but this was nothing compared to the squirming a baby could do when they didn't want a diaper change. Pinning down legs to prevent crawling away was second nature, despite the flailing arms.

In the long run it might have turned into a fight, maybe even a close one but Scott wasn't really trying to subdue, just restrain and inconvenience for long enough for Kayo to get there with a squad of GDF special forces. They were exceedingly well trained and the Hood was efficiently cuffed by the time Brains was helping Scott to his feet, reaching into a pocket.

"Sorry about that, I don't know how he knew I was no longer under his control but he did. He suspected something as soon as I opened the door." Brains held out the handkerchief he had found.

"That's fine Brains. That's why we had a back up plan." Scott was out of breath but from the rush of adrenaline more than the fight. "You ok?"

Brains nodded "Glad it's over." He gestured again with handkerchief: a 'take it motion' that gave Scott a moment of confusion before he felt a hot line trace down his face and a sharp pain above his eyebrow. Taking the cloth gratefully he formed it into a neat compress that smarted when he pushed it against what was probably a small cut from an errant fist – one he hadn't even noticed in the heat of the moment.

It wasn't quite the scene he'd imagined: him puffing slightly still, blood on his face, Brains shocked behind him. The Hood was how he had imagined though: the look of outrage at having been caught, outwitted and confined. Handcuffed and firmly escorted out of the building he was throwing dangerous glances their way but Scott knew they would all be sleeping much more peacefully tonight.

At long last, here is the conclusion - thank you for all your suport along the way, sorry it took me a while to bring it to this (slightly rushed) end.