They didn't have to wait long. Less than ten minutes after Satine disappeared, shouting could be heard from the front part of Maz' building. Poe immediately sat up and turned around to look back over the log. Rey, who had not been able to relax like Poe had, was already on the alert. They couldn't see who was doing the screaming, but they could see the reaction from the men who were watching the house.

The man in the window and the one in the car both left their posts, wandering toward the front of the building, meeting up and laughing as they did so. They soon disappeared from view. The man on the roof also moved, and Rey could just see the top of his head over the peak of the house. Within seconds, Satine reappeared, walking quickly back along the path toward them, a duffle bag and a walking stick in her hands. Glancing behind her toward the man on the roof, she scurried through the underbrush to their hiding place and ducked down with them behind the log.

She started speaking rapidly to Poe in Spanish as she handed him the bag and the stick, then she reached in the bag and pulled out a scarf. As she moved over to Rey, Poe translated. "She brought disguises," he told her. "We need to change quickly before the men get bored with the fight up front." He asked Satine a question as the woman began to put the scarf over Rey's hair. As he pulled stuff out of the bag, his quick Spanish turned into a "Are you fucking kidding me?"

Rey and Satine both turned to him, Rey with confusion, Satine with glee. Poe was holding up a large, baggy dress, glaring at Satine. She started arguing with him, a broad smile on her face. Rey caught enough words to catch on. Satine wanted Poe to dress as on old, crippled woman, with Rey as the ''granddaughter." Having a shawl all the way over his head was the only way to cover his beard. Rey saw Poe roll his eyes at her explanation, and she couldn't help but smile at him. "Come on, Grandma," she said. "We need to hurry."

Groaning, he pulled the button-up dress on. As he did up the buttons, Satine pulled a large shawl over his head and shoulders. She continued talking to him, pointing at his feet. He would need to remove his shoes; the heavy military style boots would be visible under the skirt and would give him away. Grudgingly, he removed them and shoved them in Satine's duffel along with the P90. As Rey stuffed what was left in her own pack into Poe's, she glanced back toward the man on the roof; he was still barely visible, still watching the screaming match. Rey winced. "They aren't really fighting, are they?"

Both Poe and Satine looked at her. In heavily accented English, Satine told her, "Corde and Sabe are sisters and best friends. They are good actresses." She smiled, and Rey smiled back. They looked at Poe. "Estás listo?" He nodded, and the three of them stood up from behind the log.

Rey stepped forward and brought the shawl around Poe's head a bit closer in. "Hold it with one hand here," she told him. "Close to your chin." He did so, then he took the walking stick from Satine with his other hand.

He looked at Rey. "Is that gun handy?"

She nodded. She came up and tucked her right hand under his left elbow, the arm that was holding his mantle closed, then showed him the Glock in her left hand underneath the ends of her scarf. They both looked at Satine and nodded. With another glance toward the roof, the three made their way down to the path. Once there, Rey squeezed Poe's arm "Crippled, remember?"

He slowed immediately, leaning heavily on the walking stick. Satine led them, looking back occasionally, and Rey thought she was chatting about how great a place Ajara was and that they would enjoy their time here. Carefully, they made their way around the building, coming to a short set of stairs that led up to the front porch of the building. The screaming had stopped. Rey looked up to see the two men watching them, now. Satine began chattering again, then called into the house, "Maz, Lucía y su abuela están aquí!" Rey could see the men turn and walk back to their posts out of the corner of her eye; her grip on the Glock eased.

They entered the building and Rey was surprised to find themselves in a comfortable looking entrance hall with padded benches along the wall on either side. To her left were double doors that opened into a pleasant looking sitting room, and to her right more doors to what looked like a dining room. In front of her was a staircase, and coming down those stairs was a tiny older woman with short grey hair wearing a huge pair of glasses.

She had a grin on her face as she exclaimed, "I have finally found something that El Halcón will do anything for, even wear a dress!" Her accent, like Rey's, was English.

Poe shoved the shawl off, handing both it and the stick to Satine. "Oh, yeah? What's that, Maz?" he asked.

"A woman," Maz answered as she reached them, giving Poe a quick hug. "And not just any woman," she continued, squinting at Rey. "La Halconera herself."

Rey looked at Poe, confused by the title. The corner of his mouth quirked up. "It means falconer," he told her. He looked back at Maz. "Is that what they're calling her?"

Rey felt herself blush at what the nickname implied, that she had captured and tamed The Falcon, but Poe didn't seem at all perturbed.

Maz, who was still looking at Rey, turned back to Poe and nodded. "Even the American press has begun using it."

Poe grinned. "Well, I hope our celebrity status doesn't make our stay here uncomfortable for anyone," he said, his smile slowly fading. "We need a safe place until I can get a hold of that SEAL team. They're still here in Ajara, I hope."

Maz nodded. "Yes, they are still here. And I know just how you can reach them." She paused. "Your friend Snap has a standing date with Karé every night. Not a single one of those twits watching this place will think twice when they see her leaving to meet him tonight."

Poe stared at the woman. "Snap and Karé?"

Maz laughed. "Yep. And it's bad enough I may just end up losing her." She chuckled again. "As for your stay, you know you are always welcome here, Dominguez." She reached up and gently patted Rey on the cheek. "And this child will be safe here for as long as she needs to be."

Poe's smile was small but genuine. "Thank you, Maz."

"Let's get you to a room," she said, and she turned and headed back to the stairway. Rey realized that a couple more women were watching from the sitting room door, and two more were on the stairs. They looked with humor at Poe in the dress, which he was finally unbuttoning and removing, but Rey recognized appreciation in their looks, too. Poe grabbed the duffel bag from Satine and handed the dress back to her. As Rey and Poe followed Maz up the stairs Rey caught the eye of one of the women and swore she saw envy in the glance directed her way. She looked at Poe, who nodded politely at the women, but showed no indication that he knew them. They obviously knew who he was, though.

Maz turned right at the top of the stairs, then left. Rey glanced down the hallway they passed, noticing several doors, all closed. The building was clean and well kept, but aged, as she assumed most of the buildings were in a not-so-modern village like Ajara. Maz led them all the way to the end of the hall, unlocking the door and opening it, then stepping aside. "Your usual room," she said.

Poe stepped in, and Rey followed, stopping just inside the door. Poe dumped the duffel he had taken from Satine on the bed, then turned to look at Rey and Maz. "Thank you, Maz. With luck, we'll be out of here by morning."

Maz nodded again. "I'll send someone up with clean clothing for the both of you," she told them. "Just let someone in the kitchen know when you're ready to eat, and I can have dinner brought up, too." She nodded to the one window. "That faces front, so you can eyeball our watchers when you need to." She grinned, then backed out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Rey stood, letting the pack slide from her shoulder, still carrying the Glock in her left hand. "Poe?"

"Yeah?" he responded, a bit distracted as he wandered to the window to peek out.

"Your safe house is a brothel." It wasn't a question.

He looked at her, a huge grin on his face. "Yeah," he told her.

She scowled at him.

"Oh, don't give me that look," he told her defensively. "Women down here don't have a lot of options, you know. Marriage, domestic work, or this." He waved his hand vaguely. "Maz takes good care of her girls. None are forced into the work, they are paid fairly, any clients that become abusive or dangerous are banned, and if one of them wants out, Maz will do her best to help them move on." He paused, staring at her intently. "And I promise, I have never been a client."

Rey hadn't even given that a thought; she didn't imagine he would ever have to pay for sex. "From the looks I was seeing coming up here, I think some of those girls would pay you," she griped.

He laughed, then motioned around him again. "Seriously, we have a real shower, real food, and a real bed." Rey realized he was giddy with relief that they had made it safely, and she had to admit it was a huge comfort. "Oh!" he exclaimed suddenly, and moved over to the nightstand. He opened the top drawer and his grin expanded. "Look at this!" he said, pulling out a plastic wrapped box of condoms. "Brand new and unopened." He looked at her with a naughty smirk.

But she wasn't ready to give in just yet. "Seriously?" she asked him. "You expect me to have my first time in a whorehouse?"

The dramatic change in his expression was amazing, as his face fell and his skin seemed to turn pale. "Oh, God, Rey!" he gasped. "I wasn't thinking…"

Rey started laughing, and his expression turned confused. She dropped the bag and walked toward him, setting the gun on the nightstand. "I'm joking!" she said, placing her hands on his chest. She moved into his space, bringing her hands up to cup his neck and her face close to his. "I don't care where we are," she told him seriously. "If this is our last night together, I want to be with you. Completely with you." She brought her forehead in to rest against his.

"You're sure?" he asked, his voice soft now.

"I've never been so sure of anything in my life," she told him, then she angled her head and brought her lips to his.

XXXXXX