2am rolled around far too quickly. Ditching the stag party had been easy, even if Tom had looked slightly hurt. A quick search had proven the Burgess and Herald to be a pub not too far from Cascade so Gordon had opted to walk. He thought about checking in with John but what was he going to say. I'm going to take advantage of a young woman who desperately needs money now, call you later?

As the pub came into view he put the mask back on and walked through the carpark to the rear of the building. There was only one door and the key card was needed to get in. Gordon wasn't sure what he was expecting once inside but a short staircase to an underground bar wasn't it. Whilst the burlesque club hadn't exactly been high class this place was scraping the barrel. The air stank of sweat and cheap booze and there seemed to be a fight going on in the corner. Down one wall stretched a bar and down the other a make shift bookie. Gordon looked at himself thinking he would stick out like a sore thumb but he soon realised that the patrons were totally mixed. Some looked like they hadn't seen a bath in a week whilst others looked more like they were going for a day at the races. The things I do he thought sadly as he began to search the room for Nick or maybe a vodka. Preferably both.

Oracle felt herself unwind as soon as she hit the basement of the Burgess and Herald. The sights and smells of the idiotic punters were the only things she'd ever known as a home and for the next little while at least she didn't have to pretend like she was a person. Finding Nick was easy, he was where he always was; at the bookies.

"So?" she asked rolling her neck and shoulders.

"Easy one for you" he replied. "Just use those lovely legs of yours and give him a proper seeing to."

She smiled and shook her head before moving off to get ready. Frankly she'd been expecting to come off a lot worse with her earlier offer of 'whatever' to Nick. But when all was said and done, they had a reasonable working relationship. He knew if he asked too much she'd push back and she knew if she didn't deliver she'd find herself out of work pretty damn fast. She made her way over to the ring where the fight was just finishing.

A circle was marked out on the concrete floor by two red lines. The punters knew not to cross the first as the second was the boundary for the force field that kept the fight away from the crowd. When she first started fighting here Oracle was surprised to find the force shield wasn't electrified. But she soon found she had a much lower level of opponent here as well. It seemed the place was more geared for the rich who liked to pretend at playing low class rather than the actual underbelly that was London's secret life. She didn't mind; money was money.

People moved out of the way for her because most of them knew better than not to. The others followed suit. The last match seemed friendly enough, the looser had a split nose but was being helped up by the winner. Money changed hands and she was called in. She did not expect to find herself facing Peony's billionaire from the club earlier.

As soon as Nick pushed him into the ring he turned back.

"I think there's been some kind of misunderstanding" he said. Nick smiled nastily and gave him a shove. The blond man looked around uneasily as the forcefield barriers of the ring snapped on. By now people from the rest of the club had started to gather round. Oracle knew it was because her name was being whispered round. The man looked extremely uncomfortable and very out of place in his well-tailored trousers and shirt. Sure, there were plenty of people dressed the same in the crowd. They all had more sense than to get in the ring though. The crowd started to get restless as neither opponent moved. The regulars were used to this from her, Oracle always preferred the opponent to make the first move, but he looked like a deer in headlights.

"What did you think you were paying for?" she asked incredulously. She saw the answer, and guilt, flick across his features and she spun kicking him hard in the chest. Not expecting the move, he was sent flying. He hit the barrier and only just managed to keep his feet, fighting to get his breath back. She stood and watched him, not believing for a second that he would quit so easily.

Gordon was stunned, in more ways than one. As soon as he'd found Nick the man had shepherded him towards what he now knew was a fight ring. Also, she kicked like a mule, his chest was bruised at the very least and he knew if he took too many more like that he'd ended up with fractures or worse. He caught her eye as he gathered himself back together, using the force field to pull himself fully upright. She hadn't moved and was just watching him to see what he'd do. He didn't want to hurt her, but he couldn't see a way out of here without going through with the fight. Hoping she thought he was just another moneyed playboy he took the only advantage he had.

Holding his hands out in front of him in supplication he asked her to wait whilst inching slowly forwards. Once he was in range, he swept a leg round to sweep her feet out from under her. Oracle jumped easily over it and then the fight was on. He was good, the best of his brothers thanks to his time in WASP. Scott may have had military training but flying jets meant hand-to-hand took a backseat. There was no such luxury in WASP and all members were required to pass advanced combat training as a minimum. The problem was that she was just as quick. Every punch and kick he threw she blocked, and she didn't give ground.

She should not be this strong he thought furiously as yet another left hook was blocked and he found himself scrambling backwards as her fist came straight for his throat. He avoided it by millimetres but he was now off balance and she capitalised, using his own momentum against him as he lurched away from yet another punch only to have her kick out his knee.

Pain exploded in the joint as he hit the ground instinctively getting his guard up but nothing more came. He looked up to see she had retreated a few paces and was smiling. It was the first genuine smile he's seen from her and the circumstances made it all the more unnerving. The crowd was roaring for her or cat-calling him though neither competitor gave it any mind.

He had a few inches on her and a hell of a lot of muscle. She should not be able to block a hit from him by force alone and she should not be able to dish out hits like she was either. Hell, he should be able to pick her up and throw her but he couldn't get anywhere near her.

"You should quit now" she said conversationally. "They've had a show, you've had some fun. Game over, yeah?"

Gordon pushed himself back up, pleased to find that his knee would still support him.

"I need to talk to you" he said falling naturally into a fighting stance.

"There are better ways to go about it" Oracle replied not bothering with any recognisable stance herself.

"We both know you'd have vanished after the show earlier and what we have to talk about really can't wait."

"Get on with it!" someone shouted from the crowd.

Oracle shrugged and attacked once more this time kicking out at his shin before aiming a fist at his left side. Gordon blocked easily and struck out with his right, he hadn't expected to catch her but she'd blocked high and he scored a square hit to her ribs.

"Now that's better" she said before launching into a spinning kick that would have taken his head off if he hadn't rolled away. Voluntarily hitting the floor nearly proved a costly error as she rebalanced and went to stamp on his injured knee. Thinking fast he caught her foot and twisted sending her to the floor as well. Scrambling round he tried to subdue her but she used one hand to spin on the floor. As he reached for her, she was perfectly balanced to grab his arm flip him face first towards the floor and smack his head of the ground with her other hand.

Gordon saw stars. Before he could think past the pain in his head, she had him in an arm lock. He tried to push through it but she wasn't playing around, as he felt the joints in his left arm begin to give he had to tap out. Oracle released him immediately and left the arena but it was a while before Gordon could get his breath back enough to move.

Once safely through the crowd Oracle had a look at the comm she'd taken off the man. It was locked but that was easily bypassed. Flicking through the numbers she stopped on one that caught her interest and memorised it. She'd been right about seeing a unit like this before. She tapped it against her hand before tucking it into her belt. Before she could think on that though she needed to find Nick and get her pay. She wasn't aware of the four men who hauled Gordon from the ring and made to remove him from the club.

Nick gave her a round of applause as she approached and handed over the cash without being asked.

"You charged him a lot more than five for this" she said.

"You agreed to two" he reminded her blandly. "Up for whatever, I think was the term you used."

She huffed, he was right. She could squeeze him for more, she was sure, she just needed the right pressure. He seemed to know what she was thinking though.

"Not this time Oracle, I need it for a buy in."

"What's the job?" she asked.

"I'm not sure but the payoff is meant to have six figures and I've been offered a chance to get on the crew" he boasted.

"Yes, they're so desperate to have you that you need to buy your way in" she pointed out.

"Everyone buys in" he explained as though to a five-year-old. "That way you have something to lose."

Oracle wanted to point out that that really wasn't how it worked but she didn't have the energy.

"You should try and get me in too" she said instead. Afterall, it didn't hurt to know what was going on.

"What would I do that?"

"Because I'm more useful than you" she replied with a wink and turned to leave. Nothing would come of Nick's grand scheme. The reality was that he was a middle-man nobody. Useful to her because she didn't want to be found by anybody but if anything major was going down the only job anyone would have for Nick would be to make the coffee.

Sticking the money in her shoe Oracle left shivering slightly as the cold London air hit her. It did smell a lot better than the club though. To her left she heard a muffled thump. There was a large lorry parked at that end of the carpark near the far wall and she thought the sound had come from behind that. Not wanting to disturb any kind of whisky fuelled kink she carried on.

"You bastard!"

"Keep hold of him!"

There was more scuffling followed by a cry of pain.

I know better than to look she thought, going anyway. She was only half surprised at what she saw. Four men had hold of her opponent from earlier who was now in a far worse state than when she left him. He had a split lip and cheek, his leg – the one she's taken out earlier – didn't seem to want to hold him and he was favouring his left side. That is when he wasn't being held up by two of the men. The third aimed blow after blow at his rib cage, the fourth was picking himself up off the floor.

"Hey" she said incredulously. She pointed at the blond; "mine" she said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You had your chance honey" said the one just getting to his feet. "You want him now; you go through us."

"Works for me" she said happily jogging behind the lorry.

"Oh, hell no!" said one of the two restraining her former opponent dropping his charge and fleeing.

"Gavin, what the hell?" said the one doing the punching. The blond dropped out of the grasp of the other one and hit the floor breathing hard, one arm wrapped around his rib cage.

"Come on then boys" she said cheerily. "Three on one, easy money."

The second restrainer decided he was also going to book it out of there just leaving the one her opponent had clearly gotten the better of and the one who needed someone held down in order to hit him.

There wasn't much room between the lorry and the wall but they tried to flank her anyway. She darted forwards kicking one into the side of the lorry then grabbing the other and throwing him round so he lost balance. He fell over the blond on the floor giving her a chance to kick the first one again then swing an elbow round to connect with his head in a knockout blow. She hadn't realised the first one was up and nearly on her till she heard him cry out. The blond had tackled him round the waist and soon had him in a sleeper hold. He dropped the man as soon as he lost consciousness and made to get to his feet. His leg betrayed him though and Oracle caught him instinctively.

"Thanks" he breathed trying to pull himself upright and not quite covering a wince as his ribs pulled. "Gordon" he said by way of introduction. "Any chance we can have that talk now?"

"Another time, perhaps" Oracle replied eyeing him critically. "You need a doctor at the very least and I have somewhere to be."

"You need to get that money to your friend?" he asked his breathing finally slowing. "For her kid, right?"

It was the wrong thing to say, however. Oracle mentally put the final few parts together in the mental puzzle that had been bugging her all evening. She backed off leaving him to support himself on the wall.

Gordon cursed then called after her.

"Wait! Wait, please wait." Using the wall, he hobbled after her, doing his best to ignore the ribs that were screaming at him. He took a misstep, however and the pain momentarily took his breath. He was surprised then that when he opened his eyes, she was right in front of him again. She ran her hands down his chest then round his sides and down his injured leg in an entirely professionally manor that left him feeling tingly for some reason.

"Your ribs are bruised, not broken" she said. "Try to stand up straight and your breathing will ease."

"Umm, thank you?"

"You're welcome. You got people who can come get you?"

"Yeah, actually, my friend. She wants to speak to you too" he went for his comm only to discover it missing. "Shit" he spun back the way he'd come only vaguely aware that without Oracle he'd be face first on the floor again.

"Looking for this?" she asked holding out the unit for him. At his expression she explained, "I'm a much better pick-pocket than they are muggers. Can I borrow it quickly?"

He wanted to ask what for but he also realised that maybe to get a little trust he needed to give a little. He gently took it from her, unlocked it and handed it back. She dialled a number and a female voice picked up.

"Angelique it's Oracle. I have what you need, can you meet me by the fountain?"

"How have you managed that already?" came the shocked response.

"Don't ask me that" she said in a joking voice. "Do you have Peony's number by any chance?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Call her and get her to meet us there too. I have something that belongs to her." Oracle turned off the comm and would be lying if she said she didn't get a rush from the expression on Gordon's face. "Come on, it's not far then we can get you back to your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend!" he protested though he felt his position was somewhat undermined by the fact that Oracle had to take most of his weight and was basically steering him.

"I'll tell you what she isn't" Oracle replied "and that's a cocktail waitress. No one can look that graceful in that get-up. It's damn unnatural. Besides the amount of eye sex between the two of you this evening begs to differ."

"I don't, we're not, we weren't" he spluttered.

"Eloquently put" she laughed. "People always forget that you're down there looking up at us but we can see you too. Peony bothered me from the minute I saw her. Clearly far to classy for a place like that, and her accent slipped back to Queen's Royal when she wasn't paying attention."

Gordon tried to re-group.

"It's not what you think." But where was he going with that sentence?

"Oh, it's not?" she saved him from a reply. "Look, I get that you and she have money to burn and maybe the whole cocktail waitress role play thing is a turn on. But most of the girls there really need that money. Peony" she emphasised the name showing she clearly believed it to be false "might have taken a job from someone who needs it just so they two of you could find a new way to get your rocks off."

"That's really not it" he protested feebly. Up ahead a park came into view complete with fountain.

"The thing I don't get" she continued on "is that you clearly thought you were hiring me as a hooker. What was the plan there?"

"Erm" Gordon found himself deposited on the stone wall of the fountain. "Okay look this is how it is" he started but a taxi pulled up depositing Angelique and Peony next to them.

"Gordon!" Peony rushed to his side, knelt down in front of him and took his face in her hands, turning it to get a better look at his injuries.

"Oh yeah" Oracle said dryly. "Definitely not a thing between you two." She turned to Angelique pulled the money from her shoe and handed it over. "You remember our deal, yeah? One week or you owe it back." The other woman nodded mutely. "Good. There's an extra fifty there as well, see if they'll do you some sort of deal or put it towards food, I don't care, just look after your son, yeah." Oracle squeezed the other woman's shoulder and searched her eyes. Seemingly satisfied she turned to leave.

"Wait" Gordon called again. "I really do need to talk to you."

"I told you" Oracle replied. "What you need is a doctor." She turned to Peony. "He has a hairline fracture to his patella, and bruising to his fourth, fifth and sixth ribs on the left-hand side. Everything else is superficial. Lots of ice and a bit of pain relief and you can both go find some other way to get your kicks."

Peony looked confused but before she could say anything Gordon put his hand over hers and she quieted.

"Please" he started.

"I think I've done enough for one evening" Oracle replied. Turning away she bit her lip as an idea occurred to her. It was one hell of a leap but if she was right…

"Next time you want to talk to me send your brother." At his baffled look he explained "the cute one, with the dark hair. He can get me a drink anytime." She took in the stunned look on both Gordon and Peony's faces and turned back towards the park. She was right, she'd thought earlier on in the evening that the blond looked familiar, though she certainly didn't follow sports in any way, never mind gossip columns. But there was something in the shape of his face that nagged at her. But it was the comm that gave it away. The same model and colouring as the man with the kind eyes who had tried to save her from being mugged. Then there was the number she'd found stored in the device: Antin Oriental - Secure. She found herself asking the one question she'd never ever thought she'd have to ask herself.

What on earth were billionaires doing following her and how were they mixed up with International Rescue?

Three days later Nick found Oracle early in the morning. He'd clearly been looking for her and he took her for breakfast which she accepted readily. She didn't say a word to him as she indulged in a full English breakfast and orange juice. Eventually he opened up to her.

"You were right" he said.

"About?"

"You're going to be more useful than me to them."

"Why?"

"They need bait. Someone who can act all helpless but defend themselves when necessary."

"This sounds like a kidnapping, Nick. I'm not doing that" she replied pushing her plate away. The thought left a sour taste in her mouth.

"It is" he agreed. "But it's a big fish they're after and it's not the pilot who's the prize."

"Pilot?" she asked not understanding.

"You gotta understand. If I tell you this, you have to come to the meeting later this evening."

He's desperate she realised. So, he's already told whoever they are that I'm in. Shit.

"You said something about six figures?" she hedged.

"Yes!" he nodded enthusiastically. "They're good for it too, if the job comes off."

"Okay" she drew out the word. "What's the job."

"They're gonna steal Thunderbird Two."