Happy first Holiday Weekend to you... let's see where this one goes. Enjoy.


Minutes later, the whole team is gathered in the situation room and listening to Rocker report what happened overnight with their side of the observation.

"Seems like someone tipped off the cartel that Chris is not a simple party girl. They are searching high and low already," he explains, and Chris can't help but groan. She also immediately feels the worried glances of her teammates but one in particular. She lifts her eyes to glare at Street.

"Okay, Chris, Deac, you grab Rodrigo and head for the DEA safe house in the mountains. Take the Rover from Deac's firm. Thanks for that," Hicks orders, and Chris immediately hurries off to change out of her uniform.

While Chris gets ready and prepped with Deac, the rest of the team has a slow day, basically. Tan grabs Street for a workout, and that's how Chris sees them when she walks out. She falters in her step for a moment remembering how Tan had seemingly intercepted Street before shift too. Something wasn't sitting right with her there, but she couldn't dwell on that now. She had to be focused on work.

Street is reaching for the free weights and getting ready when Tan casually asks, "So, how come you had breakfast for Chris ready when she only called Luca after you left?"

For a moment, Street freezes but then shrugs for effect and quips, "You know her. She sent me a text last night. Probably called to make sure I didn't forget,"

After that, he focuses on his workout and misses the curious glance and shake of the head his friend does. Tan figures if there is more to this weirdness he thinks he has seen for a while now, Street will spill one of these days because a night like last night… that he couldn't watch anymore.

Outside, Chris climbs into the Rover and plops her sunglasses on her nose. She is looking over the route and estimates the driving time to be about 3 hours. About 2 of those are on gravel roads.

When the car doors click open, she turns to greet Rodrigo and make sure everything is in order.

"Gun in the glove compartment," Deac instructs her and secures his own weapon in a hideout near the steering wheel. "We don't want to draw too much attention," he finishes and then places his own sunglasses on his nose before starting the truck.

The drive-through midday LA traffic is slow and quiet. After a while, Chris fiddle with the radio so that at least some sound will fill the car until they will undoubtedly lose the connection in the mountains for a bit. She focuses on the vehicles around them. Is one turning with them? Are there cars suspiciously often in the mirrors? But to her relief, she spots nothing, and they make it out of the city.

The radio stops working when Deac turns onto the first gravel road stretch, and Chris instinctively reaches for her phone. "No signal at all," she states with a questioning tone to Deac, who simply nods.

"Yeah, it's pretty spotty out here. We have a sat phone in the back, and there should be a landline in the safehouse." Deac replies, and that doesn't really calm Chris' nerves back down.

Back at HQ, Hondo has them rerunning intel. Sifting through every surveillance photo, they took that night. Trying to figure out which people are normal partygoers and which ones are actual targets. But to Tan and Street's frustration, they can't discern one from the other.

Street isn't entirely focused, and Tan has noticed that. He is debating to say something, but he isn't too sure what the answer will be, and if there is one thing he learned on this job, it's never to ask a question you can't be sure of the answer. Or how you'll deal with the answer.

So, for now, he is leaving it.

Well, at least until his buddy is driving him nuts by glancing at his watch every five minutes.

"Street, do you have somewhere else to be?" both their heads shoot up when Hondo walks in.

"Nope," he is quick to reply. "But shouldn't we've heard from Deac and Chris by now?"

Hondo glances at his watch and then types something on the keyboard closest to him.

"According to GPS, they made good time but are a little behind schedule. The signal is spotty on those backroads. From the last recorded position, they still have about an hour and a half to drive. Focus on your tasks." Hondo tells them and then heads out again.

Tan really grapples with what to do now. He takes a deep breath and squashes what he wants to say down. Now is not the time.

Up in the mountains, Deacon and Chris, as well as their passenger, enjoy the scenery a little when, out of the blue, two unmarked SUVs show up behind them.

"Deac, we have company," Chris spots them first and reaches for her phone. "Still no signal!"

"Probably not for another mile or two," Deac replies and accelerates slowly.

"Let's see if they just are some adventures or if they keep up," he states while Chris motions for Rodrigo to get strapped in.

"This is going to get a little bumpy,"

The two cars keep up with them, and the one directly behind them has touched the rear bumper twice by now. Chris is almost frantically trying to get to the back, and the sat phone Deac stashed there.

"Almost there," she tries to grab the handle when another bump to the car sends the sat phone hurdling farther back.

"Get back here; it's no use," Deac instructs her. He just hopes that the team will realize it if they miss their check-in window and figure out where they are.

Somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

Tan had tried his best to distract Street. He had realized quickly that every possibility his friend was checking his watch, and therefore he had decided he needed a training partner. With a little lighthearted competition, he hoped his friend would be distracted.

But deep inside, even Tan knew that with every minute that ticked by without contact, that the possibility of something being wrong grew. Hondo and Luca had it handled, and until they knew for sure something was wrong or enough time had passed… they wouldn't be allowed to do anything anyway.

After a few rounds, though, Street loses focus again. His eyes ever so often drift to the situation room, and when Victor nearly strikes his temple, he calls for a water break.