Chapter Sixteen: Inside

Samar raced through the server stacks, Dumont guiding her in her ear. Left, right, straight through. It wasn't without opposition and Tom was always close enough behind her to have her back if anyone jumped out. She slipped around a server stack, pressing her back to it and ejecting the empty clip from her gun to replace it. "Tom?" she called.

"We're good," she heard from around the corner.

"Okay, you're gonna take your next right and you'll see a control panel," Dumont's voice rang through the comm and Samar drew a deep breath in.

"Got it," she murmured and took off again. She felt a bullet clip her shoulder and she spun to fire, but the operative was already on his way down, Tom just a few steps behind her with his gun gripped in his left hand. Their eyes met briefly.

"Samar? Are you okay?" Aram asked in her ear, his voice bordering on terrified.

She pressed her finger against the comm. "Yeah, I'm alright. Almost to the console. Are you ready?'

He loosed an audible breath on the other end. "Yeah."

Samar made it to the console without any other calls quite so close, even if a couple more shots sounded off behind her. She didn't have time to check and make sure Tom was holding his own, though. If they didn't get the signal boosted neither of them were getting out alive anyway and this whole mission would be stopped before it really began.

"Alright. I'm here."

"You have the drive?"

She fished it out of her jacket pocket. "Yes."

"Okay, there should be a USB port. Find it. Insert it."

"That's it?"

"Aram and I did the hard part so you wouldn't have to," Dumont chuckled.

"Yeah, you wanna switch places and see which is harder?" Tom asked, suddenly at Samar's back and she felt a little relief flush through her as she glanced back to see he was as whole as he had come in. He offered her a small nod. "Let's get this signal up before they send in the heavy hitters. They're gonna know we're here."

Samar nodded and inserted the drive into the port. The console jumped to life, data flashing across the screen and she took a small step back. "It's in."

"So are we," Howard's voice filtered through for the first time in a while.

"Got the whole layout, getting access to the cameras and the security systems," Dumont acknowledged.

Tom came to stand with her, or rather lean carefully against the controls. She shot him a look, but he waved her off. He was functional, even if not necessarily good. "You okay?" he asked softly so that the comm wouldn't pick it up.

Samar reached up to her shoulder, wincing at the gash left by the bullet. "I'm fine."

"Alright, we've got everything in place," Howard said, pulling both of their attentions back to the comm pieces in their ears. "You'll have backup on their way."

Tom glanced at her as he spoke. "Sounds good. Samar and I are heading inwards towards the offices. That's where Geffroy and Tallert will be holding Gina. If you're in the security systems you should be able to get eyes ahead of us so we don't run into too many surprises."

"No problem, Tom-Tom, I'll -"

"I will," Aram cut Dumont off. "I've got this. I'll make sure they're safe."

Samar wasn't sure what kind of feedback he was getting from the two Halcyon men on the other end of the line, but whatever he felt like he was having to fight against, it didn't last long.

"Be safe, son," Howard said firmly. "You've got a little girl here waiting for you and Liz to come home."

Tom's smile was soft. "Give her a kiss for me, Dad." There was a sound of acknowledgement from the other end and Tom looked to Samar for a quick confirmation. "Alright, Aram. Ready when you are."

Liz followed the sound the gunshot through the woods, all the urgency she felt for every uncertain piece of this case pushing her feet faster. She gripped her own weapon in hand as she drew closer, hearing the sounds of a scuffle just ahead.

Ressler fought with a young woman dressed in black, and if her fighting style was anything to go by, she was with St Regis. "Hey!" Liz shouted, leveling her gun, and when the girl looked over she saw the same kid she had let go when they rescued Tom.

The girl stopped, frustration clear, and Ressler dragged her arms behind her back behind her and cuffed her there. The look she turned him was vicious.

"There was another one," Ressler said as he motioned and Liz saw the fallen operative. It had been Ressler's gun that went off.

The vacant look in the young operative's eyes gave Liz their answer even as she knelt down to check for a pulse. She shook her head.

"You let me go before," the girl said and Liz looked over. "You know they'll just send me back."

"Back where?" Ressler asked, but the girl wasn't talking to him. Liz knew exactly what she meant, and it was so much of the reason Tom had bent over backwards to make sure they had a safetynet for the kids still in St Regis. She was scared. It was hidden behind layers of self-preservation and determination. And anger. And bitterness. Not for the first time Liz wondered if she would even recognize her husband if she had a way to see back to his years in this place. By the time she had found out who he was there were still traces of what she was seeing here, but he had already wanted and hoped for more. This girl didn't have the experience to know that was even possible.

"That's not going to happen," Liz promised. She caught the girl's gaze. "We won't let it."

"You're a fed, even if you married him. You're still going to shut our school down. Tell yourself what you want, but that puts us all in just as bad or worse places than before."

Liz pulled in a breath, searching for the right words to argue the point and convince the girl. Behind her a twig snapped and she and Ressler both had their guns aimed at the noise.

Nez Rowan raised her hands, palms outward. "Just wanted to make sure you two didn't get yourselves killed."

Liz loosed the breath again, relief sweeping through her. "Yeah, we're good here."

"You won't be," the girl warned and Liz squeezed her eyes shut for half a beat before turning on her, locking a dangerous look on the young operative.

"Gina Zanetakos brought you in, didn't she?" She waited for the surprised, small nod of affirmation. "So she pulled you out of whatever hell you were in, and you're just going to leave her to the wolves, huh?"

"And what are you people going to do to help her?"

"If Tom gets his way, save her life," Nez said from behind Liz.

"This is happening if you fight us on it or not," Liz said, her voice a little quieter now, but still firm. She watched a little of the anger fade from the girl's eyes as she looked at the women in front of her and Liz took a careful step forward.

"So what happens to me now?"

"We have people that will take you in," Nez answered her.

Ressler relinquished the girl and Liz started to move with them to give Nez some back up, but the comm buzzed in her ear, her father-in-law's voice echoing over it. "Tom and Samar made it in. Is everyone ready?"

"Going in now," Katarina acknowledged over the line.

"Go," Nez said. "Solomon and I will be just a couple minutes behind."

Liz looked to Ressler who shot her a look. "Unless you want your mother and Tom's to be their only backup," he pointed out.

She sighed, reaching to her comm. "On our way, Howard."

Scottie had felt the relief sweep through her at the word that Tom had made it in and was alright. For now, she reminded herself. If the rest of them didn't pull through, it wouldn't matter. She reached up to the comm in her ear as she and Katarina neared their entrance. "Howard, where is Tom now? Kat and I will meet him there."

"He's on his way to the offices. He thinks that's where they'll be."

"We'll meet him there," Katarina answered before Scottie could. "Howard, I'm calling a favour with you."

"I wasn't aware I was in your debt, Katarina," Howard answered tightly.

The redheaded woman's lips tilted at the corners. "Get Masha through safely."

"Dumont is more than capable of -"

"I'll keep your wife safe. You keep my daughter safe."

Scottie risked a look at her old friend. She was up to something, she just wasn't sure what yet. A moment of indecision passed, then another, and the longer this went on the more danger everyone was in. "We're alright, Howard. Katarina and I have always done well together, and if anything happens to Elizabeth…"

"I know," her husband's soft acknowledgement came through. "Nez and Solomon were delayed. If you need any help, Dumont is free."

The connection ended and Scottie turned to Katarina. "What was that about?"

"Do you trust me?"

"No."

Katarina flashed her a grin at that. "Do you trust me to protect my family?"

"Our family," Scottie corrected.

"Our family," she agreed.

Scottie loosed a breath. "What do you have planned?"

"We need to find Michel Geffroy before that slippery bastard gets away." Katarina didn't offer any more than that as she started down the hall.

Justin Masterson had been a decent operative, but he had always been better in his own mind than he was in the field. It left him with the kind of ego to support the bluff that talked him out of a lot of situations that would have otherwise gotten him killed, but Gina knew him. There was no talking, no bluffing, nothing. There was only every inch of what had happened over the last few months coming down on him and him alone as she made sure that there would be no arrogant remarks through broken teeth or a chance of escape as she slammed her boot down against his knee, hearing a satisfying pop that left him howling.

He thought he was good, but she knew she was better.

Gina stood over the injured man that had once been her colleague and a weak chuckle escaped him. "All this for Phelps?" he asked, catching her eye.

"Is that what you think?" she asked, amusement lining her own voice as she squatted down. "This is for me."

He swung up, nearly catching her and Gina lost her balance as she dodged, landing hard on the floor. She could feel Tallert watching the skirmige from the other side of the room. The longer this went on, the more worn out she would be, and if he decided that he wanted a go at her she'd be fighting at a bigger disadvantage than she would have earlier. It was time to put her anger aside and finish this. Maybe, just maybe, she would have a chance of convincing Tallert that he was on the losing side.

Gina popped to her feet even as Masterson came at her. He caught her slamming her back and hard into the desk, his hands going for her throat. She reached blindly over, her fingers latching onto a heavy bookend, and she didn't give him the chance to get a good enough hold to do any damage as she kicked a knee hard into his middle, knocking him back just enough to slam the bookend into his head as hard as she could. He reeled back and she took another swing, taking fully to the ground.

She straightened, pushing blonde curls out of her face. "Told you I'd kill you too," she managed through deep breaths.

"Gina."

She turned, readying herself for whatever would come from Tallert.

She hadn't expected the gun. The man hated firearms.

That was the lingering thought as the gun went off and she met his eyes for one long moment that felt like it had been paused as the rest of time marched forward. His expression didn't change as Gina fell to the floor of the office.

There weren't nearly as many operatives as she had expected, but St Regis had always relied heavily on secrecy and loyalty to protect their home base. It had worked for a long time. Katarina wasn't entirely sure when everything had been knocked so far off kilter, but she had a suspicion that it started when a young operative that had called himself Jacob Phelps had chosen to break away for his mark. Their top operative had left, and McCready half haphazardly gone after him and met his own end because of it. Jacob Phelps' choice had snowballed to where they found themselves that day, and to where Katarina knew it had to end.

Michel Geffroy was heading their direction as Katarina and Scottie rounded into the hall. Both women moved on instinct, flattening themselves against either side of the hall entrance to wait.

Geffroy passed through and they moved, Scottie pulling the gun from his hand as Katarina leveled her own in his face. He met her eyes, the steely expression proving he knew who she was and why she had sought him out. "You've lost," she warned him.

"It was a gamble, though one that would have paid off. For what it's worth, we would have waited."

"For your own benefit," Katarina growled, and until that moment she hadn't let herself admit just how angry she was. She was going to enjoy this.

"Kat," Scottie called, pulling the other woman from what had turned into a private conversation.

Katarina's lips tilted upward. "I don't think you've met your wayward student's mother. Would you like to tell her what you had planned for our shared granddaughter or should I?"

That's all it really took, and Katarina had known it. Scottie's expression darkened before hardening and she took a step closer, proving herself at least an inch or two taller than Geffroy in her boots.

The man snorted. "What's there to say? Phelps was the best McCready brought in, despite what happened. He made more money for our organization than any three of his peers put together. Then the man had a child with Katarina Rostova's daughter… She would have blown her father's record away in her first year out."

"You went after my granddaughter to turn her into what you couldn't get from my son?" Scottie asked dangerously.

Geffroy shrugged. "Rumour has it there was a day you would have done anything for your organization, Ms Hargrave."

"Do you see?" Katarina asked, pressing her gun to Geffroy's temple. To his credit, he didn't flinch.

Scottie reached over, her palm pushing the weapon away. Katarina's questioned died on her lips as dark brown eyes drilled into the man whose fate had already been sealed. "I want you to know how badly you failed. Not only did you lose Agnes and her father, but you've lost this organization and all the students here. Your operatives will scatter, most into oblivion, just like you."

Geffroy opened his mouth to respond, but the words didn't make it from his throat as Scottie stepped back, leveled her gun, and put three bullets into his chest.

The two former operatives stood over their granddaughter's would-be kidnapper, a sense of triumph between them as he slipped down the wall. He looked up and Katarina tilted her chin up as she watched the life fade.

They had made it into the office buildings with less opposition than they faced in the server room. Aram had said something about Dumont locking down certain sections of the campus. So that if there were operatives or students in the building they wouldn't get out. It opened more pathways than they may have had otherwise and Tom had to remind himself that the end might be in sight, but they weren't there yet.

"Agent Ressler and Agent Keen are just ahead," Aram said over the comm. "Mr Hargrave is trying to get them into the inner offices."

"He doesn't need to. I got it," Tom answered and Samar shot him a questioning look as they rounded the corner and found Liz and Ressler on the other end.

Liz turned as they approached and Tom felt a smile tug into place as his pace quickened. She met him halfway and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. He heard the soft laugh as her fingernails scratched against the rough material of the protective vest he wore. Every injury ached at the movement, but it didn't matter. She was there and she was safe. He pressed a kiss to the side of her head before releasing her.

"Any word from the others?" Samar asked as Tom moved past Ressler towards the door. He ignored the look he received as he keyed in a code that Bud should have wiped out ages ago. If he hadn't taken him off of the protocol for accessing the school's files, the likelihood was he hadn't taken him off of this either. Tom still wasn't sure what to make of it yet. Death hadn't made his relationship with his mentor any less complicated.

"Nez and Solomon were behind in getting inside. We ran into some trouble Nez needed to handle," Liz answered. "We haven't heard from my mother or Scottie yet."

The door buzzed open and Tom felt Ressler's gaze on him. "Someday you're going to have to tell me how two people that tried to kill you for leaving left you with full access to their compound."

Tom snorted, the sound amuses, but he didn't get the chance to respond. A gunshot sounded from the other end of the hall, grabbing all four people's attention, and he felt a sense of dread settle in as they took off towards it.

TBC

Notes: I have officially finished the writing on this story. All that's left is to edit down and post the last chapter before next week. It hasn't been an easy story to write, but I'm very happy with the end product.

This chapter and the one before it wwere especially fun to write with the different characters working together and the different combinations there. Until canon proves me wrong I will continue to be convinced that Scottie and Katarina would be a killer duo. Literally.

Next Time: Tom and the others race to Gina's aid as St Regis comes to a close and loose ends are tied up.