A/N: We were introduced to some new players and get ready for more.

Loving the reviews so far; hope that the pace is keeping everyone engaged.

Carlos Delgado had finished his shave following his late shower. He knew he had a busy morning ahead so the most he could get out of the way today the better.

He rubbed his smooth chin as he looked at his reflection, marveling at how different he looked. Carlos had been maintaining that beard for 10 months straight. Now he wondered if anyone would recognize him.

(Is that really such a bad thing?)

As long as the most important person knew who he was; that was all Carlos needed.

Paranoid since he checked in several hours ago, Carlos regularly glanced through his peephole in anticipation of an assassin. Given his family tree, traveling abroad always posed a risk. But he couldn't help it.

He had to see her.

Carlos buttoned his mint collared shirt and did yet another check outside of his door.

Nothing.

He then checked on his piece, locked and loaded, in easy reach in case of trouble.

Esperanza stalked the hallway of floor 19. His much paler companion was a few steps behind as his cover.

O'Reilly knew the man before him was a legend; someone only spoke of in whispers because nobody knew if he was lurking in the shadows. Renato had his rogues gallery of hitmen and assorted goons.

But "El Fantasma" (as he was nicknamed) was only unleashed for special cases.

The auburn bearded fellow was so in awe of this literal angel of death he dare not to refer to him as his popular moniker. He didn't even call him Ramon. O'Reilly only called him Esperanza; keep it totally professional.

He did NOT want to stumble his way onto his bad side.

"There it is," O'Reilly said, pointing at the room door.

It read 1936 in a fancy black font on the gold plate.

Esperanza stood stoic on the side of the handle. He wanted to be the first seen and the first one in.

O'Reilly knocked lightly on the door.

"Excuse me, sir. This is the front desk. We are having an issue with your accommodations."

They looked at each other when no response came.

"Now what?"

"Not to worry," whispered O'Reilly.

He then took out a white key card.

"Had a buddy of mine whip this up; a real tech weenie. This can open any door in the hotel."

Esperanza nodded. That could come in handy if they need to make a hasty escape and they could access a service elevator or some other restricted area.

O'Reilly stuck in the card and the little light turned green. He took in a deep breath as Esperanza quietly pushed down on the handle. In a flash they entered as quickly as the door slammed behind them. They were fast.

Jade ran up the stairwell leading to the guest rooms.

She looked at the legend and saw she was on the sixth floor. A little out of breath, she rested on the top step for a second.

Checking her phone, it still was not getting a strong signal to make a call. And that text from before still hasn't been delivered.

Ten minutes ago, she dared to peek outside of the bathroom. Seeing the stranger nowhere around, she chanced the stairs.

Maybe she would have a batter chance to get a signal if she got higher up away from the giant crowd below. Besides, she felt like a sitting duck in that bathroom.

When Jade was nervous or anxious, the last thing she could do was sit still. She had to do something or at least keep moving. Sometimes a long walk would help settle her nerves.

Especially a walk with Tori.

Jade missed her so much and no indication of if she made it or not is driving her crazy.

The lack of information allowed Jade's mind to wander. What if that goatee motherfucker really was a looney toon? What if he started some shit and Tori and Jordan had to squash an active shooter?

(No, West. Don't! You can't prove something is wrong and even so, they can handle themselves.)

Tori's arms around her...

She had never known a safer place on this screwed up planet.

The sudden bang of a door floors before made her jump.

Jade glanced over the metal railing and saw two darkly-dressed men talking. She couldn't hear a thing but they seemed...coordinated. Like this wasn't a friendly chat.

The brunette held her breath once more, trying not to make a sound in this echoey shaft. She crawled as slowly as possible to not make a single sound.

She swallowed at the sight of the door. She reached up just enough to barely touch the handle and pulled it.

Jade closed her eyes, expecting a loud creak but fortunately the hinges didn't give her away.

She then pushed through the door while on her elbows and knees.

She wasn't showing yet and it was probably irrational but Jade had been very protective of her midsection from day one. Soon it would be someone's home for a few months.

As the door shut, Jade let out her breath and got to her feet.

The corridor was an endless row of identical doors on both sides.

Jade started to wander forward, still trying with her phone.

Frantic, Tori tried calling Jade but it dropped again. Then she tried again and it connected for a second before dropping.

She then attempted Jordan but that too wasn't working.

(This is a fucking nightmare! Please tell me I'm about to wake up and Jade will be next to me. And the last two months never happened!)

Tori ran back into the lounge and collected Jade's luggage and took off.

She was going to find her.

She must.

Jordan intercepted her in the lobby, looking like she ran.

"Where's Jade?"

"I don't know..." huffed Tori. "I found her bags in there but she's gone. Not in the bathroom, nothing!"

The redhead saw the frenzied look in her eyes and grabbed her shoulders.

"Calm down, Tori. CALM."

Tori struggled to wrestle her breathing back to normal. Her heart was still pounding like a jackhammer.

"I know you don't want to hear this but we might have to file a missing persons report."

"What? No she can't..."

"LISTEN TO ME! Time is important and if we haven't found her yet, then she's only getting further away. The two of us can cover so much but look around...if she's here there's a million places she could be hiding."

"Hiding?"

Jordan swallowed.

"Let's just stay positive and hope she's still okay. We need some answers."

"I'll talk to the front desk," said Tori practically brushing past Jordan.

The tall woman ran her fingers through her own hair.

"Jade, please be alright. I don't think she's gonna be able to go on if we can't find you."