A/N: Hope everyone had a good time this holiday season. I know its been extra cold in much of the country (So Cal went down to 49 degrees!) oh yeah, come over to Wisconsin and whine about the frigid air.

Fortunately, things are only going to continue heating up here. Got some backstory with Carlos and just when we thought this ragtag group of killers were disjointed already; Burke turns out to be a real wild card.

Wise words that I heard from elsewhere a long time ago: JUDGE SLOWLY.

Don't write off a character until they do something.

"Jordan?"

"Uh-huh?"

Tori started to pant heavily.

"I'm...not...feeling so...gg-good..."

(Ah, shit. I was worried about this.)

The redhead held her partner's hands tightly.

"Tori, look at me!"

They locked eyes once again.

"Do exactly as I do..."

The stern whispers slowed down Tori's erratic brain. She needed to control her breathing and self soothe or she was going to hyperventilate and run out of air here.

Everything came back here; that helpless feeling of being anonymous and abandoned, terrified that nobody was ever going to come and save her.

But she wasn't alone. Not this time.

"Breathe in, slowly..."

Tori mimicked her.

"Now out."

The tan woman followed suit.

The half Latina never appreciated her partner more than at times like these when she felt there was nothing else for her to give. When she was running empty emotionally or physically. Even Jade had told her from time to time that she was happy Tori had her. She could rest easy knowing the crazy amazon was close by to cover her wife's ass.

Jordan jokingly told Jade that she promises to bring that ass back home to its owner every night.

Jade blushed and punched her adopted sister in the arm. They really grew close ever since those nightmarish days in the desert not knowing where their spouses were. Nathan, who was an only child, now had more sisters than he could handle. Tori and Jade likewise saw him as a brother and the group had fun as if they were siblings all their lives.

Tori was hoping for a Christmas where they would all meet and nothing crazy would happen. Everybody's been busy and then you had the whole falling out with her and Jade.

Then this all happened.

The possibility of a pleasant, fun-filled holiday get-together is becoming less and less likely.

After a few minutes of calculated back and forth beathing in and out, Tori felt her heart beating at a more natural rhythm.

"Th-thanks," Tori sighed.

"I got you," Jordan smiled. "Just hold it together. Your damsel is in distress and we can't drop the ball."

Tori nodded seriously.

"How much further do you think?"

Jordan looked beyond Tori's form and squinted.

"Maybe a few more yards worth of duct work and we should be past the ground floor."

"What are we waiting for?"

"Yes, yes...well the problem I have is...uh-huh, right."

The FBI agents were looking at Talmadge with impatience.

"What kind of ETA can you give me?" he asked into his police radio.

The deputy chief stood there listening to the other line.

"Got it, thanks."

He hung up and turned toward the feds.

"Alright, Agent Spencer. Just got off the phone with the electric company. They said that the fire doors are rigged so that even during a power failure, nothing could disable them. However since the fire alarm wasn't triggered, they believe that the kill switch can be accessed."

"So they're cutting power to the whole building or just one particular section?" asked Agent Tracy.

Spencer gave his partner a disapproving look.

"With a building of this size, there is actually two electrical grids situated beneath our feet. They think grid number 120 will disable the doors and then we can finally make our way inside and the innocent people have a way out."

"And what of the perpetrators?" queried Agent Spencer. "I sincerely doubt that they are just going to stand there like porcelain deer while we do our thing."

Agent Tracy added, "They might panic and start executing hostages."

Spencer was about to say something else when his own phone rang.

"Excuse me, gentlemen."

He then retreated from the main vantage point and huddled behind a SWAT van where nobody else was within earshot.

"What do you want?"

"How is it going on your end?"

Spencer looked around while trying to find the right words to report factually to Renato and at the same time make him appear to still be competent.

"We've basically got all of LAPD outside the building..."

"Thanks, little man. I already knew that."

His smarmy demeanor was concerning. When someone as powerful and ruthless as he cracks wise, its often followed by a really terrible event.

"Who is in charge out there?"

"Some self-important deputy chief. He's nobody."

"Is he going to be a problem?"

"Not yet," he huffed. "But I can overrule him if need be."

"Good. I'm glad to have called you."

Agent Spencer looked back at the enormous building, trying not to make eye contact with Talmadge or the stooge the Bureau partnered him up with.

"I take it your men are inside?"

"They most certainly are."

"Now tell me; are your men in trouble or ARE they the trouble?"

There was a long pause, made more uncomfortable with a chuckle on the other end.

"I suppose it can go either way. Check your text messages. I am sending you photos of all six of them..."

"SIX?"

"Yes," he sighs, annoyed. "Six. And every one of them needs to be out of there. Alive. No exceptions."

"That's a tall order, Renato" he said.

"Okay, let me make this clear. My men took great personal risk to carry out this job for which they were not compensated up front. They are to be delivered out of the building unharmed."

"But..."

"Figure it out, Agent! Or things will get ugly! I'm not going to kill you. No, you're a man who values your image. I don't believe your superiors will love your affiliation with my enterprise. Forging documents, getting certain departments to look the other way, I documented ALL OF IT. Fail to facilitate their escape and I will air your dirty laundry. There won't be a federal prison cell dark enough for them to throw you in. Maybe after your treachery is put on display, after everyone knows you disgraced your country; maybe then they'll execute you."

The line went dead and Agent Spencer felt lightheaded.

Renato wasn't fucking around here.

CRASH!

The clanging of the metal echoed through the room.

Tori cringed, thinking it alerted somebody. But nobody showed after ten seconds of anticipation.

"Now."

The brunette shimmied herself down until she could stick out her feet and soon legs. She lowered her torso through the hole, holding on. She dangled about five feet from the floor so she braced herself for the inevitable impact.

"OOOF!"

Her knees bent to brace the impact and she quickly stood up. Tori noticed the dust on her right away and began patting her clothes, creating a brownish cloud.

Jordan landed right behind her, albeit a slightly shorter drop for her.

"Oh god!" exclaimed the redhead when she also noticed how dirty they both were. "I feel like fucking PigPen from Charlie Brown."

Tori coughed.

"I'm gonna need a long hot shower when this is all over."

"Same," sighed Jordan. "If I knew I was going to be wiggling my ass through tunnels like a Nintendo game I wouldn't have worn my favorite shirt."

Her partner chortled.

Hurried footsteps made them stop cold. They stared at the door, waiting for the source of the tune to be coming through. Jordan drew her piece from her hip and Tori had her spare at the ready as well.

The sound grew louder and louder.

Tori couldn't handle the suspense.

The quick turning of a doorknob from behind them caught them by surprise. Had they an extra second or two to survey the strange room they might have noticed the other door.

Jordan made a yelp and pointed her gun squarely at the strange man.

"DON'T SHOOT! DON'T SHOOT!"

He threw up his hands and got to his knees.

"Are you with them?"

"LAPD!" called out Tori, walking closer.

"Okay," he said as he closed his eyes in relief. "So you're NOT one of them."

"Who's them?" asked Jordan.

Tori grabbed his collar.

"A have a better question who are YOU?"

"Car-Carlos! Carlos Delgado!"

His panic was so intense and he was overcome with physical exhaustion that he had completely abandoned the assumed name. It figures that he would run into the only people outside Mexico who would probably know who he is: the cops.

"Okay, Carlos" started Tori. "What are you doing here?"

"Isn't this a hotel..."

"Don't be cute!" bit Jordan. "Don't act like you don't know what's been going on here!"

Tori could see that he was out of breath. He had to be running from something.

"Alright, then what DO you know?" asked Tori. "Why were you running?"

"There...There..."

CLICK

"COME ON!" demanded Tori.

"There are men sent to my room. They were trying to kill me."

"What are you, bulletproof?"

Jordan's off-hand remark notwithstanding, the man's expression didn't change. Tori kneeled down, still gripping her piece tightly. Jordan stood above him, barrel practically touching the man's temple.

"No sudden movements, Carlos"

He listened to the officer as she took a closer look at him. Her father taught her that a classic way to catch a liar was the eyes. They could control certain ticks and speech patterns to fool people but the eyes normally gave it away. That's why a lot of people who fabricate the truth won't make eye contact.

"Your real name is Carlos?" Tori asked.

"Si, Yes" he replied.

"There were men after you?"

"Yes."

"Do you know about a threat to the building or anything about this hotel?"

He shook his head slightly since it was in smelling distance of a loaded pistol.

"No."

Tori studied his eyes as he answered her questions. They were kind brown eyes. Like her father's.

"Okay," she nodded and stood up. "Let's see some ID."

Carlos dug into his front pocket very slowly, very straightforward to not startle the armed ladies. Having obtained his wallet, he handed it gently over to Tori.

She opened it and checked it out. Jordan remained fixed on the man, daring him mentally to give her an excuse to pull the trigger. She was having a challenge of a day and could use a stress relief right now.

"So you're from...Michigan?"

Tori rubbed her teeth with her tongue as she examined the card.

"How about those Bears?"

"I know...the home...squadron. Always watching..."

The half Latina rolled her eyes.

"Okay, cut the shit, Carlos. You're no more a Midwesterner than I'm from Scandinavia."

She handed the ID to Jordan who grabbed it with her free hand and took a glance.

"Holy shit! This is one of the worst fake ID's I've ever seen. Makes the one I had in high school look legit."

Jordan then threw it on the ground.

"Did you pay for this? Can you get the money back?"

"Carlos, why were these men trying to kill you?" asked Tori. "And if I were you I'd tell the truth."

"Are we ready?"

One of the cops, a stocky dark-haired fellow named Morrow ran up to Talmadge with a radio in hand.

"Sir, the mayor's office is urging you to hold off shutting down the power. They said that the area affected is actually larger than we anticipated. It wouldn't just be the hotel complex. Neighboring businesses going all the way to Ferdinand would be blacked out. Apparently the infrastructure to power the hotel was greater than planned so it had to usurp existing grids. Its like the beating heart for this part of town...his words...sir!"

"Goddamn," huffed Talmadge, shaking his head. "What do they want from us!"

"What's going on?" asked Agent Spencer.

"The city is getting cold feet, that's what!" Talmadge replied. "They won't give the power company permission to shut down the grids we need to override the security system."

The man in black glared at the building, looking more and more like the white whale in Moby Dick.

"Let me see that radio, deputy chief!"

Talmadge looked at the demanding fed as if he were crazy.

"What?"

"Did I stutter, Talmadge? Let me talk to the mayor; I'll get them to listen."

"I appreciate the thought," said Talmadge, getting closer to him. "But this is my show. Don't step on my toes."

Agent Spencer was through with being patient. He snatched the bullhorn from Talmadge.

"I've had enough! I have authority to take charge of this scene. You can consider yourself dismissed!"

"LIKE HELL!"

The rookie, Dillon, got between his superior and the agent.

"Sir, don't!"

Talmadge looked down at his arm which was being held by the rookie and walked away in disgust. Dillon followed the deputy chief.

"I'm sorry sir...I..."

"SON!" he caught himself and took a deep breath. "No, I'm sorry I got angry. You did the right thing. But this guy is working my last nerve."

Dillon looked back at the fed who was talking to his partner, who started dialing furiously into his phone.

"Something about him I don't trust about sir."

Talmadge put his hand on the rookie's shoulder.

"That's one thing we can agree on, officer. Let him be in charge! But I'm not letting that son of a bitch out of my sight!"