A/N: I am so pumped for the next slew of chapters. Honestly cannot wait for the ending; not just because I want to see your reactions but I've also been beginning to make notes for my next project. This will be a radical departure for me in terms of format. How? Not revealing it here but (fingers crossed) I get GLASS FORTRESS completed in a few weeks so I can kick off the new one in time for Valentine's Day.

Later, Taters!

Esperanza had ignored his phone for some time.

This was doing nothing to calm his patience; having not located Carlos Delgado yet.

He was obsessed.

The last thing he wanted to do was stop and talk on the phone. But when he saw the last missed call being from Renato, he relented and answered it.

"What do you want?"

"Have you found him yet?"

"No."

"How did you manage to lose this man? I mean my brother wasn't exactly specially trained."

The professional was burning red from anger and embarrassment. He had wanted to keep this whole debacle under wraps but the cat's out of the bag. Esperanza hated the idea of someone hiring him for a job and then reporting back with his tail tucked between his legs. Failure wasn't an option.

"He caught us off guard. We were...misled. Our sources produced the incorrect room number."

Esperanza knew this excuse wasn't acceptable.

"Despite the incompetence of your team, it is still my responsibility to ensure that you stay away from the hands of the authorities."

That was his not-too-subtle jab at him. (See? I handle my business. That's what a man does. Unlike you.)

"What is the plan?" he asked.

"You find Carlos and finish the job. Then you get your ass downstairs to regroup with the others. I have a way out for you guys; but you need to begin cooperating. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes. How long until our..."

"Leave that to me. I have someone on the case who owes me big. Franco will fill you in with the details. Meanwhile..."

"Meanwhile?"

"Let me give you a hand in locating my annoying brother."

"What does he need from you?" asked Tori. "Why not just let you walk away?"

Carlos started to pace as he finally was able to catch his breath and think straight.

"My best guess is our customers, the suppliers, don't like the idea of someone who knows as much as me going AWOL."

Jordan regarded the haggard but well-mannered man.

"I dunno. I'm tempted to hand you over to the DEA on a silver platter."

"Jordan!" objected Tori. "Let's focus on getting out of here."

She turned to Carlos.

"Listen, Carlos. I don't appreciate some rift between two grown men in Mexico spilling over into my city! Putting people I care about in danger!"

Carlos felt the pang of guilt. He believed that his disappearing wasn't going to hurt anyone but he didn't anticipate getting caught. When presented with the opportunity to escape; you don't spend too much time thinking, you take it.

"I'm sorry," he said, shakily. "I am. I didn't ask for any of this! My brother and I were born and bred into this world. I knew nothing else and yet I still wanted out!"

Tori's face softened and she lowered her gun from a potential kill shot.

"This isn't all your fault. Renato could've stopped this but he let it escalate. All I'm interested is getting this situation under control before anybody down there gets hurt or dead."

He nodded and glanced over to Jordan.

"Alright, fine" sighed the redhead. "Maybe you're not so..."

BOOM!

The door in front of them kicks in and Esperanza fires upon the trio. Carlos takes a hit to the shoulder trying to flee and ducks under the stack of folded long tables by the wall. Tori and Jordan were already there.

The shield of wood is providing shelter for the moment but the assassin is moving closer, still shooting.

The bullets stop singing abruptly.

Jordan and Tori looked quickly at each other's face and made the same psychic message.

"He's reloading!"

The cops burst from their hiding spot but they were a fraction of a second too late. Esperanza opens fire and narrowly misses Tori's cheek. She goes into a full forward roll behind more tables.

Carlos attempts in vain to get up with no hands (his left hand is putting pressure on the bloody wound) but is stopped by a gun to the head.

"There you are!"

"They're going to do what?"

Burke was visibly shock by this turn of events.

"They are going to cut the power," O'Reilly iterated. "That's going to disable the security system, including the fire doors."

"Aww," came a mocking voice from across the room. "Was that not part of the plan?"

He glared back at Jade who, despite being tied to a chair defenseless, has enough awareness to berate her captors relentlessly.

Burke walked up to her smiling, savoring the silence, before slapping her across the face hard.

"I had you pegged as a castrating bitch!"

Jade flexed her jaw, soldiering through the pain. She stuck her tongue out to taste blood on her lip and was disappointed she wasn't bleeding. Sometimes in tense situations, the old Jade West would resurface and the sweet domesticated Jade West that Tori Vega tamed is now locked in the cellar.

"And I had you pegged as a dick-less nitwit creep," Jade said. "Guess we were both right."

She punctuated that last jab with a shit-eating grin that she knew would piss him off more.

(Good, get mad. Don't think straight; make mistakes. That's how you're gonna get fucked when the cavalry shows up.)

"You hear that?" he turned, asking O'Reilly. "Our guest isn't scared of us."

He then pulled out one of his detonators, brandishing it in front of Jade.

"You should be," he coolly stated. Burke then leaned in, resting his hand on Jade's thigh. "Think I'm fucking around..."

Burke felt something.

"What's this?"

"No!" Jade protested.

It was no use. He slithered his hand into Jade's jean pocket and fished out her cell phone.

"Look at that!"

He hung the phone in front of her menacingly.

(Don't. DON'T. DON'T!)

Burke then unlocked the screen and the icons loaded onto the home page.

(FUCK-FUCK-FUCK! WHY DIDN'T I RESET THE PIN?!)

"Let's browse through your contacts, shall we? I bet someone is worried about you..." he then made a mocked gasp. "This is a good time to reach out and touch someone!"

He brought up her recent calls and saw quite a few back and forths with Jordan. And not as recently Tori.

"Guess you were going to meet up with the girls for a night out," he smirked. "Isn't that sweet."

"I swear to God I will kill you if you don't put that phone down!"

Jade's threats fell on deaf ears and Burke continued on.

He then checked on the photo gallery and scrolling through some random shots from a bus window and some house, one photo made him stop cold. Burke looked like he had seen a ghost.

O'Reilly's interest was peaked and he moseyed on over to see what got his attention.

"What's up?"

"Look at this," Burke replied, showing him the phone.

He saw their captive woman holding another lady very close. Probably friends because they look nothing alike, so not sisters or anything.

"I don't get it," said O'Reilly. "What's the big deal?"

Burke pointed to the tan woman opposite Jade.

"That's one of the goddamn cops from the lobby. The ones that got away."

O'Reilly accidentally swiped the picture left and saw Tori, Jade, Jordan and Nate all seated at a restaurant a few months ago. Tori was holding up the phone as a group selfie.

The men exchanged glances.

"No fucking way," O'Reilly blurted out.

"Oh, this is just too good," Burke added.

"DROP IT!"

Esperanza's finger stroked the trigger, wanting to do the deed. But he was well aware of the pistol aimed squarely at his head.

"LAPD!" shouted Tori.

Right, there was two of them.

Jordan and Tori stood on either side of Esperanza, daring him to make them take him down.

"This isn't your concern, officers. If anything I am doing your kind a favor."

They were not expecting such a soft-spoken retort from this guy who flew in here, guns literally a-blazing.

"Well, you're not the law buddy!" said Jordan.

Esperanza breathed with confidence, with purpose.

"Listen to me very carefully; this man is a criminal, his whole life has been nothing but misery for countless lives. You know who he is, what he is? My job is to take care of him, that's all. Just walk away and I will do the same. He will be dead and you will never hear from me again. I am tired. You are tired. Let's just make things simple for once."

Tori kept her ground.

"I hear what you are saying, but if I let someone take the law into their own hands, where does it end? Besides, you shot at us so don't act like you're the good guy here."

"Do you really think I'm going to come with you willingly, officer?"

Jordan isn't amused by any of this talk.

"I am at my wit's end today," the redhead said. "This isn't..."

RING-RING-RING-RING

She stopped and felt for her phone with her free hand. Her eyebrow raised when she saw the caller was Jade.

Keeping the gun steady, she answered.

"Jade?"

"Oh is that this little firecracker's name? Jaaaade, mmmm..."

"Who the fuck is this?"

Tori's ears already perked up at the mere mention of Jade's name. And the sudden turn of this call made her heart race.

"Jordan, hand me the phone," she said.

She reluctantly tossed it to her. Now she resumed having both hands on her gun. Complete control. This asshole wasn't going to get away.

"Who is this?" demanded Tori.

"Is that any way to speak to the ones who have been watching over your little friend here?"

"TORI! DON'T-"

The second voice, all too familiar, was severed by an audible smack.

That piece of shit just struck Jade. Her love. Her life.

"You listen to me, motherfucker; if you put your hand on her one more time, I SWEAR TO GOD!"

"You don't get to make threats, bitch! I have the upper hand. So you and your partner had better surrender to us or I plant a bullet between these pretty blue eyes."

"NO, DON'T!"

"What's happening?"

All the color vanished from Tori and she looked like a zombie when her eyes met Jordan's.

"What are they doing?"

"Don't hurt her please!" Tori pleaded.

"I knew it. She does mean something to you doesn't she?"

Tears were welling up in Tori's eyes.

"Put the phone on speaker. I want to know who else there with you!"

There was a second male voice. This one was different than the more sadistic one from a second ago.

Tori obliged, trying to keep Jade alive from afar.

"Anyone out there?"

Esperanza recognized O'Reilly's voice straight away.

"Ah, it's been a while my friend. How goes it?"

"Where the hell were you?" O'Reilly asked.

"Just finishing what we started. I have Carlos here on his knees. But there's one problem," his eyeballs moved side to side. "Make that two problems."

"Okay, Cagney and Lacey; you'd better lower your weapons and stand down or else!"

"I would listen if I were you," Esperanza teased Tori.

"You know what we are capable of," O'Reilly went on. "But it doesn't even touch what hell will be unleashed if you continue to get in our way!"

Suddenly the clicking sound over the phone shook Tori to her very foundation. The simple act of standing and pointing her gun, which she has done many times, was almost impossible right now. But she kept holding on to what little she had.

"Shoot him!"

Esperanza hovered over the trigger.

"WAIT!" called out Jordan.

"Shoot him now!" the voice on the phone ordered again.

The older man was not accustomed to all of this being ordered around but at this point, whatever to carry out the mission.

"YOU THINK I'M FUCKING AROUND!"

Now the crazy voice returned. This went from worse to hellfire.

"ESPERANZA, SHOOT HIM! AND WE'RE DONE!"

Tori's hand was shaking.

"EITHER HE SHOOTS HIM OR I SHOOT HER RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW! Your choice!"

Carlos rose up and tried to wrestle the gun away from Esperanza but he was too quick and shot him in the chin. It was now a free-for-all. Tori dove for the assailant, separating him from his gun. Jordan jumped at Esperanza before he could grab his fallen weapon. But she didn't know about the hidden piece in his jacket and he fired it. It grazed the redhead but only slowed her down. Tori tackled him, landing a shot in his gut.

Esperanza cried out in pain.

"YOU WANT TO FUCK WITH ME!"

BLAM!

The line went dead and all that was heard in the room was the moaning of the injured.

Tori saw Esperanza reach for his first gun and she shot him in the head. Jordan minded her wound but was taken aback by how cold she looked when she delivered the fatal shot.

"Tori..."

"They killed her," she quietly said. "They killed her and I let it happen."

The half Latina wandered away, ignoring the now two bodies. Carlos succumbed to his gunshot wounds; he just bled too much.

There was nothing but the wall, a plain white wall. But Tori stood there like she was looking past the wall.

She looked back at Jordan. There was fire in her eyes.

"I'm going to kill them. They're gonna pay!"

"TORI WAIT!"

She was gone.