A/N - Hey guys. Sorry about the delay. For some reason I could not post this chapter the other day...

So read, enjoy and review

:)

Chapter Twenty-Seven – Ladies Of The World

The next two days were a whirlwind of phone calls and small meetings, pushing her plan and needing each and every women that would be joining them checked and processed. The night before the final run down, Olivia was going over the pictures of the women that they had managed to find. They had actually found a dozen women that fit the profile. Olivia hadn't met all of them yet, but she felt oddly confident. Broyles, now that the full plan had been laid out for him, was backing her up completely and had called in all sorts of favours to ensure that she had what she needed.

"Heads up."

She pushed aside her notes as Peter put dinner down in front of her.

"Honey lemon chicken, steamed vegetables and garlic mashed potatoes."

"When did you have time to make this?"

"Because I was home a good three hours before you."

He handed her a glass of wine before finally taking the seat across from her, adding some salt to his meal.

"And, we needed to use the last of those lemons."

Olivia nodded as she dug into the chicken.

"Well, it's delicious."

Peter smiled slightly.

"Of course it is."

Olivia finished chewing her mouthful, pushing it down with some wine before speaking again.

"I'm sorry that I haven't been around much the last two days."

"Yes, because catching a serial killer is a complete waste of time."

"You know what I mean."

Peter shrugged.

"It's ok, Liv. Now eat up. You need it."

Olivia did as she was told, eating half of her meal before pausing again.

"Rachel was ok with taking Etta, right?"

"Of course she was. She'll be picking her up tomorrow morning and she'll be home on Friday."

"Good."

Peter sat back, pushing aside his empty plate.

"I have a confession to make."

"And what would that be?"

"That I'm glad that you're not playing bait."

Olivia smiled.

"I don't think I'm quite what Brookes is looking for. Plus, this is my show, which means I need to be able to see the whole picture."

Peter opened his mouth to comment but was cut off by a heavy knock on the door. They exchanged puzzled looks before they both left the table, heading to the front door.

"Nina, what are you doing here?"

Nina smiled, nodding at the box in her hands.

"Coming through with the tech that you needed. Sorry it took so long. When I asked, it was still being developed."

"Great. Come in."

Nina stepped deeper into the house, closing the door quietly behind her.

"I'm not interrupting, am I?"

"No. We just finished diner."

"Good. Right, where can I lay this out?"

Olivia nodded towards the kitchen. Peter moved quickly, clearing the table and putting on some coffee. Nina slipped open the box and started laying out tiny pieces of equipment.

"Now, I know you wanted them to be discrete and these are the smallest microphone/camera's on the market."

"Wow, these are tiny."

Olivia lifted it carefully off the table. It was slightly bigger than a grain of rice.

"That's the whole idea. And they are wireless."

"How far?"

"From what we tested, it's clear up to four hundred metres. Outside of that area, you lose picture but not sound. The sound will keep coming through until eight hundred metres and then it's gone."

Peter leaned over the table, his eyes wide.

"Impressive."

Nina frowned, her face concerned.

"Will it be enough?"

"This is perfect. How many are there?"

"Twenty-four. I know you only needed a dozen but I wanted to make sure you had some extra, just in case."

Olivia put her arm around Nina.

"Thank you."

Nina smiled.

"You're welcome. When is the big day?"

"Tomorrow night."

"And you're friend?"

Olivia sighed.

"I'm hoping that she's hung on."

"Nina do you want a coffee or a tea?"

Nina nodded,.

"Yes please, Peter. Now, do you need anything else for this Olivia?"

"No, I think we're covered."

Olivia settled herself in her chair, looking over the microphones again. Peter set a coffee in front of her with a large selection of cookies in the middle of the table. She nibbled at them, not really hearing the conversation that Nina and Peter were having around her.

Olivia was in the conference room, making sure her thoughts were clear and they had everything that they needed, when Heather found her.

"You'll be fine."

Olivia paused mid-stride.

"Want to know something interesting?"

"What's that?"

"I hate speaking in public. I'm so used to being in the shadows, it's part of the job."

Heather chuckled.

"God, your wedding must have been torture."

Olivia smiled.

"Not really. I was so focused on Peter and what we were doing, I didn't think about it until it was time for speeches. I only managed to make it through mine because Peter held my hand the whole time, keeping me on point. It was so damn short, people seemed surprised when I sat back down so quickly."

Heather nodded slightly.

"Public speaking is one of the biggest fears people have. And I guess the way you feel about it gives clues to your childhood and your job."

Olivia sighed and sat down in one of the hard conference chairs.

"Peter asked me what I told you."

Heather, shifting into professional mode, took a seat across from her.

"Is any of the information news to him?"

Olivia nodded slightly.

"A few of the things I told you I never told Peter. Not because I don't want to."

"Then why?"

"It's because I can't."

When Heather didn't answer, the need to talk came back to Olivia. Now that she knew Heather, Olivia trusted her.

"He said my demons didn't scare him the way they do me. And you know something? Those demons scare me far more than some of the things I have had to deal with in the field. And I think that's why I don't want Peter to see them. I'm trying to protect him. It makes no sense."

Heather shook her head slightly.

"I don't think it's Peter you are trying to protect. I think you are just trying to protect your life. Think about it, Olivia. You told me that you never talked about what happened when you were a child. You grew up with all these words and feelings that you had to ignore. Then one day, you talk. And that means exposing those demons to your current life. In this life, those demons don't exist."

Olivia felt the urge to say that Heather was right in more ways than one. In this timeline the things that she remembered about her childhood were altered.

"So what do I do?"

Heather's tone lowered, becoming softer.

"You need to tell him Olivia. Peter has seen you at your best and your worst. What is there left to hide? He knows you and aside from your family, knows you the best. How would you feel if Peter kept something like this from you?"

Olivia hated it whenever Peter tried to keep things from her. Especially things that she felt she needed to know.

"I would hate it. Except he is being far too nice about it. I would have pushed it out of him by now."

"Precisely. Except he won't push as hard as you would. So don't make him wait. Once you get it out, it's a cleansing, a release. And you'll be the better for it. Both of you will be."

"Ok."

"And just a hint, maybe not to use today but on any other day. If you get asked to speak, think of Etta. I know now she has a calming effect on you."

Olivia stood, trying to relax her shoulders, pushing thoughts of Peter to the edge of her mind. She needed to focus. Peter would understand a few more hours.

With a deep breath and faked confidence, Olivia stood in front of the crowded room. Silence fell and Olivia started to speak.

"Hi everyone . Thank you all for coming. Let's get started."

She waited for everyone to take seat before speaking again.

"I know that all of you have been provided with a brief as to what is expected of you. But I want to go over Operation Rayne again. And then I'll open the floor to any questions."

Olivia cleared her throat.

"For some of you Operation Rayne is your first large stakeout. While it is not without risks, they are minimal. At no point will any of you be alone. You will, however, be unarmed. I have managed to score some tech from Massive Dynamic that is not only discrete but also wireless. So even though most of us won't be visible, we will hear every word you say as well as every suspect that may approach you. What this means is that there is no need for extra work. If we can get a shot in the car, we can tell immediately if it is the man we are looking for. But more about that later. For now, let's focus on our suspect, Jeremiah Brookes. For this, my colleague Heather Fogleigh will take over. Heather."

Heather gave her a tight smile before coming stand beside her. She handed out the brief on Jeremiah Brookes, speaking once all agents and officers had a paper in their hands.

"Jeremiah Brookes is a suspect that has been on the run for years. The earliest crime that we are aware of occurred when he was fourteen. He hasn't been seen for at least three years and even the previous sightings were dubious."

"What's his M.O?"

"Young, blonde and vulnerable. He picks them up, beats and rapes then before strangling them. His dumping ground has been discovered which makes me think that he could try to mix things up. He's got a partner that has been serving time for the crimes. Both men partook but Cutler has been sitting in prison for it. As of two days ago, Cutler was murdered by persons unknown."

Victoria raised her hand slightly.

"Did Brookes do it?"

Heather shook her head.

"Not that we can tell. It wouldn't make sense for him to kill off the man that is doing time for both of them and giving him an opportunity to keep committing the murders."

Victoria nodded and Heather started to pace slowly, moving from one end of the room to the other.

"This is a dangerous man who has been avoiding the law for a very long time. We need to bring him in. Because if we don't, he will keep killing. We also have another reason . He has currently got a hostage. We can't confirm if the hostage is dead or not. Or the reasons behind her kidnapping. What we do know, is that time is running out."

Heather gave her words a moment to sink in before speaking again.

"Brookes is dangerous and he could become far worse if confronted. After a long search, we discovered the last known photograph of Brookes. It has been confirmed by experts as Jeremiah Brookes. Take a good look and note he scar on his right hand. It runs from the third knuckle of the forefinger, all the way down to the base of the thumb. This is one of the surest ways we have of identifying him."

Heather handed out some sheets of paper and kept talking.

"Other things that should be noted is that he has an apparent shoe fetish. He is incredibly controlling. He will lose him temper rapidly and have no mercy. He can also be charming when he needs to be. Be careful."

With that final warning, Heather stepped off stage and Olivia took her place again. She went through the information one more time before finally indicating to Trigger and Plush, who stood to the back of the room. She motioned them forward, waiting until they were standing beside her before speaking again.

"This is Trigger and this is Plush. They have agreed to co-operate with this operation and ensure that every one of you will walk out of here knowing everything there is to know. Ok, let's split into two groups and get started."

Olivia watched as the people drifted apart, Plush going to the left and Trigger to the right. She watched as they started to instruct the young female's how to move. One by one, slowly but surely she could see the difference in the way they stood and moved. Bit by bit, Olivia started to feel calmer. Now that she could actually see her plan being put into motion, she had an odd confidence about it. Three hours later, Trigger and Plush had trained the men and the women. It was little different for the men, they could blend in a little easier than the women. They had to be out in the open. But it would work. It had too. She needed to find A.J and then put some old demons to rest.