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"If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?" -William Shakespeare, from "The Merchant of Venice"

San Felipe, Mexico (Elysium)

"Townsville's goin' down! I'm going to throw this paper on the ground!"

6 year old Emilio Ortega and 5 year old Maria Falk sing along with The Amoeba Boys on the episode of The Powerpuff Girls they're watching on TV.

In fact, Maria takes it one step further. "No, we're doing it wrong!" She crawls over Emilio on the couch and rips off a page from a small notebook on the end table. She then sits back down and sings again "Townsville's goin' down! I'm going to throw this paper on the ground!" As she sings, she crumples up the paper. When she's done, spikes it on the ground with a little girl roar.

Now Emilio is encouraged. He crawls over Maria this time, rips a page from the notebook, sings the lyric, wads up the paper, and throws it to the ground with a roar of his own. Both share a laugh at their act of mock civil disobedience.

"What is going on in here?"

Both Maria and Emilio look behind them at Nadia Falk, who apparently saw the ruckus going on and now has her hands on her hips with a disapproving look on her face. She's joined by Mary Falk and Jack Bristow, who look somewhat amused at the kids acting out.

Maria, in a mocking evil tone, says "We're being the bad guys!"

Nadia just smirks and chuckles a bit. Kids. "Well, you can be bad, but don't tear up our paper!"

Mary laughs and tells Maria "Hey Maria, your father used to act like the bad guys, too!"

Nadia gives Mary a bit of a look. "Don't encourage her!" As Mary rolls her eyes, Nadia walks in the living room to turn off the TV.

Meanwhile, Maria looks around and asks "Where's Daddy?"

Mary dismissively replies "He went to go talk to your Uncle Eddie about something. He'll be back in a bit, dear."

Nadia turns off the TV and then turns to Emilio. "Emilio, go play with Maria's LeapFrog. We have to talk to Maria now."

Emilio looks at Maria, then looks back at Nadia. "I'm sorry for throwing paper! Maria is, too!"

Nadia laughs and says "Oh, you're just being kids! But no, we have to talk to her about something private."

Emilio conspicuously turns to Maria. "What did you do this time?"

Maria slaps Emilio on the shoulder and defensively yells "I didn't do anything!"

Nadia sternly says "Maria, don't hit him! Now what do you say?"

Maria hangs her head and says "Sorry..."

Emilio just shrugs and says "It's ok." He then gives Maria a hug and runs off to the bedroom. Small smiles form on the faces of both Mary and Nadia. It's amazing to them both how Emilio just takes things in stride. It's also amazing how caring and protective he is of Maria.

Mary sits to the right of Maria on the couch while Nadia sits to the left. To her left, Jack sits in the big chair, but turns his body to face the ladies, as he has a vested interest in the conversation that's about to take place.

Maria now is a little worried. "Did I do something wrong, Mommy?"

Nadia shakes her head, but can't help but be a little worried over the conversation that will be taking place. "No. We're here because we need to talk to you. There's some things you should know."

"Ok..."

Nadia looks over at Mary for reassurance. Mary gives her a headnod, a signal that tells Nadia that she'll do fine.

Nadia then looks back at Maria and says "There's something you need to know about Jack. He's more than your mommy's friend."

Maria squints her eyes in confusion, then looks over at Jack. Suddenly, she gasps out of shock. "Mommy! I thought you loved Daddy!"

A confused Nadia says "Of course I do!"

"Then why are you Jack's boyfriend now?"

Nadia lets out a half laugh, half gasp. Mary puts her hand up to her mouth to hide her shock. Jack, meanwhile, turns away, afraid his face is going red.

Nadia reassures Maria "No! I'm not his boyfriend! Why would you say that?"

Maria innocently replies "Because when you're more than a friend, you love one another! That's what you said!"

"Well...that's kind of true here! Ok, listen. You have a Grandpa Thomas and a Grandma Mary. They're your Daddy's parents. And you love them. Do you understand?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, I have a Mommy and Daddy, too. Jack is my Daddy."

Maria stares at Nadia for a bit, then looks over at Jack. "So, that means..." Maria then pauses at the end, not sure if she's made the connection or not.

Jack gives Maria a calm smile and says "I'm your Grandpa."

Maria beams excitedly. "Cool! I have another Grandpa!" She then gets up, runs over to Jack, and gives him a hug. As he's still processing Maria's excitement, Maria suddenly gives Jack a kiss on the cheek and says "So does this mean that you'll give me horsey rides, too?"

A very unsure Jack looks over at Mary, who is lightly laughing throughout all this. Mary says "Maria likes to ride on Thomas's back like a horse."

A reassured Jack just says "Oh..." then looks over at a happy Maria and says "Well, I don't see why not. But did you know that I'm also good for more than horse rides?"

Maria curiously asks "Like what?"

"Do you like to play hide-go-seek?"

"Yeah!"

"Well, I've become an expert at being very, very hard to find. It was part of my job!"

"I bet I can find you!"

"We'll see."

Maria turns to Nadia and asks "Mommy? Can I play hide-go-seek with Grandpa Jack?"

Nadia can't help but smile over how Maria reacted to Jack being her grandfather. Almost immediately, she loved him unconditionally, like a switch went off in her head. She was taught to love her family, but while some kids would take a while to warm up to new family members, Maria wasted no time at all. Part of it could be because Maria is a good judge of character, and Jack's actually been downright warm and kind around her, which might be surprising to most who view Jack as emotionally distant. And the fact that Maria has already called Jack 'Grandpa' is amazing when you consider it took Nadia a while to call Jack 'Dad'. But the mind of a 5 year old can process things like love and family and character a lot easier than a woman in her late 20's/early 30's can.

But, Nadia knows this isn't the time for play. "We can't, because..."

Mary butts in. "Well, I don't see why she can't play with Grandpa Jack for a little while." Mary then looks over at Maria. "Why don't you go find a nice hiding spot, Maria?"

Maria leaps off of Jack's lap and runs down the hallway, shouting "Come find me!" all the way.

Nadia turns to Mary and gives her a very disconcerting look. "Mary, we were supposed to talk to Maria about death..."

Mary shakes her head. "We can do that later. Look how happy she is! Why force that on her now when she just got great news?"

Jack, who also was unsure about what Mary was doing, relaxes and says "I'm just happy she took it as good news...and didn't ask where I've been all this time..." Jack then looks over at Nadia. "...or who your mother is."

That causes Nadia's face to turn kind of glum. Irina...manipulating herself back into their lives. Nadia definitely doesn't know what to make of her yet.

Mary interrupts Nadia's thoughts by telling Jack "She will eventually, but let's deal with that later. I think it'd be great for her to bond with her Grandpa Jack first."

A now understanding Nadia says "I guess you're right...plus, I think Tom wanted to be here when we talked about death to her."

"COME FIND ME, GRANDPA JACK!"

Nadia looks over at Jack with a grin. "You better go find her, Grandpa."

Jack smirks at Nadia, then says "Ready or not, here I come!" He then gets up out of his chair and sneaks down the hallway to look for Maria.

Mary gives Nadia a pat on the back and says "Well, that wasn't so hard, now was it?"

Nadia lets out a relieved sigh and says "No, I guess not. I'm so happy Maria likes Jack..."

"Oh of course she does. She's just like her mother when it comes to her family."

Nadia gives Mary a very funny look. They're still fresh off of the big conversation about the deal Mary worked out with Nadia's mother Irina Derevko. "Only I only thought I loved my mother."

Mary, perhaps realizing she overstepped her boundaries, just says "I'm sorry. I forgot you still resent Irina..."

"I have no idea who she is anymore, Mary. You seem so sure, but I just don't know..." Nadia slouches back into the couch and puts her hand on her forehead, feeling a headache coming on. At this point, Mary stands up, surprising Nadia a bit. "Where are you going?"

A very humble Mary replies "I'm going out to lunch with Thomas, he's expecting me. Listen Nadia, I like to help you whenever I can, you know that. But in this case, I have no right to tell you whether you should trust Irina or not. You're going to have to be the one to decide whether to or not. She says she wants a chance to reconcile with you, and if making that trade for information on The Nine is what it takes to give our lives peace again...then I think it's a good trade. There is a big part of me, the mother in me, that really does believe Irina is ready to change. But that's me. You have to make up your own mind. And with Alec out there ready to plunge a knife in her head if she even breathes the wrong way..."

"Wait, what?"

"Alec didn't tell me everything, but let's just say you and Tom aren't the only skeptics on Irina. I think Rambaldi will order her dead unless she truly proves she has changed."

"But isn't he and the Council giving her amnesty if she does live up to her word?"

"With Irina, it's never that black and white. That's partly why I won't be supporting her or against her. She's made it so that she is in complete control of her fate. Not me or anyone else. And that's why I'm not going to tell you what you should do. Not only is it not my right, but she's going to have to let her actions do the talking for her. In the end, I think you'll make the right decision. I think you've had enough trials and tribulations when it comes to family to be a good judge of character." Mary then walks over and holds out her arms. "Now come here...I hate seeing you so distressed."

Nadia gives her a reluctant smile and an eyeroll before standing up and giving Mary a hug. She thinks it's a little silly that Mary tries to be a mother figure to her still, but at least she does make the effort. Nadia hasn't had anyone worth anything try to be a mother figure to her. And Elena certainly does not count. "Thanks Mary. I do appreciate the help."

From down the hall, they both hear Jack say "I need you to do something for me, Emilio." Nadia lets go of the hug and joins Mary in wondering what's going on.

Emilio, from Maria's bedroom, replies "What?"

"I need you to be my eyes and ears. We're going to look for Maria. When you find her, don't say anything, but come find me and give me her whereabouts."

"Why?"

"Because...I'll reward you for a good tip."

"You'll give me money?"

"Yes. Do we have a deal?"

"Yeah!"

Nadia starts laughing, and even Mary joins in. Ex-CIA Agent Jack Bristow just recruited himself an informant.

Bunker, MO (Earth)

There's a giant oak tree in these southern Missouri woods. It's a thick tree that probably has been in these woods for at least a hundred years. It shows the proper signs of aging, but no signs of falling over anytime soon. Even though it's winter and the branches bare of leaves, the tree looks hearty.

The tree actually grows into a small hill. Many of its roots are exposed at the bottom of the hill, creating a little bit of a pocket in the hill. It's a pocket big enough for two people to sit in relatively comfortably.

For Eddie Falk, this is where he would always go when he was angry, upset, confused, or just wanted to be alone. Ever since childhood, this was his safe place.

But this was also a safe place for someone else.

"You know, you still surprise me, brother."

Eddie wipes some tears from his eyes and looks behind and above him to see his brother Tom Falk standing on top of the small hill next to the front of the tree. "Bullshit, this was your place, too."

Tom chuckles and says "Yeah, but I looked for you at this spot in Elysium. That was a nice trick to actually come to Earth to hide out."

Eddie looks back down at his knees, which are crouched in near his chest. "I just wanted to go somewhere that still felt real."

Tom starts walking down the hill. "Got room for your baby brother?"

Eddie doesn't move immediately. He really doesn't want the company right now. But it is his brother, and Eddie was always the one Tom went to when he felt miserable about something when they were kids, so this will be a role reversal of sorts. So Eddie does eventually grunt and move over to the left, creating a spot for Tom to sit down.

Once Tom takes his seat, he asks a question he probably knows the answer to already. "How you holding up?"

Eddie lets out a chuckle and says "That's a loaded question."

Tom looks around and says "I've got all day. And there's no one around to hear us..."

"...that's because we're on Earth. No one can hear us anyway unless we let them. This is about as quiet as it gets for a man that wants to grieve. Well, it was until you showed up."

"Come on now. I'm worried about you. Mom's worried about you. Heck, even Maria asked about you last night."

Eddie looks over at Tom. "How is the little gal?"

"Not doing bad, actually. Both her and Emilio had nightmares during the night, but this morning...I tell ya, if she's scared or holding a grudge, she's not showing it."

"That's because she's too young to really register what's going on."

"Not right away, anyway. Sometimes these things take a while to manifest themselves into a child's psyche, if they do at all. My baby girl is pretty tough, though."

"She's a Falk. Of course she is."

Tom lets out a cautious smile and looks down at the ground with Eddie. "Look, we've danced around it enough. Obviously you're still tore up about Julieta..."

"Tore up? I cried myself to sleep last night. I didn't even do that when Connie was getting married. What gets me is, I don't even understand why."

"What do you mean by that?"

Eddie throws up his arms. "Look at this, Tom. Look around you...THIS is real. These trees, these leaves, the sky, the ground...all real. These are all things that me and you and Mom and our sister Karen and everyone we know and loved experienced that was real! But look at us now, Tom. What we feel, what we see, what we taste...it's all a simulation of all this. None of it exists to anyone that walks on this Earth! Our problems are kept within the realm we live in! We're nothing but ghosts to the ones we left behind! We might as well not even exist!"

"That's not entirely true..."

"Yeah, yeah, we still get to talk to Karen. And you and Nadia have your chats with Sydney every week. Those are people that are still alive, that still feel things. So what is this I'm going through? Huh?"

"Hey, we all still have feelings. That's as real as it gets. And listen, you cared about Julieta..."

"No, I cared for Julieta's ghost. Just like I cared about Maria's ghost."

"Ghost or not, we're still who we are. Our personalities, appearance, even those feelings you were talking about. Nothing's changed except for the fact that we are no longer matter."

Eddie shakes his head in dismay. "I spent nearly 30 years of my life believing in one reality, and now I'll spend the rest of eternity believing another. Why does this matter at all? Why does anything matter at all if it all can still be lost because of being in the wrong place at the wrong time? I thought all that ended when we died! Just this time a week ago, I finally got over Connie, I was falling for a beautiful and awesome Argentine woman who was a friend already and I thought we could live forever! Now, she's gone and suddenly, the prospect of living forever sucks!"

Tom pats Eddie on the shoulder and says "Look at me."

"Screw you. You're trying to manipulate me like you manipulate all those new arrivals..."

This time, Tom shakes Eddie hard. "LOOK AT ME!"

Eddie does with a sneer.

"I'm not here to manipulate you. You saw how I took Nadia's death and yet, you still asked how I felt. What you're feeling right now is EXACTLY how I felt! You started getting attached to Julieta, and she was filling a void you had in your life. And it felt good having her around, like she was an extension of you...a part of you somehow. Yeah, I know you only were getting serious for a week or two before what happened, but you had feelings for her well before you acted on them. And life was not only getting good for you with her around, but it was getting easier. That's how I felt with Nadia. And when she was gone, and I realized she was never coming back, I felt like a helium-filled balloon: floating in the air with no direction, and feeling really hollow, but at the same time wanting to burst. But the more I sat back and dwelled on my feelings, the more I realized that I wanted nothing more than to rip Arvin Sloane's fucking head off and stick it on the end of a pike. And you lit the fuse when you gave me the heads up that I could do it. Well guess what? It's time I lit your fuse. You probably want to tear Mitch's head off yourself, don't you?"

"You're goddamn right I do."

"Tomorrow, at noon, at the closed-up Charleston Restaurant in Baltimore, we're getting Mitch Hayes delivered to us on a silver platter."

Suddenly, Eddie looks curious. "You're serious? How?"

"Listen...when I worked in the Anti-Cartel, I had to make a lot of deals with some very shady people. But they were all calculated risks, and more often than not, they paid off. I often wondered where I got that ability to read people and figure out whether a deal was worth taking or not. Well, I just figured it out. Our mother."

Eddie uncomfortably shifts. "Just what did our mother do?"

"She made a deal with Irina Derevko."

"OH COME ON!"

Tom restrains Eddie from suddenly getting up and possibly teleporting away. "Listen to me! Irina and Mom have a history together. It's some maternal thing that only women have, it's like an understanding."

"Irina was there when Julieta was taken!"

"I know she was...but Irina wanted no part of it. Her plan all along was to turn on the rest of her crew. In exchange, she wants to stay here."

"And do what?"

Tom smirks and lets out a chuckle. "Be a decent, normal human being instead of a criminal mastermind on the run."

"And you and Mom just believed her?"

"My mom, maybe. Me, no. But neither does Rambaldi and neither does that borderline psycho Alec Derevko. If Irina even slips up the tiniest bit, she's getting some steel buried in the back of her head. But in the meantime, she's going to be feeding us some solid stuff. Mitch is the just the beginning. But that's not all. Do you want to see Julieta again?"

Both of Eddie's eyebrows shoot up. "Of course..."

"I don't have all the details, and neither does Mom, but there's some deal that's apparently being worked out between the Elysian Council and Hell. Julieta may be coming back."

Eddie lets out a happy gasp. "Tom, please tell me what I need to do to help make that happen."

Tom pats Eddie on the shoulder again, happy that he's coming around. "Just follow my lead tomorrow when we meet with Mitch. I have a plan in the works. And believe me, you're going to have all the cracks at Mitch's skull you can handle..." Tom then starts laughing. "...or as much as HE can handle!"

Eddie smirks, chuckles, then shakes his head. "You're really demented, you know that?"

A now smiling Tom replies "Come on, don't tell me revenge doesn't taste sweet for you, too. You know how I felt when Nadia died...now you'll know how I felt when I was making Arvin Sloane my bitch."

"Will there be anything left after you get your hands on him?"

"Oh...you shouldn't be worried about what I do to him. You'll see what I'm talking about here in a bit. Come on, let's go finalize our plans." Tom then reaches out a hand. "You grab my hand, you're in. Or you can just sit here in the cold woods and leave all the fun to me."

Eddie looks at that hand, then cracks a smirk on his face. He grabs Tom's hand in a handshake and says three words that Tom has heard so much in his life. "Strength and honor."

Tom smiles wider. "Strength and honor. Always."

Baltimore, MD (Elysium)

The next day, Tom, Nadia, and Eddie Falk appear in front of the vacant Charleston Restaurant right at noon, just like they were told. Eddie's holding a lead pipe in his right hand while Tom and Nadia are unarmed.

And to their surprise, Irina Derevko is there to greet them at the front door. The windows are boarded up, meaning that the three can't see inside the restaurant. All three can't help but feel a little suspicious about this whole setup, especially with Irina waiting for them.

Irina is the first to greet the other. "You all came...good."

Tom keeps a stone face. "Yeah, we did. And in a few minutes, we're either going to be really happy or we're going to feel like the biggest idiots in Elysium for coming here."

Irina lets out a chuckle. "And yet, here you are."

"You can thank my Mom for that. I trust her, and she trusts you. Doesn't mean I do or Eddie does...and I don't think I need to speak for Nadia."

Irina turns her gaze at Nadia and immediately loses her game face. Her face relaxes and she even gives Nadia a smile. She appears happy to see Nadia. "It's good to see you again, Nadia."

Nadia's not amused, keeping her poker face intact. She's not happy to see Irina and she's not being ambiguous about it. She just gives Irina a terse "Mother."

This appears to discourage Irina a bit. She reads Nadia's bluntness as hostile. "Nadia, I understand that it's not easy for you to see me or to even put an ounce of faith in me. I don't know what all Mary told you about why I'm doing this..."

"She told me enough."

"And you don't believe me?"

"I didn't say that. But I will say that I have absolutely no trust in you anymore...not after what you did to Sydney."

"Nadia, I wasn't..."

"Don't say it. You may have Mary fooled, but you don't have me fooled."

"What does Sydney have to say about what happened in Brussels?"

Nadia freezes, then lets out a sigh. Honestly, she doesn't know how Sydney feels about Irina or what she feels about those tense seconds when Irina had a gun to her head dead to rights in Brussels. It's a subject neither one of them talk about because neither one of them wants to talk about it. But Nadia will see Sydney tomorrow for their weekly chat, and now she's trying to figure out how she would even address that touchy subject without giving away what's going on. It's taboo to talk about Elysium issues to people on Earth. There's a general belief that what happens in Elysium stays in Elysium because people on Earth have enough to worry about.

Irina breaks Nadia's train of thought. "I think we should talk. I think it would be good for us to clear the air."

Nadia looks down at the ground and starts slowly shaking her head. "I..." But she stops there she starts fighting back emotions. Nadia loved her mother dearly up until she heard that Irina was threatening to nuke major cities after she became immortal. That's another thing that Nadia just isn't sure about. It's something Nadia hasn't really thought about because what Irina almost did to Sydney made any feelings she had about Irina moot. She eventually does look back up at Irina after composing herself and says "I...really think that this is not the time or place."

Irina nods and says "Of course not. But whenever you're ready, talk to Mary and have her get a hold of me. We'll work out the rest over the phone."

Nadia doesn't say anything, but folds her arms and looks back over at Tom and Eddie, as if to say it's time to get on with the program.

Tom reads her look clearly and looks back at Irina. "Alright, now that that's over, how do we know there's not a group of angry Latino gangbangers behind that door, or stationed somewhere nearby?"

Irina replies "Because I've gotten to know those 'gangbangers', as you call them, I know they're anything but quiet or subtle. You would have known they were hanging around here long before now."

Eddie clinches his pipe tight and growls "Is that piece of shit Mitch inside?"

"Yes he is. He's waiting for you in the dining area. He's going to be under the impression that I have Francisco Alvarado's army stationed nearby. He'll radio to me and I'll send them in. Well, that's what he thinks anyway."

Now Tom folds his arms and sarcastically says "Yeah, and we're supposed to believe they're not here! So who's fooling who?"

"I can tell you right now that you're not fooling me. I told Mary that it was supposed to be just you three."

Tom looks around and sarcastically asks "You see anyone else here?"

"See? No. Saw? Yes."

Tom lets out a couple chuckles and replies "And you got a problem with that?"

"Not at all. Just...make sure it's just you three at first, ok?"

"Why? So he won't teleport away?"

"He can't teleport. I never showed him."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. Because when I gave him up to you guys, as I have planned all along, I didn't want him escaping. Cesar Martinez didn't know how to teleport, either..." Irina then looks back over at Nadia. "I'm so sorry about what he did to you, Nadia. I did NOT plan on him going rogue like that."

Nadia rolls her eyes and says "Yeah, whatever."

"I mean it, Nadia. I wanted Cesar to be here with Mitch right now."

Tom looks over at Nadia and admits "You have to be pretty sick in the head to want your own daughter to be raped. Irina may be a lot of things, but I know a sicko when I see one...I dealt with plenty during my time in the Anti-Cartel. Irina's not sick."

Irina smirks at Tom and says "A compliment...a bit surprising."

Tom turns back to Irina and, keeping the snark on overdrive, replies "Yeah...congratulations on not being a sicko. Excuse me if I'm not breaking out the applause."

Meanwhile, Nadia's had just about enough of this conversation. "Let's get this over with, guys. Come on." She then starts walking towards the door, with Tom and Eddie in tow. All three just walk by Irina without saying a word.

She stands there, watches them coldly walk past, and says nothing herself. But it's obvious to her that Tom and Nadia are extremely skeptical of her while Eddie just looks like he wants to break something into pieces, like Mitch's face.

She lets out a chuckle, then sits on a bench in front of the building. She pulls out a two-way radio, crosses her legs, and just relaxes and waits.

Tom, Eddie, and Nadia walk into the restaurant, in that order. They immediately discover Mitch Hayes chomping on fried chicken in the middle-back of the now vast open space that used to be the dining area. He's at the lone table that remains in the room. They see that the left forehead of Mitch appears to be swollen, and as they get closer, it looks like he bled from that swollen spot sometime in the last day or two.

As they approach, Mitch looks up and acts surprised. He drops his drumstick, looks down at his watch, and, with chicken still in his mouth, says rather non chalantly "Huh, it's noon already. Go figure."

Tom, still walking ahead, fires back "It'd be a real goddamn shame if you accidentally choked on what you're chewing there, asshole."

Mitch finishes chewing his food, and makes it a point to dramatically swallow. He then holds out his arms and sarcastically says "Ta-da! Sorry to disappoint you...oh wait, no I'm not." Mitch then starts wiping his hands off on a napkin.

As Mitch stands up, Tom, Nadia, and Eddie stop about 5 feet away from him. Tom continues the sarcastic banter among former friends. "Oh, I'm actually quite thrilled you still have enough sense to chew your food properly. I want you sharp when you start suffering here in a bit."

Mitch just smiles and walks in front of the table, noticeably limping on one leg. That was from when Irina shot him in the leg not a couple minutes after Maria teleported away with Emilio. It was in the fleshy part of the leg, but it still hurts. But still, Mitch ignores Tom's comment completely, but instead looks down at what's in Eddie's hand. "What's that you got there, Linus? Your security blanket?"

Eddie doesn't respond, but starts shifting the lead pipe in his hand around a bit.

Mitch notices and chuckles. "Yeah, I'd guess you're the Falk brother that would need a weapon. You were always the bitch of the two."

Tom holds his arm out to stop Eddie from stepping forward. It's a precautionary measure and not actually needed since Eddie doesn't do anything except stare with hate in his eyes at Mitch. Tom chuckles himself and says "Well, were it another man, I may actually take that as a compliment. But seeing as it's you, and seeing as Irina's been ringing your bell the past two days, I'm going to guess she knocked something loose up there in your cranium. So I'm just going to remind you that it's not wise to upset a Falk with a weapon, especially after you wronged him in some way."

Mitch smirks and folds his arms. "Is that what Irina's been telling you? That I've been tortured since your little angel somehow escaped from me?"

Nadia then chimes in. "Not just Irina. Mary saw you the other night, propped up on the wall unconscious on a cot..."

"...you mean the cot that your little Maria slept on a couple nights ago? I hear she cried herself to sleep that night."

Tom fires "Hey, if you think you emotionally scarred my daughter, you're wrong! You know what she was doing this time yesterday? She was playing hide-go-seek with her Grandpa Jack Bristow! She was giggling and laughing while watching the Powerpuff Girls with Emilio right before that! So you think your douchebaggery somehow ruined my daughter, you're wrong! It takes more than that to ruin a Falk for life."

"Oh, like ripping out part of a Falk's skeletal system after killing his 'brothers'? Is that the kind of thing that ruins a man?"

Tom smirks and looks over at Nadia, who doesn't appear to be as amused as he is as she looks back at him. "Oh, I don't know. I fell in love with Nadia after all that. You think I'm alright, don't you?"

Nadia just lets out an "Of course". She then goes back to staring down Mitch, who just rolls his eyes, his insult being countered by a cute and, to him, trite display of love just now.

Tom then says "If that doesn't just get under your skin, this next part will."

Mitch wiggles his fingers in front of him in mocking scared fashion and says "Ooh, I'm scared."

"You should be. Because you're a dead man. But the part that's really going to bake your noodle is that I'm not going to lay a finger on you."

"Oh really? Halcon Diablo...turning over a new leaf?"

"Come on, Mitch. You know me better than that. I like revenge as much as the next guy, but I've never been greedy about it. I let others have their fun when it's necessary. And this time...it's very, very necessary. Besides, I'm a man of peace now. It's my job to teach new arrivals how to live a peaceful existence here. But Eddie's not a man of peace..." Tom slowly turns to Eddie. "...are you, brother?"

Eddie, who's been silent throughout all this, asks "You asked me what I'm doing with this lead pipe, Mitch."

Mitch looks over at Eddie with a somewhat amused look. "You're very perceptive."

"Every time this pipe connects with your skull, I'll be thinking of the woman you took from me."

Mitch gives Eddie a confused look. "I'm sorry?"

"Don't play dumb with me. You know who I'm talking about."

Mitch turns away, appearing to be thinking about what Eddie just asked. Finally, he appears to have discovered the answer. He nonchalantly says "Oh, you mean the whore that I shot."

Eddie clinches the lead pipe tighter, but doesn't say anything immediately.

Instead, Nadia defends Julieta. "There were innocent kids who looked up to her. She was an orphan mother to 20 children at the San Marcos Orphanage in San Felipe. You took her away from them."

Mitch just shrugs and says "I was doing them a favor. They shouldn't be looking up to a whore."

Through clinched teeth, Eddie makes his threat. "Say whore again."

Mitch looks back at Eddie with a grin. "Slut. Prostitute. The Spanish version of that last word is 'puta'." In a mocking French tone, Mitch says "I believe zee French call them 'prostitutee'"

Tom pulls out a two-radio and says "And now, I'm going to call you 'dead'." He hits the button on the two-way radio to open up communication to whoever is on the other side of the radio and says "Strength and honor."

Mitch looks a little worried. "What are you doing?"

Tom just gives Mitch a demented grin as the front door opens...and in steps Chris Cooper, Jacob Jackson, Luke Winter, and Eddie Alvarez, the surviving members of Storm Crew.

It was Mitch's intel that killed them when he became a rat for the Covenant. And it was Mitch's smoking gun that murdered Charlie O'Doyle and Jerome Thompson as they guarded the Falk house not a couple days ago. And seeing as each of them come bearing an aluminum baseball bat, pry bar, nunchuks, and a golf club respectively, it's quite obvious they're here with vengeance on their mind.

Sensing that a slaughter is about to take place if he doesn't do something, Mitch quickly pulls out his own two-way radio and says "IRINA! SEND THEM IN! THEY'RE COMING!"

And now, the moment of truth has presented itself. If there's over fifty angry Latino gangsters in the area, and if they know how to teleport, there may be a slaughter all right, but Mitch won't be among the sacrificial lambs. Is Irina betraying Mitch...or is she betraying Tom, Nadia, Eddie, and the rest of Storm Crew?

Tom, Eddie, and Nadia all look at each other suspiciously. The members of Storm Crew continue to bear down on Mitch, who has started to begin backpeddling to the right towards the back door.

Nothing is heard on Mitch's radio for a few seconds. Either the gangsters are late...or Irina's milking this for all it's worth.

An impatient Mitch talks into the radio again. "IRINA! WHERE ARE YOU?"

Finally, a couple seconds later, the radio beeps, and everyone hears the cold words that come out of Irina Derevko's mouth:

"You're on your own, Mitch."

An eerie silence takes over the room for a moment. Then, a possessed and frantic Mitch screams even louder into his radio. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, IRINA? THIS WAS NOT THE PLAN!"

"No. This was my plan all along. You were a dead man from the moment you crossed the portal. And since you tried to kill my granddaughter..."

Suddenly, Irina appears behind Mitch, blocking the exit door behind him. "...I'm going to watch and enjoy this." She then casually tosses the radio aside, leans back on the door and folds her arms.

There's only one way out for Mitch now. He finds a small gap to his left created by the encroaching Storm Crew members and the wall. He makes a break to his left...but he doesn't get far.

CLANK! That's the sound of Eddie Falk's lead pipe connecting with Mitch's skull just as Mitch thought he was getting clear. Mitch collapses to the ground in a sickening thud.

For Eddie, that one shot to the head would be enough. He backs off and lets the four Storm Crew start causing blunt force trauma to his body. Shot after shot after shot after shot of their blunt objects connects, each causing sickening thuds, sickening cracking of bones, and sickening screams of a bludgeoned Mitch.

This is just what Tom wanted. Not a big deal was made by him in the past couple days over how Storm Crew was taking the deaths of Jerome and Charlie. Obviously, Tom and Nadia themselves have been dealing with issues of their own, mainly the abduction that followed their deaths. But Tom did not forget his Storm Crew brothers throughout all this. He vowed to make this right to Storm Crew not only in this instance, but also to give Storm Crew their revenge for Mitch helping send them to Elysium in the first place. The savage beatdown of Mitch Hayes that is going on as we speak was entirely Tom's idea.

But one part of Tom's plan isn't going according to plan. He looks over at his brother Eddie, who's just standing there and watching the savagery take place. "What are you doing?"

Eddie looks over at Tom, somewhat numb at what's taking place. "Huh?"

Tom points to Mitch, who's screaming in howling in pain as the beatdown continues. "That piece of shit murdered Julieta and threw it in your face just now. Why are you just standing there?"

"I did enough. Mitch ain't going anywhere because of me." Eddie then goes back to watching the beatdown. Eddie's not ruthless like Tom is. He gets satisfaction from defeating an opponent much easier than Tom does. At least, he does on the surface anyway...

While that conversation takes place, Nadia finds the assault on Mitch disturbing and chooses not to watch. She's quite happy that vengeance on her daughter's abductor and almost-killer is being dished out, but while she does have an angry streak like her husband Tom, she doesn't have his ruthless streak. She thinks that Tom enjoys dishing out torture a bit too much. Torture was never her style, especially since she found herself on the wrong end of it more often than not. But as Tom watches on, she can tell he's enjoying this. But that's him. She'd rather not watch.

Instead, she looks over at Irina, who's watching Storm Crew's assault on Mitch with a somewhat amused look on her face. A big part of Nadia is relieved that Irina has lived up to her word. That's because a big part of her wants to believe in her mother again.

Irina, apparently realizing Nadia's looking at her, looks over at her daughter and locks eyes with her.

Nadia doesn't say anything, but nods her head twice, as if to say "thank you for living up to your word." She's not smiling, and an intent glare is still on Nadia's face, but Irina interprets that nod correctly, and nods back as if to say "your welcome".

Finally, after a good minute and a half of swinging, the Storm Crew guys are done. Their blunt force objects are all coated in blood as they step back away from Mitch, their arms tired from the beating.

Mitch doesn't move for a while. But it's immediately evident that his body is in a world of hurt. He had rolled over to his belly during the beatdown, and his body twitches from pain spasms.

Finally, he slowly rolls over. He grabs onto a railing on the wall to pull himself up...somehow, his right arm is still functional. He grunts and grimaces loudly as he props his back up on the wall, then lets go on the rail with out a shred of energy in him anymore. His face is coated in dark red blood, his left eye is swollen shut, his nose is shattered, and he may have one complete tooth left in his mouth.

In short, he looks like something out of a horror movie.

And yet, he still lets out a cackle, then spits out some of his teeth, as if to show everyone that he's going to be defiant to the end.

Everyone in the room is somewhat surprised to see him conscious, let alone alive. He took some solid head shots in the melee and yet, still appears to have at least some of his mental facilities at his disposal.

He looks over to his right at Irina. He coughs out some blood and says "You...wait until...Sloane...hears about...this. He'll..."

Irina stops him in his tracks. "He'll...what? He's got an army he can't control, no Plan B after what happened with the Elysian Council failed, and he made the mistake of trusting me to do a lot of his dirty work for him. I'm not sure who the bigger fool is: you or him."

Mitch closes his eyes, a sudden burst of pain jabbing at him just now. When he opens his eyes, he looks over at Eddie with a demented smirk. "I see...your pipe...doesn't...have blood on it. You...come to...your senses?"

Eddie shakes his head. "I did what I had to do."

Mitch waves a finger. "No..." He then pushes off the wall and tries to sit up on his knees, but finds his legs too broken to support his weight, so he just props himself up with his right arm. "You realized...the truth...about Julieta."

Tom curiously asks "Are you really going to say what I think you're going to say? You were warned..."

"Shut up! OW!" Mitch winces as his rib cage howls in pain from yelling. "When I...return...to Hell...they won't...do anything to me...that hasn't already...been done here. So go...fuck yourself." Mitch turns back to Eddie. "Julieta didn't love you...she can't love a client...that's not...what her kind does...and you realized that...and that's why...you backed off."

Eddie grips his lead pipe tighter, but tries to look composed. It's not working. "You're wrong. She was more than that to me!"

Mitch cackles and says "No she wasn't...you knew...just like Nadia knew...and Tom...and those brat kids of hers...that Julieta was nothing...NOTHING...BUT A GODDAMN WHORE!"

"SHUT UUUUUPPP!" And this is the moment when Eddie Falk snaps.

He charges forward, shoves and knocks the large Chris Cooper off his feet, and clubs Mitch in the head with his lead pipe, effectively shutting him up as he hoped it would. When Mitch falls on his back, Eddie dives down with another lead pipe shot to the head...and another...and another...screaming in agony and rage all the way.

Luke and Jacob consider pulling Eddie off of Mitch, but think better of it when they look back at Tom, who has his arms folded as he observes his brother going into berserker mode like he's done himself before. His face is stone cold, and he says nothing, nor lifts a finger in protest. Tom knows that, throughout all of this, Eddie was like a balloon that was about to pop. Even when Eddie held back after the first blast that knocked Mitch off his feet, Tom could tell Eddie wanted more.

At this point, Mitch has stopped screaming. But Eddie's still whaling away at Mitch's head. Outside of the sound of pipe cracking bone and the sound of Eddie crying as the attack continues, it's eerily silent. In fact, Eddie's attack has made things very uncomfortable in the former Charleston Restaurant.

Nadia looks up at Tom and pleads "Tom, you have to stop this!"

Tom says nothing, focusing entirely on Eddie's rage.

"Tom! This is your brother! He's not like this!"

Still, Tom says nothing.

Chris gets up off the ground and asks "Tom?"

Finally, Tom blurts out "He needs this." There would not be a protest from anyone else.

About 10 seconds later, perhaps because of the slick blood that has been collected on the pipe, the pipe goes flying out of Eddie's hand on a backswing and lands somewhere in the restaurant. Even though his arm feels like the lead in that pipe, Eddie clinches his fist and starts punching Mitch, who has long gone unresponsive.

Finally, Nadia has seen enough. Eddie's punches are barely having an effect anymore, and enough damage has been done. She runs over and bearhugs Eddie, who acts as if she's not even there and continues to swing lifelessly. She'd be joined by Eddie Alvarez and Chris, who help her succeed in dragging Eddie away.

When they get a few feet away, Eddie wriggles himself free and yells "LET ME GO!" Nadia, Alvarez, and Chris back off of him as he buries his head in his left, non-punching hand as he goes from rage to agony.

Nadia worriedly asks "Eddie? Are you alright?"

Eddie looks up at Nadia and suddenly steps up and gives her a hug before she can react. As soon as he hugs her, he starts crying again. "Julieta...she was your friend, too! I couldn't take what he was saying no more..."

Nadia closes her eyes and fights back the tears herself. Eddie loved Julieta more than even she realized. Julieta deserved a guy like Eddie and instead, it all ended at the end of a gun. Nadia can't help but feel heartbroken for Eddie herself. "It's ok, Eddie. She loved you, too. She'd be happy that one man in her life fought for her."

Tom watches the touching scene unfold with Eddie and Nadia. Irina does too, and can't help but feel a little sad for Eddie herself. She actually got to know Julieta a little bit during her captivity and truly did feel bad when she heard Mitch shot her.

Suddenly, everyone's concentration is broken when Mitch suddenly spits. They all look over and see Mitch staring up into the ceiling with empty eyes, his face more battered and crimson than before. He suddenly spits again, the result of a gag reflex of blood either going up or down his throat.

But that's not nearly as surprising as the fact that Mitch has yet to disappear. He took countless shots to the head, especially from Eddie in the end, and yet, he's still here.

Tom quickly walks over and squats down so he can get a closer look at Mitch. Mitch's eyes are empty, just staring off into space. His breaths are short, quick, and irregular. Tom waves his hand in front of Mitch's face, and Mitch doesn't respond with anything. Tom then snaps his fingers repeatedly, and again, Mitch does nothing.

Eddie, who has let go of the hug with Nadia, walks over and asks "What the hell's going on?"

Tom slowly looks up at Eddie, almost fearfully. Eddie did much of the damage to Mitch's cranium, and it's obvious to Tom and the Storm Crew members huddled around that the lights are on in Mitch's head, but no one's home. Tom's almost afraid of his own brother. Finally, Tom just says "Do you remember Joey Malone? The quarterback on the football team in high school?"

"Yeah...that guy was an asshole. What about him?"

"His grandfather was in a real bad mining accident. Left him brain damaged and unable to function in life. Most everyone that knew him wondered why the Malones kept him alive."

"Donald the Invalid. That was his name."

Tom looks back down at the brain-damaged Mitch. "Well, this is Mitch the Invalid. He wouldn't win a spelling contest with a tomato right now!"

Chris nods and says "Good." The rest of Storm Crew appears to nod in agreement.

"But when we kill him, he's going to be reset when he goes back to Hell. Which is a shame, because he deserves to rot in eternity as a vegetable."

Irina points out "Then don't kill him."

Tom, and everyone else looks over at Irina with disapproving looks. Tom defensively says "There is no way he's staying in Elysium."

Irina points to the side of her face that has the frostbite scars. "When I crossed over the portal from Hell, I kept the scars I acquired in Hell. So did Sloane, so did Elena."

Nadia points out "When Cesar attacked me, he still had the scar when Tom blocked the bullet..."

"But he sure didn't act like a man with a bullet still lodged in his head. When he died on Earth, he reset in Hell. It's probably the same here. Mitch and Cesar complained of being sore from their jobs, which was shoveling rock for 80 hours a week to create space for new arrivals. Everything that happened in Hell carried over to Elysium."

Tom then looks back down at Mitch. "So if Mitch is carried back through the portal..."

Eddie completes the sentence. "...he'll be invalid for the rest of eternity."

"Along with having a really bad headache." Tom then moves over to one shoulder. "Eddie, come help me carry him. We have to take him to Rambaldi's first, then we'll take him to the portal. Chris, Alvarez, Luke, Jacob...come with us."

Irina asks "I guess I probably shouldn't go with you?"

Tom looks up at Irina and replies "Yeah, not a good idea. Rambaldi's handling whatever negotiations are taking place, and if whoever is in Hell sees you, that could lead to all kinds of nasty." Meanwhile, Eddie goes over to Mitch's other shoulder and helps lift his dead weight up with Tom.

Irina nods and says "Well, I think my work is done here."

"Wait, who are you giving up next?"

Irina smirks and says "You'll find out. I'll be around."

"Alright. Thanks for the help."

Irina's smirk becomes a full smile. She's a bit surprised at the compliment. She then turns over to Nadia and says "Anytime." She then closes her eyes and disappears instead of dwelling on the good vibes.

Everyone else, including Mitch, would leave right afterwards.

Siberian Forest (Elysium)

And now, they're all waiting for the big entrance.

Tom and Eddie are still holding a mentally-damaged Mitch up. The rest of Storm Crew is there as well, along with Nadia, Milo Rambaldi, and a host of Il Credo Divino assassins forming a half-circle around the portal, led by Laurent L'Andre.

Mitch hasn't done much of anything in the last hour except drool and the occasional gurgle. Most of his blood has dried up on his face, which makes the lumps and open wounds easier to spot on his head.

And finally, after an hour of waiting, one of the men on the other side of the portal crosses. "Gentlemen..." The man looks over at Nadia. "And lady...it is my great pleasure as always to introduce the Elysian Ambassador of Hell: Mammon!"

The man then steps back across the portal and stands in attention with the other man. Finally, from their left, the mountainous Mammon appears and steps across the portal. As like before, his appearance is gaudy, but this time, he looks upset, like he's been inconvenienced in some way. He stops stepping forward when he notices the long line of drool running down to the ground from Mitch's face. He holds out his hand towards him and asks in his usual gravely voice "What is this?"

Rambaldi calmly replies "This is Mitch Hayes, one of the men you are after."

Mammon dumbfoundedly asks "What did you do to him?"

Tom smirks and goes to say something sarcastically, but Eddie cuts him off. "I...we did what needed to be done. And now, you're going to take Mitch Hayes across that portal."

Mammon examines Mitch some more, then looks back at Eddie. "In this condition? Why?"

Tom then replies "Because not only do you want him, but we want to make sure that he suffers for the rest of eternity. You're going to take him AS-IS!"

"You must be a fool if you think I'm going to take orders from you."

"Yeah, I guess we're all fools for coming here. I think we'll just keep him. When we need a punching bag, we'll just go see my good friend here." Tom then pats Mitch on the head.

Rambaldi then says "You told me that you value your assets. Just because the man now suffers from a traumatic mental-handicap, you're going to turn him away?"

Mammon defensively says "I didn't say that!" Mammon then looks back at Tom and Eddie. "You did this to him?"

Tom looks over at Storm Crew, then back at Mammon. "We all did. This man took things from us that are near and dear to our heart. I was more than happy to watch his brain get scrambled."

Suddenly, Mammon gives Tom a funny look. "I know you...you're the one that I hear some call 'The Falcon Devil'. You're Tom Falk."

"Yeah, so?"

"So...we were very, very disappointed that Elysium put in a claim on you long before we could. Your wife, too..." Mammon fixes his gaze on Nadia, who suddenly looks very uncomfortable.

Tom gives Nadia a look, then looks back at Mammon. "What would you want her for? You guys just love petty criminals that much?"

"That's not all she did on the streets of Argentina." Mammon looks back over at Nadia. "You killed a man, didn't you?"

Nadia defensively fires back "He had it coming! You probably know I killed Roberto Fox because he's probably down there in Hell with you!"

Mammon starts slowly chuckling. "Indeed."

Tom then quickly changes the subject. "Hey! Do you want your escapee or not?"

Mammon looks back at Mitch. He then sighs and turns back to the portal. "Take this man to the pits. He has brain damage, so you'll have to drag him the whole way."

The two men on the other side step across the portal. The assassins all stand in attack position in case they do something besides carry Mitch. But luckily for them, they obey orders. They take Mitch away from Tom and Eddie and drag him across the portal.

Tom and Eddie both shake themselves off after carrying dead weight between the two of them for the past hour. Tom then asks Mammon "So, what's going happen to him now? Is he going to be your punching bag?"

Mammon looks back at the portal as Mitch's body is dragged around the corner. "He wishes."

Rambaldi bows his head and says "I guess our business is done here. Our men will continue to stand guard..."

Mammon cuts him off. "About your offer, Milo. I accept it under one condition."

Rambaldi replies "And what condition is that?"

"We will trade you the souls your requested as long as we get our lost damned back. We also want Tom and Nadia."

Tom snaps back "OVER OUR DEAD BODIES!"

"That's the idea. See, it seems like you two have taken an active role in finding the damned we have lost. If one or both of you die before we get everyone on our list, we'll pluck you from Purgatory immediately, and you will not be returned to Elysium. You will be the property of Hell immediately."

"Those are some long odds there. We're not going anywhere. As you know, we both are capable of defending ourselves. We both have killed before. And yeah, we may kill again before this little arrangement is all said and done."

Nadia looks over at Rambaldi. "Milo, please don't do this."

Tom looks back at Nadia and asks "What are you doing? This is a cakewalk!"

"I am NOT going to even think about spending another day of my life without Maria in it!"

"I don't want to think about that, either! But..."

Rambaldi turns to Mammon and says "We accept with a condition of our own."

Tom immediately protests. "Hey, wait a second!"

Rambaldi holds up his hand in Tom's face as he continues to address Mammon. "We have brought Mitch back in good faith. We didn't have to do that since our deal wasn't finalized. But if we are going to accept this deal under your parameters, you're going to accept one of our own."

Mammon folds his hands at his waist and says "What is your parameter?"

"Three of the five are the ones you don't want. We want them back."

"Of course, we'll give them back..."

"...now. We've been acting in good faith, it's time you returned the favor."

"You don't have the manpower to act if I choose not to comply."

"Do you really want to start a war over three lives you couldn't care less about? Look, you want to gamble with the lives of Tom and Nadia, we want those lives back immediately."

Nadia pleads "We never agreed to that!"

Mammon laughs and, perhaps sensing the need to complete this deal before Tom and Nadia force Milo's hand, says "You have a deal, Milo!" Mammon them pulls out his two-way radio. "This is Mammon. Those three you're holding...send them to the portal immediately. I'm releasing them." Mammon then puts away his radio and says "Good day, everyone." He then walks away quickly before Rambaldi changes his mind.

Tom looks back at Rambaldi and holds out his arms. "Just what in the heck are you doing?"

Rambaldi curiously replies "I thought you were confident that you would live throughout all this."

"I was, but Nadia isn't!"

"Two votes to one, I win."

Nadia forms a disgusted look on her face. "When did you get so petty?"

"It's not pettiness at all, actually."

"Then what is it?"

Before Rambaldi can answer that, a woman shouts out "Nadia! Eddie!" The three look over at the portal and see Julieta Romero, looking a little worse for the wear, stepping through.

Nadia and Eddie both run to her. Julieta hugs Nadia first and starts crying out of relief. The bullethole scar from when Mitch shot her displays prominently on her forehead. "I missed you so much, Naddy!"

"I missed you too. And I know the kids miss you."

"Those poor babies...I miss them so much, too!" Julieta then lets go of Nadia and looks at Eddie. She spots the blood on Eddie's shirt. "Eddie! What happened?"

Eddie, starting to tear up himself, says "I took care of Mitch. He killed you...and I took care of him. I missed you..." Eddie starts getting emotional as he finishes that sentence and hugs Julieta.

Julieta lets out a whimper and hugs Eddie right back. "Oh Eddie, you shouldn't have..."

"I love you, Julieta. I'd do anything for you."

"You...love me? You really do love me?"

"I feel like an asshole...I didn't realize how much I did love you until I lost you..."

Julieta pulls her head off of Eddie's shoulder and looks into his eyes. "It's ok...because I realized how much I loved you too when I went to Purgatory. I love you so much!" Julieta then plants a kiss on Eddie's lips. And another...and another...

Tom forms a disgusted look at his brother and looks over at Nadia. "Geez, do we look like that?"

An playfully offended Nadia replies "What if we did? Would you suddenly stop loving me?"

"Not a chance..." Tom then is distracted by two more men walking through the portal. It's Jerome Thompson and Charlie O'Doyle. Their scars are not shown because they were shot in the back of the head. Both look relieved to be back as well. Tom grins and says "Welcome back, brothers!" Tom and the rest of Storm Crew all huddle around Jerome and Charlie and embrace each other kind of like hockey players to after scoring a goal.

After a while of man-hugging and Eddie and Julieta's makeout session, Nadia turns back to Rambaldi. She doesn't look happy. "Milo, thank you for getting our friends back. But you need to explain yourself right now."

"Regarding what?"

"Regarding what? Regarding why you sold me and Tom out!"

Rambaldi keeps his closed smile as he turns to Julieta, who stopped playing tonsil hockey when Charlie and Jerome emerged. "Let me see take a closer look at your forehead, please."

Julieta walks over to Rambaldi. With both hands, Rambaldi runs his hands across her forehead where the scars are. He nods and says "Would you like for me to get rid of that scar for you?"

Julieta nods and says "Yes, please."

"Then close your eyes and imagine yourself looking in a mirror on the day you were going to take Emilio on his playdate with Maria. Can you do that?"

Julieta closes her eyes and says "Yes...I'm seeing myself now."

"Good, keep that image in your mind..." Rambaldi cups his right hand around the scar and closes his eyes. His lips start to move, like he's chanting some sort of incantation. Suddenly, the inside of his cupped hand starts to glow yellow. Julieta lets out a comfortable "Ooh..." like she's getting a massage. Her body lets out a shudder and she giggles. She actually looks like she's enjoying this.

Tom looks over at Nadia and whispers "When he did this to your throat, did you find this enjoyable?"

Nadia thinks back to when she first arrived in Elysium, after the piece of glass table in her throat killed her. She nods with a smile and whispers "Yeah, it was actually soothing. My body felt refreshed when he was done."

Finally, Rambaldi opens his eyes and removes his hand from Julieta's forehead. The scar is gone. Even though Rambaldi's done this service for Nadia before, along with many others, everyone still looks amazed that he's even capable of this. Julieta lets out a giddy "Wow!" before putting her arm around Eddie's hip.

Rambaldi smiles his usual goofy smile and says "There, all better. You probably feel better too, don't you?"

"Yeah, I feel amazing!"

Charlie, with his thick Irish accent, says "Hey Milo, why don't you come over here and take care of my scar? I could use a refreshing myself." Jerome also nods affirmatively.

Rambaldi keeps his smile and says "In due time. But Nadia asked me a question."

An irritated Tom asks "And I'm going to ask it, too. What gives you the right to put our lives on the line?"

Rambaldi just smiles his goofy smile. "Because I don't make bets without knowing the outcome already."

"What are you saying?"

Rambaldi smiles wider. "I can restore a person to his or her original beauty. That's just one of many things that I know. My prophecy was based on my knowledge of the future. And so is my deal with Mammon...and Irina."

END OF CHAPTER