Here we are.

Guest: obviously I don't know if you are recurring guest but if you are you should know by now that I like to complicate things. Give Cal some credit…

So, Gillian went and pulled a Lightman, didn't she? Lots to unpack so let's get on with it.

This might also be a nice time to apologise if the technical side here doesn't add up, I am making stuff up after all.

He was a man of action, or at least a man who made things happen. Sitting and waiting, watching without even the consolation of knowing he could later use what he saw was against his nature. And yet, that was all he could do.

Since coming into the office on Tuesday morning and finding out about Gillian's solo mission, Cal had never left. He spent his time between his own office and the lab, doing pretty much the same thing: watching and looking for Gillian, waiting for her to appear on any of the cameras and prove to him she was alive and well. Reynolds, Perkins and the DEA lot were watching for clues and information, for that so important detail about the meeting: he was watching to see her, to hear her voice, to make sure she was as ok as she could be even if miles away and such a dangerous place. With only one hour difference he settled in a similar rhythm as the one she kept, sleeping - or at least trying to - whenever darkness took over the images and keeping vigil at day time.

Food and beverages would materialise around him with no apparent warning, mostly going untouched if not for when his body really seemed about to give in. That was when his brain stepped in, telling him if he wanted his mind to stay sharp then he'd had to keep it nourished.

Sadly, there wasn't much to process.

In less than 48 hours since her arrival at Villar's mansion, Gillian had been able to place 6 hidden cameras. One was in what seemed to be her office, and one was in Rodrigo's room. The others were in the kitchen and dining room, one pointing at the poolside furniture and the last one in the living room. The angle wasn't always ideal but she'd hardly had the chance to take her time with it, but the microphones still picked up most of what was said. Unfortunately, after nearly two days it seemed obvious that Villar only discussed business in his office.

That room was out of reach for Gillian apparently. She had frequent conversations with Villar, who truly cared about his son's well being and wanted to know if there was any sort of progress, but their interaction usually happened in her office or the living room.

Once he had gone past the rageful shock and understandable fear, Cal had decided to focus on her. For someone who had never been seriously undercover, certainly not that deep, Gillian was doing a cracking job at it. She had been shipped over there as Dr Kathy Walkers, a fictitious name necessary given her profile as a child psychologist, and never once seemed to flinch or get confused over the name. That was the easy part, in a way: dealing with armed men and their boss while disseminating hidden cameras, living in constant fear of being unmasked all the while helping a traumatised child was nothing short of impressive.

Because in all of that, even remembering what her real mission was, Gillian was nailing that part too.

A couple of days with her and Rodrigo was talking, not just to her but to his father: which was remarkable considering that he hadn't said a word in months. Villar might have been a dangerous drug criminal but he sure was a devoted father, Cal had seen that in the way he had barely fought back tears the first time the boy had talked to him, showing him a picture he had drawn. That part, as stupid as it might sound, hard tugged at Cal's heart and reminded him why he struggled to be mad at Gillian. He suspected she didn't care much about the drug operation, besides her innate sense of civil duty of course, and that the main reason why she had volunteered for the case had been Rodrigo.

Villar had been so touched and impressed with her progress that he had gifted Gillian a ceramic mask shaped as a butterfly, a rather impressive piece of traditional artisanat. They had watched the scene in the lab, all of them feeling rather odd in recognising it was such a genuine and nice gesture, observing in a stunned silence as Pedro, a tattooed gorilla incapable of looking anything but mad at something who seemed to be Villar's right-hand man, had forcibly handed the gift to Gillian with the grace of a bull in a China shop.

That, truly, had been Cal's only source of relief. If she was in the good grace of the boss that would probably keep her safe. They still had no clue about the meeting and time was going by, and every time Cal pressed Perkins on how he was going to adjust his strategy he received no answer. Once, shortly after Cal's arrival, Perkins had had the unmitigated guts to observe that Gillian was placing the cameras in useless places: the comment had earned him a rid of strong looks from Loker and Torres, even Reynolds really, while Cal had nearly incinerated him on the spot with a deadly look. After that, the agent had learned to stay out of his way as much as possible, but after all they had made the lab the centre of the operation so complete avoidance was impossible.

And they happened to be both in the lab when yet a new feed started, this one showing a small anteroom that, according to the blueprints they had obtained, was just outside Villar's private office.

"Getting closer," Perkins mumbled with an approving nod.

Cal still scoffed, not for the first time realising he was far more mad at him than at Gillian for going behind his back with something like that, but quickly his attention was all focused on something else. No matter what Perkins thought or said, Gillian had been able to map quite a big portion of the villa and only a couple of minutes after the first images from the new feed started to come in he caught sight of Gillian in the kitchen preparing herself a snack. Nothing of note there, aside from a few areas of the house she was free to go where she wanted with no supervision, and when Pedro joined her in the kitchen Cal felt an immediate sense of dread coming over him.

"That's new," Torres noted, sharing his silent thought.

Aside from Villar, his son and the maid Gillian had had very little interactions with other people in the house. That alone wasn't much, maybe Pedro had just grown curious about this shrink going around the house…but when they saw him approach Gillian in the kitchen the expression on his face communicated suspicion more than anything else.

You got this love, Cal thought, clenching his jaw and staring at Gillina as if his distant gaze could reach her. And she did, mostly, going on about fixing herself a tea and sandwich with no hesitation that a profane could see even when Pedro started talking to her. He asked how she did that, and they all held their breath until he clarified he was talking about getting through to Rodrigo. Gillian kept the conversation casual, going along with the line of enquiry. Despite the calm exterior, Cal could tell she was on alert; the conversation seemed harmless, but it was obvious that Pedro talking to her directly for the first time was a red flag for her as well.

And then it came, the frontal attack they had been waiting for.

Pedro asked Gillian how she had found out about that job opportunity and she gave him the story they had prepared with Dr Alcaraz. Gillian was great, brilliant really, showing the most genuine surprise and honest confusion when the man pressed on, asking again how SHE had gotten the gig, hinting that it was no ordinary job. Unsurprisingly she was holding her own, but Pedro was resilient and, most importantly, he had clearly made up his mind already about her. On the oddly angled camera, Cal watched in impotent horror as the muscular man stepped right into her personal space, grabbing the wrist of the hand holding the knife she was using to spread peanut butter on bread. He pushed her away from the table and they moved out of shot but he could still hear the man letting Gillian know he didn't trust her, that he was keeping an eye on her and that she'd better not be playing games.

Cal was holding his breath and let go only when Pedro and Gillian reappeared into the frame. She was ok, understandably shaken and with a bruise forming around her wrist where he had held her, but overall ok. Cal stood up from the chair and stepped closer to the screen, wishing he was in his office where the definition was better so that he could confirm whether that reddening mark on her neck was another bruise.

Once free, Gillian gathered the cup and sandwich and left the room in a hurry. Cal's eyes scrambled all over the different frames to follow her movement but after passing by rooms and hallways she disappeared, and he felt his heart sink.

"You have to get her out of there." Once again it was Torres voicing what was going through his mind.

"She hasn't been made yet," Perkins stated.

"It doesn't matter!" She insisted, nearly getting in his face. "He's onto her, she's exposed now."

"We've been through this before Miss Torres, we can't extract her until we know-"

"Sir, we've got another feed."

One of the agents manning the equipment gave the announcement with a flat tone, seemingly uninterested in his own report. Perkins stepped forward and they all stared at the new blank window waiting for the images to come, not sure what to make of it when the first one coming up was a close up of Gillian's face. Cal's first thought was that she looked amazing with a touch of tropical sun on her face; the second was that yes, damnit, it was a second bruise on her neck; and the third that she looked remarkably steady and determined for someone who had just been manhandled by a criminal.

All the cameras that she had placed had been a quick affair, possibly dropped in a haste when nobody was looking, but she was taking her time with that one, looking right at it as she tried to position it the best she could. When she was done and pulled back, Cal immediately realised that the new camera was in what was more likely her own bedroom in Villar's mansion.

"What are you up, Gill?" Cal mumbled to himself, a smirk forming on his lips.

"Another useless camera. Great!" Perkins mumbled sarcastically.

Reynolds rolled his eyes at him then watched Cal, ready to jump in and stop the scientist from finally hitting the DEA agent, but Lightman's attention was otherwise occupied. He was still standing by the screen, looking at the new images and Gillian checking the camera one last time before leaving the room. Following on the screens, he saw her going to Rodrigo's room for their morning session, right on schedule, and for a couple of hours nothing else of note seemed to be happening.

Then, while Gillian was still with Rodrigo, the newest addition to the cameras' feed paid off.

Pedro came into the frame, sending a shiver down Cal's spine, which turned into an outright out of control shake when the man started going through Gillian's personal effect. He opened drawers and closets, fished through her suitcase and bag in a frantic but accurate search.

"Did you give her instructions on where to keep the cameras?" He asked, his eyes never leaving the screen.

"We couldn't foresee something like this," Perkins tried to justify himself right off the bat.

"Shocker!" Cal hissed at him.

"Torres is right," Reynolds jumped in. "Her cover might be blown but she's too exposed now. Pedro is the man in Villar's ear, if he says something to his boss Foster is in trouble."

"You better not be saying anything about that bloody meeting. I dare you." Cal shot a glare at Perkins, silencing even before he opened his mouth. Then he went back to the screen, following with his eyes as Gillian left Rodrigo's room, cutting the session short. "Besides, I think she's up to something."

They all wanted to ask what the hell he was talking about, but nobody dared. Loker and Torres simply knew better when it came to him and her, Reynolds had no idea what he was talking about and Perkins simply didn't know him or Gillian well enough to understand any of that. So they all watched in silence, releasing worried and surprised gasps when they saw Foster going into her room and catching Pedro in the act. He was surprised, clearly he thought he had more time and, as incredible as it was, Cal found himself smiling. After the confrontation in the kitchen one would have thought that the last thing Gillian wanted was to go for another round, but there she was; facing him again, on a terrain she had prepared and on her very own terms, despite what others might have thought.

"What is she doing? She-"

"Shut up." Cal admonished Torres, appreciating the concern in her voice but strangely thinking it was unfounded. "I'm telling you, she's up to something."

He truly believed that for some reason, despite the fact that Pedro was once again accusing her of not being who she was, once more putting his hands on her. His eyes were seeing that, his ear hearing that, but his mind was processing what he hadn't seen nor heard. She had laid a trap, there was no other way to look at it: she had set up the camera in her room after the first spat with Pedro and then gone about her business, but she had left the session earlier than usual knowing, somehow, she would have caught him the act. There was still a lot he couldn't explain or understand, he couldn't yet see what the plan was, but for the first time in days he felt his admiration for her tipping the scale over the fear for her safety.

Thankfully, Pedro left the room after more threats and accusations but without any further actions, leaving Gillian looking around her personal effects spread around the room. She looked distraught, understandably, almost on the verge of tears, violated in a place she clearly had come to see as safe and private, sobbing softly as she sat on the edge of the bed by the open suitcase: and she was faking the hell out of it all.

"What is she doing"? Torres asked again, this time with curiosity more than anything else, watching confused as Foster suddenly looked up, feigning an expression of surprised puzzlement as if she had just noticed something strange.

Cal didn't say a word, watching on mesmerised as she stood up and walked toward the camera she had set up, looking like she was seeing if for the first time. Gillian kept on the troubled woman's mask, sniffing nose, red face, teary eyes and all, then picked up the camera and left the room. What followed were a couple of minutes of shaking images catching indecipherable details, of ruffled noises and random sounds, interrupted by a knock on a door. The camera was now pointing a little steadier but only to the ground, but the microphone clearly picked up Villar's voice right after the sound of the door opening.

"Dr Walkers, what- What happened?"

The concern in his voice was genuine, Cal had to give him that much.

"I'm really sorry to disturb you Mr Villar, but- Could we talk, for a minute?"

The images still didn't make much sense, but they listened as Villar said of course and probably let her into the room; his office.

"C'mon off now love!" Cal burst all of sudden, nearly laughing as a grin came to his face much to everybody's shock. "You didn't!"

Perkins looked at Reynolds for explanation, who then turned to Torres hoping she could shed a light, but the woman too was clueless and, in all honesty, a little worried the male boss was just losing it.

"What-"

"Shus!" He silenced the question, barely paying attention to who had spoken, transfixed on the screen even though all they could see was a portion of what looked like a colourful rug. "You might want to listen, 'cause Foster's about to blow this thing wide open."

None of them had any idea how that could be possible, let alone how he could know. But the looks travelled backwards, from Torres to Reynold and then onto Perkins, with the young woman initiating the chain with a knowing nod that they should keep their mouth shot and watch things unfold.

Meanwhile, Gillian was doing her best impression of the shyly traumatised woman as she told Villar that Pedro had approached her, twice, accusing her of something and putting his hands on her, twice. She told him about the encounter in the kitchen, then about how she had found him in her room going through her stuff and then…

"I didn't know what to do, when he left. I just tried to tidy up my things and then I noticed something strange." They could hear her sobbing softly, as if she was afraid to talk about what had happened. Then all of a sudden the image changed, becoming a bit clearer even though still showing odd angles, this time of Villar's face. "I'm not sure what to make of it."

The camera was now offering a close up with Villar's astonished face, then there was some fumbling as he possibly removed it from something and brought it even closer, the definition of the image increasing along with the shock on his face.

"I don't know- I'm really sorry Mr Villar, you've been so welcoming to me." She was hitting all the right notes, presenting herself as hurt and afraid, adding some guilt and fear to show just how vulnerable she was and making sure he understood she had come to him for solace and protection. "This is just… I don't know, I-"

"It's ok Dr Walkers," Villar reassured, then the image went black as he likely clenched his fist around the small camera. "You've done the right thing, coming to me."

Then there was some shuffling and rustling, then Villar's voice calling out for Pedro with a booming voice that left no room for misinterpretation. They waited, hating those pauses where nobody talked and nothing seemed to be happening, holding their breath wondering what would happen next-

"Uhm we-" The agent in charge of the equipment mumbled, honestly surprised as he looked up, directing his confused gaze at Cal rather than Perkin. "There's another feed coming."

At that point, the only person in the room with any knowledge of what was going on seemed to be Lightman, at least judging but the wide grin on his chuckled even, which Perkins found out of place, Reynolds irritating and Torres somewhat reassuring. After all, at that point the only person in the room not surprised to see that the new incoming images were showing the inside of Villar's office seemed to be Lightman.

"Is that-"

"Yep," he grinned even wider as he cut off Reynolds, a funny feeling running through him despite the seriousness of the situation; but then again, Gillian's looks were not what had made him fall for her in the first place, and as the realisation of what she had just accomplished steadied itself in his mind he couldn't help but feel all kinds of way about her. "She just got us eyes and ears in Villar's office." Then the grin disappeared, his face turning hard and spiteful as he glared at Perkins. "You're welcome."

Placing a camera in Villar;s office wasn't the only thing Gillian accomplished on day two. When Pedro arrived at the office the boss confronted him, leaving him no room to reply or explain himself after he asked why he had been so disrespectful to a person that was so important to him and his family. When given the chance, Pedro tried to push his agenda that he didn't trust Gillian, and was caught off guard when Villar accused him of having ulterior motives. Then he showed him the camera, asking if that was his idea of treating guests and what his real intentions were.

They weren't really watching the drama unfold, the camera in Villar's hand was pretty much a nausea inducing affair and the one Gillian had just placed was showing a nice angle of Villar's desk. But they were listening alright, not missing a word when Pedro switched to Spanish and tried to convince the boss that she was playing with him, that she probably had put that camera there herself for some reason. Torres took the initiative and stepped in to translate, nearly bursting in a nervous chuckle when Villar stated he hardly believed Gillian might have done anything like that considering the camera was hidden in the butterfly shaped mask he had asked him to wrap up for her.

"I'll be damned!" Perkins gasped.

Cal wished she could see her, and it didn't matter that she would have probably still looked all distraught and weak to keep up with appearances. Cal knew if he'd seen her he would have been able to look past the surface, to see the resolution in her eyes, the triumph on her face coming from the certainty that she had just taken a major step forward in remarkable fashion.

"Whatever you're paying us, it's not enough." Cal grumbled, his eyes glued to the screen.

As to prove him right, Villar was now questioning what was no longer his most trusted man. They heard the boss order him to leave the mansion and go over to the fazenda, which prompted Perkins to finally justify his job and he instructed the team stationed in the woods around the villa to make sure they followed Pedro. The fazenda was likely one of the locations where they processed the drugs, and to get their hands on that would have been the cherry on top of his operation. Of course, the fact that Gillian had single-handedly turned that mess into a very likely success was inconsequential to him.

Cal didn't care, not that much: all he knew was that the biggest threat to Gillian's safety had been removed and that with that camera in Villar's office he was getting closer to get her back.

I hope this all made sense