"They need a day to get everything together, and a day to set it up," Trish said after hanging up her phone, "After that, they can be on standby for two more days before it becomes a problem for them."

It was an impromptu meeting to discuss the details of Trish's plan, and it took up a fair amount of the seating space inside Zhang Liang Spicy Hot Pot in Chinatown.

"That's generous of them," Beth said.

"They owe us, big time," Trish said, "plus they're reworking the script, so they have some downtime."

"Reworking, why?" Jessica asked.

"They're gonna use everything they shot at the Pier. Paul says it's gold. He showed the studio execs the raw footage and they just about pissed themselves. They're changing the storyline to make it fit. That'll be the epic fight, Annelie and her partner against the bad guys at Navy Pier. The museum fight is on the chopping block."

"What partner? Did she have a partner in the original script?" Jessica asked.

"Nope. But she does now."

"Must have been some footage," Beth said, "any chance of us seeing it?"

Trish's only response was to pull up a video on her phone before handing it to Beth.

The first file was the solo camera that had focused on Trish. The second file was an edited version of the two cameras that had focused on Sharon. Trish would have been embarrassed to admit how often she had watched both videos.

"GOD DAMN!" Jessica said at the point in the first video where Trish had finished her rising knee with a pair of back handsprings.

"WHOA!" Beth said as Sharon and the still unnamed man fell over the railing before ending up in the water, marking the end of the composite second video.

"Holy fucking shit," Jessica said, "she alright?"

"She's fine. They still haven't fished him out yet, I don't think."

"Never in a million years would I have known that wasn't Annelie Bodin," Beth said.

"Sharon just needs to pull it off one more time," Trish said, "the further inside she gets us, the easier this will be."

"Does Sharon speak Russian?" Beth asked.

"No, but neither does Annelie. She and Ekaterina Sokolova spoke English when they were together," Trish answered.

"Do they sound alike?"

"No. But that should only be a problem when we get all the way in. None of the guards know the difference."

"I can translate if you need," Beth said, "My Russian's pretty good. So is my Ukrainian, and my Serbian"

"So we just walk up to the front door and Sharon asks to see her ex-girlfriend and we waltz into the building, snatch her up, drag her back, and hand her over to the NYPD," Jessica said.

"No, the NYPD will be there with you," Captain Rita Ortiz said, "She killed four people in my precinct. I'm arresting her, I'm putting the cuffs on her, I'm perp walking her into a holding cell, and then over to the Tombs."

"All five of us are gonna waltz into her fucking condo?" Jessica asked, "What are we, Annelie's protection?"

"Why not?" Beth asked before looking at Trish and Jessica, "Not like some of us don't have the credentials."

"Bring that fucking dart gun of yours," Jessica said to Beth, "and the rest of your gadgets. I think we're gonna need them."

"You can't just walk up to the front door," Annelie said, "No one walks anywhere in Rublyovka. Every property is surrounded by walls. You're going to have to drive up to the house and park."

None of the women had been comfortable continuing the discussion indoors, but a large patch of unoccupied land in Columbus Park was perfect, though Trish kept the volume of the call low enough that no one who was outside of the circle of women could hear the voice coming from the speaker.

"How far away is far enough?" Trish asked, "Far enough away that we won't be spotted dropping in, but close enough that we won't have to worry about checkpoints or cops stopping us or shaking us down for money."

"People have been leaving Rublyovka for over a decade," Annelie said as everyone looked at a rough map of the neighborhood, "one-third of the homes are empty now, and even for the homes that are occupied people don't go out and walk around, and the only place to drive to is the Barvikha shopping center. That's on the west end. Katya's mansion is on the northernmost corner. It's right off the main highway that leads to Rublyovka. If you start out a mile outside the city it's barren. Except for the piles of trash."

"Piles of trash?" Jessica asked.

"Piles of trash are normal in Moscow," Beth answered before Annelie could speak, "Rublyovka doesn't seem all that exclusive in that regard."

"It's not. There's nothing exclusive about it. It's just an excuse to sell land or property, at exorbitant prices to people who can afford the price, and can't afford to say no."

"How much did Katya pay for her house?"

"Twenty million dollars. For a two-thousand square meter house. That backs onto a highway."

"No shit," Jessica said.

"Backs onto the highway," Trish said almost to herself.

"There's a sound-blocking wall on that side that's six meters high," Annelie said, "and cameras on the other side of the wall. Your best chance is still the front door."

"But it's almost perfect for getting in and getting out," Trish said, "We drive the last mile of the highway, turn right onto the side street, and right again into the driveway. We run it in reverse on the way out and dump the car right where we picked it up. By the time anyone gets to it, we'll be long gone."

"So all we have to worry about is the house, and Sokolova's private security," Rita said.

"She has a panic button in her panic room, and can call in reinforcements, but it'll take time for them to get there. They'll be coming from Moscow, ten kilometers away."

"So we need to keep her away from that room, and that button," Rita said.

"The security stations have buttons just like it."

"We have to assume that it'll get pressed at some point, but as long as we keep her out of that room things will go smoother for us," Beth said.

"So a vehicle, big enough for six, tinted windows would help, a mile outside the city," Trish said, "I'll tell Renee to pass it on to Anatoly."

"We're really using the Russian Mafia like it's Budget Car Rental?" Rita asked.

"When we're not using them like our own personal Stasi. They'll tell us when she's home, they'll plant the car when they get the go order. We can ask them to pick it up again, but it might be best to just leave it there and let them think we switched cars."

"That's a good idea," Rita said, "a dumped vehicle, no trace of another one, they'll have to stop everything heading the other way."

"Once they get there. Which could take a while."

"Either way, we'll be back in the US of A, getting the final details sorted out."

"And then a nice cozy cell in the basement of the 15th precinct before a trip to the Central Booking," Rita said.

"Make goddamn sure nobody breaks her out afterward," Jessica said.

"She's not going anywhere. No fucking way," Rita said with an edge to her voice.

"Anatoly says that they're on it," Trish said before showing her phone to Beth, "what does that mean?"

без проблем

"no problem."

"Huh. Learn something new every day."

Beth waited until the group meeting had broken up, Trish and Jessica heading towards Bayard Street, while Rita walked towards Baxter Street and the car that she had left behind NYPD Central Booking.

"Hey, can I walk you to your car?" Beth asked as she walked up next to the Captain of Detectives.

Rita looked up at the woman who was a couple inches taller than her, and the head of blond hair that she was ninety percent sure was a wig.

"Worried about me getting mugged?"

"Something tells me that you can take care of yourself. No, I have a question to ask you. About your ex."

fuck, here we go, Rita thought. She hadn't had to deal with one of these in a while, but she recognized that look and that tone of voice.

"Ask away," she answered as she turned her eyes away from the woman she still knew only as Alice and back towards the concrete walkway that was in front of her.

Beth hadn't rehearsed what she was going to say, she had mostly been focused on getting up the courage to ask. Now that it came down to it, she wasn't sure how to put it into words.

"Let me guess," Rita said after a moment of silence that she also recognized. A lot of requests for Aric's help came in fits and starts. Rita knew exactly how Alice was feeling right now, "you would like him to help you with something, but you're not sure how to ask."

Beth looked down slightly at the woman who seemed to be permanently suspended somewhere in her mid to late thirties. She still couldn't believe that Rita was almost sixty years old. "How did you know?"

"I made a similar request when my mom had cancer. And even though we had been dating for over a year, I was scared shitless when I did it."

"And how is your mom?" Beth asked her, knowing in advance the answer she would get.

"She's the picture of health. A lot of people think we're sisters."

Beth was quiet for a minute, temporarily diverted from her own question.

"That was before the thing in the parking lot?"

"Yes. About a year before that."

"So the thing he does, his help...it's permanent."

"So far. You saw Tyler. You can judge for yourself. Though in Tyler's case, Aric might be giving him an annual buffing."

Beth's heart was trying to beat its way out of her chest. She had attempted to escape Mother Lilith a handful of times when she had been young. She had almost made it once, just one short hallway between her and the open door that was allowing sunlight to stream into the dark interior of the dark building. It had felt exactly like this, the hope of freedom staring her in the face, causing her to become dizzy; all she had to do was cross the last few yards.

"Can he fix things that aren't physical?"

"What do you mean?"

"He cured your mom's cancer. He cured other sick people in your mom's village. But can he cure..."

Shit, Rita thought.

"Not physical...you mean...mental?"

Beth had no idea why her eyes filled with tears at the word, or why her chin quivered for a moment before she got it under control. When she spoke, the words came out almost as a whisper.

"Can he fix me?"

Jesus, you poor kid, Rita thought as she looked at the woman who had tears running down her cheeks.

"You don't look like you need fixing to me," Rita said gently as she stopped walking, which forced Beth to stop walking. The two women stood and looked at each other finally, full-on, Rita looking up slightly, Beth looking down. There were still times when Rita wished she had asked Aric to make her taller, even though she wasn't sure if he even could.

"I am so fucked up I can't begin to tell you," Beth said as she wiped the tears from her face. It was equal parts laugh and sob that escaped her mouth as Rita reached up her right hand and gently rubbed the taller woman's left shoulder.

"I'll have to take your word on it. You seem to me like you've got the world by the tail."

Beth shook her head as she looked for something to use to wipe her nose. "No. It's my tail that's still in a fucking vise."

Rita reached into her back pocket and took out a handkerchief and offered it to Beth. They were both quiet for a moment as Beth wiped her nose and got her breathing under control.

"We'll ask him, once this is all over. He'll do what he can," Rita said with a friendly smile, "and what he can do...well, you haven't heard the half of it yet."

Beth's heart rate continued to slow back to a more normal pace, but the feeling of hope continued to burn inside her, as her inner eye considered the freedom that was just a short distance away, freedom from Alice, whatever that meant. Beth returned Rita's gesture, her right hand finding Rita's left arm and shoulder, their two faces smiling softly.

"Thanks, Rita."

"The best we could do was Teterboro Airport, but we're almost ready. We still have a plane there from an earlier shoot." Paul said.

"Uniforms, logos, people, everything?" Trish asked.

"They're flying the last of it in right now. It'll be in New Jersey in about thirty minutes. It sounds like we'll be ready before you are."

"Got it. The next time you hear from me will be when we're on our way to you."

"Got it. Good luck, Trish. Godspeed."

"Thanks, Paul."

"He's not going to talk about this right?" Rita asked after Trish ended the call, "Not him, not anybody else?"

"Not if any of them ever want to work in Hollywood again," Trish said, "It's only a handful of people, and they've all had a personal chat with the head of the studio, a nondisclosure agreement as long as my arm, and a nice bonus. Right, Amanda?"

The woman that Trish had not seen since the makeup trainer at Navy Pier, who looked like she was sweating through her clothes, made an attempt at a nervous smile.

"I'm not allowed to talk about it."

Sharon smiled before patting the woman on the couch next to her on the back. "That a girl."

It wasn't a green room. It wasn't a ready room, or a waiting room either. It was, in fact, a mobile home manufactured by Vipp, currently sitting on a private piece of land at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. At the moment it was a bit cramped, not designed to comfortably hold six women, all of whom were awaiting a text message that would have Amanda spring into action.

I'm done, Aric notified Rita, the marker is in place.

"Aric says the marker is in place," Rita said to Trish.

"Got it."

marker in place, Trish typed into her phone.

copy, Renee replied.

"I fucking hate waiting," Jessica said before noticing an interesting detail.

"Is she asleep?" she asked as she pointed at Beth who had commandeered one half of the bed.

"Looks like it," Sharon said.

I'm clear. Back on the beach. One more country Tyler's pooped in.

"What the fuck are you laughing at?" Jessica asked.

"I'll tell you later," Rita said, the smile still plastered to her face.

"Anybody ever tell you how creepy that is?"

"Connie. All. the. time."

"Just checking."

There was a short period of silence.

"Anybody wanna watch The Expanse?" Beth asked, her face still buried in the pillow.

"What the fuck are they so pissed about?" Jessica asked as the characters on the screen were yelling at Miller, "I'd have shot that scientist asshole as soon as I laid eyes on him."

"They wanted it for themselves," Beth said, "Fred Johnson talked a big game, but when it came down to it he's just like all the other politicians. They're lucky Miller was there. He's the only one with half a brain."

"Holden's..."

go time, Trish's phone announced, she just walked into her house.

"Go time. Amanda, you're up."

Amanda stood up quickly, but only so she could make it to the bathroom before puking.

go time, Rita let Aric know.

be right there, Tyler's soaking wet.

no rush, Rita answered, the sounds of retching still emanating from the bathroom.

"If that fucking dog wipes his face on me, I'm breaking him in half," Jessica said.

"Tyler, down," Aric said, "stay."

Sharon was wearing a Dolce & Gabbana brocade-pattern single-breasted blazer over an Intarsia-Logo lace short-sleeve sweater and black wool slacks. Annelie swore that the outfit would distract Ekaterina Sokolova long enough for Sharon to get close to her. The rest was up to the other four women, all of whom looked like they had just come from a casting call for the new Men in Black movie. Rita and Trish were both armed with firearms, certainly illegal for them to carry inside Russia. Beth was armed with her dart gun and was wearing what appeared to the naked eye to be an elegant pair of gloves.

"Ladies, your ride awaits," Aric said.

"Anyone else wanna puke, now's the time," Jessica said.

"Sure you don't want me to come with you?" Aric asked Rita as he closed the distance between them and took her hand.

"Remember the conversation we had? This is my side of the fence, that's your side of the fence? You don't do my job, I don't do your job?"

"I remember it vividly, mostly because of the volume at which you conducted your side of it."

"Your job is to get us there and get us back. My job is everything in between."

"Our job," Trish added.

"Goddamn right, our job," Jessica chimed in.

"If we can get this road on the show," Beth said as she chambered the first cartridge in her dart gun

"Remember, it's seven hours later there," Sharon reminded everyone.

"One detail left," Aric said as he walked to the expensive mobile home and opened the door.

"Tyler, come," he called.

"Can't have him running in after you," Aric said after closing the door again, his four-legged best friend safely on the other side.