"Boss?" a woman called. "Boss? You gotta wake up. The tailor is here."

Rodney shifted, felt his back protest, and groaned. Should have known better than to try sleeping on a couch, he mentally grumbled.

"Your other choice was the floor," the woman replied, and Rodney realised he must have spoken that last out loud.

He opened his eyes and saw Teyla- no, Talia- he reminded himself, standing over him. He tried to sit up and groaned again as his hip throbbed.

"You okay, Boss?" Talia asked, taking his arm and helping him sit upright.

"Do I look okay?" Rodney retorted with a scowl. "I think I'm going to be crippled for life."

Talia stepped back, crossed her arms over her chest, and narrowed her eyes.

"Sorry," Rodney muttered, rubbing his forehead. He sat, waiting for the pain in his hip to fade, when what Talia had said hit him. "Did you say something about a tailor?"

"For your tuxedo fitting," Talia reminded him and pointed toward the kitchen.

Rodney followed Talia's finger and saw a short, bald man wearing an expensive-looking dark suit and glasses standing near the dining table, talking to Johnny.

" … it's important." Johnny looked up, saw Rodney watching him, and added, "Good, you're awake." Johnny draped an arm over the smaller man's shoulders and led him to the couch. "This is Morty. He's agreed to help us."

"Hello," Rodney mumbled. He tried to stretch the kinks out of his back and winced.

"You want one of my suits for him?" Morty said, eyeing Rodney up and down. "He is so, so déclassé."

"Hey!" Rodney exclaimed.

Johnny shook his head and waved his hand at Rodney. "So am I, Morty."

"True," Morty replied, and Johnny rolled his eyes. Morty smiled and patted Johnny's cheek. "But you still have style."

Rodney looked down and plucked at the rumpled clothes he'd slept in. Just how he wanted to start his day, he thought, by being insulted by strangers.

"You're sure you want to call in your favor for him?" Morty asked.

Johnny smiled. "Like I said, it's important. If this goes the way we hope, your tuxedo could be what makes or breaks putting Anton Kosta out of business for good."

Morty's eyes narrowed. "You can get him? You're sure?"

Johnny nodded. "We have a plan we think will work, yeah."

Rodney snorted, and Talia slapped his arm. He hadn't liked the plan when Johnny sketched it out the previous evening. In the clear light of day, he was even less sure Johnny's idea would work.

Morty looked Rodney up and down, then sniffed. "If you say so." He walked back to the kitchen table, picked up a garment bag, and pointed toward the bedroom. "Come with me," he ordered Rodney, crossing the room without a backward glance.

Rodney stared at Monty's back, then slowly stood and limped into the bedroom.

"I have a line on a dress for you," Johnny told Talia as Rodney closed the bedroom door.

Rodney turned and saw Monty watching him. "What?"

Morty shook his head. "Here," he said, thrusting the garment bag into Rodney's arms. "You're lucky I had something ready-made that you can use."

"Umm," Rodney muttered, looking around the small room.

"Hurry up!" Morty ordered impatiently, waving his hand at Rodney. "There isn't anything I haven't seen before. I'm going to need most of the day to make these alterations. The sooner I get started, the sooner you can catch Kosta and make him pay for what he did to my son."

Rodney dropped the garment bag on the bed and sighed as he slowly stripped to his underwear.

"What the hell happened to you?" Morty said, pointing to the purple/blue bruise covering Rodney's hip.

"Hit by a car," Rodney replied.

"One of Kosta's boys driving it?"

Rodney shrugged as he pulled on the tuxedo trousers. "Don't know. Probably. They were aiming for John, umm, Johnny. I sort of got in the way."

Morty made a low whistle. "Maybe you aren't so bad after all. All right, let's see what I have to work with here."

Morty spent the next twenty minutes muttering to himself as he measured, pinned, and tugged on the suit trousers. Once done, he held out the tuxedo jacket for Rodney to wear and repeated the process.

Rodney was ready to be done with the poking and tugging when Morty stepped back and nodded. "Yes, yes, that will do." He stepped behind Rodney. "Careful of the pins!" he admonished as he helped Rodney out of the jacket.

He hung the jacket on a hanger and placed it inside the garment bag with the pinned and marked trousers.

"Umm, thanks for this," Rodney said, reaching for his trousers.

"Just get Kosta and make it stick," Morty replied. He zipped the garment bag closed and opened the door. "That will be all the thanks I need."

"Done already?" Johnny asked as Morty left the room.

"It won't be as much work as I feared," Morty replied. "I'll be back by this evening."

"Thanks, Morty."

"You're welcome, my boy."

"Going out for food," Roland said, and Rodney heard the front door open and close.

Rodney felt his stomach rumble at the mention of food. No one had bothered to wake him for breakfast, and he could definitely eat. He started pulling on the clothes he had slept in, caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, and wrinkled his nose. "Shower," he muttered.

He caught a glimpse of Talia seated on the couch he'd slept on, reading a newspaper, as he pushed the bedroom door closed and headed for the bathroom.

He felt better once he was clean, though his hip still ached. He towelled himself dry, sat on the bed, and waited for the throbbing to fade to a dull ache.

"Boss?" Talia called through the closed bedroom door. "Roland is back with the food."

Rodney stood and carefully pulled on his trousers. "I'll, umm, be right there."

He quickly finished dressing and limped into the main room. Johnny stood near the window looking down on the street while Talia, Carlton, and Roland set out an array of deli sandwiches and greasy bags of chips.

"What did Kosta do to Morty's son?" Rodney asked no one in particular as he limped over to the table.

"Got him killed," Roland grunted and handed Talia one of the sandwiches.

"How?" Rodney started to ask as he sat but stopped when Roland glared at him. "Never mind. I'm sure it's not important."

Talia handed Rodney one of the wrapped sandwiches and a bag of chips, then sat beside him and opened her lunch.

After they finished eating, Carlton and Roland cleared away the empty sandwich wrappers and chip bags while Johnny spread a blueprint across the table.

"Blueprints?" Rodney asked, studying the thick white lines on the dark blue paper. "Of what?"

"The Pegasus Club," Johnny replied. "I told you Ruthie …" He paused. "Ruthie and I were working on a plan to get the ledger."

"Where did you get these?" Talia asked.

"I know a guy in the city records building. He owed me a favor," Johnny replied. "We have to get these back to him by tomorrow morning."

Johnny weighted the corners of the blueprint with a few books and glanced around the table.

"Right." He bent and pointed to the large central room on the blueprint. "This is the main ballroom. The kitchen is here," he added, pointing to a space near the back of the building. "And this," he pointed to a second room down a short hallway, "is Kosta's office."

"No windows in the office," Talia said. "So, no way in from the outside."

"No," Johnny replied. "Kosta likes his privacy. And it looks like the walls are soundproofed. See?" He pointed to a notation on the print.

"So how do we get inside his office?" Talia asked.

Johnny stood straight. "'We' don't. Cracking Kosta's safe is a two-man operation." He pointed to a small door at the back of the building next to the kitchen. "There's a service door here. I can get Roland in that way, and we can make our way down this hallway," he pointed to a second, longer corridor on the blueprint, "to Kosta's office."

"What about us?" Talia asked, waving a hand between herself and Rodney. "You said you needed our help to make this idea work."

Johnny smiled. "I do. You two will be our eyes on Kosta while he's entertaining the well-to-do in the ballroom. That's why you and your boss here will be dressed to the nines. I managed to get you on the VIP list for tonight at eight o'clock."

"How did you manage that?" Rodney asked.

"I know someone," Johnny replied cryptically.

Rodney shook his head. "That isn't going to work. You said Kosta had men watching my office. That means he knows who we are."

"No, he knows a couple of names," Johnny countered. "He only issued the orders to his men. Chances are, Kosta has no idea what either of you looks like."

"'Chances are'?" Rodney exclaimed. "You're betting our lives on that?"

"It'll be fine," Johnny said. "Talia gave me a couple of aliases for both of you. Kosta won't suspect a thing."

"Aliases?" Rodney asked.

"Mmm. Tonight, you will be Philip Marlowe, and Talia here is Anne Riordan."

Rodney glanced at Talia in surprise. How did she come up with those names? he wondered.

"This plan is going to get me killed," Rodney muttered to himself.

Johnny ignored him and focused on the blueprint. "Roland will drop you two off at the main entrance, then park the car back here," he pointed to a spot near the service entrance, "with the other VIP drivers."

"We have a car?" Talia asked.

Johnny looked up at her. "I -"

"Know someone," Rodney said at the same time as Johnny.

Johnny smiled and continued, "Once you're inside, just act normal. Kosta usually comes out on the main floor around ten. So eat dinner. Mingle. Blend in. When Kosta shows up, let me know. I'll get Roland, and we'll head for the office. According to what Ruthie told me, Kosta usually glad-hands the crowd for an hour or two, then heads back to his office to do some work."

Roland snorted, and Johnny nodded. "Yeah." He glanced at Rodney and added, "If you see Kosta leaving early, send us a warning and get out."

"How am I supposed to do that?" Rodney asked.

Johnny motioned to Roland, who set two radios and two earpieces on the table.

"Two-way radio," Johnny said.

Rodney picked up the bulky radio and turned it over in his hand. The radio was about twice the size of the ones used by the team. The earpiece fit into his ear and attached to the radio with a wire.

"Not exactly inconspicuous," he said, setting the radio on the table.

"We'll figure out a way to hide the wire," Johnny said.

Talia bent over the table and stared at the blueprint. "If we," she pointed to herself and Rodney, "are here." She pointed to the ballroom on the drawing. "And Roland is waiting out back. Where will you be?"

Johnny smiled and pointed to a white jacket and trousers hanging in the kitchen. "Ruthie borrowed it from the club. I'll be with the serving staff. Once Kosta leaves his office for the dance floor, I'll let Roland in through the service entrance. We'll hit his office, crack the safe, and find the ledger. We can get out the same way. Shouldn't take us more than thirty minutes. Once we're clear, I'll radio you, and Roland will meet you at the front of the building with the car."

"It's a good plan," Talia said to Rodney.

"It better be," Rodney grunted.

"What about me?" Carlton asked.

"You're staying out of sight," Johnny replied. "You're our ace in the hole, Doc."

Carlton crossed his arms over his chest and scowled. "You are all risking your lives because of me. I want to help."

"You've done enough," Johnny said. "You're the reason the rest of this is even possible."

Carlton narrowed his eyes.

Johnny walked around the table, gripped Carlton's shoulders, and looked him in the eyes. "If Kosta or any of his men see you, they will kill you. Promise me you'll stay where it's safe."

Carlton scowled at Johnny, then dropped his arms and nodded. "Fine." He turned to Rodney and added, "If you're supposed to be undercover tonight, we need to do something about that limp. If Roland will find me some ice, I can at least help with that. No one will believe you're a member of the elite if you can't walk or dance."

Rodney felt the blood drain from his face. "Dance?"

"Of course," Talia said, and Rodney thought her smile looked a little too eager. "We can't go to a nightclub and not dance."

Rodney narrowed his eyes. "You're looking forward to this!"

"Maybe," Talia said with a satisfied expression. "You can dance, can't you, Boss?"

Rodney was saved from answering by a soft knock on the front door.

Johnny looked at Roland and jerked his chin toward the door.

Roland crossed the room and opened the door a crack.

"For Mister Johnny," a heavily accented female voice said.

Roland nodded, took a garment bag from the woman, and closed the door.

"That would be your dress," Johnny said to Talia. "Hope you like it."

Talia gave Johnny a startled look and took the bag from Roland.

Rodney turned and caught a flash of dark blue when Talia unzipped the bag.

"It's gorgeous," Talia said, re-zipping the bag. She glanced at the clock in the kitchen and turned toward the bedroom. "I need to start getting ready."

"We don't have to be at the club for hours yet," Rodney said. "How long does it take to put on a dress?"

Talia shook her head. "You really don't know anything about women, Boss."

"Come on," Carlton said to Rodney as Talia closed the bedroom door. "If you want to be able to move this evening, you need to get off that leg and ice that bruise."

~*~*~*~ SGA ~*~*~*~

A chair scraping across the floor roused Rodney from where he dozed on the couch. He opened his eyes and noticed the sun had set, and several lamps in the apartment had been turned on. The afternoon of rest and icing his hip had helped with the bruise, but he still ached. He stifled a groan as he slowly sat up and looked around the room.

Johnny wore the borrowed server outfit and sat at the table studying the blueprint of the club. Roland, now wearing a dark suit, stood near the window, looking down on the street. Rodney glanced at the bedroom, saw the door was still closed, and shook his head.

Must still be doing whatever it is women do before going out for an evening, he thought.

He scanned the room again and frowned when he didn't see Carlton. He was about to ask where Blake was when he heard a soft knock on the front door.

Johnny looked up from the blueprint and glanced at Roland.

"Should be okay," Roland muttered. "Nothing suspicious on the street."

Johnny nodded, then crossed the room and answered the door.

"Here it is," Morty said. "I also brought the necessary accoutrement."

Rodney glanced at the door and saw Morty holding a garment bag and a second, smaller bag.

"Thanks, Morty," Johnny said, taking the bags.

Morty peered around Johnny at Rodney and sniffed. "Do you need me to stay and dress him?"

Johnny turned toward the couch, and Rodney scowled.

"No, I think we can manage," Johnny replied.

"All right, if you're sure?" Morty raised an eyebrow.

"We're sure," Johnny said. "Watch yourself going home," he added.

Morty nodded, and Johnny closed the door.

"Here," Johnny said, holding out the bags to Rodney. "You need to change. The car will be here in an hour."

Rodney took the bags, glanced at the still-closed bedroom door, and grimaced. "Umm."

"Roland." Johnny motioned toward the kitchen. "We should double-check we have everything we'll need to crack Kosta's safe."

Rodney waited until Johnny and Roland walked into the small kitchen, then carefully stood and unzipped the garment bag. "Where's Carlton?" he called toward the kitchen. He pulled off his wrinkled suit trousers and picked up the black tuxedo trousers.

"I talked to him while you were sleeping," Johnny replied. "We decided that if this goes south tonight, it would be better if he was somewhere else. Roland stashed him in his apartment across the street. Once we have the ledger, we'll come back here, grab Carlton, and head for the state police."

Rodney felt a jolt in his stomach at the mention of the plan not working but said nothing. He had agreed to the plan, he reminded himself. Any hope he had of ever getting back to his universe and his city had faded over the last day. If he was stuck in this world, he didn't want to have a mob boss like this Kosta hunting him for the rest of his life. He had to see this through.

The bedroom door opened as Rodney fumbled with the cufflinks Morty had sent over with the tuxedo. He glanced at Talia as she entered the room and did a double take. "Wow," he blurted.

Talia rolled her eyes even as she turned in a slow circle, showing off the off-the-shoulder, dark blue, floor-length silk gown that seemed to flow over her like falling water. Her hair was piled on her head in an artful French twist. A few tendrils framed her face, and Rodney saw several small braids worked through her hair. She carried a small clutch bag and a matching silk wrap draped over one arm.

Rodney wasn't sure where Johnny had found the dress, but he appreciated the detective's taste. Jean Harlow had nothing on Talia Easom, he thought.

Talia narrowed her eyes, and Rodney realised he'd been staring at her a little too long. Focus, he ordered himself. He fiddled with the suspenders, picked up a piece of silk fabric, stood in front of a small mirror in the corner, and tried to tie the bowtie.

Who wears an actual bow tie? he mentally grumbled as he fought with the fabric. He caught another glimpse of Talia in the mirror and quickly focused on the tie when she turned in his direction.

He ended up with another lopsided knot and growled under his breath as he pulled the ends of the tie apart and started over.

"Here," Talia said.

She took him by the shoulders and turned him to face her. Rodney did his best not to stare at her as she deftly tied the bowtie. She then picked up the tuxedo jacket and held it where Rodney could slip into it.

"You clean up pretty well, Boss," she said as she smoothed the jacket shoulders.

"So, umm …" Rodney cleared his throat. "Umm, so do you."

Talia smiled. "Are we ready to go?"

"Almost. We have one last thing," Johnny said, and nodded to Roland.

Roland stood in front of Talia, opened a narrow box, and held up a diamond and sapphire pendant.

"Where did that come from?" Rodney asked.

"It was Mellie's," Roland replied. "It belonged to her grandmother."

Talia took Roland's hand. "Are you sure?"

Roland nodded and fastened the necklace around Talia's throat. "This way, she's part of this, too."

"I'll make sure nothing happens to it," she promised. She glanced in the mirror, touched the necklace, then draped the silk wrap across her shoulders.

Rodney picked up the two-way radio and stuffed the bulky box in his inside jacket pocket. Johnny helped him hide the wire in the jacket collar as he placed the earpiece in his ear.

Johnny glanced at his watch and then the clock in the kitchen. "Everyone clear on the plan?"

Rodney nodded and offered Talia his arm. "Let's just get this over with."

"I need to get to the club," Johnny said as he opened the front door. "I'll see you later. Remember, we don't know each other."

He hurried down the hall and disappeared around the corner.

Rodney started to follow, but Roland blocked his path. "Give him a chance to get clear."

Roland waited several minutes, then picked up a brimmed driver's cap sitting on the kitchen table, led the way out of the apartment, and around the corner to a door leading to a stairwell.

Rodney tried to ignore the pain in his hip as they followed Roland down several flights of dimly lit stairs.

"Boss?" Talia whispered, as Rodney hissed in a breath.

"I'm fine," he replied.

Once outside, Rodney and Talia followed Roland around the corner, and Rodney stopped and stared at the black town car parked against the curb.

"Wow," Rodney murmured as he admired the car's long, sleek body. "It looks like something straight out of a Bogart movie."

"A what?" Talia asked.

"Oh, umm, nothing. Sorry. Just never been this close to one of these before."

Roland rolled his eyes and opened the rear door.

Rodney helped Talia into the backseat, then slid in beside her.

The trip across town to The Pegasus Club was uneventful. Rodney was surprised Roland was such a good driver. His stops and starts were smooth, and he kept the car at a steady, if a bit slow, speed.

Rodney enjoyed every minute of the ride. When would he get the chance to ride in such a classic car again? he thought as Roland slowed to make a turn. He settled back into the leather seat with a contented smile.

"What?" he asked when he saw Talia watching him.

"Nothing, Boss," she replied.

"Hey, we have no idea what's about to happen. I plan to enjoy this little bit of luxury in case Kosta decides to kill all of us on sight."

Talia leaned into the seat beside him, and Rodney saw her tiny smile. "See what I mean?"

Talia shook her head even as her smile widened.

The car made another turn, and Rodney saw the marquee for The Pegasus Club ahead. He was tempted to tell Roland to make another loop around the block just to enjoy the ride a little while longer but stopped himself as Roland pulled their car into the line of waiting vehicles.

Get the job done, he told himself. Then worry about things like rides in fancy cars.

"Don't these people have anything better to do?" Rodney asked when he saw the crowd outside the club's main entrance.

"People come here to be seen," Talia said as a couple exited the car in front of them to a blinding cascade of flashbulbs.

Rodney shook his head and winced as more flashbulbs followed the couple to the entrance. The man turned and waved to the crowd, inciting more flashbulbs, as two men wearing dark suits held the double doors open for his female companion.

The car ahead left, and Roland pulled in front of the club's entrance. He stopped the car, got out, and opened Rodney's door.

Rodney hesitated, then glanced at the waiting crowd and took a deep breath. He stepped out of the car, tried not to wince as his bruised hip twinged, and handed Talia out of the vehicle.

Talia grasped his arm in a light hold and smiled at the waiting crowd.

Rodney heard more than a few appreciative comments from the crowd, and more flashbulbs went off as he led Talia toward the double doors. The doormen opened the doors, and Rodney thought he saw a conspicuous bulge under each man's suit jacket.

He hesitated near the doors and felt a jolt in his stomach at the reminder of who Kosta was and what they were risking by infiltrating the club. Talia tightened her grip on his arm, and Rodney nodded and stepped inside. He blew out a silent breath when the doors closed, shutting out the noise and the photographers.

"Name?" a man said.

Rodney blinked a few times, then turned to a thin man wearing an impeccably tailored tuxedo standing behind a narrow podium. A second closed door stood behind the podium, and a young man wearing the same uniform as the one Johnny had hanging in his kitchen waited beside the door.

"Umm, Marlowe," Rodney replied, and felt a little thrill in his gut as he said the name. "And this is Miss Riordan."

The man behind the podium checked the list in front of him, then nodded to the young man standing behind him. "Good evening, sir," he said to Rodney. "Miss," he added with a bow to Talia. "Table 4," he said to the young man.

"This way, please," the young man said as he opened the door.

The young man led them down a short hallway to another set of double doors that opened into a large ballroom.

Small chandeliers hung from the ceiling at regular intervals, culminating in a towering cascade of crystal and gold hanging over the sunken dance floor in the middle of the room. Several couples moved across the dance floor as a band on the far side of the room played Big Band music. Small tables draped in crisp white linen and gilded chairs lined the room in three tiers.

The young man led Rodney and Talia down the carpeted stairs to a small table near the edge of the dance floor.

Rodney noticed more than one conversation pause as they passed, and he felt Talia's hand clutching his arm in a hard grip as more than one admiring glance followed their progress through the crowd.

The young man held Talia's chair, waited until Rodney sat, then snapped his fingers.

A second man appeared with a bottle and two glasses.

"Some entrance," the man murmured as he opened the bottle of champagne.

Rodney looked up and tried to keep his surprised reaction under control when he recognised Johnny.

"Kosta is in his office," Johnny continued in a low mutter as he filled their glasses. "So far, everything is going to plan." He stood, set the bottle in a silver ice bucket next to the table, and said at normal volume, "Anything else, sir? Miss?"

"Umm, no," Rodney replied. "Thank you."

Johnny bowed and stepped back from the table.

Rodney waited until he was gone, then picked up his glass. "To the plan," he said and clinked Talia's glass.

Over the next hour and a half, Rodney did his best to ignore his aching hip and act like he knew what he was doing as he and Talia ate and watched the dancers.

Two men bussed their table once they finished dessert, then Johnny returned with a second bottle of champagne.

"Is all of the drinking really a good idea?" Rodney murmured as Johnny opened the bottle.

"You're blending in, remember?" Johnny replied with a casual nod at the nearby tables.

Rodney looked around and noticed that, if anything, they were a few bottles behind the people seated at the surrounding tables.

"You better have a monster bottle of aspirin at your apartment," Rodney said as Johnny finished pouring the wine.

Johnny grinned, bowed, and left the table.

Rodney tried to look like he was drinking more than he was as he slipped from his glass.

"You promised me a dance," Talia said a few minutes later when the band struck a fresh tune.

"I did?" Rodney replied, setting down his glass. "I don't remember that."

Talia rolled her eyes. "Just ask me to dance, Boss."

Rodney sighed, stood, and offered Talia his hand. "Care to dance?"

Talia smiled and took his hand.

They joined the dancers on the floor, and Rodney did his best to ignore his aching hip.

"I thought you said you couldn't dance," Talia said as the music transitioned into a new, more up-tempo song. "You're pretty good."

"Thanks," Rodney replied with a wry smile.

Twenty minutes later, Rodney was starting to enjoy himself when the music suddenly cut off, and the noise level dropped.

"What's going on?" Rodney said, looking around the dance floor.

"Looks like Kosta has arrived," Talia replied, and nodded toward the open ballroom doors.

Rodney turned and flinched when he saw Commander Kolya standing in the doorway, wearing a white tuxedo.

Kolya. Kosta. You should have seen that coming, Rodney silently berated himself as Kosta nodded and smiled at the people around him.

After seeing Kolya, Rodney wasn't surprised when Ladon Radim stopped next to Kosta and whispered something in his ear.

Kosta nodded and scanned the room with a frown.

Rodney tried not to flinch when Kolya's gaze brushed past him.

"Boss?" Talia whispered. "You all right?"

"Umm, yes, yes. Why wouldn't I be?" Rodney asked and surreptitiously rubbed his right arm.

"You look like you've just seen a ghost."

"I wish," Rodney muttered under his breath.

"Boss?"

Rodney shook his head and said, "The man standing next to Kolya - I mean Kosta, that's -"

"Ladis Reznik," Talia said.

"Of course it is," Rodney muttered.

Kosta finished his scan of the room and nodded to Reznik.

Ladon/Ladis disappeared, and Kosta spread his arms wide.

"Good evening!" he said with a jovial smile to the crowd. "I hope you are all enjoying yourselves here at The Pegasus Club."

The crowd politely applauded in response.

Kosta nodded and snapped his fingers several times. "Géraud, a round of drinks for the room."

The thin man from the podium stepped forward, bowed to Kosta, and clapped his hands.

At the signal, a host of waiters entered the room, each carrying a tray of glasses. They quickly circulated the multi-tiered room, offering the tray of drinks to each guest.

Johnny stopped at their table and offered Rodney and Talia his tray. "Roland and I will head for the office as soon as Kosta is done with his toast," he whispered. "Another thirty minutes, and we'll have everything we need to send him away for a long time."

Rodney took a glass. "Good. My nerves, not to mention my liver, can't take much more of this."

As the servers left the room, Géraud presented Kosta with a gold tray holding a single glass.

Kosta took the glass with a faint nod to Géraud.

Géraud stepped back, and Kosta raised his glass. "To the good life!"

"The good life!" the men and women around him enthusiastically replied.

Rodney tried not to choke on his champagne as the people around them emptied their glasses.

Talia smiled politely at those around her and took a small sip from her glass. She gave Rodney a pointed glance and nodded to his glass.

Rodney sighed and took another sip before setting the glass on their table.

Kosta handed his empty glass to Géraud, then stepped forward to greet those at the nearest table.

"Come on," Rodney said. He took Talia's hand and led her onto the dance floor.

Rodney kept one eye on Kosta working the room, shaking hands and laughing with various patrons as he and Talia moved around the dance floor.

"We're in Kosta's office," Johnny whispered through the earpiece a few minutes later.

Rodney flinched, and Talia gave him a puzzled look.

"Boss?"

"Umm, sorry." He glanced at Talia and cocked his head to one side. "They're in the office."

Talia nodded. "One more dance, and then we should get ready to leave."

Rodney turned toward their table and froze when he saw a familiar woman enter the room.

Elspeth Blake wore a form-hugging, low-cut red dress that was slit to her hip on one side. Her hair was combed flat except for one artful curl over her forehead, and she wore a thick diamond choker that glittered in the light from the chandeliers. She also carried a small bag that matched the dress in one hand. Kosta crossed the room, greeted her with a kiss, took her hand, and placed it in the crook of his arm.

Elspeth surveyed the room, and Rodney wondered if he imagined her coy smile as her gaze passed over him.

"We have a problem," Rodney whispered. He grabbed Talia around the waist and moved farther onto the dance floor.

"Boss, you're hurting me. What's wrong?"

"We've been played," he growled and spun Talia around so she could see the double doors and Elspeth standing at the top of the stairs with Kosta.

"I knew it," Talia hissed. "I knew there was something wrong with that woman."

"Looks like you were right," Rodney replied.

He glanced around, searching for another way out of the room. Other than the doors leading to the kitchen and a small side door that he didn't remember where it led, the only way out of the ballroom was through the double doors at the top of the stairs.

"Lizzie, my dear, so good of you to join us," Kosta said loud enough for the entire room to hear over the band. "Come meet our guests."

Lizzie gave him a thin smile in reply as Kosta moved down the stairs.

"Sheppard, get out of the office," Rodney hissed over the radio.

"Who the hell is Sheppard?" Johnny replied.

"Get out of there," Rodney ordered. "I think our cover is about to be blown."

Rodney heard shuffling sounds over the radio, assumed it was Johnny and Roland sneaking out of the office, and nodded. "We need to go. Now," he said to Talia.

"Agreed."

The song ended, and they politely applauded the band before leaving the dance floor.

They were near their table when Elspeth, now Lizzie, and Kosta stopped in front of them.

"Well, well. Fancy meeting you two here," Lizzie said with a predatory smile. "I never would have guessed your little detective business was so profitable that you could afford an evening here. And as a VIP, no less."

"We were just leaving," Rodney replied. "Lots to do tomorrow." He picked up the silk wrap and draped it over Talia's shoulders.

"Lizzie?" Kosta asked with a puzzled frown. "You know these people?"

"In a manner of speaking." She waved a careless hand. "They were helping me with that little job you wanted done."

Kosta eyed Rodney up and down with a familiar scowl. "Is that so? How much do they know?"

"Probably too much," Lizzie replied. "One of my sources told me this one," she pointed at Talia, "was asking some rather pointed questions about Blake's sister at that sorry little clinic on Hudson Street."

"Sorry to hear that," Kosta said, leering at Talia.

Rodney didn't think he looked terribly sorry about anything and stepped between Talia and Kosta.

Kosta raised his arm, snapped his fingers, and the music stopped. "Time to end the party, folks," he ordered, never taking his eyes off Rodney. "Everyone out. Now."

The band stood and left the room, carrying their instruments. The dancing couples stared at Rodney as they returned to their tables, grabbed wraps and purses, and quickly joined the stream of murmuring people leaving the ballroom.

"You should go, too," Rodney said to Talia.

Talia shook her head, skirted around Lizzie, and picked up her small clutch. "I'm not leaving you here, Boss."

"Such loyalty," Kosta said with a leering smile. "I'm impressed."

Rodney glowered at Kosta, but before he could say anything, the small side door opened, and Ladis Reznik entered the ballroom.

"Boss," Reznik murmured. "We found two men in your office. Looks like they were trying to break into your safe."

Rodney felt a hard jolt in his stomach. No, he thought. He had warned Johnny to get out of the office. He had heard them leaving, hadn't he?

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind when Reznik nodded at the still-open side door, and the two large men from the front of the club entered the ballroom. Their suit coats were unbuttoned, and Rodney had a split second to realise he'd been right about their concealed weapons when he saw the men pulling Johnny and Roland across the dance floor.

Johnny had a black eye and a split lip but otherwise looked all right. Roland sported a cut over one eye. His suit coat was missing, and his right forearm was a bloody mess.

They were so screwed, Rodney thought as Roland glowered at Kosta.

"That one," Reznik jerked his head in Johnny's direction, "had one of these." Reznik held up the radio and earpiece.

Kosta walked over to Johnny and slapped his face. "Thought you could rob me? Who were you working for? Not the police." He smirked, and Johnny scowled in reply. "Was it Oberto?"

Johnny glared at Kosta and shrugged. "Must have forgotten to get their names."

Kosta narrowed his eyes. "Is that so?"

Johnny shifted his feet, smiled, and said nothing.

Kosta glanced at Rodney. "Check him," he ordered. "Then the woman."

Reznik dropped Johnny's radio on a table and grabbed Rodney's chin. He tilted Rodney's head one way, then the other, and nodded. "Got another radio, Mister Kosta." He yanked the earpiece out of Rodney's ear and pulled the second radio out of his jacket pocket. "Looks like they were working together."

"Restrain him," Kosta ordered.

Reznik dropped the radio on another table and twisted Rodney's arms behind his back.

Rodney struggled in the hold but to no avail as Reznik tightened his grip.

"You won't get away with this," Rodney growled at Kosta.

"You are mistaken," Kosta replied. He nodded, and Reznik loosened his hold long enough to punch Rodney in the stomach. "I already have."

Rodney groaned and dropped to his knees.

"You've already lost," Rodney wheezed, wrapping an arm around his abused abdomen. "You just don't know it yet."

Kosta laughed. "Where did you find this one, Lizzie darling? If I didn't plan to kill him, I'd be tempted to keep him around as my personal funny man."

Lizzie shrugged, then sat at a table, opened her bag, and removed a compact and a tube of lipstick.

Kosta watched as she carefully applied a line of red to her lips, then turned back to Reznik. "You said they were after something in my safe?"

Reznik nodded and pulled a leather-bound book out of his jacket. "The big one had this in his hand when we found them." Reznik held up a leather-bound book.

Lizzie froze in the act of blotting her lipstick and stared at the ledger in Reznik's hand.

There was that look again, Rodney thought when he saw the way Lizzie's eyes gleamed when she saw the leather book. That satisfied cat that ate the canary look. What is going on here?

Kosta took the book from Reznik and opened it. "You just couldn't leave things alone, could you, Sheridan," He looked up from the book and stared at Johnny. "After that incident with your lieutenant, you were warned what would happen if you continued to pry into things that weren't your concern."

Johnny scowled at Kosta. "You kill innocent people and terrorise or steal from the rest," he replied. "That's always my concern whether I'm a cop or not."

Kosta chuckled. "I'll be sure to put that on your headstone." He closed the book and snapped his fingers, "No, that won't be possible since I plan to dump your bodies where no one will ever find them."

He turned and pulled Lizzie to her feet. "Come along, sweetheart. I believe things are about to get messy."

He nodded to Reznik and pulled Lizzie toward the steps.

Reznik stepped in front of Rodney, pulled a gun from behind his back, and pointed it at Rodney's chest. The two men holding Johnny and Roland pushed them to their knees, then stepped around them and raised their weapons.

Rodney swallowed and felt the blood drain from his face. He was never going home, he realised. He was going to die here and never see his John, or Carson, or Teyla and Ronon again. He saw Reznik and his men cock their guns and closed his eyes.

Gunshots echoed around the ballroom, and Rodney instinctively ducked. It took him a few seconds to realise there was no pain and he was still alive. He opened his eyes and saw Reznik's two men lying on the floor as blood from the holes in their chests pooled on the polished dance floor.

"How …" He looked up and saw Lizzie holding a small pistol.

Kosta grabbed Lizzie's arm. "What's the meaning of this?" he snarled.

Lizzie twisted her arm out of Kosta's hold and stepped back, pointing the pistol at his chest. "Sorry, darling," her lips curled as she said the endearment, "there's about to be a change in leadership."

Rodney slowly stood and stared at Lizzie with a shocked expression. "You're holding a coup?" he blurted.

Lizzie glanced at him and smiled. "And it's all thanks to you and your friends."

"Us?" Rodney retorted and glanced at Johnny. "What did we do?"

"Ladis and I have been planning this for months. Your laughable attempt to steal Anton's ledger and have him arrested provided the cover we needed to make sure we got away clean."

"You won't get away with this," Kosta growled. He scowled at Lizzie and Reznik. "My men will stop you."

Lizzie bent forward, the pistol in her hand never wavering, and smiled. "You are mistaken," she said, echoing Kosta's earlier statement. "I already have." She stood straight and, before Rodney or Kosta could react, pulled the trigger.