By the time they made it to Chattanooga, Levon's mind had darted down a thousand places in making new to-do lists. He had decided to bide his time when it came to the Mephisto people. He wanted to give the appearance that what he'd learned on the trip from Ann Cooper did not greatly bother him nor shake his agreement with Mephisto.

They had wanted Ann Cooper delivered so they'd have insurance once Max Cooper got cute. This is what Levon was doing, carrying out his end to the bargain, was it not? Levon knew that another reason to take his wife had to be to draw Cooper to them so that they didn't have to go searching for him. Perhaps they'd planned this all along; he would put little past them now, if he ever had.

He had agreed to Dunnell's insistence that Mephisto get first shot at Max Cooper and they in turn agreed that they would eventually let Levon kill Cooper. They made him agree to wait until they'd done their clone research on Cooper. That had not been a problem for Levon as he had presumed that by the end of it, Ann would have given birth, once again rendering her a viable target for him to kill before he killed her husband. All he wanted, when it came to it, was the vengeance he deserved to exact for his brother's death.

But Levon's plans had changed now. He knew he could no longer trust that Mephisto's Dunnell had meant it when he said they'd turn Cooper over to him. He knew his best chance to kill Cooper was to take him out as soon as he showed up to try to rescue his wife. And that meant to Levon that he had to stay close to Ann Cooper to be sure he was in position. To do so, Levon had to convince Dunnell that he was capable of being reasoned with over the "little" hitch created to learn that Dunnell had not come clean on whatever mission William had been on. Levon would have to pretend anger and then allow Dunnell to mollify him or bribe him or whatever he would do to try to get Levon back in the fold. He would play his hand carefully, as always, and be patient. For a little while. Well, until Cooper came to Mephisto and then he would kill him and be done with it.

His plan to kill Ann first and then Cooper had been tossed once the clones had shaken his tail, he realized. It had set too many other things in motion - things over which he had no control and, frankly, no interest. Now he'd have to be content with killing Max without torturing him with the loss of his wife.

If there was one thing Levon was now more than ever determined not to do, it was to let any harm come to this woman ... he would not be his brother in that regard. He would see to it that he was not a man like William ... that he, Levon, could never take the life of a child within a woman's womb ... he would not let his brother bring him down to that level.

But he would have his vengeance for his brother's death and he still believed it was Max Cooper who killed William. Perhaps Ralph ... what he knew of Ralph's background led him to believe he would have had a chance ... but the most likely of all was Max. And if Ralph had been the one then it was at Cooper's order. And if so, then Ralph would die as well.

When they arrived in Chattanooga, instead of exiting at the road that led to Mephisto headquarters, Andrew got off two exits earlier. In answer to his query, Levon was told they were taking Ann to a medical facility where she could be kept in safe comfort as they waited on Max to contact them to discuss terms.

Ann rolled her eyes. What a euphemistic manner of referring to what they were really after ... which was blackmailing Max into stopping the effort in France. They would soon learn, she had no doubt, that Max would find the way to free John and still come here to deal with these bastards. Something in the way Gail cleared her throat ... for some reason, Ann noted it ... and it started to make her lose focus.

Was there something she was missing here? Was she too focused? There was something about this ... a clinic ... why take her to such a place if all they intended to do was hold her prisoner? She remembered the nagging anomaly she'd noted in them sending a nurse along to watch over her health. Why would they be that concerned? She was pregnant, not mortally wounded or anything. Why was a nurse sent along and why now take her to a medical facility? It did not feel right to Ann. She struggled to not let the fear take her over again ... Max always said to use the fear, didn't he? Wasn't that something he said? Once? Wait ... was it that you should use the fear to keep you sharp, keep you focused? Yes, she thought quickly, surely that was it. She bit at her bottom lip, sent mental pleas to her agitated son to quiet down ... and dove inside again to where Max was there in her memory to guide her and help her concentrate.

They entered the grounds through a gate in a chain link fence that appeared to hold no special surprises. Anyone really wishing to get onto the grounds could either cut a line through one section or climb up and over. The lone strand of barbed wire at the top would not pose a hazard to anyone even semi-skilled, Levon thought as he observed it. The lone security guard at the gate was one of those rent-a-cop types and he did not carry a gun. Only a radio and a clipboard. He didn't even appear to be there to stop anyone; he waved them through without even asking any questions and the only visible action he took was to write their license plate number on a sheet atop the clipboard.

It surprised Levon. He presumed they would have taken Ann to a place with the latest in security and that for Cooper to get to her would have taken a small army to accomplish.

The discreet panel sign that beckoned toward the wide front entrance doors read, "Omega Day Surgery and Clinic." Andrew parked not in with the sixty or so other cars in the open lot at the front of the facility but instead around at the rear of the building, in a space next to a door that had the lettering "Research Clinic" in block black letters on frosted glass.

Ann took it all in. She observed the peach brick of the building, the bars on the windows in the wing they were to enter and the pristine white window trim. She breathed smoothly and calculated how far it was to the fence from that door and catalogued the trees and bushes that could give cover during an escape from the building. She looked discreetly further a field, toward the scrub hills that formed a crescent within easy running distance from the facility's fenced grounds.

But it was a dream, she told herself, unless she could figure a way to get outside. If she could, then surely she had hope because if she waited on Max who was too far away to help, then she doomed him as surely as she doomed herself. No, she had to find a way to get outside. And if she got outside, she would find a way to scale the fence and run into the hills. If that was what it took, that was what she could do. Couldn't she? Oh, Max, she thought deep inside, don't desert me now, not when I need you most of all ... stay right here and help me because I am too scared to do this on my own.

The entry door to the research wing was locked. Gail pressed a crimson buzzer just below a small square speaker. Not even a second later, the sound of a lock being freed signaled the way inside was now open to them. Ann looked up for evidence of a camera, presuming they were being observed. There was a smoky globe where the eaves met the wall. It had to be in there, she thought, hoping that it was not always monitored if it took Gail pressing the buzzer to be let in. Surely if they were always watching, they would have had the door unlocked as they reached it, she reasoned. Or, perhaps more fairly, she hoped this was the case.

They were met inside by an armed man in a quasi-police uniform. Had she been searched, the security guy asked Andrew. Levon answered instead, assuring him that his services in that regard were redundant and an insult. Ann glanced at Levon; his face held a distinct scowl she'd not really seen before. He looked angry. But he did not look nearly as dangerous to her in this moment than he did when his face held no emotion and his eyes no feeling.

With no seeming decision on her part, she found herself following Gail as she walked down the hallway. There was a reception desk, the kind you see at any doctor's office or surgery center. It was so similar to her own OB's reception desk that it gave the worst feeling of unreality. As if they were going to actually check her into a medical facility, as if she was just there as some kind of patient?

But then a man walked toward Gail, gave her a brisk nod, his eyes always on Ann. For Ann's part, she met his gaze measure for measure. A bully, she thought to herself, and oh how she hated bullies. They always brought out the worst in her.

"She was not a problem then after all?" the man asked Gail, but still meeting Ann's calm gaze.

Again, it was Levon who answered ... as if he refused to be placed on the sidelines now that they were in Mephisto territory. He briefed Dunnell on the trip; they had had to remain out of contact lest Sid pick anything up. They simply never seemed to know when Sid was up to that.

Just the thought of Sid made Dunnell's jaw tighten. He had received word already about the raid on the lab in France. Adam Link had called ... there was no longer any need to avoid the phones on that front since Sid had come to their rescue, Adam had explained. Dunnell had smelled a rat. It was far, far too convenient that this Sid character had shown up to alert them of an impending raid, then also miraculously had another similar location waiting for them to drive to when they evacuated the lab.

Things were getting out of hand, Theo fumed. It had all been so neatly planned when they decided to go after the guy in France. The scientist guys said all was ready. Theo's security forces had only to monitor and keep the place secret and hidden. They had done their jobs ... the scientists seemed to be doing theirs ... what the fuck was it that had made it all implode like this?

Surely these men, these time travelers ... there had been no evidence they could be behind what had gone wrong. If they were, why hadn't they simply taken the man and the woman back? Why had they let Ann Cooper be taken if they were powerful enough to be affecting this? No, something else was going on. Theo felt another player in the mix ... another force weighing in on the side opposite Mephisto.

But for this moment, all he could really do was put out fires and try to stay a step ahead. The real bottom line, he'd told Warren and Danny not that long after Adam called, was that Mephisto had to be protected. If they had to jettison those in France in order to keep to the main goal, then that may be what they had to do. But not yet. Not while they had the chance to get Cooper. He was the key, Theo was convinced, in more ways than just the purely scientific.

As things fell in on them, it was Theo's job to focus on saving what really needed to be saved. They could lose it all if they did not lost sight of what this was all about - it was about power, and money. And now Sid was telling them that he was about to reveal a secret about these men, these time travelers, that would show exactly how they could make the kind of money they were after ... and money was power, Sid had told them just a short while ago.

Dunnell was only half-listening to Levon's report. His verbal report was like his written reports ... too much detail, Theo thought. All the while, he and Ann stared at each other, taking each other's measure. It took Theo long moments to realize she did not flinch from his examination of her. She stood her ground and returned his look with no cowering and no outward emotion. Curious, he thought to himself. He had expected to be meeting a frazzled, frightened woman. Imagine what she'd been through already? And yet, you'd think this sort of thing happened to her all the time.

When Levon finished his report, Dunnell thanked him tersely. Then he smiled, a benign, brotherly smile. It was directed at Ann. She did not respond. She simply looked at him. Waiting. Patient. Unimpressed.

"Welcome, Mrs. Cooper. We apologize for having had our hand forced in this way. It was not our intent to draw you into this, but your husband has left us no choice. I trust the trip was as pleasant as possible, given the obvious circumstances," Theo said.

"Right," Ann said, the one word sliding off her tongue dripping in sarcasm. "You'll have to brush up on your customer service skills, Mr. Dunnell. So far, I'm finding them sorely lacking."

He chuckled, amused in spite of himself. "So, you know who I am? I'm impressed ... or should I be flattered?"

"Neither. You should hire goons who don't give away company secrets if your name was supposed to be one."

"Oh. I see. So my men forewarned you about me?"

"Not exactly. They're not really fans of yours, judging by how they talk about you."

"Really?" he asked, his eyebrows going up. He glanced sharply at Andrew who was already sputtering about Ann lying until Theo held up a dismissive hand. "And I suppose they've also been unwise enough to tell you why you're here?"

"Because I'm too stupid to figure it out for myself, you mean? Look, Dunnell, let's cut to the chase, okay? Just lock me up wherever you're going to lock me until Max comes to kick your ass ... and don't insult me by thinking I'm going to fall for some polite act. I know this isn't going to end well so you'll just have to excuse me from caring enough to fake it with you."

"Your husband has something we desire, Mrs. Cooper. In the end, all this will be is a simple business transaction. And then you will both be free."

"You must be an idiot to think I'd believe that."

Dunnell stepped toward her. When she didn't react, he stepped closer. His voice, when it next came, was low and lethal. He wanted to scare her, to see her flinch, to judge what would control her.

He said, "I have been civil with you, Mrs. Cooper, and the least I expect from you is a return of my courtesy. The cost of such poor behavior on your part will be dear if it continues. I am not anywhere near as nice as the men who have brought you here. They were instructed to bring you to me alive and unharmed. Now that you are here and now that I can send your husband proof that you arrived as promised all in one piece, then you must harbor no illusions that the nice treatment will continue. Do we understand each other perhaps a bit better now?"

It took all she had within her to not shake. His words struck a chord ... and she felt her fear as a metallic taste in her mouth. But her pride would not let her surrender.

He watched it all ... the struggle for control, the refusal to give in. She did not fool him.

Ann swallowed. Her chin rose. "I harbor no illusions about you. But you should harbor no illusions about my husband. And that is the only warning I will give you."

"You are not in a position to warn anyone about anything, Mrs. Cooper. You are only in a position to beg for the life of yourself and your unborn child."

She pressed her lips together tightly. Was she hearing what she feared ... that he wanted her to beg for the baby's life? She feared her knees would give way. Her hands instinctively went to hold her belly's swollen contours.

"Good. I think you are now in a much better frame of mind to be cooperative and docile. That is all I require of you, Mrs. Cooper, in order to let you and your baby live."

Theo turned on a dime and stalked away. If he had been looking at Ann in the moments after he left her, he would have seen the way her hand shook, the one that flew to her face to wipe away tears she hoped no one would see.

But someone did see ... or, rather, something did. It was the unwavering eye of the digital video camera held by Marleen, who was even then returning Theo's gaze at her as he walked past, trailed a few paces back by Levon and then Andrew.

Levon caught up with Dunnell part way down the next hall. Dunnell was heading for an elevator that would take him upstairs to temporary office space he'd commandeered to use until this emergency was over. He was splitting his time between the hospital facility and the Mephisto headquarters. He was sure whatever assault may come would be at the headquarters. But Theo was not the sort to not have contingencies. And with this weirdo Sid in the picture, and with Theo's astute assessment that another force was exerting pressure ... he would be a fool not to pay some attention to this hospital location. He had chosen it because it should be undetectable as a place where Mephisto might have Ann Cooper.

But it was also a place where the necessary medical research could be done. Why waste the opportunity when they had this chance to examine an in utero [spelling???] off-spring of one of the time travelers? Imagine the wealth of what they could learn by comparing DNA with both sets of parents? Why, the scientists had nearly gone into apoplexy at the mere idea of having samples to examine and a live subject of this type!

So here was where Ann Cooper would be held in a relatively secure but obscure facility with medical equipment. Having her at Mephisto headquarters lab was never an option. If by some miracle, Cooper actually got in there, he would not find her ... and he would be forced to negotiate from inside their stronghold.

Theo would have preferred more overt security measures at the clinic. But he made the tactical decision to do just the opposite and use only discreet measures undetectable from outside the small area of the research wing they had taken over ... something arranged by one of the scientists on Mephisto's advisory board who was on the research staff at the facility. To be too visible with heavy security would be noticed by the legitimate patients and staff in the main areas of the facility and then talk would ensue. And talk raised their profile. And that increased the chance Cooper might find them on his own. The very beauty of this facility was its low profile. No one would ever think they'd have her here.

"Dunnell!" Levon spat out, finally, catching hold of Theo's elbow before he could punch in the 'up' button on the elevator. "We need to talk, you bastard. Seems you been holding out on me. I want answers ... and I want them now."

"Mr. Dunnell, I promise, I said nothing," Andrew called out, nearing them, having had to chase them both down after turning Ann Cooper over to one of the guards to escort to the room where she'd be kept. "It was her ... she started talking and ... I tried to stop it ... I swear, sir, I did what I could."

Theo turned slowly to face Levon. His eyes were hooded and wary. "Let's talk upstairs. In some measure of privacy."

"Look, I just want it straight, Dunnell. She says this guy Luke took Cooper to Rome to do something ... what was in Rome?"

"I'll tell you. Upstairs. And Levon? Touch me again and it'll be the last time you have a hand to touch with."

Levon pulled his hand back instantly. He even might have looked somewhat contrite ... but he still looked angry.

And this was how he planned to look. All he wanted was to have a minor explosion with Dunnell, then let Dunnell calm him down and buy him off ... then let Dunnell think he'd succeeded and that Levon was not a risk to them. That was what Levon wanted. Because if he didn't go through this charade, then Dunnell would be suspicious. And he did not want Dunnell suspicious.

What he didn't expect, when they were up in Dunnell's temporary office, was to be told a wild story about a race of time travelers. If not for how very high the stakes were, Levon would have been sure he was being jerked around again. But as hard as it was to believe, he did. Eventually.

As Dunnell pointed out, it had been Levon who had jumped to the conclusion the men were clones. But Dunnell claimed to have science on his side ... and that the operation in France was all about discovering what made this race of men tick ... so they could harness their abilities because when they did, all they would have to do is go back in time to get the riches of the ages.

"One body inside. Alive. Must be the living room."

Ralph's report was terse as he looked through special goggles he'd last worn years ago. You never forget, he thought to himself as he waited for a response through the earbud he wore.

"If anyone calls me Downtown One, I'll make 'em sing like a little girlie when this is over," Hando's voice came softly over the radio to the team.

Ralph smiled. His eyes blinked. He needed the break in tension Hando provided but he was not fooled ... Hando was on edge and he was lethal force waiting for the first opportunity to strike.

"The body is on the move."

"Is it leaving the premises?"

"No. Bathroom, from the looks of it."

"Tell us when it's stationary."

A few moments ... and then ... "The body is stationary."

"We go now. Softly, gents, softly."

Ralph's hand touched the handle of the sliding glass door that led from the balcony where he crouched into the condo. It was locked. He swiftly clicked open the tool he'd had at the ready; it took less than a breath for him to hear the tell-tale soft metallic sound that indicated the door was no longer locked.

At the front door of the condo, Dino was performing the same sort of action. Max waited behind him, both of them melted into the deep shadow they had created by unscrewing the porch light. With heavy shrubbery fronting the unit's entryway, they were well hidden from any casual observer.

Hando stood on the ground, looking up at a window on the second floor. He was there to watch the only other means of escape if the person inside the condo made a run for it before the team could get fully in control of the situation inside.

But the person inside was not the sort of person to run, as it turned out.

Marleen flushed the toilet, washed her hands, peered at herself in the mirror, primped in that way women have when no one's about, then leaned over to get close enough to examine her teeth for any lipstick marks. When she walked out of her bathroom, the dark shape of a man was sitting on the side of her bed. With the light on in the bedroom, it was a jolting sight to witness.

"My name is Max Cooper. You are going to help me, Miss Hunter," said the black-clad figure before her.

Marleen's heart skipped and then charged at deliciously full speed. "Oh? And why would I ever do that, Mr. Max Cooper?"

The figure before her leapt to his feet and charged her. She turned toward the door to escape, but another black-clad figure now blocked her way. When she turned back, Max was reaching for her. His hand circled her neck and he gripped in slowly, increasing the pressure as he used just that one hand to drag her toward him as she struggled to break free.

"You will help me or you will die," he said slowly, enunciating every word clearly and savagely.

Marleen sagged in his hold. He released her. Her hand rubbed at her neck. And then she looked up at Max and smiled coyly. "Okay then. Looks like you're about to fall deeply in love with me because you've come to the one person who not only can help you but actually wants to."

"Why you really doing this, love?" Hando asked her later, much later, after Dino had made her walk through the information she'd given them for the fourth time. They did not trust that she was not planting information ... doing Theo Dunnell's bidding and sending them on a wild goose chase ... or worse, sending them into a trap.

Now they had left Hando to watch over her where she sat tied into a chair in the living room. Meanwhile Dino and Max were working over the kitchen table, examining maps while Ralph was in her study, pulling up whatever Internet information he could on the clinic where Marleen claimed Ann was being held.

"Because it's the right thing to do, of course," Marleen said sweetly, batting her lashes at Hando. She liked the look of this one. She liked even better that every time she had looked at him, he was not looking in her eyes but was examining different parts of her anatomy, as if she were a piece of meat he was about to devour.

Hando moved closer, slowly sinking to sit on the chair that had been set up in front of her. The one Dino had used to interrogate her while Max had hovered behind her, his very presence intimidating and deadly serious.

"I know all about you, love, and all I got to do is smell you to know," Hando said softly. He reached out and traced over the rope the bound her left forearm to the chair's arm. He let his index finger continue to trace the line as he followed its path with his eyes. It wound over her chest and then to her shoulder. When he reached her shoulder, his finger left the rope, digging into her skin, moving over to her throat and then shoving upwards until he forced her face to tilt up to the ceiling.

If he can't smell it on me, Marleen thought to herself, then he's not the kind I think he is. She spread her legs ever so slightly and knew he'd feel the movement.

"Max says you're Dunnell's woman. You say you just wanna fuck him over because he's cheating on you ... but we both know that's a lie, don't we, love?"

Her eyes lowered until she could look at his face. He was looking down and she knew he had to be looking down her cleavage. "You the one that'll be set loose on me, then, are you? That could be quite fun. I could give you a definite run for your money, honey. Bet they think you're over here scaring me, eh?"

Hando's eyes flashed up to hers. He smiled, slow and lethal. "You'd like that, wouldn't you? Yeah, I can smell the way that turns you on. But tonight ... well, there's no time for the games I got in mind to teach you, love. Don't pout ... I'll come back some day and make you pay for being part of this."

"Oh, sweetie, I'll live for that moment."

But in an instant, the smile was gone from Hando's face. In its place was a hard set to his jaw and a flash of madness in his eyes. "Let me tell you something. You listening?"

In spite of herself, Marleen felt a quiver of fright at the unexpected change in Hando's demeanor. She was not as in charge of him as she had thought. She licked her lips, nervous, and not sure she really enjoyed the feeling.

Hando leaned in, so close she could feel his breathing as it fell across her exposed collarbone and she could smell the cigarette he'd last smoked and nearly taste the rush of testosterone that enveloped him.

"Listen good ... I'm making you a promise, love. If they've hurt her, ain't a one of you safe from us. Even you. So get it out of your pea brain that you got any power over us or that we owe you anything ... including your life."

She felt the edge of his teeth as he finished ... not a bite, just a glancing blow that was all the more intense for the way he'd genuinely frightened her just then.

When he sat up from her now, he ran his hand over his mouth and studied her legs, not missing as she slowly pressed her thighs together.

"I have a video," she said to him, unsure why she offered this now. Maybe she'd been holding on to it throughout the entire interrogation just for such a moment as this, when she needed that one final thing to regain some control.

"A video?" Hando asked, as Ralph shouted in from the study that he'd found a way into the local government's planning office ... and had found the architectural plans for the clinic in question. "A video of what?"

"Of them bringing her in. To the clinic. They plan to show it to him ... to Cooper. So he'll believe she's okay."

Hando's hand touched her knee so softly that it made her jump. "You trying to say she's not okay?"

"She was fine when I left," she said, her tone snippy now, angry at herself for the involuntary display of nerves in front of this man.

"You were there?"

"Yes, I was taking the video."

He slapped her ... he had not meant to ... but it was something about the way her voice taunted him ... and that she'd held out on them ... and that she was sitting there all safe and unhurt but coldly talking about a woman he cared about who wasn't safe and maybe wasn't unhurt.

The sound of the slap echoed in the condo's main area. Max and Dino bolted upright from where they were bent over the kitchen table.

"Fucking cunt!" Hando hissed out, now standing to face the other two. "She's fucking got a video of Ann coming into the clinic today. She's been holding out on us."

Dino grabbed for Max but he was too late. In the moment before he could react, Max was already part of the way toward where Marleen now was licking at her lips, a response to the sting of Hando's slap. If she had experienced a flash of fear from Hando, it was in seeing Max's savage sneer as he stormed toward her that she realized she might have seriously miscalculated.

"Wait! Wait! I was just holding it in case I needed it to bargain for my life!" she cried out.

"That time has arrived. Where is it?" Max asked softly, a more fearsome voice than she'd ever heard for all his words were barely above a whisper.

"On the computer," she whispered as he bent over her, so she could see the look in his eyes that was not only devoid of any measure of pity for her but was the embodiment of deadly fury.

"What's the file name?" Ralph asked and when she told him, he gave Dino a sharp look before turning to head back to her study. Long moments passed until he called out that he'd found it.

Not that there was any need for Ralph to shout that out. Not since Max had untied Marleen's bindings and dragged her with him into the study. Hando stood behind her, holding her in place. Dino hovered at Ralph's shoulder.

When the video began, it was with Marleen's voice, giving the date and time, scanning along what appeared to be a nurse's station before panning down a hallway toward an exterior door of frosted glass. It had been shot that afternoon. It was now just past midnight.

They watched in silence as figures moved into the camera's range. When he saw Ann, Max's hands clenched into fists and he felt his insides twist. The only comfort he could take from what he saw was the way she carried herself. But he knew her well enough to read her fear. They heard the conversation, all except for whatever it was that Dunnell had said directly into her ear.

But they saw its impact on her. 

He had told her once that nothing could bring him to his knees more thoroughly than her tears. He felt impotent rage when he saw her shaking hand swipe at her eyes. He could not move for how helpless he felt to witness this moment when she needed him and he was not there. As he watched her taken away, a man in security garb jerking at her arm to prod her along, he felt his fury gather into a coil inside him that would strike and kill them all now.

"Max ..." Dino said softly, breaking into his emotional desert. "Max, I need to play it a few more times ... I need to see what details we might be missing ... things that can help us when we go in there to get her. I think now you've seen it once, that's enough. You go in the other room, hey? Let me do what I do best."

"I will stay here."

"I need you to trust in me, Max. Can you do that? I won't let you down, man. Let me do what I need to do here. Then we go and get her back."

Max's eyes closed for long moments. Then he nodded, turned and walked away, his hand snaking out to grab onto Marleen and drag her with him.

Inside the living room, he slammed her into the couch and began trussing her up, tersely ordering Hando to gag her.

Through it all, there was a part of Maximus that did not allow himself to lose control. He was biding his time. The time for Dunnell and the Mephisto people was at an end, he told Marleen as she cowered on the couch. She would be spared only because she had given them the information they needed about the building, security and Dunnell. Everyone else, he told her, would be dead before the sun rose again.

By the time he left Dunnell's office, Levon was a man teetering on the brink. On one side was his real goal ... vengeance. On the other, was the wonder to have found himself involved in something that surpassed even his own astonishment to once have believed he'd stumbled onto a group of successful clones.

The security guard at the elevator punched in a code to allow him access. Down he rode into the research center. Once there, he went into the men's room. He ran cold water in the sink, letting it cascade over his knuckles before splashing it on his face. As he dried his skin, he looked inside his mirror image.

Now he knew.

Now he knew what it was that had gathered his brother William to his last mission. He had thought he'd known, but now he realized that he hadn't known the truth. Not all of it.

He pictured William in his mind. Pictured William hearing about this for the first time. How had they convinced him? Theo said it was Luke Ferris ... that he'd somehow commanded William's respect and loyalty.

And Levon had no doubt that Luke had also promised William untold riches ... and power.

Now he knew.

Now he knew why Max Cooper had really been as important as he was to William and Luke ... and Mephisto, in the end, when they figured it out.

Was it really possible Max Cooper was from ancient Rome? Had traveled through time to come here?

He could very well imagine just how far Cooper would have been willing to go to protect that secret.

Had Ann Cooper been telling the truth, he suddenly asked himself. Had Max really not killed William? Had it been someone else ... Ralph? It could not have been her ... he would never believe it.

One last searching glance at himself in the mirror, and then Levon strode out, pausing only when he saw Gail behind the reception desk area, her head buried over notes she was entering in a chart. At first, she did not want to tell him Ann's whereabouts. But then she relented. Room 1031. Just down toward the middle of the hall.

No other patients around. This room was set up for OB, Gail said, as she led him toward it. The others were for cardiac cases and spinal injuries and things such as that. The OB room had special monitors.

Inside the room, the first thing he noticed were the lights along the ceiling. The big round ones that were off. They reminded him of the birthing suite where his wife waited out her labor.

He found Ann in a hospital bed there in that room. She was hooked up to monitors. Her eyes were closed, her breathing shallow and even.

Gail tapped at one of the monitors. The baby's heart, she said, is really strong.

"Why have you got her strapped down?" Levon asked, his fingers stroking over the straps binding Ann's wrists to the side of the mattress.

"She wasn't cooperating. I was under orders. I didn't want to give her more sedatives. It could harm the baby," Gail said swiftly, as if ready for Levon to chastise her.

"You're just supposed to be holding her. Not giving her sedatives or drugs ... why would you have an IV in her?"

"You'll have to ask Mr. Dunnell."

"I'll do that." They looked at each other.

Gail swiftly finished taking Ann's vitals and then left the room. Levon said he'd stay; he had no where else to go really.

When the door shut behind Gail, he heard Ann's voice. It was soft and it leveled him. "You see now, don't you? This was never about William. Not for them."

"You playing the possum, eh?" he said, also whispering, coming back near her side. "What are you up to, Mrs. Cooper?"

Her eyes had filled with unshed tears as she stared up at him. "Please help me."

It was the last thing he expected from her. He blinked and looked away.

"Please. I saw how you reacted when I said your brother was going to kill the baby ... you were revolted but you knew he was capable of it. Please ... don't let them do this. Help me, Levon. Help my child. I'll do anything but just help me get away."

"You know nothing about me," he snapped back. "I would no sooner have mercy on you than you had on William."

"William chose to invade my life, Levon. There's a difference here."

"He did not deserve to die."

"I won't apologize that it happened. I chose the baby over him. And I'd do it again. But surely you can understand? I was fighting for the baby's life ... what would you have done in my place?"

"You have a strange way of pleading for my help ... by telling me you are not sorry for William's death! Why would you possibly think I'd help you?"

"They are going to do things ... to the baby ... I heard them talking. It's going to happen tonight. In an operating room. Don't you see? They are doing medical tests on my child. They'll hurt him. They care about nothing ... they don't care if he dies or if they harm him. You should have heard them," Ann said, her voice breaking now.

Levon felt revulsion as he listened. He didn't want to believe what she said. It was the one explanation for what he saw happening in this room but that didn't mean it was true. Then he thought back to what Dunnell had said about the testing they were doing on the man in France. Was she telling the truth?

He fought his own instincts. He would not be swayed. He would not help this woman who had just confessed to murdering his brother ... who had convinced him that it was her, after all, who'd done this to him, who'd left him alone in life. How could he be swayed from vengeance when all he had to do to get it was to do nothing?

"You think I'd help you, Mrs. Cooper? No, I think this is actually what they would call poetic justice."

It had been something simple that she had said that had said while she was deep in the state of hypnosis into which Stephen had gently taken her that finally pinpointed the information they required. The good doctor had revealed his interest in what he called Mesmerism when the issue had first been discussed. Uma had not been an ideal candidate as skittish and cynical as she was, but after a few false starts he had led her into that other state that opened the locked doors in her mind.

She had talked freely, a bewildering array of images and impressions which initially had seemed too imprecise ever to be turned into concrete information. Terry had been leaning on the door lintel throughout, his face somber and his lips pursed, arms crossed as he listened. Everything about his demeanor suggested that he thought this was a total waste of time and that they would be better served getting hold of Myra and the kid and holding them to ransom until Sid decided to stop playing mind games with them and decided on whose side his loyalties lay.

"...It's very flat. There are marshes all around. Lots of birds. Eagles, hawks, pink flamingos...And there's an owl. I can see an owl. He's swinging. There's a number underneath. Soixante sept. It's a small turning leading to a farmhouse or something...no, not a farmhouse...a stable....I think it has something to do with horses..."

In the end, it was Terry who made the connection. "Bloody hell...I know where she means....we passed the place!"

The others turned towards him, unsure what he meant. "Not us...Gaia and I. After the wedding, we drove around the areas for a couple of days. Went into the Camargue. It's all marshland there...salt marshes...very flat...white horses...lots of riding centres... We got lost. Made a wrong turn. Gaia was navigating and I was annoyed. I hate to miss my way....matter of pride, you know? In the end we made a U turn in a farm track that led off the road. There was a wooden gateway with an owl above it on a board. It was windy. The Mistral. The board was swinging and creaking....and there was a name on the sign. Or rather a number...Gaia commented on it...Sid would love this, she said....Soixante sept...."

"Sixty seven! Six point seven..." Stephen gasped. The others all began to see the connection.

"Do you recall where it was exactly? The place you turned the car?" Jack asked already pulling out a map of the region.

"Yeah, I do as a matter of fact....I remember it well..."

"...You want some concrete evidence of who they really are?" Sid grinned. "You sure have gone to a lot of trouble on their behalf then, haven't you? On a hunch alone? Come on, boy, you know they are the business...but you don't know exactly how, do you?"

"I'm warning you, Sid....my patience is wearing thin..." Adam Link tried for menacing but the slight squeak in his voice that always betrayed him when he was nervous surfaced again.

"Ooooh!" Sid shivered. "You are so scary...! I think I shall have to come clean or you might do me some harm!" His mockery was scathing. He knew the others would be here soon. Very soon. But he still couldn't help but brag. "You think they are clones? Or maybe time travelers? Think again, brainiac...."

"Well?" Adam asked, suddenly aware that the information he was about to receive was going to blow even his jaded mind.

"We aren't real. Well, not originally anyway. We began life as an idea in the brain of a gifted man. He is an actor. His creations were so full of life force, so vital, so well realized that somehow...and excuse me if I don't play all my cards tonight, Adam...the kiss of life was breathed into them and they passed from celluloid existence into real life. One by one they crossed - and there are more to come - and they gathered around a portal in the time space continuum...etcetera, etcetera...I wouldn't want to tax your limited brain functions with too many extraneous details..."

"Film characters come to life?' Adam gasped. "But that's insane...!"

Sid rubbed his hands together, always delighting in an enraptured audience. "Well, of course, it's insane, mi pequeño...but it is true none the less. I myself was one of the finer creations. A work of genius. One of his earlier masterpieces...he was a child prodigy, you know?"

"Who was?"

"Crowe was. But I digress....just think how this could be of use to you and your organization...I can send ordinary people into movies...Imagine the potential there! Or we can go back into celluloid and steal anything we like, goods, money, jewelry... consequence free, for sale back in the real world. Plus, if you have a lust for a particular movie character - and who hasn't had a little manual before the TV screen before now, sweetie? - I can have them shipped out to your home address for a night of passion....you know how much guys would pay for a night with...say... Lara Croft...? Endless possibilities...Riches beyond your wildest dreams - and no one will be able to trace your movements either...Come on, Adam, this is better than cloning...no sheep involved...this is the ultimate fantasy come to life. You will be like Pygmalion...or even better...God...!"

Adam's eyes had been out on stalks throughout all this. The ultimate cyber fantasy...access to your heroes... "But why are you telling me all this? You could have exploited it alone! Why would you want to help us?"

Sid smiled benignly. "Because this is the payoff, my little friend. This is all that matters. My experiment is, as I have said, the more important one ... that is, if you are interested in all the riches you could ever have and all the fantasies you would ever wish to live. Tell me that this is not what really matters ... and tell me that I am not the answer to all your dreams, genius that I am."

Adam, nervously fingering his BlackBerry, broke protocol ... and in an unobserved second, managed to get a message through to Warren and Danny. In essence, it said, that the men were not time travelers but something far more lucrative and much, much simpler to exploit. He attached their audio file he'd recorded without Sid's awareness ... of their just-completed conversation. Adam's final line was: "This is it - the Big Kahuna. I'm going after Sid and then it's all ours. All of it."

It had not taken them long to come up with a new plan. It had been Ralph who suggested it.

In order to make it happen, they had simply looked in the local phone book and found the nearest company that delivered linens to hospitals. Dino drove Marleen's car to the linen supply firm as Ralph followed, driving Max in the rental. As their cars idled next to one of the company's vans, Hando hopped from the car Dino drove. It took him less than thirty seconds to hotwire the van and they were on their way. They left Marleen's car in a supermarket parking lot a few miles away. Dino rode shotgun in the van as Hando drove. They did not speak except for Dino telling him when to turn onto another street.

The city streets were largely deserted. It was quiet, that time of the day when you feel both excited to be outside driving around when no one else is and also jealous not to be one of those people in all the anonymous houses you passed who were still snug in their warm beds this time of the morning.

They parked the rental down a dirt road that ended near the back perimeter of the fence that provided cursory security for the Omega Day Surgery and Clinic. Depending on what happened inside, if things went sour, this would be an alternative means of escape. If things went smoothly, they'd simply leave in the van the same way they'd enter. It took them only minutes to verify there was no power to the fence and to then pre-cut a long slash into the chain-link. If the time came they must escape this way, they would not be delayed but could simply push through the cut area and run to the car. They hid one of the rental car keys on the bottom lip of the front bumper. That way, no matter who was running for the car, they'd have a key to start it.

Ralph took over the driving of the van when they left this time, just in case they were stopped at the gate. They didn't need the guard taking more than cursory notice of them and if Hando had been driving, his Australian accent would definitely have been noticed if he had had to talk with the guard.

The others hid in the back of the panel van. Ralph wore one of white jackets they'd found hanging in the back of the van. Ralph was waved through the instant the van neared the gate.

They drove to the loading bay for the main clinic area and there they walked unchallenged into the facility.

The building's plans had been memorized. Marleen had generously given them the pass code they'd need to access the secure research wing. This was where they headed, alert to any danger along the way.

The halls of the clinic were as virtually empty as the streets they'd driven on their way there. They passed a maintenance man changing out a ceiling tile and a housekeeper buffing a section of one of the main hallways. And then they neared the door that would bring them into the wing where they knew Ann was being held. It was just down from them ... in their sights. Thanks to Marleen, all they had to do was put in the pass code and then get through the door. Once inside, they would fan out to locate and gain control of the members of the small staff Marleen told them would be there. Once they had the staff under their control, they would get Ann and retrace their steps back to the van. Control of the staff would be a key ... they could not risk any of them raising an alarm and perhaps blocking their escape.

The team took one last look around and were about to walk swiftly down the hall to reach the door.

Except in the quiet of the hospital at this hour, Max heard the sound of the secure door being remotely unlatched from inside the research wing. He hissed out a warning and the four men darted around a corner before the door could open. They listened to the echo of the footsteps of those coming out of the door. They collectively held their breaths, waiting to see if the footsteps kept coming their way or if they would turn down the other way. They could not afford to be found at this point. They had to assume that anyone coming out of that wing was in the Mephisto group and therefore the enemy.

The footsteps turned. They slowly released their breaths.

Max leaned out from around the corner and peeked down to scope out the people who had left the secure wing.

His mind saw red. His heart clamped in a vise. His fury coiled harder.

When the footsteps were faint echoes, he turned to Dino, standing next to him. "Dunnell," was all he said before he turned to follow the footsteps.

"Shit," was all Dino said as he followed in Max's stealthy wake.

They knew from Marleen that Dunnell had taken up temporary digs upstairs, on the third floor, in a large doctor's office area that had been vacant when this all began. It had to be where Dunnell was heading.

It was fucking freaky that Dunnell was here, Ralph thought to himself. Marleen said he'd be waiting on them at the Mephisto headquarters ... not here ... he'd have no way to know they even knew about the clinic.

But Dunnell was there precisely because Warren Bush wanted to be there ... to witness the surgery planned that night on Ann Cooper. It would still be another hour or so, one of the doctors had told them. Warren wanted some kind of early proof that Sid was either telling them the truth ... or was conning the hell out them with his latest bombshell about who these men really were.

Theo convinced Warren that they should wait up in his office where they could check in with his security lieutenants back at headquarters. That was where Theo would have preferred to be that night. He felt something in the air ... an instinct that told him that whatever Cooper and his cohorts might be planning, it would come soon. Now that they were so close, he was growing edgy.

Riding up on the elevator, Warren paced. As the doors slid open, he turned to Dunnell to say, "Why doesn't he call? Cooper, I mean. Sid said he'd get word to them ... that he had some back way in ... let them know we have her ... why doesn't he call?"

Theo shrugged. "He's planning something. It won't be long. We'll have an answer."

"I sent Sid the video, you know."

"No. I didn't know. Are you sure that was wise?" Theo asked, finding it hard to disguise his annoyance.

"I wouldn't have done it otherwise, Dunnell, right?"

"Why did you send it to him, sir?"

"Because he said he wanted to see it. I figured he may even send it on to Cooper himself."

"You do realize you cannot trust that freak? That we still don't really know what his game is ... what he's done in France? We don't really know what ..."

"I don't trust him. I am using him. He's going to be useful to us in getting the rest of them to cooperate. But you saw what he showed Adam there ... it's incredible ... it's much better than time travel ..."

Theo clamped his mouth shut as he unlocked the office door and ushered Warren inside. The two men with them were members of his security force who'd been assigned to guard Warren. Theo was convinced this was a necessary precaution. He figured that if Max Cooper and the others wanted to strike back at Mephisto, they may very well go after the Geek Troika. So he had guards on both of those in Chattanooga.  As for Adam, over in France with Sid? Well, there wasn't much they could do but count on Sid's charity, was there?

The hallway's overhead lights were far too bright. They always were in hospitals. Levon paused. Looked up at the lights. Felt a déjà vu moment: of leaving his son's hospital room the last time ... of the pit inside him and his fury at the fucking lights that blinded him when all he wanted was to smash every piece of equipment that spoke of a hospital as a place where people's lives were saved ... but where his life had been shattered in one horrible night. Where no equipment could save his son ... where his wife's cold body had never made it past the ER.

What would he have given if he could have killed the drunk driver who killed his family before the wreck? Would he have done it? Surely there would have been no choice to make if he had been in the position to decide whether the drunk driver or his family would live? Would he have even hesitated if he'd had the chance to choose, Levon suddenly asked himself, turning around ... almost walking back to Ann Cooper's room. But stopping in mid step.

It was too late. It had always been too late. 

Dunnell and that creepy Warren Bush had already been here. They had it all set in motion. Whatever happened now, it was out of his hands.

And what did it matter to Levon now how the Coopers met their punishment for killing his brother?

"Are you all right, sir?" a woman in a flowered nurse's scrubs asked him, her cool hand on his arm. 

Where had she come from? Levon had not noticed her. "Who are you?" he spit out at her.

She took a step away from him. "I'm the surgical nurse. Tammy. I saw you stumble ... I thought perhaps ... But I ..."

"Surgical nurse? You're here for her?" Levon asked, his head jerking toward Ann's room. When Tammy nodded, Levon looked down the hall and then back at the nurse. "When's the procedure going to happen?"

"About two hours. We had to wait a bit longer because the anesthetic the doctor prefers to use can not be given sooner than eight hours after a subject has had a meal."

Levon looked at his watch and walked away. He really hadn't wanted to see Ann Cooper again anyway ... had he? At the end of the hall, he turned to see Tammy entering Ann's room.

He had not really believed they were really going to touch her in this way. But now he knew, didn't he? They were going to do surgery on her ... and he had promised himself so solemnly that if he did nothing else, he would not allow harm to come to her innocent child ... his own penance for what he had begun to believe his brother might have been willing to do to her.

Looking up at the lights, he sighed. And then he slipped into an empty hospital room to wait.

Four men slipped from the stairwell on the third floor. They made no noise. As if they had been working together for years, they made their slow way down the hall. At each door they came to, one of them would pause on the side, place a device on the door and listen for signs of life inside.

It was not until they reached the sixth door that the listener held up a thumb to indicate a hit. The other three looked about, alert, edgy, on guard for any sudden appearances of more Mephisto people. They had just confirmed that only one office suite on the floor was currently in use. It would simplify their assault.

These men should not have been up there. They had not planned to be. But Maximus would not be deterred. Not after he'd realized that with Dunnell was one of the Mephisto owners. They had watched the elevator ascend and knew it would stop on the third floor. Immediately, Max had headed for the door that led to the stairs they would need to take up the three flights.

"Max, we are here for one reason only. To get Ann. Leave them ... we can get them later," Dino had said once the team was safely alone inside the stairwell.

Max glanced at him over his shoulder. "This chance may never be given to us again. We take them now. If we fail, we live our lives at risk if they go into hiding. I will not let them get away from us."

"I say we take them out then get Ann," Hando said, instantly siding with Max in this.

They all looked at Ralph.

"This is not a democracy. There can only be one leader on this mission. The rest of us follow," Ralph said softly. "But I have something I have to say. If the leader chooses this route, we have to take them out clean because if they get the chance to set off an alarm, she's dead."

Dino sighed and shook his head. "Look, I know you want to get him for what he's done to her but ..."

"That is not the point," Max said, now coming to stand before Dino. He placed his hand on Dino's shoulder. "We do this for the entire group. Do you truly not see the danger they will be to us all? This also, Dino ... even now, if we go for Anna, with them in this building? What will happen if the alarm is given as we enter where they hold her? We know that moment is our greatest risk on this mission. If anyone sees us and sets off an alarm, those above us will respond and may make our retreat impossible. They are the ones who are most dangerous to us in our effort to free Anna. I would do nothing to ever risk her life. No, we must take out the ones who can most successfully stop us ... the ones who are also the most dangerous to everyone we love. If we take them hostage, we neutralize the entire operation."

"What? You want to take them hostage?" Dino asked him, his voice edged with disbelief.

"The others will be forced to abandon their activities if we threaten to kill them. We use the tactic they hoped to use against us."

"And buy some time to figure out how to shut them down permanently."

"Neutralize the threat."

"They'll let us have her in exchange for their lives. It places her in less risk than if we had to go in and take her forcibly from them," Ralph said softly into the pause in the whispered conversation.

"We are agreed, then?" Max said.

"Strength and honor," Dino said, giving Max a look that bespoke the man of iron will and determination that people sometimes forgot made up his core.

"We strike swift and with force. Expect to be met with resistance."

"We go in the outer office ... you two go in from the back office ... go at the signal."

Two men had made their way inside the outer office by the time two other men had made their silent entry into a back office. From both vantage points, they could burst through interior doors, trapping the targets between their two-pronged attack.

They paused and waited as one of the men crouching in the back office studied the scene through goggles that read body heat through the door before him.

"Four bodies inside. In a cluster."

"Go."