The arrangement is made for the remaining rooftop guards to live, their leader coming aboard the helicopter with the girl in tow. Artis takes over the controls and they are quickly airborn. The child comes to about 20 minutes later, slightly groggy and asking for her mother. The guard leader's eyes go wide at the girl's question.

"So, what is to become of myself and the child? If you want to torture me, fine. All I ask is the girl be spared further harm. Her mother would want it that way and I would be forced to protect her if it were to come to that."

Meanwhile...

The recent events in Omsk has seen an upsurge in SMP patrols on the highway. Checkpoints become more commonplace, placed about every 50kms. As the journey progresses and the searches intensify, it's becoming harder and harder to conceal weapons. Anything bigger than a pistol is ditched out the window.

At one checkpoint, their car is specifically targeted for a search. The inevitable conclusion that they are not the standard business travellers is discovered and the entire team is placed under arrest and heavy guard.

Calculating their chances for yet another escape, the Team is brought to a cordoned-off area with tents...similar to that of the train crossing in Siberia. They are escorted under heavy security into a tent on the edge of the cordoned area.

Inside they are ordered to sit on a metal bench and handcuffed to it. The gears of escape begin turning with everyone throwing out options. The plan to bushwhack the next person walking through the tent opening is set.

In walks Agent Nightengale dressed as a high-ranking SMP officer and without hesitation, begins unlocking their bonds.

"You've been making quite a name for yourselves as of late. And if it wasn't for your live appearance on world-wide television, we'd still be two steps behind your trail of smoking vehicles and dead bodies."

"Well, we'll need you to tell her mom that she's safe after we're done talking to you. Let's start with how you guys have Blackhawks lying around - on second thought, forget it. You just start talking and hope to God it's something we want to hear."

The guard replies back in very good English, uneffected by Artis' intimidation.

"Russia is the land of opportunity, agent. Everyone and everything has a price. It is just a matter of can you afford it or not. Ms. Illiavic chose to outsource her help due to the fact that along with everything else, loyalty can also be bought. You want to know where my employer is...why don't you ask that nice FSB fellow you were talking to? Or perhaps that charming girl that was with your other Team...Ilyanna, wasn't it? What I will tell you is that if you allow myself and the young lady to leave unharmed, I will assure you that there will be no retribution towards yourself or your colleagues."

He looks over to the girl.

"It's ok. Everything is fine. Stiff upper lip. Just like last time? Ok?"

The guard turns his attention back to Artis.

"There is a phone my pocket. You want to talk Ms. Illiavic, I'll call her for you."

Artis is pleased that the agent seems to at least deserve his position of squad leader, or whatever he was. "OK, explain to your new friends what you meant by that Ilyanna thing. I have to make a call. And somebody strip this joker while we're at it. I don't want him pulling a piece and starting a Passenger 57 up here."

With that said, Artis hurriedly dials Brian and Carla and, assuming they pick up, prepares to lay out the day's recent events.

"First off, I'm not a rent-a-cop, cowboy...I'm this girl's personal bodyguard. Make your call to your friends. I'm not going anywhere." says the man, passively holding up his hands/arms for a search.

"Ilyanna's one of ours. She was put inside your Team to get up close and personal in the unlikely event you were able to track down Jessica Spiner. She also our inside man monitoring everything you did and when you went. Hence why you dealt with my and not the slacked-jawed security Ms. Illiavic usually has running the show."

Somewhere in Central Russia

Still reeling from the fact that Nightengale is standing before them, Team B's phones start ringing. Nightengale momentarily stops unlocking everyone and stands silent.

"Don't any of you answer the phone!"

Jess smiles at Nightengale.

"Well, it's good to be back, Sir. I apologize for the lack of subtlety, but I only left Illiavic's care a few days ago and have been running ever since. We've had a run-in with a sleeper double agent, which shot my exit strategy to hell."

The smile fades.

"Sir, we need to move against Illiavic as soon as possible."

Nightengale is (uncharacteristically) taken aback by Jess' new look, acknowledging his familiarity with a fatherly nod. He then opens up his heavy coat and pulls out an encryption coupler for the phone along with a tablet PC.

"Nice look, though I like your cheekbones more the way you had them before."

"Do you mind?" asks Nightengale to Brian, pulling out the Brit's phone and attaching it to his tablet.

"Our IT guys are pretty sure you've been bugged since the get-go of this trainwreck. We can't take any chances on you being traced to this position. Jess, be a dear and answer the phone. I'll be simultaneously jamming the tracer and triangulating the transmission source."

"Roger that."

Jess takes the phone and takes the call.

"Spiner speaking."

"Say again? Spiner?!" Artis gives a huge grin and thumbs up to the occupants of the Blackhawk. He then continues in Chinese: "Oh, babe, it's gotta be you, you'd be the only person I know to just use your real name over the phone like that. Where the fuck have you been?! Where's our other birdies?"

"Auntie Sam had me over for tea and cookies. Falco and Osp are here, we're good. Had a short run-in with a sleeper. You guys have to be more careful."

Upon hearing Jess's words, Artis ponders his comrades for a moment...

Ayumi's clean - she's been with us since Vegas, and there's no way she'd turn on the people who took Kenji... Moten... Moten I don't know about. And Pete... goddammit, I hate the think this, but I had Ilyanna at gunpoint back at the safe house and he was the one who warmed right up to her, took down my guard... is he just naive? I'm naive for even thinking that, shit. AND to top it off, they both hung back in the apartment when those metal shutters came down, left me and Ayumi alone with those guards...

He then continues to Jess:
"We may be in the same boat, not sure yet. What's the plan now? Do we extract or hunt Sam? Oh, I think we bagged her daughter, or at least someone important."

"I've got the chief here, but off the record, the girl will soon be orphaned."

"Sir, I'm in touch with Goose. There's some tension that we should put to rest soon about who we can and can not trust. He also said that they have taken hostage someone they believe to be Illiavic's daughter."

"Anyone that was not in Italy at the time of your abduction is to considered suspect." says Nightengale, with a stern tone and looking directly at Elena with scrutiny.

Elena responds in kind.

"Fuck you, Mr. Superspy. If it wasn't for me, your dear Jessica would have been wolf's dinner long ago."

She stands up in a defensive posture.

"Jessica. Be so kind as to remind bossman of my help."

Jess looks from Elena to Nightengale.

"She's with me because she wants money. But I trust her selfishness."

She gets back on the phone.

"We don't know who we can rely on, but we're pretty sure we can trust the the core of our team. It's the periphery that we should worry about."

"I need to set up a meet then, we need new comm equipment, and we'll need the means to trace and scramble a call. Our other guest is willing to call Sammy."

Nightengale turns his attention back to his tablet.

[color=blue:81fd3cbb55]49°00N 32°00E[/color]

"Triangulation coordinates confirmed. Jess, you need to tell them that they have to ditch everything they've acquired since they went dark. I mean everything."

(looks down at his watch)

"The real SMP interrogator should be returning his smoke break soon. We need to get going. There is a van parked thirty meters south of here. Tell Goose we need to drop off but he is to call back from a landline ASAP. By then, I should have the location of the nearest dropbox with clean equipment/gear."

"Goose, I know you won't like this, but we're confirming Typhoid Mary protocol. Whatever you have that you're not absolutely sure is clean - ditch it. And yes, we'll be meeting soon."

(Edited by Gatac at 8:29 pm on June 9, 2005)

"And medical equipment! We're all shot to shit."

Carla mutters to herself,

"Goddammit. The next time I think I ought to shoot them, I'm shooting them. I really ought to act on my instincts more often. They disarmed a WMD, fer chrissake."