"You mean now? With Serrano, uh- kidnapped and well, your father with Robin Hood and his band of merry counter agents?" Angie asked in a razor-sharp quip.
 
 

"Yeah, right after we pay a visit to Francis and Sarah…we can pack some bags, call our good friend, Luce- and take off," Rollie said, rolling his eyes and flapping his arms around in aviator flight.
 
 

"Well, seeing as how we no longer have a picture to work on…" Angie said flatly, flinging a canceled contract into the air, the notice of their termination from the film they had neglected for over a week now; "I’d say, we better drum up some business out there because Tyler F/X’s name is mud in this town right now!"
 
 

"Yeah, and I’m ready to do movies, sweetie- NOT help solve national and world problems…just my own."
 
 

Angie looked at him standing in front of her, the twinkle in his eye making her smile.
 
 

"If I thought for one moment, that you’re really meant that…."
 
 

"I DO!"
 
 

"Promise?"
 
 

"Promise!"
 
 

"No curiosity about why your father did what he did or why? No wondering about why Rolph Mer is helping Michael? Not concerned about Elena in their hands?"
 
 

"Bother the lot of them!"
 
 

"Well!"
 
 

"Selfish, you think?"
 
 

"Definitely, and I LIKE it!"
 
 

"Careful, I see little horns protruding from your head, Angela…"
 
 

"Good, the halo fell off some time ago."

Mira Sanchez walked into the small factory off the second alley as per the directions. She could smell the dankness and shivered slightly inside the abandoned building. She could hear voices upstairs and as she neared the metal staircase to the second floor and she could see the man Michael called Rolph standing guard.
 
 

"Hey," she acknowledged, wearily to him as he nodded and lifted his weapon.
 
 

"They’re all inside," Rolph told her as she smiled slightly and opened the office door.
 
 

Elena Serrano sat, still bound and now her mouth taped in the center of the room. A white light shrouded her from above as she coughed and looked up at Mira with confusion.
 
 

"For God’s sake, Michael, take that tape off her!" Mira demanded as she glared at him talking with Dingo Tyler and Lindquist, Michael’s newest conquest.
 
 

"She’s been uncooperative, Mira," he warned her as she decided to do the deed herself. With not a great deal of grace or feeling, she pulled the tape from Serrano’s mouth in a quick jerk.
 
 

"Oh God!" cried Elena, her anger rekindled as she looked up at Mira.
 
 

"Watch it, Michael isn’t beyond coming over here and shutting you back up again," Mira warned her, putting a finger to her lips.
 
 

"So, you’re in on this too?" Elena asked, her voice betraying her distaste for the Detective.
 
 

"Um, in for a penny, in for a pound…" Mira replied and then quickly got within an inch of her face; "what choice did I have, come on- Elena! Don’t you get it yet?"
 
 

"But, why stay at what you do? If it’s all a farce?"
 
 

"No, noooo- what I do is work New York City crime and murder beat, Serrano. What you do, well…that’s where all the farce is…"
 
 

"I won’t believe that the entire F.B.I. is tainted with this splinter operational element!" Elena retorted, shaking her head.
 
 

"Well, not all of it…but most of it, including the Marchard Institute…and well, how do you think you got so far there? Most of it was to shut you up and get you off the streets. Chasing Dingo Tyler around and of course, Victor Loubar caused quite some headaches."
 
 

"How can you condone this?" Elena asked, her eyes widened, not believing her ears.
 
 

"Let’s just say, I saw the ‘light’…."
 
 

"This video is true, authentic then, that’s what you are saying?"
 
 

"Um, and more of those where that one came from…"
 
 

"I just can’t believe it!"
 
 

"You really aren’t in the position, Elena. If I were you, I would agree to Michael’s offer and work with your blinders on, cause girl….you’re gonna need them!"
 
 

The two women looked at each other, Elena calculating as Mira inwardly hoped she chose the right answer.
 
 

Michael was watching the two of them carefully. Dingo had not exactly won Elena over either. Hopefully, with Mira’s help, Elena would not have to be sacrificed.
 
 

"Have you seen Rollie?" Elena asked, out of the blue as Mira frowned then, putting her hands on her hips.
 
 

"Yeah, so what?"
 
 

"You tell him the truth?"
 
 

"Most of it, yes…"
 
 

"How’d he take it?"
 
 

"He’s not happy…I think he and Angie are going to be coming to terms with this for a long time."
 
 

Elena closed her eyes, the watering tears forming as she cleared her throat; "I love him, do you know that?"
 
 

"I think you’d better get over that. He’s not leaving Angie and it is best that you not see him again. With what you are up against now, it’s best to let that whole fantasy go."
 
 

"Are you going to continue working for Midtown South?"
 
 

"I am, see no reason not to…Michael thinks it is the best situation for all concerned and of course, I’m just not up to your caliber, Elena. You are marketable in their world…and there really isn’t a choice for you. I’m just a lowly cop…and I have to keep the peace."
 
 

"Aren’t you afraid Rollie, as an innocent, will blow this thing open?"
 
 

"No…"
 
 

"Do you trust Michael with the real truth?"
 
 

"Yes, with all my heart…" Mira answered, looking over at her husband’s double as her eyes met his.
 
 

"Okay…."
 
 

"What?"
 
 

"I said, okay…I’ll do it."
 
 

Mira nodded and smiled. Michael looked at his watch and sighed. They didn’t have a moment to lose.

The mood was somewhat restrained in the Gatti house as Rollie and Angie paid a visit. Aidan rejoined the sisters in their room, as Rebecca lay in bed, recovering from her broken ribs. Callie and Ashley had no problems in getting him actively involved in one of their games of hide and seek in the large room. Angie could hear his squeals of laughter from downstairs and she knew that they had genuinely taken the best care of him that they could during their strange adventure.
 
 

"So, Rebecca is doing okay?" Angie asked Sarah as she was offered a glass of tea.
 
 

Rollie sat with Angie, his eyes falling on Francis who seemed to be having a hard time with something he was thrashing over in his mind.
 
 

"Oh, yes….she’s doing fine! And of course, we did find out the reason that she took Aidan and the girls away…and I am so sorry! I don’t know where she got the notion that we weren’t doing the best for Callie! I guess, she just read into all the pain we were showing and then, poor Callie’s trips to the hospital. That drug that your father was toting was like a magic potion to her. She’s in that stage of fairy tales and I guess, she just felt like she had to try it," Sarah explained, almost nervously.
 
 

"Yeah, well- no movies or TV for a year!" Francis fed into the conversation, his voice terse and almost nervous as Rollie sighed and shook his head;
 
 

"Francis, I’m sorry about Dingo and stirring the girls up. He just didn’t realize the gravity of Callie’s situation and it was just irresponsible."
 
 

"Actually," Sarah replied, smiling as she looked at Francis, "Dingo should be thanked, in a way."
 
 

"What do you mean?" Angie asked, now mystified by their positive outlook about Dingo.
 
 

"Well, that homeopathic remedy, the Rhus Toxicondrum…it does seem to be working with Callie’s seizures. I…couldn’t get over how high her threshold had become and the doctors, well- they are at a loss for how this could happen. Needless to say, I actually purchased some- at a respected homeopathic store and it continues to be working!"
 
 

"What?" Rollie asked, dumbfounded.
 
 

"Dingo was on the up and up," Francis said, shaking his head and grinning slightly, "and we wouldn’t have known it was working unless Rebecca had taken on her own mission to test it herself on her sister."
 
 

"I’m a little embarrassed though," Angie said, suddenly as she thought back to why the girls had taken Aidan, "I mean, am I that bad of a mother in a little girl’s eyes that she would think that Aidan was better with them?"
 
 

"Oh no! Angie! I think Rebecca was just feeling all the intense emotions in the house that night…and well, she loves him, you know…I guess she felt like he was one of them."
 
 

Angie lowered her head slightly as Rollie put his arm around her shoulders; "Come on now, you’re the best, Ange!"
 
 

Sarah came over and hugged her as well; "I’m sorry my children took it upon themselves to place any judgements on you! They really have been talked to about all of this and well…"
 
 

"Like I said, no TV or movies for a year!" Francis chimed in sternly as Sarah rolled her eyes.
 
 

"Well, we do have a favor to ask…" Rollie interrupted as Angie bit her lip and looked at Sarah expectantly.
 
 

"What?" she asked, curiously, seeing Rollie Tyler’s mind working in overtime and Francis grinned suddenly.
 
 

"Uh, think you could watch Aidan for a week?"
 
 

Sarah smiled, relaxing as Francis chuckled.
 
 

"Sure…you guys going somewhere?"
 
 

"Yep, going to go visit Luce in L.A…." Rollie said, with determination in his eyes.
 
 

"Sounds interesting and uh, I see some planning going on as well," Sarah said, her curiosity becoming intuition now.
 
 

"Possible permanent plans, you could say," Angie said, in a low voice, her eyes dropping.
 
 

"Take whatever time you need," Sarah replied, touching Angie’s arm softly.
 
 

Francis looked at Rollie and swallowed hard. New York without Rollie Tyler…could it be possible?

Lucinda Scott had been thrilled to hear the news that Rollie and Angie would be coming out to L.A. for a visit. After all, she had one visitor already out there who had extended his vacation another week. She had told Rollie and Angie that there would be plenty of room in her new digs and was bubbling over with surprises. She was only sorry that she wouldn’t see Aidan but Angie had assured her that Aidan would get to see his Aunt Luce before long.
 
 

Having packed up Aidan’s things and taken them over to Sarah and Francis’s, the couple prepared for the trip to L.A, getting plane reservations and installing Bluey with a new program for surveillance. They monitored the phone by answering machine but strangely, no calls were forthcoming from Dingo or anyone else for that matter.
 
 

"It feels strange…" Angie said, sitting on the side of the bed as she looked at the clock, hearing it tick loudly, "Aidan not being here again but I know he’s okay…"
 
 

Rollie was pacing around the room, trying to remember what he hadn’t packed. The flight to L.A. was at 6 A.M. He was thinking about his C.V. and whether they should bring Ambler along, just for the flash if any interviews would come out of the trip there.
 
 

"Rollie?"
 
 

"Yeah, oh- sorry love, got my mind all wound up with things…" he told her and sat beside her, looking at her worried face.
 
 

"He’s fine. No more adventures and apparently, a life of complete boredom for the next week since the girls are in detention camp. No TV or movies….quite the torture, eh?"
 
 

Angie smiled, punching him slightly in the arm as she lay down, yawning slightly. Her foot playfully rubbed Rollie’s back and he leaned back against the massage and grinned.
 
 

"I’m looking forward to this trip…" he said, closing his eyes.
 
 

"Yeah, me too, in a way…it’s been a long time since we…"
 
 

Rollie opened his eyes and looked down at her as she grinned. She giggled slightly and pulled her T-shirt up getting it caught over her head.
 
 

Angie felt his weight as he straddled her, his long body then leaning down against her, holding her tangled up shirt over her head, not letting her free of it. She felt his mouth as he pushed the cotton jersey up over her mouth but not over her eyes. His passionate kiss and not being able to see him was enticing…and once his wandering kisses made way to lovemaking, he freed her tangled shirt from her face. She giggled and he hushed her softly but admonished her at the same time;
 
 

"I’m trying to concentrate here, Angela…"
 
 

"Oh, sorry- please, by all means, concentrate…"
 
 

"Umm, I’m getting to be an old man…"
 
 

"Shhh, concentrate…" she replied, tenderly biting his earlobe as he grinned and closed his eyes.

Elena Serrano slept. Mira Sanchez had departed the building and Elena had been freed of her restraints and dropped off at Marchard. Michael had given her the agenda and the list of needs from the files. She would act on them in the morning. For now, she could sleep and she welcomed the release as she had closed up her office and gone home to her nearby apartment. Her world had come to a crashing halt and her depression and fears of being caught were wrapped up with the exhaustion she felt and couldn’t fight any longer.
 
 

She moaned in her sleep, thrashing back and forth in her bed as a sea of faces and horrible atrocities filled her dreams. One face calmed her as she heard and felt Rollie near her. There was comfort there, her only comfort…
 
 

A crack of sunlight invaded her sleep and Elena jumped, startled as she looked over at the alarm clock. It was dawn and she sat up in her bed, breathing hard and wondering if everything had just been a nightmare.
 
 

"Oh God…" she said in a groan.
 
 

"No, but if you want, you can think of me in that way…" said the rather lyrical voice at the edge of her bed.